(FYI, I have *never* written a one-star review, ever. First one, peeps)
The first part of my criticism is with GameStop's policies in general, and the second part is with the store in particular. So GameStop's batting 1000 with me, which is why they only got 1 star. If I could give 0 stars, I would.
Also note that this is only a criticism of the people and the policies, not the hardware itself. I will say that we have always had good luck with GameStop refurbished hardware. I haven't experienced any issues with their refurbished consoles, and we've purchased several.
We placed a hold on a console during a Cyber Monday sale through the GameStop website. When the e-mail confirmation came in, it did say that product prices can change during the course of the hold, so you should try to get in same-day to pick up your hold. However, the hold is good for 24 hours. Really, GameStop? What kind of "hold" is that? "We'll hold the product for you, but we can't hold the price." Stupidest thing I've ever heard of. We placed the hold at 8:41 PM, and the store closes at 9. I live 31 miles away. That's 35 to 40 minutes, with the lightest traffic. There's no way I'm making it there same-day. You'd think the website would put a massive splash in your face that warns you that the prices are not held, not a tiny blurb in an email confirmation. Especially when the sale is ending and they *know* the price is changing! But please GameStop, don't make it easy on us or anything. Stupid.
Sadly, my wife missed that memo in the confirmation (it's not hard to miss). And perhaps she wouldn't have held the console in the first place and WASTED HER TIME had the WEBSITE mentioned this instead of the CONFIRMATION E-MAIL.
So she arrives at the store the next day (mid-morning), and she tells one of the employees that she held a console through the website.
"Oh, it's sold," he says.
"What?" she says. "I had a hold on that console!" She shows him the confirmation email. He goes and checks.
"It's there, but I can't honor that price because that sale ended. You only had until the end of the business day to pick that console up to get that price."
She's totally shocked at this point. "WHAT? There was no way I could make it to the store the same day! I live too far away! What's the point of putting a hold on an item if you can't get it at that price? I couldn't even make it to the store the same day, but your website let me hold it anyway!"
He says, "Sorry, but I can't adjust the price more than $10. Only my manager can do that."
"Is he here?"
"No."
"When does he get back?"
"Tomorrow."
So not only could they not honor the price because of GameStop policies, but there was NO ONE in the store who could actually fix the problem!
I went to the GameStop website to try to tell them about it. I went to their "Contact Us" section, where (unsurprising) a form was presented (no e-mail address, no number to call). I tried to fill in the form, writing my concerns in the box that says "Give us as much detail as you can so we can properly address your problem." Except the field only accepts 250 characters. Meh.
I'm a PowerUp Rewards Pro member. I'll still buy and trade games with them, but I'm done with hardware. Finito. I'll pay more at Best Buy before I buy another console from GameStop. Word to the wise: steer clear of GameStop for hardware. read more