Gamestop Trade In Vaule Is The Worst....

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OceanEve

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So, I'm playing through The Evil Within 2 at the moment. I thought about maybe trading it in once I'm finished, so I could get the new wolfenstein. I looked up on their website how much the trade in value of it was and was shocked to see that a game that is a week old is being offered to trade in for $27.50! 25.00 if you aren't a pro member. I haven't used gamestop in a long time, so maybe I shouldn't be shocked, but I think that's terrible. I figured I'd get maybe 40 dollars for it, but 25?

How is gamestop able to keep being in business with these horrible price options? I mean, I guess they are one of the few game trade stores here in the states, but you would think people would give up going there all together. Maybe I'm preaching to the choir on this, I just kind of find it leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. ?

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GenericBrotagonist

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Gamestop is a glorified pawn shop, and that's how pawn shops make money. You're more or less paying for the convenience of not having to find a buyer yourself.

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spamfromthecan

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They stay in business because people keep using them. A lot of people don't care and think $25 for a week old game is a good deal. Because then they only paid $35 for their time with it.

And not to plug another site, but there is a good community of online game traders and buying/selling at gametz.com. Its not a fancy looking site. But I've been a member for 15 years. I buy all my used games on there. And I sell all my games on there. You can sell that game for $45 shipped (with shipping that you cover, which is like ~$3.2X inside the US for 2-5 day) and you'll have users blowing up your inbox with offers. Or you could probably wait until next week and trade someone who has Wolfenstein straight up who wants that game. Its a good little site and has a lot users. Lots of collectors for old school stuff too.

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deactivated-63b0572095437

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Their profit margins are in the single-digits (like 1.3% last quarter), so they aren't getting rich off these trades, which is why you see them selling Funko Pops and stuff now.

They'll give you $25 and hope to get $55 for it ($30 profit to pay someone $10/hr to take it and sell it). The game might not sell before its price drops, now they have to lower the used price and risk not making a profit on the trade, after you consider rent, payroll, taxes, insurance, and used inventory space.

They serve as the middle-man so you can avoid weirdos on Craigslist or Offerup. Throw it on craigslist and get $40, but know people might waste more than $15 worth of your time before you get it sold. I don't like their trade offers either, but I value my time a lot as well. I think of it more as "This game is worth nothing to me if I'm never going to play it again, so what's the easiest way to get something for it". You gotta figure out what it's worth to you and how much time you're willing to put into getting that number.

Also consider Amazon. They often come close to Gamestop's trade values, but Amazon bucks are worth more than Gamestop because you can use it on anything. I traded a bunch of games and they actually credited me before I shipped the items, so I was able to use the money the same day without waiting for them to receive the items. If you have Prime, now you're getting Wolfenstein for 20% off, which brings the value of your trade more in line with what you were hoping.

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whitegreyblack

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Occasionally, EB Games (Gamestop in Canada) runs a trade-in special where I get decent value for my games. I always hold onto my games for those events unless they are of a high enough demand that the pain in the rear of selling locally is worth my time.

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OceanEve

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@spamfromthecan: that seems interesting! I took a look at the site and I'm not really sure where to begin or what to look for really ? but thank you!

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whitegreyblack

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Oh man, GameTZ - I used to haunt that place years and years ago and have not thought of it in a long time. It's a good place to trade games. Unfortunately, the terrible postal rates in Canada made trading games in that fashion unfeasible for me.

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Belegorm

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I feel like usually when people mention how little Gamestop gives for trade-ins/buys, people tend to have a reaction ranging from shock, to outrage to disappointment.

And I totally understand that, especially because most people aren't hugely clued into the retailer secondhand market, not just Gamestop. People expect to sell a new game back to Gamestop and get like $40.

But considering Gamestop will sell it for $55, that margin for the bulk of their profits would be completely unsustainable even if used games were still huge.

Getting $25 back for a new game sounds exactly like what I would expect. It's a game they know they can sell within a week and so they do the best they can, in that range of 40-50% od what they'll sell it for.

And that range is pretty standard across the board for secondhand retailers buying items they know they can sell fast. If 40-50% is unreasonable to you, it's not just Gamestop that should tick you off. Also card shops for MTG and Yugioh, the best you will ever see from them is 50% too.

And used bookstores too. I worked at one for 3 years, and 40% of what we'd sell it for was the best we paid for a new book or media that we would sell in a week. We HAD to, to stay in business. But even that rate was tough for us, the actual profits (and presumeably Gamestop's profits too) came from people selling books that we were super unsure being able to sell, so paid a fraction of their worth. And the one or two books in the bunch that would sell at a budget price, but at a great margin, was how that store stayed afloat. People would literally get insulted that we were giving 5 cents for the 37th copy of Twilight that day, but we paid as much as we could. And bookstores are all struggling now too.

My point of all this is that it sounds super shitty that Gamespot offered you $25 for a new game, but really that's what you should expect from any business based off selling used shit, it's either Gamespot and all those other stores being shitty, or it's the balance between the stores paying what they can to turn a profit, and the customer getting a lower amount because of the convenience of a middleman you meet in person, not needing to find a buyer yourself.

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OurSin_360

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I guess you could look at it as a convience fee, but i found i would rather just keep my games unless they are terrible.

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deactivated-5e851fc84effd

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If they paid you more they would have a harder time staying in business...

I just sold my copy of Persona 5 on eBay for $45. Paypal takes $1.61, it cost me $2.77 to ship, and eBay takes a 12% cut I believe, which means I net about $35. This is for a game that gamestop online says they would give me $24.20 as a pro member. Evil Within 2 is worth slightly more based on both gamestop tradein and history of sold items on ebay. If you really want to make that $10 extra dollars, ebay is there, but it's hard to beat the convenience of walking into gamestop and having cash 5 minutes later. You might hope gamestop would give you $40 for your game, but you would just barely net $40 for it on eBay with a lot more work.

I also definitely recommend gametz.com. I've been a member for over 10 years and it has a great community, I just haven't done as much trading or selling these days.

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ripelivejam

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Haven't traded anything in in ages (though I am going more and more digimal and buy more on pc)

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NTM

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#13  Edited By NTM

Kind of off-topic, but it wasn't that long ago where I used to think that wherever I move, I want to be near a place that sells games, and if a shopping mall area has no game store, it's not a very good shopping mall, but now, I have started to not care with the rise of digital, and the talk of GameStop being bad made me very slightly more jaded about them. That said (again, going off-topic), their prices may suck and business model not as great as consumers hope, but I never had an issue with the employees there as it seems many have had. The only time I've had a problem with game store employees have been at any of the GameCrazy's, which is not around anymore.

Never have they been mean to me, but they'd be jerks to my brother, or one of my friends. I remember one time I was there with my brother and he was buying a game, the employee had the debit card and instead of handing the card back nicely, he flung it at my brother's chest and it flew on the ground. He wasn't even sorry about it. It was like he was showing off or something in front of the other employee. I didn't say anything, but I was thinking 'wtf dude!?' and gave him a stern look. It pissed me off for a while. Any of the GameCrazy's I've ever been to had people that had bad moods were jerks or seemed to lack enthusiasm. I've heard that a lot of people that work at GameStop don't like working there, but at least they seem nice and enthusiastic about games whenever I go to one of them.

Okay, sorry for the off-topic semi-rant, this just got me thinking about all of that. I am not one to sell games or trade games in, but to save money it's a good idea, and so yeah, $25 dollars sucks for the consumer, especially for a new game. I was recently thinking about how much I would get if I sold all my games at a place like that, and it wouldn't be worth it. Do they even take old games anymore? I don't think they do.

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Solh0und

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It's why I stuck with buying games digital unless there is a damn good deal on a game.

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Shindig

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So much of retail is about timing it right. I bought my Gamecube with Super Mario Sunshine at £15 a pop years back. I could trade that back in now at CeX and only lose out on £2 because Retro stock is up in value.

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I never trade games in, I don't even know if that's a thing here, I'm just on the lookout for deals to save money so I can buy another game with the money I save.

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monkeyking1969

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I used to work at a EB games and I was a regular visitor to EB, Babbage's, GameStop, Funcoland, etc until about ten years ago. If I was in a mall I'd at least drop into a game store or a Fry's or Best Buy to look at games or just waste some time.

I never to that now. I mean even when I am in mall, which is rare, I don't even bother going into stores that sell games or electronics . If I go into a Best Buy I'm likely buying a replacement set of headphones while on the road; because if I wanted TV, vacuum, toaster, video game...or headphone - I'd buy it from Amazon.

When I worked at EB games or a decade ago visited game stores they were typically full of teens and twenty years-olds and sales were brisk...there was a line to checkout. People actually went in to BUY something. There was a bit of spit & polish to them as well....new games, new peripherals, toys, and racks of magazines. Now they are full of used junk and people brows but don't buy. I ever not seen a CLEAN & NEW store with fresh carpet or bright lighting in a decade. Hell when I stated ar EB they were only two years into expanding and having stores in malls, the managers were pushing the stock...no not the retail stock... I mean the "New York Stocks Exchange Stock". I mean quite literally as soon as I was hired, the district manager handed me a brokers card to BUY the stock.

Even 22 years ago used games were a thing, but even back then people knew is was a shit deal. So, I am honestly puzzle, why it is still a thing or how Game Stop survives on just that. Even when I would still drag myself into a GameStop to browse, I never saw anyone buying much, so even with marked up prices it seems illogical that the amount fo sales could ever keep it afloat.

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ZolRoyce

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That's why I opened an Amazon seller account and eBay account.
I can sell my used games for the price I think they are worth, instead of getting low-balled by EBgames.
Amazon and eBay take their cut of course, but it's still better than EB.

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SchrodngrsFalco

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#19  Edited By SchrodngrsFalco

@giantlennonx_x said:

How is gamestop able to keep being in business with these horrible price options?

This is ironic.

I've gotten some good sweet spot trade ins, as far as time after release. If I wasn't a Best Buy GCU member, I could have traded in Horizon: Zero Dawn for like $15 a couple weeks ago, and I bought it used for $35 near release. So $20 to own the game for about eight months, that I probably won't play again. And if I ever do, I'll probably be able to rebuy it for less than $10 which is still under $30 for my lifetime experience with it.

All things considered with my past experience of their trade-in values, I've actually been surprised how much their offering. They also had those crazy price-bumps and deals at the end of July (I think it was).

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FacelessVixen

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Last time I sold stuff at a GameStop was in 2014 and I went in with a mind set of "just take this shit off of my hands." I'm sure that I was getting a shit deal on the Xbox 360 and couple of games I was getting rid of, but my low expectations didn't set me up for disappointment; joy if anything since I put the money towards a PC and haven't been inside a store since.

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Ry_Ry

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It might be low, but it's still much more convenient than finding a buyer yourself.

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deactivated-6204297b0c601

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@belegorm said:

I feel like usually when people mention how little Gamestop gives for trade-ins/buys, people tend to have a reaction ranging from shock, to outrage to disappointment.

And I totally understand that, especially because most people aren't hugely clued into the retailer secondhand market, not just Gamestop. People expect to sell a new game back to Gamestop and get like $40.

But considering Gamestop will sell it for $55, that margin for the bulk of their profits would be completely unsustainable even if used games were still huge.

Getting $25 back for a new game sounds exactly like what I would expect. It's a game they know they can sell within a week and so they do the best they can, in that range of 40-50% od what they'll sell it for.

And that range is pretty standard across the board for secondhand retailers buying items they know they can sell fast. If 40-50% is unreasonable to you, it's not just Gamestop that should tick you off. Also card shops for MTG and Yugioh, the best you will ever see from them is 50% too.

And used bookstores too. I worked at one for 3 years, and 40% of what we'd sell it for was the best we paid for a new book or media that we would sell in a week. We HAD to, to stay in business. But even that rate was tough for us, the actual profits (and presumeably Gamestop's profits too) came from people selling books that we were super unsure being able to sell, so paid a fraction of their worth. And the one or two books in the bunch that would sell at a budget price, but at a great margin, was how that store stayed afloat. People would literally get insulted that we were giving 5 cents for the 37th copy of Twilight that day, but we paid as much as we could. And bookstores are all struggling now too.

My point of all this is that it sounds super shitty that Gamespot offered you $25 for a new game, but really that's what you should expect from any business based off selling used shit, it's either Gamespot and all those other stores being shitty, or it's the balance between the stores paying what they can to turn a profit, and the customer getting a lower amount because of the convenience of a middleman you meet in person, not needing to find a buyer yourself.

All of this. ALL OF THIS. GameStop can only pay so much, because they need to resell it at a profit. You could sell it to someone else directly, but then you'd need to find a buyer on your own, spend time meeting them or money shipping to them, and risk that no one would ever want to buy it.

And yeah, if you think the used game market it tough, look at used bookstores. Aside from rare or antique books, most places I've shopped at sell at half the list price. So the amounts they can give in trade are incredibly limited.

You have to decide on your own what a game that you've finished and intend to sell is worth to you. $25 isn't a lot, but it's more than the $0 you would get just keeping it on your shelf and never playing it again.

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sammo21

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#23  Edited By sammo21

If you're already finished with that game, and others, this quickly you may want to look at just getting the game through Red Box for a while. If you beat the game in 3-4 days you'd only pay like $12 or so...better than $60+tax and then getting upset at the cost of trade in. Or wait until the game, inevitably, goes on sale for like $25-40...which will happen in the next month to two months.

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belgurdo

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Selling your stuff on Amazon is generally a better bet for getting maximum value for your stuff rather than getting fleeced by Gamestop (who will usually give you maybe 30-40% of the game's value if it's popular and you've signed up as a pro member, but you'll get next to nothing otherwise.) You could try and wait for them to have another ridiculous trade-in deal like the one they had this summer where they essentially paid you to trade in games, but I don't think they're going to be dumb enough or stay in business long enough to try that again.

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Zebasteroid

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Yeah, selling things to GameStop is dumb. Don't do it.

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AcidBrandon18

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#26  Edited By AcidBrandon18

Thankfully I get all my games off of Amazon Prime. So a new game like Evil Within 2 costs me $50. Then I trade it to Gamestop for $25. Technically only costing me $25 to play the new game. I'd prefer to trade in my games to the local Disc Replay, but they don't sell PSN cards.

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ATastySlurpee

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As someone who worked at Gamestop during college....yes it is...

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somamilk

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Not here to spread the gamestop hate, but I feel alright in selling my stuff back at gamestop, it's convenient and just like with selling anything back that is gently used I don't expect a big payout at the end just something to help me pay for a mario odyssey and at the end of the day you can tell me there are online alternative that gets me more but eh, its the convenience fee I'll accept that. I don't have the time or the motivation enough to go and seek out alternatives that are out of the way of work or school.

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ScoobaTuba

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I know gamestop is a rip off and I have that in mind whenever I go in there. Most games I buy I usually don't want to sell them unless I know I'm never playing them ever again. I'm a hoarder when it comes to games anyway. I always wanted a huge collection of games as a badge of honor showing my love of games.

While I completely understand that they need to make money because you know they are a business it still is a middle to the consumer, but I don't really hate gamestop for it business need to make money.