Today's Trade-Ins [DP Store]

[digitalpress]

TO SEE THE MOST CURRENT POSTS IN THIS THREAD, BACK UP AND CLICK THAT LITTL E BLACK ARROW UNDER THE "LAST POST" COLUMN IN THE LIST OF CLASSIC GAMING FORUM POSTS!

This may be of interest to some, and of NO interest to many others, but I wanted to keep a log on the trade-ins of 2008. We get lots of cool stuff and thinking back I've often wished I'd kept a sort of journal on the very cool, very rare, or very weird stuff that has been taken in at our store. So I'm going to try to document this in some detail for 2008.

I'm a few days late so I'm going to summarize a bit of the first few days right now, but going forward I'll do my best to check in daily. If I don't post it means either I wasn't working that day and didn't get a good report from whoever was running the store, or I forgot, or I've lost interest in doing this altogether, sorry.

Let's start by catching up a bit on the first few days of 2008...

Wednesday, January 2nd:
32X Spider-Man Web of Fire (boxed, complete) - this came in on Wednesday. Raj was working, wasn't sure what it was worth. In this case, it's worth about 100 times more than what Raj paid for it. Nice early win for the store.

SNES Earthbound (loose) - this is the third one we've had traded in in three months, which is highly unusual.

Thursday, January 3rd:
PSOne w/LCD - not too many trade-ins on this day but one stand-out was a very nice practically new PSOne system with the LCD. To top it off, the guy had a PSOne carry case. It may take me awhile to figure out a good way to package this stuff. This was a guy about my age with kids, they've moved on to PS3 and this system had become obsolete in their home.

Friday, January 4th:
GBA 150-in-1 (loose) - I've seen these before but this was the first one traded into the store on Friday. What's cool about it is that 145 of the games are NES or Famicom games and as you scroll through the menu list the game loads in the background so you can see it before selecting it to play. This came from one of the urban teens who was trading in a white DS as well, didn't think I would want the game at all (went into my collection).

TODAY:

We had a huge trade-in today, two college-era guys with five gigantic boxes of stuff. The guy who owned the stuff mentioned that he had a Wii now and could download most of this stuff instead, which seemed more like wishful thinking after looking over the final lot. Most of it was common but good condition stuff, but there were a few interesting items in there. Always nice to get Mario All-Stars, Link to the Past, Super Smash Bros, etc. but most notably...

N64 Worms Armageddon (boxed) - I've never had this traded into the store before. No manual, unfortunately, and I didn't have an orphan manual either (went into my collection).

GBC Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening DX (boxed, complete) - nice condition.

Atari 2600 King Kong (loose) - It's not super rare but any $20 Atari cartridge is worth mentioning, and I've never had this traded into the store before. Ironically I sold two Atari 2600 system packages today.

ALSO

PS3 40gb system (loose, complete) - first time the 40 gig model was traded in. Wow, it really DOESN'T play PS2 games. Still, better chance I'll sell this used than new at this time. Sold by another of those urban teen types.

[Nirvana]

This is actually pretty interesting. You should note the kind of person that traded the game in. Do you ever start conversations with the customers regarding rarity and stuff like that? I'd assume you wouldn't, just because it might effect a deal. But I'm just curious.

SNES Earthbound loose? Third one in three months? WTF...I want one o_O

[Bratwurst]

I'm curious what the percentage is of trade-ins you keep for yourself instead of moving through the store. Judging from the few things you mention here I'm guessing they're probably unusual items you'd have a difficult time selling there anyway.

[Kid Ice]

I *love* this because I will know what to look for when I come to the store!

[digitalpress]

This is actually pretty interesting. You should note the kind of person that traded the game in.

I'll try to add that in future (and added above where I could recall). Incidentally if you or anyone else has other suggestions for how this might be more interesting, now is the time. I won't want to change the formula halfway or even a month into this!


Do you ever start conversations with the customers regarding rarity and stuff like that? I'd assume you wouldn't, just because it might effect a deal. But I'm just curious.

Sometimes. Often times, like in today's big early trade-in, I'm not even the person doing the transaction. Maryah never asks, she's all business. Mike or Raj ask from time to time. The way I teach my team is that from OUR perspective, EVERYTHING is junk and you're lucky you're getting anything from us, but that's just the business talking. Personally, I step away from that when I see a real collector turning their stuff in (and yes, it's very easy to tell).


SNES Earthbound loose? Third one in three months? WTF...I want one o_O

One of them was complete in the oversize strat guide box, too. Weird anomaly. I wouldn't be surprised if the game never turns up again in 2008. But that's what this thread is for!


I'm curious what the percentage is of trade-ins you keep for yourself instead of moving through the store. Judging from the few things you mention here I'm guessing they're probably unusual items you'd have a difficult time selling there anyway.

I think the percentage is very very low. "Rare" stuff I pretty much have covered already, so the only two other reasons I'd keep something for myself is either a) it's better condition than the one I have in which case it's sort of a trade to the store or b) it's unusual, something I don't normally collect like that GBA 150-in-1 cart above. I guess we'll see as the year progresses, I do intend to be bluntly honest here.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Personally, I step away from that when I see a real collector turning their stuff in (and yes, it's very easy to tell).
Has this sort of thing actually happened? That's a conversation for which I'd like to be a fly on the wall.

I can't believe someone unloaded a PSone with LCD; even though I have a PS2, and games for it, I would be lost without my PSone/LCD bundle. Pound for pound, the PS1 has more retro arcade compilations on it than any other machine that isn't a PC running emulation, and it's those games that get the LCD lovin' if I go on a decent trip somewhere. I can't even imagine giving mine away. Then again, I realize that my requirements are unique and, some might say, archaic. :D

[InsaneDavid]

GBA 150-in-1 (loose) - I've seen these before but this was the first one traded into the store on Friday. What's cool about it is that 145 of the games are NES or Famicom games and as you scroll through the menu list the game loads in the background so you can see it before selecting it to play. This came from one of the urban teens who was trading in a white DS as well, didn't think I would want the game at all (went into my collection).

Hit L and R at the same time, it'll bring up the system menu - it's running the Pocket NES emulator. I have one of these myself (a 22 in 1), it's a pirate hardcoded version of the Pocket NES emulator and some roms.

Great thread idea!

[sirhansirhan]

Yeah, I like the idea of this thread a lot. One thing I'd be interested in is a brief recap of the coolest stuff you've gotten in the, what, year and a half the store's been open?

I feel bad for whoever traded the Web of Fire in.

Anyway, it seems like this would be a lot more interesting than the monthly finds thread, which is too clogged with commons and magazines coming in the mail and nonsense like that.

[boatofcar]

Joe, I'm curious about how you work your trade ins. Do you have a flat fee per game depending on it's system, or do you do a percentage of what you'll turn around and resell it for? Or is it a trade secret that you don't want to discuss? (If so, it's totally cool).

[Hawksmoor]

Joe, fantastic idea for an ongoing thread. I'm curious though; when you get a trade in like that Web of Fire, do you ever have it sabotaged by other customers? I could easily see a scenario in which a trade-in transaction is about to be completed, and the store is getting a valuable game for a song, and another customer notices and warns the person doing the trade-in of the true value of what they're trading in. If that has happened, how did you handle it?

[gepeto]

Man the joys of owning your own store. I wish i was close enough to invade your store. That 145 in 1 sounds nice. How do you or set trade in value or price to obscure items like I wish I lived close enough to invade your store. I also really enjoyed the new video snippets of the store.

Will the dp store ever go online? or is it just too much trouble? Is there a way to request items or browse through rare system inventory. Up until now I have to stare hard at the pictures of the systems in glass enclosure Ha HA HA

[fergojisan]

Definitely a cool thread, I hope you can keep it going Joe.

I'd also like to know about any customer sabotage and/or undercutting. I think maybe you mentioned it once or twice on your MySpace blog, but I don't remember.

[Videogamerdaryll]

Awesome thread..

[WarLordAG]

I love hearing about items traded in.
I often hang out in my local game store and watching or hearing about some stuff being traded in is great.

Out of curiosity, how often do you have people bring in things that aren't even plausible for a game store to take?
For instance, a guy brought in a guitar and amp, and another brought in some slip over the head rest dvd system. It's a video game store, not a pawn shop.

[digitalpress]

So many questions, but I kinda expected that at the outset of this thread.


Has this sort of thing actually happened? That's a conversation for which I'd like to be a fly on the wall.

Yes, on several occasions a bona fide COLLECTOR has unloaded or partially unloaded his collection at the store. People really do "get out of this", priorities change and on a number of occasions I've heard "I'm keeping the few games I play, everything else must go".


One thing I'd be interested in is a brief recap of the coolest stuff you've gotten in the, what, year and a half the store's been open?

That's gonna take some serious time to think about. We're open over two years now. Part of what makes me want to document this year is because so much of the last two years is lost in my memory. Plus this would make a great chapter to that book I'm going to write someday.


Joe, I'm curious about how you work your trade ins. Do you have a flat fee per game depending on it's system, or do you do a percentage of what you'll turn around and resell it for? Or is it a trade secret that you don't want to discuss? (If so, it's totally cool).

It's a combination of things. For most current get stuff it's a percentage of the resale value. For older stuff it's flat based on condition, completeness, and quality of title. For the very high quality stuff we present what we think will be a fair price. All of this is kept on spreadsheets in our store's computer. I don't get a lot of complaints about our values, often people share with us how much less GameStop had offered them just before they took it to us.


I'm curious though; when you get a trade in like that Web of Fire, do you ever have it sabotaged by other customers?

I have a blog on MySpace (see link below) that touched on this. It has only happened once. I've discovered people who do that are really rude, so I'm equally rude if I see it starting to happen. There's a deal on the table, they can wait until that deal is settled to negotiate their own deal. By that time it is most likely property of the store.

I should also add that although this forum community immediately knows the value of something like 32X Web of Fire, the average customer has no idea and often no interest in it. The likelihood of one of us hardcores being in the store at the exact moment someone was trading in something like that is extremely low. It's the common stuff that everyone is looking for that is usually "sabotaged". Tyson for the NES is a perfect example of that.


Will the dp store ever go online? or is it just too much trouble? Is there a way to request items or browse through rare system inventory.

I've given this a lot of thought and there are only two reasons for me to put the store online. 1) people aren't coming in and buying stuff or 2) there is too much overstock to manage. I do have an eBay store but I add to it in spurts. That could change as time permits.


Out of curiosity, how often do you have people bring in things that aren't even plausible for a game store to take?

Not very often, but sometimes I've taken them anyway if it's something I deem useful to a friend, family member, or myself. I've bought a few cheap iPods and own two portable DVD players.

[-_-Nintendo-_-]

Do you ever get in pirate games, eg "burnt" PS2 games, fake GBA games (not counting xx in 1) and such? and what do you do if this happens?

[digitalpress]

Do you ever get in pirate games, eg "burnt" PS2 games, fake GBA games (not counting xx in 1) and such? and what do you do if this happens?

No one's ever tried to sell a CD or DVD "backup" game but I've turned down lots of bootleg games and movies (the store takes in *selected* DVDs as well). We just don't take them.

[alexkidd2000]

For a joke a bit back I took my sealed Coleco Vision Sports controllers and sealed Roller Controller with 5 sealed games to Electronics Boutique and asked how much trade I would get.

Funny because the guy said they couldnt take it it was too old, butttt his "brother" was a big fan and if I can in after work he would give me $20 for it all.

Heh. I prob would have said the same thing...

[Trebuken]

Cool idea here. The only thought I had is perhaps you could add pictures...perhaps a 'Trade-ins-of-Doom' page, at least for the really uncommon stuff like the 150-in-1.

Did you ever take a trade like Earthbound, that you paid very little for then put it back out at it's street price and then have the seller come back and be ticked off that you did not give them enough for it?

[TonyTheTiger]

I have a blog on MySpace (see link below) that touched on this. It has only happened once. I've discovered people who do that are really rude, so I'm equally rude if I see it starting to happen. There's a deal on the table, they can wait until that deal is settled to negotiate their own deal. By that time it is most likely property of the store.

I should also add that although this forum community immediately knows the value of something like 32X Web of Fire, the average customer has no idea and often no interest in it. The likelihood of one of us hardcores being in the store at the exact moment someone was trading in something like that is extremely low. It's the common stuff that everyone is looking for that is usually "sabotaged". Tyson for the NES is a perfect example of that.

Other than the fact I'd never even consider doing something like that, I do wonder if the rudeness of it depends on perspective. For instance, from the store's point of view it's certainly rude for someone to stick his head in and say to the person "I'll give you twenty bucks more." But it's certainly not rude from the seller's perspective. It's the nature of negotiations. Not quite the same thing as someone just wanting to be a jerk and yelling "No! You can get x dollars on Ebay for that!" with no interest in the game himself.

The only reason I can see the former being a problem (and it's a very good argument) is that the third person would be using the store itself as a location to undercut the store's own business. Kind of like a scalper selling tickets right outside Giants Stadium.

I don't know if this has ever happened but what if the situation were reversed? Someone walks to the counter and points to something in one of those glass cases and presumably wants to pay the sticker price and just before the transaction some other guy comes over and says "I'll pay twenty bucks more." Now it's a negotiation that's happening in the store's best interest and the problem of it taking place on the property of the losing party is not an issue anymore. What happens then?

[kainemaxwell]

Very cool thread idea. Bring sback memories of doing the trade-ins at FYE and finding a rare treasure now and then in the batches of games, cds or dvds we would get in.

[digitalpress]

Did you ever take a trade like Earthbound, that you paid very little for then put it back out at it's street price and then have the seller come back and be ticked off that you did not give them enough for it?

That's never happened, though I'm quite aware that it could.


I don't know if this has ever happened but what if the situation were reversed? Someone walks to the counter and points to something in one of those glass cases and presumably wants to pay the sticker price and just before the transaction some other guy comes over and says "I'll pay twenty bucks more." Now it's a negotiation that's happening in the store's best interest and the problem of it taking place on the property of the losing party is not an issue anymore. What happens then?

It's happened already. We always award "the decision" to whoever comes first. Recently we had a Mario Party DS just before Christmas when everyone was looking for it. Two customers in the store at the same time wanted it, we gave it to the first person who asked. The second person was extremely ticked off and it's a little more complicated than I'm telling it now, but regardless, that's always the way I'd go. And even if she offered us a thousand dollars more it wouldn't matter. Regardless of what's more profitable, running a fair business is priority one.

[digitalpress]

OK, today's trade-ins are rather anti-climactic after the last few days and the first post. We took in only $114 in trade-ins, which is uncommonly low (as you shall see) even for our short Sunday hours. So the best we got today...

XBox 360 Mass Effect (complete) - yeah, no big deal, but it's been a big seller, and this is the first time it has been traded in. We took in a DS Lite today as well and they're pretty scarce at this time of year, but in my opinion Mass Effect is the best thing we picked up today.

[TonyTheTiger]

It's happened already. We always award "the decision" to whoever comes first. Recently we had a Mario Party DS just before Christmas when everyone was looking for it. Two customers in the store at the same time wanted it, we gave it to the first person who asked. The second person was extremely ticked off and it's a little more complicated than I'm telling it now, but regardless, that's always the way I'd go. And even if she offered us a thousand dollars more it wouldn't matter. Regardless of what's more profitable, running a fair business is priority one.

It's that kind of behavior that will keep people coming back. I'll be honest, I wouldn't even have considered it bad form if you had said you would open the bidding if it's something that usually couldn't be found in other stores, especially if it's not a new game you can pick up at a Gamestop or Best Buy. To handle it like you do shows a lot of integrity.


XBox 360 Mass Effect (complete) - yeah, no big deal, but it's been a big seller, and this is the first time it has been traded in. We took in a DS Lite today as well and they're pretty scarce at this time of year, but in my opinion Mass Effect is the best thing we picked up today.

A little off topic but I'm willing to make a prediction. I don't know how many of you know about this but Mass Effect has a serious game ending bug that essentially ruins save files. You load your save and find yourself stuck in an elevator with no escape. I've been affected by it and have been making a big stink on BioWare's official message board (as CVGuile). My prediction is that you're going to see a lot people who got Mass Effect around the holidays trading it in out of sheer frustration. I haven't done so since it's still an amazing game and I'm still holding out to see if BioWare does something about it. If they don't then I lost 30 hours worth of gameplay.

Anyone interested can take a look:
http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=598279&forum=124

[Cornelius]

Well, since this seems to be a free shot at asking questions... Have you had people like the above poster come in with things that aren't really for sale just to find out what you'd pay and/or get an estimate of their worth?

I've been tempted to do this with a couple valuable things at the one store in my area that I imagine is most like yours. But my reason is more that the one time I was there for something very simple, the owner was a total douchebag towards me (with my wife and 6mo old with me), and I imagine his prices don't approach fair, so I'm curious. I would have done this already, but it is a 30 min. drive or so, and just doesn't seem worth it.

very cool thread! I look forward to future updates.

[dusty]

This thread is near pointless without a "what you paid vs. items perceived market value" amendment.

[Bandicat]

Cool thread. I've got a question for you... You touched on the guy with the Wii trading in his collection. What has been the biggest collection someone has ever traded in? Also, what has been the biggest amount someone has gained (cashwise) from a trade in? Ok, it ended up being 2 questions. 8-)

[mailman187666]

I live too far away to be able to find time to visit your store, but on a game like Mass Effect, how much would you normally charge for such a newer release ($60 game) as used in your store? Also, I've been to a random game store where a few rare titles have slipped through the cracks and have been priced at $5 (Chase the Chuckwagon). Has this ever happened to you and have you realized it after the deal had been made?

[Oobgarm]

This is a wonderful idea for a thread, Joe.

This is one of the reasons I'd love to run a store of my own, and one of the reasons I always loved huge trade-ins at Funco/GameStop when I worked there.

[RadiantSvgun]

I know you said you don't do a lot of ebay stuff, but if you ever get any tg16 stuff traded in that just sits there, would you mind selling it on here?

[jcalder8]

Any chance of updating the OP rather than or in addition to posting a message? That way I won't have to dig through 15 pages to find the newest trade-ins. Also updating the title would make life easier too.

But I do think this thread is a great idea.

[digitalpress]

Well, since this seems to be a free shot at asking questions... Have you had people like the above poster come in with things that aren't really for sale just to find out what you'd pay and/or get an estimate of their worth?

Frequently.


What has been the biggest collection someone has ever traded in? Also, what has been the biggest amount someone has gained (cashwise) from a trade in?

Well, from recent memory, someone in October traded their entire collection in. Many boxed systems including NES Toploader, 3DO, Saturn, Jaguar and Jaguar CD, lots more. Many games that we would consider "rare" if not desirable to collectors. It took nearly 2 hours to go through and test all of that stuff. That same guy answers your question 2. The payout was somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 dollars, one of if not the largest payout we've ever done. Well worth it though - collectors usually take care of their stuff so there isn't a lot of cleaning required before resale.


I live too far away to be able to find time to visit your store, but on a game like Mass Effect, how much would you normally charge for such a newer release ($60 game) as used in your store? Also, I've been to a random game store where a few rare titles have slipped through the cracks and have been priced at $5 (Chase the Chuckwagon). Has this ever happened to you and have you realized it after the deal had been made?

We price everything a few dollars lower than GameStop. Mass Effect is going for 54.99 there, it's 52.99 in our store. We'll often go much lower but since it's a new game we're just being reasonably competitive vs. crazy cometitive. And no, nothing rare really "slips through the cracks" at my place. I'm pretty good at spotting rarities and if I'm not sure I always check here or google.


Any chance of updating the OP rather than or in addition to posting a message? That way I won't have to dig through 15 pages to find the newest trade-ins. Also updating the title would make life easier too.

I'm not clear what you're asking. what's an "OP" and how do you propose I update the title?

[digitalpress]

A light trade-in Monday. Raj noted a few decent trade-ins like Cooking Mama II and Contra 4 for DS, but today's winner would be...

PS2 Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance II (complete): it's not really rare, but we don't get it traded in very often. The game typically goes for over 30 used on Amazon.com (probably more on eBay).

[carlcarlson]

I'm not clear what you're asking. what's an "OP" and how do you propose I update the title?

I believe what he is asking is, could you update the original post (OP) every day instead of making a new post? By doing this it would save us from having to hunt through the thread for your posts every day. Of course, that would mean that the original post would be pages long by the end of the year, which I'm pretty sure isn't possible, software-wise.

I think it would be nice if you edited the title every time you made a new update with the date, so that we would know there was a new find. Something like "Interesting Trade-Ins (1/8)". I think that would be sufficient, and then there wouldn't be a need for the above request.

Great idea by the way, I'll be following this for as long as you keep it up.

[youruglyclone]

this thread will definitely make my daily routine...perhaps it can be stickied?

[digitalpress]

I believe what he is asking is, could you update the original post (OP) every day instead of making a new post?

OH! I get it.

No. Actually it would make things easier for me in the long run, I could just cut and paste one great big post and make it a "chapter" but by it's not easy forum viewing by any means. Trust me, it's worse having to scroll down many pages of a single post than just clicking on the last post of this thread.

Seriously, all you'll have to do is go to the last post of the thread (click on the last posted icon, it will take you to the end instead of the beginning). It's not going to be a big deal. Trust me, I hate wading thru posts too, and have some experience with reading and posting in a forum... this will work out for the best.

[JustRob]

A light trade-in Monday. Raj noted a few decent trade-ins like Cooking Mama II and Contra 4 for DS, but today's winner would be...

PS2 Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance II (complete): it's not really rare, but we don't get it traded in very often. The game typically goes for over 30 used on Amazon.com (probably more on eBay).

I was in a gamestop today and this game was priced at $49.99. WTF?

[digitalpress]

I'm not closed yet so I'll change this if someone comes in with something better over the next 20 minutes. Lots of common stuff today, a few PS2 systems including the silver one. Hard to choose from the commons but I'll say:

XBox 360 Premium Console - loose but in perfect working order. Sold by a fairly regular customer who was given this one because "it doesn't work right". Yeah, that sounds great - the problem was the power supply, which didn't even light up. Extensive tests (well, a half hour's worth) show it works perfectly otherwise. $150 in store credit.

[kataboom]

Seriously, all you'll have to do is go to the last post of the thread (click on the last posted icon, it will take you to the end instead of the beginning). It's not going to be a big deal. Trust me, I hate wading thru posts too, and have some experience with reading and posting in a forum... this will work out for the best.yeah - its better this way. its how all forums are run & is like 2nd nature to me to click "last page" of a large thread. plus it saves the old info for posterity.

[digitalpress]

A lot of trade-ins today. We got PS1 Rival Schools and Xenogears which were close contenders but I'm gonna vote:

PS1 Einhander (complete) - it's in great condition and it's so often asked about in this store. I guarantee less than 2 days on the shelf before it is gone again. Oddly enough, this was part of a young girl's collection who has apparently moved away from PS1 stuff (other odd games in her collection included Gran Turismo and Driver 2 but NOT Spyro).

[ProgrammingAce]

XBox 360 Premium Console - loose but in perfect working order. Sold by a fairly regular customer who was given this one because "it doesn't work right". Yeah, that sounds great - the problem was the power supply, which didn't even light up. Extensive tests (well, a half hour's worth) show it works perfectly otherwise. $150 in store credit.

I would toss that on Xbox Live and make sure the console isn't banned. Might not be a bad test to run on all 360's to be honest...

[gepeto]

Frequently.

Well, from recent memory, someone in October traded their entire collection in. Many boxed systems including NES Toploader, 3DO, Saturn, Jaguar and Jaguar CD, lots more. Many games that we would consider "rare" if not desirable to collectors. It took nearly 2 hours to go through and test all of that stuff. That same guy answers your question 2. The payout was somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 dollars, one of if not the largest payout we've ever done. Well worth it though - collectors usually take care of their stuff so there isn't a lot of cleaning required before resale



Wow 800.00 I seen the video of the guys with the common stuff. He must have drove up there with a truck:)

I am curious when I lived in jersey city my apartment was a magnet for kids. They would come over and play for hours. I didn't care I got to see levels finished I would never have gotten to. I noticed you have a lan going on. I am sure your store is a magnet for the loitering youth/ Adult. How does your store deal with kids that really might not have the money but loves the store...

[digitalpress]

I would toss that on Xbox Live and make sure the console isn't banned. Might not be a bad test to run on all 360's to be honest...

You are quite right about that. We've had one banned machine traded in already and we were "lucky" that the seller told us this up front (maybe because we have a reputation of taking 30 minutes to test a 360).

[digitalpress]

I noticed you have a lan going on. I am sure your store is a magnet for the loitering youth/ Adult. How does your store deal with kids that really might not have the money but loves the store...

Ha ha... if you only knew me.

Let's put aside the fact that I can be pretty brutal to loitering youths. Beyond that, there really isn't anything for them to do in my store but stand around and stare at stuff. And even THAT has reduced quite a bit over the years. You have to pay to use the LAN or play the arcade games, and even the kiosks are shut down unless I *want* traffic, like at NAVA meetings or on some Friday nights and Saturdays. Otherwise, I see very little if any "loitering" in the shop.

And still, I'm pretty high on the popularity charts here in Clifton. At least that's what I hear whispered among the parents.

[zemmix]

I love this thread. I always wanted to work at a game store just to see what gets traded in and maybe get dibs on some of the stuff (not to mention the discount!).

Have you ever had any odd systems come in like a Bandai/Apple Pippin/@mark or a Comodore Amiga CD32?

[DeputyMoniker]

Well, from recent memory, someone in October traded their entire collection in. Many boxed systems including NES Toploader, 3DO, Saturn, Jaguar and Jaguar CD, lots more. Many games that we would consider "rare" if not desirable to collectors. It took nearly 2 hours to go through and test all of that stuff. That same guy answers your question 2. The payout was somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 dollars, one of if not the largest payout we've ever done. Well worth it though - collectors usually take care of their stuff so there isn't a lot of cleaning required before resale.

I missed a "motherload" haul like that a few months ago. I worked with a guy who had just sold all his stuff to a local game shop. He said he wanted to get at least $300 for it but he left with over $800. He rattled off a list of gear that included TG-16 CD, Sega CD, NES, Genny, all kinds of good stuff. Man, I'd have flipped over a deal like that.

[digitalpress]

OK, just a half hour left in the day, so the winner is:

Sega Master System 3D Glasses (boxed, complete) - In great condition and even had the manual. The guy that traded it in said he's a collector and he's got doubles of a lot of stuff. There wasn't much else in his lot worth mentioning here, the glasses definitely seemed out of place.

[blissfulnoise]

You mention taking in some stuff from "collectors". What kind of trade in values do you give to a collector verses a random person? Any difference at all? What about compared to "ebay values" and that non-sense?

Do you find most "collectors" take store credit or cash (if offered at your store).

I ask because a good friend of mine owns a video game store where I live and he comes across similiar situations and I wonder how you handle them. He's also able to move copies of very popular Nintendo games (Mario Kart, Smash Brothers, Zelda, Contra, etc) all day for WAY over ebay prices; you guys doing the same?

[digitalpress]

You mention taking in some stuff from "collectors". What kind of trade in values do you give to a collector verses a random person? Any difference at all? What about compared to "ebay values" and that non-sense?

I pretty much take everyone on a case-by-case basis. People who take care of their stuff get the best deals from me. Condition is really important in trade-ins here. I often tell customers that they could maximize their sales on eBay. I can't remember anyone ever saying "yeah, I'll do that instead".


Do you find most "collectors" take store credit or cash (if offered at your store).

Again, case-by-case. In the case where the person is trying to thin out their collection, it's often credit - boxloads of games for a few really new ones, for example. In other cases they're "getting out" and simply want to liquidate.


He's also able to move copies of very popular Nintendo games (Mario Kart, Smash Brothers, Zelda, Contra, etc) all day for WAY over ebay prices; you guys doing the same?

I've been tempted but no. I probably *could* do that - someone would come along and pay it, but my concern would be the dozen or so people who pass on it because it's clearly overpriced. Those people might not come back, and worse, they may remember my store as the place that overpriced some really common games. So I keep my prices fair and always try to stay under the current eBay trends.

[blissfulnoise]

I've been tempted but no. I probably *could* do that - someone would come along and pay it, but my concern would be the dozen or so people who pass on it because it's clearly overpriced. Those people might not come back, and worse, they may remember my store as the place that overpriced some really common games. So I keep my prices fair and always try to stay under the current eBay trends.

I guess it has to do with availability too. My friend pretty much has a lock on the "classic" gaming market here. No other stores in this city carry pre-PS2 stuff now. Most people don't know anything about the collectable aspects of the hobby or how much this stuff is really worth on the open market. They're just stoked to find a copy of Super Mario World in a store.

Thanks for the feedback too.

[Videogamerdaryll]

Yes, on several occasions a bona fide COLLECTOR has unloaded or partially unloaded his collection at the store. People really do "get out of this", priorities change and on a number of occasions I've heard "I'm keeping the few games I play, everything else must go".

.

That sounds like me,;) aafter deciding to get rid of out of most of my collection.. and keeping the few games,systems that I play.

I haven't made that much a dent yet but I have brought up a lot of stuff to Joes store.
The most thing I enjoy about going to see Joe is talking about games with him..

I have decided to sell because:
1.
To Fund My Pocketbike/MinimotoGp Racing..The $2500.00 bike I bought was paid for mostly by stuff I sold to Joe.
This bike has brought me many trophies and still is raced by me.
I may have surpassed the $800.00 trade in on one trip,I dunno..or was close..

2.
Too much stuff,wanting to play less old stuff and focus on new stuff only.(I play online games now more then anything ,LIVE and PSN)
My last trade in to Joes store included my Genesis Boxed and loose Game Collection,minus a few keeper games for the Nomad and some Genny systems that I was too damn lazy to box up..
My goal was to buy a PS3 so I traded in my Genny game collection ..
I got my PS3 and some games and had credit left..SWEET..I got the good PS3 and decided to get one at a good time..
The PS3 is the best damn thing I bought to date,I love it!!..(all the Genny games did was sit on a hidden shelf,I never had the time to play them but the PS3 I play the crap out of.
Give up one thing to get another...I'm very happy with my PS3..
3.
This trade in may have been up in the $$..

Too much Stuff,Make Room For the New Baby.
This included me getting Rid of my Tekken 3 Arcade Machine/I took it apart and sold the Board.(trashed the cab as it was huge!!
The Monitor I still have in storage,I offered it to Joe Free..I just haven't had the time to drop it off and or I'm not sure if he still wants it.
It does have an adjustment boad pot issue.(something that can be dealt with once hooked up once known about)
I still want to get rid of My Neo Geo 2 Slot Woody and the Little Klax Conversion cab(was Mini Galaga)..=Make room for the now here baby..

Too much Stuff/complaints by the Landlords who live upstairs..
For some reason due to the amount of games I have they think/thought I am running some kind of store..I don't know why..They don't understand the collect games thing factor.
I explain,how can I be running a store if you never see customers,no one comes in and out of here.
When the Male landlord first saw my Pinball Machine he said,What's the Price on that?..Huh?.Your selling this RIGHT?.I said,it's not for sale it's mine..These machines,games are my collection..
After all the arguements with them about me having way too big of a game collection I agreed to "lessen" it..and keep only one Arcade Machine=Big Red/My Pinball machine..'and" my Pocketbikes
Pocketbikes I'd had figure them to complain about but they have never become an issue..But they hate games for some reason.
I hated it..But it works/worked out as I've made a lot of room and am still getting rid of stuff I just don't touch...All they did was push me in the right decision,a decision that I just could not push myself to do..
I'm not happy having a big game collection anymore..
Though I still have the desire to collect some vintage games I don't have the desire like I did before.
I only got rid of 1 Arcade machine..I'm keeping both Big Reds and have moved/hid my other machines in a room that they don't go in..
Then I go and buy the Ms Pac Man Cocktail table.X_x

I have a bunch of games that I have to bring up to Joe,I just need to find the time to get my ass up there..

Joe is always very good with his trade in Values,I've always left there with having got more then I expected or hoped for..His staff is very smart,nice and good working too... they have even noted on things that I missed.
I've always came out of Joes store happy with my trade in value.. Joes honest and a great person to know and do business with..
I'm glad to know him..:rocker:

Joe's store is a Game Collectors Paridise..I enjoy just going up ther just to look around and see things I've never seen before..

[JerseyDevil65]

My last trade in to Joes store included my Genesis Boxed and loose Game Collection,minus a few keeper games for the Nomad and some Genny systems that I was too damn lazy to box up..
My goal was to buy a PS3 so I traded in my Genny game collection ..


So you're the guy who traded all those Genny games in. I bought quite a few of them. :) Good games that were in real nice shape.

[Hawksmoor]

No update for today? Also, it'd be nice if this thread got stickied.

[digitalpress]

Light trade-in day. We got some decent 360 and PS3 games but the best of the lot..

PS3 Guitar Hero 3 Bundle (complete) - not all THAT big a deal, but these bundles are still pretty scarce. We had 4 PS3 bundles before the holiday weekends and I haven't been able to get them new since, so good to have one back in stock.

[digitalpress]

Still an hour and a half to closing but things usually start winding down around now.

I thought YESTERDAY was a light trade-in day! Consider this: over a month of time, my sales-to-trade-in (money we paid out) ratio is about 3-to-1. TODAY we had a grand total of $145 in trade-ins, and nearly $3500 in sales. This thread has been interesting because it puts days under the microscope and on days like today it's actually difficult to determine what the "best trade in" was.

PSP System (loose) - yeah, the trade-ins were *that* light today. The guy didn't even have the charger. Still, used PSP's sell very well here and I'll bet this is gone again by Monday.

or...

GBA Import System (half black, half silver, with the new brighter screen) - traded in with a loose Street Fighter GBA cart. Pretty cool, not super cool. Traded in by a pretty young kid who's a good regular customer.

[Trebuken]

Still an hour and a half to closing but things usually start winding down around now.

I thought YESTERDAY was a light trade-in day! Consider this: over a month of time, my sales-to-trade-in (money we paid out) ratio is about 3-to-1. TODAY we had a grand total of $145 in trade-ins, and nearly $3500 in sales. This thread has been interesting because it puts days under the microscope and on days like today it's actually difficult to determine what the "best trade in" was.

PSP System (loose) - yeah, the trade-ins were *that* light today. The guy didn't even have the charger. Still, used PSP's sell very well here and I'll bet this is gone again by Monday.

or...

GBA Import System (half black, half silver, with the new brighter screen) - traded in with a loose Street Fighter GBA cart. Pretty cool, not super cool. Traded in by a pretty young kid who's a good regular customer.

Most of the independent game stores around me have do not get enough trade-ins (perhaps they don't offer enough?). They seem to have issues like this where they sell more than they take in and over time their inventory dwindles down to the point where the store is not worth visiting.

None of the stores left in my area see trade-ins anywhere near what you seem to be receiving though.

I think $3500 beats out an average day at most Gamestops...

[neuropolitique]

Most of the independent game stores around me have do not get enough trade-ins (perhaps they don't offer enough?). They seem to have issues like this where they sell more than they take in and over time their inventory dwindles down to the point where the store is not worth visiting.

None of the stores left in my area see trade-ins anywhere near what you seem to be receiving though.

This is why yesterday I traded in games for the first time ever. A Play and Trade opened near me which is locally owned, the closest thing to a indy store we have. Their inventory is on the light side so I traded in to help them out a small bit. Hopefully it helps.

[digitalpress]

Better today despite the short Sunday hours.

Crimson/Black "Brain Age" DS System (complete) - traded in with box, instructions, and in mint condition, lord knows why. This will most likely replace my white DS. Also in this trade-in, Geometry Wars, The Simpsons, and Call of Duty 4 (which I still find hilarious) for the DS.

[Apollo]

Lets see, the last thing that I traded in was pretty much all my Game Gear stuff (loose, btw). All my games, about 10 of them were fine, but apparently the Game Gear itself wasn't working anymore...

Ironic.

[digitalpress]

Today.

A Mega Man guy came along and traded in...

NES Mega Man (loose) - the first of the series. Rarely traded in, always in and out of here fast.

SNES Mega Man X3 (loose) - tough to find, this one goes in the display case. The last X3 we sold was in the display case for about 2 days.

[gepeto]

Most of the independent game stores around me have do not get enough trade-ins (perhaps they don't offer enough?). They seem to have issues like this where they sell more than they take in and over time their inventory dwindles down to the point where the store is not worth visiting.

None of the stores left in my area see trade-ins anywhere near what you seem to be receiving though.

I think $3500 beats out an average day at most Gamestops...

Funny I was talking to my friend who manages a gamestop and he said it has been slow since christmas. Last wed he said he deposited 50 dollars cash. He said Tues sales were 1100 for the day credit tradein mix. Dec the lines at each register was 8 deep.I have heard at various gamestop the mgr discussing hour cutbacks with the employees.

[digitalpress]

Funny I was talking to my friend who manages a gamestop and he said it has been slow since christmas. Last wed he said he deposited 50 dollars cash. He said Tues sales were 1100 for the day credit tradein mix. Dec the lines at each register was 8 deep.I have heard at various gamestop the mgr discussing hour cutbacks with the employees.

Well, I neither have the extreme highs that GameStop has (8 deep? I've never had that), nor the lows (my January has been quite busy, as it was last year this time).

Then again, I view my business as a different kind of thing than GameStop. "Old" games & systems, LAN center, system repairs, and of course top-notch chatter :) In fact, I work very hard at getting repeat business, both from customers buying and customers trading in which I believe keeps things steady during tough retail times.

[Trebuken]

"Then again, I view my business as a different kind of thing than GameStop. "Old" games & systems, LAN center, system repairs, and of course top-notch chatter."

...And the opportunity to appear in a DP comic through illicit camera shots...

[digitalpress]

Lots to choose from today.

Sega CDX System (loose) - also currently broken, but it's a door-sensor issue. Traded in by a Sega guy who dug this out of the attic, it was missing some wires but presumed "working" (as of the last time he played it). We'll get it running.

SMS Phantasy Star and Genesis Phantasy Star II (complete) - traded in by the same guy.

NES Tengen Tetris (complete) - ironically I had just purchased one of these from a forum member which arrived mere days before this one was traded in. Part of an NES collection but the only other complete one was Baseball Stars.

XBox 360 HD DVD Player (new) - the box was opened but none of the contents were removed from their packaging. Nice buy for the store though I don't see a big demand for this, we'll see.

[Poofta!]

what would you like to sell SMS PS and the HDDVD player for?

[blissfulnoise]

You definately get some cool stuff on a near daily basis.

[digitalpress]

Tons of blah, common stuff today. One stands out.

GameCube Mario Party 4 (complete) - in nice shape, this one doesn't get traded in very often.

[digitalpress]

Nothing too great traded in today, we did get another used PS3 system, but today we had a weird trade-in anomaly.

Wii Manhunt 2 AND PS2 Manhunt 2 (complete) - the anomaly is obvious but neither of these games had been traded in here before, and on the same day, about two hours apart and from two different customers, whammo.

[Poofta!]

wait... whats the anomaly ?

[digitalpress]

wait... whats the anomaly ?

Oh boy. I probably need to define these things in black and white from now on, sorry.

Anomaly 1:
Manhunt 2 and Manhunt 2 (the anomaly being that they're the same game on two different systems on the same day).

Anomaly 2:
Two games traded in within hours had not been traded in ever in the previous 2 months.

[Kejoriv]

Question about the store:
Does it happen often that someone comes in to trade in items, is told the trade in value of said items and walks away saying they can get 1000% more on eBay? Meanwhile they just walked in with a Sega Genesis and Sonic 1.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Question about the store:
Does it happen often that someone comes in to trade in items, is told the trade in value of said items and walks away saying they can get 1000% more on eBay? Meanwhile they just walked in with a Sega Genesis and Sonic 1.

I'd bet that the more common scenario and/or reaction is that somebody brings in a copy of Madden 2005 for PS2 or XBOX and goes:

"WHAT? (FSHHH) .... DAMN, YO." (and then turn to look at their friends that came in with them for some type of reaction)

when Joe, Maryah, Raj, Murf or any of the other employees tell them that the trade in credit is less than a dollar.

[digitalpress]

I don't hear the "I can get more on eBay scenario" NEARLY as much as I thought I would when I started this. Honestly, maybe 3 or 4 times in 2 years.

Today:

Atari 7800 Sealed Games - included some pretty common ones like One-on-One and Super Huey, but also included Dark Chambers and Mat Mania Challenge, among others. Apparently a Goodwill find from many years ago from a 30-ish guy who brought his ColecoVision and 2 Atari 5200 controllers in for repair.

[dsullo]

Joe I have to stop in. I know I promise to visit more, but I really need to come by again. Hopefully one day next week I will come over after work.

Your the man

Dustin

[Dastardly Dylan]

Today I got a free Game Gear from Joe :D
cause im cool