I went in to trade a game and they wanted a lot of personal info that I don't think was needed. The salesman was SURE it was -name, address, phone, zip, birth date...what the hell do they need my birth date for? With the rampant I.D. theft we have today I really don't like to give out that stuff, so this really worries me.

Has anyone else had this experience, is this really gamestop policy? I haven't traded anything there in a long time so I don't remember how they used to do it. I think from now on I will just make some stuff up if I go back.

It has to with them giving cash for trades. It's similar to a pawn shop and the laws that apply to them. I was a little taken back the first time also.

they may collect this info and use it for revenue. if they can tell advertisers this percentage of customers are under 20, and this percentage are over etc... it'll help them hone in on a certain age group when they make their marketing material.

or something

They verify age because you have to be 18 to sell your games (but I have never been asked for my date of birth even though I look much younger than I really am) .

--- Jason

They verify age because you have to be 18 to sell your games (but I have never been asked for my date of birth even though I look much younger than I really am) .

--- Jason
Is that a recently established rule? I'm 20, but I used to trade in my games to EB Games and Gamestop all the time back when I was a teen (during those times where they gave more store credit than they do now).

Is that a recently established rule? I'm 20, but I used to trade in my games to EB Games and Gamestop all the time back when I was a teen (during those times where they gave more store credit than they do now).
Just since they started offering cash for trades.

heh you should take a look at the rest of that screen sometime...height, weight, eye color...i kid you not...

Gamestop...I hate that place. The last time I was in there, I was picking up Donkey Kong Country for this girl I was seeing (she was hot and I was doing all I could to keep her on board, ok?!!) for the DS (GBA compatible game) and I asked this kid if they had it for the GBA. He said they had it on the original gameboy or something and I told him I need it on GBA. For some reason, he started getting testy and muttering things under his breath. He pulled out the game for the original gameboy or some other system I didn't have and I told him "no, that's not the right one". He again muttered something and I asked him what his problem was and why he was acting like a punk. I was pretty much ready to destroy this pimple faced little turd whom I towered over. He asked one of his dork coworkers if he was being a punk, and his coworker says "I don't know, I'm not paying attention". I just laughed and walked out of there. I'm a peaceful dude really I just don't appreciate awful service and attitude unjustified and I got plenty of both. As far as their info system goes, they'll never get a word of truthful info out of me and that's just how it's going to be. I'm not down with identity theft over a video game return, nor do I want to be solicited in any way. If they don't like it, I'll take my business elsewhere.

The post about the pawn shop laws are correct, they take all this information due to federal legal requirements in case it can be traced back to a crime.

They do the exact same thing at pawn shops, guitar center or any where you trade merchandise in for trade or cash .

It's the law, don't worry about it

Gamestop...I hate that place. The last time I was in there, I was picking up Donkey Kong Country for this girl I was seeing (she was hot and I was doing all I could to keep her on board, ok?!!) for the DS (GBA compatible game) and I asked this kid if they had it for the GBA. He said they had it on the original gameboy or something and I told him I need it on GBA. For some reason, he started getting testy and muttering things under his breath. He pulled out the game for the original gameboy or some other system I didn't have and I told him "no, that's not the right one". He again muttered something and I asked him what his problem was and why he was acting like a punk. I was pretty much ready to destroy this pimple faced little turd whom I towered over. He asked one of his dork coworkers if he was being a punk, and his coworker says "I don't know, I'm not paying attention". I just laughed and walked out of there. I'm a peaceful dude really I just don't appreciate awful service and attitude unjustified and I got plenty of both. As far as their info system goes, they'll never get a word of truthful info out of me and that's just how it's going to be. I'm not down with identity theft over a video game return, nor do I want to be solicited in any way. If they don't like it, I'll take my business elsewhere.

Gamestop isn't all the bad, really. It's just that th customers can sometimes be obnoxious. I used to work at a Gamestop once and I remember this guy came in looking for Donkey Kong Country for the GBA. I told him we didn't have it, but he asked again anyway. I again told him we don't have it for the GBA, we only have it for the original gameboy. He didn't seem to understand me so he asked me AGAIN if we had Donkey Kong Country for the GBA. Before I could tell him again that we didn't have it, he called me a punk and stormed out.

LMAO...funny stuff batman

LMAO...funny stuff batman


agreed

^+1

Gamestop isn't all the bad, really. It's just that th customers can sometimes be obnoxious. I used to work at a Gamestop once and I remember this guy came in looking for Donkey Kong Country for the GBA. I told him we didn't have it, but he asked again anyway. I again told him we don't have it for the GBA, we only have it for the original gameboy. He didn't seem to understand me so he asked me AGAIN if we had Donkey Kong Country for the GBA. Before I could tell him again that we didn't have it, he called me a punk and stormed out.
I knew you were the pimple faced turd from that store. You're lucky you are still breathing after that testy exchange

holy god! lmao ... thanks for the laugh gents. even pulled the wife over to read it. too funny

Trade-ins are such a rip off,I stopped doing that years ago.A game that you bought for $49,play it and return it a month later,they give you $20 for it and then turn and sell it for $5 less than a new copy.I try to avoid even buying from Gamestop period.I prefer getting my games from Target,Bestbuy,etc or a mom & pop store.

Thanks for the replies guys,

...actually I was trading for store credit because you get a little more, and I agree with dragon- why pay for a trashed game when you can get a brand new one for $5 more.

I usually don't like doing business with them, but I would rather get a few bucks back on a game I'll never play again than have it take up space and collect dust.

oh and gamepimp, couldn't they just check your ID like for alcohol instead of recording your DOB?

Another option is The Movie Trading Company if you have one in your area. They take game trades and give more than Gamestop or EB. I changed to them once I found out about that. They don't have the same selection but what they have isn't terrible. Check them out.

Gamestop isn't all the bad, really. It's just that th customers can sometimes be obnoxious...

I know this was a joke post, but I've witnessed the folks at GameStop deal with some serious stupidity and smile through it.

Anyone who's ever worked retail has their opinion of humanity taken down a few notches. When I worked at Disney in high school I was constantly asked gems like "what time is the three o'clock parade?" and "what am I in line for?" (asked by a guy standing in a line literally 100 yards long).

That said, GameStop does seem to attract more than its fair share of idiots behind the counter.

The customer is always right :cool:

The customer is always right :cool:

Actually they aren't. Whoever came up with that saying was probably a pain in the ass customer.
You should always treat customers in a professional manner however in a lot of cases they are wrong.
Is a customer right when they use cursing at you?
Is a customer right when they try to violate the policies laid out by the store even if they are made aware of them prior to their purchase?

I saw a customer at Best buy trying to return something after 90 days of owning it and the lady told him the return policy and he basically threw the box at the employee. She was being very professional.

Some customers don't DESERVE to be customers.

Well i work at EB Games in Canada and i'll tell you some things...
1) filling out the personal info (never heard about the birth day...) can be a *****, but if we get stuck with a fake, it'll suck...

2) they give you $2-15 depending on how old the game is and sell it for a good 3/4 more...under used...BS

3) most of the used game...honestly, 1 out of 6 work, 3 of 'em have been buffed to the point where the disc is unreadable...they use a automated sandpaper machine (can't remember what they're really called...sorry) the other 2 are most probably defective...

4) I sold a used Xbox to this guy a couple of weeks ago...the Xbox went through "restoration" at the head office and "inspection"...balls, he brought that one back the same day and another and another...i was pissed off...i ended up giving him an xbox for free...

5) employees are to young...they're irresponsible and don't give a ****...they all have some kind of b**** disease...anyways, the day i walked in, i was with a new staff of 21 and up...

6) wages...don't get me started...most get minimum wages and scratch...if their was an incentive, like commission, employees would hussle...if not, an extra $2 more would be fine for a start...these guys don't care...they care just as much as being half a million in sales behind their previous year...

7) customers...regardless where you work they're scums...period...don't forget i'm a consumer too, how come i'm not acting like the way you are? I get idiots everyday, scummier then scum (if that makes any sense)...how do people live? I have no idea...

Anyways...i have much more to say about this company but i'm tired right now...i must agree though, we do have pointless policies and we do have retards behind the counter and we do have BS service and BS quality control...and thats it...ahahaha...Hello, i work at EB Games...if you're thinking why i'm still there...well dealing with stupid customers with pathetic excuses and so on, gives me an experience to communicate in a professional manner...i have yet to burst into flames and call some customer an *******...so until then i'll stick around and hussle, luckily i'm not getting minimum wage (very fortunate)...

PS.: Regardless, the customer is always right...professionalism always comes first...and if violating the policies...still, it's not even written in the back of the bill...in fact, whats written is generalized...some people are stupid after all...

This thread has served its purpose.

I couldn't agree more that most employees at gamestop are scums