Any former "GameStore" employees here? Share your SC stories!

[Fenrus]

okay, TECHNICALLY, I'm 8 blocks east... but it's still VERY close to my house. :P

[EricKei]

If you ever see a used game for more than the new, it's one of two things:

- a sale on new but not used (rare)

- someone didn't finish putting out the new price tags (much much more likely)

Game "rentals" and other policies: I served my time in the 2004~2007 range, some in and out, as well, at 3 different stores (transfers by my request).

MM, you make me wish we had those stores here >_> I just use Goozex, trade games for credit, get others with same.

Opened NEW games -- to everybody: Ask for the 10% Open Box discount. That way, you end up paying either the used price or less for a game which may or may not have been played.

System releases: Yes, we have had times where we've offered to escort people out with their shiny new systems. If it's a midnight release, we usually even paid an off-duty cop to hang out and look menacing, just in case ^_^ The only horror story on stuff like that i'd heard of was Pre-K, when we had the (now long-dead) store downtown, on Carrolton. Why they EVER opened a store there, I have no clue. After a Madden launch day, the cop went up to my buddy - the SM at the time, and told him that a) He recognized several known gang members there buying Madden, and b) several of them were packing. Nobody was sad to see that store go. Katrina took care of it for us...the CashWrap, or at least, part of it, was on the back wall of the store. It was originally next to the front window at that store...

[Estil]

There are places where I'll draw the line, though. If someone says "Merry Christmas" to me, in NOVEMBER, at my most polite I'll respond with "inappropriate remark." More commonly, I'll just say "Fuck off, it's November."

What if I told you that we (me and my wife) start putting up Christmas decorations when the World Series starts? For our first couple Christmases together we put them up when baseball playoffs began. I mean, Christmas is our favorite holiday and all the retailers put their Christmas decor up early, why shouldn't we? If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, that's my motto.

[Estil]

On the flip side, as a casual gamer, there is nothing worse than going into a "gamestore" and being served by the guy who is obsessed with video games and clearly spends all of the 16 hours between shifts doing nothing but playing games and has played every game in the store... \

At least they have people who know their gaming. Would you rather have someone like the idiot SC's who ask for Mario/Zelda on the X360 or PS3? :P

[Ironclad Alibi]

(OT) Reading all of these postings takes me back to when I shopped in national chain game stores. The ones I shopped in where the grandsires of the ones today, Electronics Boutique, Babbage’s, Software Etc., Waldensoftware, and Egghead. Several of these have disappeared, others have became today’s stores. I haven’t bought anything in a game store since 2001, although I have shopped in big box stores and online. The last game I bought was in 2004. (Has it been that long?) It’s not that I don’t like games, I have around 800 of them for the PC. They just don’t make the kind of games I like to play anymore.

[Bandit]

(OT)...... They just don’t make the kind of games I like to play anymore.

I still love to play M.U.L.E. and Jumpman on my C-64......

B

[EricKei]

I still love to play M.U.L.E. and Jumpman on my C-64......

B

If my c64 still worked, I'd play it on there >_> I LOVE that game. Props, and RIP, to Dan(i) Bunten and the other creators of that masterpiece.

...Now the themesong is stuck in my head. Rock on.

[MercenaryMuffin]

I wish I still had my NES. Such awesome games. I still have the Mega Man 2 theme song stuck in my head.
And now so do you.

Oh, and "The Moon" from the Duck Tales game. Youtube 'em if you forgot what they sound like.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I wish I still had my Megadrive, Genesis to you Americans. It lasted for ages, but finally died around 2004. *sigh* My favourite game was Streets of Rage; I seriously pwned at that game. I used to deliberately try to get the bad ending. XD

[infinitemonkies]

System releases: Yes, we have had times where we've offered to escort people out with their shiny new systems. If it's a midnight release, we usually even paid an off-duty cop to hang out and look menacing, just in case ^_^ The only horror story on stuff like that i'd heard of was Pre-K, when we had the (now long-dead) store downtown, on Carrolton. Why they EVER opened a store there, I have no clue. After a Madden launch day, the cop went up to my buddy - the SM at the time, and told him that a) He recognized several known gang members there buying Madden, and b) several of them were packing. Nobody was sad to see that store go. Katrina took care of it for us...the CashWrap, or at least, part of it, was on the back wall of the store. It was originally next to the front window at that store...

Remember the day the Iphone launched? People waiting in line all night long just to get one.... I think it was in Seattle, some guy walks up to the store right at opening, walks past the line, pulls out a gun and steals the Iphones from the first 3 people to get em.

M.U.L.E. was, and will always be, awesome.

And Estil, what you and your wife do in the privacy of your own home, or even in public view on your lawn/balcony/whatever is none of my concern. Celebrate christmas every day of the year if you want, just don't include me in your plans. (Unless it's open bar, I'll put with damn near anything for free booze )

It's just like Hallowe'en. Some people are offended by it; They don't wanna see Hallowe'en displays, or hear Hallowe'en music, especially not in september. I'm that way about christmas.

[MercenaryMuffin]

I don't see how anyone can be offended by Christmas, even if it's a little early. After all, if you know anything about Christmas, you know it's not actually a Christian holiday so much as a pagan holiday wrapped in Jesus talk (and even then, only if you're heavily Christian).

Being an atheist, I am perfectly happy with seeing Christmas stuff out early, as it's my very favorite holiday (Halloween being second), and I get into it. Santa, presents, Christmas trees, lights, family...what's not to love?
It also means Trans-Siberian Orchestra is coming to town in December! Woohoo!

Anyone who gets offended by "Merry Christmas" needs to lighten up a little

[infinitemonkies]

While I'm always delighted to engage in rational debate, I cannot respond to that publicly.

I've tried to be careful in my phrasing to avoid fratching, but the whole topic is really toeing the line as it is. Let's just leave it off this thread and these boards.

I grant you, though, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra is wonderfully talented.

[MercenaryMuffin]

Somehow, this thread has been derailed from the original premise. Which, after so many years of message board and forum attendance, I can't say I'm surprised at.

That said, I would like to see more GameStore stories if anyone has them. That was the original intent of this thread, right?

[ebonyknight]

My boyfriend is a current GameStore employee. He tells me some pretty nasty horror stories, but one sticks out in my mind...

Customer tries to return a console (I believe it was a 360) that isn't working. When the his boss opens the case, what should pour out but LIVE ROACHES. My boyfriend, being a total bug-a-phobe, flips out. His boss tells the lady to get the *expletive* system out of his store, but alas, the roaches have already escaped. They've sprayed for them, and it's been a while, so they're probably gone, but still. Gross. What the heck are roaches doing inside a video game console anyway?

Because it's warm and it's confined.

If you ever talk to an appliance or tv repairmen, they will tell you it's fairly common if the the house itself is infested. They touch the wrong component and zzzzzt, they ground and short out the appliance.

[ebonyknight]

Edge cards: Completely not worth it. Trading in your games is a terrible rip off, and I for one refuse to be part of it. A game you just traded in for five bucks will be immediately turned around and sold for thirty, if not more. And when that used game is bought, none of that money goes to the people who made the game. Instead of buying the stupid Edge card that doesn't really save you anything, just shop somewhere else...spending a few minutes looking online or looking at another store's price will almost always net you a better bargain than you could ever hope to get with the Edge card.
The Edge card gets you 10% extra on trade ins...whoopee. So now instead of getting $1.00 on Vice City, you get $1.10. Exciting.

They made the money when it was sold new. Do you expect Honda to make money on your sale when you sell it used or the gap to get a cut when you sell your sweater at a yard sale?

They made a product and sold it. What the owner does with said product after it's bought is up to them. If they want to call it "intellectual property" then fine, but they can't then claim "doctrine of first sale" for copyright protect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine [sucky customer]It's the law.[/sucky customer]

Errr, uh really.

As far as the edge card, I think it's worth it if you aren't the type to get every new game as it comes out. I just got a PSP and I am content to buy the cheap games at $14 a pop. Then when I tire of them, sell them back for an average $6 gain. The only thing I ever only got a $1 was a UMD movie and that's perfectly reasonable to see why they only offer that.

IMHO It's better than building a library of games and I "rented" the game for $8.