Halo 3 LE from Gamestop... fishy?

Hi All, during Thanksgiving break I went to a local Gamestop to trade in a few old games I had so I could pick up the Halo 3 Limited Edition.

I managed to get enough credit to pay only around ~$6 for the game. It was pulled off the shelf (they had two copies it seemed), but the plastic sleeve/tinbox wasn't shrinkwrapped like new games usually are. However, it did have the Microsoft/Xbox "authentic" sticker that's on the opening of all games (on top of the case) still intact. Because this sticker was still on, I considered it new (even though the shrinkwrap wasn't on). The tin and everything still looked in new condition, anyway. The guy who was doing my transaction even said that they had just gotten the two copies in the mail that day.

So, I gethome and remove the Microsoft/Xbox authentic sticker do-dad, and I find that there's no disc in the holder! I flip to the other side of the tin, and... same thing, no disc in the holder (where the bonus DVD should be). However, the booklet, bestiarium, etc. were there, but in its own little shrinkwrapped package, and the discs were inside too. It even had what looked like a Gamestop sticker (like the price stickers that are on the outside of the games), but had no price and just had some random ID numbers and "---NEW---" printed on.

I call back the Gamestop asking what was up with this, and if they had done it. The manager told me that it wasn't them who did it, and they had gotten the games that day in the mail and hadn't touched them. He mentioned that the discs for the LE had that scratch problem (which I am aware of), and the discs were taken off and put into the shrink wrap with the manual and such so they wouldn't get scratched... essentially repacked to be safer.

What is weird is that the sticker on top is the authentic Xbox sticker that comes with all games (the one that's always hard to remove, and you can't open the case without it), but the shrink wrap deal inside that everything was contained in looked like it had a Gamestop sticker. Everything looked to be in good condition, even when I opened up the Bestiarium booklet it made that fresh cracking sound that hardbound books (not to mention no wrinkles indicating that it hadn't been previously opened). The discs, however, were a little scratched, and looked to be in the same way that most of the other retail Halo 3 LE discs were scratched that I had seen on the web.

I know that Gamestop is known for selling open items as "new," but because the case still had a sticker and the clerk didn't pull the discs out from under the desk or something to put in the case, I took it as new. Also, because Microsoft is doing an exchange for all the scratched LE discs, it doesn't matter how I bought it, becuase I'd still be getting a brand new disc from Microsoft in the mail whenever I wanted through their disc exchange program.

Does this sound fishy to anyone? Or can anyone shed more light onto what may have happened/corroborate the story? The manager seemed to be serious and know what he was talking about.

Sorry to make my first post long like this, but I wanted it to be as detailed as possible.

Thanks for your time.

The sticker at the top that says do not sell before 9/25 is easy to take off since it's not shrinkwrappedso I'm assuming an employee thought he could get away with getting a free copy of Halo. I hate how EB sells open games that's why I always buy my games from Best Buy, there's no problems such as this.

well, I didn't think it was one of the display copies or open because like I had said, the top of the game still had the Xbox sticker that is on all the new games, and it didn't look like it had been tampered with. Unless you guys have a machine that can attach new stickers on, and also shrink wrap all the contents inside?

i made my post detailed because this situation sounds different from the other gamestop deals where the case is actually physically open and they pull the disc from under the counter, or something. again, my case wasn't opened or anything, it wasn't shinkwrapped, but it still had that microsoft sticker (http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/static/images/features/xbox_coa.jpg) on top, and just the inside contents were all shrinkwrapped...

The sticker at the top that says do not sell before 9/25 is easy to take off since it's not shrinkwrappedso I'm assuming an employee thought he could get away with getting a free copy of Halo. I hate how EB sells open games that's why I always buy my games from Best Buy, there's no problems such as this.

Strife88

i don't know what sticker you are talking about, but the one i am referring to is this one:

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/static/images/features/xbox_coa.jpg

that one is kind of hard to remove and it would be pretty evident if tampered with, i think? also, like i had mentioned.. the manager said that they had gotten the copies of halo 3 LE today. i think it would be pretty hard to try to put on a sticker perfectly and also shrinkwrap the contents in the store, right?

I work at gamestop and yes, all this stuff about games is true. We are allowed to check out new games, take it home, open it, play it, and sell it as new. Personally i dont do it but my co workers do. So when you get an open game its one of two things. 1. It's just a display case and they gutted the game so no-one would steal it. 2. An employee checked it out and played it already. No sure way to tell. I dont like it all that much which is why i dont check out, but hey, if you dont like it go to best buy. Not trying to be an a** or anything but seriously, just go to best buy, our company is just so ridiculous.timmotool

Yeah your gamestop maybe... You know thats against policy right? Read the hand book you recieved. Your entire staff should be fired for taking them home. Your only allowed to take home used games.

oh, no man, i didn't grab the case, it was on the shelf with all the other games. they didn't put in the cds because the cds were already in the case... like i mentioned, the game still that that xbox security sticker on it, it's just that all the contents on the inside were in its own shrink wrapped (unbroken) baggie. the discs weren't in the holders, they were in this baggie with the manual and such.

this isn't like a normal opened case deal where they pull the disc out of some other place, everything was still in the case and it was all sealed up new.. just differently?

oh, no man, i didn't grab the case, it was on the shelf with all the other games. they didn't put in the cds because the cds were already in the case... like i mentioned, the game still that that xbox security sticker on it, it's just that all the contents on the inside were in its own shrink wrapped (unbroken) baggie. the discs weren't in the holders, they were in this baggie with the manual and such.

this isn't like a normal opened case deal where they pull the disc out of some other place, everything was still in the case and it was all sealed up new.. just differently?

whiteyelloworan

ahh ok I understand.. That is really odd, our store doesnt do that at all, infact thats really odd. I wouldnt shop there anymore, it just seems to shady.

[QUOTE="whiteyelloworan"]

oh, no man, i didn't grab the case, it was on the shelf with all the other games. they didn't put in the cds because the cds were already in the case... like i mentioned, the game still that that xbox security sticker on it, it's just that all the contents on the inside were in its own shrink wrapped (unbroken) baggie. the discs weren't in the holders, they were in this baggie with the manual and such.

this isn't like a normal opened case deal where they pull the disc out of some other place, everything was still in the case and it was all sealed up new.. just differently?

Childeater10

ahh ok I understand.. That is really odd, our store doesnt do that at all, infact thats really odd. I wouldnt shop there anymore, it just seems to shady.

ahh ok I understand.. That is really odd, our store doesnt do that at all, infact thats really odd. I wouldnt shop there anymore, it just seems to shady.

Childeater10

yeah, that's why i'm really weirded out about this. what i'm trying to figure out is exactly what happened here, aka who did the sealing and what may have *actually* happened. i called up gamestop customer service and they said that gamestop gets their stuff from the gamestop warehouses, and microsoft may have opened up their own leftover copies and resent them out repackaged like this to prevent the scratching... i dunno.

yeah, i don't think i'll be shopping there anymore. i usually buy my games online anyway from amazon or buy.com (when they have deals or coupons), but in the few rare times i've wanted to purchase at a b&m, of all the Gamestops in my area, these guys seemed to have the best employees (also recommended by friends of mine who shop at Gamestop all the time).

bah!

It wasn't new. GameStop always does that. Instead of taking the used games and selling them as used they clean them and sell them as new. The compaines don't send games in those paper cases instead they send them shrinkwrapped in plastic cases.

It wasn't new. GameStop always does that. Instead of taking the used games and selling them as used they clean them and sell them as new. The compaines don't send games in those paper cases instead they send them shrinkwrapped in plastic cases.

MJ0LNIR_SPARTAN

what about the sticker seal?