Well Played Zenimax well played

DMuehlhausen

So I got my Imperial Edition of the game today. Found the only code on any sheet of paper. Enter that and it says it's the digital standard version of the game. Find the sheet again that talks about the explorer pack. At the bottom says Imerpial Edition Exclusive code...it's blank..

DMuehlhausen

So I got a reply from Zenimax about this.

"I am sorry you feel this way but any issues with retailer bought products should always be brought with the retailer who sold you the product, and who had the obligation of informing you of the availability of said product.
Also keep in mind that any refunds for retailer bought copies of the game should also be brough up with said retailer, as we handle only the digital copies bought on our store, which are redeemed automatically to your account.

We are however aware of gamestop related issues, and we are investigating the situation. Unfortunately there is no more information regarding that subject that I can share with you at this moment

I hope I could be of help to you, and please don't hesitate to contact us again if you have any further issues or questions."

So you send the boxed versions to Gamestop Corporate with blank cards (no codes on them) Gamestop sends them out to the stores or to people that bought them online and they are blaming Gamestop for this.....OMFG really...

LionsX

They are not blaming gamestop they are simply saying that there is nothing they can do on their end in regards to physical copies, also please think before you post. Zenimax likely had no idea of the problem before the launch and have zero control over the issue. Physical copies are contracted out to a publisher/distributor who handles all manufacturing and boxing.

peechwurmnub18_ESO

They aren't saying Gamestop is at fault, they're simply saying that you need to take the matter up with Gamestop. Gamestop SHOULD be able to help you with this, as you purchased the product FROM Gamestop, and they are responsible for you getting an incomplete product from their store as they accepted that risk when they chose to stock the product. Gamestop can (and probably will) then take that issue up with ZOS and get their money back on their purchase of the item.

Bottom line: Call Gamestop until they fix the problem.

drwoody44b14_ESO

"We are however aware of gamestop related issues, and we are investigating the situation. Unfortunately there is no more information regarding that subject that I can share with you at this moment"

Seems like they're blaming Gamestop to me...

They aren't saying Gamestop is at fault, they're simply saying that you need to take the matter up with Gamestop. Gamestop SHOULD be able to help you with this, as you purchased the product FROM Gamestop,

Do you enjoy contradicting yourself?

Etchesketch

It's zenimax's fault, but Gamestops responsibility.

Just the way it works.

Saerydoth

Well, it's technically the fault of whoever Zenimax contracted in order to produce the physical copies and print the codes, but yeah.

Shanna

Well, at least they are now saying that they are *aware* of issues regarding gamestop. The email response I got yesterday contained the phrase "we are UNaware of any issues with Gamestop."

peechwurmnub18_ESO

Issues 'relating' to gamestop copies does not in any way place blame, it simply states that the issue of missing codes has been mostly seen and tied to gamestop copies (likely a bad batch that happened to ship to Gamestop stores). They are no where in that statement saying anything alluding to the fact that Gamestop caused the problem with the product, only that Gamestop is the common factor related to the issue of missing codes. If you'd like to continue blaming ZOS in this, that's fine, keep contacting their Customer Service, or you could try to fix your problem by calling Gamestop, who sold to you and made profit off your buying an incomplete item.

Saerydoth

It's also possible someone in a Gamestop distribution center decided to swipe a bunch of codes too, you never know. Or it could be a quality control issue with whatever company they contracted to print the codes/assemble the boxes. I guarantee Zenimax did not produce the physical boxes themselves.

Or maybe someone working for the company that produced the boxes, decided to swipe codes to sell, while putting empty codes in the boxes. People don't realize how complicated manufacturing is for this type of thing. The game companies don't have the resources to produce the boxed copies themselves. Their involvement was basically "Here is a list of codes, and what we want the boxes to contain. Print it up and ship it out."

waynesrcb14_ESO

Zenimax is blaming everybody else because they took our game access from us. I mean, we only paid $110 for a PREORDER.

Amazon at least tried to help. Zenimax did not even attempt.

peechwurmnub18_ESO

This threads not even about amazon, but... Perhaps none of you have worked in sales or retail before. The way this works is that Gamestop (or Amazon) purchased copies from ZOS. They then sell those copies to customers. They make profit off those copies. Now if ZOS was to give you a copy as replacement, that means that whoever sold you the copy (Amazon or Gamestop) still has the profit from selling you that item and ZOS does not. This is why you contact the company you purchased from, because there is an order to the events, and a chain of money that has to be properly followed back on. When you return a product to Gamestop (or Amazon) they send that defective product back to the company they purchased it from and get their money back or receive a replacement product or credit.

Amazon and Gamestop are responsible for getting you a fully functional and complete product on time. Take all issues of that nature up with them. However, the grace period issue...yes, that's completely on ZOS, and they should be made aware of that. It was completely unrealistic of them to expect everyone to have their copies within such a short time frame. But lets keep the blame for each issue where it belongs or else it all means nothing.

MSUStve

It seems a little ridiculous to redirect a customer back to a retailer when the complaint is about a code that was not printed on a card included in a sealed copy of a game. The blame is entirely on ZOS in that situation. It makes perfect sense to me to look to ZOS to fix it. Who can generate new codes, ZOS or Gamestop? I assume Gamestop will look to ZOS to get codes that it can distribute to its affected customers, but it's really too bad ZOS isn't accepting any responsibility for the screw up. It's not a physical copy availability issue. It's an issue of the physical copy received not containing essential elements, all of which should have been put in place by ZOS or its various contractors.

waynesrcb14_ESO

Zenimax is the one that cut off our access even after we spent over $100 on a PREORDER. Period.

A game that was preordered and paid for in February I might add.

Who cares where that box is, Zenimax knows that I preordered or how else would I have early access? Zenimax is the one who cut off our access.

peechwurmnub18_ESO

MSUStve, I agree it would be a lot easier if ZOS would just give out a code to the customer, but it's just not that simple. Certainly they COULD, I suppose, but they probably see no reason to break the chain. You take the issue up with who sold you the product, they give you a fixed product, and they send the broken one back to ZOS. It's a bit like buying a 12 pack of coke and finding out there's only 10 in there. You don't call coke up and have them ship you the 2 extras. You return it to the store you purchased it from, they give you a new 12 pack and they return the 10 pack to the company they purchased it from and receive credit for it. Now I know that's a bit of a silly comparison, as more than likely that grocery store would just tell you to keep both and sorry for the problem, but the example shows the chain of events there clear enough. My goal here isn't to justify the way the system works, just explain how it works so that everyone can hopefully get a resolution to their problem. Hopefully everyone gets their issues fixed soon, because I know its maddening.

RichterVonStrid

peechwurmnub18_ESO wrote: »

TPerhaps none of you have worked in sales or retail before. The way this works is that Gamestop (or Amazon) purchased copies from ZOS. They then sell those copies to customers. They make profit off those copies. ... and ZOS does not.

not disagreeing with the jist of your comment, just think is kind of amusing how you snidely put people down for not understand retail and then claim ZOS isn't making a profit off of retail copies. Riiiiiiight.

peechwurmnub18_ESO

waynesrcb14_ESO wrote: »

Who cares where that box is, Zenimax knows that I preordered or how else would I have early access? Zenimax is the one who cut off our access.

I pre ordered mine as well. And at any point before I received my copy I could have canceled it and still had that preorder code in my email. At which point I could have then claimed I owned the product due to having that code. That's the problem. It's not that you're lying about your situation, its that so many others WOULD pull such a scam that it ruins such trusting relationships between a company and its customers. It's sad, but just the way it is these days, especially when it comes to software. Zenimax doesn't know for sure you actually kept your order and own that copy until you provide them with the code that (>_<) is HOPEFULLY in the box (apparently).

peechwurmnub18_ESO

I didn't mean to come across as snide, and I'm extremely sorry if I came across that way! Nor did I mean to imply that ZOS isn't making profit off retail copies. It's simply that that money follows a trail through another company (the retailer). When they do returns, they prefer that trail to be back tracked. I don't want to turn this into a words boxing match please, I was just trying to help bring some clarity to the issue at hand.

RichterVonStrid

peechwurmnub18_ESO wrote: »

I didn't mean to come across as snide, and I'm extremely sorry if I came across that way! Nor did I mean to imply that ZOS isn't making profit off retail copies. It's simply that that money follows a trail through another company (the retailer). When they do returns, they prefer that trail to be back tracked. I don't want to turn this into a words boxing match please, I was just trying to help bring some clarity to the issue at hand.

Thanks for the clarity

RichterVonStrid

peechwurmnub18_ESO wrote: »

waynesrcb14_ESO wrote: »

Who cares where that box is, Zenimax knows that I preordered or how else would I have early access? Zenimax is the one who cut off our access.

I pre ordered mine as well. And at any point before I received my copy I could have canceled it and still had that preorder code in my email. At which point I could have then claimed I owned the product due to having that code. That's the problem. It's not that you're lying about your situation, its that so many others WOULD pull such a scam that it ruins such trusting relationships between a company and its customers. It's sad, but just the way it is these days, especially when it comes to software. Zenimax doesn't know for sure you actually kept your order and own that copy until you provide them with the code that (>_<) is HOPEFULLY in the box (apparently).

It really isn't a problem though, or shouldn't have been. The fix was quite simple. If ZOS had any foresight, at all, they should have anticipated this. GS policy is to not ship until release (found that out the hard way). Surely some suit or bean counter at ZOS was aware when they negotiated the retail contract. Why didn't they simply stipulate that boxed copies be shipped a week ahead of launch or you can't sell ESO??? Problem solved for 99% of us.

Or alternatively make the CE non-refundable and email us the code the day of shipment, when we were billed. Problem solved for all of us!

It is called smart business. Something which ZOS and retailers failed to engage in.

peechwurmnub18_ESO

I completely agree with you. There's things that could have/should have been done differently. Sadly that wasn't done, so it's on to trying to figure out how to best handle the current situation. Hopefully they've taken this lesson to heart and any future releases will yield better results. I do know that anything ZOS releases from now on I'll be very cautious of preordering.

RichterVonStrid

peechwurmnub18_ESO wrote: »

I completely agree with you. There's things that could have/should have been done differently. Sadly that wasn't done, so it's on to trying to figure out how to best handle the current situation. Hopefully they've taken this lesson to heart and any future releases will yield better results. I do know that anything ZOS releases from now on I'll be very cautious of preordering.

Ditto

sylviermoone

We received our sealed collector's edition today from Amazon....and there is ONLY a standard edition code in it. Not even flyer for pre order bennies with no codes on it.

We pre ordered in February.

Currently trying to get some support on the issue. I mean.....we HAVE the box and all of the things except the IE code and Explorer's Pack code.

peechwurmnub18_ESO

I'd suggest calling Amazon first and seeing if there is any way they can get those codes from ZOS for you and email them to you. Of course it couldn't hurt to toss ZOS an email on the off chance they help you but...so far people are not reporting much luck with that route. Hope it gets fixed, cause it's almost worse than not getting the item at all It's like they shipped you hope in a box, and someone crapped in the box.

Shanna

peechwurmnub18_ESO wrote: »

Hope it gets fixed, cause it's almost worse than not getting the item at all It's like they shipped you hope in a box, and someone crapped in the box.

Agreed. For how much I'm irritated over here waiting for my box from Gamestop, I would think it much worse to have my box and no way to play. Please, please, let my Gamestop delivery (on Wednesday, I think I've almost made peace with that) contain the proper codes!!

RichterVonStrid

If I don't get my code I am quitting, boycotting and telling everyone I know to stay the hell away from this game. This just keeps getting better and better.

mccobleb14_ESO

FYI retailers like Gamestop and other game stores make almost no money off of new game sales. I have worked for GameStop and Rhino Video Games(RIP). New game prices are strictly controlled by the industry so retailers make about a buck on a new game sale. You buy your copy at 58.99 and sell it for 59.99 and the sane is true for consoles.

RichterVonStrid

mccobleb14_ESO wrote: »

FYI retailers like Gamestop and other game stores make almost no money off of new game sales. I have worked for GameStop and Rhino Video Games(RIP). New game prices are strictly controlled by the industry so retailers make about a buck on a new game sale. You buy your copy at 58.99 and sell it for 59.99 and the sane is true for consoles.

That is simply how retail works, bud. Gas stations make about a penny a gallon. Grocery store profits equal about a penny per dollar. Musicians make about a buck per CD. Nothing new.

peechwurmnub18_ESO

Yeah, but those bucks do add up when you're selling a lot of a product. My original point wasn't so much on how much money these companies make though, just simply that all the money changes lots of hands on a single product, and all the money belongs in a certain place. But like most retailers, they make the bulk of their money off the little stuff they overprice I imagine? Like cords, controllers, adapters and ... essentially junk? And then there's the whole used game thing.

DMuehlhausen

Ok so I do have an update. I took a picture on my phone of both cards and emailed in a response to the Support group. They have "escalated" it to a service team to look into the issue.

Hopefully this is a turning point for ZOS. While I will agree this is probably the fault of the company that printed the codes that still falls back to ZOS because we can't directly contact that company.

The issue with the Early Access as well though ZOS could have just extended the Early access to be that full first month for free. If you haven't received or cancelled your copy by then, than that would be the retailers fault. The other issue is some people don't want to use their credit card to sign up. These people have to take a month or more off till the game cards ship. Again another reason why the Early Access code should have been proof of purchase through the first 30 days. How do you give somebody the option of a game card, take away the access then not have one of the options available for a month?

Shanna

I can see how the Early Access would be a bad measure of who was actually going to be subscribed come launch time. One only needs to look at the posts where people claim to have refused or returned their copy. I also have no problem with the subscribe-to-play approach (a lot of companies use the free-with-contract tactic.) I'm personally upset about the no-overlap time for getting to play while waiting for our box editions to arrive. And now I'm also upset for those who received their copy with a blank key card. Both of those things are unacceptable.

Someone posted something about Zenimax becoming a faceless entity throughout all of this, and one who is creating an "us against them" mentality in the consumer. I agree. I felt appreciative of their endeavors before, but now I am more of the impression that they are pretentious and greedy.