The thought of getting rid of some or most of your old games has probably ever crossed your mind, unless you are a serious collector.
Whether you are ready to acknowledge that you probably won’t be playing that stack of games any longer, getting ready to move, running out of closet or shelf space, or simply wish to get into the world of digital game libraries, there are several great options available for you to dispose of your video game collection. However, not all these options are great.
For games that still hold some monetary value, most would like to maximize their return. Convenience matters too, since time is money. About the games that you cannot literally give away, there’s an option of properly disposing of them instead of throwing them away.
Here are some of the best ways to get rid of old video games for convenience, or find a good game trade in company for profit.
Selling Them Back Via GameStop
You have probably heard people complaining about GameStop’s trade in values in the price. While the business can sometimes justify marking up games 2 to 3 times as much as GameStop offers in credit, it is understandable why some people are bothered by this. However, the bottom line is that GameStop typically offers a higher price per game compared to other major retailers.
Companies such as Toys R Us, Target, Best Buy, Walmart, and Amazon have also started buying and selling used games. However, no one has beaten GameStop on one very important metric. GameStop is probably the only major retailer that actually offers cash for used games compared to the rest who simply offer store credit.
It you take the cash option at GameStop rather than store credit, you will receive 20 percent less, but even then, you will probably be around the same amount that you would receive for a pile of games at the rest of the major retailers.
Selling your old video games and consoles to GameStop is unlikely to maximize your dollars, but the convenience at least partially makes up for this. While using GameStop is an option that’s highly recommended for the sake of convenience, it does not mean that GameStop consistently offers the best value of every game.
If you are just looking to trade in 1 or 2 games, you should do some research before you choose a place to sell the old games. Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and GameStop usually list their trade-in values for every accepted game online. The trade in values on Amazon are listed on the product pages while Toys R Us does not list its trade-in values online.
It is worth noting that if you would like to sell older games i.e. pre PS3/Xbox 360 era, GameStop is the only major store that accepts “classic” titles. Having said that, if you have classic games you would like to dispose of, it can be a good idea to check out some of the options provided here since you might have a rare title or two. When you sell your old games to major retailers such as GameStop, it can be a good idea to bring in games for more modern systems such as Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.
Local Retailers
Chances are that you probably live close to a big box or GameStop retailer that will buy old games from you. However, it is also likely that you live close to a local retailer specializing in multimedia products, so you need to consider looking into that too. Not everybody has an independent game shop in their location, but if you do, it is highly likely that such shops will be willing to buy your old games, and that might even offer you more money. Local retailers are also more likely to accept older generation games as well as cartridge-based games.
Download
You could also just download games and this will mean not having to get involved in trade ins for gaming. Downloading simple games for your phone like Runescape or more complex ones on your console or PC can be a great way to game for less and cuts out the need for trading in. With this model you can also easily upgrade by downloading. For instance, if you follow the above you can buy Runescape gold here or get stuff from the Playstation Store to make your games more fun.
Get Rid of the Middleman
If you don’t need to unload your old games immediately and are ready to put in some bit of effort into the process, you can get the best price possible by becoming the seller yourself. When it comes to online secondhand marketplaces, Amazon and eBay are the first to options that comes to mind. Both platforms allow you to set your price, but remember that it is your responsibility to box up the game or games and ship them out. For some people, this is probably more a hassle than it is actually worth. However, there’s a considerably more convenient option that will still let you set your own price.
If you are on Facebook, you can consider joining a local Buy, Sell, Trade group. Such groups have become a kind of “Craigslist” for the era of social media. The best part is that considering every group’s nature, you can negotiate on Facebook, agree to a price, and then meet up and exchange the games for cash. You don’t need to go through nearly as bothersome a process as listing games on Amazon or even eBay is, and such Facebook groups are less sketchy than making deals through Craigslist. Obviously, it is still advisable to set up a meeting in a public place.
