Retailers Destroy Games

[NarcissistZero]

So I was in Gamestop today just looking around and waiting for my girlfriend... I see they have Penumbra Oveture, which I don't own, and the sticker says $5. I take to the register and the guy rings it up, but it comes up "$.01" as in one penny. The guy then says "sorry, can't sell it to you."

I ask for further details and it ends up once a game sits on the shelf for so long and doesn't sell Gamestop gets some of their money back from purchasing the game and then DESTROYS IT. As in, they break the disc and then throw it away. The manager told me if they sell it they can get fired or sued even.

I just thought it was interesting and something I never realized... they don't mail them back, or store them, or auction them, they DESTROY THEM... they would not sell it to me, they insisted on destroying it.

Weird.

[Hex]

They lie in a way, I know multiple gamestop managers who will sell those items or give them to friends and then mark them as destroyed.

[a12ctic]

I knew a kid that worked there, he said it was terribly run and that the rules were rediculous. This doesn't supprise me at all.

[jeffmd]

Well the legit thing to do is what the cashier told you, they do destroy it. When the game is shipped, the number of shipped is noted in the stores inventory. If a game gets old and discontinued by the store chain, they can apply for a partial or full refund from the manufacturer for the copies they didn't sell. The manufacturer agrees, refunds the number in inventory, but it does not want the product back. Not only does it cost money to ship it, but then they have to store it someplace with everyone elses unsold copies and try and sell it by other means which they probably don't have in place. So on the honor system, they simply request that it be destroyed.

A gamestop that violates this rule and proceeds to resell games it got refunds for can get in huge trouble. Its effectively stealing as they are selling a copy of the game they no longer own.