Play.com

[floppybootstomp]

I've used these a lot in the past, primarily for PC games.

Recently I placed an order for a game shown as in stock at Play.com and after it hadn't arrived five days after placing order I checked out the order's status. It simply said 'Not in stock'.

They didn't tell me so I waited five days for a product that just wasn't going to arrive in any decent timespan. Not good. To their credit they didn't take my money so I cancelled the order and bought the goods from Amazon.

I just had a browse at Play.com and it seems they have cut down all of the PC game titles they're selling. At one time they had well over a thousand PC game titles listed but as at this time have only a total of 208 titles listed.

They seem to have lost their impetus, which is a shame.

For me this only leaves Amazon, GAME & Steam for PC Game purchases.

Anyhoo, just thought I'd mention it

 

[TriplexDread]

You are right in mentioning it mate.

I had this issue earlier this year. I can't remember what it was, however I did write too them and mention it. Again they had not taken any money however I did inform them of of my disappointment that they had not even told me it was no longer in stock after it clearly showing when I ordered it that it was....

 

[Reefsmoka]

Never had a problem with play, bought hundred of things from them. There the only online retailer I really trust to do a decent job! Never tried amazon, not needed to!

 

[Abarbarian]

Never had a problem with Play but have only used them a few times.
Just ordered secondhand copies of,

Quake IV £1.25
Doom III £2.99
Bioshock 2 £7.25

Hope they arrive and are ok.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Well FWIW only problem I've ever had with Play.com was the one I mentioned above which is plain bad manners really.

I always used to see who was selling cheapest, Play or Amazon then go with whoever was the cheapest.

Something didn't arrive once from Play.com and they made me wait three weeks before dealing with it.

I was pointing out, mostly, that they appear to be winding down or limiting their PC Games sales and their service isn't as good as it once was.

As for Amazon, possibly the best online retailer on the planet imo, never a problem and they will always exchange/refund, no quibble.

What I'd like to see is some decent competition to Amazon from somebody else, in the past Play have filled that role but, for me, not anymore.

GAME are quite good but quite expensive.

Abarb: If you liked Bioshock 1 you're gonna lurrve Bioshock 2. I've played both through twice now.

 

[Abarbarian]

Bioshock is just grand am having a fine time saving the little sisters. Now if I could only get rid of that dratted Fountain chappy I could move on to B2.

 

[Abarbarian]

I ordered a game on Play recently but had a problem installing it. So I contacted Play via their complaints system. Within a hour they had sent me an e-mail telling me they had contacted the supplier and within a few minutes the supplier had sent me an e-mail.

Dear %%%% ,

Thank you for reporting a problem with the following PlayTrade item:

Item : BioShock 2
Order : 258883082
Order Date : 28/08/2011
Seller : SamuelUKMedia
Condition : New
Comment : ****BRAND NEW BUT UN-SEALED***####NOT CELLOPHANE SEALED### THIS ITEM IS NEW HOWEVER IT NOT CELLOPHANE SEALED!!!! If you have any questions at all about the item please feel free to send us an email and we will get back to you ASAP

The following information has been sent to the seller:

_______________________________________________
Reason : Item was damaged or defective
Hi I can load the game and have applied the latest patch but when I try to start the game it just black screens. My pc is working just fine and all other 12 games I have installed play fine. So I do not think it is the pc or the DVD player. Looks like there are a few fine scratches on the disc so that could be the problem. Erik.
_______________________________________________


We are sorry to hear that you are having a problem with this order. In most cases, problems can be solved by talking to the seller.

What to do now:

Please allow the PlayTrade seller 3 working days to respond to you. If the seller does not respond, or does not adequately solve your problem, please return to our Helpdesk pages for further instructions.

Thank you for buying at PlayTrade.


Kind Regards,
PlayTrade

Hello Again

I am very sorry indeed to hear you have had an issue with the item.

With computer installations it is a slightly more difficult area however I would expect that an error would have occurred during set up if any minor marks on the disk were causing an issue as the game is new.

IT may be worth googling the error online to see what arises but if you could list your computer specification I will make sure to look into it for you.

Either way we will make sure to get this resolved for you

Kind Regards

Samuel

Hi %%%%


It seems that it is more an inherent issue with the game itself rather than the individual disk however if you have no luck we can of course arrange a return for a full refund.

I am not quite sure why it is doing this but if you wish we can try a team view client where I can do remote assistance on your pc.

It may not prove successful but may be worth an attempt

I am ever so sorry about this and it is a real shame as it is a great game, but all going well we will resolve it

Kind Regards

Samuel

Hello Again %%%%


That's not a problem at all and it is fully understandable, Let me know how it goes and if you have no luck with it I will send you our freepost address for the return.

Just a few things that might work are right clicking and starting as admin and secondly using the actual icon within the installation folder to load the game rather than the shortcut, just a possibility

Kind Regards

Samuel

Hi Samuel , Thanks for all the help. Problem solved. Seems like some update swapped 32 bit gfx settings to 16 bit gfx, of course I never checked as I always run at 32 bit. Game now loads and runs seemingly perfectly.
%%%%

Hello Again

Thats fantastic news, I do hope you enjoy playing it, Every problem we come across with computers just helps us learn that's How I justify the stress it causes haha!

Any problems let me know

Cheers

Samuel

I just wanted to say a big thank you to Sam the Saint at SamuelUKMedia for the super speedy replies and offers of help.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Reassuring to know.

But it still don't explain why they've cut down on PC game stock or failed to notify me that a game shown as in stock when I ordered it was in fact out of stock and me like a fool waited three or four days before finding out.

In the three or four days I waited I could have had the product in my hands by ordering from another supplier.

All I ever do is tell it like it is with, if anything, some sympathy for the supplier, and these things just have to be said.