"Gamestop's Cheap !@#$ Rewards"

As a gamer with few local gaming places to shop I usually choose to visit the Gamestop located in town to buy the games, and accessories that I want. It's actually not far from where I live (maybe 20 mins. at the most) which is a huge convenience. In all honesty though I'm not a huge fan of Gamestop's product pushing, or trade-in practices. I find being pressured into pre-ordering games during my in-store browsing to be an absolute annoyance, and as such I usually give the employee the cold shoulder. I also find the trade-in system to be a huge rip-off. You'd be better off selling your games on Craigslist than you would be trading them in for credit at the store. Added to these list of issues I have come to realize that the "Gamestop Rewards" program is not all that great. Sure there are some worthy high end rewards that take a sh*t ton of points to obtain, but the lower end items that look cool are usually franchise knock-offs that are made in China. This in itself rubs me the wrong way, and for many reasons.

In the past I have ordered several Gamestop rewards using the points I have accumulated from my many Gamestop purchases. These range from items like 'CoD Dog Tags' to video game related plushies. Some of them were awesome, and some were pure sh*t. When it comes to the bad rewards, items like the "CoD dog tags", and "Mario Print Bifold Wallet" were among the worst. They are prime examples of why some products should be made here in the USA, and not handed over to some other country for cheap labor costs, and potential money making benefits. When I got my first set of metal 'CoD Dog Tags' (for example) I noticed that they reeked of some chemical (possibly oil?). It was a strong odor, and actually made me want to gag smelling it. The Mario wallet on the other hand was poorly made with a pitiful stitching job, and the cheapest materials imaginable. What upset me the most about the Mario wallet (aside from it being made in China) was that it reeked of a foul odor, and it cost me over 9,000 of my rewards points. You might not think much of the points cost as being an important issue, but that is a heck of a lot of points to spend on something so poorly made. Not to mention the odor could potentially be harmful.


In all honesty I think these products should be investigated. There's no telling what harmful side effects the odor causing chemicals, and materials could cause. I want you to brace yourself for my following remarks I'm about to make, because I'm going to tell it like it is ... As an American consumer I'm sick, and tired of walking into a store, and seeing all the product tags in the store featuring a "Made in China" stamp. It is becoming an unpleasant epidemic to say the least. There are plenty of capable Americans here in the United States who could do the same job, and possibly make better quality products. Not only that, but there's a massive amount of homeless, and struggling Americans who could actually use such a job. In my honest, and blunt opinion I feel as if we (Americans) have been sold out. There's no doubt in my mind that all the products we buy will soon be imports from other countries. Blame the economy, or whatever you choose, but the fact remains we have able bodied people here in the US who would be willing to earn minimum wage for jobs that are outsourced to other countries. I hope you do not think less of me for bringing this touchy subject to the forefront, but I feel as if this needs to be addressed, and sorted out.

As for the Gamestop rewards, I'd stay the heck away from the dog tags, wallets, and any other reward that looks as if it could be cheaply made. Spend your points wisely on the higher valued items, and on pre-order bonus items that are sometimes listed on the website. Nintendo Gamestop rewards are infamous for being "Made in China", so I'd avoid them at all costs.

Feel free to leave a comment if you like. I will not erase it unless you post something hateful, or trolling. I'd like to keep this post as clean as possible.

- Brad (OtakuDante) -