GameStop will be closing down over 300 of its stores this year

simbin · Mar 28, 2020

I've always thought they were catering to the wrong audience. If you just accept poor quality (scratched, missing cases, manuals) and let people trade them in for another free game every 7 days, of course you won't make any money. But if they were more selective about accepting only complete, like new condition games, so people who actually spend money and collect games would come into their stores.. Why not work out a deal with Limited Run Games. Physical games aren't as dead as people want you to believe, but you got to have decent quality games worth buying in the first place - quality over quantity. Train the public to take care of their games, if they expect to trade them in.

m_babble · Mar 28, 2020

Good riddance.

Ericzander · Mar 28, 2020

Uh. Guys.

It's not like they're going out of business next week. Personally, I have lots of problems with GameStop and once all games go digital I know they'll go under. But I'm not rooting for their failure. And it's weird that so many are.

Captain_N · Mar 28, 2020

Since your closing stores gamestop, can i get all your kiosks and video game supplies. Ill help you take them down and dispose of them for free. You need to GiB bro.

Pipistrele · Mar 28, 2020

Ericzander said:
Uh. Guys.

View attachment 201241

It's not like they're going out of business next week. Personally, I have lots of problems with GameStop and once all games go digital I know they'll go under. But I'm not rooting for their failure. And it's weird that so many are.

It's a death by a thousand cuts, more or less. Cutting down on 300+ stores isn't exactly a deathblow, but it's a first definite sign of things to come; a point at which you can look at the company and say, "Well, it's screwed now", especially considering how last several years of business went for them.

PROTOBOY · Mar 28, 2020

I think they are right closing the doors, as they might have more stores open than they should.

Like having 3 different stores in the same mall??? Pointless.

If they are closing just the "extra" stores and keeping the ones they really need (e.g. one store per mall) they should be fine.

Jokey_Carrot · Mar 28, 2020

FAST6191 · Mar 28, 2020

PROTOBOY said:
I think they are right closing the doors, as they might have more stores open than they should.

Like having 3 different stores in the same mall??? Pointless.

If they are closing just the "extra" stores and keeping the ones they really need (e.g. one store per mall) they should be fine.

That might depend.

In principle yes I can well see things being oversupplied.

In practice then whenever I have been to various big US style malls they usually position them outside the shops the girlies care about so kids and bored significant others can wander in (hands up everybody that has a story like that one).
If malls do the thing where the 4 major girlie shops are at each extreme end of a cross, and distances are "I might need a drink and a snack for this one" then positioning the game shop at one end might cut down browsing, and thus impulse, customers (be it though laziness, or because the girlies don't care to do the hike to collect their kids and significant others).

Now I have been going to malls in the US in various states every few years since they spread outside major areas and became the dominant mode of shopping, and have since seen a few different transformations and now the slow death of them (anthropology and economics are hobbies, especially as I find shopping in such places to be agonising). The character of them during that time has changed radically (for one the big shops that made up the extreme ends of each wing have seen a few die completely and most be shadows of their former shadow) so I could well see the model above gamestop probably employed now no longer being a profitable one, however to say it never made sense is a different matter.

Deleted User · Mar 28, 2020

m_babble said:
Good riddance.

I get that, but with the stores closing down it means people will likely lose their jobs. Many small businesses won't recover after Coronavirus has died down or eliminated (it was man-made so they have the problem and solution in their hands — I wouldn't take a "cure" though).

DANTENDO · Mar 28, 2020

Boesy said:
(it was man-made so they have the problem and solution in their hands — I wouldn't take a "cure" though).

bunch of fools who say man made if so can you show us pure evidence otherwise go back to bed

The Real Jdbye · Mar 28, 2020

Being forced to close down during the outbreak obviously contributed to this decision. It seems like any time something happens that means lost money for GameStop, they close down more stores to compensate. Short term that might help the numbers, but they're signing their own death sentence. Not that they would have been able to stop that at this point anyway.
I won't miss them though. There are better ways to buy games and peripherals, such as online stores, which have an equally good selection if not better, and much lower prices to boot.

GameStop has always been more expensive, but I accepted it because they were the only store nearby that actually got games on launch day with any consistency, and it was only a 10-15% price premium. That price premium went up to around 30% for Switch games, and that's just far too much, so I stopped buying games there shortly after I got a Switch.
It's not even paying for convenience, because ordering online I can have games delivered right to my mailbox on launch day (or a day early if I'm lucky), don't even have to go outside. So there's little point in going to GameStop other than to seek out human interaction, which is not something I'm super fond of anyway.

If they were priced competitively, I would probably still be buying games there, since with buying online, there's always the risk that the game doesn't arrive by launch day. I'm not so sure that increasing the markup actually helped them at all, or if that was actually a primary contributor to why they get less and less traffic these days.
Branching out might have saved them if they had actually been selling stuff people wanted. They seem to have the market cornered on Funko Pops, but only a subset of the gaming community even likes the damn things, with how bulbous and generic looking they are. Might have worked out better for them if they went full ThinkGeek instead, but even that is a niche market. GameStop may have been doomed the day consoles introduced digital marketplaces.

HarveyHouston · Mar 29, 2020

Next headline: GameStop Files for Bankruptcy; Stock Bought Out by Amazon
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! :rofl2:

Deleted member 388531 · Mar 29, 2020

molcos · Mar 29, 2020

Gamestop is consistently charging 10$ more on all games compared to regular tech stores in Norway.
I can literally walk 100m in the mall an buy the same games for 10$ less. It’s been this way for as long as I can remember.

but now the store is closed and I can see why.

FAST6191 · Mar 29, 2020

molcos said:
Gamestop is consistently charging 10$ more on all games compared to regular tech stores in Norway.
I can literally walk 100m in the mall an buy the same games for 10$ less. It’s been this way for as long as I can remember.

but now the store is closed and I can see why.

While I am not going to doubt that being the case I don't know that I have ever seen that before elsewhere.

I occasionally saw a supermarket maybe have £3 less for a console (making up the difference on jam or something), or have an offer on it (in which cases you might see a parade of game shop employees go rinse the stock to use for their shop). You also get the online shops that might dodge (or possibly evade, that being the illegal one) tax in some circumstances and thus end up a bit cheaper (Amazon here for CDs famously stuck their warehouses on some islands that don't charge VAT, ostensibly so their flowers did not sit on the docks waiting for inspection, and in the US they notably based themselves in places with low/no and for inter state stuff relied on the purchaser to declare I think it was use tax, which basically nobody ever does).
High street shops though all seemed to equalise pretty quickly. Wonder why they did not there, especially as it is a big company that probably has more business analysts on the books than the local game shop owner has friends.

MercilessDeth · Mar 29, 2020

I'm sure they get demolished by online sales these days. Physical games aren't dead, but if Amazon puts it on my porch on release day and I didn't have to stop on my way home from work, that's a win.

They've really just spent years not listening to their customers. They diversified into collectibles that are dust covered on clearance when you walk in. If you're a very casual gamer and wanted a recommendation or a personal review, that's what they could offer. Instead, the checkout experience is dismal as they push preorders and rewards cards and magazine subscriptions.

The customer doesn't want that, and the employees have to do it on threat of job loss. They have to hit quotas on pre-orders or risk being chewed out, their job threatened, or firing. I've pre-ordered games with no intention of coming back...my years in retail somehow convince me that the $5 loss is worth keeping a ritually abused employee employed, I guess. If they made going there a pleasant experience, they'd probably be a lot better off.

Not to mention the various scandals of selling open games as new, or being the sole distribution for Xenoblade Chronicles second printing and opening most of them so they could be 'used' and sold above MSRP. Shady all around

SG854 · Mar 29, 2020

Memoir said:
Which, is fine. That's just one issue I have with them now. Went in looking for component cables for my of Xbox. You know what the guy said? "They don't make em anymore and now cost $300". Not even joking. I have no idea where that price came from. It used to be a store I went to for information on the newest titles and tech. I'm better off going to Best Buy.

The price comes from supply and demand economics. The problem is because of its rarity some people are willing to pay that much for the cables and until people stop buying them for that price then those prices will never come down.

If you had an x-box and someone offers you $50 bucks another offered $500 bucks. Who are you going to sell it too?

You can always find a 3rd party cable for cheaper I hope.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

@Memoir

I was in the same boat as you. I tried to reason with a guy telling him the item I wanted isn't worth that much and should be sold cheaper. You know what they told me, they said well people are offering more for it and I actually sold it recently for the price you thought was scalper price too expensive.

So as long as people buy it for that price it won't come down.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

JayMathis said:
I like how people here are so pro Gamestop employees who are making minimum wage. That means the minimum allowed by law that's what they're getting paid. It's ok if people in the restaurant business lose their jobs oh but not precious Gamestop they sell video games they matter more to me. Wake up.

They under-pay their employees, they give shitty store credit on trade-ins, and they charge as much as possible for games. I can't believe anyone with a brain would defend that place.

People are not ok with people losing there jobs period. It's not just gamestop.

Many restaurants are still open as they are considered a essential business. Probably not making as much as before the virus but are still open.

Kioku · Mar 30, 2020

SG854 said:
The price comes from supply and demand economics. The problem is because of its rarity some people are willing to pay that much for the cables and until people stop buying them for that price then those prices will never come down.

If you had an x-box and someone offers you $50 bucks another offered $500 bucks. Who are you going to sell it too?

You can always find a 3rd party cable for cheaper I hope.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

@Memoir

I was in the same boat as you. I tried to reason with a guy telling him the item I wanted isn't worth that much and should be sold cheaper. You know what they told me, they said well people are offering more for it and I actually sold it recently for the price you thought was scalper price too expensive.

So as long as people buy it for that price it won't come down.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

People are not ok with people losing there jobs period. It's not just gamestop.

Many restaurants are still open as they are considered a essential business. Probably not making as much as before the virus but are still open.

That's just it, though. There are NO Xbox component cable setups that are even half that price. At the time the most expensive, official setup I found was $80 BRAND NEW. The price was pulled out of his ass. Nowadays you can get Franken cables (Xbox 360 component cables with an og Xbox plug) for around 30-40. I went with a modified Wii2HDMI for $40. I have never stepped foot in that store after that conversation.

Another run in I had was more understandable, but I couldn't believe the cost. I went in to this store and saw a Halo edition Xbox OG. At this point, I could find one in decent condition for $120 on ebay + shipping. Alright, cool. Well, it was modded. The owner had no idea what was in it, or how it was modded. However, he was asking $250 for it. It's hit or miss as some special edition consoles go for that when modded with 2TB and X3 chips. However, he had no idea. Wouldn't let me see it, nothing.

xdarkx · Mar 30, 2020

https://www.businessinsider.com/gamestop-safety-issues-during-coronavirus-outbreak-report-2020-3

Whoever in GS came up with the idea to tell employees to go back to work should take their employees place instead.

SG854 · Mar 30, 2020

Memoir said:
That's just it, though. There are NO Xbox component cable setups that are even half that price. At the time the most expensive, official setup I found was $80 BRAND NEW. The price was pulled out of his ass. Nowadays you can get Franken cables (Xbox 360 component cables with an og Xbox plug) for around 30-40. I went with a modified Wii2HDMI for $40. I have never stepped foot in that store after that conversation.

Another run in I had was more understandable, but I couldn't believe the cost. I went in to this store and saw a Halo edition Xbox OG. At this point, I could find one in decent condition for $120 on ebay + shipping. Alright, cool. Well, it was modded. The owner had no idea what was in it, or how it was modded. However, he was asking $250 for it. It's hit or miss as some special edition consoles go for that when modded with 2TB and X3 chips. However, he had no idea. Wouldn't let me see it, nothing.

Official Cables for analogue signals I have learned are better then 3rd party cables because they are properly shielded. So they get rid of any signal interference and discoloration.

Most 3rd party ones usually suck unless you buy from someone that knows what they are doing with a good electrical engineering background. Most likely business are looking for a quick buck so they make quick cheap cables to sell and sell at a cheaper price then official ones because of lower quality design. It makes official ones made by Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo look greedy by comparison unless you know how much better the cables are.

It's why official ones are highly desired over most 3rd party ones. But run for so much higher prices after they become harder to find.

For the X-Box some people are clueless or just want to get as much as they can from you, nothing you can really do about it. I've seen prices like that too and I'm like screw that I'm not doing business with you I'm looking elsewhere.

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