[Gamersgate] A terrible business strategy...

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GamersGate

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  Lysander on 23/08/2015 - 22:17

  I think you need to calm down. It is only a game and it can happen.
  I am sure you would not be happy if both Gamersgate and publisher employed extra people to provide a super quick service no matter what but in retrun would raise prices by 10% or 20% to pay for those extra costs.

  Again, it is only a game and you will survive even if you have to wait for a couple of days or even longer.
  I am sure you have plenty of other unplayed games in your Steam library and even more you have played but not completed. I assure you that you will have the game before you have played and completed all of your games. :-)

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    ProjectZero on 24/08/2015 - 12:26

    Very true, but i just did not like the fact they oversold on a product. Is it that hard to make an automated stock system though, or at least warn people that it may take some time?

    Surely that shouldn't require more staff?

    • 

      Lysander on 24/08/2015 - 13:04

      Still costs money. Gamersgate does not have a huge amount of staff.

      In fact, your argument is very valid but more so for stores and chains like Dick Smith, JB Hifi, HN etc who after all of their disasters with online sales have still not got around to fix their online ordering and stock reporting systems.

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        tonyjzx on 25/08/2015 - 13:38

        +1

        nah thats a bullshit excuse

        its $28… this is not a small sum of money to many people

        it aint my problem how you set up your company

        if i buy a digital product i expect to get the key immediately and get downloading

        your whole analysis seems to be "oh its only a game you silly gamer, wait a day or two… its only $28… we only have a part time staff here"

        i also do not get the comparison to traditional B&M stores… this is NOT a B&M Store selling hard goods… and you compare this disaster to their disasters, come on now

        end of the day, someone has handed over money for no product, with no ETA and no prior indication that the product was NOT IN STOCK

      • 

        Lysander on 25/08/2015 - 14:30

        @tonyjzx:

        Maybe it is a problem of your expectations and nothing else then.

        You can expect the world of anybody and his dog but that does not mean it is realistic or you can complain if your expectations are not fulfilled.

        I expect people to be courteous but often they are not. Can I complain? No, because they are my expectations and do not necessarily represent the majority view but are instead very personal.

        My comparison is not to the B7M stores of the chain but to their online stores.

        For example, I bought a PS3 game from Good Guys in their sale. Every other store had copies. They were sold out and claimed their live stock system was erroneous and they could not reorder the game from anywhere in Australia.
        Has that prompted to change their live stock and online ordering system? No, despite the fact they could and have the resources and finances for it.
        Give the small store a break. It might not even be their fault but the publisher's fault. Who knows?

      • 

        tonyjzx on 25/08/2015 - 14:43

        expecting a product on delivery of payment and having an eta and having an accurate stock level ON A DIGITAL PRODUCT isnt 'unreasonable' nor it is 'expecting the world'

        it is kind of what i expected from the key distribution companies… hell at least it aint a russian scam site selling stolen keys

        lowest expectations for everyone i guess

      • 

        Lysander on 25/08/2015 - 15:17

        @tonyjzx:

        That's the best to have, especially in Australia as I still have to come across decent customer service and I have been here more than 6 years.
        That way you do not get disappointed.

        But think about it this way. If the publisher told Gamersgate they have keys in stock and readily available and then it turns out, they don't, whose fault is it? The publisher's fault or Gamersgate's fault?

        Since we do not know what happened I would not be so quick to judge.

        Have a nice day.

      • 

        ProjectZero on 26/08/2015 - 09:35

        @Lysander: Taking some of the points above into consideration… this is no longer a "live" stock check system. It has been several days since I've paid for the game and found it was out of stock and they still haven't changed their website to out of stock.

        But think about it this way. If the publisher told Gamersgate they have keys in stock and readily available and then it turns out, they don't, whose fault is it? The publisher's fault or Gamersgate's fault?

        Not saying gamersgate is at fault, my point is, if they don't have the product, either put up a warning or put it up as Pre-order. Not buy now…

        The service of this website which i paid for is for a key to be distributed to me, I've already paid, however, no key was distributed to me. It isn't an expectation that they deliver the key immediately, it is a service which I had paid for and did not receive.

      • 

        Lysander on 26/08/2015 - 13:11

        @ProjectZero:

        I get what you say but maybe they were certain they could get it immediately as promised by the publisher and then the publisher did not live up to its word.

        My point is: if the big chains with lots of resources (money and manpower) cannot do it and get it right, don't expect it from small companies.

        See the thread on the Good Guys game sale about 2 years ago.

      • 

        ProjectZero on 26/08/2015 - 15:02

        @Lysander: Are you sure that wasn't a clearance? I believe TGG stopped selling gaming consoles round that time right (or was it another company)? If it was a clearance then it would be understandable not to be able to get stock in for you.

      • 

        Lysander on 26/08/2015 - 16:52

        @ProjectZero:

        They said they could not get stock to deliver those particular products why every other store in Australia sold them and after I contacted the supplier for the products in Australia it was confirmed the product was readily available in Australia.
        TGG just did not want to order it as it made them a loss so they lied. And blamed their stocking system but so far (two years after) nothing has changed.

        That tells you about the business practice of stores like these (other suppliers such as HN, DS are the same - I have experienced with every single one of them).

      • 

        ProjectZero on 26/08/2015 - 17:16

        @Lysander:
        As an employee at a manufacturing company supplying the big supermarkets. I can actually vouch for stores not getting stock, whilst the product may be readily available, it is possible that all the stock has already been allocated to other stocks and the store you visited simply ran out of copies simply because they did not forecast enough.

        I know nothing of how TGG works in terms of stocking of products, but if they are the same as Colesworth and the like, they would own a warehouse. Once the stock has been sent from the manufacturer to those warehouses, it is up to Colesworth (or in this example TGG) to allocate those stock to their stores. Let's say TGG ordered 50k copies of said game, and they have allocated all 50k copies to stores from their warehouse, a store that has run out of copies can not order any more stock arrive to their warehouse. Thus making what TGG claimed "true" to a certain extent.

        Whether they fixed their stocking system I don't know, but you are claiming they did nothing.

        blamed their stocking system but so far (two years after) nothing has changed.

        Would you have proof of that? Whilst not having enough stock is TGG's fault and if they really refused to restock the product then that is truly TGG screwing you over. But the assumption that they "did not want to order it as it made them a loss so they lied" might not be the case for physical stock. Physical stock needs to be produced, shipped and takes time to transfer between warehouse and stores. Digital products, in this case a game, requires the key to be produced and sent to the distributor via electronic means which should not take too much time.

      • 

        Lysander on 26/08/2015 - 19:43

        @ProjectZero:

        I contacted Sony and they had plenty in stock. They also said they had never been contacted by TGG about re-ordering the item and could have supplied them immediately.
        So much for that. Yes I do have proof of all of that and eventually I got what I ordered as I forced them to supply it.

        Their ordering system is (to this today as I only checked it two weeks ago with various stores and employees) as follows:

        If you order anything online, the order will go to the nearest store to you. The order sits there until picked up by an employee who then goes to the shelf to get the item. Then the employee has to change the stock status manually - if he forgets, tough luck.
        Any idiot can see the big problem with this.

        If I order something now, by the time an employee picks up the order someone could have bought the item instore already. If the employee forgets to change status then again the stock system does not work properly.
        All of this can be automated and made foolproof and stores in the US and Europe do that. In Australia I have experienced so many problems but for the stores it is not a problem as no-one takes them to court and there is no strong consumer protection agency with bite to hold them accountable.
        If everybody who got screwed over would hold stores accountable and take them to a tribunal (costs about $25 and that's it!) stores would change very quickly and we all would have a better life for it.
        But a lot of people here are too complacent and that is why the stores get away with this criminal behaviour.

      • 

        ProjectZero on 27/08/2015 - 09:22

        @Lysander: Regarding the stocking system of TGG, as I have no way of confirming this myself I'll take your word for it.

        But I would like to query what you said about TGG not re-ordering stock.

        I contacted Sony and they had plenty in stock.

        Did you contact them straight away when you found out TGG couldn't order any stock? Because if this is the case, for obvious reasons this doesn't mean anything… see below.

        They also said they had never been contacted by TGG about re-ordering the item and could have supplied them immediately.

        Individual stores wouldn't contact Sony directly… they would send their orders through to head office and head office would then put the order through if it made sense. They would also wait for a batch order so if you called immediately after being told there was no stock and they couldn't re-order the stock, then there is the problem of your misunderstanding…

        Yes I do have proof of all of that and eventually I got what I ordered as I forced them to supply it.

        Most likely because TGG head office placed the orders and got stock into their warehouse for distribution… no surprise that you got what you wanted in the end.

        This is usually how physical stock work… it takes a long time for the product to be delivered. The order could have been placed after a day or two, what separates physical and digital stock is that physical stock needs to be physically transferred where as digital stock should be almost instantaneous. Especially in my case whereby a batch of cd key could be generated and sent out via email or some other form in a matter of minutes.

      • 

        Lysander on 27/08/2015 - 09:45

        @ProjectZero:

        It was head office telling me there is no stock.
        Basically, the only reason I got what I ordered was because I involved the legal system.
        Therefore, all the facts are also on record and are confirmed as correct.
        It did contact Sony several times, each time they could deliver within a day. We are not talking GTA V here but games that were 3 years old and hence they were not in enormous demand (but yes, Sony had plenty of stock and so did TGG's distributors who I also contacted.)
        TGG adopted the strategy as thousands had ordered and re-ordering all would have made them a loss of about half a million dollars.

        Instead they provided vouchers for their store. Their rep on Ozbargain confirmed they had received more orders in one day for games than they usually sell in a year. That is where the stocking system comes in. It can be automated that no orders are processed and PAYMENT TAKEN once stock is depleted.
        They did not do it this way and should have been forced to deliver up by everybody.
        Their system is still like that.

        Actually, just because something can done digitally does not mean one should expect instantaneous service or delivery. Think of our banks. To do a transfer takes a day or two when it can be done in an instant and is in other countries such as Brazil or Argentina due to high inflation.
        Digital just means there is no physical item to be shipped. If you order something today, but an employee only pic ks up the order after two days, then that is what it will take, despite the fact you ordered a digital item.

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  ozhunter on 23/08/2015 - 22:35

  Ask for a refund?

  • 

    ProjectZero on 24/08/2015 - 12:29

    Awaiting Gamersgate response before doing so…

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  Diji1 on 23/08/2015 - 23:42

  I suppose if i don't see the game within 45 days I can take it up with Paypal

  I believe that is incorrect as they specifically exclude products that are deliverered electronically.

  Having said this I could be wrong as I have never heard of a case of this applying to a game - however it definitely applies to ebooks and other information products such as course.

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  cypher67 on 24/08/2015 - 08:49

  +1

  Sounds like a similar business strategy as COTD, sell a product online at a great price, 1000s of people purchase and they take your money. They are then able to purchase these products in bulk knowing they are already sold. Minimises there risk and maximises the savings, its a group buy without the risk of having excess stock. All they need to do is be more transparent to the customers on when they will receive it and they will be fine

  • 

    ProjectZero on 24/08/2015 - 12:28

    That makes sense then… completely agree with the last part. I'm not so much upset that I didn't get the game immediately, but the fact that when I purchased the game it was supposed to be OoS (or in this case, it was possibly not even available) at the time.

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  ProjectZero on 27/08/2015 - 09:24

  +1

  UPDATE:

  They gotten back to me after three business days and have told me that it will probably take another 2-4 days before their codes will arrive. And yes, they did oversell because they did not have the stock available but still took orders, the CS staff confirmed it and said that there were more orders than expected.