Don't worry about GameStop, though. Like, ever. The profit margin they make on used games gets up to 50 percent when all is normal, and even though this is one of the worst summers the industry's seen in years in terms of NPD declines, it's still the second-best quarter ever for GameStop.
Which makes me think a lot about used game sales -- I even sell things periodically, usually because I need cigarette money [srsly ten bux a pack in new york, lame]. I should probably just trade my next round of trade-ins for My Stop Smoking Coach.
I've never sold a piece of hardware in my life, but a few weeks ago I got rid the PSP-3000 -- I got very little use out of it in general and am eager to upgrade to the UMD-less PSP Go. It felt strange, as if even with a perfectly rational reason to divest myself, it sort of violated my natural reflex. I had a pang of wanting to clutch it back when I saw that Piano Black pass across the countertop.
Are you guys big re-sellers? If so, do you use GameStop or something that won't, um, rip you off? What I'm most interested in is this: how do you determine what you're going to trade in or keep?
37 comments:
I can't recommend Goozex.com enough. It's the best place to trade used games!
Never trade ANYTHING in. Period. I even kept a copy of Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse (PS2) I received as a gift.
I traded in ONE game, ever. I traded NES Metroid (which I had played to death) for a copy of Star Force and instantly regretted it.
Never again.
I don't do much reselling myself, but I've also gotten extremely selective about what I buy in the first place. If I ever sell anything to anybody, its usually to someone I know or am trying to oppressively beat over the head with a game I want them to play.
I always feel like someone anally raped me when I sell something to Gamestop...
If I sell a game I go with Half.com. You can get a lot more money for your games than you would from Gamestop and in real dollars, as opposed to store credit. One of the great things about Half.com is that it's win-win. You sell the game for more than you'd get to trade it in and the buyer pays less than he'd pay for that same used game if he got it at Gamestop. I'm sure eBay works well too, but I prefer Half.com because they take care of interactions with the sellers, setting a standard shipping rate, and processing credit card orders.
All that said, I tend to keep most of my games.
Apart from an N64 and a few games I once got rid of, I don't resell anything. I either gift them to my friends or chuck them in the bin, but it's rare that I dispose of a game at all.
I'm scared of divesting myself of a game (or DVD or book etc) and then some day finding I want to experience it again.
I can honestly say I've never traded in a game. The only games I've ever bought that I've sold have been to friends, other kids at school back in the day, etc. I don't get rid of them, either; they all sit, nicely boxed up in my basement, waiting for their time in the sun again someday...
The last thing I traded in was my second copy of SMT: Nocturne, which I found for $15 used at Game Crazy, knowing it had a higher trade-in at Gamestop.
The last thing I sold was my PS2 Disgaea, as a friend had never played it and I had picked up the DS version.
These days, I pretty much only buy games I know I'll want to hold on to. It also doesn't hurt that the newest system I have is a DS Lite, and basically have nothing that they want.
I rarely, if ever trade anything in, though there are times I go on a culling spree and rid myself of titles I don't consider "super essential" and the like.
I never resell I never buy pre-owned. Being a game developer myself I constantly do everything I can to support the industry.
I've moved away from trading in games ever since I started making them. Of course I'm starting to collect an absurd amount of games I'm never going to play again, which isn't great. I've pretty much moved away from Gamestop completely because they really do cut into sales of games and eventually into the money that people making games see. I can't sit here and justify the pricing structure of games, though, we need to be much more price flexible.
The danger that Gamestop really faces is the very real prospect of video game companies figuring out how to cut them out of the loop. Believe me it's on everyone's mind. It worries me that in so doing games are going to trend towards pricing structures that I don't like. I would recommend selling directly to other gamers and buying from them as well. It keeps the prices reasonable and it doesn't put money into Gamestop's coffers. Easy to say, though, when it's your future jobs that are affected by it. If you can buy new, or buy via download, do so. Reselling is something we need to find a better solution for, one that rewards developers.
I've never traded in a game, partially because I don't think the pittance of cash back is worth it, but mostly because I don't buy games often, and when I do, it's to keep them in a library for future enjoyment, reference, and study.
I suspect there's also a fair amount of sentimentality involved. After spending a few dozen hours with a game, it's nice just to have it as a tangible reminder of the experience.
I used to rent games a lot, back when that was still a feasible business in the ages before installation and CD burning. I think I would rent and play (often beat!) a game or two a week back in the days with my NES, SNES, Genesis, and PS1. Of course, it was my only real option for new games - I didn't really have money to buy them, and certainly not at that rate.
I have bought used in the past when I was a poor college student, but these days I avoid it if at all possible. If it's a game that's gotten me interested enough to buy, the $5 discount isn't as important to me as rewarding the developers with the profit. But most people aren't in my position, so I can understand others having different priorities.
After working for EB for several years, I won't trade in there very often anymore. I mostly keep my games and either give them or sell them to friends.
On the subject of the PSP GO, though: since the games you purchase are digital, is the system going to run into the same problems we have with other digital services? The whole concept of "you don't own the game, you own a license to it"? That's the only thing keeping me from getting a GO: the fact that I might not have life-long access to whatever I purchase because of some bs later on down the line.
$10+ in Chicago, dear.
When we were kids, my brother traded in his NES and a small pile of games for an SNES. That's the last trade in I can recall.
I like having a pile of old consoles - call me a hoarder, but I enjoy looking back on the timeline of games I've enjoyed.
I don't have a lot of money for new games, though, and so I'll buy used - usually through the 'keep it' option at Gamefly.
But since I tend to like the industry's red-headed stepchildren (adventure games, mature titles for the Wii, etc), I sometimes feel guilty that I'm not contributing enough to their sales by buying pre-played.
I Traded in Street Fighter 4 for Eternal Sonata after i realized that SF4 was definitly not my kind of game. They also had a deal where you would get about half the money you paid for the game(its usually around 1/3).
But sometimes I do trade in if I don't have any money and I want to buy a new game, otherwise I won't be able to buy that new game.
Since I have sufficient disposable income and a desire to support developers, I rarely trade things in. Usually only through Goozex, and only a really popular game that is getting plenty of sales already.
Like everyone reading this blog, though, I don't think I'm a "typical" consumer and certainly not the mass market.
When my parents sold our Atari 2600 at a yard sale we were having, I was heart broken. I think I was like 3 at the time. I have since sold my NES and Genesis when I was young and impressionable and trying to get my parents to split the price of a Playstation with me. I have regretted it ever since.
Otherwise, I rarely ever trade in games. My fiance made me trade in a bunch of old PS2 games I never played when we were moving across the country. Practical, I know, but I resisted anyway. I kept my favs tho. I find that the minuscule amount that Gamestop pays is never really worth it, unless you are selling back things in bulk and they just tell you the price at the end. I think I once received like 30 cents for a GBA game....
I don't want to sound like a shill, but in Toronto the only really worthwhile place to buy/sell used games in Toronto (IMO, of course) is Game Center. Their mark-up is ridiculously low on older games, compared to EB/Gamestop and some other local game stores. I went in with a handful of old DS and PSP games (some sans cases) and walked out with 45 bucks cash...not even store credit! All I wanted was a bit more suitcase space, and based on the kind of prices I'm used to at EB, I expected like, 20 bucks tops for the five DS/PSP games.
I also picked up Resident Evil 0 GC for about 25 bucks cheaper than I've seen it at other local stores.
I trade in fairly frequently at Gamestop, both buying and selling. Yes, I am fueling the evil empire, because I value my time significantly more than my money these days. I'm not willing to take the time to mail my games somewhere, or to sift through the emails and haggling needed to put it up on Craigslist. Because I can buy and sell at one place over a lunch break, I'm not giving up ANY time to go to Gamestop.
To decide a game for trading in, I look at my game shelf and think: Will I ever play this again? And if I do, will a used copy or rental cost more than the trade-in value now? If it's Yes, I keep the game. This means that I trade in about half the games I buy.
My first option is always ebay. But the other day i was kind of desperate to get madden 10, so i traded in my old ps2/viva pinata/GTA IV/Orange box to Gamestop.
I would have ebayed the ps2 but it was very old and i was concerned that it may screw over the buyer.
I horde all my games. I pretty much never trade in used ones. I'm actually more likely to just flat out give them to friends than trade them in. I don't like the idea of having to repurchase if I ever get the craving to go back to an old game, even if its incredibly unlikely I will actually do so.
I also have this lurking idea in the back of my mind that gamestop is somehow evil. Trading in games for ridiculously low prices and having gamestop sell them off again for well over 3 times the trade in value just bothers me a lot. Overall I just don't like gamestop as an entity, and whenever possible I avoid buying games, new or used, from them.
I can't go into Gamestop to trade games... every one I've been in smells like sweat, desperation and Subway bread. It's uncanny.
I know of only one Gamestop in all of England, and despite the horror stories I wouldn't mind them expanding. Both our major game stores (Game and Gamestation) are owned by the same people, so they could use some competition.
I'm not entirely averse to second-hand gaming, but I hate the idea of essentially 'giving' EB free money by trading stuff in. I know that seems like backward logic to most people, but considering the disparities between trade-in cost and trade-out profit on most games, I feel nothing but antagonism towards the company in general.
When it comes to buying and selling stuff, eBay is usually the best option as far as I can tell. Prices are fair, discs are usually in better condition, and you can find a lot of rare/discontinued stuff if you keep your eyes open.
I keep basically all my games.
In my youth I'm afraid I traded in loads of games - I really, really wish I still had my old NES and SNES.
Around 2006/07 I became consciously aware of how much I love games, and since then I've just been slowly (re)building my PS2 library, making wise choices about PS3 titles, and never trading anything in.
Well, except for that PS3 Conan game (hardly a wise choice, there). To be honest, I felt like I was kind of ripping off the pawn shop when I told them I wanted eight bucks for it.
Typically I don't resell my games and such. Sometimes there are exceptions if the game was bad enough, but I rarely do. Consoles are even less frequent. I traded in my GBA to get the SP. Later I traded my DS for a Lite and the Lite for a DSi. However, in those cases I was upgrading the unit so I wasn't really losing anything. I keep all my other consoles though.
I used to work at Gamestop myself back in college, and on the occasions I do go there I kind of feel cheap. The thing that bothers me most is all the stickers they put right on the covers of games, and it's the kind of adhesive that you need a chemical to get rid of completely. I like clean cases. I sometimes get that buying online now, though, so I guess I can't win.
I mostly only trade when I have games that I can't justify having anymore, or to upgrade a game system. I once traded a PSP for a model that had older firmware because I wanted to run homebrew, I think that was my most recent trade.
Speaking of the PSP, I like UMDs. They're a lot easier to swap out while on the road, they allow for more content than you can easily fit on a memory stick (which I tend to fill with ripped PSX games), and I want to avoid DRM'd downloadable games as much as possible.
Generally speaking trading in is a giant rip-off, and you'll get way more selling on eBay. I try to buy only keeper games, and I lend/swap them with friends enough its not work selling them really.
That said occasionally there are some great trade in deals like "Get this game free when you trade in ANY Wii game" so I'll walk into EB, buy and $18 game or two then trade them in and get the new game much cheaper than the shelf price.
I've been considering selling a few games recently though. Won't need Metroid Prime 3 anymore with the trilogy coming out. And there are some games I simply never use that I could get some cash for. Still I'd go eBay over trading in.
Other than that I like most of my games and keep them, even if most go unused for long periods of time. I'm thinking of eBaying Metroid Prime 3 before the trilogy comes out though.
I pretty much only buy used games except for my very very favorite series (e.g. Battlefields and Fallouts I preorder). I'll also buy new from small publishers, but EA has way to much corporate overhead for me to pay $60/game ($6mil plus to the CEO?! Doesn't sound like the used game market is hurting them.) I notice a lot of people in the field buy new. I'm a programmer (non-fun software), but I prefer to buy used. The authors I know have no problem buying used books. What's that about? Anyway, I sell my games too, through various channels. Wherever I think I can get my $$ back. Except for my very favorite games. I keep those forever. Still have my Magic Candle and Starflight disks around here somewhere.
Wow, I appear to be one of the few who continuously trades in almost everything they purchase. I don't have much money and I have become more realistic about the time that I have to play games so I usually just have a stable of 5 to 7 games around at any given time. I also use pretty much every holiday where people will buy me gifts to load up on new-to-me games. Then once I beat them to the point I won't play them again I start preparing to trade them in. However, I don't have enough time to make a rental program worthwhile (plus I had a pretty lukewarm experience with gamefly).
I've found that I can actually get ok deals when I combine using their "Edge" card with the special deals they email out. It costs $15 but it gives you additional money on both trade-ins and used games. I've been able to get some new games for $5 by trading in two games that I won't play any more.
I think that I have been lucky with my local gamestop. The people who work there are really nice and they like to just talk games. Even if I just go in to see what they have used they'll come chat with me and we'll just shoot the shit for a while. I've been to other gamestops (in fact there is another in my town that I won't go to) and the workers are dicks who just want to get you in and out fast.
I know that there are other ways to sell-back games and get more money but I just want something as simple as possible. I am both working and going to school so I like being able to just check my email and run over to sell some games and get some new ones. I will go to ebay to buy a used game every now-and-again, particularly on older-but-still-popular games that gamestop is trying to jack you on (Metroid Prime 3 was $45 dollars for YEARS), but I don't want to go through figuring out how to sell on there or comparing all of the other websites to find one that maybe, just maybe works as well as what I already do.
I know everyone hates gamestop but i've been able to increase my game buying without increasing my videogame budget.
Personally I sell lots of games, but they're all old ones. I had 70 games for my ps2 and gamecube and sold off 50 of them last year for a 360. Kept only the games I loved. Sold lots of garbage like chaos legion, legend of legaia, arc the lad, old sports games. Ended up with a 360 pro and 9 games for it and I still have all the games I want for my ps2 and cube.
I don't trade them though, just sell them through craigslist or to friends.
I sell and trade used games quite a lot, mostly through Goozex and the Cheapassgamer boards---in fact, I sometimes catch myself more excited about trading in a game than finishing it. But I never, ever trade at Gamestop---the convenience isn't worth the enormous rogering they deliver on trade-in value.
If someone I know wants a game I'm done with, I give it away. Otherwise I sell all of my used games to Gamestop. (I do hang on to them until there's a special trade-in offer, so I can squeeze a bit more value out of it.) Yes, I know I could get more for them on ebay, but I'm both lazy and time-poor. Mostly I just want them out of the house, and to know that someone is getting use out of them.
It doesn't hurt that the manager at my local Gamestop is a really nice guy. I suppose it's irrational that that should make a difference to me, but it does.
The last time I traded in a game was several years ago, although I cannot remember what it was.
Nowadays, I typically try to hold off on trading in, because I'm fairly confident that somewhere down the line, whether it be 3 months or three years, I will want to play it again. Reliving great games is something I love to do.
That being said, if I ever want to trade in again, it will NOT be at a Gamestop. I just can't support their ridiculously low trade-in values anymore. I go to The Score here in Nashville. It's a local store (I love supporting local businesses), they have better trade-in values than GS, and they have lower prices.
For a real, tangible retail store, it doesn't get much better than that :)
CHANTIX. It'll fuck up your brain chemistry but it'll get you off the cancer sticks.
Couple that with the fact when you stop smoking cigs, weed is even better, and you'll save a mint (more money for games and dope).
Oh, and fuck gamestop. they're in the industry of screwing IP creators and rescrewing, and rescrewing, and rescrewing again. Fucking grapevine game mafia cunts...
I just found this blog today, interesting stuff. Being from ireland, where there are more leprechauns than girl gamers, its unusually for to actually listen to a girl about game :P
Anyways, on to the comment, I would never (willingly) trade in games. Im the kind of person who could not play a game for over a year, and just get the urge to play it again... (I say willingly because i have traded in all of my GTA games, when i was going through a "voilence is bad" phase - which lasted until i saw COD4 in the shop, lol)
and as far as shops go, GameStop make ENORMOUS Profits on there game, even though there one of the best gameshops in ireland. Assasain's Creed ~6 weeks old was valued at under €10, (< $15, afaik), when it was being still sold for over €40... Madness!
Anyways, just my two cents...
-- mc_teo
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