Up until a few months ago, I really loved GameFly. Their website was well-organized, they offered a wide variety of games, and they had the most efficient online game rental service. Recently, however, my opinion of their efficiency has changed.I was a Gamefly member for about seven months last year and had a great experience with their service. Games would be exchanged within two days. I quit due to time constraints but decided to rejoin the service with a new account last September. That’s when the trouble began.
My games were always delivered to my door on time, but GameFly seemed to have trouble receiving my returns through the mail. I would wait patiently for my account to update but my games were never confirmed as received. Consequently, I would spend weeks with only one game, despite paying the service to have two games out at once. After so many weeks of waiting, I was forced to assume that my returns were lost in the mail, so I started reporting them as such. Seriously, Gamefly, what the heck?
Frustrated, I decided to ask my friends about their experiences with GameFly, since I know three others in the Los Angeles area who use the service. All of them complained about the drastically increased turnaround time before returned games were received and replaced. It could be as long as 2-3 weeks for some games, and some were never received at all. However, many of these people had been members for months with proven track records. Because I had rejoined GameFly with a new account, my fifteen previous rentals weren’t counted toward my credibility. My new record stated that three out of the five games I had attempted to return had been reported lost.
I was painfully aware of the damage this would cause my credibility with GameFly, so I had attempted to follow their advice for lost games and use different mailboxes. The three returns marked as lost were sent from mailboxes in two separate parts of the city: downtown Los Angeles and Century City.
At this point, I was incredibly frustrated. I emailed GameFly, explaining my grievances and how I had consulted others in the city with similar problems. I wasn’t sure whether this was a case of mail theft or if there were issues with GameFly, but I wanted them to know that this was unacceptable.
They wrote back, apologizing for the delays. See below:
In reviewing your account, we noted you have a number of reported shipping problems indicating that the postal route may be experiencing difficulties. We understand this situation is frustrating for you.
We are working diligently with the US Postal Service to address these types of issues in order to provide you with the highest level of service possible. We also encourage you to report the problem to the US Postal Service which may help to pursue other solutions.
[...]
If additional games are reported with shipping problems, unfortunately, we may need to review your account to determine if GameFly can uphold our service commitment to you.
We are working diligently with the US Postal Service to address these types of issues in order to provide you with the highest level of service possible. We also encourage you to report the problem to the US Postal Service which may help to pursue other solutions.
[...]
If additional games are reported with shipping problems, unfortunately, we may need to review your account to determine if GameFly can uphold our service commitment to you.
Weeks later, they had failed to receive yet another game I returned (this time mailed from Santa Monica). I called to complain, and they essentially told me that they could no longer provide service to me unless they received some of the lost games.
I consider myself a reliable person. My eBay feedback rating is 100% after nearly 200 transactions, both as a buyer and a seller. I also sell things on Amazon.com frequently. I’ve never been accused of shipping something late, and I’ve almost never had shipping problems. I’ve rented over 100 DVDs through both Netflix and Blockbuster Online, all of which were successfully received when mailed from those same mailboxes. This problem has been curiously specific to my experience with GameFly.
As you can imagine, I am rather frustrated with this whole situation. What should have been an easy rental service turned into two months of aggravation and false suspicions against my character. I would really love to rent games through GameFly, but I can no longer trust their service. It may be the fault of some mail sorter down at the post office, but it doesn’t alleviate the fact that GameFly can’t sort out shipping problems in their own city (they are based in Los Angeles). This is especially disappointing given that GameFly has what amounts to a monopoly on the online game rental market.
If anyone has had similar issues with GameFly, I would like to know. Given the limited reach of my circle of friends, I’m not sure whether the problem is isolated to the Los Angeles area or if it’s more widespread. I hope that GameFly can resolve this situation soon, whatever the source of the problem may be. Until then, can anyone recommend a better online game rental service?
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Oh man, that is such a drag. I appreciate your frustration. It's still sounds bizarre. I've been with gamefly for over a year and made a move from San Francisco to New York during that time which involved transferring my account details from west to east. I expected problems but much to my surprise, it went pretty smoothly. I've never had any major issues with shipping or receiving, although both this and last year, things slowed down a bit around the holidays. But for the most part, your experience is a radical opposite of mine. Did you ever take it up with your local post office? You mention it but didn't comment on whether or not you'd found anything out on that end. I'd be concerned too. Something smells fishy. I've read about mail theft issues. I'd be incredibly frustrated too. Especially about my reputation and account standing. I completely relate.
Your story reminds me of a situation my parents had with netflix. It's actually similar to what you describe yours to be in that they had endless shipping and receiving issues. Eventually they cancelled the service altogether. On the other hand, I couldn't be more pleased with netflix. Everyone loves netflix right? Well, not my parents. Their experience was a nightmare. Go figure?
I've dealt with other video game rental companies (gamefly does have plenty of competition) and can tell you gamefly's the best one. I know, given your current situation, that probably doesn't mean much but they really are. They're the only ones who seem to actually be investing in their business and growing it and are focused on expanding and opening new distribution centers and online features. I trust them. The competition just seems shady whereas gamefly appears to be above board and working toward a consistent business model which is why I was curious about your dealings with the post office because gamefly has always been trustworthy insofar as my experience is concerned.
I wonder if you contacted customer service and suggested sending a game certified mail whereby you obtain a delivery receipt would be a good idea? Not as a solution but rather just a test to see what's going on. Your experience is not the norm. I have a small handful of friends who use the service who seem to be pleased with it, both on the west and east coast. While shipping times vary depending on location, no one I know has had anything even remotely close to the 3 weeks you mention to receive a game. Something's up. I hope you get to the bottom of it. It would be a shame to lose out on the gamefly bargain. Give the post office hell and good luck!
Well you are not alone. I have had Gamefly for 2 years and love the concept. I have even given the gift certificates as gifts and signed up about ten people. However, I have had plenty of shipping issues over this time. It is definitely not fair that you have to wait 7 business days before they allow you to claim an issue. Strangely I have had the lost games show up 4 months later with an email telling me that it has been received. I spoke to the customer service folks and asked if at a higher expense to me that I would be willing to pay to use another form of shipping (Fed-Ex, or UPS), but they refused. Ironical I have had an issue with the same game just this month getting lost on the way to me and the replacement getting lost back to them. The funny part is the game is Guitar Hero World Tour that I did not realize I needed all these extra peripherals so I couldn't even play it! It's unfortunate that they turned you off but if they do it to me I will get the game pass from Blockbuster and not be reliant on the USPS.
Good Luck!
Thanks for your comments. It's nice to know that I'm not alone in having issues, and also that the problem could be with either the postal service or GameFly. It wouldn't surprise me if there was some sort of mail theft issue (as I placed a game or two in a mailbox in a somewhat sketchy part of Los Angeles). However, it seems that the mailing process with GameFly isn't nearly as streamlined as that for Netflix and Blockbuster Online. I'd like to see another game rental service rise up - like Blockbuster as a rival to Netflix - to provide motivation for GameFly to take the issues many have had more seriously.
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