Maybe you didn't know?

I find the hunt to be entertaining in itself and hate paying big for games/things I honestly don't know if I'll like. Maybe this isn't news but I've never heard anyone talking about it and reading forums makes it clear that there are a ton of people who worry about money so hopefully it helps people on a tighter budget. This is the best legal way i've found to catch up on that backlog of titles that I wasn't sure I wanted to play.

Using amazon you can play games for a mere couple dollars quite often. For example recently I've played LA Noire and Crysis 2, it cost me less than $2 total out of my pocket for each to get Like New copies not jizzed on rental crap. Using amazon also means I didn't have to leave my house to get it other than driving by a UPS dropbox on my way to work. Now this involves trade-ins so either you found you really like the game and it was worth what you paid or you trade it in after you finish/hate it and are out a couple bucks, easily worth a test drive for that price. Amazon often changes their trade in prices so keep checking on games you want. With prime you can also lock in a trade in price when you order the game because you know it will get there quick with prime shipping and it will be good quality. You can also extend the game time by cancelling and resubmitting the trade if you must, the trade in price can change but you know before hand.

So for examples the games i've gotten within the last few weeks.... and remember no commission or shipping costs:

LA Noire - paid $11 on prime for a like new used copy got a trade in price of $9.40, wanted another few days to play it and saw the trade in price was now 9.50 so i cancelled my other trade in and got 4 more days to play it and a better price. between seeing 9.40 and 9.50 prices it also went down to $7 so you need to check.

Crysis 2 - paid 8.84 got a trade in of 7.15

Darksiders 2 - paid 33.95 got a trade in of 30.95

Dead Rising 2: Off The Record - paid 15.50 got a trade in of 12.15

maybe it's because I'm a money manager by profession, who knows. But paying that kind of money, getting things when you want and quickly is awesome. hopefully some of you duders can get some sweet games for near nothing without pirating them. if you already do this, cool. if you think it's a shit idea (and want to be a dick about it) well I am truly sorry that you suck.

I'm not trading in old games anymore unless I happen to have two copies like I do with some 360 and PC games. And I do not "suck", I don't see why that statement was necessary.

I'm not trading in old games anymore unless I happen to have two copies like I do with some 360 and PC games. And I do not "suck", I don't see why that statement was necessary.

it was for the assholes (no one in yet), you don't think it's a bad idea you just dont want to trade in games, simple as.

I don't find the need to squeeze every dollar out of life, and like holding on to my games. I also think most people should fuckin' buy games in a way that pays the developer, not some 13 year old/a piece of shit retail chain.

I don't tend to sale games that often, I like to hold on to games just in case I ever want to replay them. I did just trade in 7 games (Darksiders 2 included) on amazon for over 100 dollars which is pretty bitchin'.

If you want to help people get better deals then thats great but I dont see how you think adding insults to this is helping in any way. This just read like a child trying to get their point across.

@ki11tank said:

it was for the assholes, you don't think it's a bad idea you just dont want to trade in games, simple as.

How does not wanting to trade games make one an asshole?

you guys are quite the sensitive bunch today, get some thicker skin about the suck comment. honestly no one in here has said anything that makes it for them. i just tried to let some people know something that was a good deal if they cared and made a small simple jab at anyone who wanted to be an asshole in the thread for me doing so. i haven't said anyone sucks in here.

about giving money to devs that deserve it, i do. i said this was a great way to play games you weren't sure of, imo some games don't deserve any of my money. i bought Sleeping Dogs after doing this exact thing again on PC to support them as it was known it was likely to sell poorly.

also any game worth keeping or having replay value is worth keeping but this is still good idea for many that don't. I think i've only got 14 games on 360 that I've wanted to keep.

Sorry, I only use Amazon for second hand tea bags and fleshlights.

@ki11tank: If you just wanted to make people aware of good deals, try not being a child about it and you'll be received better.

@scalpel: this is a video game forum, on the best and least professional gaming website out there, get over yourself and off the high horse.

edit: maybe i shouldn't say least professional but most childish.

This thread may need a locking...

It's a shit idea

there we go, you suck sir.

also lock it up, CHINA DON'T CARE, nor do it.

@believer258 said:

This thread may need a locking...

What? This is going great so far!

@Cloudenvy said:

@believer258 said:

This thread may need a locking...

What? This is going great so far!

well in that case

@ki11tank: How does how professional the Giant Bomb crew in any way factor in to basic manners? Once again, if you can't address other people on a public forum without coming across as a child, it might be time to grow up.

I'll also contend that Jeff, Ryan et al. are very professional people - perhaps you're confusing their being in touch with their audience with the sort of childishness you've personified here.

@believer258 said:

This thread may need a locking...

What? This is going great so far!

@believer258 said:

@Cloudenvy

@believer258 said:

This thread may need a locking...

What? This is going great so far!

It just makes me feel sad.

Awwwww. : ( I'm getting some joy out of it! Maybe that's a bad thing though...

@believer258: you don't have to read this train wreck, maybe that would make you feel better.

@scalpel: i already rescinded my unprofessional comment in the post above. going on a nanny rampage about one minor comment regarding manners sure is a becoming trait, keep it up!

@ki11tank: If I'm a nanny then I can only assume you've conceded that you are a child. It's good that you've seen the light and learned your lesson.

@scalpel: whatever you need to tell yourself to make your day better dude. i started a thread with a good way for people to potentially get games cheaper as I've seen quite a few people having to budget for games on these forums. i make one small comment to potential trolls at the end. you come in here and continue to shit in this thread when you could totally just have scrolled on by and you call me the child and talk about manners, seems kind of hypocritical to me.

I paid £5 for Condemned once and 2 years later traded it in for £5. I like to think I got my money's worth.

I just bought Asura's Wrath and Syndicate both new for a combined $32 USD. No need to trade in old games when you score sweet deals like that. *boisterous high five*

@ki11tank: People who disagree with you are not necessarily trolls. If they were, your calling them assholes would be justified. Since I have to repeat myself: The reason you're the child here is because of how juvenile it is to get upset when people don't like your idea.

I'm hardly shitting on your thread, which wasn't going very well to begin with. I made a comment and now I'm simply responding to your arguments. if you don't want to talk then you're free to stop replying.

I only sell the games I really hate and don't even want to finish. But yeah amazon is pretty awesome, except for how much they charge for release day shipping now.

I feel like you're trying to make a point, but somewhere along the line this turned into nothing but a rant. Adding insults to the post makes absolutely no sense, and the way it has been written made my brain tickle for a little bit.

Other than that, I don't know what "gamer" you are trying to talk to with this post, anyway. This is Giantbomb. In order to really even know about this site, you have to (at least started to) have a passion for gaming which leads to understanding how to find deals when you're "strapped for cash."

Also, I have never come across a pre-purchased (used) copy that has had jizz on it. Then again, since 2009, I refuse to buy used titles anyway. Also, I do not trade-in any longer as that it contradicts the reason as to why I buy new *only*.

seems most the people responding to the actual thread collect the games they play. interesting that the skew leans that heavily so far. most people I know only keep ones they really liked which tend to be quite few.

You're not the boss of me number cruncher!

Everyone in this thread must be crazy people (except the OP). Where does it say he's insulting anyone? I don't get it. He's just trying to help some people. I wouldn't do it because I like holding onto my games. But for those on a tighter budget, this could help them out.

Everyone just seemed to latch onto the final sentence which holds literally no importance. Maybe sub-consciously everyone feels like a dick and are just acting accordingly. Besides, it's not like other more prominent members on the site haven't said insulting things to its readers. No one seemed to care then.

You guys are weird.

@ESREVER: Well.. he did edit his OP 38 minutes ago. I just yelled at him because everyone else was doing it. *shrugs shoulders*

@ESREVER said:

Everyone in this thread must be crazy people (except the OP).

Wait, you're including me? You're a jerk!

@Cloudenvy said:

@ESREVER said:

Everyone in this thread must be crazy people (except the OP).

Wait, you're including me? You're a jerk!

I know for sure you're a crazy person. But I kinda love you for it.

i put "(and want to be a dick about it)" near the end to reduce any potential misunderstanding as apparently there has been some. Or as @ESREVER has said people just want to be dicks.

@ESREVER said:

@Cloudenvy said:

@ESREVER said:

Everyone in this thread must be crazy people (except the OP).

Wait, you're including me? You're a jerk!

I know for sure you're a crazy person. But I kinda love you for it.

D'awwwwww. I love you too! And your crazy obsession with a certain character.

People need to stop derailing this thread or else I'll start sending out warnings. If you've got a problem with a user then send a PM to a mod otherwise keep the discussion on-topic.

Thanks for the heads up. I was of the mindset that I would never trade in my games but I dont see me ever going back to play alot of them so there's no reason to keep em around.

I only trade in games that I can never see myself going back to. I don't have any of those around cause I don't buy those kind anymore. Thanks for the heads up though.

I'll concede that one of the greatest downfalls of all-digital gaming is not being able to trade-in or transfer the license of downloaded games I'm never going to play again.

At this point, my list of uninstalled games in my Steam library is easily twice as big as my installed games.

@Ravenlight said:

I'll concede that one of the greatest downfalls of all-digital gaming is not being able to trade-in or transfer the license of downloaded games I'm never going to play again.

At this point, my list of uninstalled games in my Steam library is easily twice as big as my installed games.

agreed, i wonder how this will play out in the future when they want $60 for a one time license of a new game. i can't imagine that tons of people would pay that much with no chance to get any of it back. I've kept only a handful of games from release day and they've all been around skyrim caliber. if they are smart they'll introduce a a new sales model entirely.

@ki11tank said:

if they are smart they'll introduce a a new sales model entirely.

Okay, now you've got me interested. What sort of novel sales model might publishers come up with?

i don't like to trade in my games. i just enjoy having a big collection of games. it's pretty good to have it.

@Ravenlight: lol i'm not getting paid to figure it out, that's someone elses job. i'm pretty sure the $60 on release for one license without any prospect of selling it again or sharing the game with others will get sales like it does now. a huge part of buying release games is the trade in value, it's proven by online and brick and mortar #'s. i don't really get into that scene much but the fact that game stops could survive even this long proves it. it just seems like game prices fall hard and fast now, under the current pricing with digital dist it seems like they'd fall harder and even faster, no?

shit, even this is an ok idea.... all consoles and PC's can track all kinds of data usage, maybe a pay by the hour up until a certain point? i'd play most games around release then and if it's great happily pay $60. $3-$5 an hour to a certain threshold then free, they get to to eliminate disk and case costs, shipping costs, and the sales of used games. we get to not get ripped off and pay $60 for a terrible game.

@ki11tank said:

@Ravenlight: lol i'm not getting paid to figure it out, that's someone elses job. i'm pretty sure the $60 on release for one license without any prospect of selling it again or sharing the game with others will get sales like it does now. a huge part of buying release games is the trade in value, it's proven by online and brick and mortar #'s. i don't really get into that scene much but the fact that game stops could survive even this long proves it. it just seems like game prices fall hard and fast now, under the current pricing with digital dist it seems like they'd fall harder and even faster, no?

shit, even this is an ok idea.... all consoles and PC's can track all kinds of data usage, maybe a pay by the hour up until a certain point? i'd play most games around release then and if it's great happily pay $60. $3-$5 an hour to a certain threshold then free, they get to to eliminate disk and case costs, shipping costs, and the sales of used games. we get to not get ripped off and pay $60 for a terrible game.

That might be better for the customer but never for the corporation. It doesn't matter if someone does or does not like the game, they've paid $60 for it now. With your idea, if they don't like the first hour then they won't pay anymore for it.

Besides, I've played many games where I didn't much enjoy the first hour but started to appreciate it more and more as time goes on.

Never sold a game in my life. I think I've maybe traded in five or six for credit against something else, over the past 20 odd years.

@believer258: as i said it's not my job to figure it out, it was just an idea i came up with on the spot, bound to have holes.

i suppose though it could be argued that the pay per hour potential loss would be countered by the elimination of used games sales. used game sales have to be a massive problem for all in the industry. we might be surprised at the lengths they might go to stop it. on the other hand maybe they'll just force us to pay $60 and tell everyone to fuck off if they don't. if someone looked at the figures and spent the time to do it, i'd bet a pay per time period could totally work, you don't actually own anything you just rent it, we're already getting there with mmo's or downloadable games.

maybe im in the minority, but from my perspective i would pass up a ton of games for $60 final sale and money is not an issue for me at all. i figure i'm not alone and then there are quite a few gamers on a budget as well.

i'd be interested to hear anyone else ideas or if they know anything on the subject.

@ki11tank said:

@believer258: as i said it's not my job to figure it out, it was just an idea i came up with on the spot, bound to have holes.

i suppose though it could be argued that the pay per hour potential loss would be countered by the elimination of used games sales. used game sales have to be a massive problem for all in the industry. we might be surprised at the lengths they might go to stop it. on the other hand maybe they'll just force us to pay $60 and tell everyone to fuck off if they don't. if someone looked at the figures and spent the time to do it, i'd bet a pay per time period could totally work, you don't actually own anything you just rent it, we're already getting there with mmo's or downloadable games.

maybe im in the minority, but from my perspective i would pass up a ton of games for $60 final sale and money is not an issue for me at all. i figure i'm not alone and then there are quite a few gamers on a budget as well.

i'd be interested to hear anyone else ideas or if they know anything on the subject.

I don't want to pay per time period, either. I'll pay $60 if it means I get to keep the game forever instead of shelling out money every month or year or so to keep playing it.

Honestly, I think pricing schemes as they are are fine. Brand new games are expensive, but what isn't expensive that's brand new? You pay a premium to consume something on day 1 on everything. If you don't have that $60 or don't think it's worth it, wait for it to go down. Or sell your old games, if you so choose (a path I do not recommend, I've always regretted it without exception, but it's your money so do what you want with it).

For the record, I've spent $60 on a grand total of one game this year - Mass Effect 3 - but I've still played some of this year's bigger releases after a few months and some Steam sales.

Man there's some real sensitive people on here today. It's Friday people lighten up! Unless you work on weekends.
Good post OP I like keeping my games usually but I do trade in sometimes. I'd feel better about doing it through amazon then GameStop

@believer258:

you're missing some of the stuff i said, i said pay per time period and stop at say $60 then free forever, so you'd still get to keep it. i say this as im sure many would hesitant to shell out $60 in face value, it's just the facts. what you or i do is irrelevant i guess.

also you talk about playing games later on steam sales, that just goes towards my point of games not holding their value very long, and with a $60 price tag and opp to get any of that back even more people will not buy it, leading to even faster price declines.

and pricing schemes work as well as they do now because of used games, if the entire process changes for millions of consumers there's bound to be issues if aren't taken care of.

i mean anyone who follows the industry knows they flop on a regular basis in all areas of execution, so they very well might fuck it up again or worse.

edit: again the issue is the general consumer, not us or our preferences. the fact is used games sales and $60 price tags are a huge issue and they know it is why im even thinking of it. you can't forget that people on giant bomb, using the forums are not the base of this business at all, our game knowledge, standards, collections and appreciation etc are not for the majority.