GameStop Stock Drops by Over 30% (and falling) - everybody's favorite local place to buy Pop Figures (and maybe video games if they still sell those) is burning down

[IV 445]

I just sold 5 of my old 360 games to them for 3.50 dollars USD.

I don’t know what they are doing, but I feel like that’s part of it

 

[Chichan]

YEARS, last time I was buying soulcaliber 4 used and on sale. Now I usually just go to the exchange, ebay, flee markets which is where I got my N64 for $40. Also steam/origin because I love being fucked over by EA and Valve.

 

[KingofNothing]

Went to a gamestop recently to get a physical switch game because I want to ration out that storage space for a while in case I go crazy on the indie titles. They hit me with a fucking insurance fee that I did not ask for. Fuck that, I'll just go to Best Buy for my physicals. It's out of the way, but at least I'm not getting hit with surprise fees.

 

[Xarpho]

I don't have a lot of sympathy for GameStop.

- Bought up its competitors in the mid-2000s instead of actually trying to compete (EB Games, Rhino Games)
- Sold games as "new" that were already opened or even played
- Ruined ThinkGeek by changing its merchandise mix so dramatically it's hardly the same company
- Physically destroyed games, even classic games, that didn't sell
- Ending trade-ins for older games
- Upselling crap you didn't need
- Awful, dirty stores

That being said, I would have them fix their mistakes then go away entirely. Maybe opening a prototype store...

 

[AsbestosFlaygon]

Literally where?

I've heard the Gamius Stopleupagus is related to the lesser spotted Blockbusting Woodpecker, so when its habitat's threatened they will probably migrate to Oregon, possibly Alaska & Australia.

 

[Ruin]

Every Gamestop I've ever been in has been staffed by either the snarkiest and most disinterested hipster douchbags or bitchy Instagram thots that can't even be bothered to look at you. Apart from the high prices and shitty selection everyone else mentioned they sure don't make any effort to make customers feel welcome either.

 

[Kitty Leaf]

Last time I went, it was so bad. There were less games and they had an entire section selling funko pops, action figures and accessories

 

[Y2K Baby]

- Bought up its competitors in the mid-2000s instead of actually trying to compete (EB Games, Rhino Games)

Lol, that's a silly reason to hate a company.

 

[crocodilian]

Chris's Curse-ye-yo-mama worked.

Chris-chan is going to outlive Gamestop.

 

[Xarpho]

Lol, that's a silly reason to hate a company.

Maybe, but if I'm piling on, I might as well add everything, right? I think competition is generally good, and name ONE example in the last 30 years where a store acquired and rebranded a competitor that didn't result in overall quality (prices, employees, selection, etc.) dropping off a cliff.

 

[Marissa Moira]

I'm trying to think what's left from gamestop for me to get.

When they had Pro Elite I was able to snag a copy of suikoden II complete in package for 50 bucks after discounts. I also napped a complete copy of Persona 2 for the PS1 for 30, Torneliko's Last hope complete for 20, Lufia 2 I nabbed for 25, Turtles in time was 13 bucks, both PS1 Lunar games ran me 40 for the whole set but they just came in their original jewel cases but the second game had the hardcover booklet.

The most expensive was probably spending 80 bucks for both PS1 tales games that came in their cases, Tales of Destiny and Tales of Destiny 2.

Now I had shit like Koudelka from years ago which I got for 8 bucks also I'm one of the few individuals who actually did pay 10 dollars for a copy of earthbound when they were getting rid of SNES games. Like the only reget is maybe not spending 40 bucks on Rule of Rose but I have stuff like all 7 .hack games and Robot Alchemic Drive as well as Steambot Chronicles and a ton of other niche stuff like Chulip.

I've got like half of the US dreamcast library and 2/3rds of the n64 US library. I also got 200 gamecube games including cubivore because gamestop was selling them for pennies. You could walk in with 5 bucks and get 10 games of your choice it didn't matter as long as they were gamecube.

 

[Odie Esty]

I went to a gamestop recently for a job interview () and while it was mostly the same store it had always been there was this bizarre section of toys that just kind of festered in the corner. It was mostly funko pops but they also had statues and shit from anime and comics that seemed relatively cheap. There was a deku statue I thought about picking up but I couldn't find a price tag and thought it'd be tacky to ask when I was there for a job. The last time I was there was a year ago when i traded in some old PS3 games for bayonetta and found a copy of Prey for 17 bucks. Even though I buy games pretty often I usually just buy them digitally so I don't have to actually go out to the store.

 

[NOT Sword Fighter Super]

It's MA'MA!!! IT IS MA'AM!!!

lol, good.

 

[HomeAloneTwo]

Gamestop is sad. It's a toy store where you have to actively look for the video games that are tucked in the corners on the walls.

 

[Picnic_Boy]

If only we'd gotten the extended warranty like they begged us to.

Also, I balk at the notion that GameStop only sells Funko Pops. They also sell Pokemon-themed leg warmers!

 

[Orkeosaurus]

Last time I went they were actively trying to get people to buy shitty fortnite and funko pop merch. Doesn't help that they sell less PC games than Walmart of all places.

 

[Shaved Kiwis]

The last time I tried to shop there was more than a decade ago. Tried purchasing a new copy of Battlefield 2142 and those fuckers tried to sell me an open box. They had no factory sealed copies and the fucker behind the counter even offered to reshrinkwrap the game for me. What good would that do if one of the other goobers working there already stole the CD Key? Frankly I'm more surprised that they're getting destroyed by digital distribution more so than their incompetence.

 

[Overcast]

Last time I was there, they were selling fucking Funko Pop themed cereal.

I'm kinda sad that physical stores in general seem to be going the way of the dinosaur, but I'm kinda glad GameStop is going under.

 

[_blank_]

Jesus why?

Usual scrub reasons - convenience, not wanting to have shelves of DVDs all over my place, etc.

But one of the main reasons is that most games being released this gen I've not been enamored by, at least not to the point where I feel like I might want to play them 10-20 years down the line. Most of them I'll probably play through once, maybe do a little extra backtracking work so I can get more pointless achievements, and then I'll never play it again. No real reason to hold onto it.

I realize physical copies you can resell, but I'm at a place where it's literally a four hour round trip to get to the closest Gamestop - not really worth the time and effort for me to waste half a tank of gas so I can get $15-$20 back. I know Amazon has a game buyback model too, but I've used it and they tried to screw me out of $150 in the past so fuck 'em.

 

[Y2K Baby]

Doesn't help that they sell less PC games than Walmart of all places.

Are you the guy who keeps buying hidden object games