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When you buy something, the base assumption is that while you might not be getting a product of sublime excellence, good-value and efficiency, you're at least buying a non-simulacrum. But Gamestop would just love to change all that.
If you're not a gamer, here's the deal: there are entire Chinese cottage industries that specialize in pirating video games, manufacturing them and then selling them on eBay. It can be hard to spot a forgery — a lot of times, the quality of production is actually indistinguishable from retail. The only way you can tell is by closely examining the cartridge itself, looking for a gold-printed "Nintendo" above the pins.
Needless to say, these games then get sold second hand to stores like Gamestop. Of course, Gamestop's supposed to be savvy enough to recognize a forgery... and definitely not supposed to sell them on.
Of course, get a gangly, pimply gamer willing to work for discount behind the counter, and excellence in both training and moral business practices get thrown out the window. So when Curmudgeon Gamer pointed out that Gamestop had just tried to sell him a forged game, Gamestop's response? "Wow! Cool! Learn something new everyday! This is between you and me, right?" And then the counterfeit game was again silently slid into the display case, waiting for a less observant sucker to come along.
Just between you and me... [Curmudgeon Gamer]]