So I was told to lie to customers...

[Shalom]

Does your company have to pay the publisher when they purchase stock, or do they only have to pay them if a title sells?

If the latter, then I can see a little sense in this setup. If the former, though, then it makes no sense at all. It costs money to carry inventory. I can see them refusing to stock new stuff in the first place, but if they've already got it on the shelf, refusing to sell it is just shooting themselves in the collective foot.

But what do I know, I'm not an MBA.

[fireheart]

I've only encountered ONE crappy game for the PS2 when I bought it used, but the store in question were willing to exchange it. (it was a Gametraders, which is an Australian chain)
They also run a service that cleans up the discs and can help with a few scratches here and there. A lot of my PS2 games are used, with the odd exception here and there. As for my DS, with the exception of Pokemon White, ALL my games are used.

[Dreamstalker]

I'm a Club Nintendo member, so if a game provides coins I usually prefer to get it new so I know the code wasn't used (sometimes I'll find code cards in used games only to find they've been registered already).

I generally don't have a problem with used DS games as a cartridge is harder to screw up than a CD.

[fireheart]

I've actually found a few of those Club Nintendo Cards in my DS games, mostly the Pokemon ones tho.

[surreal20]

I don;t like to buy used games. I will, but it;s usually after the game has been out for a while and i'm not sure i'll like it.

If it's a brand new release, and i know i'll like it, it's a new game or no game.

I forsee your company having a lot of issues. Either a lot less repeat customers or complaints that the store NEVER has anything in stock. Just my 2 cents.

[Raveni]

Also, there's a reason for this new "push used" plan too: Store Managers and District Mangers also get bonuses if used sales are high enough.

Definately this. When I was a DM before my company got gobbled up by yours, that's exactly how it worked. Your bonuses and raises were ranked in several areas, and you would lose quite a bit of it if one area was not to par. Even if you blew away the goals in sales, if your used sales were bad, no bonus for you.

So, many managers played the numbers game. In some stores, yes, the manager would rather you buy nothing than buy a new game, because it would hurt his used sales percentage and limit his bonus.

Of course, we knew who was playing games and who was growing the business... Profit = Sales x Margin (plus, if no one buys new games, they'll never have good ones to trade in). So if someone is turning away sales, they would eventually be replaced by someone who would make more profit for me.