Here’s proof the preowned games market is out of control. Why buy new when you can get an already loved copy for only six dollars more?
[Thanks Sam T!]
Everything Old Is New Again At EB
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66 responses to “Everything Old Is New Again At EB”
They’re also refusing to match prices that are more than 25 bucks cheaper. Friend went to buy NSMB for $69 in a catalog, they refused, so he just went to K-Mart which matched it.
Actually, that’s not 100% correct. .92 means it’s $20 off. The other reason that preowned is sometimes more expensive is because of time lags associated with price changes. Sometimes new games are discounted and there’s about a week until the preowned counterpart’s prices are also changes. It’s a retarded pricing system but they’re the reasons why this occurs.
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Shouldn’t they automatically be selling it for that price… and then you forgive them when they actually undercut competitors?
I think I mentioned this before somewhere, but when I went to get Lost Odyssey from them, they tried consistently to get me to buy the grubby, off-coloured preowned version, and when it became evident that I wouldn’t, started making snide remarks.
In the end it turned out that the preowned version was $40, while the new one I bought was $35.
EB are a joke. They’ll sell a game brand new for $120 and pre owned for $115. Yet other stores sell it brand new for $89.
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Funny how customers complain about that but when EB trade it for double the amount of everyone else customers don’t. Can’t have it both ways. If a game is sold for 119.95 it will generally have a cost price of approx $89. but people want at least 75 to trade a game they just bought at 120, so then to make more profit off the secondhand game than the new they need to sell it for more than 105 or there will be no point in the entire program. so quit your whinging, if you want a secondhand game cheaper don’t complain when it trades for $40, if you want more trade value don’t complain when it sells for $5 or $10 less than new. Once again it is how business works. And JB often are way overpriced but people are to stupid to realise they have been slowly jacking up their prices for the last 4 years and only new release games or clearance stock get big discounts anymore. 70% of JB’s stock is overpriced crap.
If your buying from EB Games your a fool.
Over Priced, poor staff service and experience and no incentives.
There once was a time it was good….now its just a real pos.
Shameless bastards.
Nice post Wildgoose. This is indeed newsworthy and everyone should be keeping an eye on those scumbags.
I bought Dead Space from there last year as a gift for a friend. It was on sale for $50. They immediately tried to palm off a used copy on me. I said “No dude, a new one. Like in your catalogue.” The clerk was shocked I had an issue with it. After listening to ther crap about ‘pay an extra $5 for insurance’ and banging on about giving me a VIP card, I just kept saying no, grabbed the game and walked out never to return. Sleazy pricks.
In other news, Big W is awesome.
I work at a Gametraders store, and I know by rule of thumb we tend to sell out preplayed games 30% cheaper (at least) than the new version of the game. EG: Modern warfare 2 new for $97.95 new, or 69.95 Second hand. EB puts those games on a mega half price sale halfway through the year…
Unfortunately this does happen from time to time. It’s because unlike New games, pre-owned games don’t have a variable cost price. Sometimes a games store can trade in a game at $50 and that becomes the cost price to them. If a mint copy of that game gets dropped to say $30, if the store were to drop the pre-owned price to $20, then they are selling it at a loss of $30. It sucks for us, but i understand why it can happen.
This reminds me of the time I went into EB and saw a used copy of Twilight Princess on the shelf, 5 bucks more than the brand new copy sitting on the shelf directly next to it.
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It reminds me of the time when my friend wanted a Big Mac so he traded in MTV music generator 2 on Ps2 (cool game btw) for $4!!!!!
They had it on the shelf the next day for $30!!!
yeh yeh he is an idiot, but bare in mind he was only like 13 at the time.
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Wow your friend = A GOD
Walked into the ever so evil EB (yes im repeating myself) today actually. Asked how much trade in my 10 day old Borderlands would get me. Smarty pants turns around and says, direct quote “We can offer you $15 for that game.”
After my look of serious WTF he then proceeded to tell me “Yeah its not much, but it really was a shit game right!?”
Wow I left, and am never to return. Nice work Fountain Gate EB games-
Yeh, EB’s trade prices are horrid. Twice I’ve traded something in and twice Game have beaten them on trade-in value –
eg.
T2 Salvation
Game – $40
EB – $15Fight Night Round 4
Game – $45
EB – $15
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unless you get a sealed copy of a game from EB then everything in there store is pretty much “second hand”
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I don’t JB have any sort of return policy at all unless it’s damaged. That’s why they stamp the shit out of your receipts when you leave.
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Only good for price-matching (when they do) and taking advantage of their 7-Day-Return Policy.
I love using that on certain games, but only when i know that i’ll take a game back if i don’t like it for another game i really want or already like. Did it with Uncharted 2.
Got Uncharted 2, took back even though i loved it (thought i’d wait til Xmas) got another, hated it, went back and got Uncharted 2.
But i don’t think this is a case of the pre-owned games market is out of control. It’s EB Games out of control with their ridiculous pricing schemes.
What can someone explain the .92 cents thing? How is that known??
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It’s known to the staff who put the sticker on the stock when it is put on the shelf. Sadly the computers don’t seem to understand. I have no idea how their system works with pricing.
actually the 2c at the end of the preowned price means it is $20 off, so it’s actually $44.90.
EB Games, good for two things;
Sale bargains\unexpected gems
14 day preowned game hire
I will NEVER be able to hate EB thanks to stumbling upon Anno 1701 for $20, full card box and all, and giving it a chance.
Nobody can say “This store had bad staff”. Every store has different individuals with different personalities.
I find that JB usually have games at a much cheaper price, I thought EBgames were expensive because their a game-specialty store and people wouldn’t suspect that other stores sell games at a cheaper price. Basically, intentionally ripping people off, even though they didn’t have to.
Anon made me realize that EBgames pretty much have to charge at full RRP, since the other businesses have a wider range of stuff to sell.
Still, though. I’d assume they could drop their prices and not go into financial administration.
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Actually a bunch of the outer suburb stores struggle to make a profit each day but are kept open because EB is trying to build its franchise as a household name.
You guys have problems with EB staff? Ever tried talking to someone in JB? The first obstacle is trying to find them. They look like everyone else but with a lanyard.
Then they just want to sell the crap out of you, or get you outta the store asap so they can hit up the next sale. The few times I’ve managed to ask them questions they don’t know crap.
They might be cheap, and thats a good reason to get EB to price match them, but their customer service is shocking.
I even tried to complain to the manager about their service and was told that my issue wasn’t worth his time.
So wait, it is $20 off, after they mark it up to cost more than a brand new copy, effectively bringing it down to the price it should probably be in the first place?
That is ridiculous. A cheap trick to make people think they are getting a bargain when they see the $20 off sticker.
Yeah, the .92 price point actually does indicate $20 off as posted before. Christmas sale started today, and the price points were used to tell staff members what games need which stickers a few weeks in advance. Observant ones may have noticed they were even up the day the new site was launched – giving a little sneak peak as to what games would be on sale.
If you ever, and I mean EVER find a preowned game that is more expensive than a new one in an EB store, they will discount it. Sometimes pricing discrepancies do happen.
Oh – one last thing, the price of Mario Kart is actually more expensive in store… it’s a little cheaper online to cover postage costs 😉
I buy my Games from Kmart and JB. 79 for MW2 on release, no lines, no annoying sales clerks, no “do you want to pay for disc insurance?” crap, just a nice lady saying “Oh, this one is popular today” with a smile.
Mmkay, felt like putting in my two cents.
At my local shopping centre there are a lot of game stores. We have EB, JB, GAME, GameTraders, K-Mart etc. I have the luxury of shopping around on foot and being able to pick up a Wendy’s shake while I’m at it.
What I’ve noticed is that while EB may have higher sale prices sometimes (AKA when they don’t have their fortnightly sale on) they do tend to be the ones with all the goods all the time. For instance, where else are you going to preorder Assassin’s Creed 2 Black Edition?
As for those who don’t have the luxury of multiple stores in one complex, were you aware that each of the major game stores has a website with prices on it? I assume you know how to work the interwebs correctly, without breaking the Google. This would save you time, effort and phone calls and get you the best price for whatever you like.
tl;dr – Please stop acting so butthurt when there’s price differences and bad service because taking your business elsewhere is so easy and convenient these days.
I go to my local EB cos I hate lining up behind povs.
Really, that is the only reason.
Or I import them from over seas, for usually more than the price they are here, just so I don’t have to line up at JB with povs who whinge about things being 6 dollars cheaper.
i hope eb dies. i ALWAYS hear “pre ordered at EB, found cheap at another store, refunded at EB for that game cheaper.”
eb are only SOMETIMES good in specials on dirt cheap pre owns like I got Silent Hill 3 for $13.
I use to be a regular patron of the St Ives EB games until they got new staff members within the last few months. There is one prick there who will act nice to unsuspecting customers but will phone the other stores to pricematch and keep you waiting, will not pricematch at midnight launch (EB HO Said that any store refusing to pricematch at the midnight launch was doing so on their own will, it was not a requirement) and always pushes the $5 disk guarentee bullshit. He is a blatant rip off merchant.
There are a couple of guys here though who I can just walk into the store, have a quick chat, buy my game (pricematched of course) and they don’t bother with that phoning up crap they just do it for me and take my word. That is the sort of customer service I would expect…
I only like them for the 7day return, pricematch and because its the only store in my town that sells games (well, DSE does.. but they’re crap). Also the pre-order bonuses are sometimes cool.
Good staff members: Liz, Aaron, Andrew
I wont mention the bad.. but props to those people.
The EB Games I regular (mind you I mostly use Steam) has a great staff who never try to hawk cheap crap at you and actually care if the discs you return are in bad shape (he noticed I smudged the disc but he said he’d just clean it) and one guy spent 30 minutes trying to pick out a game for me (their selection is shit so I ended up getting a game I never played again), I feel bad about that now – retail is bad enough without me lol.
Depends where you go. Bar one employee, the staff in carillon EB in Perth are brilliant, knowledgeable, and really friendly.
i like JB, i go there and ask for help with a ps3 game, and they ask me to wait and get me my very own staff member to show me around :D!
Also i bought katamari for 50 bucks there. so cheap…
EB Games, who’s retail strategy is simply ‘charge 120-130 dollars for a new game and see if the suckers buy it’. I have never shopped since being denied a price match on GTA IV where they were selling it at 129 and Big W were at 89..
I am surprised that these guys are still in business, obviously there is a large demand for the uneducated customer in the video game market.
So many points against what has been said before…
– The EB stickers pull off like a breeze, and they don’t leave a mark. Try getting Game’s or JB’s stickers off like that.
– The thing people don’t realise about new games etc is that when the company sells a $110 game, they don’t get $110 profit. The company first has to buy the game for around $80, which leaves a $30 profit. Other places can afford to sell the game for less then they originally bought it because, like others have said, they have more stock other then games to make their margins.
– People complaining about the preowned prices, make sure you actually do some research before going off. 1c at the end means $10 off, 2c at the end means $20 off, 3c at the end means $30 off and 4c at the end means half price.
– Finally, every store is different. The manager at my local EB is always happy to chat about games, good, bad or otherwise. If you don’t like the employees in a store, hate on the employees, not the company.
And anyone saying that GAME, the only other video-game exclusive store, is better, they should really check the companys margins. Atleast EB makes money…
For god sake people….. If stores are always matching prices that are below cost even if the other store is out of stock they will go broke and close down. If they go broke and close down eventually you will only have 1 place to go. If there is only 1 place to go then you will pay what they want you to pay. If you are paying what they want you to pay it will be a lot. Competition is good for the consumer but you can’t be greedy. Simple.
In other news, warranty, preowned, etc. are generally a target. Most companies don’t pay you a bonus for hitting these targets, your reward is the pleasure (if you can call it that) of keeping your job. Please try to cut people a little slack, they are trying to keep their job. I agree they don’t need to be nasty about it if you refuse, but they are dealing with people all day (most of them rude and obnoxious)and the pressure may be on them.
EB in Melbourne (in the CBD), the other day were selling preowned PS3’s for $599, and new ones for $499.
My own bitter experience with EB Games was with Halo Wars.
I was late to that particular party, by enough to say that EB was selling the limited edition case for about 110 bucks… Pre-owned.
I walked next door to Big-W, and lo- I find a new, pristine copy of the limited edition release for a mere 85!
I still go to EB out of convenience, ad Big-W and Game hardly have what I call “comprehensive” ranges, but when EB take one of my new games for 40 bucks on trade and then sell it at twice that, I feel like I’ve been kicked in the nuts.
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