GameStop is a high street retail shop that sells consoles, electronics, and games. GameStop is the largest retailer of gaming and other things worldwide. Its audience is varied and almost every other person has been their client.
Recently GameStop became increasingly interesting to the American nation because of two things: first, its Wall Street-Reddit issue made Americans pay attention, and secondly, they came to know how GameStop is a rip-off. Following is a simplified account regarding both of these aspects.
The Recent GameStop Issue
Individuals who purchase stocks and sell them often make bets on certain companies that are not expected to perform well in the coming years. First, the company shares are borrowed by such people and then these shares are sold by them, as they purchase them again after some time. If the future of a company seems dark, then these people can benefit from purchasing the stocks back when the worth has significantly lessened.
During the pandemic, GameStop was actually struggling as most games were being purchased online and people were not visiting the shop. GameStop was such a company with tons of hedge funds. Hedge funds are those companies that make such bets. It was expected that GameStop would lose considerable value. However, a strange thing happened. A lot of people from Wallstreetbets, a subReddit account, exchanged tips and purchased GameStop shares. This massively increased the share price of GameStop which was not seen coming by the hedge funds, and they had to purchase their GameStop shares back.
GameStop Is a Rip Off
Although, despite abundant fond memories, few extensive researchers revealed that GameStop is nothing but a rip-off. This changed the whole perspective of the American nation towards GameStop. More and more complaints started coming forward and the reputation of GameStop highly suffered.
Following are some of the ways Americans complained that GameStop acts like a rip-off to its customers.
The Employees Lie to Customers About the Games
The whole business model of GameStop relies on purchasing and selling used games. Many prefer that instead of trading your old video games on Craigslist and being a victim to various scammers, it’s better to opt for the GameStop.
But the company wants you to buy their used games instead of new ones, as they make most of their money through it. GameStop has also set a quota system called “Circle of Life”, it makes sure the employees persuade customers to buy used games instead of the new ones. Many GameStop employees have admitted on record that their bosses urge them to frequently lie. Moreover, they also revealed that they persuade customers in buying used games by lying that new games aren’t available.
On the other hand, employees also revealed that they fear dismissal or demotion that is why they have to lie.
GameStop Destroys All Competition
GameStop has been famous for its complicated history of purchasing and rebranding other game stores. Although it is not illegal, capitalism supposedly promotes healthy competition. Now, GameStop stands alone in the field of selling used games to its customers.
This means that all rules regarding buying and selling used games will be set by GameStop alone. So, even if you are selling your console that is only a month old, you will get a limited store credit.
GameStop Don’t Prioritize The Product’s Quality
GameStop is a major rip-off. Here is an example of how. GameStop made a big deal and told their customers that all used games bought online will accompany the manual and game art. However, they didn’t tell Americans that they will be forced to pay the full cost of a used game in the stores even if there is no original packaging along it. Moreover, the packaging of online games and their in-store condition is drastically different.
GameStop Purchases Stolen Stuff
GameStop proves to be a rip-off as it is famous for purchasing stolen merchandise. Although it is not entirely the store employees fault because it is the moral compass of the company owners that is broken. This has led to various insane crackdowns in GameStop stores. Some GameStop stores required customers to provide fingerprints whereas other stores demand IDs. Hence we can say, that GameStop enables criminals to make money easily.
