Do trade-ins create a false sense of value? (Rant)

I own a small-ish video game store, and I need to vent a little to the gaming community...

For one, be sure that selling used games is the only way for any video game associated store to make money and stay open. The publishers will not even talk to you unless you are ordering thousands of copies of one game. They will send you back a generic email explaining that you should go to a distributor like Jack of All Games or VPD. A distibutor wants about $54 dollars for a $60 game to begin with, then if you do not order at least 20 copies they make you pay shipping on top of that. And even after all that is done they want to charge you $6 to run a debit/credit card unless you want to run a line of credit with them.

In the time that I did use a distributor they messed up and lost me 7 sales on WoW Cataclism after they simply failed to ship it because my rep's child was sick and he didn't authorize it to be shipped. Then they tried to charge me shipping on 2 Xbox 360, a DSi Xl, and a bunch of games, when orders over $400 are supposed to be free. The reasoning? The 360s have to be shipped seperate from everything else to ensure they aren't damaged, the DSi Xl could be combined but it was in one warehouse, and the games were in another, so I would have to pay shipping on everything. By the time you are done you would be lucky to get a $60 game shipped from a distributor for under $65.

So unless your store is Game Stop or Wal Mart it's probably most efficent to run your store's pre-oders through Amazon.

So I do the only logical thing, break even on pre-orders and make money off of used games. That usually works great. All of my newer pre-owned games never exceed $45. Crysis 2 - $45, Fight Night Champion - $45, Black Ops the week after it came out, $45. That way I have no problem giving someone $30 for a current game on trade-in, and they can get another current game for $15. Every single game I have in this generation is 15%-25% cheaper than big retailers.

But at least once a week... I get someone who brings in a box of things that could include, a stack of PS2 games, Guitar Hero guitars on various systems, Rock Band drums, scratched up PS1 games, and damaged systems missing the connections and/or controllers. Basically things that you shove in a box and forget about for a couple years, then find and say "Hey I bet this stuff is worth a lot now!" This is where my rant is... I usually politely decline the trade-in explaining that I have around 700 ps2 titles, and a full store with no room for guitars, drums, etc, etc... But some people insist on what I would give them cash/trade-in. Then I have to explain there is absolutely no way I would give cash for it, and say something like $9 trade for everything. Then they say something like "That's a rip off, you are going to sell all of that for $10 a piece!".

Which is true. But I am going to have to spend time/$ refurbishing almost everything there. And then I have to wait for someone to actually buy any of it for $10 a piece. It might happen in a day, but most likely it might happen by 6 months from now. Meanwhile they are looking to trade that even up for a copy of Black Ops for $40. I can sell Black Ops for $40 to people all week. I MIGHT be able to sell Spiderwick Chronicles and a guitar both for ps2 by the end of the year.

On one hand I think it's bad to upset people and let them walk out angry, but on the other hand I think it takes a certain level of audacity to think that you should get anywhere near resell value for 5 year old game (that sucks) if you aren't selling it to someone yourself. I usually wish I could say "If you think that you can get $10 for Cold Fear then by all means go find someone to buy it for that".

So that's what I want to know. Do you think that ps2/xbox/cube era games should trade in at anywhere near wii/ps3/360 values? Personally I know from experience that I am more likely to sell a copy of a subpar game like Homefront or Medal of Honor for a new system than I am to sell the best the last gen could offer like Shaddow of the Colossus, ICO, or KotoR.

I would also like to add that when I purchase something for entertainment I realize that is what I am paying for. In other words, if I buy a fishing pole for $50 I realize that my fishing pole might get a couple hundred hours of relaxation. But I know that when I am through with the pole I am either going to give it away, or toss it in the garbage. I do not expect to pay $50 for a fishing pole, use it for a couple of months, then take it back and try to get $40 out of it. I'm not sure why people that buy video games do not understand this concept. If you buy Rock Band for $150 and you get a couple hundred hours of fun out if that's great. When you are done give it to someone else or toss it. There is no written agreement that you should get x percentage back on an item, especially tech items like video games.

It makes me ALMOST understand where Gamestop is coming from with their ridiculously low trade values. I called one today for a customer to inquire about the new Tiger Woods Masters game. It trades for $20, cash is $15. Yeah that is REALLY low I will admit, but Gamestop didn't hold a gun to your head and scream at you to buy it either. If you shelled out $60 without doing your research and are looking to unload it, literally days later, there is no guarantee that you should even get $15 out of it. I gave the guy $25 and I will sell it for $40, but he was still bitter about that. A trade-in is and should be "I don't play this game anymore ever so I should see if I can get a few bucks off of something I will play". Not "I paid $60 for this 3 months ago, I need to at least get $35 back out of it".

i do agree with this tbh but i will say one thing, if you offer trade ins for games you should either explicitly state that you dont take certain types of games/ managers decision is final or you should trade in everything that some1 brings you, after all theres nothing stopping you giving out 1$ per if you really didnt want it.

i dont think you should really be sayin, i cant sell this or i have loads of that to customers, i know id be pretty pissed off if that was the reason i was given for not accpeting a trade in and i wouldnt come back.

but despite this i do agree with you, i think its more a case of a president(sp?) has been set with trading in games and people think they deserve this.

i do agree with this tbh but i will say one thing, if you offer trade ins for games you should either explicitly state that you dont take certain types of games/ managers decision is final or you should trade in everything that some1 brings you, after all theres nothing stopping you giving out 1$ per if you really didnt want it.

i dont think you should really be sayin, i cant sell this or i have loads of that to customers, i know id be pretty pissed off if that was the reason i was given for not accpeting a trade in and i wouldnt come back.

but despite this i do agree with you, i think its more a case of a president(sp?) has been set with trading in games and people think they deserve this.

Armoured_Mage

That said, you may want to consider expanding your business to online sales if you haven't already. While some games will move slowly in a typical retail environment, you'll have relatively little trouble getting rid of them online, especially if you sell in bulk. Unfortunately auction sites like eBay do take a large chunk out of your sales, but if you buy low enough to begin with that shouldn't be too much of an issue. And seriously, don't be afraid of lowballing people. If they're dumb enough to trade-in a game to what is essentially a pawn shop and expect a fair price then they deserve to be ripped off. The only thing that matters is that you buy games at a higher price than Gamestop (which I assume is your main competitor).

Also how many pre-orders do you get in a given year and what's the average amount of time people wait before release to pre-order? Because depending on the amount of total money you get pre-orders and assuming you get at least a month before launch you may want to look into dumping all that pre-order money into a high interest account so that you can skim interest in the meantime as extra profit before you have to withdraw the money again to place all the orders.

Western Pennsylvania lol. A little far apart!billyd5301

Gamers/people are dumb and cheap? Nothing new to see here............X360PS3AMD05

I'd take 35 for my used Mortal Kombat. >.>Allicrombie

Pretty lame, isn't it?

Hey, SSF4 Arcade Edition is coming out soon, at least =/

[QUOTE="Allicrombie"]I'd take 35 for my used Mortal Kombat. >.>Jbul

Pretty lame, isn't it?

Hey, SSF4 Arcade Edition is coming out soon, at least =/

I'd like to ask you, how much are publishers asking for the purchase of a $50 PC title?

Im exclusively a PC gamer. Theres pretty much no such thing as used PC games.

[QUOTE="Jbul"]

[QUOTE="Allicrombie"]I'd take 35 for my used Mortal Kombat. >.>Allicrombie

Pretty lame, isn't it?

Hey, SSF4 Arcade Edition is coming out soon, at least =/

Hmm, you're an optimisitic one, eh? I rented the turd of a game, and I want my $7 back.... LMAO =)

[QUOTE="Armoured_Mage"]

i do agree with this tbh but i will say one thing, if you offer trade ins for games you should either explicitly state that you dont take certain types of games/ managers decision is final or you should trade in everything that some1 brings you, after all theres nothing stopping you giving out 1$ per if you really didnt want it.

i dont think you should really be sayin, i cant sell this or i have loads of that to customers, i know id be pretty pissed off if that was the reason i was given for not accpeting a trade in and i wouldnt come back.

but despite this i do agree with you, i think its more a case of a president(sp?) has been set with trading in games and people think they deserve this.

gameguy6700

That said, you may want to consider expanding your business to online sales if you haven't already. While some games will move slowly in a typical retail environment, you'll have relatively little trouble getting rid of them online, especially if you sell in bulk. Unfortunately auction sites like eBay do take a large chunk out of your sales, but if you buy low enough to begin with that shouldn't be too much of an issue. And seriously, don't be afraid of lowballing people. If they're dumb enough to trade-in a game to what is essentially a pawn shop and expect a fair price then they deserve to be ripped off. The only thing that matters is that you buy games at a higher price than Gamestop (which I assume is your main competitor).

Also how many pre-orders do you get in a given year and what's the average amount of time people wait before release to pre-order? Because depending on the amount of total money you get pre-orders and assuming you get at least a month before launch you may want to look into dumping all that pre-order money into a high interest account so that you can skim interest in the meantime as extra profit before you have to withdraw the money again to place all the orders.

[QUOTE="billyd5301"]Western Pennsylvania lol. A little far apart!starwarsjunky

Interesting read, always fun to see the other side of things, and it being from a small independent retailer rather than the corporate mogul of Gamestop makes it that much more intriguing.

After reading your OP, am I right in inferring that you make little to no profit off of new games? And would the same apply for a store like Gamestop, or do they buy in such bulk that they recieve compensation?

I feel your pain mate, I really do. I worked in a "used" (we got new stuff in quite a lot) gameshop for about 2 years when I first moved to London and my god people are stupid.

I remember one guy who brought in his sons original Xbox (no games) and wanted to exchange it for a second hand 360 for him. We said OK and told him that it would still cost him £110 (At the time we sold them for £120, making £20 profit), because we had tons of original Xbox's already (normally we wouldn't have taken it at all but he was wanting a console so we where prepared to take it). He then completely flipped out, screaming that we where con-artists, and that upgrading to the 360 was supposed to be free, and then started threatening us and he actually tried to take the 360 from us, so we had to call the police. I felt kinda sorry for his kid though, he thought he was going to be getting a 360 and instead he sees his dad taken away by the police, we didn't press charges against him because we hoped that realizing how much he scared his son would be punishment enough. Needless to say we didn't see them in the shop again.

It's just the easy access of everything. Someone can look online and see what's they are selling for on ebay and then think they can get that from their local shop and save on shipping. There's a lot of smart people who actively play these kinds of games, but there's a lot of people who don't understand the value of money also. I'd say they outnumber the smart ones.guynamedbilly

[QUOTE="starwarsjunky"][QUOTE="billyd5301"]Western Pennsylvania lol. A little far apart!billyd5301

I turned in, like, 8 games and got $100.

Maybe I'm just good-lookin'? :o

I turned in, like, 8 games and got $100.

Maybe I'm just good-lookin'? :o

no_more_fayth

[QUOTE="no_more_fayth"]

I turned in, like, 8 games and got $100.

Maybe I'm just good-lookin'? :o

starwarsjunky

The monies or how attractive I am? :P

Interesting read, always fun to see the other side of things, and it being from a small independent retailer rather than the corporate mogul of Gamestop makes it that much more intriguing.

After reading your OP, am I right in inferring that you make little to no profit off of new games? And would the same apply for a store like Gamestop, or do they buy in such bulk that they recieve compensation?

TacticalDesire

I feel your pain mate, I really do. I worked in a "used" (we got new stuff in quite a lot) gameshop for about 2 years when I first moved to London and my god people are stupid.

I remember one guy who brought in his sons original Xbox (no games) and wanted to exchange it for a second hand 360 for him. We said OK and told him that it would still cost him £110 (At the time we sold them for £120, making £20 profit), because we had tons of original Xbox's already (normally we wouldn't have taken it at all but he was wanting a console so we where prepared to take it). He then completely flipped out, screaming that we where con-artists, and that upgrading to the 360 was supposed to be free, and then started threatening us and he actually tried to take the 360 from us, so we had to call the police. I felt kinda sorry for his kid though, he thought he was going to be getting a 360 and instead he sees his dad taken away by the police, we didn't press charges against him because we hoped that realizing how much he scared his son would be punishment enough. Needless to say we didn't see them in the shop again.

spike6958

It's a thing that not enough people understand, items depreciate in value over time (Unless they're rare and very much sought after). When you've bought a game, the longer you own it, the more likely it's going to go down in value. Besides, the value of money itself depreciates over time anyway due to inflation and such, so old games are cheaper now. I can completely understand your rejection of old PS2 games, they're in abundance in most shops I go to, maybe have a notice or something saying certain game trade-ins are "subject to negotiation" or have a cut-off point for certain games. What In tend to see in Used game stores around where I live is a list of games the store is looking to buy off of customers for trading in, usually popular ones or games that the store doesn't have much of, it might get people who look at it to think "I have that game, and I'm pretty much done with it, maybe I should trade it in for a bit of money."ModeDude

There are tons of unreasonable / stupid people in the world who think their old junk should be worth a lot of money. They're unable to grasp the concept that if no one wants to buy it, its value is therefore $0.

I guess my advice would be to tell them to sell it on Ebay and make it sound like you're doing them a huge favor by giving them this wonderful money-making tip.