Where do you buy your games?

[Spruijt]

The UK is ahead (compared to Holland) when it comes to the games market. Online shops are plenty to be found across the pond and more of them come to Holland. Amazon being a big contender to arrive here this year. The "brick" shops struggle.

So I'm wondering where you get your games?

 

[Slaine]

GAME here is just too expensive. Clearly no lessons have been learned as to why they went bust first time round. I buy all my new games online, usually Shopto.net as they are usually the cheapest, or if not they are certainly competitive. I like their rewards scheme, which basically gives you a cut to redeem against your next purchase, or save it up (just like the catalogues).

The only thing I use stores for (HMV, GAME, Gamestation, Blockbusters etc) are to pick up the occasional second hand bargain. Getting fewer and far between now, as even their 2nd games cost more than brand new online!!

I havent fully embraced digital downloads. I do buy arcade games from the PSN store and LIVE Marketplace, but Ive yet to buy a retail release. I like manuals and having a disc, especially if Im coughing up £30 for a new game, besides me and the boy share our games. I did buy Everybodys Golf for the Vita for £12 from the PSN store, as that was just too much of a bargain to pass up, and my lad hates Everybodys Golf anyway.

 

[Dogstar]

I definitely shop around. Shopto.net are really good. If you order before 5:30 pm they guarantee next day delivery. I presume this is UK only. Sometimes Amazon are cheap. Play.com have been really poor since they were bought by that Japanese company. I'll be paying careful attention to any new sites I don't know about!

 

[Alien_Chick]

I have tended to use Amazon in the past but have been really disappointed with their delivery dates so have ended up running to the local Tesco and paying over the odds really. I do pick up cheap one player games from GAME now and again. I think I may have a look at Shopto.net in the future

 

[Slaine]

Yeah Ive noticed that Amazons orders are getting a bit tardy these days. Whats with that? Shame, as I used to order from them so much.

Didnt know Play.com had been bought out, which might explain the massive hike in prices.

 

[Wilks]

You can't go wrong by checking out http://www.postabargain.co.uk as they are on the ball with the top offers. I've seen the pre order of Black Ops 2 on there via Sainsburys for just over 32 quid so I may do that or wait for a supermarket deal. The pre order has a bonus map btw.

 

[Jkrohn1]

To be honest I only buy from ShopTo.Net they give you points for purchases and are very competitive on price. Amazon and play.com are my second d port of call.

 

[HaloJ]

We tend to buy online or through Computer Exchange trade in. We pop into the brick stores every now and then to see if they have any bargains but far often they are too expensive. HMV for example was a shop that I visited all the time before online versions became prevalent. Now it's hardly worth going in as the music I like is always £5-£10 more expensive in there and the games about the same; movies we watch through a LoveFilm subscription saving ownership for seasonal gifts. The highstreet itself needs to change as it's far more convenient to buy online and spend the weekend doing what I wish rather than foot pounding with the "crowds".

 

[roger947]

I buy everything from Amazon.

New, pre-orders and used , it all comes from the same place.

due to the quantity of stuff that i get from them, i'm a prime member which means that all my postage is free (even returns).so it would be daft for me to shop anywhere else.

Everything is guaranteed next day delivery, and so far i can honestly say that nothing has ever been late.

because i'm a prime member even family members order through my account so they can get the benefits

 

[Martok]

I voted for the online, not Amazon option though that's not 100% true as we have bought some games from there. Really we shop around for the best price. If we're not that bothered about a title, we'll wait until it's cheap and then pick it up at a decent price somewhere (usually online) or via trade-ins at Computer Exchange. For pre-orders we'll shop around the online stores as they are generally better-priced than real shops, plus we usually get them before release day. We've used play.com and Gameplay (which is now subsumed into Gamestation) as well as Amazon. Registered with shoptop.net but not bought from them yet - we were going to get Starhawk from them but surprisingly bought it from HMV due to the extra content deal that they had with Sony.

 

[roger947]

there is a site that some of you might find useful, it's called game Crawler UK, just type in what your looking for and the site compares prices and offers with most of the well known sites such as Amazon, shopto, game etc etc

 

[Acegadgets]

I buy from wherever is the cheapest. For pre orders I use Zavvi, shopto.net, Amazon and have used tesco online and play.com. I sometimes buy games on impulse usually from supermarkets when I see them cheap. Asda and Sainsbury tend to be cheaper than teso or morrisons but sometimes you see games priced incorrectly at supermarkets. If I get a sudden urge to buy a game I often nip out and check the supermarket prices along with Game, Blockbuster, Hmv and grainger games. I wouldnt say that one is more expensive than the other , shopping around always gets a range of prices.
I am really suprised that no n of the big UK online sellers have set up there buisinesses to sell to games to europe. They are missing out on a huge business. Spruijt for instance will pay 60 euros (about £50) for a game in holland that we can buy in the UK for £35. For us to post games to holland costs around £3.50 , so why dont they do it? You should ask them.
Finally I forgot to mention Ebay. I have no problems using eBay to buy anything. My latest purchase game wise is the sega london 2012, eBay price £26 + £2.50 postage. Cheapest online is £32.99 and £34.99 on the high street. So basically shop around and dont always stick to one source. As for you Mr Spruijt , why not email all the online sellers and ask if they ship to holland. Some of the smaller ones that havent been mentioned actually might. If you go to amazon.co.uk there are other sellers , selling games, not just amazon themselves, check them out.

 

[Slaine]

Spruijt for instance will pay 60 euros (about £50) for a game in holland that we can buy in the UK for £35.

Christ thats bad!! And we moan about game prices here!!

I remember being in Venices one & only game shop years ago and seeing them sell for about £50-£60 each. Which might explain why we have no Venetians in the Senior Gamers. Or anywhere come to that.

Still, at least poor old Spruijt's got clogs and cheese to keep him amused, in between the mortgages required to buy a new game.

 

[Slaine]

there is a site that some of you might find useful, it's called game Crawler UK, just type in what your looking for and the site compares prices and offers with most of the well known sites such as Amazon, shopto, game etc etc

I use pricerunner.co.uk, but to be honest they dont contain each and every single retailer. But at least they can give you a ball park figure of what you should be paying in the region of.

 

[roger947]

there is a site that some of you might find useful, it's called game Crawler UK, just type in what your looking for and the site compares prices and offers with most of the well known sites such as Amazon, shopto, game etc etc

I use pricerunner.co.uk, but to be honest they dont contain each and every single retailer. But at least they can give you a ball park figure of what you should be paying in the region of.

I found with game crawler that because they are game specific, they seem to find more prices for you to compare.

They only compare games and gaming related products .

have a look and see what you think

 

[Slaine]

Roger thats a pretty good find. Cheers!!

 

[HERMAN_JELMET]

I had to stop ordering my games online as some toe rag at Royal Mail was stealing them. I just buy them from HMV.

 

[wilskywalker]

Hmm...I am kinda old fashioned to be honest, mostly because I am far to impatient to wait for a game to be delivered, I tend to buy from small independent game shops or places like Playtime and Granger Games. This also means I like digital downloads, I have bought lots from PSN (not fully priced games though).
My main problem with digital downloads is the insane prices for full retail games...they are regularly priced at full RRP prices of £50-£60, what is that about!!??

 

[Acegadgets]

i generally find that http://www.hotukdeals.com/ can find the cheapest of everything for me.

 

[Acegadgets]

I've made a bit of a U turn and have now decided to buy most of my games from a shop rather than search around for the cheapest deal..
I've been looking around at the likes of Need for Speed most wanted and Far cry 3 and everyone's prices are pretty much the same.
I've had a couple of games never arrive from online retailers in the past and also had them come late a couple of times.
It dosen't really matter which online seller you buy them from, once they leave thier premises you are at the mercy of the delivering company as to when they arrive. I know shopto tend to send them early, but i really don't want to take the risk of games not coming on release day anymore so for the sake of a couple of quid I'm going to start getting them from Blockbuster as Its just a few minutes away from where I live.
I signed up as a VIP gamer and you get a few points, which add up to freebies and discounts. Their prices are pretty good as well. I got my Borderlands 2 from them when there was a cock up with my Amazon order and it was 34.99. NFS-MW is £39.85, similar to everyone else's and Far Cry 3 is a bit cheaper at £34.99.
So in future i'm gonna pre order a few days in advance to get the Extras that pre ordering seems to get you on most games now and pick the game up on the way home from work on release day.
If you are still an online buyer then take a look at the link that Halo posted, it gets you a bit of discount and seems like a good idea.