Did EB and Gamestop's trade in policy change?

[Roufuss]

Here's the deal:

My friend goes to an EB a night or two ago (not the local one), trades in some games, gets a new game, and has 3 dollars left in credit. Now, usually I just expect them to put that on a card, and say "Have a nice day". However, this EB told him he HAD to spend the 3 dollars there, as the computer won't let them finish out the sale with the trade in money remaining, and they no longer will give you back the credit.

He had to end up with 12 of the 25 cent PC games, and was pretty pissed about it, since he ended up with like 6 copies of Simcity 3000. I laughed, and told him it was funny he got suckered like that, since the EB here gives people gift cards with the amount left over.

Today, we go to trade in a ton of cheap games at Gamestop, for the trade in 3 get an extra 10 bucks in credit (30 bucks worth of shitty circuit city cheap games got me 47 bucks in credit), and, coupled with a different 8 dollar trade in, I had 55 bucks in credit.

I get a 30 dollar game, a 20 dollar game, and the guy tells me I have 5 dollars left over. I say "oh, I'll just save it for later", at which point I'm told that I can't. He offered to put it on a preorder, but everything I want is preordered over at the local EB which is right next to my house, and this Gamestop is too far a drive out of the way anyways.

I tell him this, he gets an attitude with me, and tells me that "you MUST spend the money now or the transaction cannot go through". Then he tells me the only thing I could do, is buy something more expensive and then have to use some of my real money to even out the difference. WTF.

At this point, I just combined it with my friends preorders to make an even 90 and he got Outrun 2 and everything broke even.

But honestly, is this some kind of new policy? If so, this is bullshit. There is abouslutely NOTHING in the store that has 5 dollars (except for a preorder, and I don't like being forced into one), or hell, even 3 dollars as a price tag to spend.

[Dolemite]

I tell him this, he gets an attitude with me, and tells me that "you MUST spend the money now or the transaction cannot go through".

I'd say fine, take my shit and leave.

As if EB and GS didn't make out like bandits on trade-ins as it is...

[Roufuss]

I'd say fine, take my shit and leave.

As if EB and GS didn't make out like bandits on trade-ins as it is...

Well, in this case, I was actually making a 17 dollar profit, off of these shitty 5 dollar Circuit City games, like Spawn and Megaman X7.

If this was any other time, you better believe I'd have walked out.

[Daitokuji]

Well I traded in about 137 dollars worth of anime dvds the other day and bought San Andreas(50) Mortal Kombat Deception(60) and Grand Theft Auto 3(5) and had about 15 bucks left over. I couldn't find anything else to buy so the dude gave me a reciept with the 15 bucks that i could use at a later date and at any other Gamestop

[bahn]

Here's the deal:

My friend goes to an EB a night or two ago (not the local one), trades in some games, gets a new game, and has 3 dollars left in credit. Now, usually I just expect them to put that on a card, and say "Have a nice day". However, this EB told him he HAD to spend the 3 dollars there, as the computer won't let them finish out the sale with the trade in money remaining, and they no longer will give you back the credit.

He had to end up with 12 of the 25 cent PC games, and was pretty pissed about it, since he ended up with like 6 copies of Simcity 3000. I laughed, and told him it was funny he got suckered like that, since the EB here gives people gift cards with the amount left over.

Today, we go to trade in a ton of cheap games at Gamestop, for the trade in 3 get an extra 10 bucks in credit (30 bucks worth of shitty circuit city cheap games got me 47 bucks in credit), and, coupled with a different 8 dollar trade in, I had 55 bucks in credit.

I get a 30 dollar game, a 20 dollar game, and the guy tells me I have 5 dollars left over. I say "oh, I'll just save it for later", at which point I'm told that I can't. He offered to put it on a preorder, but everything I want is preordered over at the local EB which is right next to my house, and this Gamestop is too far a drive out of the way anyways.

I tell him this, he gets an attitude with me, and tells me that "you MUST spend the money now or the transaction cannot go through". Then he tells me the only thing I could do, is buy something more expensive and then have to use some of my real money to even out the difference. WTF.

At this point, I just combined it with my friends preorders to make an even 90 and he got Outrun 2 and everything broke even.

But honestly, is this some kind of new policy? If so, this is bullshit. There is abouslutely NOTHING in the store that has 5 dollars (except for a preorder, and I don't like being forced into one), or hell, even 3 dollars as a price tag to spend.

Sounds like bullshit to me. You shouldn't have to use all of your credit if you dont' want to. Normally customers were given the option to put it on a preorder, renew their GI subscriptions or save it for later. I am not there anymore (thankfully), so it sounds like the policy has changed...for the worse.

[Roufuss]

I couldn't find anything else to buy so the dude gave me a reciept with the 15 bucks that i could use at a later date and at any other Gamestop

Weird I tried to do this and he told me that "store policy forbids him from doing it".

I just found it weird at happened to my friend at EB, and then to me at a Gamestop.

Because I mean, if this isn't a company wide policy, you better believe I'm calling their main office on those assholes.

[MechDeus]

Could you take all those shitty copies of Simcity 3000 and save them for one of those "trade in anything but sports games" deals, thus turning it back on them?

[BRAD73]

I traded in Battlefront last 2 weeks ago paid off Halo2, had $5 left over and he gave me the card at EB. If this is a new policy it's really new.

[Eirikur]

It's called a trade-in special. Those trade in 3 games, get an extra $10 deals have restrictions, you know, and the restriction just happens to be that you must spend all of the credit at that point and time.

[Roufuss]

It's called a trade-in special. Those trade in 3 games, get an extra $10 deals have restrictions, you know, and the restriction just happens to be that you must spend all of the credit at that point and time.

I'd love to see where that's in writing, really.

Because the only restriction I've seen is "Must be games that aren't on the excluded list". And also that you have to spend SOME of the credit at that time, but I've NEVER heard of it being "please spend every last cent or we won't let you get a god damn thing out of the store".

Please tell me what I'm supposed to buy in Gamestop that's five dollars, since I wasn't interrested in a preorder, and wasn't a complete waste of my money. I don't see what's the big deal about letting me spend it later, since it guarantees I have to come back to the fucking store anyways.

I gave up on calling the gamestop.com number after I was on hold for 35 minutes, blargh