Has anyone heard of Gamestop's new game trade policy?
I read a story online about a person who went to Gamestop to trade in some older games for new ones and he was asked for his ID and social security card. The guy said that he didn’t have his social security card and they wouldn’t accept his military ID.
He said that he refused and came back later when other employees were working and was asked the same from them, so he doubts that it was just a local scam.
Anyone encountered this? What do you think about it?
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
15 Answers
I don’t trade games at gamestop personally, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re setting something like this up. There’s a lot of trouble with people trading/selling stolen games, and I think gamestop wants to protect themselves from any legal action.
Social security card sounds like a bit much, though. Most places I go to only need a state ID at most.
I have been asked for my I.D. or driver’s license, but not my social security card. Maybe he needs the Gamestop card. It’s just a discount card or whatever, but I have one and all my info is in the system, but not my social security!
show a stranger my soc.? hahahahaha
I never noticed. I don’t trade in my old games. I don’t buy used games either, unless it’s an old game and that’s the only kind available. I like to keep my games in case I ever want to play them again. If there’s a game I’m not sure if I’ll like it, then I’ll rent it before I buy it for keeps.
Game Stop sucks for everything…Toys R Us trade is has way higher values.
I’ve never heard of this. Suggest next time he lays off the crack before trading in games. haha :P
They don’t ask my son for any identification, but since he is too young to drive he doesn’t have much to show. Yes, he has an SS# but he would lose the card so he doesn’t carry it. He does have a Gamestop card, so his name, address and phone number are in the computer database. He is also a frequent customer, so the staff know him.
Social Security card? Jeez… That seems a bit too much. The sales clerks that person encountered may have not exactly known was he was doing, or gotten wrong information from their manager. If I ever experienced that, I would definitely NOT show my SS card and go to another store.
Wanting to see ID in the form of drivers license or passport seems acceptable. They may want records in case the game they trade in is defective, and of course you need to verify your age in order to purchase certain games (like M-rated ones). But this… just seems odd to me.
Well, everyone knows that the USA is slowly turing into a police state…
Social security card? Not just SSN?? When you get your card it says on the stub “DO NOT CARRY THIS CARD WITH YOU”. If the store actually wants that & not just a clerk who misunderstood, then they need a wake-up call. (Or maybe a dope slap.)
I had my card handy because I waited a reeaalllyy long time to do the name change after I got married! :-p
@ccrow and @ParaParaYukiko That’s what I thought… asking for the card was too far. His number was on another card, but the clerk wouldn’t accept anything but the card itself. And it wasn’t just the one employee, he came back later and the people in the new shift asked for the same thing.
My boyfriend uses Gamestop, and he doesn’t know his social by heart, and doesn’t carry his SS card, so there is no way they ask for a social.
They may ask for ID, and I’m pretty sure they legally have to accept Military ID and Passports.
Report them to the Better Business Beura
How odd. As far as I know they usually require two pieces of identification, usually a health card, driver’s license, whatever.
While I’ve used my sin card as ID, I never thought it was totally required.
I haven’t heard of this. My husband hasn’t traded games in, in a while. But we would never do that.
My mother just had her identity stolen, and we’re pretty positive it was from a worker in a medical office since those are the only people who would see her ssn. We shouldn’t have to use it unless it’s government related (like government assistance).
I believe they do ask for identification in the form of a driver’s license or state issued ID card. This is fortunate for those who have suffered having their systems stolen. I was a victim of such last month and my Wii system and games were traced to a local GameStop. If you are unaware, there is a website, www.leadsonline.com that law enforcement agencies use to track stolen items and I was aware that pawn shops register items brought in for pawn but did not know that GameStop does as well on system sold to them. It was through this service that my local police dept. was able to track down my system and because GameStop required ID, we know who the thief is and we are seeking prosecution. The one problem with GameStop though, is they do not keep the items on hold as long as pawn shops are required to do so. In my state, (Texas) pawnshops have to hold sold items, not pawned items, for 23 days before they can put them on the shelf for resale, but GameStop only holds the items for 15 days which in my case means my Wii has already been sold, but there is enough tracking of the transaction to present to the DA’s office and they still have some of my games that were sold as well. If GameStop had a policy of in-store credit ONLY instead of buying systems for cash, it would defer some thieves of trying to sell stolen items there. In Texas, it doesn’t matter if a thief steals one item or 50 items in a home burglary, it is a second degree felony so I am sure we’ll get the scumbag. Unlucky for him, he has two prior convictions of burglary of a habitation and there is a 3 strikes and your out rule in Texas, so he’ll be sitting in prison for a long time and I am sure what he got for the system is far from worth it, but some jerks never learn. We’re still looking to find what he did with my Playstation2 and games and the other items he stole. I bet he never guessed that he could be traced to a GameStop, thinking if he didn’t pawn it he wouldn’t get caught.
Answer this question