With GameRushes around, my question is, "How do I rationalize holding onto them?"

I've only traded in games on some of the deals. For example, they had a deal where you could trade in an old system plus any 5 games and get $10 extra trade in credit on each game. I used this to get my slimline PS2 (replacing the flaky old one).

It has to be near the amount of money I'd get for it on ebay. Not as much, but I'd say it has to be about 75% of the ebay going rate. It takes time and effort to make listings, mail packages, deal with ebayers, etc - time that I don't have just to make an extra couple dollars.

And in general more than $5. I don't think I will trade a game in for less than $5. I'd rather keep it.

Plus sometimes you can make money on tradeins, especially somewhat clueless places like FYE.

I trade in DVDs to wherehouse.com because selling them on ebay is pretty tough except in lots, and even then it's not great money. Plus you have to compete with all the chinese bootleg discs. There's certainly bootleg GBA/DS games on ebay to compete with. Again, I won't trade it in unless I'm getting a certain minimum - normally over $3.

Forget the trade-in values. What amazes me when I walk into Gamestop/EB Games is that they're selling old, dog-chewed PS2 and XBOX games with missing manuals for the same price that you can buy them new at another store; and occasionally for significantly more.

It takes me so long to get through games, that I can hold out on newer ones to come down in price. Even then, I'll usually buy them from pawn shops. If a friend doesn't want to borrow the game, which none do since only one owns a gaming system, I'll put it in a stack to trade off. Once a game shows up that I want quickly, and I'm available to start a new game, I'll take them all somewhere to trade in.

I figure if I spend $30 on a game, and enjoy it for a few months, I got my money worth.

Tell me about it! I love when the used price is only $5 below the new price.


IMHO, anything over $15 for a used game is way too much.

You speak the truth. I would even say a used copy of a brand new game could be sold for $30 used, but not a nickel above that. However on the times I've went in to scan the used shelves, greatest hits titles were being sold for $18-$22 used. I can get the game BRAND NEW for $20.

That's why mom and pop shops are so much better with the used game system.

I traded in my XBox for $55 at Gamecrazy. Good deal!

Not really. You could've gotten more selling it on Amazon.

Agreed, I'd have ebayed it first, not quite enough IMO. I heard EB was taking gamecubes/xboxes a while ago for $80 tradein, I would consider that.

That said I hate selling electronics to people on the internet, too many morons out there that don't know what they're doing. I prefer to stick to video games, DVDs, etc: dummy proof stuff.

Plus boxing/packaging it, liability, etc. I'd rather take a little less (say 15%-20%) to just dump it off at a store.

Doh!!!!!!!!!

I was with you on that this gen. Up until a month ago I sold every game I beat to finance new ones. No sense of having a shitload of unplayed games this gen. Well that was blown to hell in November. I went into November owning Kameo, Dead Rising & LSWII. I sold traded everything else on the 360 that I owned and was done with as I finished them. Since then I have picked up Table Tennis, SCA, GoW, Zelda, Monkey Ball, Rayman, the three BK games and today I picked up Viva Pinata out of curiosity. D'oh. So much for that plan. To be fair, I'm halfway through SC & GoW and finished Rayman. I also have 3-4 games on my Christmas list. And so I easily slip back into old habits after 9 months of being good.

I'm still doing good, but I will get a bit bogged down with X-mas as I think between now and then I'll get:

Yoshi's Island DS
Castlevania: PoR
Guitar Hero I

But that's not nearly as bad as yours. I enjoy gaming more this way, I can focus on games I enjoy, and get the most out of them. I tend to rush through games to get to the next one when I have a backlog, and I also end up being not conservative enough in my game buying and getting annoyed playing games in the 7-8 score range rather than focusing on personal 9-10 rating games.

That's a bit confusing, but the gist is I enjoy gaming more if I do it less and stick to personal AAA games, rather than playing more (and thus inherently having to dip into below AAA games) as I get out of my "comfort zone" a bit in terms of playing games outside of the genres I like and below the quality standards I prefer.

I figure $5 is worth more to me then having a game sit on the shelf collecting dust.

Well, I dont know about selling stuff on Amazon and Ebay... The shipping always kills me and end up getting just about as much as if I traded in. From now on with bigger items I will do Craigslist and just give my old stuff to friends or maybe donate for a tax credit or to the library.

I only trade in when there's a deal, or the things I'm trading, I got for a really good price; especially if they're crap that don't sell on Amazon or Ebay.
I don't pay 50-60 bucks for a game, then trade it in for 3. For that little, I'd rather give it to someone I know who would appreciate it, or donate it to a charity. Or just keep it in case I want to play it years down the road.
I'm all for capitalism, but it also makes it worse when the tradein value is 3-5 bucks, and they sell it for 5 less than the new copy.

The shipping shouldn't be killing you, unless you are way undervaluing how much it will cost to ship your stuff.

Agreed, the person buying pays the shipping unless you miscalculate. And most of the time people pay too much on ebay, etc.

True, unless he meant the hassle of getting a box and packing materials, making time to go the post office or UPS/Fedex, etc.

That's the big "killer" for me. My time is more valuable than making a few bucks more most of the time, so not having to ship is a plus of trading in if they have some kind of bonus going on to help offset the price difference.

I can see if the post office is across town where that would be a hassle. The p.o. is walking distance for me.

I typically get $10 MORE than trade-in values by selling on half.com per game. Well worth it, IMO.

You can even just put stamps on the package and put it in a drop box/mailbox. Trips to the post office aren't necessary.

Why does it matter that you paid $60 for the game? The question you need to ask is, "Would I rather have $5 or this particular game I never play and just takes up space?". You probably throw or give away old clothes that cost more than that without thinking about it, not sure why video games are any different.

That said, I always buy games 2-3 weeks after release after they about $45 on ebay (instead of $60), and then sell the ones I'm done with back on ebay. I will usually do multiple at once to minimize the trouble..

Most of the time I would rather keep the game than get $5 for it.

Then again I don't buy bad games for the most part

Charging 5-6 bucks flat for shipping in the continental US, Priority Mail, should work--plus you can get the USPS to deliver their Priority mail boxes to you for free, and print postage for free, and pick up from your doorstep for free. Shipping doesn't have to be a hassle.
Giving away clothes--yes. And that's the same thing--I give them away to charities who 'need' them, that way I feel better than if I sell a 90 dollar suit for 5 dollars [example]. And unless its a game I totally detest, and no one else in my family will like it, yes, I'll forgo three dollars as 'insurance' to keep it in case I or someone else does want to play it again.

I only trade in during the promotions, especially the gamerush $5 extra bonuses. Since I rarely pay more than $15 for a game, I don't really lose much, plus I often trade games for more than I purchased them for. I'm sure there are a few I could have made more money on by selling on ebay, but I keep most of the good games that sell for anything significant, mostly I just trade in stuff that doesn't go for much anyways.

to sum up the thread


laziness, pure and simple