Gamer culture has been known to have a love-hate relationship with GameStop, the leading U.S. gaming-dedicated retailer. For gamers searching for a somewhat obscure game in a physical store near them or looking to trade in their neglected games to better afford more desired ones, GameStop has been an invaluable resource. For others, the franchise has been notorious for an intrusive shopping experience (Would you like to pre-order the latest issue of Power Up RewardsInformer magazine?) or unreliable and inconvenient processes for ordering the newest high-demand items (such as the Nintendo Switch). Now, it appears new information has come to light regarding the Gamestop Circle of Life program, which explains the company’s use of these less-favored aspects of their business model.

A new report from Kotaku further details this Circle of Life program, and how it can influence GameStop employees to present customers with unwanted or even dishonest facets for their game-buying experience. The Circle of Life program consists of a series of quotas that each GameStop store must meet regarding the following: pre-orders, reward card subscriptions, game trade-ins and used game sales. Total dollar amounts are the metrics used for the used game sales and trade-ins, while pre-orders and reward card subscriptions rely on transaction quantities. Before further considering these quotas, one must also be aware of the effects of both new and used game sales for Gamestop’s bottom line. While new games often cost more at retail, used games provide a greater profit for GameStop. For each unit of a new game sold, a large portion of the sale goes to the game’s publisher and various other parties involved with getting the game on the store’s shelves, while used game sales mostly only incur costs at their initial event of being traded in by a customer.

Most customers who have traded in games are well aware that the trade-in value for a game is usually very minimal compared to what the game will then be sold by GameStop for, which reflects the greater profit GameStop receives for a used game than it would from a new version of the same exact game. So, if an employee fails to sell any used games, or add any positive additions to the other Circle of Life quota items, GameStop as a whole gains little value from that particular transaction, and could deliver a negative consequence to the employee. As such, the Kotaku report notes messages they received from GameStop employees who have confirmed the Circle of Life program’s existence and how it affects their treatment of customers. As one anonymous employee says,

“We are telling people we don’t have new systems in stock so we won’t take a $300 or $400 dollar hit on our pre-owned numbers. This is company wide and in discussions with my peers it is a common practice. We also tell customers we don’t have copies of new games in stock when they are on sale—for example, Watch Dogs 2 is currently $29.99 new and $54.99 pre-owned. We just tell them we don’t have the new one in stock and shuffle them out the door.”

The program has reportedly been officially enacted as of late last year, and reached a high point of activity as 2017 has begun, prompting Kotaku’s article and a significant community of GameStop employees discussing the program on various forums. GameStop staff members reporting to Kotaku also mention that the quotas apply to both individual employees and the stores as a whole, with a need for the employees to meet at least three of the four quota portions to avoid punishment, which could potential mean terminated employment. Gamestop corporate officially responded to the Kotaku report by saying:

“All of GameStop’s internal programs are designed to provide our customers the best value in all their video game purchases, including new and pre-owned merchandise. With any program, opportunities arise for improvement and we will continue to refine it to equip our knowledgeable store associates to provide a great store experience.”

Some might agree with GameStop’s ideology, as it could very well lead to greater aspects of service for the customer and a greater value for the company that would ensure the franchise’s future stability, while others could equally argue that these practices contribute to customer agitation that will cause them to purchase games in other venues. Regardless, it does seem to be spawning much stress and outcry for their employees, who are easily the greatest value GameStop has when it comes to providing personalized help. What do you guys think about the GameStop Circle of Life program? Let us know in the comments below.

Be sure to read up on the latest GameStop news, such as the Injustice 2 Special Editions coming to GameStop, here on Don’t Feed the Gamers!