Gamestop Overhauling Its Trade-In System, Offering More Money

[WiiUBricker]

I'm not from the US. My profile flag is fake. I only use it because Argentina is my favorite football team.

 

[BLsquared]

Well, huh.
It would seem that Gamestop wants my business back. Unfortuantely, the LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED game shop that I visit is much better trade-in-wise. And they are 30mins closer than the nearest Gamestop. AND they accept and sell literally anything game-related, regardless of age. Yeah, that's right; I can just walk in there and get a NES, Atari VCS, Gamecube, and PS4 all from the same place.

Beat that, Gamestop.

 

[cracker]

Essentially Gamestop serves as a "middleman". They "sell" the game for you. It's like a pawn shop. You'll get a lower price than regular sale price, but you'll be guaranteed money. You go to a flea market or Ebay and you won't have the reputation behind you of Gamestop. You buy a used game at Gamestop and you know it's A) legitimate, B) will work, and C) you're guaranteed a refund if it doesn't pass these criteria. People are much more hesitant when buying on Ebay or at a flea market because there's none of these guarantees.

You could easily post all these games online and have half of them not sold, and wait a long time just getting rid of them all. Time is money they say, so selling to Gamestop is just better in the end.

The problem is that it is nearly impossible to find a mint copy of a game at any game store. Many times you can't find a copy that is in an original box even. Online you can find the condition/price that suits you (while sitting around in your underwear I might add). Also collectors (especially of RPGs) like to find copies of games for systems that have discontinued support at most game stores. Lastly, there are many times where you can get games cheaper on eBay, etc. than at a game store which benefits both parties. True, people can and do get screwed so that is why you need to look at people's feedback.

Mostly this all boils down to settling for less because you are too lazy, naive, and/or wasteful. I know this runs higher in the US than probably anywhere else because of the want for instant gratification here.

 

[TripleSMoon]

The problem is that it is nearly impossible to find a mint copy of a game at any game store. Many times you can't find a copy that is in an original box even. Online you can find the condition/price that suits you (while sitting around in your underwear I might add). Also collectors (especially of RPGs) like to find copies of games for systems that have discontinued support at most game stores. Lastly, there are many times where you can get games cheaper on eBay, etc. than at a game store which benefits both parties. True, people can and do get screwed so that is why you need to look at people's feedback.

Mostly this all boils down to settling for less because you are too lazy, naive, and/or wasteful. I know this runs higher in the US than probably anywhere else because of the want for instant gratification here.

On one hand I agree, but on the other hand... so what? It's not really your job to judge someone's reasons or character because they trade in games. Who knows, maybe the time lost selling games off individually themselves is worth more to them than the extra money they'd get by doing so.

 

[cracker]

I'm not judging anyone. I'm just stating the facts.

 

[Nathan Drake]

I'm not judging anyone. I'm just stating the facts.

Calling people lazy, naive, and wasteful is judgmental. By calling your opinion fact, you neglect absolutely everything everybody else said. To summarize:

Gamestop is like a pawnshop that exclusively deals in current video game merchandise with expansion into the territory of popular electronics. Like with any pawnshop, you pick the option when you want to sell an item, but you don't want to go through the work of the maybe/maybe not of selling the items yourself. They give you money up front simply for bringing the item to them, and then they, as a business, do the work of reselling the item at whatever they deem to be a profitable price. You aren't selling a game to them. They're simply selling the game for you and giving you a slice of the profit before they see the profit themselves. Gamestop has a perfectly legitimate business model that can only operate the way it does by giving you lower trade in values than what you would get selling the item yourself.

Time and convenience is worth money to people too. Just because you're willing to go through the task of selling an item yourself every single time you want to sell one doesn't mean everybody else is. Sometimes it's worth it just to hand your things over for cheaper to get an item sooner rather than playing the waiting game somewhere like ebay, where, depending on the item and what you think it's worth, you may not even sell it for over a week.

Really, if you're attacking Gamestop, you're attacking the pawnshop model that has existed since before Gamestop, and the pawnshop model is a reasonable one that recognizes the profit that can come out of being convenient.

As a related example, think of small convenience stores: these are usually situated in neighborhoods where the nearest actual supermarket chain is far enough away that the convenience store is worth going to. You'll pay a little more for what you want to buy, but ultimately it seems worth it since you don't have to go nearly as far to get what you were seeking.

In the long run, we all value our time, and finding ways to save a little that leave you satisfied is in no way lazy, naive, or wasteful.

 

[Sterling]

And another thing, Gamestop offers rewards to repeat customers. Extra trade values, reduced prices, points you can save up. No one else does this, not even pawn shops that deal with more than video games. Gamestop is convenient, trustworthy and competitive. Plus, they have midnight events and other game related bashes that make gaming more social. I can't get that anywhere else.

 

[FAST6191]

Most of the independents and franchised shops around here have recognised the repeat customer thing and will deal accordingly. Sometimes this is officially, unofficially is popular though.

As for midnight events and other things that sits about the same for me as those that go to a mall for trick or treating on Halloween.