GameStop Layoffs!!!!

It has come to my attention that GameStop has been laying off a number of people in the home office as well as the field like District Managers, Loss Prevention Managers, Region Managers. What is wrong GameStop did you get way too big to be profitable, or did the profits decrease and the only way to make up for it was to cut a number of jobs, while at the same time giving those extra responsibilities to other people to handle. What I see is a GameStop in decline. Stores are closing everywhere and the excuse they will give you is that those stores aren’t profitable anymore, and we will open other stores in more profitable areas. I like that old excuse, GameStop is in decline, will it go out of business soon, no I don’t think so, but the old mentality of helping customer and customer service is being replaced by the profit mentality, so I do eventually see more and more cuts in GameStops future and more and more layoffs and sore closings…

BYE BYE TEDDY NELSON!!!

I can say that I am extremely happy now that GameStop has finally fired Teddy Nelson, He was the reason for this blog and my hatred of GameStop!! Question is should I stop writing this blog or continue with it, there is still so much to write about. I don’t know what does the general audience think I should do, GameStop maybe you can answer that for me, I know I deserve compensation for all the crap I had to put up with from Teddy Nelson, and my forced resignation due to Teddy Nelsons policies and his protectors and friends John Deegan and Deborah Warrren, you may not like to admit to any of it GameStop but many people know I speak the truth and I am not afraid to reveal many more things. I am going to need some time to think all this through, so I might be on a little hiatus for a few weeks until I gather up myself and see what I want to do with this blog. I really wish for District 451 my old District and Region 19 my old region the best now that the cancer Teddy Nelson has be extracted, and hopefully you guys can get a new and good Regional Director that will help you all and not strangle and stunt your growth, mad props to the VP of the North Market for getting rid of Teddy Nelson….

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner can carry about 250 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,400 times in 2012. If it were a Dreamliner, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Why GameStop Will Never Be Great Again!!!!

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/10/24/why-gamestop-will-never-be-great-again/

 

By Rick Aristotle Munarriz, The Motley Fool

Posted 9:00AM 10/24/11Posted under: Technology, Retail, Investment

800000

Die-hard gamers know their local GameStop (GME) stores well.

The small-box retailer is the place to go to trade in used games and gear for new things to play. The prices aren’t the best, but the stores are convenient and the folks manning the registers are knowledgeable.

For years, this model has worked flawlessly. GameStop is there for every new generation of consoles or handheld systems. All of the hottest PC games are also there. The attractive store economics have made expansion a breeze. There’s always cheap rent to be had at a strip mall in the suburbs.

However, the model is starting to come undone, and it may not be long before it’s “Game Over” for GameStop.

The Halo Effect

GameStop’s latest quarter was a mess. Total sales fell 3% to $1.74 billion, and that was with expansion, a 12% increase in pre-owned sales, and a 69% spike in its nascent digital sales.

How can this be? Well, comparable-store sales fell a mind-boggling 9.1% during the period. GameStop’s chunkiest margins have historically been had in secondhand sales of used games and gear, but strength there wasn’t enough to stop earnings from tumbling 23% for the quarter.

It’s Starting

What’s starting? The beginning of the end.

The industry’s been in a bind for years. Video game product sales declined 6% last month according to industry tracker NPD Group, and that’s the way it’s been for most of the months since 2009. GameStop has been able to grow through the downtrend. Cheap expansion and its healthy resale business have kept the retailer growing. Even now, analysts still see the specialty retailer pushing its financial results higher.

GameStop is now trading for a mere nine times this year’s projected earnings, and just eight times next year’s profit target. This would be a ridiculous bargain if there was any hope that GameStop would be more relevant in five years than it is right now.

Spoiler alert: There isn’t.

Brushing Up on Game Theory

Everyone knows why video game sales have been languishing. Die-hard gamers are still buying the latest Call of Duty releases, but casual gamers have moved on. Tending to a virtual farm on Facebook or spending weeks playing a 99-cent smartphone app will do the trick.

GameStop is no dummy. It has made several digital gaming acquisitions. It’s too little, too late.

There was a time — just a couple of years ago — when GameStop was riding the Guitar Hero andRock Band crazes. It was exploring opening larger stores to showcase the growing number of instrument controllers that just didn’t fit in its small-box scheme. This would have been a costly mistake.

However, now it just can’t get any smaller. Everywhere you turn, GameStop’s mortality is being questioned. Apple (AAPL) is the new king of casual gaming. Microsoft (MSFT) continues to push its Xbox Live digital marketplace.

Will we still need GameStop in this age of consumer-direct game downloads?

More important to GameStop’s model, what will happen to its resale business when we’re no longer buying physical games that we can trade in?

Endgame

GameStop is getting desperate. Earlier this year it hinted that it may launch its own gaming tablet, something that would seemingly anger all of its hardware partners. It’s now accepting iPod, iPhone, and iPad devices as trade-ins.

The rub is that even as the resale market is dying, Toys “R” Us, Amazon.com (AMZN), and Best Buy (BBY) are copying the model by accepting trade-ins, too. In other words, this is going to be a brutal fight to the end of this shrinking pie.

If anyone thinks that we’ll still be buying game cartridges and discs in a few years, they probably missed the memo. The digital revolution is here, and GameStop may have some skin in that game, but it will never be the neighborhood force that it used to be.

Longtime Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz does not own shares in any of the stocks in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft, GameStop, Apple, and Best Buy. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon.com. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended creating a bull call spread position in Apple and Microsoft. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended writing covered calls in GameStop.

 

Teddy Nelson Part 8

Teddy Nelson would always check out the Puerto Rico District Manager Team at The Multi Unit Manager meeting ever year around March in Dallas, as well as at the Store Manager Conference in  August in either San Antonio, Las Vegas or where ever they have it. Teddy would make very inappropriate comments about them, he even preferred one of their District Manager to make his sexist comments about more than any other, maybe because she had a very big ass and maybe because Teddy Nelson is African American he preferred that. Teddy felt very comfortable making those comments because he knew at the time no one would dare speak against him becasue he would get them fired because his buddy John Deegan was the North Market Vice President, but no more Teddy Nelson all your hidden secrets will be revealed!!!!!!!

“The dismal truth about working at Gamestop….”

http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-GameStop-RVW569589.htm

“The dismal truth about working at Gamestop….”

 Former Assistant Store Manager in Dallas, TX – Reviewed Jul 16, 2010

Pros – Discount on Games
Freebies from Vendors
Can be slow paced
Can have tattoos and piercings

Cons – CONSTANT marketing
Corporate cares more about the $$ than employees
Inexperienced Managers
Lack of Customer Service
Pushing sales
Not commissioned sales, but are required to push sales as if you were
Can be fired for lack of sales (even in a slow store)
Sexist atmosphere
Lack of hours
Must be willing to relocate with very little notice
HIGH roll over
Give refunds to customers PERIOD.
Get rid of comcards

Advice to Senior Management – I worked for Gamestop for almost 2 years. Being a woman I was treated condescendingly by my manager. Even the smallest mistake I made he would go into a 20-minute tirade. When male employees made greater mistakes it was laughed off. All the company cares about is reserves because to them these are guaranteed sales in their pocket. If a customer comes in get a refund on a reserve, we are required to discourage it. Needless to say most customers would rather take store credit than squabble over $5.
Receipts are required for every return no matter what. Even if the game is sealed and you sold the customer the game. Mind you some managers are human and they make exceptions the majority don’t because refunds hurt stores sales. The corporate office sends emails to the stores daily detailing their sales for the district. Even if your store is slow you are REQUIRED to sell no matter what.
When you are management, you are guaranteed full time hours. If you are below management you are not a necessity for the store. You are NEVER allowed to work overtime. Gamestop DOES NOT pay over time. You can be written up for working overtime. Every week there is marketing to be done; you are required to have this marketing up. Every few weeks stores are secret shoppered and if you miss one little thing you can be fired for not complying with store procedures. Every inch of any Gamestop has been purchased for marketing. There advertisements can change weekly. It common to stay late to ensure all marketing is done, just no OT! Most of the time there is only one manager working an entire store, which is a safety hazard.
If you are a Game Adviser you get 12 hours or less per week. Sometimes a week or two can go by where you don’t work at all. Corporate allots very few hours, which barely covers full time for managers. The attire is khaki pants and a collared shirt. Recently Gamestop has allowed jeans, but they quickly take that away at a whim. For company that demands conservative professionalism you are allowed to have exposed tattoos and piercings.
I was moved to another store with only 5 days notice; it wasn’t until the day prior that I knew what new store I was going too. That store was an hour commute from where I lived; Gamestop does not compensate for gas or mileage. They constantly shift employees from different stores with very little notice. If another store is short staffed the district manager will call your store and ask if you came come fill in for them. Gamestop feels as a manager this is a part of your job duties.
The holidays are the worst because of hours and marketing. The store managers are incredibly over worked at Gamestop and are paid an extremely small salary compared to what other retail companies pay for less work.
The insurance is laughable, and if you are injured Gamestop doesn’t like to hear about. This depends a lot of your district manager too. Insurance is only offered to Managers period and the majority of managers I knew don’t even get it, because their paycheck is so small.
The payroll is a problem due to some story Gamestop tells it employees on how 9/11 prevented a lot of paychecks to get to employees on time, they now give you an ATM type of card. This card is not a debit card. The first time you withdraw money from it, it’s free. Everything else there is a fee. You are also given 5 “ATM” checks. These can be used to transfer money from your ATM card in your bank account. But once you use up all 5 checks you have to reorder more, which takes up to 8 weeks. Gamestop no longer issues paychecks and the ATM card is used in place of direct deposit. You’re meant to use this card temporarily until direct deposit is set up. However that can take up to 4 weeks, I have had employees been waiting up to 16 weeks for there deposit to be processed. When you call and complain neither Gamestop nor the card company can help you other than apologize.
Every employee is required to have high reserves, memberships and game insurance. Even if you only had a 4-hour work week – you will be fired for low sales. Other Gamestop stores are extremely competitive. They will send returns to your store so that they can avoid it on their books. Even at the risk of sending a customer all over the city. I cannot emphasize how strongly returns are discouraged.
Employees do not get a discount on new game systems only used ones. When it comes to games out on the floor, one copy of the new game is “gutted” and the case is put on the floor. When it comes to used games all cases are gutted and put out on the floor. It is against company policy to allow employees to check out new games, only used ones. But I have seen managers still break this rule.
Overall Gamestop is a company who feels they are on a “high horse”. They are cutthroat and only care about money. Employees are over worked & badly treated. There is little to no regard for customer service. I can’t even recommend shopping there…

GameStop Customer Service

http://www.customerservicescoreboard.com/GameStop

 

 

Even More Complaints against GameStop

Top 6 Reasons Why GameStop Sucks

http://www.sonof8bit.com/top-6-reasons-why-gamestop-sucks/

 

As you can see, Many people agree that GameStop is not what it used to be and has become a corporate giant hungry for money and only money!!!

It May Be “Game Over” For GameStop Soon

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/08/23/it-may-be-game-over-for-gamestop-soon/

By Rick Aristotle Munarriz, The Motley Fool

Posted 9:00AM 08/23/12 | AOL Original

Posted under: Earnings, Sony, Retail, Stocks in the News,Market News

 

It may not be long before GameStop (GME) becomes more Stop than Game.

The video game retailer is coming off another disappointing quarter. Sales plunged 11% to $1.55 billion, well short of the $1.61 billion that Wall Street was expecting. Same-store sales fell by a problematic 9.3%.

It gets worse.

Even the thrifty die-hard gamers are now staying away.

I’ll Give You $7 for That Old Super Mario Game

Video game sales have been sluggish for three years, but GameStop has survived on the strength of its resale business. The chain’s thousands of small-box stores will gladly take in your pre-owned games and gear in exchange for store credit or a little bit of cash.

GameStop then refurbishes the consoles, cleans the discs and cartridges, and sells them as discounted pre-owned items.

Gamers complain that the chain is ripping them off, and they’re probably right. GameStop offers so little in credit that even at marked-down resale price it’s where the chain scores its thickest profit margins.

Well, either consumers have caught on or they’re no longer interested in playing older games. Pre-owned sales fell by a whopping 11% in GameStop’s latest quarter.

There Isn’t Always an Option to Continue

This was supposed to be the last line of defense at GameStop. As software publishers and players embrace digital delivery, there isn’t necessarily a need for a physical retailer as a middleman.

Software companies won’t shed a tear for the demise of GameStop. Keep in mind that they only get paid on new releases. And developers and royalty-collecting console makers don’t collect any money on pre-owned sales.Gaming websites reported last year that Microsoft (MSFT) and Sony (SNE) were even considering either going all digital or incorporating features that would prevent secondhand games from playing on the new consoles that should hit the market within the next two years.

However, pre-owned sales were supposed to be resilient. Older games were supposed to have long shelf lives if the discounts were ample, and this business was supposed to continue thriving as penny-pinching gamers wax nostalgic.

Well, those days are apparently over.

It’s a Model in Flux

It was just three years ago that Activision Blizzard (ATVI) raised the bar — or at least the bar chord — with the release of Guitar Hero.

GameStop executives were even exploring ways to grow their store space to accommodate the plastic guitars and Rock Band drum kits that were all the rage.

Well, that rhythmic music craze died quickly. Activision Blizzard went on to ax the fake guitars, and GameStop went back to gamers who were starting to turn to smartphones and tablets as outlets for cheap casual and social games.

Obviously there’s no comparison between a $60 copy of Skyrim and a $0.99 Angry Birds app, but for mainstream audiences it’s been more than enough. There’s a reason that physical hardware and software sales in the video game industry have been freefalling since 2009.

Where does that leave GameStop?

With its high-margin resale business teetering, net income plunged 32% in its latest quarter. GameStop may point to its digital and mobile sales as growth markets, but those two categories added up to just 11% of GameStop’s sales this past quarter.Things seem to get worse with every passing quarter.

The Ever-Shrinking Small-Box Retailer

Back in March, GameStop was targeting positive comps of 1% to 5% for the entire fiscal year. Two months later the outlook for same-store sales was down to between flat and off by 5%. In last week’s report, GameStop’s eyeing comps to fall by as much as 10% this year.GameStop has a clean balance sheet. The stores are still profitable. It’s been buying back shares – sadly, at higher prices — to keep earnings on a per-share basis respectable.

However, this story doesn’t end well.

It’s been 10 months since my original “Why GameStop Will Never Be Great Again” article, and the stock has shed a quarter of its value. Even with a beefy dividend that was hiked last week, investors know that GameStop’s relevance is on a downward spiral.It was a good run, but the market’s ready to play a different game now.

 

Best Buy Heed The Advice

Best Buy if you want to succeed in the Pre-Owned or Used game business you have to change a few things in how you take care of your customers.

1. Stream Line the process, it takes way to long to get it done!!!

2. Hire more enthusiastic employees, best place to recruit employees is GameStop, just offer them more than the typical $7.50 an hour GameStop Does, also more than the average of $9.00 a key holder makes, the $11.00 average an Assistant makes and the typical $38,000 a store manager makes.

3. Make sure the employees helping the customer sell their games back are always customer service oriented and helpful.

4. Make sure the games are in working condition.

5. Make sure you offer many promo’s like GameStop does in fact always watch what Gamestop does and offer better trade in offers.