Weaknesses in GameStop's Rewards System Produces Free Game Rentals… Even Cash

Yes, you read the title correctly. GameStop has problems, and if you're lax in morals, you can take advantage of them for free games and cash. I'm bringing you all yet another exclusive Null Byte that falls into the fascinating category of life hacking.

If you do not like what is posted here, that's your prerogative; Please do not insult other members because of it. If you're the type of person who will exploit GameStop, that is also your prerogative. But at Null Byte, we exploit weaknesses for a greater good. By teaching by example, the issues that we exploit become fixed quicker, or so I would hope. Are you listening GameStop?

With that said, I bet you're wondering exactly how these exploits work. There can't really be a way to get free money from such a large retailer, right? The unfortunate part about that is, I'm not kidding. Many exploits and techniques exist within GameStop's system to get free game rentals, and you can even earn a profit.

Warning

• Do this at your own risk. These are merely examples. If you get in trouble, it is your fault and your fault alone. Warnings aside, I'm sure GameStop knows of their flaws, but must be too lazy to do anything about it.

Requirements

• A bit of money.
• GameStop PowerUp/Edge card is preferred and required in some scenarios.
• Confidence.
• Your brain.

There are several weak points in the way GameStop has their sales systems implemented. I'm going to make a list of scenarios that we can exploit to save money, gain money, and get free games rentals.

Note: PowerUp and Edge Cards will be referred to herein as rewards card(s).

How to Generate Free GameStop Revenue, Method 1

1. Go into GameStop.
2. Pick a used game.
3. Use your rewards card to reduce the price and tell the employee that you want to purchase $5 of the game with credit from the rewards card (or a personal card of your choice).
4. Purchase the remainder of the game with cash.
5. Return the game, no later than seven days after the initial purchase.
6. Profit? Yes.

Since you purchased the majority of the game in cash, they have to put on the receipt that you paid in cash. This causes the discount from your rewards card to "disappear". Upon returning the game, you will receive the full purchase price back because you "paid in cash", rather than the amount you paid with your card discount active.

How to Generate Free GameStop Revenue, Method 2

1. Go into GameStop.
2. Pick any game or item that is on sale.
3. Purchase a percentage of the game with your rewards card and pay the rest in cash, just like the last scenario. The card is not required, but does help yield a larger profit.
4. Return the item when the sale is over and you will receive a refund for the item at its normal asking price.
5. Profit.

How to Rent Games for Free

1. Go into GameStop.
2. Buy any used game in the store.
3. Play it as much as you can for 6 days.
4. On the seventh day, return the game. GameStop has a store policy that allows you to return a used game 7 days after its purchase for any reason you feel, even if it works properly.
5. Profit.

Don't do this rental method all the time though, because the employees might catch on and ban you from the store. Try to buy from a different employee as frequently as possible, and switch store locations when you can.

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Image by mahilacollegeverava