The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)

Also went to CEX this weekend :dread:

When it comes to buying pre-owned, i miss That's Entertainment, as at least with their music CD's, you could actually check the discs before buying to make sure they were fit for purpose.

The last time i bought a pre-owned item from elsewhere (not CEX, but the place was pretty similar), it came from behind the counter and was in such a state, i swear whoever owned it beforehand must have used the damn thing as a coaster.

Victor Mildew wrote:Also went to CEX this weekend

And that's just the staff...

CEX is a scummy shop but it's great if you have a game that you just can't get into. If you trade quickly after release you only lose a couple of pounds too.

Vermilion wrote:When it comes to buying pre-owned, i miss That's Entertainment, as at least with their music CD's, you could actually check the discs before buying to make sure they were fit for purpose.

The last time i bought a pre-owned item from elsewhere (not CEX, but the place was pretty similar), it came from behind the counter and was in such a state, i swear whoever owned it beforehand must have used the damn thing as a coaster.

Buying new from physical retailers isn't really much better. GAME are the worst for gutting brand new copies of games to put them behind the counter, resulting in not only a risk of damage to the disc but them also putting their stupid strawberry floating stickers directly onto the box that you end up destroying the box getting off. But even indie retailers are getting as bad for this lately too.

If you want to buy a new game then you've pretty much got no choice but to buy online if you want to make sure you're getting an actually undamaged, shrinkwrapped product. The only time a physical retailer will be able to do that is if you're buying the latest CoD or Fifa within the first week or two of release.

I remember when GAME was Electronica Boutique and they had the 10 day return policy. I would buy a new game and if it was a cartridge it would have a save already on it.

I would have been furious but I used that service so much it was basically free rental.

Game retailers breaking open new games and stuffing them in a drawer was never a good thing (and I say that having worked in games retail). Arguably once the seal is broken and the disc removed it's actually no longer new. Arguably.

Lagamorph wrote:Buying new from physical retailers isn't really much better. GAME are the worst for gutting brand new copies of games to put them behind the counter, resulting in not only a risk of damage to the disc but them also putting their stupid strawberry floating stickers directly onto the box that you end up destroying the box getting off. But even indie retailers are getting as bad for this lately too.

Woolworths used to be terrible for doing that back in the day, you'd buy a supposedly new CD/DVD only to find it scratched and damaged (even on the first day of release).

Lagamorph wrote:If you want to buy a new game then you've pretty much got no choice but to buy online if you want to make sure you're getting an actually undamaged, shrinkwrapped product. The only time a physical retailer will be able to do that is if you're buying the latest CoD or Fifa within the first week or two of release.

You wouldn't think it, but the best physical retailer for games is actually Argos.

The prices are decent, and most importantly, their games are always (even older releases) untouched and still in their shrink wrap.

Godzilla wrote:I remember when GAME was Electronica Boutique and they had the 10 day return policy. I would buy a new game and if it was a cartridge it would have a save already on it.

I would have been furious but I used that service so much it was basically free rental.

Game and EB were separate before the merger. Game only started doing the 10 day to be competitive with EB, if I remember correctly.

That 10-Day return was incredible.

I'm amazed it lasted as long as it did really.

Was amazing during my Uni days. Buy a PS2 game, play it in the PS2 labs between lectures/classes, return within 10 days for a different PS2 game.

What's the difference between new and as-new, unless you're keeping it shrink-wrapped for collection purposes only?

Corazon de Leon

In the early days of Xbox 360 is was magnificent. Bought Avatar, smashed through it in fifteen minutes, returned it for Fight Night, best that in a day, returned it for FIFA 06, etc etc.

Corazon de Leon wrote:In the early days of Xbox 360 is was magnificent. Bought Avatar, smashed through it in fifteen minutes, returned it for Fight Night, best that in a day, returned it for FIFA 06, etc etc.

That was pretty much me but in the Gamecube era.

Anecdotally walking through town is utterly dead in the evenings. Far more so that Jan is usually.

OrangeRKN wrote:keeping it shrink-wrapped for collection purposes

It's not just shrink wrapped games which can be kept for 'collection purposes'.

OrangeRKN wrote:What's the difference between new and as-new, unless you're keeping it shrink-wrapped for collection purposes only?

GAME have never been known for their delicate touch. Whenever I've bought new games there, the contents of the cases were just tossed with abandon into a draw behind the tills, which meant they usually had scuffed manuals at best, and scratched, finger-marked discs at worst.

Plus those massive price stickers are a twat to get off the cases.

Gemini73 wrote:Was in CEX today. Lots of people trading, few spending. Also I noticed that a lot of their prices have increased, with some games I had my eye on the previous week now being £3-5 dearer.

Profits taken a hit I wonder...

It’s because it’s January and people don’t have money so they trade more, so you increase game prices which means people get more for their trades. Then they’ll knock them back down again. I asked about this with Switch consoles in there which have sky rocketed, and they said it’s because they need stock in so a higher sale price gives a higher trade pricez

Vermilion wrote:
Lagamorph wrote:Buying new from physical retailers isn't really much better. GAME are the worst for gutting brand new copies of games to put them behind the counter, resulting in not only a risk of damage to the disc but them also putting their stupid strawberry floating stickers directly onto the box that you end up destroying the box getting off. But even indie retailers are getting as bad for this lately too.

Woolworths used to be terrible for doing that back in the day, you'd buy a supposedly new CD/DVD only to find it scratched and damaged (even on the first day of release).

Lagamorph wrote:If you want to buy a new game then you've pretty much got no choice but to buy online if you want to make sure you're getting an actually undamaged, shrinkwrapped product. The only time a physical retailer will be able to do that is if you're buying the latest CoD or Fifa within the first week or two of release.

You wouldn't think it, but the best physical retailer for games is actually Argos.

The prices are decent, and most importantly, their games are always (even older releases) untouched and still in their shrink wrap.

Got to agree with this if you’ve taken it out of the box unsealed it it’s now second hand no? Dropped £50 on a switch game for a Xmas present only to be given it piece by piece unsealed.

One issue i always had with Woolworths, was that if i dared to suggest upon receiving my item (and checking it) that my new (day 1) release disc had issues (and needed replacing) thanks to the presence of really bad scratches and fingerprints, the staff would act as if I was the problem.

Looking back, you can kinda see why they ended up closing.

The Retail Apocalypse (Incorporating Casual Dining Closures)

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