Their Loss, In More Ways Than One

Until recently, I worked at a store that sells books, movies, video games, and more. My coworker would price video games way off market value. When I tried to tell the boss, she said:

Boss: “Well, he knows a lot about video games. I’m sure he knows what he is doing.”

Even when I showed her clear examples, she still would say things like:

Boss: “Well, it all still sells.”

For the record, they have the worst video game sales in the district by a lot.

The thing is, despite being a video game nerd, [Coworker] had enormous bias and flat-out ignored policy. Just like with books, if a game is still in print, then it should go out for half-price. Not only did he refuse to do that, but he also refused to look up current prices, so you would find a game that is sold new for $20 and he would have it used for $29.99.

If he liked the games, the price went up. If he didn’t like them, they went down. With loose games, he just went with his gut. He even priced PC games that were opened and needed a code.

If I ever said anything, he would say:

Coworker: “I work here and have enough money to buy anything in there. If they can’t afford it, that’s on them.”

What does the price being too high have to do with how much money people have?

The last batch of games to come in before I left were loose Pokemon games. The person who bought them even left a note saying how much each of the games should go out for. Did he use those prices? H*** no. No one knows as much about gaming as he does, so he adjusted all the prices down. “Why?” you may ask. Well, he informed me that adults don’t play Pokemon and kids won’t pay much for them.

On my last day, I bought a copy of “Pokemon Black 2” for $16 with my discount. Technically, it’s a $100 game, but [Online Retailer] has it for $200, so I went with that price. After buying it, I showed the manager the great deal they gave me and she became visibly angry. She said she would talk to him about it, but last I heard she had said nothing to [Coworker]. But she did tell the regional manager that I had taken advantage of them.