Gamestop.com’s various promotion codes allow it to compete better online with Amazon.com
About 8 months ago, I mentioned how Amazon had successfully stolen me away from Gamestop. With all of the various deals Amazon had running in its favor, I went the way of Amazon for most of my game buying in 2009. But this year, it looks like Gamestop has probably lost a lot of customers to Amazon and is turning up the heat. (Don’t you just love competition?) Let’s explore what they’ve begun implementing to pull gamers back to their store.
Gamestop.com Only
First of all, I want to mention that all of these major deals Gamestop is running is only on their website, Gamestop.com. You won’t find any of these deals in their brick & mortar stores – and for good reason: it’s a different customer there. Most customers that walk into Gamestop are the less “price conscious” consumers, as they are either pre-ordering games for full price or just walking in and buying whatever they see off the shelf. With brick & mortar game stores closing all over the place like Game Crazy, Gamestop basically has a monopoly for selling games at retail. No discounts are necessary.
In comparison, online shopping is a different world. Gamestop’s online shoppers know of other major retailers to go to, such as Amazon.com if they want to compare prices. These customers are smarter, more deal-savvy, and more calculated in their buying tendencies. Amazon probably stole a lot of people away, as Amazon has not only offered gift cards with practically every major game pre-order, but matched competing online stores’ offers as well. Thus, it’s time that Gamestop.com had to step up its game. Let’s start with the tale of the tape.
Amazon, the heavy-weight champion of the online game buying world
Amazon is known for several major aspects when buying games through them. The first is that almost every major game being released comes with a $10 promotion code off your next game purchase. Second, is the lack of sales tax charged for almost every state in the country. Third is release-date shipping on major titles for those with Amazon Prime. And finally, quick price/promotion matching basically any other online retailer with their game deals. In the past, Amazon also gave 10% discounts on all gaming purchases with ECA membership, and also offered various extra trade-in promotion deals. Those have since disappeared, but the combination of no tax, release date delivery, gift cards, and price matching competitors makes Amazon a tough online retailer to beat.
Gamestop, the heavy-weight champion of the brick & mortar game buying world
Unlike Amazon, Gamestop’s primary income is through the selling of used games. Many people complain about the tiny amount of credit they offer for your games but then they turn around and sell them for $55. These people that complain simply aren’t smart enough to take advantage of Gamestop’s various promotions. If you’re trading in a game at Gamestop without a promotion or buying a used game without a promotion, you’re doing it wrong. When Gamestop is willing to buy your copy of Mass Effect 2 for $48 and sell it to you for $35, you do it. In a way, I’m sort of glad that not everyone is as on the ball with Gamestop’s deals, since if we were all partaking in it they’d probably go out of business. In any case, let’s see what Gamestop has on its side take on Amazon.
1. The Edge Card
For $15, you can purchase the Edge card at Gamestop, which gets you a 10% discount on all used games and a 10% bonus on all trade-ins of used games. This 10% stacks on top of every other promotion, and the card is good for a year. On top of that, the $15 fee gets you an annual subscription to Game Informer, which I have to admit is probably one of the best gaming magazines out there right now. I’m currently reading that and the Official Xbox Magazine right now, and Game Informer blows it out of the water. I definitely recommend picking up the Edge Card as it will pay for itself very quickly.
2. Cheaper Used Game Prices Online
One interesting thing that Gamestop.com has been doing is charging a different price for their online used games versus in the actual brick & mortar stores. Every new release in stores sells for $54.99, yet online, there’s no new release used game that sells for more than $49.99. $49.99 retail price games sell for $44.99 in store, but $39.99 online. This makes it a big deal when Gamestop runs promotions such as 25% off all used games online. A lot of gamers think that Gamestop’s Buy 2 Get 1 Used Game Free Promotion in the physical stores is the best deal ever. But with the cheaper cost of the online used games, the difference is not by much. Check it out: if you were to do the B2G1 Used promotion in store for 3 recently released used games, it would cost you $55 + $55 + $0 (free) = $110 before tax. But if you were to buy those games online and took advantage of the 25% off all used games deal instead, it would cost you ($50+$50+$50)*.75 = $112.50. Considering how seldom the B2G1 used sales occur, is it really worth waiting until then if it will only cost you $2.50 more for those 3 games? Of course, taking advantage of a B2G1 used sale online is the best of both worlds, as it would end up being $50 + $50 + $0 = $100.
3. Daily Deals
Gamestop.com now has daily deals that are actually pretty decent. For example, a recent one I’ve seen is “Purchase 2 in-stock games” and get 20% off each title.”. Combine the daily deal with the cheaper online used game prices and your Edge card, and you’ll end up paying maybe only $30-$40 for recently released used games. Amazon has a daily game deal of the day, but Gamestop.com has promotions that actually allow you to pick your games that you want discounts on so Gamestop.com’s daily promotions are a bit better.
4. Coupon Codes with Pre-Orders
Gamestop has started matching Amazon’s coupon codes with pre-orders. Games like Halo Reach and Super Mario Galaxy 2, which Amazon was offering $20 promotion codes with, are now also the same exact way at Gamestop.com. Now you can buy Super Mario Galaxy 2 at Amazon.com or Gamestop.com and get $20 off your next title shopping at respective website. This takes away one of Amazon’s primary competitive advantages.
5. “Entire Cart” Codes
Whether April was a fluke or not, Gamestop has started offering codes that allow you to take discounts off everything in your cart. In April we saw a flat 25% discount on everything in your cart if you spent $100 or more, and now in May we’re seeing a flat 25% off any pre-owned game you buy if you use coupon code 25PRE.
The Matchup
When it comes to buying used games, Gamestop.com provides significant savings and Amazon doesn’t even sell used games so if you’re willing to purchase games used instead of new, Gamestop.com is your best bet. But when it comes to buying new games or pre-ordering them, this is where Gamestop has caught up significantly with Amazon.com. Now both websites are offering the same promotional gift cards with pre-orders of certain games, but Amazon.com is also offering release-date delivery for Prime holders and no tax for most people. Gamestop instead has Daily Deals and Entire Cart codes, making the battle a bit tough to really call.
Take for example, Starcraft 2. Which website did I end up buying it from? Gamestop.com. While I would have gotten release-date delivery and no tax on my purchase at Amazon, it would have come to me at $60. I was able to take advantage of various deals at Gamestop and order it for $42.39. Of course, I’ll probably have to wait several days before I receive it, but the point of this article is that Amazon isn’t necessarily the clear winner anymore. It’s time to consider Gamestop.com for actual gaming deals again!
thanks for sharing that info. the way you two go through games, i’m glad you bother to do the math on everything. i buy games way more casually now, so i don’t get to see all those cost savings you’d get from buying the Edge card for example.