Remember back in 2012 when GameStop started allowing customers to trade in original Skylanders figures for store credit, and the customer service folk were completely miserable? Now GameStop is accepting Skylanders and Disney Infinity figures. Update: I traded some, check out what I got for them below.
The original Skylanders trade-in plan did not last very long, but now that we've got the fourth one coming out in two weeks and the second Disney Infinity game launching today, no doubt there are people with piles and piles of pretty plastic just waiting to clog up the line at your local store.
Imagine standing behind a man with a bucket full of loose figures. The customer service rep having to look up each one in the computer. I mean, hopefully there's a generic SKU for each toy line, but what about rarity? What about condition? What about 10 percent more trade-in credit with Power-Up Rewards Pro?
Yeah, the extra 10 percent is good.
The staff at the Mansell Road GameStop in Roswell, Georgia will be completely terrified upon reading this. Don't worry, you guys. I'm not going to show up with a suitcase. Probably.
Update: I took some doubles to my local store. Here's how I fared. Values in parentheses are with my 10 percent Power-Up Rewards bonus.
- Legendary Bash: $7.50 ($8.25)
- Gnarly Tree Rex: $4.50 ($4.95)
- Normal Tree Rex: $2.00 ($2.20)
- Crusher: $5.00 ($5.50)
- Trap Shadow: $7.00 ($7.70)
- Cynder (Giants): $1.50 ($1.65)
- Flashwing: $2.00 ($2.20)
Looking at this selection, it's clear there is a scale and not a flat rate per figure. Toys'R'Us-exclusive Legendary figures seem to trade as a premium, as they are figures GameStop doesn't offer new. And note the difference between regular Tree Rex and his Gnarly repaint variant.
When GameStop first accepted Skylanders figures back in 2012, stores would bag them and resell them immediately. According to the manager of my local shop, now the protocol is to ship them off to be reset. It makes me wonder if GameStop doesn't plan on offering used figures in sets — seems like a lot of trouble to go to for single pieces.