Today's Trade-Ins [DP Store]

[otaku]

morally I don't see a problem with it if you do not know who it belongs to or for a fact that it was stolen. That is a nice trade in you managed to get there. I'm glad I sold my wii when I did a week ago cause now I'm getting them in the store regularly

[Snapple]

You should use the knowledge that it's stolen to your advantage. Be like, "I don't know. I've had trouble with systems like these lately. Too many stolen Wiis getting passed off. But I might be able to take it off your hands... for 40% less than what you're asking."

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I've been in-store when Joe has dealt with shady trade ins, and he handles them like a pro.

He obviously knows the scams and can press a thief to trip-up on themselves and reveal the holes in their claimed "ownership" like David Caruso catching a killer on an episode of C.S.I. Miami.

Okay ... I've never actually SEEN an episode of C.S.I. Miami, but in my mind, David Caruso catches all the killers with the same jene se qua that Joe uses when he tells a sketchy guy trying to sell a DS Lite that he knows it's totally stolen property.

[Oobgarm]

I used to see stuff like that a lot in my Funco/GameStop years. Once we caught wind of a potential thief trading stuff in, we just declined their future trades. I'd just tell the guys that you appreciate the fact that they want to trade in with you, but you can't take their stuff anymore. You're a mighty clever fellow, so I'm sure you can find an excellent reason to tell them.

Fun story: I had one guy come in with a huge stack of 50 or so disc-only PS2 games. And we're talking multiples of hot titles, all in perfect shape. I asked the guy where he got them, and he told me it didn't matter, he just wanted cash for the trade-in. He even wanted me to be 'careful' with the discs as I looked through them. I turned him down and told him that I was unsure of how he came into possession of the discs, so I wasn't about to take them. I noted that our trade-in policy gave me the right to refuse a trade for any reason, but that didn't stop the guy(and his tagalong buddy) from getting really upset, then calming down and trying to get me to take in 'just a couple'.

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

I know that in some areas, that is why all stores that take games in trade can only deal with people over 18 with ID, and must adhere to all laws pertaining to pawn shops. I guess that involves reporting purchases to police and holding systems for a certain amount of time before they go out on the floor for sale so that the serial numbers can be checked against the list of reported stolen goods.

JY

[brykasch]

Yep in Missouri you have to have to be 18 and have a id or a parent willing to sign for you. Makes things alot easier. I know myself I keep track of serial numbers for my consoles in case something god forbid happens. Which did happen recently put thats another post.

[gepeto]

I do believe "trade-in of the year" at least so far, happened today. All of this from the same fellow.

NES Power Glove (complete) - loose but with all of those wonderful little documents that came with the 'glove. Seller also claims to have "a few" sealed Power Gloves. Can't say I've ever seen that before.

SNES Super Mario Kart (factory sealed) - It's the greatest hits version and the box is a little warped under the shrink but yep, it's legit. On any other day this would probably be "trade-in of the week". But...

SNES Donkey Kong Country 2 (factory sealed) - I rank it a little higher than the Mario Kart simply because it ISN'T a greatest hits. I have yet to really research this, so call it my collector's gut. And that's enough comments about my gut, alright already? I'd be thrilled with this but imagine NOT passing out when you see...

SNES Chrono Trigger (factory sealed) - Of all the "rare games" we get, we get this one the most. And yet, I can't say I've ever seen a factory sealed one after opening the one I got for Christmas years and years ago. It is in immaculate condition, coated with a fine layer of dust (not the kind that builds up in a really dusty place but the kind that eventually finds its way through a box or past a plastic cover after many many years). Recently saw one of these go for over a grand. This one is just about the same quality. I detected a tiny ding in the front side edge of the box. I'm not complaining about that.

A little commentary if I may. I had two or three clearly interested parties hovering around as this deal was made, hanging on my every word as the offer was made. I don't like when this happens, though I was fortunate this time to have QUIET bystanders. After the seller left, the inquiries began. I don't mind being on the stage but I do have a certain respect for my customers and there's a conflict of interest when a selling customer and a buying customer are both interested in the same item.

On the plus side, this gentleman has "lots more" and was happy with my offer. We even haggled a little and naturally I bent to his side of the deal - no way I was going to let this get away.

I might also add that I'm not sure if these items will go to my collection (I'm really not very interested in sealed games) or to the store. In a way, I'd feel guilty for the profit on items like these (leading me to simply hold them in my personal care) and yet on the other hand I could make up for a year's worth of purchasing mistakes - and trust me no matter how savvy you are, you'd make them in my shoes - in one fell swoop.

Still, quite an eventful trade-in, in what could be the beginning of a much larger deal.

Man this is the stuff dreams are made of. I know when pondering opening the store one had to say I can't wait see what rare goodies I can get on trade in. The rewards of taking the risks..



I might of asked this before. So now that it has been a few years how do you smell the roses. When you are off,

How has (The so called turning off the blackberry) gone.
Vacations and what not. I was watching a reality show this man had his business. He went to the island but he was on the phone so much and watching via laptop it was like he was working. It is like if you have a baby you don't want to leave her.

Is the store on auto pilot or are there alot of nights of sitting at the table when the shop closes hammering out the logistics. Paying off the politicians

[Nate Nanjo]

I'm ready to open DP West Coast anytime you are Joe.

I'd open a Southeast DP, Play n' Trade is starting to sadden me here. Regardless, I still plan on opening a gamestore here sometime in the future.

[digitalpress]

So now that it has been a few years how do you smell the roses. When you are off,

How has (The so called turning off the blackberry) gone.
Vacations and what not. I was watching a reality show this man had his business. He went to the island but he was on the phone so much and watching via laptop it was like he was working. It is like if you have a baby you don't want to leave her.

It's only gotten better over time. I don't need to be there at 7am to get things squared away for the day ahead. There are "hiccups" (recently I've had all kinds of computer issues) but nothing our customers would notice and as a small organization it's pretty easy to get the small system back up to speed, if not better as a result.

And THIS is the biggest difference between my days in corporate America and my recent career - flexibility and dexterity. I can bend the rules when needed, break 'em and make new ones when experience teaches me to do so, and not have to get through red tape, written reports, upper management, human resources, feasibility studies, etc. to get things done. I can get them done NOW.

As for the "baby you don't want to leave", it was like that for awhile but I really trust my team and I believe I've trained them to be as flexible as I am, to "wing it" without fear of failure. If you've been reading my work for awhile you know that I was a training specialist for quite some time in my past life. That skill has never been more necessary and productive as it is now. I believe everyone who works with me at the store would tell you on the side - I teach them everything they're willing to learn. Every tip, every facet from top to bottom. What they wish to do with that info is up to them. So far, the results have been great.

Is the store on auto pilot or are there alot of nights of sitting at the table when the shop closes hammering out the logistics. Paying off the politicians

It's pretty much auto-pilot. Naturally I keep pushing my team to do more, but I'm never worried that the store won't be operating as well without me there.

I don't really take vacations but I never did before either, it's not my thing. However, I do like days off and I get more of them now than I did in the past. I'm in the store 4 days a week and at times less (like this past August where I literally only worked 1 day a week - got a lot of gaming in then )

So all's well.

Today's trade-ins:

Saturn imports (complete) - lumped all into one listing here, about a dozen Saturn games. The best of the stuff was Shining Wisdom and Dragon Force, a few other English-friendly titles like Enemy Zero were in there, most of the games were either hentai, dating sims, or heavily Japanese adventure games. Not a major score but an interesting lot.

We also received the second XBox 360 in two days but what's interesting is that BOTH sellers were trading in for a PS3, which still seems unusual to me but I'm glad to see the system finally getting some local interest.

[Flashback2012]

I know that in some areas, that is why all stores that take games in trade can only deal with people over 18 with ID, and must adhere to all laws pertaining to pawn shops. I guess that involves reporting purchases to police and holding systems for a certain amount of time before they go out on the floor for sale so that the serial numbers can be checked against the list of reported stolen goods.

JY

I flat out refuse to accept trade-ins from anyone unless they surrender a valid driver's license or state ID card. I couldn't care less if they're looking to get an in-store credit or a bundle of cash for their items, I treat all traders the same. I am not a mind reader and cannot discern who did or did not steal the goods they're offering me. My sentiment is it's better to be safe than sorry and have the information on hand just in case.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Prior to Funcoland being bought out by Software Etc. (Barnes & Noble Inc.) we would always REQUIRE a valid driver's license for trade-ins.

It never ever freaking ceased to amaze me how many people (parents, with kids even) would have trade-ins, and when I asked them for a drivers license, they told me, "Sorry I don't have one." or "sorry, no. It was suspended." and I would quickly respond, not giving them a chance to come up with anything other than an honest response ... "Did you drive here?"

and nine times out of ten they would say "Yes."

OR, sometimes they would hand me a NJ State Boat license ... which is also distributed by the DMV ... and when I would say "Sorry, this is your BOAT license, I need to see your driver's license." they would give me the same "Sorry, don't have one." routine.

Now, I understand some people fall on hard times, and shit happens, and people still need to live their lives and go about their business (especially if they have kids) even if it means risking arrest for driving without a license ... but with the BOAT LICENSE people ...

... I always wonder if when these people went to the DMV after getting their drivers license revoked and got their boat license issued to them in the hopes that if they would get pulled over by the police they could hand them the boating license and hope that the cop wouldn't notice what it was.

[RadiantSvgun]

I flat out refuse to accept trade-ins from anyone unless they surrender a valid driver's license or state ID card. I couldn't care less if they're looking to get an in-store credit or a bundle of cash for their items, I treat all traders the same. I am not a mind reader and cannot discern who did or did not steal the goods they're offering me. My sentiment is it's better to be safe than sorry and have the information on hand just in case.

I know here in AL, its against the law to accept any kind of sale (shops, pawn, ect) unless they were 18 or had an adult with them.

[TonyTheTiger]

I think some people are also highly reluctant to hand over something with their home address on it out of fear of getting junk mail. I know I sometimes give a fake email address when asked for one at Radio Shack or something. Granted, there's a difference. I don't think there's any legitimate reason besides sending spam when asking for an email address whereas asking for a driver's license can serve other purposes but some people are still weary of that.

I don't particularly blame them. There's always another story about how someone got screwed over by a company who took their personal info. But in the cases of pawning off their old stuff they should at least expect to need to provide something for security reasons.

[strassy]

what about state IDs, do you guys accept those? cause some people don't have/lost/can't get a driver's license, but ANYBODY can get a state ID

[carlcarlson]

I think some people are also highly reluctant to hand over something with their home address on it out of fear of getting junk mail.

Ha, this reminded me of a story. This doesn't really have much to do with anything in this thread, but the part above about giving out personal info reminded me of an NES lot I got a couple of years ago. Every single piece in this lot (minus the cords) had the guys name and social security number etched into the plastic. Sometimes he even included a phone number or a little symbol he made for himself. His name was Witte. This was a system, controllers, zapper, and probably about 20 games, all with his personal info on it. The funny thing is, I buy to sell, so this stuff has been sent all over the US by now. Some of you may even have a piece of it. Just last month I shipped out a Mike Tyson's and couldn't help but laugh when I saw the etchings. Poor guy.

[TonyTheTiger]

Some people aren't bright. I have Charlie Miller's copy of Mega Man 2 which I bought way back in the mid 90s from Funcoland. Who's Charlie Miller? I have no idea. But at least he was smart enough not to include his social security number.

[digitalpress]

Unless something interesting comes along between now and closing (9pm)...

Wii System (complete) - minus the box and in immaculate condition, this was purchased by a regular customer for his kid's Christmas gift. Kid wants a PSP instead. Also got Resident Evil 4 and Tony Hawk in the deal.

PS2 Beatmania (complete) - with outer box and all that. I think I've only had this traded in once, maybe twice before. Opening it up and testing it reminded me of how much I hated the way the did the American controller. IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A KEYBOARD.

[digitalpress]

Good sales day and plenty of trade-ins but nothing spectacular, so I'll do this without much fanfare.

Genesis Streets of Rage 2 (complete)
PS2 Gradius V (complete)
PS2 Amplitude (complete)

[Kitsune Sniper]

PS2 Beatmania (complete) - with outer box and all that. I think I've only had this traded in once, maybe twice before. Opening it up and testing it reminded me of how much I hated the way the did the American controller. IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A KEYBOARD.

Uh...

What? The controller feels a bit off but it's pretty much the same as an arcade Beatmania controller. I don't see why you hate it.

[RadiantSvgun]

Uh...

What? The controller feels a bit off but it's pretty much the same as an arcade Beatmania controller. I don't see why you hate it.

That controller is horrible.

Also, when did Gradius V become hard to find? It used to be all over the place, but I never see it in any game stores anymore. Its one of those games that I told people to buy when I worked at EB games. Ahh.. customers.,,,