[aislephive]

[ QUOTE ]
Why is this thread still going?

1) The games at blockbuster are used. The games at gamestop aren't. Blockbuster can rent out 1 used game for a hundred times, and make $500 profit. Gamestop would go out of business if they did this, since noone would buy games and just rent them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Whether the games are new or not is hardly a factor if you're keeping the game for a week.

[ QUOTE ]

2) Gamestop's customer base is kids. Teenagers, and poor people in their early 20s. Basically people without a lot of discretionary income. You can't argue that "most people wouldn't abuse this policy", are you kidding me? Any kid would. I would. I don't know where you live, or what socioeconomic background you come from, but I personally and a lot of my friends who are in their early 20s do abuse various store return policies. I have on occasion bought clothes and returned them after wearing. I do this often with books, since the library books are old and crappy. For most stores, this kind of [censored] is built into the price. For stores that market to teenagers, having no return policy outweighs the cost of having one.


[/ QUOTE ]

If somebody wants to abuse the ability to return games for a small fee, Blockbuster is infinitely easier and more practical to do for a number of reasons. First off, you don't have to spend the amount of a brand new game to begin with to scam them out of a few bucks. Secondly, since their games are used and sometimes scratched to the point that they don't play, it is very easy to abuse their store policy by claiming that games don't work for you.

Actually, I take that back. I emailed GameStop/EBGames a day ago or so and they just emailed me back. Here is their response to my situation:

-----
Dear xxxx,
Thanks for writing in.

We appreciate your feedback and are sorry to hear that you are dissatisfied with our return policy. If I could make a suggestion, consider trying our "used" product. It comes with a fantastic return policy for our customers that aren't quite sure if they'll like the game.

True - Like any other retailer, you can't return an opened new game or CD, etc. But, with our used game exchange/return policy, you can do this for any reason within 7 days.

I hope this helps clarify our policy and empowers you with the information so that you'll be in a better position next time you are unsure about a game purchase.

Best Regards,
Daniel
GameStop.com

----

Man, how ironic is that? As it turns out they do have a policy that is ridiculously easy to abuse, just for used games instead. All things considered it's even easier currently at GameStop than Blockbuster to abuse their return policy.

I almost forgot about your first point in your post.

"Gamestop would go out of business if they did this, since noone would buy games and just rent them."

Awesome.


[ QUOTE ]
There's a reason that MOST big chain stores have these policies. They aren't idiots. They have analysts and consultants that have beat the issue to death and concluded that this was probably the most +EV policy to have. It wasn't like some douchebag one day was like "Haha, no returns!!" If a big corporation has a policy like this, it's because it's been researched to be the most profitable policy to have. Yes, they lose business from people like you, but the benefits of having this policy outweigh the benefits of having your business.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've gotta admit, the more I think about my proposed return policy for new games, the crazier it sounds. I'll go sit in a corner now.