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Kotaku: Gamestop is overhauling trade-ins, will offer more money

F

Fracas

#fuckonami
Article by Jason Schreier

GameStop is overhauling trade-ins and launching a new program that will wind up giving people more money for the games they sell, Kotaku has learned.

The new initiative, which will launch on August 18, will simplify GameStop's trade-in structure, reducing the complexity of what has become an unnecessarily obtuse service. No longer will you have to put credit toward pre-orders or promotions in order to get the most bang for your buck; instead, any games you sell to GameStop will come in at a flat rate, only varying if you want cash instead of credit, or if you're a member of their subscription program.
Click to expand...

As a result of this change, GameStop will now offer more money for games you sell them. Starting August 18, the retailer will bump up the "average base value" of games they buy by 20%, according to documentation I've obtained.

So that copy of NBA 2k8 I traded in on Saturday might now be worth $0.30 instead of the $0.25 I got for it.
Click to expand...

Lots more good stuff at the link. Gamestop's honestly been pretty good to me the last few months. Solid trade in offers and some rad deals too. Obviously they still do a lot of shitty stuff (just received a "new" copy of Professor Layton the other day), but it seems things are hopefully turning around a bit.
 
M

MavFan619

Banned
I have a store called CEX in my local mall that offered me $40 cash vs Gamestop $22 credit for the same two games. They certainly need an overhaul so I welcome this.
 
B

Bessy67

Member
20% increase and no more promotions doesn't sound like that great of a deal to me. Especially when you can just preorder something for the promotion and cancel it later.
 
M

mdubs

Banned
Am I the only one who read this article and came out with not a single clue about what is changing besides bumping up the average base value and changing the sales pitch?
 
H

hardcastlemccormick

Banned
Gamestop's had some good promotions lately so they have my ear.

But still...I'm trying to get away from trading in games at all. Services like Gamefly seem more appealing.
 
F

Fuzzy

I would bang a hot farmer!
Most likely the 20% bump at first will be eliminated later when you can't tell the difference.
 
F

Fracas

#fuckonami
mdubs said:
Am I the only one who read this article and came out with not a single clue about what is changing besides bumping up the average base value and changing the sales pitch?
Click to expand...

It seems they're removing all promos, bumping up all game trade in values by about 20% on average and doing away with the "trade in" mentality. Looking at more of a "sell us your games!" thing.

So yeah, you're basically right it seems.
 
AgentP

AgentP

Thinks mods influence posters politics. Promoted to QAnon Editor.
Even with the recent 50% bonus they just did recently most prices were the same as Amazon.
 
M

Mushroomer25

Member
Makes sense. I never bother trading in at GS unless they had some exceptional deal going on at the time, even less so as Target & Walmart have made me better offers. So if they can cut the bonus offers and just get 20% more... go for it.
 
G

georly

Member
This is the equivalent of what JCPenny did, right? Only in reverse? Offer the greatest price all the time, no need to do 'bonus offers' w/ the thought that people won't hold out until you have a promo, right? People like thinking they're getting more than they're supposed to, or buying something for cheaper than they're supposed to. I think this will backfire.
 
A

adj_noun

Member
whdgqDz.jpg
 
T

TheFurizzlyBear

Member
Ok guys the way this ends up working, if its like the test we just did, is that instead of promos the trade values are just constantly higher than they normally will be. This leads to a higher low end but lower high end of value for trades.
 
R

Ramstein

Banned
With all the aggressive moves GameStop is reportedly attempting(especially with DLC), am I the only one who gets a "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" or "Watch the left hand, while the right hand picks your pocket" kinda vibe from this?

I stopped dealing with GameStop when I learned the hard-working devs that make the games that I love don't get JACK from re-sales, but I don't really push that opinion on anyone else(Hey, if you wanna be a part of what ruins the game industry, *shrug* so be it, see if I care).
 
K

Kusagari

Member
This actually sounds terrible.

20% is nothing compared to when you can take advantage of Gamestop's good bonuses/promotions.
 
H

Hey_Blinkin

Member
I wonder if this will affect console trade-ins also. I called Gamestop earlier today about trading in my Gears of War 320gb 360, they told me it's worth $65. I really wish I had traded it in before the Xbox One was released, I haven't turned it on in close to a year. I guess I'll give them another call after this promotion kicks in, assuming it isn't only for games.
 
T

Two Words

Member
I hope this doesn't mean they won't have trade in promos anymore. I love trading in my stuff when they do those 50% extra deals .I just wait until then and trade in whatever I don't want anymore. I usually can get $15-$40 per game when I do that, and that's worth it for me.
 
N

neojubei

Will drop pants for Sony.
dont forget some gamestops want a photograph of you and maybe even fingerprint you if you trade in some games. watch out
 
B

birthbysleep

Member
Wait, I'm confused. To use an example, If I buy Assassin's Creed Unity this fall and trade it in within 30 days, it will give me the same credit as a game that's considerably older?
 
R

Ramstein

Banned
neojubei said:
dont forget some gamestops want a photograph of you and maybe even fingerprint you if you trade in some games. watch out
Click to expand...

They only asked for my signature/id/fingerprint when i traded in a red-ringed xbox, in case it was stolen. That's the reason. Nothing 'nefarious.'
 
A

asthmagasm

Member
Not really seeing how this changes much really. If I had stuff I wanted to trade in, there was almost always something going on that bumped it up at least 20% but usually 30%, sometimes 50%. Pick the farthest game away with the best promotion, trade everything towards that, swap it to shit you want a week later.
 
A

Alcoholikaust

Member
this basically nullifies the pro member program I suspect? no more getting +70% more for trades any more during the ludicrous sales I suppose.

what a shame.
 
F

family_guy

Member
Antti said:
Once Sony and Microsoft reduce their ludicrous prices for digital games, Gamestop will join Blockbuster in the brick & mortar purgatory.
Click to expand...

I doubt that. Physical copies are still very important to many people and Gamestop seems to get the best preorder bonuses the majority of the time.
 
G

Gxgear

Member
Sounds like they're eliminating the possibility of abusing promos due to corporate oversight. 20% TIV bump is a joke given how low they are to begin with.
 
Petrae

Petrae

Member
Yeah, eliminating promos (like the recent +50% promo) winds up hurting TIVs and returning consumer interest. I get that GME is trying to "simplify" the experience, but regular customers who were used to TIV promos may now turn their trades/sellbacks elsewhere.

Probably not a great idea to give regular, returning customers less of a reason to go into your stores, but GME is on the inexorable path to extinction anyway.
 
Fbh

Fbh

Member
Well 20% is nice.
But I never understood the issue people have with trade-in rates to begin with

I used to work in retail in a placed that had (still has) the whole trade in system. And sure we didn't give much money. But it's just an option, it's easy, comfortable and fast and that comes with a price.

No one is forcing you to trade in games, you can sell them on Ebay (or whatever other sites you have in the US) and charge whatever you want for them. But it's a bit more complicated. You have to to publish it on the site, wait for someone to buy it, deal with the buyer, answers qustions (if there are any), send them the game, there is a slight chance someone will try to scam you, etc.

You want the easy option of just bringing your game to the store? Well, big surprise, you won't get the best value for your games
 
T

TheYanger

Member
Bessy67 said:
20% increase and no more promotions doesn't sound like that great of a deal to me. Especially when you can just preorder something for the promotion and cancel it later.
Click to expand...

I'm fairly sure they mean promotions for trade in value. Where people wait for like "GET 30% MORE ON TRADE INS THIS WEEKEND!" or "GET 30% MORE WHEN YOU TRADE IN TOWARDS CALL OF DUTY PREORDERS!"
 
Z

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
So basically, soccer moms and little billy will get better trade ins, while the more "savvy" customers (relatively speaking) no longer can use promos to raise trade ins to values that might actually be halfway decent.

This is simplifying, not improving, folks. I would still be very surprised if you got more than 20-30% what the games are actually worth.
 
P

Puaru1

Member
20% more of a value that they have the sole control of. So really, this is just eliminating the chance to do better on trades with promos for the promise of an increase of the flat value. Since they are the ones who decide what that flat value is, how is this a win for the consumer in any way? You'll likely notice a the values go up a little, and gradually everything goes back to the way it was, except now the promos are gone.

It's like instead of being kicked full force in the balls, you get 2 pretty hard shots to the nose. A bad time either way.
 
A

Adam Blue

Member
GameStop has some great promos that have allowed me to get great deals. Because they are a publicly held company in which a board of directors make decisions, I'm sure they make more money by scrapping promos and upping trade-in-value right below the costs of said promos.

Consumers use coupons in conjunction with promos, triple-days, cash back, etc - and have for decades. When it comes to saving money, consumers aren't confused.
 
R

rocksteady1983

Member
Does best buy do trade ins for controllers? I have 4 wireless 360 controllers is like to trade in. Gamestops site says 10 each. Which is fine. Not sure how well they even work. They all turned on and seemed alright. Cleaned them up.
 
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