OK. So Gamestop obviously isn’t “broken” – it’s the de facto leading US video game chain, the 900 lb. gorilla in the market, it makes money hand over fist and I suspect its stockholders are quite pleased with it. I’m a pretty frequent customer, so (again, obviously), I’ve got to be generally satisfied with the place. On the other hand, I do have some random annoyances associated with the chain, and I have a blog, so like any other random internet guy with a blog, I’m going to rant about what I think they could do better.

1) Cut your employees some slack and let them think for themselves. I’ll make up a number that sounds high here and say that 92% of all Gamestop employees are pretty passionate about gaming, and that’s the difference between them and the bored guy in the blue shirt in the R-Zone at Toys B We.

When I go into a Gamestop, and I’m buying something, and the guy selling it to me is painfully ticking down a script and I’m patiently saying “I already have your discount card. I already get your magazine. No, I don’t want to trade anything in. No, I don’t want to reserve anything.” – It’s frustrating to both sides of the counter, AND it pushes me into a script of my own – I might actually want to reserve something, but I’ve just gotten so used to saying “No” that I don’t think about it.

Let the guy at the register take a look at what I have and base his upselling on that – if I’m buying a couple of cheap X-box games, it’s because I’m feeling broke. Now is not the time to try to pitch me a $60 pre-order. It might be a good time to say “Hey, if you like the look of those, there are a couple of other games in the budget bin you might like”, or push the discount card.

Likewise: If I’m buying a couple of $60 new releases, it might be a good time to push that pre-order. But, let your employees push something that actually makes sense. Mandatory “you must mention this game to every customer” is bad. I’ve bought lots of stuff based on recommendations that take in to account the games I’m actually buying that day, but if I’m waiting in line and I hear every customer asked “would you like to reserve “Great Giana Sisters II?” , by the time it’s my turn, I’m not going to feel like reserving me a copy of Great Giana Sisters II – I know the guy behind the counter is just asking everyone, and he hasn’t really thought about whether it would appeal to each of the customers.

Summary: I like being upsold to, but only if the guy doing it seems to have thought about it.

2) Set some standards for used games. Every used game should have an A, B, or C rating, and these ratings should be obvious to anyone browsing the used games. There should also be a category below “C”, which is games in poor enough shape that you simply won’t deal in them. Make it obvious both to people buying used games that they will be paying more for higher quality games and will receive more when they trade in a game in good shape – or, conversely, that if they don’t care the condition it’s in, that they can get it for pennies, but they won’t get much if they bring it back. If you pound this message home hard enough to your customer base, it will give them an incentive to take better care of games, your stores will have better quality product to sell and everyone’s life gets better. Also, the really lousy games wind up getting sold to your competition, such as it is – independent game stores and pawn shops – which means that customers will start to associate those places with “I bought a game from that shop once, and it didn’t work! At Gamestop, I know the games I buy will work.”

3) Make publishers send you display boxes. 900 pound gorillas can say things like “If you want “Great Giana Sisters The Dating-Sim-RPG” in 5000 stores, you will be sending us a display box to put in every one of those stores” to publishers, and publishers will weigh the costs of display boxes versus the profit they want to make by seeing their game in your store… and you will get your display boxes. Make them send you a few boxes, because we both know that people looking to steal games are dumb and will steal empty cardboard boxes.

Then stop gutting one copy of every new game. I have heard all the arguments about how gutted games are the same as new games, but I also know that one of the few perks your employees get is the ability to take games home to try out. A gutted game that’s been employee-borrowed is not a new game. I have no way of knowing which games have been checked out by an employee and which haven’t, so I’m going to assume that anything that comes out of a little envelope is a used game.

4) On used games, put the “Edge price” and the “Used price” – point out to people that, yes, you’re charging $54 for the used copy of Great Giana Sisters Kart Racing since the game came out less than a week ago – but if they have your discount card, it’s $48. That starts looking more like a deal and less like a “I’m only getting six bucks off for buying used?”

5) I love swag! Limited edition swag for pre-ordering is the Best Idea Ever! …just make sure every store gets enough to cover all the pre-orders, OK? I’ve never had a problem getting my swag, but I’ve heard people complain about it, so I mention it as a public service to them.

6) I know strategy guides have a nice margin, but I almost never buy strategy guides. On the other hand, I will pay a stupid premium for a strategy guide that comes with a soundtrack or artbook. Push publishers to make more of them. Again, a 900 pound gorilla is you. Don’t do this for every game, though. People buying Great Giana Sisters Kart Racer… probably not a good market for a $30 limited edition strategy guide. People buying Great Giana Sisters the Tactical Dating Sim, on the other hand…

7) You know back when you carried some game soundtracks? That was cool, and they make great up-sell items and have a higher margin than new games, or so I’m led to believe. Likewise, I dropped 15 bucks on a Dead Or Alive Xtreme 2 calendar because I’m a shameless male. Male, with no shame. It says it right here. Very formal, very official.

8 ) If non-specialty video game retailers can have copies of a new game for sale on its release date and you can’t – something is wrong. 900 pound gorillas don’t have to say “you didn’t preorder Great Giana Sisters : The First Person Shooter, so we didn’t get enough. Please don’t cross the street to Best Buy, where they have lots and we look silly”

If you’re limiting your pre-orders because you don’t want to take a chance on a game not selling and you getting stuck with a bunch, use that 900 pound gorilla mojo to talk to the publishers and say “We’ll take a chance on your game… but we want some really good return terms if it winds up flopping.”

9) Game Informer is great. I think of my Edge card thingy as a magazine subscription first and a discount card second. I’ve used this same strategy to sell some friends on getting your card, and nobody’s complained yet. Don’t change anything about the magazine.

I’ll stop here because “top 10” lists are a blight unto mankind, and I feel better having ranted this much. 🙂