Ask GamerDad 12/24/09
Posted on December 31st, 2008 by
Apologies! Ask GamerDad got lost during the Thanksgiving Holiday, then when I pointed out it hadn’t ran, boom, they runned it. Okay, so here’s the new one. A bunch of big yet short questions. Stuff about Tony Hawk, Used Games, Return Policies, GTA, oh, and why some teens are mystified why they can’t play M-rated games. Go on and read it. Come back here and post. Oh and, nifty new logo, hey?
January 2nd, 2009 at 11:00 am
Love the new logo!
As someone who loves Goozex for trading video games, the whole thing on used games dismays me – I’m right with you on that one! This is one where it is even worse for PC gamers due to DRM.
It really bugs me that a game like Left4Dead can be bought but not returned for credit – but that is common to basically all PC games. The worst thing is that you can’t then trade it away on Goozex because it becomes ‘locked’ to your Steam account … even if you bought the physical copy. I love Steam and the convenience of never needing disks , but it seems that it should be optional to tie it to Steam if you have the physical copy.
And I also agree on return policies – they should be more accomodating, but instead they have been getting stricter! I had bought a game that ended up being a duplicate, but had tossed the receipt in a ‘wallet purge’. Of course, then GameStop wouldn’t touch it … at least I could get store credit at Walmart.
January 2nd, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Great column as always GD. I likey the new logoey too.
But Txaman dude, why would anyone ever want to return Left4Dead? That game owns!
January 2nd, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I was only using it as an example – if you bought the console version you could play then trade, but not so for the PC version because of Steam. It is just another odd restriction we get as gamers mainly due to piracy.
January 4th, 2009 at 10:29 am
I don’t agree that Gamestop should allow returns of opened games without a receipt.
IMO that policy would just be abused. And that’s the reason they do not allow returns without a receipt.
I would recommend a parent resells the game on Ebay or Half.com or Craigslist, etc.
You might not get full price, but you can turn around and buy opened games from those same channels and not pay full price either. So imo it’s a wash.
2 big chains (and probably more) allow limited returns without a receipt which also applies to unopened videogames. Target, for example, allows 2 returns without a receipt a year, but the returns can’t be more than $35 or so says the Target cashier I talked to the other night while I returned 2 kids toys (gifts from grandma) that were around $30 each. (I had to use up my 2 returns without a receipt for the year already because the 2 toys were more than $35 together.) So actually not sure Target even allows returns of unopened videogames anymore given most new ones cost $50+.
Walmart also has a ~2 returns/yr without a receipt last time I checked. With no price limit afaik.
The reason these stores are cracking down is because too many consumers abuse the return policies. It’s probably gotten worse because of online shopping. Consumers buy online and return the product to local shops if not satisfied or changed mind.
January 4th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
The prevailing retail trend before was customer service, generous return policies (pass the cost to manufacturers), guarantees, service with a smile, and doing everything they co to retain costumers.
Today’s view is that customers have to be managed, guided and manipulated into what they don;t want or need. Mind-bogglingly cheap goods shoddily constructed (how many toys have broken at your house last week?). Lines are long, stores peromanenty understaffed and filled with the least qualified people you can find. Modern shopping just makes me never want to go shopping again,
PS: I LOVE the new trend that makes it imposible to buy a kite anyway in February or a heavy coat in the winter.
January 4th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
IMO that policy would just be abused. And that’s the reason they do not allow returns without a receipt.
It would be “abused” because people would figure out a way around Gamestop’s ridiculously low values when trading games or systems in there.
I agree that parents should resell elsewhere, but I really do think Goozex is the best option for game recycling. The majority of my current gen library has been built up by getting rid of old PS1 and PS2 games, games like The Dukes of Hazzard that would be practically worthless on the open market so even a Goozex value of 100 points is a good deal.
January 5th, 2009 at 10:15 am
GD what’s this unmodern shopping that was so good?
I bet your perspective has changed as much as shopping has changed.
I love a good return policy. CostCo had a great one on their TVs, but like anything too generous it will eventually be abused. And so CostCo dropped their generous policy on TVs and now its only 90 days instead of years or forever or something like that. Too many of their customers returned their TVs because they could not because they needed too.
They used to let you return videogames opened or not without a receipt or not too, but eventually that got abused and it stopped.
It’s human nature. First it’s just the rotten apples spoiling it for everyone, but then the other folks start to abuse it too because they can and it doesn’t seem to cost them anything. They don’t learn the cost of their behavior until the generous return policies are canceled years later.
You don’t have to buy cheap goods either. I actually made it a point of buying less more expensive presents for my 7 yr old this xmas. I resisted buying the cheap crap.
If most of America is tired of cheap crap then eventually stores will cater to them. I’m skeptical though because I think cheap prices are America’s #1 love.
WE basically have a “well it broke but it was cheap” mentality.
There’s a small toy store not far from me which generally sells higher quality and more “though provoking” or unusual toys. They also have a knowledgeable owner/employees. You pay a higher price for that though.
The problem is most folks would rather buy 20 cheap things at Walmart than buy 3 or 4 quality items at this store.
America has voted.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Given that I worked in high school and college vacations in the late 70’s / early 80’s in a now-defunct retail store, I wonder … when was this time you speak of GamerDad? 😀
When I worked the return line after Christmas it was a blast, aside from a few real cranks. We would genuinely try to help folks, and the way that was done was having department managers and senior associates working the lines for the first several days.
Return policies have tightened considerably – but look at the path of destruction as low-cost stores have risen to dominate the landscape. America has indeed voted, and the cost of stores looking to compete is to tighten anything that messes with their cash flow, from Gift Cards to returns to anything else.
As I mentioned elsewhere, Barnes & Noble tightened theirs to the point where I had to dispute with a manager to return something that was still shrink-wrapped with a receipt that I had bought only 3 weeks before.
I understand the reasons to not accept open games / movies / CD’s, as copying is definitely an issue … but I think that there needs to be something to deal with addressing content when there is no demo available. Songs have samples, movies have clips, and the only equivalent for games is a demo. But since it is pretty accepted that you can’t return a movie / CD when it is opened just because you decide that the content is not appropriate … so why should it be different for games?
January 5th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Andrew agonizes over these questions. People don’t know it. It’s not worth the money. But this is what makes Andrew happiest. All he wants is a megaphone for his message and to be able to support the Bub family. That is a lot to ask but as a visionary (you wouldn’t belive the stuff Andrew has coreectly predicted and gotten right – he actually hasn;t got anything wrong yet! – so believe in him. HELP HIM! And your doing more for gaming than any other way.
Thanks
Linda
January 6th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Will do GM.
FWIW I agree with GD that companies would be better off keeping customers happy and absorbing piracy as a costr of doing business. Why should gaming get protections other products don’t get? I mean, how many games ship broken or incomplete. We shoiuld be able to return for that reason ALONE!
Yeah, I bought Daggerfall with my allowance. Saved up a long time. Bastard didn’t work, was buggy and broken, and Best Buy told me to go away. Not cool.
January 11th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Do you think that Halo 3 three is appropriate for a 12 year old. I would mute the voices of the online players and I have seen movies like the dark night.
January 12th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Depends on what games you’ve played before. It’s definately a good start if you’re trying to get M-games.
June 12th, 2009 at 8:13 am
how do i get the baby on my baby girl to turn her head at the rattle