The Joy of CEX (and other brick 'n' mortar establishments) - The Bear and Badger

pantyfire

Ah ok.
Keep your eyes open for cheap deals people.

three1ne

Would anyone agree that in the UK we've never had a decent big retail store for electronics and DIY?

We have the comets and B&Qs but everything is often over priced or out of stock. The few times when I've gone to America the stores have been large, well stocked and when it comes to their DIY stores they have everything you could possibly want.

pantyfire

In this country, IMO, anything beyond putting a bit of wallpaper up is considered one of the dark arts and is best left to a bumcrack professional. The big retail DIY shops mainly stock the stuff that wont make the house fall down if done wrong.

As for electronics, I dont know about you guys but I grew up in the 80's and electronics up until the interwebz took off where extremely expensive compared to average incomes. I guess stock levels reflected demand, now I think shops barely carry any stock at all for fear of being lumbered with it as the pace of change is staggering nowadays.

pantyfire

three1ne wrote:

Not trying to be a prick here but I always check the discs before I leave the shop.Â Did this in CEX once and I immediately made 'the list', pricks. Only reason I did it was because on that same visit I wasnt allowed to trade a game in because of disc burn which im pretty sure wasnt disc burn, at least in the eyes of Gamestation.

I do it all the time in CEX.
They check mine when I trade them in so...
I even have the temerity to ask for another disc too.
Actually here in Harrow most of the CEX staff will just show you the disc without asking.

Mod74

God yes, appliances in the 80s were ridiculous. Watch an old episode of Sale of the Century or The Price is Right, or some TV/magazine ads from the time. The prices they charged seem astronomical even without removing inflation.

I'm still surprised when I see the amount of washing machine/fridge/etc. you can get for the money nowadays. Competition and cheap Chinese labour I guess. That and the break up of the Hoover/Indesit block.

Mod74

You're also right about the DIY stuff. I used to work in B&Q so will be slightly defensive but the culture here is nothing like the frontiersman build it yourself culture/history in America. How many self builds do you see in this country? Hardly any.

pantyfire

Joy!
I mentioned a while back in this thread that in Harrow, with HMV just closing, there was now not a single place to buy a new game from after having three shops of various brands.
Well I just walked through and someone has done the sensible thing and instead of opening a 3 or 4 unit shop they have got one of the many single units and opened a HMV POPUP, I guess it will just sell new release VD/DVDs and the odd game.

Thanks Gav for listening.

Diluted Dante

In defence of Opcapita, they don't appear to be asset stripping Game. Some stores have been closed, but others have been re-opened. For example, recently the Middlebrook store (near Boltons ground) went, but Blackburn and a store in the Arndale in Manchester returned. I suspect their plan is to build the company back up and then sell it on.

Veeing onto another topic entirely, our margin on Assassins Creed 3 is Â£4. That's charging Â£42.99 as well. And publishers wonder why there is so much emphasis on pre-owned.

Mod74

Can you tell me how much NFS:MW x360 is in store Dante? I want to know whether to ask for a price match in Blockbuster.

Diluted Dante

Won't know until about 4 today. The web has it listed at Â£37.99, so I would guess Â£39.99.

LtPidgeon

pantyfire wrote:

Joy!
I mentioned a while back in this thread that in Harrow, with HMV just closing, there was now not a single place to buy a new game from after having three shops of various brands.
Well I just walked through and someone has done the sensible thing and instead of opening a 3 or 4 unit shop they have got one of the many single units and opened a HMV POPUP, I guess it will just sell new release VD/DVDs and the odd game.

Thanks Gav for listening.

I think I'll pass on the new release of VD.

three1ne

Diluted Dante wrote:

our margin on Assassins Creed 3 is Â£4. That's charging Â£42.99 as well. And publishers wonder why there is so much emphasis on pre-owned.

Crazy. How do online retailers avoid the high costs? Do they have different tax?

Roujin

Dirty based in the channel islands bastards I think is the main angle they work.

Diluted Dante

Online will have a higher margin. It costs us Â£25 a box to get them delivered to stores, and obviously you're paying people to pack them.

They might also have negotiated a better deal.

I_R

Less staff, less business rates, less rent, less electricity.

dynamiteReady

This thread's just reminded me of a desire to pick up some GBA games...

Oh yes.

Mod74

Diluted Dante wrote:

Won't know until about 4 today. The web has it listed at Â£37.99, so I would guess Â£39.99.

Cheers D, when you do know may be post it up? Would appreciate it.

As an aside, do you know why you can't quote a price till 4PM the day before? Seems ridiculous really. I know when I've been offered pre-orders in the past there I've refused simply because they can't say how much it'll cost. Surely a good guess then a pre-order promise is all you need. Most other places seem to manage to price games 6 months or more out, even if it's only a guesstimate.

Diluted Dante

Because Game wait and see what everyone else is doing then price off that. They planned AC3 to be Â£45 (I assume based on the trade price) but then dropped it when everyone else went lower. This is why the trade in for 99p deal actually means you end up with a few quid left over. It's not unknown for them to change a price on day of release.

I'll let you know about NFS.

google

Diluted Dante wrote:

our margin on Assassins Creed 3 is Â£4. That's charging Â£42.99 as well. And publishers wonder why there is so much emphasis on pre-owned.

I just cant understand this.

Who's margin are you talking about? The individual store? The company margin?

google

Gonzo wrote:

No way in hell Game's profit margin on a game at 42.99 is just 4 pounds. 38.99 off the distributor? Joke, surely

Exactly.

Dante, if you're being told that, I would seriously question the person telling you.

three1ne

After tax/costs I assumed that meant.

Diluted Dante

It's after everything. Not the publisher/game split. But AC3 does have a higher trade price.

google

three1ne wrote:

After tax/costs I assumed that meant.

But costs are variable.

adkm1979

I'm intrigued by Â£25 a box to get it delivered to a store. Â How many copies of a game in a box? Â Â£25 each for every box arriving at every store? Â Â£25 to who, from who, for what?

FranticPea

Diluted Dante wrote:

recently the Middlebrook store (near Boltons ground) went.

Wait what? I was only in there a few weeks ago. That and Leigh were my two most visited Game shops, not that I ever buy much from them.

regmcfly

adkm1979 wrote:

I'm intrigued by Â£25 a box to get it delivered to a store. Â How many copies of a game in a box? Â Â£25 each for every box arriving at every store? Â Â£25 to who, from who, for what?

I think he means a boxed copy

adored

FranticPea wrote:

Diluted Dante wrote:

recently the Middlebrook store (near Boltons ground) went.

Wait what? I was only in there a few weeks ago. That and Leigh were my two most visited Game shops, not that I ever buy much from them.

And that's why it's not there anymore.

FranticPea

I feel bad now

Diluted Dante

adkm1979 wrote:

I'm intrigued by Â£25 a box to get it delivered to a store. Â How many copies of a game in a box? Â Â£25 each for every box arriving at every store? Â Â£25 to who, from who, for what?

Game pay DHL or whoever Â£25 for each box that they deliver. The copies in a box can be variable. it's not unknown to have half empty boxes arriving. I seem to remember that you can fit about 90 copies of a 360 game in a single box if it's full.

adkm1979

So, the main issue with videogame pricing at the only fully national dedicated retailer is that a courier company saw them coming a mile off? Â Great.

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