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Moody's downgrade GameStop's debt into junk territory, & more
- Thread starter Arthands
- Start date
There's no better place for stepping over kids laying in the manga aisle than Barnes & Noble, though.
Beat But was able to reverse the trend so it's certainly doable. Just not sure if Gamestop can do it as they seem to be taking the wrong lessons from that example, mainly that you have to focus on customer experience, instead of treating your customers like criminals.
I don't see the next console launch giving them more than a year boost. Digital sales have only gone up since the 8th gen launch and will continue to do so. The days of selling new consoles and a stack of launch games,many of which were probably traded right back to them weeks later, is a thing of the past. Even just buying the console on its own, is there any particular advantage to buying your ps5/Xbox series X from gamestop over amazon or your neighborhood walmart/target/best-buy? What's the incentive in 2020 to patronize them over other alternatives?
Their model simply doesn't work in an online world. They have high competition in not just other stores selling games and consoles, but reselling is such a large market that people can do person to person rather than through GameStop. And with used games being a huge part of their business, I can't imagine the margin for selling new consoles will be large enough of a profit to keep them afloat. Especially as people are increasingly going more digital.
I once thought that they may be able to save themselves with board games as it becomes a bigger market- but now I'm not even sure that would work. I'll take a guess that GameStop, without some serious drastic changes or an influx of cash, will be out of business by 2022. And either way, I expect a lot more stores to close later this year and into next even if they survive past 2022.
I once thought that they may be able to save themselves with board games as it becomes a bigger market- but now I'm not even sure that would work. I'll take a guess that GameStop, without some serious drastic changes or an influx of cash, will be out of business by 2022. And either way, I expect a lot more stores to close later this year and into next even if they survive past 2022.
That's the other dagger for them. The ability to sell your games on various online marketplaces ( I've sold tons of games on Facebook with mostly low effort meet-ups) and get fair market value for them, instead of relative pennies from gamestop, takes away all their leverage. Why buy a game for $60, finish it in a few weeks and then have GS offer you $20( that they'll then resell for $54.99) when I can just post the game on my local FB marketplace and probably get $40 out of it?
Literally nothing about their business strategy holds up to current market realities.
I hate GameStop as much as the next person, but I do have to give them credit, they were legitimately great when I bought a bunch of Pokemon DS games last summer. I got to inspect all the cartridges to make sure they weren't counterfeit, and they had a buy 2 get 1 deal doing on, so I got one of them for free.
It also sounds stupid, but I occasionally enjoy the nostalgic experience of being handed my video game equipment from a greasy, disheveled dude, and having him rattle off a bunch of forced marketing stuff in a half assed manner. I'll miss it a little bit.
It also sounds stupid, but I occasionally enjoy the nostalgic experience of being handed my video game equipment from a greasy, disheveled dude, and having him rattle off a bunch of forced marketing stuff in a half assed manner. I'll miss it a little bit.
They could probably improve by making it look like an electronics store and not a cheap, dirty shithole.
But no one goes to Gamestop to buy video games!! They go there buy Game of Thrones Tupperware and Funko Pops.
And everyone denouncing that closure rumor back in November or October continue to be served crow. So not only did the closures did occur on the scale rumored but Gamestop still can't stop the bleeding. It will be interesting to see what Gamestop does around E3.
Kpop is single handedly saving our local music stores. The game stores are also doing quite good I think, but I guess that's because Amazon isnt as used as in the US
They were already junk. They have been speculative grade since 2014. I feel like the OP misrepresented Moody's here.
Shit I'm just waiting for ps5 to drop so I can use all my credit on it.
God damn this blows. We shouldnt look forward to GS going away. It was still an Avenue to flip games and get some good deals. (Buy2Get1 etc etc)
God damn this blows. We shouldnt look forward to GS going away. It was still an Avenue to flip games and get some good deals. (Buy2Get1 etc etc)
This is key. Them paying you a pittance for a game and then reselling it for an inflated price to someone else is them taking their cut in the resale process for acting as a middleman. It's easier than ever to sell directly to someone else, where you more and the potential buyer pays less, much closer to an economic equilibrium than if the both of you had dealt with a rent-seeking middleman like GameStop.