10 Questions You Should Never Ask A GameStop Employee

Complex - The days of brick and mortar video game retail outlets are numbered. We know it, they know it, everyone knows it. With digital distribution on the horizon with next generation consoles, it's almost certain that the old way of selling video games is rocketing into a collision course with extinction.

[ceballos77mx]

Unless the next gen consoles do block used games I don't think gamestop will go away.
I have 3 gamestops close to home and I've never had a bad experience with the employees, even one time when trading a game an employee offered me more money to buy my game than I was getting as trade in credit.

[Rebo00]

I think if they came up with a new digital download model retail could stick around.
Something like:
Go in store, buy the game, downloads in store with their Fibre connection in a second, you take the USB stick home, plug it in console and it installs. Something like that could work but it is dependant on game sizes getting much bigger and quicker than home broadband speeds getting faster

[Bladesfist]

You say that as if Digital Distribution is not already very successful.

[Rebo00]

No I say that as a means of physical retailers existing when Digital Distribution takes over completely

[TheFallenAngel]

I was going to apply at GameStop but they told me that they don't hire gamers.

[PsnGammer21]

Lol not true they just don't hire till Holliday

[Zcarnut]

Ive been to several over the years and found quite the opposite.And its not just when someone is at the counter asking questions. Ive overheard some really in depth game conversations employees were discussing with themselves (beats walking with the wife into Bath and Body works LOL). Its a video game store.My wife wouldnt last a day working at one. She couldnt tell you the difference between a Angry Bird character or Kratos.
Being in sales myself, I can tell they are trained/pushed? to upsale customers.

[MikeMyers]

That's why I don't ask them anything other than if they have something in stock. Many of them are simply clueless and a few are raging fanboys that give out false information.

[I_LOVE_MYSELF]

I worked at a store called Game. The manager told us that our product knowledge doesn't mean anything as long as you can smile and sell stuff. He also was not a gamer... like in the slightest. .. at all!

[ZapFool]

I used to work for GAME in the UK and 'gutting' was also standard practice there. It wasn't for theft prevention reasons, it was simply stock control. The guts are always sold last so if a customer came to the counter with a case and the sales guy goes to the drawer to grab the game and there is one gut left, they know they're selling the last copy. Once the guts are gone, in theory all the cases are gone from the shelf so there aren't any products being displayed that aren't actually in stock. Issue is; publishers pay stores like GAME to display their titles simply for marketing purposes (whether in stock or not) so you will often walk into a GAME store, pick up a title, only to be told they are sold out. Frustrating stuff. The chart in GAME is paid for, it isn't based on sales numbers at all so if for example Activision pay GAME to display Call of Duty at No.1 in the chart for 4 weeks, then whether or not that title is actually in stock, GAME will have to display dummy cases at No.1 in the chart. You'll often walk into a GAME store on a Thursday evening and see a title in the chart prior to launch with a 'coming soon' sticker on it. Horrible company to work for, I've moved on, up and out of retail now but I sure don't have fond memories of working there.

[I_LOVE_MYSELF]

I have fond memories of working there, but I guess my work buddies made it so enjoyable. Getting to rent the pre owned games was awesome.

[ZapFool]

I worked at GAME for 3 years. I think the mistake I made was accepting a management position, I was SSA in my first year there and DM by the time I left (MTL1 & 2 complete). Being an SA is pretty chill and there used to be nothing better than getting a customer during down time who could hold a good gaming focused conversation. We'd screw around all the time but once you get to a management level on awful pay (as an SSA all you get is £80 a month extra & DM £150) doing 50x the work with 50x the amount to worry and fuss about, it just isn't worth it and admittedly it ruined my perception of a place I used to love working at. GAME was an awesome first job and I will never regret working there, I just would've preffered seeing the light and leaving sooner so the memories weren't so damn tainted.

[DEEBO]

i work at gamestop.it was my my part-time job at first,now it's full-time or my only job.(my wife is the money maker of the family)but anyway,some of the things in this article are right.you have talk about pre-orders,powerup cards, gpg's and trades.like last night at work it was all about the trades.we haven't been meeting our goals on trades and now it's like a big deal.but at the same time we have games that are sitting in the the back of the store,behind the counter and they ship games to us.but it's always something.not enough pre-orders or membership now trades.i feel bad for the people who i work with because this is they only way of income.but i can care less.they turn what could be a fun job into something you hate.and pre-order's has effect on you're hours.so if you are a bad sales man.guess what? you're not getting to work that week.but in reality,you have to do you're best at any job or career you do not just gamestop.but i do like working at gamestop most of the time.so remember,next time you walk-in a gamestop and the employee ask you to pre-order or sign up for the pro card.it's not that he wants to it's because he has no choice.

[Aceman18]

My younger brother is a manager here in one of the nyc stores and he his are gamers. they also have to ask customers if they want to preorder games and stuff because that's how they get payroll for the following weeks.

he tells me there are days he loves going in and days he hates it. he and his associates actually love talking to the customers if they are knowledgeable they say it makes the day go by quick.

[Roccetarius]

Hmm, none of these games are all that challenging on the hardest. Not so surprising that they're enjoyable to the author.