GameStop to Permanently Close Over 300 Stores

Not surprised. Will miss the trade in opportunists. Will not miss the store though.
Anyone have fun stories from when GameStop and EBGames were everything?
Midnight releases or similar?
 
I remember Electronics Boutique being a pretty good smaller game store. Gamestop for as long as I can remember is a place you only go in a real pinch. IE my controller is messing up and I need to get a replacement real quick because I'm trying to play a game with friends. The problem even with that though is that half the time stock is an issue. They also destroyed thinkgeek which used to be an interesting website.

Now if I really need something quick I'll go to the walmart two more blocks up from the gamestop, they have a better chance of having what I was looking for. I got really tired of gamestop trying to sell me a used switch game for 5 bucks less than new and then asking for a couple of bucks for a warranty on it. Hell they killed the discount on used games in the power up or whatever rewards program apparently(my brother used to have it).
 
Ah, I must be in the minority then. I love Gamestop. Yes, they're over priced on some things, but the two locations I've been going to for some 20 years now are top notch.

Always friendly service, staff is always down to talk about games"obviously" , and I just generally have an overall better experience with them than buying stuff online.

I work hard for my money, and I'll be damned that a buy click download experience is the only type of purchasing experience ill have with gaming in the future. How boring is that?

I'll take spending an extra 20 minutes (OMG the horror!) to supplement some local employees and put a smile on my sons face when we go in there.

Just can't get that online. Sorry, you just don't.

RIP to these stores.
 
Ah, I must be in the minority then. I love Gamestop. Yes, they're over priced on some things, but the two locations I've been going to for some 20 years now are top notch.

Always friendly service, staff is always down to talk about games"obviously" , and I just generally have an overall better experience with them than buying stuff online.

I work hard for my money, and I'll be damned that a buy click download experience is the only type of purchasing experience ill have with gaming in the future. How boring is that?

I'll take spending an extra 20 minutes (OMG the horror!) to supplement some local employees and put a smile on my sons face when we go in there.

Just can't get that online. Sorry, you just don't.

RIP to these stores.
Yeah, I've always been served well and had chats with the reps at GameStop. I hate seeing b&m stores closing like this...
 
There isn't much reason for them to exist anymore. The only reason to go there is to try to find a sold out console around Christmas.
 
Not surprised. Will miss the trade in opportunists. Will not miss the store though.
Anyone have fun stories from when GameStop and EBGames were everything?
Midnight releases or similar?
Electronics Boutique was s great place for PC games a long time ago.
 
I had some great experiences at Babbage's, Electronics Boutique, Software Etc, and Gamestop back in the 90's. I had friends that worked at each of them and the staff used to know their stuff.

For me I think things went awry when they started requiring a reservation for basically everything. Every month when the new EGM or Gamefan magazine would drop, those stores would get flooded with calls for people wanting to reserve whatever the latest and greatest was. If got to the point where the stores in my area were taking reservations for stuff that wasn't even announced. People were just reserving stuff based on a wild guess. They started charging a $5 down payment when things got out of hand, but it's not like that stopped anything. $5 is nothing for a system that costs $300-500 or even a $65 game. It was just a giant mess. Some of the funniest moments I can recall were walking past the huge reservation lines at EB only to buy the same system or game off the shelf at the toy store around the corner. Half those people in line didn't even get anything and had to wait for additional shipments. Not long after that is when they started requiring hint guide bundles, "protection plans," and all sorts of other nonsense to actually maintain some semblance of a retail presence. Then the used game highway robbery began...
 
The problem with gamestop the workers are gamers as well. I hope the one here in WI stays open. Next gen should prop them up for the year. We're all wiped out of PS4s at Walmart since all the closures kids and adults are just going stir crazy
 
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Yeah they suck but it’s still kinda sad. I guess it cements the end of an era for me. Kinda like when the last blockbuster video closed its doors.
 
I remember Electronics Boutique being a pretty good smaller game store. Gamestop for as long as I can remember is a place you only go in a real pinch. IE my controller is messing up and I need to get a replacement real quick because I'm trying to play a game with friends. The problem even with that though is that half the time stock is an issue. They also destroyed thinkgeek which used to be an interesting website.

Now if I really need something quick I'll go to the walmart two more blocks up from the gamestop, they have a better chance of having what I was looking for. I got really tired of gamestop trying to sell me a used switch game for 5 bucks less than new and then asking for a couple of bucks for a warranty on it. Hell they killed the discount on used games in the power up or whatever rewards program apparently(my brother used to have it).
GS doesn't even lower their prices on new games like other places. Hell it is common to take advantage of it. There was a story where a guy bought up cheap Xbox ones at a GS that was closing up and dumping stock. Then went to another GS and sold them for
Ah, I must be in the minority then. I love Gamestop. Yes, they're over priced on some things, but the two locations I've been going to for some 20 years now are top notch.

Always friendly service, staff is always down to talk about games"obviously" , and I just generally have an overall better experience with them than buying stuff online.

I work hard for my money, and I'll be damned that a buy click download experience is the only type of purchasing experience ill have with gaming in the future. How boring is that?

I'll take spending an extra 20 minutes (OMG the horror!) to supplement some local employees and put a smile on my sons face when we go in there.

Just can't get that online. Sorry, you just don't.

RIP to these stores.
The people in the store were generally cool. It just sucked how corporate crushed these people underneath their shoes. It was cool that a great deal of then we're gamers but forced to push bs on the customer in fear of losing their job.
 
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5500 locations? Talk about bloated and unsustainable in the digital age.

Yeah. They kept opening new stores all over the place. On top of that, when they bought out their competitors they kept all the buildings those competitors had open. This included times when GS had a store right next to one of their competitors, so you'd end up with a GS next to a GS. At one time, the Mall of America had two different Gamestops. One on the first floor and one on the second. They carried the same shit. And this was before GS got super heavy into selling video game tat so it was two GS stores both stocked with mostly the exact same games and TCG stuff.

Ah, I must be in the minority then. I love Gamestop. Yes, they're over priced on some things, but the two locations I've been going to for some 20 years now are top notch.

Always friendly service, staff is always down to talk about games"obviously" , and I just generally have an overall better experience with them than buying stuff online.

I work hard for my money, and I'll be damned that a buy click download experience is the only type of purchasing experience ill have with gaming in the future. How boring is that?

I'll take spending an extra 20 minutes (OMG the horror!) to supplement some local employees and put a smile on my sons face when we go in there.

Just can't get that online. Sorry, you just don't.

RIP to these stores.

I've always had pretty good experiences in Gamestop stores, at least from employees and the like. However, the company itself is shit. I won't be sad the day they finally die. I will, however, feel bad for the employees.
 
Surprised they are still around. Suspect that before long GameStop will be drinking with EggHead and CompUSA at the Eleventeenth Floor Loser's Lounge.
 
Every Gamestop in my region started running, looking, and smelling like a bad pawn shop a few years ago. That's when I stopped visiting them. It was a shame because like most here, the staff were generally outstanding which is why I kept going there. Unfortunately corporate seemed to have dug their talons deeper into franchise owners over the past few year to cut costs and push subscriptions with preorders even harder.
I had some great experiences at Babbage's, Electronics Boutique, Software Etc, and Gamestop back in the 90's. I had friends that worked at each of them and the staff used to know their stuff.

For me I think things went awry when they started requiring a reservation for basically everything. Every month when the new EGM or Gamefan magazine would drop, those stores would get flooded with calls for people wanting to reserve whatever the latest and greatest was. If got to the point where the stores in my area were taking reservations for stuff that wasn't even announced. People were just reserving stuff based on a wild guess. They started charging a $5 down payment when things got out of hand, but it's not like that stopped anything. $5 is nothing for a system that costs $300-500 or even a $65 game. It was just a giant mess. Some of the funniest moments I can recall were walking past the huge reservation lines at EB only to buy the same system or game off the shelf at the toy store around the corner. Half those people in line didn't even get anything and had to wait for additional shipments. Not long after that is when they started requiring hint guide bundles, "protection plans," and all sorts of other nonsense to actually maintain some semblance of a retail presence. Then the used game highway robbery began...
Babbage's and Software, Etc. were my favorite places on Earth back in the '90s. EB was great for the enormous stock of games they constantly had on hand. I remember purchasing a copy of IndyCar Racing 2 there, a game released in 1995, back in 2000 after everybody else stopped carrying it long before then. Coincidentally I stopped going to the mall when Gamestop assimilated all of them.

My roommate at university showed me his reservation for Duke Nukem Forever that he made in 2000. They started taking reservations on DNF when we had nothing but a mockup video. Lo and behold that is now a legitimate business model in the gaming industry. Gamestop corporate sickens me and I won't shed a tear when they finally close down the last of their stores.
 
5500 locations? Talk about bloated and unsustainable in the digital age.

The local mall used to have 3. You could walk from one to another in around 80 seconds. Although they used to be numerous stores bought out by Gamestop and they still used the other branding/bags long after the take overs. Used to be EB Games, GameStop, Babbages and FuncoLand. In the mall it used to be EB/Babbages/Gamestop. Local FuncoLand was converted to Gamestop.

Most locations have closed. Between the three at the mall, we had 4-6 others locally for a total of 7-9. Now we have 3 with one in the mall still. They're largely filled with game stuff these days, plush toys and other crap. I think they have their place, but they're absolutely becoming irrelevant and there are way too many of them. For consoles, you can get them from Amazon or Walmart, hard to survive off of low margin hardware sales.
 
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I stopped going to Gamestop when they started trying to sell opened games as new. That combined with their ridiculous pricing and heavy handed upsell tactics was the end for me. Not sure what "service" you'd need from a video game store that that make the person behind the counter relevant but to each is own I guess. They sure won't be missed by me.
 
I've hated Gamestop since my first visit. They opened one in my small town of 12,000 people and I thought it was going to be pretty cool. I only had 6mbps internet until last year. They had one end cap with computer games and good share of that was no name titles and MMORPGs that required downloads anyway. The whole store was for consoles. It lasted about a year and closed up. Shared a parking lot with Walmart.
 
I've hated Gamestop since my first visit. They opened one in my small town of 12,000 people and I thought it was going to be pretty cool. I only had 6mbps internet until last year. They had one end cap with computer games and good share of that was no name titles and MMORPGs that required downloads anyway. The whole store was for consoles. It lasted about a year and closed up. Shared a parking lot with Walmart.

PC games used to have good shelf space then they disappeared. Now they're back as Steam/Origin/Uplay direct cards with scratch off codes. But not many of them. I see that niche for kids without a credit card or PayPal, but again, Walmart/Target does the same.

As consoles transition to mostly digital downloads Gamestop and similar will go under. If their plan is to just sell hardware I don't see them having staying power. I'm sure Target, Walmart, Best Buy and online stores can pick up the slack. I can only see them staying around if they manage to be better at doing day one releases (again, becoming less relevant with digital downloads) or somehow catering to the gamer demographic with lots of limited edition/collectors stuff. But again, I can't imagine there is a market enough to support a store.
 
Couldn't help but to feel ripped off when I went there a few times to trade in games they would give you $20-$25 for your "used" game and then sell it "pre-owned" for $40-$55 so I just start selling my used games elsewhere and getting pretty much double what they were giving me. Not to mention the fact that they wouldn't price match local retailers like Walmart or Best buy was a no go. So to GameStop deuces bitches you will not be missed!
 
Couldn't help but to feel ripped off when I went there a few times to trade in games they would give you $20-$25 for your "used" game and then sell it "pre-owned" for $40-$55 so I just start selling my used games elsewhere and getting pretty much double what they were giving me. Not to mention the fact that they wouldn't price match local retailers like Walmart or Best buy was a no go. So to GameStop deuces bitches you will not be missed!
For the record, I dislike most of what Gamestop does, as mentioned things like opening all the new games and then selling them that way (which has lead to things like theft of coupons etc in the past). However, what you're describing in terms of their used market is normal. Brick and Mortar have overhead and Payroll. So you're exchanging maximum value for convenience. As a customer, all you have to do is go in and they hand you cash. They as a company then have to flip it in order to actually make money. They need the margin in order for it to even be worth their time to buy (they aren't a charity).
If you want to sell through eBay as an example, there is a lot more that has to be done in order to extract full value. Even local selling options such as Craiglist and Facebook Marketplace will require time that may or may not be as conveneint as a short trip. As well as negotiating and dealing with flakes and so on.
So, if your time is worthless then it's a ripoff. The long and the short is if you have more time than money, then selling everything you have for maximum value is of greater importance. But if you have more money than time, then places like Gamestop or any place that gives instant money at a fractional value is of greater importance.
 
For the record, I dislike most of what Gamestop does, as mentioned things like opening all the new games and then selling them that way (which has lead to things like theft of coupons etc in the past). However, what you're describing in terms of their used market is normal. Brick and Mortar have overhead and Payroll. So you're exchanging maximum value for convenience. As a customer, all you have to do is go in and they hand you cash. They as a company then have to flip it in order to actually make money. They need the margin in order for it to even be worth their time to buy (they aren't a charity).
If you want to sell through eBay as an example, there is a lot more that has to be done in order to extract full value. Even local selling options such as Craiglist and Facebook Marketplace will require time that may or may not be as conveneint as a short trip. As well as negotiating and dealing with flakes and so on.
So, if your time is worthless then it's a ripoff. The long and the short is if you have more time than money, then selling everything you have for maximum value is of greater importance. But if you have more money than time, then places like Gamestop or any place that gives instant money at a fractional value is of greater importance.

You know back in the day when your only options were GameStop and eBay yeah it was probably more worth it just to let GameStop get your games for "convenience" but these days with so many local marketplace options I rarely list anything ebay. I list something it sells they meet me at the grocery store 2 minutes down the road from my house cash in hand I'm on my way back home and I saved great deal of cash in total over the years doing this. Furthermore I understand that they are business but gouging the customer and leaving a bad taste in their mouth is never good practice and I'll tell you what you can spend hundreds of thousands on advertising but word of mouth real life experience spreads faster and goes further than any amount of advertising.
 
You know back in the day when your only options were GameStop and eBay yeah it was probably more worth it just to let GameStop get your games for "convenience" but these days with so many local marketplace options I rarely list anything ebay. I list something it sells they meet me at the grocery store 2 minutes down the road from my house cash in hand I'm on my way back home and I saved great deal of cash in total over the years doing this. Furthermore I understand that they are business but gouging the customer and leaving a bad taste in their mouth is never good practice and I'll tell you what you can spend hundreds of thousands on advertising but word of mouth real life experience spreads faster and goes further than any amount of advertising.
I think you missed the point of what I was saying. Let me be more clear. GameStop’s 2 options are: 1) Charge a margin. Or 2) Don’t buy people’s used games.

All of your thoughts are centered on what is best for you. GameStop is a business. Their goal with buying used isn’t for the utility of the game (that is to say, to “play it”). They have to have margin to pay for overhead and also give profit. There is no other function in what they are doing in terms of a service.

What I described earlier is their value proposition for the customer. But it’s not relevant if all we want to do is have a conversation about the functions of their business and model. If you think that’s a ripoff, fine. But if you were a business person operating in the same space, you’d do the same thing as there isn’t a choice.
 
I think you missed the point of what I was saying. Let me be more clear. GameStop’s 2 options are: 1) Charge a margin. Or 2) Don’t buy people’s used games.

All of your thoughts are centered on what is best for you. GameStop is a business. Their goal with buying used isn’t for the utility of the game (that is to say, to “play it”). They have to have margin to pay for overhead and also give profit. There is no other function in what they are doing in terms of a service.

What I described earlier is their value proposition for the customer. But it’s not relevant if all we want to do is have a conversation about the functions of their business and model. If you think that’s a ripoff, fine. But if you were a business person operating in the same space, you’d do the same thing as there isn’t a choice.

Please

They pay less than pawn shops for games and consoles

Good riddance, profiting from kids who don't know any better
 
Please

They pay less than pawn shops for games and consoles

Good riddance, profiting from kids who don't know any better
They really don't. Thanks for the anecdotal, unsubstantiated evidence though.
Once again, if you don't like their business practices, that's fine. But their goal is to have liquidity (as in, remain in profitability). Try running any small business with actual overhead (read: a store front that requires rent and utilities every month) and tell me about margins.
 
They really don't. Thanks for the anecdotal, unsubstantiated evidence though.
Once again, if you don't like their business practices, that's fine. But their goal is to have liquidity (as in, remain in profitability). Try running any small business with actual overhead (read: a store front that requires rent and utilities every month) and tell me about margins.

They do. Funny because no matter what business is being called out, you'll always find a shill willing to defend them
 
They do. Funny because no matter what business is being called out, you'll always find a shill willing to defend them
1.) You haven't even read all of my posts in this thread. I don't shop at GameStop. And I'm not particularly a fan of their practices. How about you scroll up and read what started this chain? So if you're going to call people "names" then perhaps you should actually gather context. It's far easier to use ad homniem attacks then actually make a cogent argument though isn't it?
2.) This discussion and what you're arguing with me about is the principles behind buying used products and reselling them.

I've been involved with, at some level, in businesses that engaged in the buying and selling (or trading) of used goods. Any of them that had a track record or been around for more than a decade all had a healthy margin to ensure profitability. Video games being among them, but also other collectables, namely Magic the Gathering. You don't have any of those businesses being successful without margin. As if there is any fluctuation in the market (which quite frankly there always is), and what you bought just got devalued, then your margin protects you. Otherwise you've now paid good money for an item that you can't sell at a profit. This is business 101 stuff. Most games (as in non-vintage games) only go one direction, which is down. As has been noted plenty of times in these forums, it's now common to have games decrease in price by 20-50% within a single year. So as GameStop, or any other entity, your goal is to buy at the bottom of the market, sell at the top, and if you can't unload it fast enough at least be able to sell in the middle.

When selling new items as another example, most businesses won't sell anything without at least a 20% profit margin (just generally, there are many industries that have significantly more or significantly less profit margin depending on things like overhead. Diamonds as an example have a very high profit margin as frankly they don't move off the shelves quickly and require massive overhead).
 
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I think you missed the point of what I was saying. Let me be more clear. GameStop’s 2 options are: 1) Charge a margin. Or 2) Don’t buy people’s used games.

All of your thoughts are centered on what is best for you. GameStop is a business. Their goal with buying used isn’t for the utility of the game (that is to say, to “play it”). They have to have margin to pay for overhead and also give profit. There is no other function in what they are doing in terms of a service.

What I described earlier is their value proposition for the customer. But it’s not relevant if all we want to do is have a conversation about the functions of their business and model. If you think that’s a ripoff, fine. But if you were a business person operating in the same space, you’d do the same thing as there isn’t a choice.

"GameStop is a business"
You say that as if GS doesn't give a shit about the customer.. I agree they are a business first, but do it without making people feel like wow I just got robbed w/o a pistol.

"All of your thoughts are centered on what is best for you"
You. AKA the consumer/customer. It's always about you. Without you no business would be innovating with new products and fresh ideas to keep you interested and a consumer. Without competitive pricing. This is very debatable and can go back and forth for eternity it seems, as people will always have different view points. My bottom line is you can spin it how you like but in the end people dictate enough is enough hence the reason Gamestop is hurting ATM and potentially wont be around for too much longer without new fresh ideas that don't entail ripping people off.

"What I described earlier is their value proposition for the customer. But it’s not relevant if all we want to do is have a conversation about the functions of their business and model. If you think that’s a ripoff, fine. But if you were a business person operating in the same space, you’d do the same thing as there isn’t a choice."
There is a choice, there is always a choice! I'm sure you've heard the expression "Quick nickle is better than a slow dime" It has been in practice for eons and has proven that it in fact does work by increasing business at the cost of some profits, and keeping folks happy. Satisfied consumer = successful business. If you were miserable shopping at Target will you continue going there, given you have many other options?
I have a close friend that works in a local Vape shop. As most people know most vape shops are highly overpriced. What you may not know, most are working with at least a 50% margin, but the owner of his shop chooses to work at a 30% margin. He gets more than double the business of the surrounding shops in the "area" confirmed from wholesalers in the same market.
 
Please

They pay less than pawn shops for games and consoles

Good riddance, profiting from kids who don't know any better

That entirely depends on the item and how much they sell it for. 50-60% of the selling price is a standard high-end for most used stores. Of course this changes depending on how quickly they can sell the item, how many they have in stock, the rarity of the item itself, etc. However, in my experience a lot of pawnshops and other stores that buy and sell used games and consoles will base their prices (both selling and buying) on Gamestop so you're not really going to get a much better deal unless you're selling something that's a hot item or incredibly rare that will look good sitting behind a counter.
 
"GameStop is a business"
You say that as if GS doesn't give a shit about the customer.. I agree they are a business first, but do it without making people feel like wow I just got robbed w/o a pistol.
This has been said a thousand times: vote with your wallet. (Gamestop can't force you to sell them your games).

"All of your thoughts are centered on what is best for you"
You. AKA the consumer/customer. It's always about you. Without you no business would be innovating with new products and fresh ideas to keep you interested and a consumer. Without competitive pricing. This is very debatable and can go back and forth for eternity it seems, as people will always have different view points. My bottom line is you can spin it how you like but in the end people dictate enough is enough hence the reason Gamestop is hurting ATM and potentially wont be around for too much longer without new fresh ideas that don't entail ripping people off.
I entered into a discussion specifically about profit margins. The irony about "spin" is that the other way you could say it is that even with a decent profit margin they're unable to stay in business. However I would say the greater issue isn't necessarily the profit margin that Gamestop has nearly as much as the competition that is eating away at them.
Amazon, as an example, has taken all of many different markets' business. Sony/Nintendo/Microsft now all have downloadable platforms that no other retailer can get a slice of as well. If the internet didn't exist then brick and mortar would have continued like it has for quite some time and Gamestop's model would continue to work just fine under that environment. Competition, namely competition from the internet, has been a far greater issue than anything you can bring up about profit margins. And that is more or less proven by the fact that GameStop is the only brick and mortar that exists (outside of one off mom and pop shops). If there was a model better than what Gamestop was doing in the B&M space, we'd see it (capitalism and what not).

"What I described earlier is their value proposition for the customer. But it’s not relevant if all we want to do is have a conversation about the functions of their business and model. If you think that’s a ripoff, fine. But if you were a business person operating in the same space, you’d do the same thing as there isn’t a choice."
There is a choice, there is always a choice! I'm sure you've heard the expression "Quick nickle is better than a slow dime" It has been in practice for eons and has proven that it in fact does work by increasing business at the cost of some profits, and keeping folks happy. Satisfied consumer = successful business. If you were miserable shopping at Target will you continue going there, given you have many other options?
I have a close friend that works in a local Vape shop. As most people know most vape shops are highly overpriced. What you may not know, most are working with at least a 50% margin, but the owner of his shop chooses to work at a 30% margin. He gets more than double the business of the surrounding shops in the "area" confirmed from wholesalers in the same market.
You can study profit margin. It's a pretty simple equation in finance. In fact the Wiki highlights it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profit_margin
What you're describing is essentially extending out your break even point. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break-even and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break-even_(economics)
By decreasing your margin, you're making it take much longer to cover your costs. Overhead such as rent, utilities, employees, suppliers, etc. So although their turnover rate on product is much higher (reflected as you say by their wholesalers) that doesn't mean they are making an increased profit in comparison with their competition. If you really care to find out, you could come up with hypothetical numbers and crunch out a break even analysis. I can tell you though making 20% less is a lot to overcome.

Additionally, decreased margins for faster turnover is viable if and only if you have an item that sells at high volume. In other words, people's smoking habit has a much greater turnover rate than selling Diamonds. It's literally not feasible to be a diamond merchant with a store front and sell items at "only" a 30% margin. Obviously video games aren't at that level as a luxury good, but they also certainly do not have the turnover rate as something that people literally buy and smoke packs of on a daily basis (hence why Philip Morris had the greatest business plan of all time, an addictive product bought constantly, with an incredibly high margin).

So all that said, I stand by my statements.
 
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