Play Haze for a week, get all your money back
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Mar 11th 2008 at 8:30AM }
We're imagining this might not be a closed-loop system. Imagine this, if you will: you buy Haze, get the store credit, and then buy the same used copy you sold back to the store for cheaper, and pocket the difference. Then, return the game again ...
It won't actually work that way, but it would be a humorous loophole to take advantage of. (Oh, and we highly doubt American GameStop stores will be as
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Christian @ Mar 11th 2008 8:36AM
No confidence? These kind of offers tend actually to be a vote of confidence. It means they expect people who buy Haze as part of this promo will like it so much that they keep it even with a money back guarantee.
Stef Geiger @ Mar 11th 2008 8:45AM
...not really. The fact is that most people end up not remembering in time or are just too lazy, and the publishers and stores know this. It's the same reason why there are mail-in rebates, because they make the price of something MUCH more attractive, and in the end 90% of the people who bought it forget, wait too long, or are too lazy to jump through the hoops of claiming the rebate.
So really, this promo says nothing about the quality of the game. (fingers crossed though)
derickoleary @ Mar 11th 2008 8:48AM
I agree. they would be losing money otherwise, right?
upz @ Mar 11th 2008 1:53PM
Looking at this from a business standpoint, we can glean quite a few things. We all know Gamestop loves pre-orders because they are essentially no interest loans for them. They use the extra capital to generate revenue elsewhere sometimes for months, before they have to deliver their products. What this says to me, is that they anticipate the profit margin from all the extra pre-order capital to be higher than the value they'll lose from marking a copy of Haze from "new" to "used" ($5 depreciation of in-store value). In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if 1/4 to 1/3 of Gamestop's revenue comes from returns to their investments from pre-order cash. Furthermore, they're not giving you cash back, but a store gift certificate. Which means the cash is still in their pocket until you decide to redeem it. Again, another no interest loan. This strategy makes fairly solid economic sense in theory. My guess is that they'll test the waters through a few promotional offers, then it might become a regular program. If it works out, it'll be great for Gamestop, terrible for publishers and developers.
Stef Geiger @ Mar 11th 2008 8:42AM
EB did this with God of War 2 last March. They QUIETLY ran a promo where, if you bought the game from them, and traded it in before April 1st (which was about three weeks after it came out), you got the full value in store credit back.
Popfrogs @ Mar 11th 2008 3:11PM
There are few things as lucrative as the used games market. I'll stick with Ebay. I don't need them giving me $20 store credit for a game then putting a $50 price tag on it.
Stef Geiger @ Mar 11th 2008 8:48AM
"Imagine this, if you will: you buy Haze, get the store credit, and then buy the same used copy you sold back to the store for cheaper, and pocket the difference. Then, return the game again ..."
That's probably quite possible. Don't forget that EB doesn't start selling used versions of games for a while after the new one has come out. If you bring back your new copy for a full refund and come back... two months later, you'll be able to pick up the used copy with your credit, except the used copies typically sell for only $10 less than the new ones.
toefer @ Mar 11th 2008 10:28AM
You wouldn't be able to return the used copy for full credit at the new price though, because I'm sure they'd mark the receipt the first time. So returning it a second time puts you no better off than you were the first time you returned it.
Stef Geiger @ Mar 11th 2008 10:32AM
But returning the used copy wasn't being suggested.
Eggy @ Mar 11th 2008 8:52AM
It has nothing to do with confidence or not, they expect alot of people will be getting this game and this promotion will attract more of those buyers to their store. They don't care whether the 60 ought dollar is actually spend on Haze or something else as long as it is spend at eb-games.
Fiddlesworth @ Mar 11th 2008 8:53AM
HAZE is pretty packed with multiplayer features so I don't think a week's going to be nearly enough to get everything out of it. If the single player/co-op is as good and HARD as Goldeneye/Perfect Dark's on the higher difficulties then that alone would last weeks or even months.
True_Darknight @ Mar 11th 2008 9:55AM
It's called been greedy!!!
They anticipate not having enough copies and since they onyl have to pay for the game once to the distributor... why not make a quick buck since lately it's only 5 dollars cheaper if used. So now they are making money on it again.
Yes I know U say .. but i get my money back... It's store credit... not cash.
Blah!
watcher @ Mar 11th 2008 2:14PM
True_DarkKnight made the mark.
This method is actually making them more money. Store credit is not equal to cash. Once you make the purchase at EB (Gamestop) they have your money. Store credit will only guarantee that you buy something else at their store. In other words your money never leaves EB once it enters. Smart, very smart.
Brian Spence @ Mar 11th 2008 10:26AM
Does anyone else see a screaming face in the helmet of the soldier? You can see the top row of his teeth, underside of his nose, one eye...
Dahk @ Mar 11th 2008 10:42AM
LOL! HEY COOL! It suddenly looks kinda anime-esque ahah. Thats hilarious.
Good catch =P.
Vincent @ Mar 11th 2008 10:58AM
Now that I look deeper into it, yeah I can see it D: Looks pretty psycho!
I'm hoping this game to be long and hard on the single/co-op experience. I'm certain the multiplayer experience will be fun, just a bit sad it's only 16 chars at a time.
Haiddasalami @ Mar 11th 2008 1:03PM
Wow...people didnt catch that. Guess it symbolism to show what nectar does to you and the withdrawals??? Im taking this too indepth.
Kryptik420 @ Mar 11th 2008 10:52PM
Hmmm... from the looks of it, and please correct me if I'm wrong, that is the screaming face from Pink Floyd's "The Wall". Odd...
Dave Comeau @ Mar 11th 2008 12:56PM
Just one thing to remember: you lose what you paid in tax (13%). So you don't get ALL of your money back.
Haiddasalami @ Mar 11th 2008 1:04PM
14% in Toronto.
loosecannon @ Mar 11th 2008 1:17PM
Haiddasalami:
Where have you been since the last three months? Been pretty oblivious to the news and to your receipts, haven't you?
GST has been dropped by 1% since the beginning of the year. So we're now sitting at 5%.
Ontario's PST is 8% + 5% GST gives us....?
I don't think I need to answer this.
Haiddasalami @ Mar 11th 2008 9:15PM
bangs head on wall*
Haiddasalami @ Mar 11th 2008 1:06PM
I think this would be good as I can test the game out and if its not for me, return it. Though i lose my tax. Wish they had this for every game but then no one would buy games and Blockbuster would go out of business
Da @ Mar 11th 2008 9:09PM
In Australia they do have this for every game, but it's full money back (as in real money, not store credit).
Jason B. @ Mar 11th 2008 1:59PM
Ebgames is testing out their soon to be announced Rental service.
Da @ Mar 11th 2008 6:44PM
Hmm.. EB games in Australia have a 1 week money back, no questions asked policy.
If you buy ANYTHING in the store, you can take it back within one week (after use, but in good condition of course) and get your money back without any questions asked. and I mean money, not store credit.
It's why I have UT3 at the moment :P
JaseH @ Mar 12th 2008 3:01AM
Okay so what you're saying is...
If I go to an EB games store in Australia... buy UT III ... play it for maybe say... 5 or 6 days after my release (Just under a week)... and I'm not sure about it. I can go back to the store, return the game, and he gives me my FULL 100% money back, simply because it wasn't my type of game during those 6 days... guaranteed?
If this is true... what can I say to the EB clerk, if I ring up... you know, just to be sure?
Thanks.
______________________________________
JaseH.
Da @ Mar 12th 2008 3:23AM
Well I hadn't used it since the latest driver game so I wasnt sure if they still did it either. I actually went to the store to pick up Army of Two, apparently they didnt have it yet so I grabbed UT3, and simply asked the clerk if they still had their 7 day no questions asked money back guarante. They did, so I picked it up. For my liking, there aren't enough players and I get lag so I will take it back; the best thing is that you don't have to worry about trying to make an excuse, just let them know you didnt like it for x reason (and make sure you still have your receipt!).
The offset of this is that their prices are usually about $10 higher, but they match any competitor (if you can prove it by showing a catalogue or giving them the stores number to call).
Hope that answers your questions.
source = http://www.ebgames.com.au/home/help.cfm#heading1
chillski @ Mar 11th 2008 9:32PM
damn that screamin face thing is creepy lol...
btw new jersey 3.5 % sales tax im gonna be buying my car ther e in a few months and i'll save over a thousand bucks !!
JaseH @ Mar 12th 2008 3:02AM
After my purchase**
Not "release" >.
Dartmerc @ Mar 14th 2008 5:50AM
I returned my UT3 today, no questions asked. I even returned it to a different store then where I bought it, honestly thought the chick would get a little pissy but she was happy to accept it.
xENSLAVEDxGUYx @ Mar 12th 2008 4:53AM
Who cares about Haze anyways. They took too long to release it with all of the setbacks. I'll either be buying or playing GT5, GTA4, MGS4, and won't care about Haze because each of the games I've mentioned will take a long time to beat individually. Or I might but Haze and play it for a week to see what it is like then return it for credit to get one of the games I've mentioned above.
Da @ Mar 12th 2008 5:13AM
Well then who cares about GTA4 and MGS4, they took too long to release them.
Dickhead.