Minnesota Gamers - Something You Should Be Aware Of - (LGS Rant)

[Mark CMG]

I'd love to just have the credit card cut them off, but I took the gift check, because it seemed like the only option. Since I received something, I can't imagine that the credit card company will do anything about it.

Sounds like you are out of options based on your acceptance of an outcome. You could still send them the link and see if they make the policy more openly known.

 

[JesterPoet]

Sounds like you are out of options based on your acceptance of an outcome. You could still send them the link and see if they make the policy more openly known.

Technically, I might not be. I work in a law firm, so I could actually take this a lot farther, very easily.

That said, however, I'm not like that, much as some people think this thread suggests that I am. I'd rather eat the $60 than make a lawsuit out of it. I do, however, want people to know what happened.

The best situation for me is just to suck it up, which is what I'm going to do. But like I said, I won't be shopping there anymore, and I will definitely ask people not to buy gifts for me there. Anyone who wants to keep shopping there should definitely go for it... however, if customer service is one of the important reasons you shop at The Source, be advised that this is what their customer service is.

With that said, in the interest of my peace of mind, and my interest in getting some work done, I'm shifting back to lurking in other threads. No sense lingering on something that annoys me. Better to focus on reading fun stuff. Live and learn, I guess.

 

[Mark CMG]

The best situation for me is just to suck it up, which is what I'm going to do.

But, if I am reading things correctly, the intent of the thread was to help others. From that standpoint, perhaps, it would go a long way to complete the contact with them by email, along with the link, to ensure they appropriately post their policy in a clear manner. You can only reach so many people through this message board. You can reach everyone of their customers if you go, ahem, straight to the source.

 

[Pbartender]

The best situation for me is just to suck it up, which is what I'm going to do. But like I said, I won't be shopping there anymore, and I will definitely ask people not to buy gifts for me there.

No... I've gotta go with Mark on this one.

The best solution is to resolve the situation. The store either needs to change it's return policy, or it needs to clearly and obviously post it's return policy. They may not realize they are in error. You would be doing them a big favor, you would perhaps improve their customer service, and would be helping them to avoid other such unpleseant encounters in the future.

 

[Tewligan]

Also, one of the main reasons I'm posting this thread is that this is probably MN's biggest game store, and this policy is NOT clearly posted. Whether people continue to shop there or not (I'd suggest not... buy online), I want them to be aware of this.

You say it's not CLEARLY posted, which to me suggests that it is posted somewhere, just maybe not as prominently as you think it should be. If so, where is it posted, and how large?

 

[Aaron L]

Call your ninja. Explain the situation and they will cancel the transactor if it happened in the last 30 days. Almost every ninja agreement requires stores to accept returns like this...

Or else.

Friendly Neighborhood Ninja to the rescue!

 

[thedungeondelver]

Friendly Neighborhood Ninja to the rescue!

Here, we see Bob Hiroshi, Card Services for Visa North America's Risk Management Department.

 

[mcrow]

The Source is one of the biggest gaming stores in the nation, not just in MN. I can't believe they wouldn't debit your credit card. I might stop shopping there now.

You have other choices in the Twin Cities:

Phoenix games in uptown (still has a huge gaming selection, though they are mostly minis people)
Dreamers (little RPG stuff outside of WotC still being sold there) in St Louis Park
Misty Mountain Games just opened a store in the southern suburbs I'm told
There's a store in Anoka that just moved to a new location last year
Monster's Den, now owned by the owner of Dreamers - not much RPG stock

that's just off the top of my head.

The Anoka store you are thinking of is Village Games. The Oakdale store is Unicorn Games. there is also a nice store in Cambridge called the Gamers Den. Phantasy Hobby in Shakopee is nice too, but has more minis and LAN stuff.

I don't see the big deal really. Crap, if you are a gamer, the source is as good as a wet dream. If you are a gamer spending $60 there should be a cinch.

 

[Chimera]

But ultimately I cannot see a single reason to shop at a regular LGS. Amazon just freakin' kills them in every way, shape, and form. If Amazon doesn't have it then I just go to the source and buy online from the game maker.

1> Browsing.

I can look things over, read the box, see the associated merchandise, perhaps even speak to someone who knows something about it. Can't necessarily do that on-line.

In the process, I will also see other games, supplements or items that I may not have come into contact with or heard about, that I can check out and might think are cool.


Personally, I'm not really bothered by 'store credit only'. Especially at places where I'm fairly certain that I will be purchasing more merchandise.

 

[XO]

"This is The Source, oops, the winter of our discontent..."

In a nutshell, there is around here (Montreal) a very large and very well-known FLGS that I have supported at three different addresses from small to large.

They lost my business over a minor "Frequent purchase card" issue. They wanted ALL the stamps on the same dang card instead of stapling cards together, which given my infrequent but large purchases, was highly inconvenient, since I usually do not know in advance I will be stopping by.

This policy was adopted internally and applicable to anyone.

If I am "anyone", after yapping with the owners and purchasing (in my heydays) as much as $5K a year from having hair to going bald, they are just another store, so I went the Amazon route...