Four GameStop locations in New York were caught refusing to sell customers a Nintendo Switch unless they purchased the console in a bundle, Kotaku reports.
The site reached out to about a dozen GameStops around the country, most of whom were more than happy to sell the Switch on its own. However, four stores in New York refused to sell a Switch without a warranty or add-ons, which increased the price of the console from $300 to upwards of $475 in some cases.
Kotaku contacted GameStop’s corporate offices and learned that the stores were not supposed to be forcing customers into purchasing warranties or bundles and that the stores have been instructed to cease such practices immediately. They provided the following statement:
“GameStop was disappointed to hear about the 4 GameStop stores that were misrepresenting our mission of providing customers the best service and products they want when visiting our stores. We appreciate Kotaku bringing this to our attention. These stores have been contacted and this should no longer be an issue.”
Kotaku’s editor-in-chief Stephen Totilo discovered what these stores were doing when he called the GameStop location near Kotaku’s New York office last Thursday in an attempt to purchase a Switch. That’s when he was told by an employee that he couldn’t buy the console without getting the $50 warranty. Kotaku’s Cecilia D’Anastasio paid a visit to a few stores in the area and was told by employees that, while they had Switches in stock, they could only sell them in bundles: either the console with a warranty and a game, or a warranty along with two games and a case. She was told by some that it was something employees “had” to do.
As a former GameStop employee of five years, I can confirm that with every new console or handheld release, employees were instructed to attempt to attach a warranty and add-ons to every new system sale. That in itself isn’t controversial — it’s just annoying on the customer’s side of things to be asked if they want to add on A, B, and C when they’re just in the store to make a quick purchase. But it is controversial to refuse to sell a customer a console without turning it into a bundle. We were never instructed to do that, nor would a store have gotten away with doing such a thing without facing some serious repercussions. Unless store policy has changed vastly since I worked at GameStop – according to their corporate offices, it hasn’t – it seems that these stores in New York were taking things into their own hands in order to meet their monthly sales quotas.
Always stay a vigilant, informed consumer!
Source: Kotaku