Electronics retailer Best Buy is stepping on a few GameStop toes in Texas this week, using the state as a test bed for game trade-in kiosks and used game sales.
Video game specialty chain GameStop may have the lion's share of the used market currently, but the vultures are definitely circling. This week, several Best Buy locations in Austin and Houston Texas will be testing game trade-in kiosks, which allow customers to automatically trade their used video games for store credit without the need to clog up cash registers with complicated transactions. The machines work much like the ones Wal-Mart is testing in their stores, checking the discs for readabiity before accepting them. The main difference here is that instead of simply charging money back to a credit card, a process which takes 3-4 business days, the Best Buy machines will actually issue a Best Buy gift card, instantly redeemable towards anything the store carries.
Along with the kiosks, the selected stores will also begin selling used games as well, perhaps gaging how they fare against more traditional retail outlets.
The news comes by way of a blog post from Best Buy CMO Barry Judge, who explains the move towards used games is all about value and choice...and passion.
We're excited about this test, especially because we know how deeply passionate our customers and our employees are about gaming, movies and entertainment overall. And the trade-in and used value propositions will give those passionate customers even more choice and value at Best Buy.
With Wal-Mart's rather convoluted used game solution, Best Buy is currently looking like the best bet to peel off some of the used game business from GameStop. Not only will the kiosks provide instant gratification in ways that Amazon and Wal-Mart are not, it's all done without having to stand in a long line and dealing with a GameStop employee. I love my friends who work at GameStop, but if I can get similiar values without having to bug them, then that's what I would likely do.
New Places and Spaces - Used Games Launch [Barry Judge - thanks Jim!]