GameStop.ca (formerly EB Games) Transformers Sightings and discussion

[canprime]

Originally Posted by The 12th Prime

Hey Ya’ll,

Keep your peepers peeled for EB store closings. I was googling my regular stores phone number to see if my G2 Sandstorm was in and it came up as permanently closed and I was like “Que?”

So I called anyway and yeah the manager confirmed it and told me pre orders are being transferred to the mall location. Google though showed both stores in my town as being closed but I called the other one at the mall since pre orders are being transferred there and they’re still open, for now I imagine but I can’t get my pre order because I have’t paid in full because I pre ordered in store. I’m just a little nervous about all this.

What's even sadder is the stock price for GameStop (EB parent company). The price has gone so high based on nothing. It is believed that a Reddit sub group has been pumping up the idea of buying, causing the price to be hyperinflated.

So while the reality of the company is just what you said, lots of closings, the typical detached from reality market just keeps going. It is going to get real ugly soon if they can't find a new revenue stream soon.

[seancuthbertca]

Originally Posted by canprime

What's even sadder is the stock price for GameStop (EB parent company). The price has gone so high based on nothing. It is believed that a Reddit sub group has been pumping up the idea of buying, causing the price to be hyperinflated.

So while the reality of the company is just what you said, lots of closings, the typical detached from reality market just keeps going. It is going to get real ugly soon if they can't find a new revenue stream soon.

They've been consistently overpricing a lot of things in their stores. Not necessarily transformers, but general toys/collectibles they sell. This is the market catching up with them. Covid isn't making it worse for them, but their pricing is the main thing.

[canprime]

Originally Posted by seancuthbertca

They've been consistently overpricing a lot of things in their stores. Not necessarily transformers, but general toys/collectibles they sell. This is the market catching up with them. Covid isn't making it worse for them, but their pricing is the main thing.

I think their pricing overall is pretty fair. For figures they really don't have a lot of leeway. Also they tend to be right in line with the other big retailers. The edge card is also a good way to get a discount if you buy a lot of product from them.

Also they don't get a lot of give on video games/systems either. Again their pricing is not really out of whack with the big retailers.

If anything they are better at sales than Walmart and TRU. However they are getting killed by the digital shift for gaming. Personally i haven't bought a physical game since 2018, and I'm am old fart so what does that mean for their target demo? Also my kids hardly play console games, it's all tablet all the time.

They are like comic book shops and newspapers, an old way of selling that is slowly dying.

[Takonic]

Originally Posted by The 12th Prime

Hey Ya’ll,

Keep your peepers peeled for EB store closings. I was googling my regular stores phone number to see if my G2 Sandstorm was in and it came up as permanently closed and I was like “Que?”

So I called anyway and yeah the manager confirmed it and told me pre orders are being transferred to the mall location. Google though showed both stores in my town as being closed but I called the other one at the mall since pre orders are being transferred there and they’re still open, for now I imagine but I can’t get my pre order because I have’t paid in full because I pre ordered in store. I’m just a little nervous about all this.

this has been for a while in toronto since october? It never made sense to me as why there was an ebgames like 5mins of each other at an major intersection. Im glad it happened. as all the stock was migrated to the larger stores. Nothing was worse then when a game came out and there was 1-2 copies recived because the demographic of the neighbourhood. The one near my place, only catered to shooters,sports games. They would receive maybe 1-2 copies only for the preorders on things like Persona 5 or Yugioh for the switch.

Originally Posted by canprime

I think their pricing overall is pretty fair. For figures they really don't have a lot of leeway. Also they tend to be right in line with the other big retailers. The edge card is also a good way to get a discount if you buy a lot of product from them.

Also they don't get a lot of give on video games/systems either. Again their pricing is not really out of whack with the big retailers.

If anything they are better at sales than Walmart and TRU. However they are getting killed by the digital shift for gaming. Personally i haven't bought a physical game since 2018, and I'm am old fart so what does that mean for their target demo? Also my kids hardly play console games, it's all tablet all the time.

They are like comic book shops and newspapers, an old way of selling that is slowly dying.

I have a plat card, helps keep the costs down, as gaming is my second hobby. It also helps they allow preorders on toys, nothing sucks more then going to 4-5 walmarts looking for the new Kingdom figures on just word of mouth or random visits

[The 12th Prime]

Well, finally got my G2 Sandstorm after just ordering it online and curbsiding it. Sucks no edge discount at least until the lockdown ends.

It is funny that the larger square footed store is the one that’s closing here. I’m inclined to think mall space per SQ foot would cost more than the plaza but I could be wrong.

We had 3 stores here, one in the north end closed about 2 or 3 years ago now which left us with 2 stores 5 minutes apart. Smaller one in the mall and large one in our SmartCentre plaza down the street. I’d be told regularly how the mall store was a certain type of store (forget the name) and they’d get preferred stock or preorders available that the plaza store didn’t. Then I’d go into a random out of the way store and see Amazon exclusive Auotbot Aplha Strike or Decepticon Phantom Strike pack just chilling on the shelf. Anyway I hope they can somehow salvage their business but turning their website around is where I’d begin.

[canprime]

Originally Posted by The 12th Prime

Well, finally got my G2 Sandstorm after just ordering it online and curbsiding it. Sucks no edge discount at least until the lockdown ends.

It is funny that the larger square footed store is the one that’s closing here. I’m inclined to think mall space per SQ foot would cost more than the plaza but I could be wrong.

We had 3 stores here, one in the north end closed about 2 or 3 years ago now which left us with 2 stores 5 minutes apart. Smaller one in the mall and large one in our SmartCentre plaza down the street. I’d be told regularly how the mall store was a certain type of store (forget the name) and they’d get preferred stock or preorders available that the plaza store didn’t. Then I’d go into a random out of the way store and see Amazon exclusive Auotbot Aplha Strike or Decepticon Phantom Strike pack just chilling on the shelf. Anyway I hope they can somehow salvage their business but turning their website around is where I’d begin.

Sandstorm is pretty cool overall, especially for an unused design from G2.

Costs for stores is tricky. A mall is probably more expensive per square foot, but probably lower costs for non-store expenses. One of the killers for plaza stores, especially big plazas is common area maintenance, and taxes. My past experience is that you split theses evenly among the tenants, so the fewer the tenants the higher the cost. So a big plaza really kills if there are not too many stores anchored by one big box retail. Also a single store closing can really increase the costs going forward.

A mall tends to have a higher number of stores per square foot so the cost is further spread out and a single store closing doesn't have as big an impact.

Again that is from my past experience, maybee it has changed now. Either way EB is in tough.

[evenstaves]

Originally Posted by The 12th Prime

Then I’d go into a random out of the way store and see Amazon exclusive Auotbot Aplha Strike or Decepticon Phantom Strike pack just chilling on the shelf

Seriously, when I saw the firestormer pack at my local EB I was like "wtf? when u guys start carrying last year's Amazon exclusives?" buddy was like "stuff come off the truck, sometimes we don't know at all what it gonna be"

Hoping for a Greenlight to manifest one day

[Ransak The Elder]

You think now that EB/Gamestop is a 20+ billion dollar company they will have transformers in stock?

[TheSwipe95]

Got charged for the Selects Shattered Glass set last night. So that's coming right away. At least things seem to be releasing on time now.

[ssjgoku22]

Originally Posted by Ransak The Elder

You think now that EB/Gamestop is a 20+ billion dollar company they will have transformers in stock?

Lol, this. It's crazy, kind of want in on the action myself.