Guy Claims To Be Using GameStop As His Personal Bank

lukeplunkett

Guy Claims To Be Using GameStop As His Personal BankExpand

Fed up with real banks, a 4chan user (I know, I know) claims to have shifted his personal finances to somewhere a little closer to home: GameStop.

Now, grains of salt firmly between our teeth, his post seems equally crazy and mundane enough that such a scenario could actually be true, if you assume he doesn't have stuff like a mortgage (or even that big of a savings account).

Here's his plan:

Does anyone else use Gamestop as a bank?

I got really pissed off with US Bank because I kept overdrafting my account even though I opted out, and the same thing happened with my credit union when I got a debit card.

Now whenever I get paid I go preorder a whole shitload of games. Whenever I need money, I go to the nearest gamestop and ask for my money back on a game I don't want and make a withdrawal. The lines are shorter at gamestop than at the bank and I can trade in old games and have money go straight to my savings account. Gamestops are just as prevalent as banks in my town and I work at a mall so it's even more convenient than running an errand to the bank or using an ATM and getting charged.

The gamestop people are starting to catch on that I'm just moving money around and only buying one preordered game a year, if that, but there isn't shit they can do about it. The best part is, since I always preorder every game coming out I'm still guaranteed to get all the exclusive content whether or not I'm sure I want a certain game. It's like they're rewarding me for banking with them.

Sure, this whole thing could be full of shit, but when you think about it, if video games are your thing, this does have its perks, as he outlines.

I wonder if GameStop would really care, beyond the hassle of the local clerks always having to juggle this guys' stuff? I mean, if this guy's money is in their account, and not a bank, wouldn't they be getting the interest?

The First National Bank of GameStop [Kottke]

UPDATE: Hah!

@Kotaku As a former GS employee this has happened with a customer. Usually had 8-12 games on preorder and would maybe pickup 1 if even that.

— Volt (@RyuZimbabwe) March 21, 2014