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[Planet_JASE]

My experience has been fine. The only thing I don't like is that within a bulk order, they'll send everything out individually. I had three parcels all from the Hut show up on my desk all on the same day.

My thoughts and prayers go out to you. /snark

Generally, though, I really don't understand the hate that Zavvi gets. I've ordered [looks up account history] 26 items [wishes he hadn't] from them and only ever had one problem. I think for most people the issues stem from their expectations, not Zavvi, themselves. I you want something sent quickly, pick Amazon or a company that allows you to use a courier. If you want something dirt cheap and don't need the game anytime soon, use Zavvi or the Hut.

If you order thinking that you're going to get a $30 new release game in the space of a week or so you're going to end up having a soured opinion of the transaction. Like all customer's you need to match you needs to the service provider, not the other way around.

The only time that I had an issue was with their (possibly famous) Red Dead Redemption fiasco. I'm fairly certain that they said to a lot of people that their game had been sent but were waiting further stock to come in. The game did arrive, but it took about 6 weeks.

 

[legend166]

Pre-order deposits at video game stores being non refundable just seems like it would be illegal. Or should be illegal.

They never explicitly say that they are simply ordering a copy for every person that pre-orders. It's just a guarantee thing. So if you don't want that guarantee anymore, you should get your money back.

 

[Choc]

they do tell you but its still fucked


*Terms and Conditions - all bonus offers advertised here are only available while stocks last. Prices quoted here are for online only. For all pre-orders a minimum $10 pre-order deposit will be charged to your nominated card upon completion of the order. The remaining balance is charged to your credit card only when your order is ready to ship. Pre-orders will be supplied at the advertised price when the order is placed, or at the price as it stands when we begin to process your order - whichever is the lowest. All pre-order desposits are non-refundable.

 

[Planet_JASE]

Pre-order deposits at video game stores being non refundable just seems like it would be illegal. Or should be illegal.

They never explicitly say that they are simply ordering a copy for every person that pre-orders. It's just a guarantee thing. So if you don't want that guarantee anymore, you should get your money back.

The biggest scam is Gift Cards*







*Your money now expires.

 

[BanShunsaku]

Yeh they said in the email "as per our terms and conditions blah blah"

It is fucked though.

The more I see of Duke Nukem Forever the less I like it though, so I don't mind taking a $10 hit and just getting the steam version for $10 in a Christmas sale or something.

 

[Bernbaum]

they do tell you but its still fucked


*Terms and Conditions - all bonus offers advertised here are only available while stocks last. Prices quoted here are for online only. For all pre-orders a minimum $10 pre-order deposit will be charged to your nominated card upon completion of the order. The remaining balance is charged to your credit card only when your order is ready to ship. Pre-orders will be supplied at the advertised price when the order is placed, or at the price as it stands when we begin to process your order - whichever is the lowest. All pre-order desposits are non-refundable.

There was a pretty involved Giantbomb discussion a month ago on the sheer farce that is pre-order bonuses in the US. It boiled down to the fact that individual retailers don't get in enough Cat Helmets to meet all pre-orders and regardless of when a pre-order was placed it's a first-in best-dressed scenario for customers on launch day.

The last time I pre-ordered a game was for Scribblenauts so I could get a rooster hat.

I've worn it once.

 

[Omikron]

Speaking of pre-orders, just ordered Star Wars Complete on bluray.

 

[Choc]

Speaking of pre-orders, just ordered Star Wars Complete on bluray.

YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM



This whoring of star wars needs to stop. It's just fucking ridiculous.

 

[Omikron]

YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM



This whoring of star wars needs to stop. It's just fucking ridiculous.

Haha, maybe, last copy I bought was..... maybe a VHS copy YEARS ago.

 

[Bernbaum]

I won't be buying that box set.

I want to say something tiresomely cynical like "George Lucas thinks the ideal way to watch his epic is in full hi-def with updated modern CGI and sticky-taped on addenda to ensure consistency across films when in fact the best way to watch it is by getting the pre-special edition films on VHS and watching them on a CRT TV" but I won't.

RedLetterMedia played a key hand in rendering my three Star Wars prequels unwatchable.

 

[Jintor]

I know I'm kind of just cheesing my way through Awakening's combat but it's really reminding me why I like RPGs.

 

[Mar]

The more I see of Duke Nukem Forever the less I like it though, so I don't mind taking a $10 hit and just getting the steam version for $10 in a Christmas sale or something.

I think they've fucked up this game. They've gone way over the top with the immature themes and marketing and missed the point of the original game being satire, not stupidity.

I had a passing interest in this game but everything I've seen has just turned my stomach. I'm staying away.

 

[Bernbaum]

I think they've fucked up this game. They've gone way over the top with the immature themes and marketing and missed the point of the original game being satire, not stupidity.

I had a passing interest in this game but everything I've seen has just turned my stomach. I'm staying away.

I think it will flop. Kids these days don't even know who Osama Bin Laden is, let alone the Duke. Kudos to Gearbox for finally putting the thing out, but I think the actual game will be a Frankenstein of concepts old and new that won't gel with modern gamers.

 

[SmZA]

Random request time. Anyone have an iiNet account with spare email addresses? I need to recreate an old email address for a few days. PM me, thanks!

 

[Omikron]

I think they've fucked up this game. They've gone way over the top with the immature themes and marketing and missed the point of the original game being satire, not stupidity.

I had a passing interest in this game but everything I've seen has just turned my stomach. I'm staying away.

The level design was also rather good as well...

Man, I spent so many, many hours playing co-op Duke64.

 

[Aon]

A rich man's Hollowmen. A new season is the works as well.

I've always imagined it rather as Yes Minister brought in line with 21st century humour. Didn't know they were making more

 

[BanShunsaku]

I think they've fucked up this game. They've gone way over the top with the immature themes and marketing and missed the point of the original game being satire, not stupidity.

I had a passing interest in this game but everything I've seen has just turned my stomach. I'm staying away.

The recent "girls" trailer killed it for me.

I'm all for immature fun, but I honestly thought it would be done in a more clever way.

Who knows though, I would love to be proven wrong. Duke 3D (especially the shareware version, which was all I had until a few years ago) has a special place in my gaming heart.

Shake it, baby!

 

[Mar]

The recent "girls" trailer killed it for me.

I'm all for immature fun, but I honestly thought it would be done in a more clever way.

Yeah. One of the worst parts for me is the cover of the game (which subsequently is on posters and marketing material). Having a dudes crotch in my face just isn't very appealing. Say what you will about bromance games (Gears, God of War etc) but at least they do it with style. Duke is just off putting in every way.

 

[Clipper]

Where did you order it from? I got it from Amazon.com with priority international and got it 5 days. Very happy about that. Cost $78AU.

Another friend wanted to get a copy but it seems Amazon will no longer post Mortal Kombat to Australia when you try to check it out! Anyone else notice this?

Amazon is still shipping MK to Australia, you just have to make sure that you choose the version shipped by Amazon. Amazon is currently out of stock, so they provide you a different seller on the default page of the game, but you can still select Amazon from the "More Buying Choices" box on the right of the page. Amazon has it cheaper too (US$39.99 for both PS3 and 360 vs. the US$45/$54.25 price offered by the alternate seller).

 

[justin.au]

I've always imagined it rather as Yes Minister brought in line with 21st century humour. Didn't know they were making more

http://www.comedy.co.uk/news/story/00000276/thick_of_it_series_4_ordered/

We might see it later this year.

 

[bodyboarder]

Westpac and St Georges eftpos/online banking is down. All due to an air conditioner in a data centre going on the fritz. What a way to start the day.

 

[Bernbaum]

ADVICE TIME!

I have six pages of apps on my iPhone. It needs to be tidied. I don't like folders too much, but will have to bite the bullet and get it set up so I'm not swiping a billion times. I'm a hoarder and still want to hold onto stuff like Comic Book readers even though those are an iPad thingy. I have lots of webpage links as well.

Help me sort my shit.

 

[Agyar]

ADVICE TIME!

I have six pages of apps on my iPhone. It needs to be tidied. I don't like folders too much, but will have to bite the bullet and get it set up so I'm not swiping a billion times. I'm a hoarder and still want to hold onto stuff like Comic Book readers even though those are an iPad thingy. I have lots of webpage links as well.

Help me sort my shit.

Dump the web page links. Unless Apple has fixed it, there's some random issue where home screen links to web pages have poorer Javascript performance than links opened within Safari.

Then go through and delete the useless apps you don't actually use.

Then stick your games in one folder, comics and books into another and you're probably down a few pages by now.

 

[Marshmellow]

ADVICE TIME!

I have six pages of apps on my iPhone. It needs to be tidied. I don't like folders too much, but will have to bite the bullet and get it set up so I'm not swiping a billion times. I'm a hoarder and still want to hold onto stuff like Comic Book readers even though those are an iPad thingy. I have lots of webpage links as well.

Help me sort my shit.

>sort webpage links into folder.
>sort useless apps like ipod/calculator/etc. into a folder
>make dedicated pages for apps, one for games, one for general day 2 day etc.

ie. my front page has messages/calendar/camera/app store on it

hope this helps bern

 

[Gazunta]

Westpac and St Georges eftpos/online banking is down. All due to an air conditioner in a data centre going on the fritz. What a way to start the day.

Just been told I won't be getting paid today because of it. D'oh!

 

[Choc]

Just been told I won't be getting paid today because of it. D'oh!

poor gail.

announces record earnings and then this happens. maybe they could use that money to upgrade shit.


the thing is, unlike NAB etc who have shat themselves, you literally CANNOT get your money

branches are down, atms are down, credit cards are down.

you can't even walk into a branch and get the cash.

so you can't get money at all!

 

[Bernbaum]

Dump the web page links. Unless Apple has fixed it, there's some random issue where home screen links to web pages have poorer Javascript performance than links opened within Safari.

Then go through and delete the useless apps you don't actually use.

Then stick your games in one folder, comics and books into another and you're probably down a few pages by now.

I don't have this problem, or at least, it isn't immediately apparent. Same issue with iPad?

 

[legend166]

I think they've fucked up this game. They've gone way over the top with the immature themes and marketing and missed the point of the original game being satire, not stupidity.

I had a passing interest in this game but everything I've seen has just turned my stomach. I'm staying away.

Stupid comparison, considering one is a real game and one isn't really, but that's how I felt about the Dudebro game some GAF people are making. The whole thing seemed to start as a satire of dudebro elements in games, then it turned into a celebration of it. That seems to be what has happened in Duke.


Speaking of banks, does anyone notice how at every earnings announcement, where they announce record profits, the CEO will say "we expect the year ahead to much tougher". And then the year ahead passes, and they are sitting in the same chair announcing record profits?

 

[Choc]

wow

OBL's will has been released. He told his kids to never join al qaeda



maybe, just maybe (doubt it) this will have a significant impact on the war on terror

 

[Planet_JASE]

wow

OBL's will has been released. He told his kids to never join al qaeda



maybe, just maybe (doubt it) this will have a significant impact on the war on terror

I like it when your avatar matches your post's content.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

Choc... I'm going to have to ask for a link on that one.

EDIT: Also, is anyone else loving the fact that unchecking the "Display Avatars" option in your control panel actually disables avatars now?

 

[Choc]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/03/bin-laden-will-wives-children

 

[codswallop]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/03/bin-laden-will-wives-children

They refer to it as "al-Qaida" throughout the whole article... I suppose technically it might be correct, but doesn't everyone use "al-Qaeda"?

 

[legend166]

They refer to it as "al-Qaida" throughout the whole article... I suppose technically it might be correct, but doesn't everyone use "al-Qaeda"?

It's another language, so there's no real proper spelling. Just like how Usama and Osama are both valid.

 

[codswallop]

It's another language, so there's no real proper spelling. Just like how Usama and Osama are both valid.

A fair point. If you're FOX, it's also spelled 'Obama'.

 

[jambo]

YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM

This whoring of star wars needs to stop. It's just fucking ridiculous.

I only have the films on VHS too, so I'll probably pick the Blu-rays up.

 

[FormallyMegadrive]

YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM

Uh. It's not like he's buying every single copy ever Choc. Chill out.

 

[Bernbaum]

I'm with Choc on the Star Wars one.

The Star Wars prequels are terrible films. The updated 'special edition' versions of the original are tarnished films. They shouldn't exist. They wouldn't exist if people bought them.

This isn't an argument that Lucas is strangling childhoods, rather that these are bad pieces of media and that society would be better off if they didn't exist.

 

[Stackboy]

Chill, nerds. No one is touching your precious childhood.

 

[Danoss]

Way late reply, but I still get a feeling that non-refundable pre-order deposits is still most likely illegal. I think the reasoning for this is that they don't tell you up-front, you have to find out after you have already made the deposit that you can't get it back, I believe that's where the illegality lies.

Since you would have signed nothing acknowledging this Ban, they can't prove that you were aware of this beforehand and are therefore obligated to refund your deposit. At least that's what I would think.

I know it's only $10 but still, it's an appalling attitude to have to your customers.

If you pre-ordered online, was there even a "tick this box to be bound to our terms and conditions" thing on their site? If not again, I don't think it can be enforced and I think even those tick-boxes mean nothing and won't hold up to Fair Trading standards.

Anyone care to comment on this?

 

[legend166]

Just buy the Original Trilogy (like I will) and be done with it.

 

[Gazunta]

I can't remember who asked me to make a Frogger comic, so here is a Frogger comic for whoever you are.

 

[Fredescu]

I was going to say I have little reason to buy Star Wars again. Then I remembered I have a son to indoctrinate. I'm already stocking up on Star Trek TNG.

 

[BanShunsaku]

If you pre-ordered online, was there even a "tick this box to be bound to our terms and conditions" thing on their site? If not again, I don't think it can be enforced and I think even those tick-boxes mean nothing and won't hold up to Fair Trading standards.

Anyone care to comment on this?

Yeh it was online, and from memory there was a checkbox which I ticked.

It does say in the terms and conditions that it is non refundable. I just didn't read it, so it is my bad. But yeh still a shitty policy in my opinion.

 

[Clipper]

Way late reply, but I still get a feeling that non-refundable pre-order deposits is still most likely illegal. I think the reasoning for this is that they don't tell you up-front, you have to find out after you have already made the deposit that you can't get it back, I believe that's where the illegality lies.

Since you would have signed nothing acknowledging this Ban, they can't prove that you were aware of this beforehand and are therefore obligated to refund your deposit. At least that's what I would think.

I know it's only $10 but still, it's an appalling attitude to have to your customers.

Anyone care to comment on this?

Well, you likely have to tick the "I accept the terms and conditions" box when ordering, which is stating your awareness. Still, it is a very surprising move that they would just take your money. I could accept it if they were saying that you could only take the deposit back as store credit, though. Also understandable if you decide to cancel after release (for restocking fees and so on).

Yeh it was online, and from memory there was a checkbox which I ticked.

It does say in the terms and conditions that it is non refundable. I just didn't read it, so it is my bad. But yeh still a shitty policy in my opinion.

Ah, so yeah, that's what it was and it sucks.

 

[Danoss]

It is an appalling policy, why would a retail store whose margins are so thin treat customers like this, especially in todays market? As I said, I think even those tick-boxes mean nothing. I swear I recall the ACCC or Fair Trading mention something that they don't recognise them as they're not good enough etc.

Edit: Actually, didn't Duke Nukem get pushed back? Couldn't it be a problem for GAME if you placed an order under the pretense that it would be released by a certain date (birthday gift) and then you found out the date changed and were no longer interested?

 

[Nemesis_]

YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM



This whoring of star wars needs to stop. It's just fucking ridiculous.

Oooh yes because let's face it, if me and a few other AusGAFFERS don't purchase the Blu-ray set, they'll top making stuff.

Terrible.

 

[VOOK]

lol Star Wars complainers never get old.

Oh wait they already are.

 

[Danoss]

So I looked up some details on consumer rights in regards to deposits.

The Fair Trading website specifies (in multiple places) in regards to deposits: "The actual amount the trader is allowed to retain depends on the circumstances. This money compensates the trader for the time and expense devoted to the transaction, but should not be so high as to constitute a penalty."

They were receiving the game you ordered anyway, your pre-order was just for them putting one aside for you. If they wish to argue that an employees time is valuable and was spent towards doing the pre-order, I don't see it working; their employess are on about $15 p/hr so unless they spent 40 mins entering the order into their system, this isn't a valid argument. It would mean that at this point, them keeping the $10 would constitute a penalty (as they have not been put out in any way, so don't require compensation) and is at odds with what Fair Trading says.

Full document here. Also, I clearly spent too much time on this, but I was interested.

In related news, pre-orders are dumb and unnecessary in most instances.

 

[Gazunta]

Pre-orders only make sense in a retail context when the number of copies of a product the store will buy from the distributor is roughly equal to the number of copies it will sell in total. See: most comic shops, independent record stores, cult film outlets etc.

The number of orders a high profile game store makes for most games is locked down months in advance, at least on a national level. I remember being in meetings with retailers and them deciding how many copies they'll buy on which formats of our games a long time before the game was actually announced.

Pre-orders make a LOT of sense when you're dealing directly with the person / team who is making the content and pre-orders help ensure the product will get made at all. See: Kickstarter.

God damn do I wish Kickstarter was available for Australian residents.