playntrade videogames

[ncman071]

for those of you familiar with this store, does it seem like their franchise is starting to go under altogether??

i knew of three stores in the wake county area in north carolina that all went under within just a couple of years of opening.....one of those stores always seemed to be busy whenever i went there....then all of a sudden i show up on a saturday afternoon a while back and its closed.

just curious how these stores might be doing in your area??

it really sucks to see those types of retro stores go under...

[davidbrit2]

We've got one in Grand Rapids that seems to be doing okay, as far as I can tell. In fact, I'm planning to make a trip there later today.

[CrazyGamesDude]

We've got one in Grand Rapids that seems to be doing okay, as far as I can tell. In fact, I'm planning to make a trip there later today.

lol, I'm in Grand Rapids too and I was about to say the same thing. Small world!

[PapaStu]

for those of you familiar with this store, does it seem like their franchise is starting to go under altogether??

i knew of three stores in the wake county area in north carolina that all went under within just a couple of years of opening.....one of those stores always seemed to be busy whenever i went there....then all of a sudden i show up on a saturday afternoon a while back and its closed.

just curious how these stores might be doing in your area??

it really sucks to see those types of retro stores go under...


Privately held franchises don't have much in common across a state, let alone state lines. Someone putting a store in a bad area, not selling much doesn't mean that the 'company' as a whole is going down.

[ncman071]

oh i realize that the company may not go down altogether....i was just curious about how the other playntrade stores are doing...the ones in my area seemed to be in a good area but didnt last.

i know a lot of its lasting ability has to do with demographics, etc.

[Dangerboy]

There's three or 4 in the Chicago area. The two closest to me are run by a douche bag and they are clearly in trouble. Their stock hasn't changed in 2 years, and they are selling new hardware with added accessories at losses (a 360 4g New with tossed in hdmi is like $180).

The two furthest from my house seem to be owned by a different person, and while the service was much better there, and the employees seem like actual gamers running a store, there are small hints that they too are in trouble.

A friend who worked at GC before they closed applied to a PnT , and walked out midway through the interview process when he realized how they handle certain situations.

YMMV.

[buzz_n64]

They have just opened one up in San Diego less than a year ago, and it seems to be doing better than most other game stores.

[vintagegamecrazy]

There's a Pnt about 20 miles from me and it's not a bad store. The employees are pretty easy to deal with and are all gamers. Their stock is really low though and they seem to only have a few games for each system. Hopefully they get more in over time because their prices are reasonable too.

[ncman071]

i remember the 3 playntrades i visited seemed to have very little in stock except for one that always seemed to have a nice selection.....i remember seeing a virtual boy, a couple saturns, and even a jaguar @ that particular location.

i remember the owner told me they weren't exactly trade ins..he was ordering them off of ebay and trying to turn a profit....

i just dont think there are enough people into vintage games to make a retro game store successful at least in my area

[kafa111]

one closed near me in fairfax, now there are no game stores but gamestop anywhere near me T_T

[Retro Legends]

here in Tucson we had 3 that i know of and 1 went under in less than a year (Location issue) one was in a mall and they broke away from the franchise tag and are still operating just under a different name. The other one is struggling from the looks of it. Just not sure if a franchise is such a good thing. People who get into them seem to have a get rich quick mentality and its not really like that in the video game industry. Maybe McDonalds or other companies but even then you dont see profit for at least 2 or 3 years.

[todesengel]

There was a Play N Trade about 20 minutes away from me that closed up some time last summer. Had tons of great stuff when it first opened up around early 2008 but then gradually had less and less until it seemed like the same stuff for the last year it was open.

[Tupin]

There's one in the St. Louis area. It seems to do okay, but the clientele they serve doesn't really trade in or buy classic games often so the selection is a bit basic. Modern games have a good selection, though.

[Steve W]

Play N Trade stores are independently owned, and if the people who own and run that store aren't good businessmen they can easily go bankrupt. I've seen several Play N Trade stores either move locations or go under. It's a shame, I'll visit a location and find some interesting stuff and the next time I stop by it's a Mexican restaurant or something.

There's a new Play N Trade supposedly opening up in Plano, TX. They were supposed to open up last fall, but had too many problems and had to delay opening until recently. I was told a month ago that they'd be opening in a couple weeks, so I checked them out last week and they were still not open. I guess I'll check them out next week if I have the chance, maybe they'll have the doors open by then.

[Eleuthria]

It's been my experience that the Play N Trade stores tend to be based solely on how their owner (or manager if the owner isn't hands on) handles getting new inventory.

People just don't bother taking games into Play N Trade to trade in/sell, especially games which are valuable where they know they'll get more on eBay. The stores that I saw stay open the longest were the ones where the manager/owner was always browsing eBay when there was nobody in the store, trying to snatch up huge lots of games to keep their inventory packed.

[Porksta]

one closed near me in fairfax, now there are no game stores but gamestop anywhere near me T_T

Fairfax VA? Where?

[MrNelson]

There were 5 stores in a 30 mile radius of my house last year. 2 of them closed up shop due to slow business, one closed because the owner of the building sold it and gave the shop owners a weeks notice, so they didn't have time to secure another location, and one of the stores was purchased by the guys running it and is now owned by them under a different name. So out of the 5, only one remains (technically), and it seems to get pretty decent business, although it sucks that it's the farthest one from my house.

[Greg2600]

I visited the one in I think West Caldwell, NJ, couple years ago, out of curiosity. I found it to have an insufficient selection of both classic and modern games. Workers had absolutely no clue about systems older than the PS2.

[portnoyd]

I visited the one in I think West Caldwell, NJ, couple years ago, out of curiosity. I found it to have an insufficient selection of both classic and modern games. Workers had absolutely no clue about systems older than the PS2.

This location. We did find a Tetris DS complete for $25 but that was it.

[Oobgarm]

There's one close to me that is absolutely awful. Their selection is piss poor, they give very little in trade for anything, and stuff is priced way too high. The staff there is the worst I think I've ever dealt with...the owner is totally clueless about gaming in general, and the other 2 workers are dirty, nasty slobs who are bankrupt of social skills, which makes them tremendously unpleasant to deal with. They're usually talking/arguing about WoW.

They have a constant B2G1 sale on used, but things are marked up so they're not losing anything...you might as well buy those 3 games at GameStop at their prices.

The owner is a former GS manager, and we've had many at length talks about the business. He asks me for tips and advice since hes not doing well. I tell him that he should hire me to help him out, but he says he doesn't hire anyone. I guess those other 2 guys are family or work for very little pay.

Best thing is that after all of the talking we've done, he has no idea who I am when I stop back in. He obviously is not creating rapport with his customers, which is disappointing.

[Press_Start]

I visited the one in I think West Caldwell, NJ, couple years ago, out of curiosity. I found it to have an insufficient selection of both classic and modern games. Workers had absolutely no clue about systems older than the PS2.

Ya really missed out of good stuff. Managed to pluck Wild Guns, World Class Baseball 95 (32x), and a few other rarities for dirt cheap. Sorry to say, the place closed down recently but the others in East Hanover and Garfield are still up and running. Heck, yesterday I managed to snatch both Bioshock 1 (GH) and Bioshock 2 (New) for $10 a piece for their penny power sale (essentially B1G1 sale). So, not too bad. ;)

[j_factor]

There is one Play N Trade kinda near me, but it sucks. Their classics are strictly NES, SNES, Playstation, and N64 -- they don't even carry Genesis stuff. Their inventory for said systems is pretty poor, too. There's really no reason for them to be so limited; it's a decent-sized store, and they have tons of empty space.

[Sparkster]

Yeah, one near me went under in Vancouver. First owner was a little shady, and ran off owing some people money. Fortunately, my credit held up with the next owners, and I was able to use it up buying a PSP game. The next time I went to check out what they had, they were gone.

So tips to all the traders out there - use up your credit.

[kafa111]

Fairfax VA? Where?

it was in Alexandria, right off route one next to a dominoes