Topic: The Chit Chat Thread

@KratosMD They even do same day delivery these days!

But that's what I've been doing for years. I order the games online, I get them a day ahead of release (two days in the case of God of War), it's way cheaper than digital (I can save up to €8 per game, even more if they're €70 on the digital store). And shipping is free, at least, most online retailers don't include any shipping.

@KratosMD Right, that's true as well. I found a pretty good site that has this reward system. So it's only the cheapest way to get games in most circumstances, you also gain points with every purchase you make, effectively making each following purchase cheaper than it already was.

The postal service is definitely the worst part of delivery! I used to live in an apartment on the thirteenth floor, but they were too lazy to take the lift (I think I read somewhere that they get paid per delivery), so they always claimed I wasn't home. If you're not home for two consecutive days, it then gets delivered at the nearest pick-up point. So I had to wait two days, and then get it myself lol. I used to pick the option to let it deliver at my local supermarket, so I could pick it up after school/work. It still worked out in the end, but ever since I moved things have gotten a lot better.

I buy all my games online and (so far) all my 'pre-orders' have arrived on the day of release - if not before. I used to buy games from stores - often during my lunch hour or on the way home from work but I still couldn't play them until the evening - that was before we had to install to disc too so I was no worse off than having them delivered.

I guess if you don't pre-order or buy games after release, there is a delay of a few days (at most) before it arrives but that has never bothered me at all. If I haven't bothered buying it before, then I can certainly wait a few more days and its not like I don't have a growing backlog I can always play in the meantime.

Virtually all my game orders nowadays come with free P&P and my pre-orders don't take the money until dispatch.

@KratosMD Why doesn't the retailer send out games a day (or two) earlier to compensate? I had an email from GAME a few days before they dispatched telling me they were packing the game ready to dispatch - sent first class the day before release and arrived on the day. The retailer could dispatch a day earlier than they normally would to ensure it arrives when its expected

@BAMozzy GAME are pretty good about their online pre-orders. They're the biggest of a handful of websites that'll dispatch early, and sometimes this can mean lucky folk get the disc through their letterbox a day or two before the release date.

I used to use Amazon for everything, including games. They would sometimes get things to me a day early and were, as you say, good about free postage and packing and only charging at the point of dispatch. I got everything sent to my office; the Royal Mail ensured that post arrived every day between 10am and 11am, without fail, and so on game launch days I'd engineer my schedule to leave at lunch (for most games, I'd then have the next week booked as annual leave, specifically to play them).

Then they switched from using the regular postal service to Amazon Logistics. Suddenly, things were arriving with significant delays. 10am became "whenever the Amazon Logistics driver could get to us" and since my office was near the dispatch centre, they'd leave us for the return journey at 5pm, maybe 6pm, sometimes even 7pm or later. I was sticking around way beyond closing (okay, I got loads done, but I didn't win any friends in the lower ranks by sending out emails at dinner time) and finally, one day, I snapped and swore never to use them again.

It was Rise of the Tomb Raider, and it was a day late. I'd booked a week's leave specifically to play it, and I'd have to be coming back to the office on the first day just to pick the bloody thing up... and if I had, I'd have been disappointed, because it eventually showed up three days later. So I came home. I live in the centre of town, five minutes away from a sizeable GAME, and since then I've made every pre-order and purchase over the counter.

Moral of the story? Don't ever, ever use Amazon for launch-day anything. Ever.

Yeah I usually use Shopto, Simply Games or GAME online if I pre-order as they all use Royal Mail so I can get it delivered at work, and they usually arrive a couple of days before day one. For anything else I use the previously mentioned sites and Amazon, whichever is the cheapest. I also use CEX a bit as I have about 80 quid of credit, but I would never buy any recent releases from them as even though it wouldn't cost me anything I don't want to support the extortionate prices.

@RogerRoger I guess that depends personal experience as I have not had problems with Amazon for years. Game let me down years ago too - not just once either - back in the 360/PS3 era and I tend to use them for 'exclusive to GAME' editions - pricing also can be a bit higher too with them. Apart from GoW which I ordered from GAME (because they had the limited edition), some of the last few games I have pre-ordered came from Amazon - Wolfenstein 2, Assassins Creed: Origins and most recently Far Cry 5 - all arrived with Royal Mail and on the expected day. God of War was posted the day before it released and I only got notification at 6pm of dispatch - not a lot of margin for error there. I do remember being let down by Amazon but they did compensate me with a £10 voucher and the game arrived the next day - GAME gave me nothing and said it was not their problem!

Like I said, it does depend on personal experience and do use Game Collection and ShopTo as well sometimes - neither of those have let me down yet either...

I never ordered a video game online. Even though they sometimes have great deals, I rather tend to wait until my local video game store has a similar sale. Besides that, I buy most games digital anyway.

@BAMozzy Wow, so you had almost the complete opposite experience? Must be a geographic, postcode lottery kinda thing (this is the scary moment where you reveal yourself to be my neighbour three doors down).

Although things do change. Your experience with GAME was "years ago" and you note that Amazon didn't use their own Amazon Logistics service for your pre-orders, rather going back to using Royal Mail, so I guess everything's gonna even out eventually. In the age of online feedback and user reviews, nobody can afford to be terrible forever.

@RogerRoger As I said it comes to personal experience - the only time Amazon let me down, they gave me a £10 voucher and the only time game let me down, they basically said it wasn't their fault and that delivery dates are just estimates.

The main reason I opt not to use game in general is that their pricing can be high. They sell the exclusive editions at RRP because they are the only ones with it. Their standard editions can be a few £'s more too. I bought Burnout Paradise from Game Collection for £28.95 - it was £34.99 at GAME...

When I did go to shops, I also hated GAME and their practices - trying to push and sell their 2nd hand version of games over the new. One staff went out the back and fetched a 2nd hand copy and asked me if I would rather save £2 for that than the new one - 2/3 times. When I declined, reached under the counter and pulled up a new, in cellophane copy that he could have got when I went to buy! RIDICULOUS. That's another reason I reluctantly use them now.

@BAMozzy Yikes. That is ridiculous, and I don't blame you for avoiding them as a result.

Again, however, you're describing the complete opposite of my personal experiences. My local GAME is staffed by genuinely friendly, helpful people. I've never seen them push anything on anybody, and have even seen them answer questions openly and honestly when they know it'll cost them a sale (flying in the face of a common criticism, I gather).

It's that postcode lottery again; I've lucked out by living near a good store. I'm always sorry to hear that it isn't the case for the majority of the rest of the country, especially since I feel quite comforted being in my local GAME and would be the first to intervene if I saw examples of any unfair business practices or exploitation of customers.

Yes, okay, the prices are high but last year was such a good year for new releases that, by the time November swung around, I'd managed to collect enough reward points on my loyalty card to get Star Wars: Battlefront II - Elite Trooper Edition (£69.99) for free. That's probably about the same amount I could've saved shopping online, but dodging the aforementioned "Will it arrive on time?" anxiety and the convenience and security of living five minutes from a decent GAME store tipped the scales for me.

This year, that won't work and I will shop around, because there's only one game, two if I'm generous, that I really want to play at launch. I guess they're targeting a different market; they sell games for gamers and if you're making a purchase almost every month, they're worth getting into bed with.

@RogerRoger I think it all depends on the local stores themselves and how well they're run, even when they're part of a larger chain.

If your Game is great, then it probably is.

Whenever I've bought some something in store from Game the staff would always try to sell me disc insurance for a few extra quid. I've always declined but apparently there are some kind of commission/bonus to sell as many as possible.

I always thought Amazon Logistics was only used for the bigger parcels and the smaller packages that can fit through a letter box are delivered by Royal mail. I could be wrong though.

@RogerRoger Just out of interest, how many games did you have to buy to get 70 quid worth of reward points?

Generally I get everything online because it's convenient and I rarely go into town these days. I mostly order from Amazon, and like @BAMozzy experienced, if there ever is a problem they have excellent customer service. They have been unable to fulfil a few pre-orders over the years - most recently Danganronpa V3 - in which case I just go to shopto or Game.

I like the staff in my local GAME as they're always friendly. In general it's not a great shopping experience though. The store is cramped and feels a bit "sterile" (I can't really think of a better word). Sometimes they have decent deals though and I have got a few things on a whim. They unseal all the games though which is a shame. Where I used to live they didn't. I do wish there was an indie games shop in my town as they're usually nice to go to.

@JohnnyShoulder Sometimes preorders from Amazon are Royal Mail. There doesn't really seem to be a pattern though. I forgot about the disc insurance thing at GAME. Do they think I my discs as coasters or frisbees? I keep my things pristine. 😂

@Kidfried Oh, for sure. Most of the horror stories from other GAMEs usually get worse once the manager becomes involved and you realise it's a tone being set by them, not the counter staff. I've never worked in retail, but I gather the manager of a store is somewhat like the captain of a ship in that respect, and I'm therefore not surprised when stores get a bad reputation because there's a butt in command.

@JohnnyShoulder When they first introduced it, Amazon used Amazon Logistics for a wider range. As I said before, things may have changed in the years since.

What they do still do (since my partner buys tech from them quite a bit) is send out larger items without any exterior packaging; they just stick a postage label in the most visible part of the product's box and ship it, even via Royal Mail. For whatever reason, seeing examples of that drives me up the wall.

To answer your question, about ten, maybe even more. I had some points left over, too; however, I was taking advantage of GAME Elite at the time, which gives you triple reward points on every purchase. I got way more than the initial £33 outlay in extras, like mugs and plush toys, most of which were Nintendo-related and went to my partner. I've cancelled it for this year because I'll be buying so few games, so it simply isn't worth it, but last year had a particularly strong line-up.

@mookysam Urgh, if my GAME unsealed new games, this conversation would be going very, very differently. I didn't think anywhere still did that. Bad luck!

@RogerRoger It is very, very irritating. The discs are always pristine but a couple of boxes have had scuffs or even scratches on them. It makes me wince.

@mookysam Seeing how other folk, especially retail workers rushing at peak times, handle DVDs and Blu-Rays makes me amazed that you've always managed to snag pristine discs. Silver linings and all that!

Unsealed copies is one of the main reasons I switched to online shopping a while back.

@RogerRoger They can be pretty reckless. When I get used games I always ask to see the disc, which makes me feel like a fusspot, but rather that than a scratched disc. 😂 Strangely enough I did once receive Rogue Galaxy on the PS2 unsealed from GAME's website even though it was listed as "new". The disc wasn't pristine either. I didn't return it because it wasn't an easy to get hold of game at the time. No idea if they still do this - it was 10 years ago and only happened the once.

@mookysam I hear you. When unsealed copies were common in stores and I was occasionally forced to shop around, I'd always take the case up to the counter and asked whether the copy I would be receiving would be sealed or not. Sometimes, this involved long queues in busy shops, and if the answer was "no, sorry" I'd feel like an idiot walking away (to their credit, many did check behind the counter or out in their stock rooms for me, and once they actually did find a sealed copy, which the chap seemed just as amazed about as I was).

New online orders from GAME are now sealed, but they ship them in vacuum-sealed packaging with incredibly sticky glue all over the insides. Since it's stuck to the cellophane, it isn't the worst thing ever, but it's a tad bizarre.

I mostly only go to GAME whenever they're giving out Pokemon codes (and I got to remember to go this month and grab a Xerneas/Yveltal code). The staff at my nearest shop seem friendly enough, but I rarely buy anything there due to the high prices. If the price of something is similar to elsewhere then I'll usually try to buy there just because I do like having a dedicated video game shop on the high street.

@RogerRoger Amazon must hate your post code as i don't recall them ever not packaging stuff up properly.