If the previous owner did something naughty... Microsoft bans the 360 but not the Live ID, so the bannee is quite open to buy another 360 and use that instead.
More specifically (than naughty) it's when someone is running a hacked firmware (so they can play burned games, not retail ones). Occasionally Microsoft will do a sweep and ban all the people using the latest hacked firmware and the 360 (not the id of the user) can no longer be used on xbox live.
As for why do people trade in new games, that's easy. The return process at stores is a pain (and some dont' take them back if they're opened) and it's not that hard to beat a game in a day or two or to just know you're not going to like it. If I had a store like Joe's near me I'd go drop off new stuff that I'm done with, but I don't and I don't feel like getting $4 from gamestop. Too bad Joe's store doesn't take mail-in's.
Nate
Last edited by nate1749; 02-03-2008 at 03:50 PM.
A big PS1 day today, most notably:
PS1 Resident Evil 2 (complete) - actually, we got TWO of these in today, each from different customers. One is the dual shock version, the other is the original version. Pretty sure this is the first time we had two of this game traded in in the same week, let alone the same day.
PS1 Castlevania Symphony of the Night (complete) - a nice black label version of the game. Always looks nice in the case, until it's sold, which is always within a few days.
back in the day when i owned a game store i allways used to take the games i wanted home, and for the kids i had working for me i'd let them take games too (of course within their daily pay allowance)
anyways this one day a kid came in with a sega dreamcast and a bunch of games, which i declined as i was over stocked with dreamcast stuff and the games were common anyway. so a young lad who was working that saturday asked me if he could have his wages early, i agreed and he rushed out of the store.. he found the kid who wanted to sell the dc and he bought it off him here and then.. anyways the kid who worked for me got home and decided to play the machine (since we were too busy for me to allow him time to play it in store)while i spoke to his mother about an hour increase (due to his solid work) he set it all up, popped in a game then inserted a control.. powered up all well and good.. he pressed a button and literal shit seeped out under the pressure, it was totally digusting but amazing somebody had taken the ime to set that up lol
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.
Oh man, I'd be so torn on whether to keep or sell that sealed copy of CT. It's one of my absolute favorite games of all time, but on the other hand, I could sure use an extra $1,000 or so. Decisions, decisions...
I am speechless
Man, you must be getting some serious traffic in your store to get the trade ins you've been reporting lately. That's awesome. I always enjoy checking up on this thread and look forward to stopping by your store someday.
Way to go on that sealed Chrono Trigger, sounds like a beauty.
What does it say about me when the Power Glove is what I find most attractive in that list?
Side note: up until that trade-in, I was ready to report that both Turok and Kingdom Under Fire (one and three week old games, respectively) for 360 had been traded in. While not a great "find" for anyone else, consider that I don't open ANY of the games that the store buys NEW, so I'm somewhat captive to my customers and wait for the first trade-ins. I'm off tomorrow so the timing is perfect, I've got two games I really wanted to try and will get plenty of time to devote to 'em tomorrow, as Mike reports on the day's trade-ins
You suck.
Power Glove?!?! I Want One!!!!
I'm sure it all sounds very easy and things just fall into my lap. I certainly encourage everyone here to follow their dream if this is truly what your dream is, but I'd also advise that you'd better be prepared to work your fingers to the bone and kick a whole lot of ass to succeed. I don't want to make it look too easy because I've been in the workforce for 25 years and these last two have been the most work of all. I will also say that when you're in your element and enjoying the "working fingers to bone" thing, it's well worth your time.
That is all.
Because it makes no attempt to be great, it is therefore extremely great.
Some of My Game Collection Mah Mac n' Cheese Blog
I have seen someone go through the highs and lows of video game stores. I'm sure that it is very hard work and that hard work is paying off with what people are trading in. I know that I could never run a store like that because I'd always be second guessing myself...... but these trades sure make me want to
Just remember that for every Chrono Trigger there are 1000 Need For Speed Undergrounds, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4's, Super Truck Racing's and scratched-beyond-belief Grand Theft Auto III's. I take them in though I don't want them, knowing that the word-of-mouth "this guy will buy ANYTHING" eventually spreads to the guy who owns the Chrono Trigger.
So to add to my last comment, it's not just work, it's patience and it's space. It's only very recently that I've started to turn ANYTHING away, but even that is pretty infrequent: pre-2006 sports games and scratched to hell common loose games and DVD's that I can't immediately re-sell (at the moment).
Anyone who's been in my store basement knows what I'm talking about. There's a second store just waiting to be born there - or some major initiative on eBay.