Wait...it's worth how much?!

[Quad08]

So I went to buy the new Ace Attorney game yesterday and since I'm a poor university student, I only had about 25 dollars on me for a $34 game, so I figured I'd trade in a few titles I didn't play anymore.

So, I tossed a bunch of old games into a bag and went to the store. Turns out EB Games/Gamestop has a new trade policy where you can only trade in one game per one game you buy, so my bag of games was now worthless as a whole unless I bought six new games for the six games i had in my bag.

So I asked the guy to just scan in all the games and take the one that was worth the most. To my surprise, it was Harvest Moon DS, which dropped the price of the game to $19 exactly, beating out both Bioshock and COD: World At War in terms of value.

Now, my question is, have you ever gone to trade in a game and have been surprised at how much it was worth? If so, what game was it and was it a good or bad thing?

Oh, and this applies if the game you were trading in was worth more than you expected or if it was worth less than you expected.

 

[happysock]

I'm always surprised at the little amount you get back for traded games, game station I find is the best in terms of money you get back, but sadly there isn't one in Chelmsford. I was surprised to get 15 quid back for my copy of fifa 10 though as I thought I would get 10 pound at the most.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

Gamespot is like most Video game merchants, stuff costs a shit load, but when you sell it, it has no value.

 

[Vault boy Eddie]

I got Ghost Recon on PC the day it came out, finished it in less than a week, traded it in for cash, got 11 bucks, a few days later im back in Gamestop and saw the copy I brought in going for 44 bucks used.

 

[Johnnyallstar]

The Legend of Zelda collection for the gamecube. I found a place that sold them for 15, and traded in for 40. did it about 5 times until somebody caught on

 

[Cartographer]

Bear in mind, they'll give you £10-15 for a game and will put it straight back on the shelves for 2-3x the price. You're better off using ebay or somesuch and getting what they're worth rather than trading them in.

 

[Altorin]

a really shitty copy of SSBM was worth 20 bucks. Didn't have a book or its original case.

If I could tell this stuff before I went, and didn't end up getting 1 buck for things like God of War, then I would probably trade in games more often, I've just been burned too much to bother anymore.

 

[Frequen-Z]

Enter The Matrix got me 20p.

 

[Plurralbles]

I bought Metroid Prime for $5 from gamestop. I'm laughing at whoever traded it in. they probably got 50 cents at most.

Anyway, uh, I think Twilight Princess got me a decent amount. I blew it though by getting Resident Evil 4(3rd person shooters aren't my thing)

 

[cheese_wizington]

Halo ODST was worth 30 bucks.

 

[Sieni]

Nope, I've never sold any of my games.

 

[Irridium]

Enter The Matrix got me 20p.

When I tried trading it in they only offered me $1.

I'm not even kidding.

Sorry, my monetary conversion skills aren't the best

Still, its bullcrap!

 

[GamingAwesome1]

Star Ocean. One of the ones on the PS2. Something with Time in the title.

Bought for: £16
Sold for: £18

To the same store I bought it from.

 

[Rednog]

The only games you really get any value from during a trade in is games that were decent but didn't sell well. Their prices for any games that weren't just released are based on how many they have available vs the demand of people who want to buy it. Games that sell well means that there will be a bountiful supply of people who eventually come back and sell it. Even if the same percentage of people who bought a popular game as a non popular game sell the game, the less popular one will be less available at the store thus it having a somewhat higher price.

Also I will note that I know this from working at a gamestop, I personally never have and never will sell any of my games.

 

[Plurralbles]

The only games you really get any value from during a trade in is games that were decent but didn't sell well. Their prices for any games that weren't just released are based on how many they have available vs the demand of people who want to buy it. Games that sell well means that there will be a bountiful supply of people who eventually come back and sell it. Even if the same percentage of people who bought a popular game as a non popular game sell the game, the less popular one will be less available at the store thus it having a somewhat higher price.

Also I will note that I know this from working at a gamestop, I personally never have and never will sell any of my games.

All gaming stores do that. I just found a PS1 version of Final Fantasy VII and it's $60. I realized why- everyone and their mother wants it. But mostly for only $20. But there will eventually enter into the store someone who wants it bad enough. And the store owner will make his dough.

 

[EeveeElectro]

I went on the game website and saw Baldur's gate II and Neverwinter Nights were worth about 70p.
Hmm.

 

[Marter]

I have yet to get rid of this game, but I bought "Sonic Mega Collection Plus and Super Monkey Ball Deluxe" at EB Games for $4.99, thinking it would just be a fun game. As I do with all my games, I see what they are currently selling for, and I found out that the game I just bought is worth nearly $40. It currently sells for an average of $38.99

 

[WrongSprite]

Enter The Matrix got me 20p.

When I tried trading it in they only offered me $1.

I'm not even kidding.

$1 is more than 20p...

Anyway, I got plenty for CoD4, but that's to be expected really.

Everything else I've got not much for....

 

[end_boss]

The problem with EB Games/Gamestop isn't ENTIRELY their fault. They have VERY high overhead, being a nation-wide chain, they have to factor in that the price of the game at time of trade may not be the price it sells for (I've seen games eventually sell for less than they were given on trade), they have to use that profit to pay for employees, both store-level and at head office, and the profit has to adjust for losses from theft and damage. They also have to consider the need to open more stores, pay travel expenses for district managers, and hold an annual manager's conference where they fly in all store managers and head office staff and book hotel rooms for them to stay, and still turn a profit from all of this.

So, it's kind of lose-lose. Right now the company is able to run, but quite a few customers are upset because they don't realize how much profit margin is needed simply to cover bills. Cutting the gap between trade value and sale price will make the customers happier, but will reduce store functions.

BUT, on a more simpler and broader explanation, just figure that for the most part, trade values aren't based on how good the game is, but how much the company wants it. People would get pissed off that they only get $3 for Driver 3, when we clearly have 20 of them on the shelf that aren't selling for $10. So, games like Bioshock may be far better and more popular, but they've probably already found the "sweet spot" that regulates a good flow of incoming trades and outgoing sales. A game like Harvest Moon is one that doesn't sell like a blockbuster, but is popular enough that it will almost certainly turn around, so they're willing to pay a little more to get them in.

And the insider scoop is also that the person who regulates the prices at head office can sometimes be incompetent and overlooks some games, like when C&C3 on 360 traded in for $40 for months. We had to have an entire shelf for all the C&C3 that was traded in, and they wouldn't sell because people who wanted to try it thought it must have been a terrible game since there were so many used in stock that nobody wanted.

But I do trade in some games for $1 or $2, because I've already lost my money on them, they suck and I do not want them in my collection, and $1 is worth more than a thick coat of dust.

 

[Legion]

I'm always surprised at the little amount you get back for traded games, game station I find is the best in terms of money you get back, but sadly there isn't one in Chelmsford. I was surprised to get 15 quid back for my copy of fifa 10 though as I thought I would get 10 pound at the most.

Chelmsford in Essex, UK? Small world indeed.

Enter The Matrix got me 20p.

When I tried trading it in they only offered me $1.

I'm not even kidding.

20p is around 35 cents.