Over on Kotaku, gamers are complaining about a little known retail practice that was uncovered by some GameStop customers, the retail markup. Under this scam, retailers will take a product and raise its price over the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. Why would companies do such a thing? Because the market allows for it. Because people are willing to pay the price for it. But this isn’t a scam. This is business and a regular aspect of any business dealing with rare and collectible consumer goods.
What is happening over at Kotaku is that the writers and gamers are complaining that GameStop is selling used copies of the rare Wii RPG Xenoblade Chronicles for $90 rather than the normal below retail price of most games. What is really rankling the feathers over there is that people are reporting that the copies GameStop is selling used are very near to new condition complete with unused Club Nintendo codes. This has led many to believe that Gamestop is removing the shrink wrap of new copies in order to sell them as used at an extreme markup.Why that would be an indication that the game is new is not clear. Not everyone who buys a game new will redeem the included codes, especially if they are already a member.
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