And it all started with a bullet

Usually these posts and their heading don't have nothing to do with one another but this one is a little different. So Bulletstorm a decent enough game and I sort of enjoyed my time with it, but it's time for a trade in and thus the following.


I started checking since Friday for trade-in values for this game and came up with the following Gamestop $20 (mind you the game has been on the market less than 4 days), Best Buy (I didn't even know they did trades) is sitting @ $37 for the trade and Amazon @ $40. In all fairness Gamestop does have a trade in special so you get 50% more so it'll bring the credit up to $30. 


There is a game that is coming out called Homefront which I really want so the trek begins to pre-ordering this game. I look @ the same 3 companies for pre-orders and all of them have pre-order bonuses, so then I look @ trade value vs the best pre-order bonus so I settled on Best Buy because they have a Homefront branded headset as a pre-order bonus. 


Off I go to my local Best Buy(Coral Springs), they have a sign near customer service that says Trade in your used games here for Best Buy gift cards. Now I'm happy because I am going to trade in my game for $37 and reserve the game I want so I can get a pre-order bonus that I don't need but it's also a local store and I don't have to mail it to get a gift card (yeah Amazon I'm talking about you), So the first question the customer service rep asks is if I have my receipt, I say no because all I am doing is trading a game in and not returning. They say in order for us to trade the game in we need to have your Best Buy receipt, so I ask and if I didn't purchase it @ a Best Buy what then? They refer me to the website to do the trade in there or you can go to the other store (Sawgrass) and they can do it there because they are a larger store and all. So I say that doesn't make sense but okay. Now I'm on my way to the other store and lo and behold the customer service representative asks me for my Best Buy receipt, so I begin to explain to this nice young lady that I just drove from the other store and that they say I could trade it in @ this store, she apologized but you know there is nothing she can do really. Now I am really pissed and I leave. 


Now the decision is do I go online and pre-order it from Amazon and do the trade in there as well? Or take the 4 to 7 dollar hit and go to Gamestop which is local. I know this for sure I won't be doing any game related business with Best Buy anymore. A shame really I was looking forward to doing business there as competition is healthy.


As far as Best Buy goes you need to have a sign in-store that states that you accept trades for games that were purchased ONLY @ Best Buy, this way you admit defeat before you even start. 


Do you want to use the Gamestop business model for game trades and reserves? Then learn how to do it. It's not hard really you have the foot traffic just learn how to do it and do it effectively and you can make this a huge part of your bottom line. Remember you are not the only place that people purchase their games and you should know that. Either do it right or don't do it @ all. This is why there different places to shop, and because you have no idea how to handle gamers and those needs you have killed a new gaming customer relationship before it even began. I would rather get less money for a trade and less of a pre-order bonus than to do business there.


Ah Amazon you wicked online temptress. We need a local place that will actually want to compete with Gamestop but they are all too chicken shit to do so, either that or they get bought out by Gamestop.