GameStop rakes in $7.1B in '07

Maidenforlife, the games that go through GameStop and EB Games were bought from the publisher by GameStop or EB Games which means the publisher gets their cut and thus making that particular copy of the game property of EB Games, and then when sold becomes property of whomever buys it. If that game comes back to EB Games and they give trade credit it then again becomes property of EB Games again to do with what they please. It's not like they're buying one copy of the game from the publisher and then copying it over and over to make multiple sales so it isn't piracy and if prices of games go up it will be because of real piracy and the economy.

I love my local Gamestop. Never had a problem, always have what I want, and I've even noticed they list some used games cheaper then the Gamestop website has them at. Haven't spent a dime at the store this year andI'm just living off of trade ins alone, which is awesome if you don't expect a lot for sports games and some niche games (Culdcept). Call of Duty 4 trade in, one week before Vegas 2? $44 in my area, I had bought it used for $50.

Can you say PIRACY!!!! or STEALING!!! Correct me if I am wrong, but for every used game you buy at Gamestop the publisher gets no cut of the sale. Publishers are **** about how they make no money. Publishers need to go after Gamestop and just maybe if they can get some money from them they could drop game prices. Think about it, you buy a game for $60 and the publisher gets his cut. You finish the game and you take it to Gamestop and get maybe $15 for it. They turn around and sell it for $55. That particular game can come and go through gamestop for a long time with them making all the money and not a penny goes to the publisher tht entire time, besides the initial sale. This is **** I wouldn't be surprised in the future if game prices go up.

My local gamestop is awesome. There is one guy I deal with because he always remembers what I have on preorder which is very impressive considering I will order games months in advance. The store rocked during the Halo 3 launch and they coordinated the release perfectly. Out of about 800 people in line I was about number 600 and I had my game in under 15 minutes. Our gamestop rocks and I highly recommend the store. People talk about getting ripped off on trade-ins but I cant say that. I have had nothing but great deals things like "you brought in a racer, fps and strategy game and there is a special this week so you get an additional 20% on your trad-in." Numerous times I have gone in to trade games and placed my pre orders and paid less than $10. I love gamestop and will only do business there.

The video game industry is definitely a booming industry. There is a lot of money to be made here.

jasonlc3221 : you are my hero! i thought that $equelstop was my only option. if anyone knows of a good game store near columbus ohio, pm me plz! i have lost so much money trading in at gamestop, i went to trade in a ps2 and they were goin to give me 15 bucks for it. gawd i hate gamestop.

The final straws for me that made me stop going to Gamestop were as follows: 1) Went to buy Prince of Persia for the Wii. They were the only store that got it in and had one copy left. This "brand new" copy was opened and the disc was pulled out of a sleeve. I'm sorry but this is NOT brand new. 2) Every purchase I make I get hammered with the following: a) Would you like to preorder ______? If you don't you'll never find it! b) Well how about preordering ____? It's gonnna be hot! c) How about picking up the strategy guide for _____? It's gonna be real tough to beat without it. I don't preorder games b/c I like to wait for reviews. Games that look cool don't always turn out good and I don't want to be stuck with that game that looked cool but turned out to be crap. I have never needed a strategy guide for any game (well maybe for Zelda II back in the day...or today for that matter) but let's face it. We all play games for enjoyment and a challenge, and to me, a strategy guide takes the fun out of a game.

Gamestop has the perfect business model: Sell and trade games at all costs; even if it means completely lying about a game or accessory. I go to Gamestop (or EBGames- whichever is closer) ONLY for purchasing pre-owned games. I never trade my games in myself. I'm glad that some people are willing to trade in their games for about a third of the cost they paid (even if the game was brand new). Why? Because I get some games cheaper. What makes me upset is when they recieve a trade in of a $60 game and then turn around and sell it back as used for $55+. They make such a killing on used games. The one thing I think they need to do is change the fact that their employees take advantage of customers to make the sell. They some of the worst salesmen ever. I have never met a genuine gamer that truly informs customers about their purchase without throwing in the B.S. It's upsetting to see the company make so much ONLY because of the horrible ethics their company uses. I could go on (and I'm sure other people will cover what I have not). I have had lots of bad experiences at these stores. I chime in and upset the salesmen (clerks my a**) when I argue with them and point out facts that they have no defense for when I see them trying to best a customer. If you are a gamestop employee; stop exerting your biased opinions and lies onto these unknowing customers. Karma will come back on you (why do you think there's such a high turn-over rate in the company?).

I currently work for EB Games and when I first started I couldn't believe how little we were giving for some games and then turning around to sell them for however much more. However, I was then educated and it's all dependent on supply and demand. For example one of you said we were still charging a crap load for Mario party 4 but not as much for 6? That's simply because Mario Party 4 is much more rare than 6. It's so funny you use that as an example because just last night I had two different people looking for 4 and all I had was 6 and 8. However, like I said it's all supply and demand, if you come in wanting to trade your madden 08 for the 360 and wonder why we're only giving you 8$ for it is because everyone else already beat you to it and we have stock piles of it. It's not just for your individual area either I work at an EB in Canada and it's for the stores in all of the Atlantic Provinces so if a bunch of yahoos trade in their Madden 08's it's going to drive your trade in credit down. And Woogity the reason the employee had to give you the UMD out of the plastic bag or what have you is because that was the last copy or should have been the last copy in the store and for display purposes we have to do what's called "gutting" a new game and put it in a cabinet so we can display the case without fear of having someone shoplift the game from under our nose. In the end I am happy for GameStop and I hope we the employees benefit from this.

you know what? for the people that hate gamestop, keep on hating. stats dont lie. if you have a problem with gamestop stores call customer service, employees cant hold that from you and tell gamestop about your problems. blogging does nothing at all. you think by doing this will solve anything. its time to grow up and tattle tale on them cause thats the only way things are going to change. i wish everyone went to the store i go to because it stands for nothing but excellence. its on top in its district for a reason, excellent customer service. now i feel bad for the ppl that go to the crap ones but hey, thats your fault and your not doing anything about it, so you deserve the crap service. get it?

I've had different experiences at diferent EB & Game Stop stores. Worst (and it's happened a couple times): I was over charged for a game, and noticed before I paid. The clerks processed it as a "return" (take all my personal info) as opposed to just ringing the sale in properly. They said it would be bad for store stats if they had to cancel it and list it as a clerk error. They refused to re-ring the sale. I ended up walking out, both times, 2 different stores. I'd like to see what percent of their profits were from new vs used. I only buy used. Sure I have to wait until the price comes down and the game has been out a while, but a lot of the games coming out just aren't worth $60.00 (length, replay value, overall gameplay content). To "thmled": if your friend can beat games that fast, he really needs to stop buying games and start using a rental service. Just a thought.

I still buy games, but I rather consider them as expensive rentals... go down to the nearest GameSpot on monday, throw down 40-50 bucks on a game that is rather new, enjoy it for a week, take it back and choose another next monday. 50 bucks for the enjoyment of 10 so-so titles? :roll: Not bad I'd say!! Living off used games is not much fun, but there isn't really that many must have games either.

I have experienced some bad experiences at Gamestop as well. I really think it depends on which store you go to though, not the company as a whole. (just like if I had a bad experience at a fast food place, I would blame that individual store, not the whole chain.) I have gotten some pretty good deals there also for the pre-owned games. I feel pretty good about recently getting Shadow of the Collossus for $12. I have 3 Gamestop chains near me, and one has awful employees, the other two are much better, so I frequent those. Also, if you get poor service at a store, it won't get better until you write to the company to complain. Complaining on the Gamespot website won't do much good for that.

If you really want great trade in/cash values on games check out Replays.

The industry is booming, we live in great times as gamers. I run a Microplay in mtl and we had a 300 percent increase in sales over last year, that`s growth, this year should be just as good if not better.

I also dislike GameStop because of their ripoff trade-in/return policies. I never buy new games from them because you can't return them for your money back, only trade them in. My roommate buys used games, beats them within the one week return period, and returns or exchanges them. I'd recommend that to anyone who has the time to do it.

First of all, I would NEVER EVER trade a game in to GameStop. I sold 20 PS2 games on ebay a couple months ago, I made $146. After the auction was over, I took them to GameStop (I wasn't really going to trade them in, since someone on ebay had already bought them) just to see how much they would have given me. $45. Yeah, f**k that. 2nd - Half the GameStop's I go to are filled with employees that are jerks that don't seem to give a damn about their customers. There was this one GameStop that used to right down the street from where I use to live, I loved that GameStop. There was this one guy that worked there that was always really helpful. Also, I went to one in the mall not too long ago, there was a guy there that was pretty cool too. But the customer-treatment is just too inconsistent. I can't stand the one that's by my new house, bunch of nerdy jerks that work there.

Damn hate to think how much of that came from me last year.

Gorilla97 "I love GameStop. my local stores employees have always offered outstanding customer service and I refuse to buy games anywhere else. GameStop rocks"! I'll 2nd you on that one, I have a Gamestop thats right in the shopping center next door to where I live and also another location thats roughly 1 Mile down the street and also store(s) in MetroCenter and Christown/Spectrum Malls.I've had good experiences with each & every one.

I don't shop at Gamestop, they rip people off with their trade in values. Also, I know Halo 3 wasn't a great game in the eyes of some gamers, but sales of Halo 3 were certainly huge.... I don't know why that game wasn't mentioned.

Yeh I can't understand how my brother trades stuff into these stores as he gets little value back in the end but I guess he likes it better than dealing with strangers showing up at his door all the time. I personally would rather sell them though than get ripped off on a trade in. Childeater first of all your nickname sickens me and I wish Gamespot would have sense enough to ban your nickname and 2nd of all tell me what is the difference between a new and used game ??? As long as it works you should not give a darn ... you're totally lost ...

gaming pwns recessions

You hit it right on the head mamodoking...that's why I don't trade games in there...I sell them to friends or people I know will give me value back for it... Man I hate that place...:?

When you give $3.00 to someone trading in a game and then go and sell it for $30.00, it's quite easy to make the money that GameStop reports.

The Gamestop around my way is always packed with customers,I usually pre-order a game there,especially if I don't want to be running around trying to find it when it launches.

I worked there for a total for 4 months about 3 years ago and there really wasnt much to it. they paid me the minimum that they could and worked me as little as possible. i think throughout the 4 months i worked a total of 3 weeks. there were 5 employees there and the only that ever seem to be working at all was the manager who had full 40 hour weeks and he got paid yearly so didnt matter how many hours he worked. so they rest of us work anywhere from 3-5 hours a day and about 1-3 days a week and thats was about it.

I worked at GameStop for two years. I have to say it is one of the cheapest companies to work for. I started at $5.15 an hour minimum wage, then minimum wage increased by $1 to $6.15. After my first year there I got a 4/5 on my review and got a .10c raise. Second year I got a 4/5 on my review and got a .25c raise. I know my assistant manager made $10.25 an hour and the third-key made $8.25 an hour. That's pretty sad, when we are the ones that make the company money. Taking in trades, dealing with prick customers, etc. Then they are making all this profit and can't afford to pay their main employees. I know how they get away with it, cause all the 15-16 year olds need a job and want a job so they hire them. I loved my co-workers but was a waist of time. Only reason I worked there so long is for the fact that I enjoyed games, liked who I worked with, and was attending my first 2 years of college. Now I work at Sprint making alot more money than I did at GameStop.

Gamestop operates much like a drug dealer when you think about it. They get high quantities at low prices and sell them them off individually in low quantities at high prices. It's the beauty of capitalism really, they have such a unique niche, there is no one that can stand in their way.

I'm now tempted to work there. It'll be nice to actually have more gamestop employes who actually know anything about games.

wow, I wouldn't have guessed GameStop would have done that well... The GameStop near me doesn't get much attention, its always pretty quiet around there...

lol i wonder why ,, they still charge nearly 50 dollars for marioparty 4 , lol cracks me up to this day, and they charge only 29 for marioparty 6 ok that really does not make any sense oh and theyll only give you 25 for a used ps2 even if it included the manufactures box and stuff ,, and in mint condition ,, lol and sell it for 50 or more this is how they rip people off, im scared to come in and trade my gamecube knowing it costs only 4999 used,, im betting on geting only 10 dollars rotflol my point will be proven time and time again i wonder what theyll give us for ps3s ,, not so much ,, theyll find reasons to only give you 25 dollars for it, just like theyll find reasons to charge you 40 dollars for the first mario party game released on gamecube lol with scratches to boot , tons and tons of scratches ,,, they should check every used game they get also do not put em in those paper cases those suck probably the reason why they are scratched up to begin with ,

The negative comments make me laugh. I bet more then 50% of you actually shop there and just complain about it on the boards. Regardless if you sell on Ebay or Amazon... People are lazy! They don't want to waste there time on the net, waiting for bids. There going to sell it to Gamestop. Besides, I don't want to buy some already played game off Ebay. i'd rather just buy it new or wait for a price drop.

Maybe now they can pay their employees a little more above crap then what they are paying now. Oh how i miss being able to trade in PC games.

I work at a GameStop, and I can safely say most of you people are idiots, sorry we don't offer you $20 for Madden 02 and most new games the trade ins depend on the game, usually you get 1/2 or more I've seen $50 games trade in for $35, what's wrong with that? sorry that you bought a game and wanted to trade it in for exactly what you paid for it, think about it in terms of selling it to a person, I paid $60 for (insert gam title here) I can either trade it in and get whatever is offered OR I can try and sell it to someone else for $60 and hope that they would prefer to buy a preplayed game rather than a brand new one for the same price.

Thats cool but i usually buy my games at wal-mart or best buy because they is only 1 game stop close to where i live

Stop buying games from GameStop! That store is bad news.

Nice!

if it wasnt for gamestop i wudnt have gotten any kind of money for my really old ps2 games...saving 10 bux on my next game purchase =]

I'd make that much too by ripping off the consumer with the price that they charge for used games and the return they give you for them!!! "Hey by this game for $45 then bring it back in a day and will give you $5 for it and resell it for $45"

My only real beef with them is selling opened, possibly played games, as new. I just bought Final Fantasy Tactics for PSP new from them, and they had to get the UMD out of a plastic bag and put it into the opened case, complete with a sticker on the front.

wow that was 1/3 of the entire video game industry according to NPD figures.

How about a raise to their employees =p

i love GameStop. my local stores employees have always offered outstanding customer service and i refuse to buy games anywhere else. GameStop rocks!

I work at a GameStop and this is very believable considering the holiday season was INSANE! I've never seen anything like it and my co-workers, some of which have been working for the company or EB Games for more than 5 years say that the last Christmas season was the busiest by far. I personally think it had a lot to do with the Wii. Once people couldn't find one they would settle for a 360, PS3, PSP, or DS.

I don't mind game stop, but the trade in prices are insane, truthfully said the only reason why they made the 7.1 billion is that they bought out every other game stores, I am starting to dislike when 2 company's become one, then everything they make start to change for the worse.

I am floored at all the negative responses. everyone knows you dont get much for trade ins, you could get more off ebay but you still have to pay ebay fees, paypal fees, wait for payments, ship it. gamestop offers the service of being a one stop shop then your home playin whatever. plus they take stolen goods. i hate reserves but every retailer has their pitch whether it be fries with that at burger king, an extended warranty at best buy, or a car wash after pumping gas. jeez i never knew gamers were such a bitter bunch. if the trade in price sucks dont do it. if you no longer enjoy playing the game let it sit there or sell it on ebay or amazon or whatever. why would you be mad about any offer to buy your games. good point on PC though, they have drastically cut it back and i would love to still see all the older systems and games. you have 7 days with used games where if you dont like it you can swap it for something else no questions asked. there are some dumb emps but ive met some cool people too.

For those who own long term gamestop stocks, know they earn big chuck of $$$ due to this, it is no doubt one of safest bit stock out ther... especially when GTA and MSG 4 out will bost even more $$$.

BJesse you seem to be one of the mindless people that travels to their local gamestop and gets ripped everytime you go there. I beat AOT a week after it came out and instead of going to gamestop and getting 25$ back (which is a a terrible rip and they will put it back up for 54.95$), I go to blockbuster and get 47$ for it because its on their most wanted list. Losing 22$ is basically similar to 0$ in the first place. Actually its worse...you lose when you go to gamestop. 0 is neutral.

You go gamestop! can you open a store in Surrey or Vancouver BC(Canada) now?

Why would it matter to anyone what Gamestop sells their used games for as long as you are getting some value for your trades? anything is better that $0 after you beat a game and it just sits there doing nothing for you. As far as Ebay goes - way to much time spent watching auctions and shipping stuff out. Much easier to go to local Gamestop and trade my old games in after i am done with them and get new games. Got SSBB and Lost Odyssey by trading in old games and getting promotions on trades that raised their value.