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Florida Sheriffs Treat Gamers Like Criminals for Trading in Used Games

by Jake Weston, posted on 06 June 2011 / 4,148 Views

The Oklahoosa County Sheriff's department in Florida is forcing GameStop and other local game store retailers to require Pawn Law Service Implementation from gamers hoping to trade in their used games.

Gaming Console Network reports that this is due to the local Sheriff's department's attempts to stop the sale of stolen video games and consoles, but the new practice has been alienating to say the least.

In addition to a plethora of paperwork, gamers must give their ID, height, weight, place of employment, and thumbprint to GameStop if they wish to sell their used games. On top of that, all their information is then sent to the Sheriff's department, and GameStop must wait fifteen days before they can resell the used games. 

Needless to say, this has ticked off some customers.

“What will they ask for next, a pint of blood?" asks an angry mother who brought her son to GameStop to sell some used Wii games. 

 “I feel like this violates my rights. Hell, All I want to do is trade in some old Xbox 360 games. This is bull#@*#!" replied another angry customer. 

Besides pissing off gamers, the practice is also hurting the used games market in the area, as many customers now refuse to trade in their games (understandably), causing many GameStops in the area to lose revenue. 

Boy, and we though DRM was bad, huh?

 

UPDATE: It appears that Oklahoosa County is not the only place that this is happening, as many other gamers have reported this happening in their county as well. Hopefully this is not a pratice that will not be adopted nationwide. gamrFeed will keep you udpated.


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18 Comments

Gimgak
Gimgak (on 07 June 2011)

Most gamers aren't crack addicts like this fucked up sheriff, those are the only people who use pawn shops.

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hellunleashed
hellunleashed (on 06 June 2011)

This is good maybe now people will make the effort to sell it on ebay or to a friend and get more money and the person buying pays less too, gamestops policies hurt the gaming market I'm glad to see gamestop losing revenue

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LordTheNightKnight
LordTheNightKnight (on 06 June 2011)

"Honestly I don't see why gamers are so upset. Pawn shops have to always take your name and see ID before they buy your goods at least where I live." What makes you think gamers regularly go to pawn shops, and thus know how it works?

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yo_john117
yo_john117 (on 06 June 2011)

Wow that is beyond ridiculous.

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MrT-Tar
MrT-Tar (on 06 June 2011)

I bet certain publishers will be very happy

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mibuokami
mibuokami (on 06 June 2011)

I hear light bulb appearing on top of many a publisher's head.

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specialops787
specialops787 (on 06 June 2011)

Well i suppose it makes sense, but how are they going to regulate craigslist?

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hagelt18
hagelt18 (on 06 June 2011)

I think this might be overkill, but I don't really see any particular harm in it.

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Gimgak
Gimgak (on 06 June 2011)

@Killiana1a America's biggest industry, the drug trade would want to have a discussion with you on how black markets work...

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Gimgak
Gimgak (on 06 June 2011)

Moved in recently in Florida and was wondering why the Gamestops around here have terrible used selections compared to Mass, and why there were no used copies of LA Noire. Fuck you sheriff, you're probably one of the same assholes letting doctors sell oxycontin to kids and fill your corrupt pockets.

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Killiana1a
Killiana1a (on 06 June 2011)

I understand the logic of Oklahoose County Sheriff's Department. Basically, their point of view is if they make resell of video games and video game consoles equivalent to purchasing a firearm, what you are doing is making resell so prohibitive in nature that it effectively cuts out any resell value of video games whatsoever thus forth cutting out the criminal element because there is no profit in it. My family for one, once we got a 58 inch flat screen television and mounted it on the wall in our living, has kept our house as shuttered as possible so as to not tip off criminals. In my neck of the woods, if you keep your blinds open for the neighborhood to see what is inside, you are only inviting criminals who steal to make a living. I agree in this sense, if the resell value of home electronic devices was made zero by making the resell process such a time-wasting hassle with various registrations and such, then criminal intent is severely deterred or eliminated as their is no profit in selling it back into the main stream market. Thus forth, you push it into a black market which may function for a time, but once discovered can be interrupted with the goods being sold on the black market easily distinguishable from legitimate goods. I could be wrong.

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Alby_da_Wolf
Alby_da_Wolf (on 06 June 2011)

I'm trying to figure out which is the most appropriate song for this, "Wanted Dead or Alive", "I Fought the Law" or "I Shot the Sheriff". :-P

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superchunk
superchunk (on 06 June 2011)

Ebay >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Gamestop.

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kain_kusanagi
kain_kusanagi (on 06 June 2011)

Don't overreact. The headline says gamers are being treated like criminals when in fact they are being treated the same as anyone who sells to a pawn shop. Now, what's stupid about this is it won't stop stolen games from being pawned/sold. Pawn shops have to keep records of who sells items of value in case the cops come in looking for stolen items. Lets say they find a stolen watch, the pawn shop can pull the file and give a name, ID, etc. of the person who sold it to them. But one used game is identical to another. It's not like you can describe a stolen game to the cops like you could a gold watch with your name etched on the inside. This is not the end of the world, but it is stupid.

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Joelcool7
Joelcool7 (on 06 June 2011)

Honestly I don't see why gamers are so upset. Pawn shops have to always take your name and see ID before they buy your goods at least where I live. I've heard of cases where a stolen N64 was sold to a pawn shop the police matched the serial number and caught the guy, not to mention returned the stolen goods to the owner who was robbed. I wish all stores that bought used goods took down such information and shared it with the police. A friend works at a game retailer and he says this one customer comes in almost weekly with a stack of new un-oppened games to trade in. Now he hasn't reported this to the police but I can't see how this happens legally. Why would a guy want to trade in several brand new games every week or so? If that retailer was required to take ID info and report to the police maybe the scum bags stealing would get caught and their goods returned. These upset gamers are just being selfish, what if you had been robbed of thousands of dollars of stuff and you found out that the guy sold all your games at GameStop and that the police never caught the guy or returned your stuff because GameStop didn't share the info with the police? I know if I get robbed I'd like to see my stuff returned and the criminal brought to justice.

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MrBubbles
MrBubbles (on 06 June 2011)

some cities dont even allow the sale of games back to stores...and if the city is going to this sort of extremes...they should probably just ban it.

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spdk1
spdk1 (on 06 June 2011)

In Missouri we have to take ID and photocopy it, but fingerprints and a 15 day waiting period is silly

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docholliday
docholliday (on 06 June 2011)

That isnt the only county in Florida to do it either, Lee County does the same thing as well. Ive seen the paperwork they have to fill out and it looks like a major pain in the ass for big trades, very very time consuming.

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