Gamestop's Incentives

I spent several blogs going over Gamestop's Circle of Life, the cycle that drives business for the company. As a part of that I explored two of the most notorious things expected of Gamestop employees: convincing customers to pre-order upcoming games and subscribe to their discount card.

I did not, however, make any mention of the incentives the company gives its employees to make such sales. That, I figured, was worth an entire blog on its own.

Gamestop: The Circle of Life Part IV

The final part of Gamestop's Circle of Life was the one I took to the most. However much I objected to the pre-order system, I made up for it in my fervor for selling subscriptions.

Gamestop: The Circle of Life, Part III

I told you guys that I could pretty much write about Gamestop forever. The can of worms is officially opened, and now I'm having trouble thinking of anything else to talk about.

Having covered pre-orders and trade-ins, it's now time to talk about used games.

Gamestop: The Circle of Life, Part II

Last time I started explaining about Gamestop's Circle of Life, the engine that drove the company. To recap, the circle goes like so: Reservations > Trade-Ins > Used Games > Subscriptions > Reservations. I then proceeded to talk about the intricacies of the reservations system: particularly its inflated importance, the politics of it, and the social pressures that led to many employees spending more money at their job than they should.

This time I'm going to talk about the company's trade-in and used games system, which has its own share of intricacies you likely never considered.

Gamestop: The Circle of Life, Part 1

As per the voiced interest, here's another post about Gamestop.

It may surprise the 16-year-olds eagerly applying for the job, but Gamestop has a pretty decent turnover rate. That is, employees come and go pretty rapidly. What's scaring so many people away from this coveted "dream job"?

Getting a Job at Gamestop

Recently an issue of Game Informer arrived at my house, informing me that my subscription to the magazine was about to expire. To be honest, I'm a little surprised I've kept it going for so long. I work in the industry, so I kind of catch most gaming news I'm interested in long before Game Informer would publish it. Even if I didn't, though, game companies have done a great job of connecting directly to the fans through online presentations and streamed content from conferences and such. In short, why read the magazine at all?

Habit, I suppose. I'm a former Gamestop employee, and having a subscription to the magazine is a must. Or, specifically, having a Gamestop discount card is a must, and the magazine comes free with it. I'm not planning to renew my subscription, however, and as I prepare to let go of this relic of my past I can't help but remember my career at this least prestigious of connections to the gaming industry.