Gamestop/EBgames really that bad?

Now and then you'll hear unpleasant stories and articles about these store which is usually followed by a shit storm of people talking about how bad Gamestop/EBgames are how you can get said game cheaper elsewhere and other bad business practices.

Question is... Do you buy and preorder games from Gamestop/EBgames? If so why?


Mines a bit of a rant.

For me I usually don't buy games right off the shelf unless it was daring their sales but always make preorders like limited editions and collector’s edition of games. So far they fulfilled every preorder besides that one time which happen at a different EBgames but I eventually got it either thanks to calling their head office. Hell, I don't mind if ask if I like to preorder anything. When it just comes to the standard game, I always buy them at JB Hi-Fi since theie games are usually around $20-$30 cheaper.

I can always get my ED and CE cheaper at online stores like OZgamestop (UK based store) but there have some cases where my stuff got damage daring transit due to poor packaging and it is annoying as hell to deal with since in most cases you need to open it at a post office to clarify that its been damage during transit.

There is another Australian retailer called GameTraders which also have a focus on retro games but I would never dare to buy any retro games from since they ask top dollar for games that are in poor condition. Plus this retailer has pissed off more publishers than any other retail store that exist by breaking street dates of games without permission from publishers. Hence why they have to get their stock from a third party supplier since most publishers don't even want to deal with them anymore. Often they would make preorders for game editions they don't even know if they are getting yet.

I tend to wait for sales or drops in prices, or late enough that I can buy pre-used but still basically new. I have the money for New but why bother to spend 30$ more when I can wait like a week and get it 50% off.