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While many of us are scrambling to find the new PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles this holiday season, GameStop is planning to permanently close hundreds of stores.
The video game retailer has struggled in recent years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and spring lockdowns.
Don’t worry; GameStop isn’t going out of business, and customers of stores that are closing will soon get some liquidation sales.
Here’s what you need to know:
GameStop will close 1,000 stores by the end of April 2021.
In 2020, we’ve already seen 462 GameStop locations close, after they closed 321 in 2019 pre-pandemic.
GameStop execs recently announced that by the end of the 2020-21 fiscal year (April 2021), they’ll close 1,000 locations.
At the beginning of February 2020, GameStop had around 5,500 locations, so 1,000 closures would represent 18% of all locations.
Expect GameStop liquidation discounts of up to 60%.
If other GameStop closures from 2020 are any indication, liquidation sales will offer sales of 30 – 60% off everything — although we don’t expect the brand-new consoles to be included in these sales.
Liquidation discounts start at 10% off for new items and 30% off for preowned products, and grow to 30-60%.
Shop early if there’s something you want to make sure you get; shop after a few weeks to get the best deals overall.
RELATED: Liquidation Sales: Everything You Need to Know
Many GameStops will be closing in malls.
Throughout 2020, we’ve seen a number of retailers target their mall locations when closing stores, and we expect GameStop to do the same.
GameStop hasn’t released an official list of closures, but there’s plenty of Twitter traffic suggesting that mall locations are targeted.
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Meanwhile, GameStop is having big sales online.
GameStop is reporting a strong fourth quarter despite the bad news, and is offering a bunch of sales at gamestop.com, including:
- 33% off EA Sports games: $39.99 (reg. $59.99)
- $10 back when you buy $100 in gift cards (or $5 for $50)
- 25% off when you spend $100 on replicas, apparel, board games, action figures & collectibles
- $10 T-shirts (reg. $19.99)
UP NEXT: PlayStation 5 Sold Out? Here’s What You Do. . .
