General Discussion

[Mr_Inconspicous]

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PatC_PSN wrote:

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Mr_Inconspicous wrote:

Online they don't have to be pay staff wages, less need for real estate/rent, electricity/gas bills, less distribution costs. So the price for the customer may be lower but the company makes a bigger margin on the same things.

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But for a company like Game who have both online and retail operations, it makes no sense to direct customers to their web site, especially if the prices are lower. They still have the costs of the retail outlets.

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Not really. They are making a bigger profit from online sales per item sold then they would from the same item in store and if they are planning on cutting down their numbers of stores it would make sense to get people on to their site.

[PatC_PSN]

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Mr_Inconspicous wrote:

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PatC_PSN wrote:

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Mr_Inconspicous wrote:

Online they don't have to be pay staff wages, less need for real estate/rent, electricity/gas bills, less distribution costs. So the price for the customer may be lower but the company makes a bigger margin on the same things.

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But for a company like Game who have both online and retail operations, it makes no sense to direct customers to their web site, especially if the prices are lower. They still have the costs of the retail outlets.

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Not really. They are making a bigger profit from online sales per item sold then they would from the same item in store and if they are planning on cutting down their numbers of stores it would make sense to get people on to their site.

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If they had actually closed stores and eliminated the costs of running them then yes, selling online would make sense. If not then they still have the same overall costs, regardless of their plans, and regardless of how people buy from them. And if they sell for less online then they make less profit.

[fenian]

Game are not a franchise as far as I know, so all the profits go to the top. In a situation like this loss leading stores can be of benefit if the group as a whole is profitable, but can be cut too. Unlike a franchise situation like McDonalds where a person will basically own the McDonalds and get all the profits from it after paying their franchise fee.

So basically everyone in your local game gets their wage from head office, head office who already have distribution centers will ship direct to customers and if a store is not profitable they will look at all factors including leaving it as a loss leader and probably have a sophisticated forumla for working out if the store is making them money despite not doing the sales and how many would switch to online only sales etc.

HMV will ship from the UK to Ireland for cheaper than my local hmv shop, weird but its not a franchise so my local shop has no say in it.

House of fraiser ship to Ireland and undercut the Irish stores, and if you dont like it it dont fit you can return it to the Irish store to change it.

I have no doubt these sales get marked as "dublin" by their head office though.

[indi69]

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Roxas598 wrote:

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indi69 wrote:
They've introduced a new thing called the "6 Killer questions" worst name for a customer service scheme ever!!
it goes Loyalty card, trade in, website, pre-owned alternative, add on sale and pre order.
Each one HAS to be mentioned in every transaction...

I guess this can be seen as a warning to customers as to what to expect shopping there due to their current financial situation.

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New? they've always had those O.o

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questions like this have always been around in some form but from what i'm being told by staff is that never before has it been forced to such a level.

As you say staff are now watched and marked daily on each shift to make sure these questions are being asked.

I guess what I'm saying is that I hope people will give the staff sympathy and realise they're just doing what they have to. 

Game and GS truly need to be more competitive they dont even match deals anymore and new releases are almost always cheaper in HMV

[Mikestarh]

The future is grim, i see zero gaming retailers and you'll just have to go to ASDA and buy your copies from a little section there.

[PatC_PSN]

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indi69 wrote:

Game and GS truly need to be more competitive they dont even match deals anymore and new releases are almost always cheaper in HMV

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But the point is that they can't ever compete with the online-only sellers as they have much higher costs.

And I doubt that HMV will be around for much longer either, for similar reasons.

[OldMiley]

People are missing the point when they say GAME etc. should match the prices of ASDA/Tesco etc - they simply cannot afford to do that. The buying power of the supermarkets is so huge that smaller companies like GAME can't compete, so they have to have higher prices. It's just the way it works.

As for the questions though I agree that is is a hassle and it would likely make me think twice before shopping there in future. I do occasionally pop in when I wander past and might make the odd impulse buy.

[Strangesam]

If GAME can't compete then its "GAME over..."

[THE_FORCE]

I use my local Game every now and then, but I have never been asked these questions ? 

The only time a member of staff has irked me was when a little scrote was trying to convince himself that Queen are more popular than Abba (re: Singstar discs).

[OldMiley]

Freddy > All