By popular demand (or one well placed request) I am turning around my ‘GameStop Blues’ and looking at the available options for getting some value out of those old games you don’t play anymore.  Sure, you can bring it back to GameStop for a few dollars – it is quick and convenient.  But once you start dealing with more than a couple of games, the ‘loss factor’ starts to figure into the equation.  So let’s take a quick look at what is out there …

Trading Forums
Many web forums started offering places for folks to advertise things they wanted to sell, even before the eBay days (back to BBS days, for that matter).  This has progressed to the point where many forums have started hosting private trading areas where members can trade games and other things.  Trading here, like selling, is a one-by-one deal.  Many have come up with systems to help members not rip each other off.  In fact, there are even sites dedicated to getting bargains and of course gamers have their own, which brings us to …

CAG
Cheap Ass Gamer is THE place to go for getting good deals on games.  Insiders get early information about upcoming deals at stores and price drops and share them with others in the forum.  Everybody likes a good deal, and this site is all about a good deal.  Of course, they have an active trading forum with all of those members looking to convert great deals into the ability to get more new games – one of the best trading places available.  It is pure peer trading – you work out deals on a user-by-user basis.  This is very time intensive, as you might imagine.  At some point, someone figured out that there was an opportunity for a better system.

GameTZ.com
This was my first trading site, and it is a bit overwhelming to get started.  You can trade games, systems, music, movies and more.  You put your collection up on the site, as well as your wants.  You can specify condition and contents, so if you are a collector you can get pristine full packages, and if you are just a gamer you can be very lax in your requirements.  When you see someone has something you want – you make an offer.  You can offer to trade game-for-game, or multiple games for one, or even sweeten it with some cash.  You directly communicate with other users and work everything out.  This is the ultimate place in terms of freedom, but it comes at the price of complexity – you have to work out every deal, every detail.
Goozex.com
This site launched in July of 2006 with a new concept – just let users tell what they want to get and what they want to get rid of, and find other users to match with them.  The system works using a combination of Points and Trade Credits.  You need trade credits in order to get games, but not to send them out.  Points are earned by sending games, and are spent on getting new ones.  The point value of each game is related to retail price, rarity and the demand on the site.  You list games you want to receive and if one comes available and you have enough points and a trade credit, you get the game.  The other person is responsible for packaging and shipping the game to you in a reasonable amount of time, and a detailed feedback system ensures that bad traders get weeded out quickly.  I have been using this system since they started trading in handheld games in September of last year, and have traded more than 135 games on PC, Mac, Wii, GameCube, PSP, DS and GBA platforms.  The site started as a disc-only trade system based on printable paper mailers, but now includes three packaging levels with a fourth on the way (disc only, disc & manual, disc & case, full package).

SaySwap.com
This feels like it is trying to be like Goozex meets TotalGaming.  You get Tokens for trades and points based on the MSRP of the game.  Tokens are about $5 each (a bit less in bulk) and points are ~$1 each.  The difference from Goozex is that you get a mailer to send teh game postage paid to the other user.  But that mailer is for the disc & manual only.  Also, the site doesn’t feature Mac & PC games.  As an example of pricing in action – for a game such as Tomb Raider Legend which costs 20 ‘purchase points’, you would be looking at $25 for a game you could get for $20 or less just about everywhere.  Sure you can send out games and build up your points, but it is nice to know what the economy is like, and I’d rather pay $3 for nicely packed first class USPS with delivery confirmation of a full package than $5 for a crappy disc mailer.  The final problem with SaySwap is I haven’t gotten anything yet … everyone seems to have a wish list but isn’t sending.

Conclusions
For a gamer looking to get fairly new games and get rid of games they are ‘done’ with and rotate fairly quickly, Goozex is the way to go.  If I play something I have no plans to touch again, I list it and if it is something that another user has on their list it will match in minutes and I’ll ship it right out.  SaySwap seems like it should work similarly but is too expensive and just underpopulated.  GameTZ is extremely popular among collectors and traders of classic stuff, but I found it cumbersome – I never completed a trade within two weeks.

You know what, though … none of these services does the thing that would have helped the kid at GameStop – none of them quickly get you brand new games cheaper by dumping old games.  And that is why GameStop’s used business continues to thrive – a kid gets rid of stuff cluttering up the living room and gets Zelda for <$15.  Everyone wins.  So what *should* you do in that case?  Watch the GameStop adverts in paper or on their site – they are almost always offering something special, so take advantage.  For example – right now if you trade in any two XBOX360 or PS3 games you get an extra $10, and if you are trading towards Super Mario Galaxy, Guitar Hero III or Mario Party DS you get an extra 20% trade credit.  Use these things to your advantage – they will give you the least possible value, so make it your business to know how to work their system.  And then, over time, as you play more and more with your kids, perhaps you will be ready for a family Goozex account – I got my son the out of print Star Wars Bounty Hunter as a ‘bonus gift’ for his birthday and he was completely thrilled!

Tags: Misc