SSMB's Video Game Deals

[Nepenthe]

That's only if there isn't anything in a person's ToS that says that both acceptance of a transaction counts as a commitment to honor it and they are unable to reverse orders went through but were deemed to have been based on misinformation such as a pricing error. It is also based on good faith; If they suddenly see someone has added a shitload of usually-expensive items to a cart, they can easily argue the person was taking advantage of them if they actually wanted to take it to court. So no, the process of adding something to an online cart isn't necessarily legally binding in every instance.

 

Furthermore, it is underhanded if you buy something from someone knowing full well that they priced it wrong. Just because someone makes a mistake doesn't ethically mean I should take advantage of the mistake at their own cost. It's a tired analogy but it works just as well; if I leave my door unlocked, you're still an asshole for walking in uninvited.

[Tani Coyote]

This is kind of on the edge. Its difficult to determine what is "right" in these kinds of situations. Frankly, I consider something like this glitch similar to accidentally printing the wrong label in a store. That is also a glitch. The difference is one's electronic and the other is not, so its more on the fringe of what's legally binding.

No, not really. If you have reasonable suspicion something isn't meant to be this price, then you would be found guilty of acting in bad faith in a court.

The average person ponders "what's the catch" when they see a bargain that isn't part of some huge sale. Doubly so in a case where the terms of the sale are specifically outlined.

If I offer buy 1 get 1 free of an item, and state limit of 1 per customer, and you somehow are able to buy 5 items and get 5 free, you are acting in bad faith, because I clearly set the terms of the deal, though my system was faulty and didn't catch the error.

Now, on the other hand, if I found out about this glitch and did NOTHING to correct it... one could argue I've opened the door to being taken advantage of, since I'm clearly okay with it. But how many would do that? I correct every mistake in my systems the moment I discover it.

[Autosaver]

Ok, so a bunch of people are giving me shit for this so I think I should just make a post clarifying what happened.

 

Retailers fuck up all the time. Walmart sold $3000 TVs for $7 once. Around Christmas, Best Buy had a B2G1 Free Skylanders sale that applied to video games (I actually took advantage of that lol). Early morning, Best Buy fucked up again. They had a 50% Skylanders sale that applied to video games and consoles. Bloodborne which is currently on a special sale at $40 cost me $20. The New 3DS and PSVita dropped down to $100. I didn't know about consoles until the glitch ended. I ended up buying a bunch of games because I knew my family would buy them at one point. Arkham Knight? Call of Duty: BO3? Star Wars Battlefront? Splatoon? Zelda U? Kingdom Hearts 3? etc, etc. Why spend $70 when I can buy them $20 after rewards now?

 

Video games are pretty expensive. If you add up how much you spend on them, you'd be surprised. I know people are giving me shit for spending a lot of money but there are people out there paying $70 for games, including people on this forum. I made this thread so I could share ways to get discounts on games. Clearly I'm being smart in managing my money. If you shop at Gamestop, EVER, you're spending your money unwisely. I am the MASTER at being a cheapskate. I do not buy my games at full price and I do not like digital.

This cheapskate attitude transfers to my entire life. I always use coupons and get stuff on sale. I switched our landline to google voice which cut our $30 monthly landline bill to $0. I convinced my parents to drop Verizon which shaved $200 off our cellular bill. I also haggle with our providers and services to get our bill cut. So overall I've been doing a good job in regards to saving money and spending money. That's why my parents give me free roam to buy stuff.

I run an Amazon business where I sell my old goods. Since I'm a big Nintendo fan, these games KEEP their retail value. The money quickly adds up with how many games I have. I also sell old computer parts or stuff we don't need anymore. I keep all my stuff in mint condition so it keeps its value. That means upgrading consoles, handhelds, and smartphones is really cheap for me. I take good care of what belongs to me. I also don't like to hoard too much. Through the years I've been selling off collections of stuff I don't care anymore. My Wii library barely exists and my DS library is slowly getting smaller.

I live in a family of 6 and we're all big video game fans. My brothers play on their PS4s and I play on my Wii U/Xbox One/PC. They usually pick up the major sellers on Day 1 such as Call of Duty, Star Wars Battlefront, Assassin's Creed, Sports titles, etc. These games cost over $60 and potentially into the $100s area if you include Season Passes. That's a lot of money. Without me they'd be buying games at Gamestop for $70 a piece. I look for deals on games and get games at over 30% off on launch date.

Best Buy fucked up and after rewards/promos, I pretty much got every game for 70% off. That's a $40-$50 savings on every game that we would have purchased. I think some people are taking it as I'm going to be playing all these games. I don't own a PS4 so all those PS4 games are not for me. I guess you can judge me for spending the money but it's money that would have been spent with or without me. The $50 savings per game is huge. This is why I don't get why so many people are upset that I'm saving my family money. That's why my parents trust me with handling purchases. I'm not dumb, I'm actually pretty smart.

On the topic of "money", I get it. My parents were immigrants and I was born in Canada. We grew up pretty poor. During the PS2 era I had like 1-2 games per a year that I wouldn't put down. This mass collection of games didn't start until I got older. I completely understand some people are in bad financial situations as I've been there. BUT, I don't think that should mean I can't enjoy or spend money because others are having problems paying bills or they're in college or etc.

 

Emphasis on the fact I buy Nintendo games and physical games. Nintendo games RARELY if ever go down in price. Bayonetta 2 has been out for half a year and is still a $60 full priced title. I got it for about $25. After I beat my games I sell them. Games now a days don't really have a lot of replayability. I don't see the point in keeping $60 titles when they have 5 hour storylines with no replayability. If I play games quick enough I can sell them close to full price. Worst case scenario I break even, best case I profit. If it's an old game then I can usually make a bit of money. Games cost money though and I enjoy them. Worth the money, no?

Profit? Yes, I actually can make money and a great example is the case here. Most of the games I bought come out to be $20. These games retail for over $70. Let's say I actually don't end up playing the game or I don't want it. If I return the game, I get $20 back. If I sell the game on Amazon, I make about $50 after Amazon's seller fees. That's a $30 profit per game which required zero effort to make. Now if you continually add up each game that can be a lot of money. This is just a worst case scenario if I don't play it/don't want it. May as well make the choice now because I either get a game cheap or I make money. That money can now be reused for future sales/discounts.

 

The big point on profit is why I don't really understand why people are saying I made a bad move or I'm stupid. Are none of you guys going to be buying Kingdom Hearts 3 or Final Fantasy XV on launch day? You don't preorder games? I'm sure SOME of you do and you guys are going to be paying full price for it. How does Gamestop sell millions of copies of games at full price if no one is buying them? People do! The one laughing is me because I got a game for $20 that you paid $70 for.

Some people are asking if this is legal, it is. Best Buy could have cancelled all our orders but they didn't. On the topic if they're able to take back the games, I don't think they can. Walmart made a mistake like this before and tried to but in many states there were laws that once it was in the hand of the buyer they were not able to legally take it back. Walmart took a big hit that day and learned a big lesson.

Video games are my hobby. I don't really buy expensive clothing. I don't go out often. I don't eat out that much. I don't spend money on luxuries. I spend my money on video games. $20 for months of entertainment is worth it. I don't even really see movies that often. When I do I get tickets 50% off because I know how to. My life is basically discounts, sales, and coupons. I'm smart with my money and I keep waste at a minimum. It ties back to growing up poor. Because I've always lived with trying to save money I use these skills every day now. I see people getting suckered into wasting money all the time. I avoid that.

While at the time my parents didn't know about the purchases they didn't need to. A while back, I got an offer on my Kindle for a Lightning Sale on a $250 Chromebook for only $50. Because my Dad didn't answer, I didn't buy it. He ended up telling me that if there were sales that I should act immediately instead of waiting and possibly missing it out. This glitch was at 3am and only lasted an hour. There was zero way I was going to communicate with my Dad who is currently in Canada right now. If I waited, I would have never bought these games.

 

Overall, I still want to emphasize on the fact that no matter what way you cut this or see me these games are games my family would have purchased. I mean, if someone told me they made $500 buying video games I wouldn't be upset, I'd be fucking impressed. The cost I got these games are so low that selling them would make me profit. You use money to make money. To those complaining that I'm wastefully spending, look at your spending. You're buying games and actually spending money. I bought games, spent money, but made a profit in return. The $20 per a game only gets charged when the games come out too.

Basically point by point
"You stole your parents money!" Actually no. My parents trust me with spending. I'm not 2, I'm 18.

 

"You wasted money!" These are games my family would have purchased at full price, with or without me.

 

"WTF I'm too poor!" I grew up poor too. I don't think that should mean I can't buy games or enjoy life. Life sucks, I guess?

"You're bragging!" Well I bragged about getting a huge discount on games, not that I buy a lot of games. There's a big difference here.

 

"You could've used the money on x, y, z!" I don't think you should be telling me how to spend my money. I don't tell you how to spend money, unless there's a way to get it cheaper I will let you know.

"You're not even going to play these games!" Worst case scenario, I sell the games and make $30 profit per copy. This is a WORST CASE SCENARIO so it doesn't mean it'll happen. Maybe if a game gets bad reviews, I don't know.

 

"You could have waited" If I didn't act now, I would bought the game for $60 instead of $20. I can cancel orders at any time or return them if I'm unhappy.

Ignoring everything and over simplifying it, what if I said this to you? You can have every game you want and have a free $500 in your pocket. Would you say no?

[SIXTH-RATE SOMA]

"You stole your parents money!" Actually no. My parents trust me with spending. I'm not 2, I'm 18.

 

Yeah, with two hundred bucks. Two hundred bucks is not one thousand+ dollars. My mom trusting me with a quarter doesn't mean I get to buy a yacht with her money.

 

"You wasted money!" These are games my family would have purchased at full price, with or without me.

 

Yeah, when the time comes and funds are looking good. Not all at once. Time is a major factor in spending; it's why loans exist.

 

"WTF I'm too poor!" I grew up poor too. I don't think that should mean I can't buy games or enjoy life. Life sucks, I guess?

 

Doesn't make you less of a jerk for rubbing it in people's faces, and this isn't even the part I'm mad about, because...

 

"You're bragging!" Well I bragged about getting a huge discount on games, not that I buy a lot of games. There's a big difference here.

 

You're bragging about stealing your family's money and majorly ripping off a store. Of fucking course we'd be angry.

[DBZHedgy]

You're bragging about stealing your family's money and majorly ripping off a store. Of fucking course we'd be angry.

 

I feel like the bragging thing has been blown out of proportion.

I've seen the status of his posting, his responses to said status, his responses to other statuses regarding this and the posts in this topic, but the most I've seen him brag was in the form of

 

"Yes, I got a discount on pricing! :D"

not

"Yeah, in your fucking faces I got these games for cheap and you didn't"

 

He wasn't even bragging about the things that you specifically mentioned.

[jords]

Honestly I probably would of done the same thing but not using that much money. Unless I had a lot of money.

Its the stores fault for messing up so I'd say go for it.

[Autosaver]

Yeah, with two hundred bucks. Two hundred bucks is not one thousand+ dollars. My mom trusting me with a quarter doesn't mean I get to buy a yacht with her money.

I don't get charged until the games come out. Virtually everything I have done is reversible. If my parents didn't like it they would tell me to cancel it. They were completely fine with it.

 

Yeah, when the time comes and funds are looking good. Not all at once. Time is a major factor in spending; it's why loans exist.

Again, I don't get charged until games come out. This is pretty much a "Lock" on the $20 price.

 

Doesn't make you less of a jerk for rubbing it in people's faces, and this isn't even the part I'm mad about, because...

I initially thought people were joking about it. Actually, people were. They were all impressed and kept asking. It wasn't until later that the rest of the forum caught wind and was giving me a lot of shit for it. Because of the attitude people had with taking it lightly, I did too. Now that I realized people were genuinely getting very angry I had to write this post.

 

You're bragging about stealing your family's money and majorly ripping off a store. Of fucking course we'd be angry.

People keep pushing that I stole from my family.. I didn't steal anything.

 

On the topic of taking advantage of a deal, well, yeah I give you that. Not sure why you'd be upset over that though. That's the stores problem.

 

I also found it ironic so many people were saying they would do the same thing if they had the money. I mean, I get that you guys couldn't take advantage of it but I don't think you should be getting that angry over it.

[Xenos]

Why are people mad again? If I spent $1000 and also saved money all the while I'd be pretty fucking impressed with myself. I really don't understand the issue here.

[TCB]

Heh

Funny thing is I'm not even angry at you for doing this. Rather, I'm just personally bummed out in general about it all. That's pretty much it.

Oh well I'll get over it; life sucks then you die and all that.

[Sami]

Yeah, with two hundred bucks. Two hundred bucks is not one thousand+ dollars. My mom trusting me with a quarter doesn't mean I get to buy a yacht with her money.

 

 

Yeah, when the time comes and funds are looking good. Not all at once. Time is a major factor in spending; it's why loans exist.

 

 

Doesn't make you less of a jerk for rubbing it in people's faces, and this isn't even the part I'm mad about, because...

 

 

You're bragging about stealing your family's money and majorly ripping off a store. Of fucking course we'd be angry.

 

Kind of a funny stipulation there though is that he knows his own mother and father better than you fucking do. So maybe instead of riding his dick on account of white knighting for his mom or some shit you ease up and let him live his life? 

 

And ripping off a major store. lol. Won't someone please think of Best Buy!???

 

Getting mad about what others do with their own money is so fucking dumb. Insecurity everywhere. 

[Autosaver]

Why are people mad again? If I spent $1000 and also saved money all the while I'd be pretty fucking impressed with myself. I really don't understand the issue here.

With how many people were giving me shit that they can't afford video games and that they will never get close to my life style, I honestly feel that there's some jealously going around. I hate to sound like a douchebag here but to me it started to sound that way when people were instantly writing me off as wasting money and that video games are not a good way to entertain myself. I mean, at least some people are admitting this up front and being chill about it.

 

I'm on a video game forum, and being told video games are a waste of money by a number of people. What's going on here?

[Nintendoga]

I feel like the bragging thing has been blown out of proportion.

I've seen the status of his posting, his responses to said status, his responses to other statuses regarding this and the posts in this topic, but the most I've seen him brag was in the form of

 

"Yes, I got a discount on pricing! :D"

not

"Yeah, in your fucking faces I got these games for cheap and you didn't"

 

He wasn't even bragging about the things that you specifically mentioned.

Pretty much. At first glance everything seems iffy, but I don't really see why people are so upset over this. To be honest whatever financial situations is happening in Auto's family should be their business, not ours. It's not like he literally stole his parent's credit cards and bought a bunch of games without their knowledge. They know what he's doing, Auto knows what he's doing, it all seems good to me.

How he spends his money is his decision. Not ours.

[Yoko/葉子]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/191586916547

 

Just go on and laugh your but off, this "deal" is hilarious.

[Tracker_TD]

How he spends his money is his decision. Not ours.

 

*his mother's money

[TCB]

To be fair if Best Buy had a screw up like that...I'm pretty sure people are would take advantage of it. Didn't something similar happened not to long ago where PS4s and/or Xbones and/or Wii Us were selling way less than usual for a short time to a glitch in the store's system or something?

[Sami]

*his mother's money

 

The response I really want to give here will get me banned. So I'll tone it down.

 

It's his mother. Not yours. It is literally none of your fucking business.

[Solkia]

I don't like scalpers but whatever he does with his money is his business.

 

Unless he plans on scalping ZSS Amiibos then I'm going to hunt him down

*his mother's money

 

That he has permission to use

[Nepenthe]

You still deliberately took advantage of a pricing error which people consider to be in bad form because you're taking advantage of a company. It doesn't matter that it's legal or hard to prosecute either; human beings don't base their ethics entirely what is written down in law, and why we forget this when it comes to business transactions I have no fucking idea. I can legally call my mother an asshole because she told me to do my chores and I didn't feel like it because that's guaranteed by the First Amendment; but it doesn't matter. If anyone saw this take place they'd be right to be upset at me.

 

Second, you are also downplaying and misinterprating the source of the anger in regards to your bragging. No one cares that you're a self-proclaimed cheapskate. We care that you rubbed it in our faces in a childish manner that you bought a significant amount of games at a cheaper price than we would ever have been able to, as if you think: 

 

1.) People are only every concerned about the dollar amount alone and the vacuous act of spending, and not the expression that the amount and timing of spending makes, which is ludicrous. I don't give a fuck that I bought Rayman Origins for $60 and that you probably bought it for $5 somewhere and resold it. I personally did it to send a message to Ubisoft that I really want more Rayman games from them, and I feel it was worth it, particularly since I got another Rayman game.

 

2.) People actually spend more on games as you do which, even if you take into account your habit of buying cheaply and reselling for profit or another person's lack of looking for deals, is a ridiculous assumption to make. I get most of my games now free as gifts, renting from stores or friends, or through emulation. On an average basis, I probably have "wasted" less money than you in the long run.

 

3.) You yourself know the financial situation of everyone pissed off, which you don't. Money actually loses utility the more of it you gain, so spending the same amount has different impacts to different people based upon their financials.

 

4.) That every person actually cares for every single title you bought in the first place, which if they don't it puts a damper on the leading narrative that people are jealous of you having things that they don't. You had a habit of saying things in the status "Are you telling me you're not going to be Final Fantasy when it comes out?" Fuck no. Never played a FF game in my life. Don't have an inkling to play one either. So what would be the source of anger in knowing that someone bought the game?

 

Third are the inconsistencies that have been specifically toted by you and the information you left out and only leaked slowly as a result of this entire mess. First is the fact that you actually told us in the initial status that you spent $2000, not $1000, and I have to wonder how anyone doesn't know the final statement on their bill even when they're slapping any and every game under the sun into their cart. Either you were so caught up in bragging to us lowly spenders that you lied to us about how much everything cost your mom, or you didn't actually realize how much you were spending, which doesn't strike me as the mark of a good business person. Second is the fact that going into this, no one knew you were intending on reselling anything you bought, and why the fuck you weren't upfront with this is beyond me. You drastically failed to mention anything about owning an online store, only saying "I can technically flip the games;" which suggests this was an option for you but wasn't the path you were going to take. You also never told us about your mom's reaction until now. You only told us that you showed your dad and he said "oh God" which isn't a universal phrase of approval. If anything, it sounded like he was shocked that you did this.

 

And with all of this going on- the lack of ethics in taking advantage of a seller's mistake and trying to play it off as it being legal, the incredibly poor form of bragging and showing your ass to people that you actually did take advantage of a seller, the misinformation and lack of details left out in the initial status update that casts doubt on the story as we're now reading it, and the general lack of empathy and understanding towards people who in destitute times are annoyed when people brag about how much cash they're floating- you had the utter nerve to continue on in the statuses making jokes about the whole thing and not giving a damn. Mitt Romney himself would be appalled at the incredibly shitty optics that you've utilized throughout this entire endeavor, and frankly I can't see how you wouldn't have been able to see this before now when people began to chew you out. I would almost say it's privileged the amount of ignorance that takes.

So even if I were to believe you that you went to your mom and said "I found this amazing deal on video games; can I spend $21000 of your money on it?" and she said "Sure thing!", you still literally failed in every other step of the way during the process of unveiling this to us. Had you simply been upfront about your intentions to resell and perhaps never mentioned where you got the money from (something still bugs me about you having a supposedly thriving business and being good at saving money but still needing your parent's help when it came to this,_ at best we'd be pegging you as someone who takes advantage of glitches for his own benefit, and this would've never spiraled into the utter circus it has become.

 

I haven't lost respect for you being adept at utilizing your money in ways I don't. I lost respect for you because you were shitty and unclear while holding it over our heads.

Edited May 24, 2015 by Nepenthe

[Solkia]

Literally all he said is he bought $2000 worth of games.

 

If that's bragging remind me to never mention when I get something cool.

[Nepenthe]

Literally all he said is he bought $2000 worth of games.

 

If that's bragging remind me to never mention when I get something cool.

 

His next response after this was, and I quote verbatim from the status:

"You guys are gonna be paying $70 on release. Meanwhile I pretty much paid $20 per game. ;)"

Tell me how this isn't bragging.

 

Furthermore, why would you mention a price tag you know sounds ridiculous on the surface if you weren't trying to show off? No one talks like this, just randomly spouting large numbers in the blue.

Edited May 24, 2015 by Nepenthe

[Solkia]

Tell me how you guys didn't prompt it.

 

He would not have said that if you guys didn't jump down his throat and you know it.

[TCB]

At the end of the day for me he did what he did. Am I a bit jealous he could afford those games? Of course hahaha. Ain't gonna let it get to me though; that's a waste of my time and energy. Am I impressed in how he did so (the credit card thing notwithstanding)? Yes I am. Again I'm not angry. Knowing me I don't have a reason to be when it doesn't directly affect me. So eh, good for him getting those games I suppose.

So then Auto how much is Nintendo REALLY paying you

[Nepenthe]

Tell me how you guys didn't prompt it.

 

He would not have said that if you guys didn't jump down his throat and you know it.

 

First he posted in a thread, and because he just had to make sure it was seen by everyone, he put the price tag in the fucking status update itself. It would have been impossible to miss and it wasn't prompted by a mass of people.

[Indigo Rush]

...I guess this is why he's called Autosaver.

[Solkia]

The price doesn't matter.

 

You act like we don't have an entire thread