How would you feel seeing this in a store?

[Strange | 1,727]

Not my photo, I found this on Reddit. I don’t really have an opinion either way, I’m just curious how you all feel about this sign/general attitude from a place selling games?

Their right as a store? A dick move? Both?

[Gloves | 12,078]

I mean, what're they gonna do to stop you, really? If they're dicks about it you can easily go in, see what you're interested in, pop over to the nearby coffee shop and look up prices, then go back.

I do understand their frustration, mind you. People think they can walk into a store and expect to get online prices, they're completely ignoring that this place has to pay rent and employees, as well as that they are providing you a valuable service of seeing, touching, and even TRYING the game(s) before making a purchase.

Buying a game in a store is not equal to buying a game online, period.

[OptOut | 8,936]

1 hour ago, Gloves said:

Buying a game in a store is not equal to buying a game online, period.

Yeah I agree, especially if you are a regular and you have a rapport with the owner. I don't mind paying a little more for stuff I want from a store in person, due to the convenience and immediacy of just having the thing in hand there and then you know. Plus I totally understand the realities of like tax and overheads and shit in a store too.

I'm still gonna whip my phone out tho, straight up. Not gonna be rude or anything, (although this is me, so probably) but I gotta see the prices in context even if I AM gonna end up paying more in person it's not gonna be for everything and it's not gonna be like paying double or something you know!

I think the sign in the OP is a rather futile gesture, tbh, and it would definitely make me feel unwelcome in a store to see something like that.

[MrWunderful | 2,929]

 look at that quality display. Looks like a neat and tidy shop. 
 

I probably wouldnt shop there anyways lol. 

[Jono1874 | 144]

it's their store, they can do what they want.  I use a flip phone, so I wont be doing any price checking in the store anyway.

 

OptOut is right though. When I see signs like this in shops it gives me a bad impression. When I did own a smartphone, I never checked prices in the store or in front of anyone I was buying from. I think it's extremely rude when people do it to me, and I'm not about to do it to someone else.

 

Basically, it should be one of those unspoken rules that people follow anyway regardless of what is going on. Leave your phone in your pocket where it belongs. 
 

[TDIRunner | 2,841]

I would check the online price anyway. I prefer to shop locally and I'm willing to pay a little more to do so, but I always check the price to make sure it's at least fair. 

The sign is meaningless anyway. I can just say I'm doing one of a million other things with my phone. 

[Mega Tank | 1,024]

2 hours ago, Strange said:

Not my photo, I found this on Reddit. I don’t really have an opinion either way, I’m just curious how you all feel about this sign/general attitude from a place selling games?

Their right as a store? A dick move? Both?

Mind linking the thread? I believe I know this store. If it isn't the store that I am thinking of, then I know a store with these kinds of signs all around.

[Mega Tank | 1,024]

Is it Marioworld? I can't access the stores pictures, but I am sure you can probably see the signs lol

[Tanooki | 5,028]

I'd just do it anyway, they can't prove it if you're not so obvious.  They going to get shitty about checking email or a messageboard, facebook too?  I'd straight up do it out of spite, on the spot, or as others suggested, step outside.  If it's enough stuff, muted phone, snap some pics then check.

To me, if they're posting that kind of sign they are blatantly obvious about having something to hide, such as grossly overcharging compared to normal averages and hope to cover the fact with intimidation notification.  I'm not saying I wouldn't pop a bit more than paying online, but that sign makes me think they want double or more, and that's why the sign exists.

[Link | 2,856]

It’s not much different than the sign at the deli counter “no cell phone use allowed” or a rule against price bitching in FS threads on a forum like this one. 

Different reasons or scenarios, similar expectation of courtesy. Ways around it are simple. Doing certain things right in front of someone, in their commerce environment, is just rude.

If the sign is offputting, consider how a proprietor feels creating a demand (by someone seeing the item) that immediately fuels someone else’s sale. Bargain hunters should already have in mind what they’re after and what they’re willing to pay.

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,075]

So everyone saying it's a courtesy thing, what am I supposed to do when I need to look at my own checklist to see if I already have a game? I have thousands of games I don't remember exactly what I have (especially atati 2600 stuff) I need to crosscheck my spreadsheet. But body language in that scenario would certainly look like Im price checking something, looking back and forth to check game titles, scrolling through a long list. Am I supposed to just spend my money hoping I don't already own it because some shop owner is too insecure about how they price their stuff? Get outta here with that dumbness

[GPX | 1,385]

Wouldn’t faze me too much. The high end items I would roughly know what price to go after. And the low end items, well..what’s the rush to strike a deal?

I think what matters more is the content and quality the store has. Judging by the OP pic, I personally wouldn’t bother to deal with this store, with or without a “no phone” policy.

[a3quit4s | 4,219]

I feel like I used to be pretty good pricing stuff off the top of my head until the pandemic hit. In most cases I'm taking out my phone to make sure I'm not buying something I already have. 

Either way if they pull out their phone who cares, if they don't like the price the store has then they don't buy it. I wonder if this place has the prices set way above PC/GVN. I get physical store overhead but there is adding 10% or so to each game and then just being greedy. 

In any case if you are paying the correct price for the games to begin with you should always be making good money on non sports games. 

I probably wouldn't shop there. 

[drxandy | 3,267]

This is probably targeted at a certain customer that annoys the employees, but it definitely raises a few flags about the place too.

[Aguy | 778]

10 hours ago, OptOut said:

 

I think the sign in the OP is a rather futile gesture, tbh, and it would definitely make me feel unwelcome in a store to see something like that.

But at least they said "thank you".

And in an ironic twist, this is the same kind of store that doesn't have anything priced until you go to the register and they pull up pricecharting.

[ThePhleo | 2,210]

I don’t typically price check in retail, but if I seen a sign like that in ANY store I’d do it out of spite.

Theyre basically telling me “hey idiot, we’re overcharging you”

[nrslam | 485]

At a thrift last week, I watched someone sweep the entire game shelf (~30 Wii/PS2/PS3/Xbox/360) games into his cart then spend the next 15 minutes looking up each title online and putting them back one at a time as he found each had insufficient profit potential. I don't think he bought any but nobody else could even look as he did this.

Can totally understand a store not wanting that.

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,075]

33 minutes ago, nrslam said:

At a thrift last week, I watched someone sweep the entire game shelf (~30 Wii/PS2/PS3/Xbox/360) games into his cart then spend the next 15 minutes looking up each title online and putting them back one at a time as he found each had insufficient profit potential. I don't think he bought any but nobody else could even look as he did this.

Can totally understand a store not wanting that.

Taking the product and hoarding it as you go through it is very different then just looking something up that is sitting on an open shelf. Besides that, the picture appears to be everything behind glass. So that scenario couldn't even happen here.

[16BitBricks | 59]

I think that’s kind of ridiculous, but I’d be curious as to why they put the sign up. There had to be a specific reason. As long as someone isn’t holding up the line and are just browsing, I don’t see a problem. You can’t know the value of everything so it’s ok to look up a game to get a general price. I agree with paying a little more at a brick and mortar store, but how else are you supposed to know what a “fair price” is? If they called me out for it, I’d probably just leave.

[Hammerfestus | 4,028]

11 hours ago, MrWunderful said:

 look at that quality display. Looks like a neat and tidy shop. 
 

I probably wouldnt shop there anyways lol. 

I think this point is getting way too glossed over here.

 What the hell is going on there?  It looks like that tub with random crap just stuffed in it that everyone has but behind a glass case.  Why are there random universal remotes in there that are the only organized items?  This one’s a hard pass for me.

[croagunk | 798]

I personally would find the sign off putting. Like people have said above me, I have a checklist on my phone of my collection. If I was using my phone to check online prices it would be to double check that I am not going to pay way too much. I have a general idea of prices usually, and I don’t mind spending a little bit more in person to get the item right away locally. My point is if this store frowns on people checking prices on their phones, they must be asking way too much. 

[Makar | 2,062]

It means they’re overpricing their games and don’t want you finding out. That or they don’t want you to score a good deal on something they’ve underpriced. Either way I’d be out that store in a second the moment I saw that sign. The customer has every right to be able to check prices while they’re in the store so they know they’re getting a fair price or good deal. 

[Tanooki | 5,028]

4 hours ago, Aguy said:

But at least they said "thank you".

And in an ironic twist, this is the same kind of store that doesn't have anything priced until you go to the register and they pull up pricecharting.

When I've been in a store over the years that service has popped up, if they do that in front of me I ask them nicely(passive aggressively like..."that's fine don't bother it's ok") to stop that I'm no longer interested.

Usually that's it but if they get a dirty look and ask what's the problem, I'm not rude, but I'll be bluntly honest.  'If you can not price your items fairly and need to look at (vgpc, asking amazon rates, etc if I see the screen) whatever it currently sells for online and possibly the higher end paid values, I would have been better off at home not wasting my time and money coming here to pay more.  That put an end to it when I've done that.  I get they have rent, utilities, etc so yeah 10%-15% higher fine, I'm good.

[Tabonga | 2,432]

13 hours ago, Link said:

It’s not much different than the sign at the deli counter “no cell phone use allowed” ...... 

 

There is a difference though - the deli likely doesn't like the ordering or payment process being delayed (for other customers) when some dolt has to stop everything whilst he/she grinds everything to a halt whilst whipping out a cell phone to answer some no doubt earth shattering vital message*.

I wish grocery stores would ban cell phones - I just love when some idiot stops dead still in the middle of an aisle to answer a cell phone.

*Most likely this occurs during the noon or supper rush.

-------------------------

And how much do you want to bet that the video store uses the internet to make sure they don't undercharge on games - especially the more obscure stuff?

Edited March 28, 2021 by Tabonga

[DefaultGen | 5,668]

This sign would just make me feel a little better if they actually mispriced something