When I used to do car-boot sales I used to walk around and buy really cool stuff for cheep, then sell them for double on my own table.

Then they'd get their kids to rob it back, which would result in myself robbing it back from them.

This would usually go on all morning, until the organizers/police stepped in.

I'm not aloud to do them any more :S.

Dayvie

That kidna behaviour on the part of the retailers is really low imo. Reminds me of when the Wiimotes came out and got bought up by everyone just to sell them on Amaon and eBay for twice the RRP. Was really disgusting to see people without the consoles buy them jsut to make a cheap buck and ruin things for everyone.

Really really disapointed by this news and glad I avoid these companies already.

CukyDoh

Wow. That is highly fucked up, it seems you just can't find a decent games only store. I understand its a buisness and it wants your money, but still. The Dickosity of this is astonishing.

(credit to Deus_EpS for the word dickosity)

Neo-Senku: The World's Finest Pervert

My Mummy picked up a 60GB today for my nephew. After her nectar points and staff discount was taken into account it totaled;
£122 =)

We worked it out, that if you buy the controller, hdd, headset and lead cables. The console itself was only £20

jwpunk

Typical of GAME. I remember when Steel Batallion was released in the UK and you couldn't get it anywhere cos GAME managers were buying their own stock to sell them on Ebay.

lvl54spacemonkey

Thats criminal! Companies shouldn't be allowed to do that.

Although I bet Sainsbury's aren't complaining.

Then again I already have an Xbox 360 and a Wii so I dunno what I'm getting annoyed about...

Is it just hardware prices? Are they dropping game prices?

Raptr569

I know Mom'n Pop stores do this (it's OK as long as they resell the products as used; if they call it new then they'll have shit to pay), but fucking goodness, you better not admit to doing it!

muu

This can't be legal. I still wonder how that takeover got through the Competition Commission. Gamestations prices have got noticeably worse for selling things since the takeover.

david78

GAME sucks. If it's true that Gamestation did the same then it goes to show that GAME buying what-was-once-a-fantastic-chain is one of the worst things that has happened to UK gamers since Sony.

Marv2

@kelder: should have typed could'nt . Damn lack of edit

kelder

thats just wrong :(

scdnyc

Fantastically shitty of GAME, surely this isn't legal?

excel_excel

Well even thou i have a 360 and Wii, i dont like these tactics by Game! I usually always pre-order my games from them, but not anymore, i will go else where!

MarGera332

Wait isn't that against the law?Im sure when shops had special offers there used to be a little line of text somewhere that basicly said you could only buy the item to replace stock where you work

kelder

I heard about the price drops after the week allocated. I would have snapped up a 360- £140 for a shiny new 60giger is an absolute bargain.

Any news on other price drops like this in the near future?

Krondonian

maybe GAME will have to react and cut the price to match for a while to avoid bad press!

shaunomacx

With any luck, the business they lose from this weak-ass shenanigan will be many times more than what they saved on those consoles.

Calhoun

Wow, this is fucking pathetic =/

Sales are for consumers, not so retailers can trade with each other.

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.

"Our strategy is centred on giving our customers choice, good value and having the best possible availability going into the Christmas period."
GAME Group CEO Lisa Morgan

Fuck you GAME.

Your strategy was to snap up all the discounted products so that genuine customers couldn't. Because you didn't want to compete on price, you played dirty instead.

What next? GAME pays homeless people to queue up for a console launch?

hahnchen

@shaunomacx: also hoarding stock before christmas doesnt help. people dont like the way GAME works (I worked there for ages) they force bundles on you and its rare that you can just buy a standalone console. Wonder how many complaints there will be this year.

Bottom line if it doesnt have an attachment rate GAME wont sell it

shaunomacx

What a completely c*nty thing to do.

knownspace

So retailer (Sainsburys) cuts price of 360 and Wii and GAME sends their staff in to buy hardware to sell on at a higher price and to be honest I doubt that this is a wholly legal maneuver on their part as they are selling goods onwards at a higher price after buying them cheaper and cutting the customer out of the savings.

shaunomacx

I can't blame the retailers for doing it, but as a consumer, I would certainly be annoyed that I wasn't able to take advantage of the discount.

I'm surprised the store didn't have a 1 per person limit or something.

Nevest356

That's fucking weak. Yeah, I know it's business and I'm sure it's GOOD for business but fuck those guys for not letting gamers get a few systems at an awesome price.

chuffhoncho

this can not be legal

Alchemy_Comrade

Please tell me I'm not the only one who thought someone was selling company stocks (as in NASDAQ) at a supermarket. Otherwise I'll just wallow in my own depressing adulthood.

Or I can watch some Naruto instead of doing what I get paid for..

Xagest

This is a disgrace.

antisniper

if GAME is going to sell these as new stock (which I'm sure they will) then that *is* illegal as people are hoping. I would love GAME to get into trouble for this. I notice that their price match policy doesn't doesn't match supermarkets either and the reason the shop assistant gave me? "because supermarkets sell the games cheaper than us"! seriously.

TheFlyingGerbil

So, in the UK, you can get a Wii at the supermarket, yet you still can't find them anywhere here in the US?

Also, this kind of practice is hateful.

mind in rewind

Why the hell do people still shop at GAME to begin with? The prices are over the top high (only beaten by HMV), the majority of the staff are clueless, they have a crap instore music radio thing now, rip you off on trade-ins, bad selection of games.
Go to Gamestation for pete sake and check out other game dealers in town.
As for pre-orders, go to play.com

Leopard89

Ha! That is fucking brilliant right there. Look, it's capitalism folks. The supermarkets were obviously selling at a loss to screw over other game stores, and they got thoroughly hoisted by their own petards.
You can't sell a product for less (after tax) than it costs to buy wholesale without getting screwed; it's economics 101.

mwoody

So Sainsbury's were selling the 360 for less than the DS costs at most stores? What is the world coming to?

cdammers

I know here in the US there are some Play N Trade stores (growing US chain with dreams of being Gamestop's main competition) that their managers are going to buy up all the stock they can at Toys R Us Buy 2 Get 1 Free video game sale next week.

MSUHitman

@Xagest: When all else fails anime prevails.

Neo-Senku: The World's Finest Pervert

GAME are always up to dodgy shit. I know from a friend who worked at my local branch, that if someone comes in to trade a load of stuff, say a console with some games, they'll bump up the trade in value of a few of the items to cover the cost of another item in the trade-in and not ring that item through the system, keep it and sell it on eBay. Apparantly it makes them enough for a good night at the pub each month. That's why I don't trust GAME.

shufflemoomin

Typical GAME. Heaven forbid a CUSTOMER get a bargain for once!

Overlord44

@Leopard89: Sorry to break it to you but Gamestation was bought by GAME about a year ago. There is much less difference in price now and Gamestations across the country have been told to throw away/destroy most of their retro stock.

bonaparte

So, wouldn't that mean that if you buy an Xbox 360 from Game that they picked up in sainsbury's it's technically second-hand? And as such not covered by the manufacturer's non-transferrable guarantee any more? Sucks if it RRODs...

The_Mhor

I worked for Nintendo (inside a GAME) 2 years ago promoting the launch of the Wii.

The GAME store managers were buying every console in the city to make "GAME Console Bundles" with their games and accessories...

Akomander

I'm willing to bet that Microsoft and Nintendo are going to come down on these guys like a ton of lawyer carried bricks.

Rectangle

@shufflemoomin: as someone who used to work there, its totally true. i never did it myself but was privvy to VERY dodgy management deals

shaunomacx

While it's a really shitty thing for GAME to do, I have to disagree with everyone who says this must be illegal.

Buying something from someone and selling it for more is essential what a store always does. Unfortunately for gamers GAME is doing this from a retail source aimed at consumers (Sainsbury's) and not the usual channels that exclude the end consumer (directly from MS or Nintendo).

That being said, fuck those assholes at GAME!

Megaman LXIX

that is weaksauce covered in lamesauce.

demonknightinuyasha

That's why I'm all like "Fuck Game!" yepper.

Seriously stupid thing to do though to tell MCV (the game trade press) that you're actively encouraging your managers to act ilegally. I hope they throw away the key and all Game/gamestation stores are forced to re-open as soup kitchens for the hard-up UK citizens.

TokeYo

I read of the deal over a week ago on HUKD, has been running for at least a week already, was almost tempted to pick up a second one. Thought it was a bit of a joke when I read on the original HUKD forum thread on this discount that GAME employees had been spotted wandering around Sainsburys and buying up the stock, not leaving 360's around for the genuine customers. Just so that they could get them cheaper than wholesale and make more profit selling them like their normally sourced 360's, probably to the same suffering customers who couldn't find one for sale in Sainsburys.

Pudgey

@Rectangle: Why would they care?

Krondonian

My local Sainsbury's hadn't even changed the price of the Core pack from the old price of £199, nevermind put any out for sale at £100!!

sifujames

yeah but whats the markup? How much profit can sainsbury's be making if GAME can still buy and then make monee

marleycat

If GAMEs CEO has gone on record about this the company should get f*cked over a barrel for it. Absolute disgrace.

MR_COATES

@marleycat: I don't think they make much on hardware.

darkgodofdeath

Fucking UK, always trying to rip us off.

sigh....

One more reason I FUCKING HATE GAME.

Good on Sainsburys for cutting prices though.

f0cus

That's just GAME. It's a shit tactic but nothing surprising.

Maybe they just weren't making enough from their previous scam of offering loads of freebies with pre-orders and then delivering only the otherwise overpriced game.

On the question of "is it legal?", surely now the goods have been purchased at retail they can longer be sold as "NEW" but other than that they'll probably get away with it, especially when convenience beats conscience as it usually does.

Xebu

@david78:
They also dropped all retro lines of stock as well
So their is only Ebay & Car Boots to get it from now in my Town As GAME have put all the Indies out of business not the supermarkets.

fuzzchopz

BASTARDS!!!...

My brother's been trying for a week to get a 360 from Sainsbury's, four different stores! and this is why he can't get one. I hate GAME, they're overpriced, and they really screw you when you trade stuff in. Not to mention their near monopolization of the high-street games market that's driving some great stores out of business.

Kid-A

Sainbury's must be pretty pissed off by this, since they're surely selling the consoles as loss-leaders, and so having them be bought up by non-customers is going to mean they're essentially just giving GAME money. I won't be surprised if shit starts hitting the fan.

Jimmni

@mwoody: They might have been selling at a loss so the consumer gets a (seemingly) better deal. If you save £30 on a console then you have no problem buying a £45 game on the grounds that you already saved £30 and then you might come back.

Supermarkets have ALWAYS been cheaper for games, That's why they're at the back of the store, And now consoles as well. So they have been screwing them for years.

P_e

If people keep buying from GAME then they will keep making profit out of the customers. they even trying to sell Add-ons for every console / Game u buy. Even pre-owned games r more expensive than else where and they trade-in prices r so cheap even Blockbusters has better trading than GAME however... all the customers keep going to GAME so its u guys who go to GAME who r giving money away to GAME. Btw i work at game and its not great working there as the staff doesnt really do anything game related only sell the console and games >.<

TrowaAKAGraham

On another note why would it be illegal? The consoles are still sealed? Do you think stores buy their stock direct from Microsoft/Nintendo/Sony? all stock goes through a wholesaler basically, sold to wholesaler by manufacturer and then sold on to stores... how is this different? Its just passing it on down the line. I know many a local grocery store that takes advantage of supermarket offers then puts those goods on its own shelf for a profit... as long as they haven't been opened... no problem.

deejdave

Sainsburys were selling these at just under cost price. Cheaper than most retailers, even GAME group and especially the indies could bu them for. This is not viable in the long term. Sainsburys can keep selling food and the usual stuff they do and make a profit, keeping all their staff in a job without doing this. If supermarkets pull stupid stunts like this all they do is put those that rely on games sales out of business. Shame on the likes of GAME for wanting to make a pofit and keep tens of thousands of UK workers in a job eh?... Those that keep harping on about GAme and other retailers charging too much for games & consoles are going to be pretty pissed off when the only place they can get a game is from "Doris" on the entertainment desk of the local supermarket who knows crap all about games. How cheap do you think games will stay if all the indies and other retailers go? you only have to look at how cheap ALDI & LIDL sell groceries for to see how much places like sainsburys are making on your loaf of bread and tin of beans...

deejdave

@deejdave: but then again most of the stuff Lidls sell tastes horrrible!!!!

shaunomacx

@Krondonian: because they are not getting a single penny for these consoles when GAME resell them as new. Its really fucked up when you think that GAME went out of their way to stop consumers getting a good deal in the financial crisis which we are all suffering.

shaunomacx

@shaunomacx: LOL, you're not wrong! ;-)

deejdave

GAME, fucking sucky cunts.

EffieAesacus

Sainsburys is probably selling the discounted consoles as a "loss leader". They're not making money on them, they're LOSING money on them, but in the mean time, people figure "well, I'm here anyway, may as well buy my weekly groceries/some games/some DVDs etc." either that or it gets them into a store they'd never been to before, increasing the chances that they'll come back for actual profit making items. As Dickish a thing as this seems from GAME, and much as I dislike shopping there, I'm actually with them on this one. Sainsbury is abusing its power to soak losses by selling the consoles for what is presumably LESS than the wholesale price, something GAME can't afford to do because it's a smaller retailer. Even in normal circumstances the margins on both consoles and games are laughably small, undercutting to the point of making a LOSS is anticompetitive. It's a shame that the customer loses out, but that's not GAMEs fault. Unless of course the sainsburys price is MORE than GAME usually pay the wholesaler, and they're just buying them up to get people into their store rather than sainsburys and will offset the losses with increased software sales. If that's the case then yeah, GAME are being dicks.

FelixRattlesnake

please read the comments of the forum-by clicking on it-regarding Game and Gamesation http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1047731&sid=0f0e1578dc0b35569b364f072f0406eb I don’t know about the UK, but in North America, this would actually invalidate the warranty for the unfortunate sap that winds up buying the system from GAME. How so, you may ask? Well, in order to minimize loss due to theft in the shipping channel, manufacturers keep track (by serial number) of which systems are sent to which retailer. So, let’s say you buy your console from GAME and they, in turn, bought it from Sainsbury’s. Your console RRoDs (let’s face it, your Wii isn’t going to need warranty replacement. Neither is your DS.), and you send it back to the manufacturer. Somebody in the warranty return department is actually paying attention, and they look at the sales receipt that you sent in with the console, and it says GAME at the top, but their computer says this system was shipped to Sainsbury’s. Uh-oh! Red flag!! Through no fault of your own, it appears to “the man” that you’re involved in some shady activity. Good luck with that warranty replacement - you’re gonna need it!! So they want to give their customers choice by taking an option away and good value by selling a cheaper sold console at an higher price? This sort of thing shouldn't be allowed and RubyMars in the comments to this story at GoNintendo has made a good point - Im currently working in GAME and i have to say they are absolutely ruthless. At one point the managers had a meeting and said that even though theres a credit crunch on and companys are going out of business, GAME is still making money because they dont have customers they have fans, and fans will always be around to buy games. It is true in a way, its similar to football. We dont just buy games for the any old reason we have an actual passion for it, so there will always be a demand for computer games. Someone brought Perfect Dark Zero for a trade in the other day guess how much we offered them for it? 20p! 20 f***ing p! Elder Scrolls Oblivion was only £5. Its now company policy on trade ins to roughly allow them a fiver off of games and then treble the price for resale. The worst one was the Wii and Wii Fit. Our manager said that people are so desperate for them that we bundle in as much as we possibly can like extra controllers, crap games, accessories, so we can get as much profit as possible. He said packages end up coming to over £300 but it doesnt matter because someone will always buy it. Now i have worked there i dont think i want to spend my money in there anymore. So im going to milk my employee discount as much as possible and find an independent game shop.

GideonMinos

Must be a slow news week, this is hardly breaking news considering this has happend in the past. Indie stores have been doing this for ages just to compete so its hardly a big shock. It's the giant supermarkets that are screwing this industry over, not your local retailer down the high street. And yes, its legal... again this isn't the first time, its just that someones decided to make it newsworthy.

OrfeoIckle

This stuff is crazy, best buying stuff off the internet most of the time anyway - usually cheaper.

pezzer123