Gamestop - False advertising??

Y2J_MUFC

I went into Gamestop yesterday to buy FIFA'09, I seen that sticker on the cover "Trade in any 2 games and get this for 9.99.", so I went off and decided to trade in 2. Went up to the counter and handed in the two games and FIFA and your man told me, oh, the offer won't work with those two games. I told him the sticker said ANY two games. Yes, any two games once they will give you 37 euro for them. Thats not ANY two games, at which point i should have said, actually, screw it so, I'll just go to Xtravision.

I ended up trading in two, and still paying 37 quid in Gamestop, 27 more than i had anticipated, and 27 more than advertised! Now unless i missed some fine print on that sticker, this is false advertising. Anyways, I hope they enjoyed the extra 27 quid, because that is the last time I will buy a game there. I'll be taking my money for Gears 2, COD 5, Saints Row 2, Pro Evolution 2009 else where.

yoyo

Y2J_MUFC wrote: »

I went into Gamestop yesterday to buy FIFA'09, I seen that sticker on the cover "Trade in any 2 games and get this for 9.99.", so I went off and decided to trade in 2. Went up to the counter and handed in the two games and FIFA and your man told me, oh, the offer won't work with those two games. I told him the sticker said ANY two games. Yes, any two games once they will give you 37 euro for them. Thats not ANY two games, at which point i should have said, actually, screw it so, I'll just go to Xtravision.

I ended up trading in two, and still paying 37 quid in Gamestop, 27 more than i had anticipated, and 27 more than advertised! Now unless i missed some fine print on that sticker, this is false advertising. Anyways, I hope they enjoyed the extra 27 quid, because that is the last time I will buy a game there. I'll be taking my money for Gears 2, COD 5, Saints Row 2, Pro Evolution 2009 else where.

I'm sure that sticker has a "Terms and Conditions apply" mark like Xtra Visions does, If you think about it they couldnt make money on this campain if they got hundreds of copies of perfect dark, crackdown, halo etc... They more than likely have a T&C apply

Nick

Cpt Tremendous

yeah Gamestop do have a Terms and Conditions policy on all trade in games, im not exactly 100% sure on how it works but it is somethin along the lines of the games being traded must be of a certain re sale value, this isnt stated clearly in store or even on their website http://www.gamestop.ie/tradein_policy.asp notice how the very last line says 'Terms and Conditions Apply' and seeing as these terms and conditions were not clearly explained to you at the time of purchase you DO in fact have a case against them!

Y2J_MUFC

yoyo wrote: »

I'm sure that sticker has a "Terms and Conditions apply" mark like Xtra Visions does, If you think about it they couldnt make money on this campain if they got hundreds of copies of perfect dark, crackdown, halo etc... They more than likely have a T&C apply
Nick

Woah, back up the truck. If they advertise "Trade in ANY 2 games", surely to God, it's not legal (or at very least, its absolutely scumbag behavior) that under terms and conditions (which I don't think are printed on that little sticker), surely to God one of the conditions can't be "Actually lads, its not any two games like we advertised, its actually ANY two games that we are willing to pay you a certain price for, which actually isn't ANY two games is it? Oh, too bad, theres actually no deal and we just lured you in, up to the counter, cash in hand, game you want to purchase in hand, so you might aswell just give us the money anyway". Thats just not right. Scum. Bags.

I agree that they wouldn't make money from it, but again, that is their problem, not the consumers.

yoyo

Y2J_MUFC wrote: »

Woah, back up the truck. If they advertise "Trade in ANY 2 games", surely to God, it's not legal (or at very least, its absolutely scumbag behavior) that under terms and conditions (which I don't think are printed on that little sticker), surely to God one of the conditions can't be "Actually lads, its not any two games like we advertised, its actually ANY two games that we are willing to pay you a certain price for, which actually isn't ANY two games is it? Oh, too bad, theres actually no deal and we just lured you in, up to the counter, cash in hand, game you want to purchase in hand, so you might aswell just give us the money anyway". Thats just not right. Scum. Bags.

I agree that they wouldn't make money from it, but again, that is their problem, not the consumers.

Well I am no expert, but if there was no T&C apply mentioned anywhere in the ad, you mite have a case, I bet somewhere in the fine print of the ad there was T&C apply or something though!

Nick

Fingleberries

It's always in their small t&c ... value of traded games must be over a certain value. Sneaky, but it's there nonetheless. I don't approve of it either.

chrislad

I don't think T+Cs are mentioned on the stickers. I've noticed it once or twice when I've traded, but I've yet to reach these levels of passion or caring

Helix

the sticker has an asterisk beside it in the top right hand corner iirc

Y2J_MUFC

Well, I usually wouldn't care, but having to pay an extra 27 quid, especially with such a good lineup of games still to come, I could have done without paying that extra.

Even if it says T&C apply on the sticker, they aren't posted up in the shop, and they aren't on the website. I mean, where do we find them out??? They basically have a free license to do whatever they want when you buy a game. Sure they could have any T&C they like then when they aren't documented. What a load of cock...

They may have gotten me to pay extra, but they'll actually be losing money in the long run. Boycott ftw, Xtravision my game supplier in chief :rolleyes:

Helix

the terms are listed on any of the posters for the offer

afaik its something along the lines of "games must be of acceptable value" or something

anyway fact is, the offer has terms, and theyre not hidden

you just didnt look

also, you were just unlucky, ive traded in some awful turd and never had a problem. it just depends on who is behind the til from my experience

F-Stop

Well every where does this sort of thing. It's sneaky, but not a big shock and your best bet is to actually ask before hand what sort of games would be valid for the offer. You' hardly expect to get the offer for, say, PGR3 and Prey, would you?

Anyway, I hate Gamestop. I hate most of the bricks and mortar retailers. Gamesnash is the only seller I have had consistently good experiences with, but it's not always practical buying online. They do fairly decent trade ins though.

chrislad

Regardless, they do not print the terms and conditions for anyone to see. I did ask to see them once, and I was just told that games had to be a certain price. I asked for a price list for acceptable games, and I was told I couldn't have one. It's a bit ****ty, especially since the PS3/Wii offers are trade in 2, get 1 free.

As with all trade ins, it's best to shop around. I find XtraVision are the most consistent and give the best values. Got 120 for 4 games I would have taken 60 for!

CCCP^

There was a point when Gamestop didn't even have the T&C notice on the stickers. They are a mess of a company

Helix

chrislad wrote: »

As with all trade ins, it's best to shop around. I find XtraVision are the most consistent and give the best values. Got 120 for 4 games I would have taken 60 for!

absolutely

xv is the best in the country for games in terms of bricks and mortar imo

Guy:Incognito

Y2J_MUFC wrote: »

? They basically have a free license to do whatever they want when you buy a game. Sure they could have any T&C they like then when they aren't documented. What a load of cock...:

Yes they can and are well entitled to. They own the game, they get to make the terms of sale, you can choose to buy or not.

Y2J_MUFC

Helix wrote: »

the terms are listed on any of the posters for the offer

anyway fact is, the offer has terms, and theyre not hidden

you just didnt look

That's total, total BS. They've got two displays, one in each side of their small windows, one with some wii stuff and the other with FIFA, there isn't one T or C on the poster, all it says is out Friday October 3rd. No small print. There are no specific posters about the offer either, only the small stickers on the game boxes.

There's _no_ listings of T&C in the store (or on the website for that matter).

elekid

To be honest they're scum for making you pay €9.99 on top of the two games you're already trading in, I was disgusted when I saw that and I haven't been back in Gamestop since. Smyths still allow you to trade in 2 games to get 1 with no extra charge last time I checked but they also only take games above a certain value.

The lists of which games are and aren't valid for these offers should be available somewhere, otherwise you end up taking pot luck and having to hope the two games you have with you are acceptable. Surely if there are such restrictions the stickers should read "Trade in 2 games..." not "Trade in any two games...", otherwise it's definitely an attempt to mislead.

Y2J_MUFC

Stekelly wrote: »

Yes they can and are well entitled to. They own the game, they get to make the terms of sale, you can choose to buy or not.

You've missed the point. My point is that they can have any sneaky term they want. Leaving that aside, when you're at the counter with your cash and game you want in hand and lets say not near another game store, how many people are actually going to say, "Actually, no thanks - I will do without the game I've waited for, for ages". BS. Yes you're free to walk away, but its completely sneaky and underhanded.

Perfect fit

well now in fairness in this day and age who really expects to get away with somethin so cheap or think there is no t&c's on something like this!! ever heard the saying if it sounds too good to be true it probably is

F-Stop

True, they can have any sneaky t&c's that they want. That's why I won't buy from them. There are Irish companies that sell games, and do trade ins at a fair price. There are alternatives to these crappy greedy scam artists. So stop complaining and get on with it.

ageary08

Gamestop are a right shower, they used to be my first choice back in the days of the orginal xbox as they tended to have some decent prices on preowned games compare to the others. I dunno if the other stores just got better or they got worse. I remeber I got my elite in gamestop, it was around the same price as other stores, but the deal clincher for me was 100 euros in vouchers. I knew they were for small amounts like 5 euro, I thought over a space of some time I would use them. It turned out the bloody vouchers were to expire in two weeks, probably cos they were using the same voucher sheet for years, cheeky bastards didnt bother updating them. Not that it matters, I dont think I have brought a single game from them since.

Podge2k7

Last Jan or Feb i went in with COD 3 and The Darkness.I could of got €9 each i think but the las behind the counter said i could pick a game so i got COD4 on PS3!Happy times:D

Y2J_MUFC

Good work Podge!!!

F-Stop wrote: »

So stop complaining and get on with it.

Yes, and saying nothing is exactly we're known as rip of Ireland, because nobody ever says anything about rip off's or scams and just gets on it

That's a ****e attitude, sure how about we continue to let people rip us off, eh? Lets say nothing. Sure why would we want money? It'd be much better is some scam artists pocket if you ask me. That's completely solid logic, isn't it? FFS

Perfect fit

Y2J_MUFC wrote: »

Good work Podge!!!




Yes, and saying nothing is exactly we're known as rip of Ireland, because nobody ever says anything about rip off's or scams and just gets on it

That's a ****e attitude, sure how about we continue to let people rip us off, eh? Lets say nothing. Sure why would we want money? It'd be much better is some scam artists pocket if you ask me. That's completely solid logic, isn't it? FFS

or dont be so niave, wake up and use a bit of cop-on to not get ripped off in the first place!! realistly did you honestly think you could stroll in with any 2 old games and get a new one. Gamestop are a big company do you not think they have more than likely spent millions on there policies and procedures to make sure what they advertise is 100% within there rights and not misleading rather than risk a lawsuit from every customer that walks threw the door.

its people that think they can get such deals with out using there head that allows for other companies to rip people off, theres one born every minute!!

Kurtosis

Y2J_MUFC wrote: »

Yes, and saying nothing is exactly we're known as rip of Ireland, because nobody ever says anything about rip off's or scams and just gets on it

That's a ****e attitude, sure how about we continue to let people rip us off, eh? Lets say nothing. Sure why would we want money? It'd be much better is some scam artists pocket if you ask me. That's completely solid logic, isn't it? FFS

Well if you feel so strongly about it, why did you go ahead with the transaction? This is what people do, go ahead and give their business to anyone, regardless of value for money, but then go and complain to their friends/internet people afterward. A greater impact would be made if you refused their offer, made your feelings known to the store manager and walked out of there.

On the point of the Terms and Conditions not on show, did you ask what were the terms of the offer? The usual for this is the games must reach a certain trade in value - usually about 30 something euro. Then it's just a case of asking how much of a trade in you'd get for games you own and then picking two that will reach the required amount.

jill_valentine

Being the high flying captain of industry that I am, I've worked in quite a number of game shops, and can say that actually, all of the big three game shops have a minimum value policy, specifically designed to keep out games like PGR, Halo, Perfect Dark, Kameo, Brute Force... etc, all the crap they'd never, ever sell.

S_myths might be a bit slapdash about enforcing it, but that's because they're horrible employers and have the staff turnover rate of a Chinese gold mine. They do have a minimum value policy of 30 quid per game.

Do ask for the terms and conditions.

Do Not bother asking the employees what games are in the offer, because they won't know until they scan the games in on the till.

Do have the games you're thinking of trading in with you to value, and tell the employee in advance whether you're looking for cash, credit or both.

Do Not be rude to the employees either, they can get the heads eaten off them at the end of the day if they've taken in undervalue games, and have to abide by their employer's rules regardless of how much sense they do or don't make.

Y2J_MUFC

penguin88 wrote: »

Well if you feel so strongly about it, why did you go ahead with the transaction?

Game in hand, cash in hand at the counter, no access to another game store before COB, unwilling to wait another day to play the game I've been looking forward to for months.

penguin88 wrote: »

This is what people do, go ahead and give their business to anyone, regardless of value for money, but then go and complain to their friends/internet people afterward.

I don't see any harm in making people aware, that ANY two games, doesn't mean ANY two games, do you? Word of mouth is more effective/damaging than bitching to a couple of employees/managers who don't actually come up with the ad's, or have the power to change them and who don't give a **** in the first place. If you think that's a better strategy, fair play and good luck to you.

On a separate note, it's amazing how people will always defend things like this. I've no problem with a min trade-in value. Bottom line, if an offer says "trade in any two games", it should mean just that. Otherwise, it's a load of cock and false advertising.

Kurtosis

Y2J_MUFC wrote: »

Game in hand, cash in hand at the counter, no access to another game store before COB, unwilling to wait another day to play the game I've been looking forward to for months.

Well, that's the price one has to pay for not shopping around.

I don't see any harm in making people aware, that ANY two games, doesn't mean ANY two games, do you? Word of mouth is more damaging than bitching to a couple of employees/managers who don't actually come up with the ad's, or have the power to change them and who don't give a **** in the first place. If you think that's a better strategy, fair play to you.

I'm not saying you have to exclusively complain in the shop and then never mention it again, feel free to walk up the road, get on your soapbox and start venting, but at least say something to a manager in the place or register your displeasure somehow. I'm not saying have a go at the part timer behind the counter, be polite, ask to speak to the manager and if they're not around, ask for them to phone you when they're in. The staff are never to know that you had any problem if you go ahead and buy the thing and don't say anything about it. If you present your complaint in a calm and logical way to a person in authority in the shop, they might even be able to compensate you in some way.

On a separate note, it's amazing how people will always defend things like this. I've no problem with a min trade-in value. Bottom line, if an offer says "trade in any two games", it should mean just that. Otherwise, it's a load of cock and false advertising.

Look, Gamestop are a big company and have been running such offers for a good few years, if there was anything dodgy about this deal I'm sure it would have come to light long ago. They're going to have themselves covered legally even, if it's just the T&Cs in microscopic lettering on their posters.

Kinetic^

I went to Smyths with Call of Duty 4 today. They offered me €12!! :eek: I went to xtra vision and they gave me €30. Shop around.

/thread

Y2J_MUFC

penguin88 wrote: »

Well, that's the price one has to pay for not shopping around.

Point. Proven. Exactly.

Why would you shop around when there is such a fantastic offer a Gamestop? Falsely drawing in customers.

Perfect fit

Y2J_MUFC wrote: »

Point. Proven. Exactly.

Why would you shop around when there is such a fantastic offer a Gamestop?

shop around as in ASK in differnet places the value of the games or the offers that are on!!

Y2J_MUFC

Perfect fit wrote: »

shop around as in ASK in differnet places the value of the games or the offers that are on!!

When i see the word any as part of an offer, i generally take it to mean, any. Not some.

Also:

jill_valentine wrote: »

Do Not bother asking the employees what games are in the offer, because they won't know until they scan the games in on the till.

Thats probably sound advice.

jill_valentine

Yeah folks, ask. And if you do ask, and you're not impressed, by all means go elsewhere. Staff really, really don't mind if you don't go through with it, so don't feel embarrassed or obliged to go through with a purchase or trade just because you've gotten as far as the till.

The trade in value of a game is dictated by how much it can be resold for - not how new it is, or what kind of condition - and that varies from store to store. One shop might be able to sell a dozen copies of a game that might sit on the shelf for months elsewhere; Smyths has a different customer base than Game, Game has a different customer base to Gamestop, etc, so . In the centre of Dublin at least, the Big Three are all within five minutes of each other, so plan to shop around and allow for it.

And hey, you can still phone them and complain.
01 813 5350

Helix

Y2J_MUFC wrote: »

Yes, and saying nothing is exactly we're known as rip of Ireland, because nobody ever says anything about rip off's or scams and just gets on it

That's a ****e attitude, sure how about we continue to let people rip us off, eh? Lets say nothing. Sure why would we want money? It'd be much better is some scam artists pocket if you ask me. That's completely solid logic, isn't it? FFS

no, YOUR attitude is the **** one here. and YOUR attitude is why we're known as rip off ireland

Helix

also worth pointing out, the ads DONT say any 2 games

they say 2 games

Kurtosis

Y2J_MUFC wrote: »

Even if it says T&C apply on the sticker, they aren't posted up in the shop, and they aren't on the website. I mean, where do we find them out???

Having just checked their site, a quick click on the special offers button yielded this:

Xbox 360 Trade-In Offer

Trade in two 360 games and get a new one for €9.99. Total trade in must be over €40.
Terms and conditions apply.

There you go, minimum trade in value publicised.
/thread

Y2J_MUFC

Helix wrote: »

also worth pointing out, the ads DONT say any 2 games

they say 2 games

No. The ones in my local one say any. I swear you'd try to tell me black was white.

Fair enough, it says on the wrong 40 quid. I stand corrected on that one. There is still no mention in store however. Also, i was given the wrong info in the store then, as they told me it was 37, not 40.

Y2J_MUFC

Helix wrote: »

no, YOUR attitude is the **** one here. and YOUR attitude is why we're known as rip off ireland

Please explain. I'd love a good laugh... :P

I've popcorn at the ready. Don't disappoint

Helix

youre the one who walked into a shop, was given a price you didnt agree with and thought was a rip off, and STILL paid it

youre exactly the person the rip off republic thrives on

CiDeRmAn

Why is it these types of threads, and there have been many, always descend into Gamestop bashing after the initial *injured* party has parted with his money?
Does he/she feel like such a fool that they have to then turn GS/XV or whatever into some demonic corp. that exploits their hard earned resources and lies to them at every turn?

Well, of course they exploit you for your money, that's what business is for, and no they are not lying to you, just posting an attractive carrot to get into the store and presenting you with a choice, both if the games are of the value needed or not.
No one is making you take part in a transaction against your will, you are free to leave and shop elsewhere, and yet, in this instance your desire to have a copy of FIFA made you, and only you spend more cash than you had intended.
So, all the decisions were yours and you made them and in hindsight you now feel it was the wrong one to make.

You know what, tough.
You are an adult, or approaching adulthood, and as such you are responsible for these things.
And if you feel hard done by in this instance, the future is full of far more important things to figure out and far more hurtful moments of "Why did I do that" and "If I could do it again I would have said this or that".

Live with it, learn from it and for heavens sake stop whining about it!

Y2J_MUFC

Helix wrote: »

youre the one who walked into a shop, was given a price you didnt agree with and thought was a rip off, and STILL paid it

youre exactly the person the rip off republic thrives on

So what you are really saying is that you haven't been reading earlier posts where this was explained then? No point going around in circles yet again.

Judging by the initial response, I'm not the only one who dislikes Gamestop, awareness raised, job done.

VinLieger

Its simple gamestop are a shower of *****, they rip you off left right and centre. They are the only major retailer whio still require a deposit on any game pre-ordered, they are generally acknowledged to have the most expensive games across the board, apart from the little one time deals they do which surprise surprise nobody can ever avail of because the terms and conditions, which they dont advertise or publish, pretty much require you to sell your soul to them.
Its simple if your looking for value and a company who doesnt try to **** you over at every turn dont shop at gamestop they are a big pile of ****

Gamesnash.ie: Pat

F-Stop wrote: »

Well every where does this sort of thing. It's sneaky, but not a big shock and your best bet is to actually ask before hand what sort of games would be valid for the offer. You' hardly expect to get the offer for, say, PGR3 and Prey, would you?

Anyway, I hate Gamestop. I hate most of the bricks and mortar retailers. Gamesnash is the only seller I have had consistently good experiences with, but it's not always practical buying online. They do fairly decent trade ins though.

Thank you for the vote of confidence We are working out the logistics of doing a similar offer ourselves but with a clearly defined list of games up on display - as per the current PS3 game trade in deal we are running. The problem with the XBOX console is that there are a lot more pre owned games floating around which brings the value down making it quite difficult to get a viable offer running.

Deliverance XXV

Gamestop are out to make a profit. End of.

Julez

Was in today, it says on the sticker any two games, it did however say terms and conditions apply. To be fair, it shouldn't say any two games really, its quite misleading.

I'm sorry, but if you are so apparently annoyed at it, then why did you pay the money? Wouldn't it have made more sense to just go to a different shop and see what trade-in value you can get there, instead of paying the extra and complaining about it afterwards?

I have to agree with other people; shop around. Was trying to find Bioshock for cheap around Galway - Game.stop had it for 28euro, Smyths had it for 20euro and then hey presto, I found it in Game for only 12euro. Happy days. And as another poster stated- they're out to make a profit.

Actually I was discussing with someone that works in a Computer Games shop about the trade-in value. Xbox 360's/PS3's are the worst for holding on to their value. Which is why the COD4 you spent 60euro on, is only worth maybe 12euro a month later. However Nintendo DS games hold on to it for a lot longer.

Oh, and if you believe that they are being misleading or false advertising, do something about it. Report them.

hottstuff

Deleted User wrote: »

I'm sorry, but if you are so apparently annoyed at it, then why did you pay the money? Wouldn't it have made more sense to just go to a different shop and see what trade-in value you can get there, instead of paying the extra and complaining about it afterwards?

I have to agree with other people; shop around. Was trying to find Bioshock for cheap around Galway - Game.stop had it for 28euro, Smyths had it for 20euro and then hey presto, I found it in Game for only 12euro. Happy days. And as another poster stated- they're out to make a profit.

Actually I was discussing with someone that works in a Computer Games shop about the trade-in value. Xbox 360's/PS3's are the worst for holding on to their value. Which is why the COD4 you spent 60euro on, is only worth maybe 12euro a month later. However Nintendo DS games hold on to it for a lot longer.

Oh, and if you believe that they are being misleading or false advertising, do something about it. Report them.

Totally agree.
Which is why some games end up on the pre-owned shelf , literally hours after release.

ROC1977

Gamestop is expensive to buy an rubbish to trade in. Rockband 75 euros in gamestop and 60 in Argos. Pre owned COD4 in gamestop is 60 euro. And all you'll get on a trade in is 25 at best. Trade in is massive business these days. Imagine by COD4 new 70-75 euros. Trade it in 3 months later get 20 back, and buy it again for 60. Thats 110-115 euros gamestop just made for one game. So even if you trade in 2 games to get one for 10 euro. Those 2 games you traded will make over 100 on resale plus the 10 you gave for the new game. Win win for gamestop, loose loose for you. Video games are too expensive anyway, 70 odd euro for a dl dvd. 30 -40 euro would be reasonable. But prices now are getting to be a joke. I could understand when DL DVD's were expensive, and can even understand way BR is expensive. But come on game prices need to drop, profits in gaming are higher than almost if not most forms of media. No wonder people pirate.

FutureGuy

Kinetic^ wrote: »

I went to Smyths with Call of Duty 4 today. They offered me €12!! :eek: I went to xtra vision and they gave me €30. Shop around.

/thread

Xtravision are usually the best place for trade-ins. Traded in 2 games for 54 last week, compared with about 40 for the other stores.

Wen't into Smyths one day and they told me I can get any game for free if I trade in two games and 10 euro. :rolleyes:

L'prof

Y2J_MUFC wrote: »

So what you are really saying is that you haven't been reading earlier posts where this was explained then? No point going around in circles yet again.

Judging by the initial response, I'm not the only one who dislikes Gamestop, awareness raised, job done.

No, I'll never buy a game in there again! I bought Fifa 09 on release day in there for €60 as I thought the best I would get it for anywhere would be €55 and I just wanted to pick up the game. Later on, I was in HMV and the same game was €48...wish I hadn't thrown away the receipt, I'm pretty sure Gamestop will match any price in town, but I bought Tiger Woods 09 while in HMV for €38, which was priced at €60 in Gamestop.

Basically, I don't have time to shop around and usually buy games online for value (just didn't want American commentators on Fifa).

ROC1977

Still Andy Gary and Martin Tyler on US Fifa.