GameStop: Amazon trade-in program has zero percent chance of working
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Mar 5th 2009 at 6:50PM }
DeMatteo explained that Electronics Boutique attempted to apply the same mail-in trade offer that Amazon is working with several years ago, reaping unfavorable results. "With consumers, there is an immediacy for currency when they want to buy a new game," he explained. He also stated that -- okay, listen, we'd love to finish this post, but we've got this copy of Ty the Tazmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue sitting on our bookshelf, and if we don't trade it in within the next few minutes, we are going to totally freak out.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Latin_Trident @ Mar 5th 2009 6:55PM
I bet you he said that hiding in a Gamestop bunker shuttering in fear and eating his tie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49wOzZdWWYM
Psycho300x @ Mar 5th 2009 6:55PM
I'd appreciate it if Gamestop just shriveled up and died forever. K Thanks.
TheDemiurge @ Mar 5th 2009 7:20PM
I'm trading in a game to Amazon tomorrow simply to spite GameStop. The additional 10% off coupon doesn't hurt either.
Rhamsey @ Mar 5th 2009 9:11PM
i actually dont mind gamestop/eb games. i usually only buy games when they are buy 2 get one free (used), so that cancels out how badly they try to rip you off. and since i never trade in games, id prefer it if they kept on living.
also, eb games has the best console warranty i know of (although pricey i admit), i paid 30 bucks to protect my 360, and my friend dropped it down the stairs one day while he was helping me move, it broke, pieces inside shook like crazy, i brought it in that day, and the guy there gave me a new one.
Psycho300x @ Mar 5th 2009 9:21PM
You're lucky, my experience they just rip me off and keep selling me opened games as new, which drives me crazy.
EtOH @ Mar 5th 2009 6:56PM
Typical. I do agree that when I trade stuff in, I want something in return right away, so he does have a valid point, but I still think Amazon needs to be given a chance. It could be quite successful.
Zapp @ Mar 5th 2009 7:22PM
Given:
Amazon has your VISA.
Solution:
Pick your game, click Trade-In.
Print off shipping label.
Receive $$$ credit as soon as package is picked up by courier.
Spend it.
Sent in a blank disk instead? No problem, Amazon bills your VISA.
Goodbye Gamestop.
Sora @ Mar 5th 2009 8:20PM
I would rather them credit you with Amazon credit, as I and many others use prepaid credit cards/gift cards, and with the credit card gift cards, adding more money isn't really an option...
Lieutenant @ Mar 5th 2009 10:00PM
In Amazon's defense; You're not really getting something in return at GameStop, you're just given spacebucks that you can only get one type of thing with. Those spacebucks also have a expiration date, I guess gift cards do to but whatever.
WiredKnight @ Mar 5th 2009 10:31PM
It's Amazon, they'll make it work.
gst @ Mar 6th 2009 5:13PM
@Zapp
I just don't see that being realistic. Amazon is not going to pay up front before they know what they are getting - if the game is a blank disk/damaged, they essentially just loaned you a bunch of money interest-free for the time that it took to mail the goods and for them to check what you sent them.
Few companies would agree to pay sellers in advance purely out of good will. That is just bad business - in aggregate, a policy like that could cause them to absolutely bleed money in lost interest and investment opportunity. No way they are going to pay up front.
If they did, to make up the difference, amazon would have to charge some sort of penalty for people scamming them or for games considered damaged, which brings up the whole problem of defining a game in "good condition." They are going to have enough trouble with people mailing them bad copies, pirated or burned games, etc. If amazon did then start penalizing people who sent bad copies of games, they then risk alienating people who don't want to spend time and money shipping a bunch of games out only to have them returned as "not in good condition."
I consider most of these problems to really be based on that annoying waiting period while the games are being shipped. The point of amazon is supposed to be that it is convenient. You can buy anything and just have it shipped to you easy as pie. Sure you wait a little while, but that's fine. And you can generally trust sellers on amazon to send you something in good condition.
But, with this system, the boon of internet technology is ruined by the fact that you end up having to make a trip to post office anyways. I buy a game from amazon - takes 5 minutes and I can do it from home, then I just wait for the mail - often a better option than driving out to gamestop or something (often better prices too)
But I send a game to amazon - I have to make a trip to post office, have to pay for packaging and shipping costs (amazon isn't footing the bill for this right?), anjd then have to wait for 2 shipping periods - 1 for amazon to get the games (and verify that they are in good condition), then I get my money, then I buy what I want and wait for that to be shipped to me. That just seems like too much shipping, too much time, and too much trouble when, if I want to trade in games, I can just go to Gamestop. Sure, the trade-in values may not be great, but Amazon would have to offer substantially more value to make up for the costs inherent in their system.
And, if you are okay with having to package and ship the games and having short waiting periods for the selling and buying transactions, why not forget about gamestop and amazon and just sell the stuff on ebay?
Cosmo @ Mar 5th 2009 6:56PM
Lets see how much Amazon gives for credit vs Gamestop.
Baby J Penn (PSN johnnynumber5) @ Mar 5th 2009 7:29PM
They give the same. I checked earlier.
Jake B @ Mar 5th 2009 7:45PM
I guess that lets you select which games you want to take in the pooper with, whereas when you are at Gamestop you usually just shift all the games you brought since you are there.
diesel dub @ Mar 5th 2009 6:57PM
This just made me think whats going to happen to EB games, Gamestop etc. when everything goes to digital downloads (at least thats what I see happening)? I concur, this is just a silly dream on Amazon's part.
Mr Khan @ Mar 5th 2009 7:00PM
Its of no immediate concern, though. So long as the big Cable and Telephone companies keep dragging their feet about bringing fast, affordable broadband to a larger part of the population, GameStop will be fine
Basically, they have at least a decade to figure it out, unless we run into another information revolution right quick.
Markez @ Mar 5th 2009 7:15PM
The age where everyone does digital downloads is a looooooooong way off, I'd say a realllly reallllllly looooooooong way off. Even assuming everyone had a decent enough internet connection, and the HD space on their console, it just simply isn't going to happen anytime soon. People, myself included being a person and all, like to physically have the game. I like having the box, the disk, the instruction book, etc. The landscape is currently looking great for WiiWare/PSN/XBLA type content, but I wouldn't go that far as to large games like Fallout 3 or anything like that.
The EB Games/Gamestop juggernaut is set to smooth sailing for the forseeable future.
For some reason I just randomly thought of Biff and the Sports Almanac?
Baby J Penn (PSN johnnynumber5) @ Mar 5th 2009 7:32PM
Markez,
That feeling could be circumvented if the console manufacturers offered an avenue for owners of digital content to resell them on an open/exchange market. Maybe if not selling them for profit at least allowing trades of some sorts.
Markez @ Mar 5th 2009 7:38PM
That'd be interesting, would suppose that'd make sense, but then the ugly acronym DRM popped into my head. I think if everything went to being pure digital distribution we could expect to be gouged for the rest of our gaming lives. I'm gonna go hide under my bed.
Mr Khan @ Mar 5th 2009 6:58PM
If they offer better rates of return and advertise well, it'll work just fine. If they give people a reason to go to the effort of packaging something and shipping it, they'll go for it
Plus it'll work wonders with the "Death to GameStop" crowd ;)
Baby J Penn (PSN johnnynumber5) @ Mar 5th 2009 7:34PM
You are exactly correct. If they offered somewhere around 10% more than Gamestoppo on every trade in it would certainly work and they could still have a nice profit margin. As it stands now the values are the same so unless someone simply prefers to do business with Amazon it doesn't make much sense.
Markez @ Mar 5th 2009 7:49PM
I wonder how big the "death to gamestoppo" crowd is though, outside of the avid folks like ourselves? I imagine a good number of gamers don't care that much, aside from those shocked when they try and trade in some dated sports franchise.
Eh @ Mar 5th 2009 7:52PM
People dont realize that Amazon has been providing a way to sell your games with better rates for a long time now: Amazon Marketplace. Unlike ebay its free to list and theres no auction you have to wait for.
I dont get it. Why would people want to trade in their games for dismal value when they can sell their games for full price? If its a new game you can easily make back almost all your money.
I just sold FIFA 08 for almost 20 bucks on Amazon Marketplace, and it sold in just 3 days since I made sure it was the lowest price which puts it at the top of the list. If I traded that in to Gamestop I probably would have gotten $1.50 or less.
HitNRun @ Mar 5th 2009 9:44PM
The biggest mark against this idea is not whether or not people will give up Gamestop, but the fact that they haven't already yet. Online services - Half.com, Ebay, Amazon sellers - offer way more money for both the seller and the buyer.
I don't understand why people still go into those dumps outside of mall boredom. Their used games are a ripoff, and places like Best Buy are much more reliable for new games just because, you know, they actually carry them.
Ben! @ Mar 5th 2009 6:58PM
Yeah, I think he's probably right. The only reason I'd ever agree to trade anything in for the paltry amount of money you actually get is if I wanted a game RIGHT NOW but didn't have the extra money to purchase it. Amazon might have been able to draw some people away from Gamestop if there was extra value here, but as it stands the trade-in values are comparable and the only real difference is you get to wait a lot longer to actually get your money.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Mar 5th 2009 6:59PM
Anyone else smells fear?
Altairio @ Mar 5th 2009 7:47PM
Totally. I find it funny he's touting the "immediacy" angle, while Gamestop's business is built on trade-in credit and preorders.
Doug @ Mar 5th 2009 6:59PM
I'll send in a copy of GTA 4 (OMG!) and see how much credit I get. If its somewhere between 25-and 35$, then its 100000000x better than gamestop...
Baby J Penn (PSN johnnynumber5) @ Mar 5th 2009 7:36PM
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/s/ref=tradeinavs?i=videogames-tradein&bbn=979418011&rnid=11846801&url=rh%3Dn%3A979418011&field-keywords=grand+theft+auto&Go.x=14&Go.y=13
You will get $10 bucks for it on the 360 and $11 for it on the PS3.
Mark C @ Mar 5th 2009 9:04PM
Hey, that's better than the $0.00000025 - $0.00000035 you were getting from gamestop!
Mark C @ Mar 5th 2009 9:05PM
wait what.
Doug @ Mar 5th 2009 10:49PM
Wow, fuck this.
esposch @ Mar 6th 2009 1:15AM
Actually, GAME aren't that scabby for their trade ins.
They offered me $36 for Mario Kart DS, and they will end up selling it for about $40-$50. eBay would have only given me $30, if that. (All prices in Aussie dollars)
Doug @ Mar 6th 2009 6:44PM
So.... either way you're getting screwed? Good to know.
Jacksons @ Mar 5th 2009 6:59PM
Ty 2 isn't that bad. What? Don't look at me like that.
Greyseal @ Mar 5th 2009 6:59PM
"With consumers, there is an immediacy for currency when they want to buy a new game"
Seriously... I can't wait to get my $3 trade-in value, so I can use it to help buy a $55 used game that some other poor jackass just sold to you for $3. What's it like to make $52 for doing nothing? Or for an extra $5, I can get a "new" game in an opened box, with a disc stored in some grungy envelope in a file drawer.
We'll see what prices Amazon offers. If they treat me like a human rather than some boneheaded sheep, perhaps I won't mind a little loss of "immediacy."
TheDemiurge @ Mar 5th 2009 7:23PM
This is exactly why I'll never step foot in GameStop.
Steve-o @ Mar 5th 2009 7:27PM
Sure, you may be able to sacrifice the immediacy... but will Amazon send you back a friendly reminder to pre-order the new Guitar Hero or Godfather game...
Markez @ Mar 5th 2009 7:34PM
I'm not of the ilk that thinks Gamestop is the devil or anything, haven't traded any games in for ages. I don't mind popping in occasionally to see if they have some obscure used games I want to pick up, or just seeing if they have some new games I haven't heard of before (which is odd because sometimes their 'new' selection sucks balls)
That said, I've bought my last few games off eBay or Amazon, and I do miss the 'immediacy' of being able to get what I want right away. Who knows when the Scene It Box Office Smash set I bought off some douche in FL is going to show up? I'm not precisely sure, but I'm pretty happy for what I paid for it.
My local Gamestop is fine here. However before I moved, my local one was staffed by a bunch of lazy morons. Specifically, there was a smelly ass pasty hippy with dreads, 100% ignoring the small line of people at this register, stuffing a fat piece of pizza into his stupid face, chatting away with a coworker. Didn't go there again. Stupid hippies.
David Hildreth @ Mar 5th 2009 7:00PM
Having to mail in your used games is a hassle... but have you ever been to a Gamestop?
ripslymemc @ Mar 5th 2009 7:01PM
if this does come to fruition, I'm buying from here, no matter what.
anything BUT gamestop.
Chris @ Mar 5th 2009 7:06PM
Yeah, I mean, trading by mail has never worked in the past. Just look at all the people not selling their games on Half.com or Ebay. Or trading their games with other people Goozex.
Maybe your efforts on web failed because when you advertise your trade-in values, they are paltry amounts and people only give in in the store because they've already made the trip down. Or maybe it failed because your website stinks and your search capability sucks.
When you have to put your trade-in values online, this makes it easy to compare against other services (like eBay, half, whatever). If Amazon can be competively priced, I don't see why they couldn't make this work.
J.Goodwin @ Mar 5th 2009 7:07PM
Heh, I used to trade by mail all the time with therage.com
Perhaps not enough other people did though.
Troy @ Mar 5th 2009 7:08PM
Apparently he's never heard of Netflix / Gamefly. They seem to be doing quite well with the whole mailing thing.
Vegeta (DAT ASS!!!) @ Mar 5th 2009 7:09PM
Smell that? That's the scent of fear.
SavageGrampa @ Mar 5th 2009 7:09PM
Gamestop blows. I would much rather have an Amazon gift card that I can use to buy (literally) a million different things than something from that soul sucking pre-order shop. I never sell my games there because I believe they're evil. I may actually clear up some shelf space with A's program.
level250geek @ Mar 5th 2009 7:23PM
I don't have to leave the house, I can use my trade-in credit for something other than even more games, and the shipping (unlike the gas) is free.
Next time I need to off-load some games, I'm going Amazon. If I'm even more than a little satisfied, I'm sticking with it. And I'm predicting a big fat WIN for them as well; I don't see how this can fail.
Lieutenant @ Mar 5th 2009 10:35PM
Don't you need to leave your house to get the shipping material and to put it in the mailbox?
lasersanchez @ Mar 6th 2009 12:23AM
You can just sell your used games via half.com and even Amazon and bank more if you're willing to wait a little.
But yes other commenter, actually, if you have a printer and envelopes handy, a short stroll to the mailbox is the only leaving of the house you will need to do.
Jason @ Mar 5th 2009 7:16PM
For someone who lives out in the middle of nowhere, this makes a lot of sense. Sure I never sell my used games anyway, but I do like buying my games from Amazon already. Zero Tax + Zero Shipping. Win-Win for me.