Where Do You Buy Your GAMES ?

1UPGamer · #1 21-09-2009, 01:35 PM

I'm pretty sure we've had this in the past but it's always good to re-visit every year or so where people are buying there games from. Feel free to share, but my favourite site has to be the UK based shopto.net, been using them for around 3-4 years for all of my purchases.

fanpages · #2 22-09-2009, 10:08 AM

I have had a mixed service from ShopTo.net but, in majority, their deliveries reach me in good time with the single pre-order I have placed ("Killzone 2" Limited Edition Collector's Box) arriving a day before the official release date.

However, my two most recent orders (the last being in February 2009) blighted my experience.

The item was "The Lord of The Rings: Conquest" [PS3]. It arrived well packaged (as usual) but looked like it had previously been played. In their defence I did not complain (as a day in the ownership of the intended recipient, aged 7, would end in the same result anyway, and), it played fine so that was OK. If it had been a game for myself then I would have made them aware of the issue.

However, during May 2009 I received a call from my Credit Card Company asking if I was in Malaysia... and if I was requesting to withdraw cash on the account.

It wasn't me (of course), and upon further investigations I found that other customers of ShopTo.net had reported the misuse of their card details.

Now, I'm not saying it was a definitive cause of shopping with ShopTo.net but if you use Google (or search at HotUKDeals.com as well as many, many other online forums) you will find some very convincing evidence from people who only used their specific credit card at that online site & also were victims of card fraud.

ShopTo.net's response to the allegations recorded in their own online forum:

[ http://forum.shopto.net/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=4910 ]

Also of note is that I tried to purchase more than 2 SIXAXIS Controllers (as we have three PS3 consoles) & it was not possible to do so. They placed a restriction on the quantity that any individual could order (probably because the prices were competitive & they did not want people making a profit in re-sale on the top of their low prices).

BFN,

fp.

1UPGamer · #3 22-09-2009, 10:35 AM

Wow I just got another amazing delivery time on my Halo 3 ODST. Ordered it yesterday afternoon 12:30pm, SMS'd me that they had dispatched it around 4:30pm and got it his morning at 10:05am

Fantastic service to receive my game on release date, however If I had ordered it earlier I would have got it a couple of days early.

Having said that the Malaysia Credit Card fraud does sound quite suspicious. I'll remove my credit card off their site for now.

I actually had similar problems back in 2003 with gameplay.com who many people vouch for so I guess it's just a matter or individual experiences... So who do you use these days FP ?

Zee

fanpages · #4 22-09-2009, 11:12 AM

I find poor Customer Relations with more than a handful of sites... and would prefer to spend a little extra knowing that the Customer Service (team) is there for assistance if aspects of the transaction go wrong.

That said, I think Customer Service often comes down to individual experiences, or whom you find to handle your case, not necessarily a store-wide policy; but they exist too.

PS. I bought some products from La Senza a few years ago as a present. Registered with a unique e-mail address; never used before, or after.

I started to receive spam at it (unrelated to La Senza's business)... the usual Alliance & (dodgy spelling of) Leicester bank security check, small blue pills, and so on.

I wrote to various contacts at La Senza's, most notably the head of IT Security, & all denied that the e-mail address I provided to them had been used in this way.

I won't bore you with all the communication, but they refused to accept that an e-mail address used solely for purchasing on their site did not leak from their systems to somewhere else.

(I use unique e-mail addresses for absolutely every contact. JD Sports is another example. The have also passed on my e-mail address to a third party or parties; whether intentionally or unintentionally).

I'll compile a list of online retailers I use. It could be quite large!

(In fact, such a list would probably make a great blog article; "How to get the best deal when buying video games", or something along those lines)

BFN,

fp.

1UPGamer · #5 22-09-2009, 12:48 PM

Yeah the practice of larger companies selling off your contact data is well known but as you say no one will accept responsibility. It's a diry game and the sad thing is, these guys know their selling it to spammers...

pgoroncy · #6 11-11-2009, 03:16 PM

I buy my games wherever I can get the best deal on them. The usual suspects end up being Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Gamestop, Amazon.com, and eBay.

1UPGamer · #7 11-11-2009, 04:54 PM

I for the first time bought a game from sainsburys (It's a supermarket in the UK for you foreigners) today. It was Call Of Duty: Modern Warfar 2 for the 360. It was £25 which isn't bad for a release day game. Apparently i bought the last copy in store lol...

Wasn't planning on getting it but picked it up anyway.