Sales returns

The thread on returning the Kinect raised a great issue - What do you as consumers think about not being able to return a game for a refund? Even if there was a time limit like 5 days or something.

One thing that always gets me going is that if I buy a game that ends up being not so good for $49.99 then I want to return it. I don't want to own some crap and shouldn't be forced to hawk it up on Amazon to get rid of it. I just find it insulting that Game Publishers and Retailers refuse to own up to their product standards by refusing to take back the POS they sell us. Granted not all games are bad but if they suck and someone buys it then they should have the right to return it.

What does anyone else think?

I usually do a lot of research before I shell out my cash, so I am pretty sure that the game I want will be worth the expense. Do the stores you go to not give you an in store credit? I understand that you want your money back, but how many gamers out there pick up a title one release day and finish it by the next? Once the product is opened, it is considered to be used. The best someone should hope for is an in store credit. Or else the developers and stores would never see any profit.

If we could return it, then they'll basically be giving out free rentals. And since it's been opened, it makes it much harder for them to sell. If they gave you 5 days, then most games can easily be beaten by then. The only time I ever try to return a game is if it doesn't work. Which has never happened. But I've boughten new movies covered in scratches that wouldn't work. And I request an exchange for another copy of the same movie, which they usually agree to.

I either research what I'm buying or go with my gut feeling.

I never buy a game unless I know it recieved a high rating or is at least a part of atried and true series.

Yeah good points. I was partially thinking in general terms but everyone raises good points too.

For the time duration this is a big one because like you say, games can be beaten in such short time frames that returns would be viewed rightfully as free rentals. If the policy was say 10hrs from receipt time then maybe that could work to compensate.

Generally once a game is opened it is considered "used" even if it was not used which is a bogus loophole that retailers love to exploit. They do this because they have a cost of wrapping and inventoring that they don't want to have to do again. They used to do this up until about 92 when they realized they could just screw the consumer instead and then changed policies.

But the arguement is for the people that do not do research (or as deep of research as we do and even then it is a gamble...) when they purchase a great new game becuase it is in the ad of Target or on as a TV commercial 50 times a day (ahem SWFU2!). These are the mass market, the parents, the general consumer, or someone that is just buying a game for another person. If the game was not so good and you knew after 10min that this was not what you wanted to pay for then some kind of compensation should be available. Store credit would be good. I think this is one of only a few ways that the industry as a whole will listen to the demands and expectations of its consumer base.

I usually get what i want really bad, reviews dont scare me that much as some games rated poorly and i love them to death, take Socom Confrontation which got horrible reviews and its one of my favorite games.

Yeah good points. I was partially thinking in general terms but everyone raises good points too.

For the time duration this is a big one because like you say, games can be beaten in such short time frames that returns would be viewed rightfully as free rentals. If the policy was say 10hrs from receipt time then maybe that could work to compensate.

Generally once a game is opened it is considered "used" even if it was not used which is a bogus loophole that retailers love to exploit. They do this because they have a cost of wrapping and inventoring that they don't want to have to do again. They used to do this up until about 92 when they realized they could just screw the consumer instead and then changed policies.

But the arguement is for the people that do not do research (or as deep of research as we do and even then it is a gamble...) when they purchase a great new game becuase it is in the ad of Target or on as a TV commercial 50 times a day (ahem SWFU2!). These are the mass market, the parents, the general consumer, or someone that is just buying a game for another person. If the game was not so good and you knew after 10min that this was not what you wanted to pay for then some kind of compensation should be available. Store credit would be good. I think this is one of only a few ways that the industry as a whole will listen to the demands and expectations of its consumer base.

Synlore59

I understand what you're saying, but there's just no way for the store to know if the game has been played or not. Or how long it's been played. In an ideal world where customers can be trusted, then the scenario you proposed would work great. But customers lie. They lie a lot. So it sucks for those of us that are honest, but I don't blame the stores for doing what they do. I would do the same.

[QUOTE="Synlore59"]

Yeah good points. I was partially thinking in general terms but everyone raises good points too.

For the time duration this is a big one because like you say, games can be beaten in such short time frames that returns would be viewed rightfully as free rentals. If the policy was say 10hrs from receipt time then maybe that could work to compensate.

Generally once a game is opened it is considered "used" even if it was not used which is a bogus loophole that retailers love to exploit. They do this because they have a cost of wrapping and inventoring that they don't want to have to do again. They used to do this up until about 92 when they realized they could just screw the consumer instead and then changed policies.

But the arguement is for the people that do not do research (or as deep of research as we do and even then it is a gamble...) when they purchase a great new game becuase it is in the ad of Target or on as a TV commercial 50 times a day (ahem SWFU2!). These are the mass market, the parents, the general consumer, or someone that is just buying a game for another person. If the game was not so good and you knew after 10min that this was not what you wanted to pay for then some kind of compensation should be available. Store credit would be good. I think this is one of only a few ways that the industry as a whole will listen to the demands and expectations of its consumer base.

Tropictrain

I understand what you're saying, but there's just no way for the store to know if the game has been played or not. Or how long it's been played. In an ideal world where customers can be trusted, then the scenario you proposed would work great. But customers lie. They lie a lot. So it sucks for those of us that are honest, but I don't blame the stores for doing what they do. I would do the same.

Yes but that is where the Publishers come into play also. The Publishers tell the Retailer what they will accept back or not (for returns and overstock). The retailer then can choose to create thier own return method for software. The problem is that the Publisher will only accept back overstock or faulty product (sometimes!). The Pubs do not accept unhappy customer satisfaction returns for any reason and mostly because they know what they sold you in the first place (they dont want it either!) and are too busy hitting the profit margin to care about me or anyone else. So the retailer gets stuck with an opened item. Back in the day a smart retailer could just repackage and resell but with the complications of item identifiers (Product codes, registration, etc) they do not have a way to bypass this. Publishers make deals with retailers every couple months to get new games to market and that includes reabsorbing the recent leftover crap from before(all the rest turns into those nice $5-$15 bargin bins: note you never see Final Fantasy/GTA/GoW/Star Wars?etc for $10 in there!). It's not like Publishers couldn't take back the games from unhappy customers its just that they won't because they know the truth from day 0. They had a QA team tell them exactly what the expectations would be for game X. They already know that the game will take 4.5hrs to beat. :)

Sure there are cheaters out there and that was a real big deal that led to the no return/refund policy but Retailers could have just did a better job at returns in the first place rather than bending over to the Publisher who created the game in the first place.