A Tale of Two GameStops
Introduction
“So we’re going to be buying your niece and nephew game systems so they can play Pokémon.”
I knew this call would come. My parents had four kids, three daughters and one son. I was the last of the line, which made childhood extremely hectic. My sisters were torn between loving me and hating me at all times. Whenever one was having a good day, the others were probably having bad days. To avoid all of this, I sheltered in the family basement playing the video game consoles my parents bought that my sisters had since abandoned. I became the Video Game Kid of my family. It’s my favorite hobby to this day, barely edging out reading and writing. As such, my knowledge is up to date, unlike my sisters’ collective knowledge. I am now an asset, knowledge to be leveraged, and I knew they would eventually call when their kids started looking at my expensive hobby for themselves.
I have four nieces and one nephew, and they’re all starting to get older. Surprisingly, my oldest niece, the oldest of all of them, skipped right by me in terms of video games. She plays Minecraft, but not much beyond that. So, we’ve talked about that every once in a while, but ultimately I don’t know her interests that well. There’s always been a lot of distance between us. I mean that literally, because she lives in a different part of the country, and visits are rare. However, my second sister’s family is another story. I see her, her husband, and her three kids a lot because I’m still within a hundred miles of her. We’re the last holdouts in the American northeast of our clan, with everyone else moving to cheaper areas of the country. That means I’m locally available for Christmas and birthdays, if my two jobs permit me to be around, of course.
I broke things down for my sister to guide her purchasing decision and make everyone happy. They want Pokémon, and they’re still young. Her best option is to purchase a Nintendo 2DS and a copy of the latest game in the series for that specific handheld: Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon. Whichever. That’s their choice, not mine. Ultimately, two 2DS and a copy of Pokémon for each of them comes out to under the price of one Nintendo Switch, which is what she was originally looking to purchase. I rationalized that a Switch is probably not their best “first handheld” because it’s expensive and there isn’t a Pokémon game out for it yet. Also, if they happen to finish that specific Pokémon game sometime soon, there’s a back-catalog of Pokémon games available that work on the system:
My sister thanked me for the help, and my niece and nephew jumped on the line to barrage me with Pokémon questions. “What does Squirtle evolve into?” “What does Cyndaquil evolve into?” “How do you catch a Bulbasaur?” They were very excited. After some time, the phone call ended, and I felt satisfied that I had helped everyone out.
But, there was a significant problem: I haven’t played Pokémon since Generation 2 way back on the Gameboy Color in 2000, when I was 10. I got lucky that I knew the answer to all those questions they just asked, but eventually I’m going to be found out for a fraud. But, if I got the games for myself? That would be an extremely fun thing to share with them! I loved Pokémon as a kid, and I want them to have something they love, too. So, I decided to take my own advice and buy a copy of Pokémon Ultra Sun.
Your Local Game Store is a GameStop, and You Might Hate It
I didn’t have GameStops growing up, but now they’re everywhere. When I officially claimed the video game systems left in my parents’ basement as my own, I had to wait until Christmas to get a new game. When the Christmas edition of the Sears catalog hit, I looked at the games in it and chose one or two (or three or four or five), and Santa somehow made them appear. I didn’t understand how elves knew how to replicate software and put them onto proprietary cartridges. I was like 5, okay? The rare off-season purchase of games happened at Toys R Us. I vividly remember picking the slip for Super Smash Brothers on the Nintendo 64 off the giant wall of paper in the video game aisle and bringing it to check out, and then bringing that slip to an area that can only be described as the “Video Game Cage,” where Toys R Us locked up their extremely expensive electronics. You gave them the slip, they gave you the product, and my younger self didn’t realize how much this transaction looked like an illicit drug deal, nor did I care because I had the game I wanted.
When I was 14 and started working for myself to earn money (in order to buy video games more frequently), I bought from the now-defunct GameCrazy. Attached to my local Hollywood Video rental store, it was the perfect place for someone like me. I could rent a game to my heart’s content on one side, and, if I decided I liked it, I could purchase it at the GameCrazy on the other side. I loved it. During shifts at my job, I would spend breaks there, hanging out for twenty minutes or so playing video games. After work, I’d come back with my freshly-cashed paycheck and buy something. I got involved with tournaments and midnight releases, and I knew the clerks by name. I had friends that hung out at the store and around the strip-mall where it was all located. The clerks helped me brainstorm ideas for a gift for my high-school girlfriend. Pretty much everyone there was in the same World of Warcraft guild. There were parties and barbecues (that I didn’t go to because I was a minor, but they happened). People came and went, and it was a real community.
GameCrazy went under in 2010 while I was away in college. I never got to say goodbye. The very same thing I viewed as a huge advantage, being owned by and attached to a video rental store, was actually the thing that killed it. Hollywood Video, like Blockbuster soon after, could not compete with Netflix and Red Box. GameCrazy was an unfortunate casualty of that conflict. I remember going to check out what was going on at GameCrazy in the summer of 2010 when I got back into from my sophomore year studying, and the store was almost completely empty, save for a folding table in the center with a plastic bin holding whatever games remained. They were on sale for pennies on the dollar, being sold by Hollywood Video as they spun down shop.
A GameStop now sits in the plaza where that GameCrazy sat. I wasn’t there when it opened up, but I can confidently say that I’ve been that specific one three times. The first time was to see what a GameStop was, because, honestly, at that point I had not been inside of a GameStop. The other two times were to pick up games that I don’t remember. But after GameCrazy died, I saw GameStop everywhere. They weren’t pegged to a rental chain like the former, so they made their money primarily selling video games. Specifically, they make it selling used video games. That money is all theirs, whereas a new video game sends money back to the makers of the game. As such, GameStop has always felt like a pawn shop to me. And, with their recent foray into used electronics besides video games, it kind of is! To be fair to them, GameCrazy also bought and sold used games, so they were also kind of a pawn shop. But GameStop never felt local to me. In fact, GameStop gained a reputation for putting smaller game stores, the ones more likely to feel local, out of business. They did this through rapid expansion and corporate buy-outs.
If you’ve been in one GameStop, you’ve been in them all, and you probably have an opinion on it. It’s a very corporate store with a very corporate way of doing things. Every customer interaction is scripted. You will be greeted. You will be asked what you’re looking for today. Depending on your answer, you will either be left alone, or you will be guided to a specific purchase. When you are at the counter, you will be asked if you are a PowerUp Rewards member (I am). You will be asked if there is anything you’re looking to preorder today (I’m not). And, up until recently anyway, you would asked if you wanted to sign up for a GameStop store credit card (I don’t). After you pay, the clerk will circle the customer survey at the bottom of the receipt with highlighter, either yellow or purple. I’ve never seen a store use orange. Then, you’re free. That’s how every transaction goes. It’s an extremely guided sales process where you are directly offered their highest profit-margins (PowerUp membership, preorders) and shunted away from anything else.
If you’re the only person in the store, God help you. You will be asked every five minutes if you’re ok and need help with anything. Every step of the GameStop experience, you’re treated like a money piñata. If you’re not actively making a purchase, you are badgered until you begin making a purchase. Countless people have spoken about the way they’re treated by GameStop employees at length. This is what the employees are trained to do, and they’re ultimately ranked nationally by how many pre-orders they get and how many PowerUp reward memberships they sell. I cannot fault them for doing their job, but it is also the thing that keeps me from shopping more frequently at GameStop. I prefer companies to subtlety treat me like a walking bank account to be exploited, not blatantly. It’s why I preferred shopping at GameCrazy. They had the same metrics, but at no point did I feel like I was having it forced down my throat. I have never once walked out of a GameStop without wishing the clerk didn’t have to ask me all those questions. It’s not their fault.
I don’t like GameStop. I would rather shop online. This opinion is apparently shared by a lot of people because GameStop is shedding assets in order to try to remain in business lately. However, I decided to put my opinions of GameStop aside for a moment to go buy some copies of Pokémon. Today, I favored the idea of having the games now instead of two days from now (Amazon) to save a few bucks. This is the number-one advantage that brick-and-mortar stores still have over online retail currently: instant gratification. It’s why Amazon is trying so hard to open its own line of stores and also reduce shipping delay to the point where impulse purchases arrive too quickly to be cancelled. A purchase where the customer receives the product now is way more likely to occur in the first place than a purchase with a delay. Unfortunately, GameStop’s reputation for pushy-upselling negates that advantage.
I ended up going to two different GameStops. Here are my experiences. I am removing any identifying information.
Store 1: How to win the battle and lose the war
After the phone call with my sister ended, the impulse to make a purchase occurred. I just happened to be off work, so I was going to buy copies of Pokémon today, and no one was going to stop me. In fact, I might buy several Pokémo games. After all, I missed several generations, so I should pick up the ones I missed as well. I got into my car, and I drove about seven minutes to my local GameStop. It was about 10:30AM, so a half hour after they opened. The impulse to buy excessively was still in my mind. I entered the store, and immediately I was greeted. I returned the greeting. It was only myself and the clerk in the store. God help me.
“How can I help you today?” The clerk was enthusiastic, and I had never seen this guy before in my life. I had been in this GameStop a few times in the past while I waited for my car to get serviced a few doors down.. Honestly, it was a GameStop. I told you earlier in this narrative that they’re all the same. This one is no different.
“Well, I’m here to look around.” This answer usually affords you some time on your own. Clerks usually say something along the lines of “well ok let me know if you need help with anything.” However, this was not the case today.
“Is there anything specific that you’re looking for? A specific system?” I didn’t feel like playing a back-and-forth game. It was time to approach The Counter and continue the scripted transaction.
“Well, my niece and nephew are getting into Pokémon, so I was looking to pick up a copy of Ultra Sun.” This is where things went south. I don’t know what it was about me saying Pokémon, but there was a shift in demeanor in the conversation. I was no longer a customer. I was a mark, and this guy was a carnival barker.
“Pokémon! Well, we have a lot of Pokémon games available for a lot of systems. Was there one in particular that you said you were looking for? We have [lists every game in the franchise]” I’m not joking, this guy listed every Pokémon game currently available, including the spin-offs that I didn’t care about, even though I just told him that I wanted Ultra Sun. He had the answer to the riddle, and he decided to try and dazzle me with bullshit. Why?
“Uh, I’ll just take Ultra Sun, thanks.”
“Really? Can I interest you in the Nintendo Switch? Because that’s where Pokémon is going with the next release. You’re going to want your niece and nephew to be up to date!” This guy didn’t even bother asking if I was buying the game for myself. Pokémon is for my niece and nephew only I guess. He immediately moved into trying to upsell me to a Nintendo Switch. He thought I was an idiot who didn’t know anything about video games, so he was trying to take me for a ride.
I was floored. I walked into this GameStop with the product I had in mind, I told the clerk the exact product I wanted to buy, and still I was getting nonsense. The urge to purchase was gone.
“I’ll just buy Ultra Sun, thanks.”
“Let me check to see if I have it in stock. I might not.” The game continued. I know he has it in stock. This is a specialty store, specializing in video games. Saying that you don’t have at least one copy of Pokémon in stock this long after release (Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon released nearly two years ago) is like saying you run a grocery store but you don’t carry Coca-Cola. It’s there. We all know it’s there.
The game was placed in front of me on the counter in a used copy box. I was not given the option to buy it new, even though I actually wanted it new because I like game boxes. Remember, when GameStop sells a used game, they make 100% of that money. He must’ve noticed that I noticed the box, and he said “little kids don’t know the difference don’t worry.” At this point, I just wanted to get through this transaction and get far away from this guy.
“Do you have our GameStop PowerUp Rewards card?” I knew this was coming. My card lapsed in November of 2017. I only bought one thing in a GameStop in 2018, a copy of Punch-Out!! for the Nintendo Wii, so I didn’t bother renewing at the time. I give the guy my phone number and I told him my card was lapsed. “Yes, I can see you let it lapse in November 2017, and you spent 24.99 since you let it lapse. You could’ve saved five dollars on that total, that’s like giving us free money. You should re-up so that doesn’t happen again.”
Is this guy for real? I looked at his name-tag to see if he was a manager. I couldn’t tell because it wasn’t marked, but something else stuck out to me. “GameStop Prestige.” I didn’t know what that meant. Did GameStop get purchased by another company? Are they training people to be assholes now because they’re under another brand? Am I going insane? This is not a normal transaction. This guy is not only trying to fleece as much money out of me as possible, but he was doing so in the rudest way possible. Worse, I don’t think he knew he was being rude. I think he genuinely thought treating someone like this is good customer service because he’s “telling it like it is.”
At the end, this guy got 49.18 out of me: 34.19 for the used copy of Pokémon Ultra Sun, and 14.99 for the PowerUp renewal, and I left the store feeling like I had just been screwed by a used car salesman. None of this sat right with me. The surprised confusion I had in the store started giving way to anger, as it often does when people feel like they’re getting completely blind-sided and taken for a ride. I pulled out my phone to figure out what “GameStop Prestige” was and if it was the answer for why I was treated so poorly.
In a way, it was! Apparently GameStop’s answer to their financial woes is to mark high-performing stores as a “Prestige” store. My local store is a high-earner. They must sell a lot of used games, pre-orders, and PowerUp memberships. If I had known this before the transaction completed, I would’ve told him not to renew my membership because he didn’t deserve the credit for it. Unfortunately, my membership is renewed, the game I bought was used, and every aspect of my purchase met one of that store’s quotas that they’re ranked on. I was the perfect sale. I’m not sure if they care about repeat business, because I will never go back.
Store 2: The Old Corporate-Awful is Actually Better
I was not satisfied with my purchase. In my haste to get out of that transaction, I didn’t even bother looking for other Pokémon games. Worse, I bought the most recent copy of Pokémon. If I had bought the older games instead of the most recent one, I could just go to Wal-Mart to buy it instead of giving GameStop more money, but GameStop is the only store in town that deals in used games. I still wanted to have these games today rather than some other time, so I swallowed my pride and looked up the location of another GameStop, specifically a non-Prestige store. I noted the absurdity: the stores that GameStop marks as their “best” stores may actually be the worst for the customer.
Luckily, there was another GameStop nearby that wasn’t a Prestige store, so I went. As I entered the store, I noticed I was once again the only person there.. God help me. I was greeted according to the corporate script.
“How can I help you today?” This clerk was just as enthusiastic as the other clerk, the only difference being she was a woman while the other guy was a man.
“I’m here to browse your 3DS games.” This wasn’t a lie, but it was also slightly more specific than how I opened at the first store. I hoped to avoid the entire scenario.
“Ok, well, let me know if you need anything. I’ll be here.” Immediate relief. I could look for what I wanted in peace. The desire to purchase returned.
I immediately found a box for Pokémon: Alpha Sapphire on the wall. An actual box. As such, I was willing to buy it used. I began looking around for other generations. At this point, I was diving into the DS lineup rather than the current-system 3DS lineup, so it was extremely limited. I went to the clerk to ask for assistance.
“Do you have a copy of Pokémon: Platinum Edition?” She typed it into her computer system, and they did. Transaction complete. I now had games that I wanted, and I was ready to purchase. As such, the corporate script continued. Am I a PowerUp Rewards member (I am)? Is there anything you’re looking to preorder today (Not today, thank you)? I was not asked if I wanted a GameStop credit card. I guess they got out of that line of business. After I paid, the clerk will circled the customer survey at the bottom of the receipt with a highlighter, purple. Store 1 actually didn’t do that. And then I was free.
This clerk got me for 71.98, both games used. Pure profit for GameStop.
The Metrics Don’t Lie
But, in the end, Store 1 will get the award from GameStop every time because they got my PowerUp renewal. I wish I could cancel it and give it to Store 2. If I ever need to go to GameStop again, I shall bypass the “Prestige” store that is so close to my house in favor of driving the extra distance to go where I feel more comfortable.
Ultimately, that’s what’s driving people out of brick and mortar stores. People do not like feeling like they’re being taken for a ride. It’s not just the convenience of online shopping that people like, it’s also that they’re not hassled. No one is asking them to enter their email address to sign up for the rewards card you’re never going to use. To be fair, online transactions take your email address and spam you just like brick-and-mortar stores, but no one hassled you for it. I went to a Famous Footwear to buy a pair of beater-sneakers to wear around when I don’t feel like ruining my really good ones, and they have a reward program now. I didn’t want to join because I’ve never shopped there before. The other week, I went to a Barnes & Nobles while waiting for my cell phone to be repaired, and I bought a book. The clerk asked me if I wanted to join their reward program, and she got offended when I laughed after she explained that you have to pay order to join! I understand that clerks are only doing their jobs here, but the ridiculous lengths that corporations go to integrate customers into a program that they hope promotes repeat-purchasing is a push factor for why I do most of my shopping online.
My experience today with GameStop ultimately made me less likely to shop there again. In fact, it permanently black-balled one location, so I’ll never shop there ever again! I can’t help but feel like I am not alone with these experiences. Brick and mortar stores forgot the most important thing about customers: they just don’t want to be hassled. That’s why “super stores” like Wal-Mart took over: because customers don’t want to be hassled driving to multiple stores. It’s why online shopping is continuing to dominate: because customers don’t want to be hassled with driving at all.
Hassling your customers is the sure-fire way to lose them, and a lot of corporations’ attempts to create a “welcoming environment” for customers to “experience” and “feel like they belong” ultimately just hassle them.
The guy looking to buy a copy of Pokémon so he can play with his niece and nephew isn’t really looking to be hassled.
