no wonder high street shops are going down the pan!!!!

new_home_owner_3

I went shopping for games today, i looked at game online and noticed two games battlefield 3 which was 24.98 and fifa that was advertised at 27 pound.
So i thought ill just go into the shop and pick them up, i walked up to the shop and seen massive signs saying 50 percent off, but the 2 games they sold online where both 32 pound.

No wonder high street shops are not doing very well and i think its discusting a shop like Game can treat their customers this bad.

I also noticed there was not a lot of people shopping, maybe im not the only one whos aware of this but if high street shops behave in this way i will certainly steer clear in the future.

bluenoseam

Game have always been notorious amongst the gaming fraternity, of all my friends who i'd consider gamers there's not a single one of us have a good word to say about them, that being said the sensible ones among us know they're not designed with people like us in mind, they're designed for the mass market - without meaning to offend, think Gran/Mum etc who don't know anything about games, the real gamers used to go to Gamestation instead! (although they're now Game in disguise!) Sad part is that if they actually played the game (i.e. were better placed to deal with real gamers too) they'd probably be able to do very well for themselves - even in a weak sector right now (games have had a very rough year) they're spurning a LOT of potential custom by not doing more to engage the community the way Gamestation did maybe 7-8 years ago.

High street was also pretty "quiet" all round when i was down earlier, i could actually move, prior to the recession that just wasn't the case on Christmas Eve!

rustyboy21

They are not treating their customers bad, it is for an obvious reason.

It costs a bomb to run a shop ! So you have to make more margin in a shop, than you do on a website.

Websites don't have the following costs

Lease on a high St shop
Business Rates
Public Liability Insurance
Staffing ( Or as Many staff )
Lighting ( for as long as they are open)
Heating ( warehouses are colder than shops you Know)
Plus loads of other things which all add up. Carrier bags, muic , monitors, cctv etc

It is unreasonable to require a shop to sell at the same price as a website. Some retailers do, bu a lot of them are on products which they can make a reasonable marging on.

fozmcfc

It says on their website that prices may vary in store and it's not surprising to see an online shop with less overheads offering a discount over the shop on the high street.

It's not disgusting at all, many business have special offers only online.

As for the high street going down the pan, looking at todays papers, it looks like the shops have had a bumper Xmas particularly yesterday and today.

Finally I have purchased from Game online and never had any issues, far better than Play and Amazon in my experience. Pre orders in particular arriving on the day or even before the day.

new_home_owner_3

i understand running a shop costs more than a online shop, but they are both the same shop, what im saying is why would i want to go to the high street shop, when i can sit on my !!!, and get it cheaper?

i wouldnt have to drive, pay for parking, and then go and pay a extra five pound for the item.

this isnt a small indipendant shop its a massive chain with online and high street shops, and im guessing i am not the only one who would not pay inflated prices, just so you can take the item off the shelf.

no wonder high street shops are struggling. and i certainly wont be buying or looking to purchase anything from game .

jonesMUFCforever

new_home_owner wrote: »

i understand running a shop costs more than a online shop, but they are both the same shop, what im saying is why would i want to go to the high street shop, when i can sit on my !!!, and get it cheaper?

i wouldnt have to drive, pay for parking, and then go and pay a extra five pound for the item.

this isnt a small indipendant shop its a massive chain with online and high street shops, and im guessing i am not the only one who would not pay inflated prices, just so you can take the item off the shelf.

no wonder high street shops are struggling. and i certainly wont be buying or looking to purchase anything from game .

If you were at home certainly you would not be spending money on petrol, parking etc but you would be on heat, lighting etc and you would have to wait for delivery.
(See today's papers for the 750,000 undelivered packages at Yodell). Swings and roundabouts.

giraffe69

what im saying is why would i want to go to the high street shop, when i can sit on my !!!, and get it cheaper?

Because you left it until Xmas Eve and wanted the convenience without paying for it?

fozmcfc

new_home_owner wrote: »

i understand running a shop costs more than a online shop, but they are both the same shop, what im saying is why would i want to go to the high street shop, when i can sit on my !!!, and get it cheaper?

i wouldnt have to drive, pay for parking, and then go and pay a extra five pound for the item.

this isnt a small indipendant shop its a massive chain with online and high street shops, and im guessing i am not the only one who would not pay inflated prices, just so you can take the item off the shelf.

no wonder high street shops are struggling.

So despite the fact that you say you understand it costs more to run the shops, then the online business, you still can't understand why it is more expensive to buy in a shop normally

Times are moving on and I expect we will see many businesses going under on the high street, not because of pricing necessarily, but because of technology advances and conveience.

Music singles now bought by downloads, over 99% IIRC, rather than in the shops on cd's.

I expect we will start to see books going the same way, when electronic readers become the norm and are less than £30 to buy and come with thousands of free books to download.

I expect gaming to also to go largely to downloads when internet connections are a minimum of 8meg for everybody. I can buy a PC game online, download it and play it within a couple of hours in most cases.

The other massive threat to the high street is big supermarkets like Tesco, Asda, huge superstore with electronic goods and clothes for sale at prices cheaper than you local shop, because they buy in much bigger bulk.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

So the "discusting" part is that consumers have embraced the online retail word?

Either you expect the store to match the online price and take a loss or you expect the online price to me more expensive making them uncompetitive in an easily price companioned market?

Your observation is correct in that the high street is dying due to this type of thing but it's no different to saying the local shops go when a supermarket with all the extras opens, only the consumer is doing this damage by their choice.

Whilst at the moment the prices online are cheap, as competition slowly dies out, online prices will rise leaving the consumer is a worse off position, something proved by the supermarkets with their misleading pricing promotions to extract money from your wallet without you noticing, something a local shop would find it hard to get away with whilst retaining custom.

rustyboy21

The problem is you will never satisfy anyone.

In My industry, I have people who come in my shop, who want to see a particular fire. They then state that they are buying off internet instead, but wanted to see it first. The prices they quote are below what I can buy them for and I am expected to do a price match ? No Chance.

Games, music and small electronics being an exception, but when all the shops have disappeared and the streets are empty, you can guarantee that people will be on here moaning that they cannot see the TV they like, or the fridge they want anywhere. It is happening to me in this sector already and is spreading like wildfire with white goods too.

Britain is one of the only countries that have embraced the internet revolution. Go Over to Europe and you don't have the problem as much, USA similar. People want to see products and haggle for business. Our culture doesn't like it, so we do it online, so not having to face people. In a large part ( excusing disabled, elderly etc ) this is done to pure laziness.

If you want the customer service you expect, buy from a shop

texranger

Amazon, Play Thompsons and Morgan, Tesco, Asda, WHSmiths and i dare say a lot more have distributions centres in the channel islands to deliver online purchases due to tax loopholes (this is how items are also cheaper), which in 2012 are being closed, so i can almost say the online prices will increase when this loophole is closed.