Despite the company being one of the most well-known video game retailers in the world, GameStop’s stature has plummeted significantly over the last few months due to a sharp drop in sales. The chain of popular stores has been facing bleaker times than ever before, with the company closing down a number of locations to help manage funds. However, it appears this mass closure has led to a particularly unfortunate side-effect that GameStop evidently wasn’t expecting.
Posted to Reddit by Steid55, the user highlights a major flaw within one of GameStop’s closing sales, highlighting how Xbox One Xs are currently being sold for $199 when they can actually be traded back to the company for a lot more. In an image that has now been deleted by Reddit moderators, Steid55 shows how he bought nine Xbox One X consoles on offer at a Gamestop closing sale before taking them over to another nearby branch and selling them for $275 each. He goes on to clarify that he made $796 in gift cards and kept an Xbox One X for himself.
Although there’s a sense of irony seeing as GameStop has often been known for purchasing second-hand games off customers for irrationally low prices, this scam is a terrible oversight for the company, especially when considering the financial issues it currently sees itself dealing with. Unfortunately for the user, it appears there could be serious ramifications for attempting to exploit a loophole in the company’s system as well. YouTuber Spawn Wave Plus and a number of commenters on the original Reddit thread have made the poster aware that GameStop flag up suspicious traders on the system and effectively ban them from trading with the company ever again. It’s a severe deterrent and one that no doubt will stop many other readers from attempting the same scam.
For those unaware of GameStop’s current financial issues, the store has been going through tough times recently due to a massive plummet in sales over the holiday break. Reported by the company, sales dropped by 27.5% in the holiday quarter, which is a terrible statistic for a retailer when considering that the build-up to Christmas is the most financially lucrative time of the year. GameStop aims to shut between 230 and 250 stores to compensate for this significant drop in revenue, which will take effect by the end of March.
This wasn’t the end of the company’s worries either, with an armed robber stealing over $130,000 from the company a few weeks ago. Clearly the video game retailer hasn’t been experiencing the best of luck over recent months, and this new loophole in its system will no doubt be yet another worry to add to the pile. Hopefully, the store finds more luck as it attempts to find its footing again in 2020.
