It's hard to describe used copies of Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D as pre-owned when pre-played seems to fit the game so well. Despite the eternal save file, major U.S. retailers are still accepting Mercenaries trade-ins.
Gamestop tested the waters before buying used copies, not accepting trades on release day.
They released this statement explaining their indecision on The Mercenaries' trade-in value:
GameStop did ask the U.S. store base to stop accepting trades on Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D as we evaluated the save system for the game. Upon further review of the process with our publisher partner, Capcom, GameStop will resume taking trades on the game effective Wednesday, June 29.
Calling a local Gamestop retailer revealed that they are in fact accepting The Mercenaries, offering $18 in store credit for it as of today. Best Buy, Amazon and Play N' Trade are accepting trade-in offers for as well. However, Play N' Trade is not as merciful to The Mercenaries as Gamestop. A nearby Play N' Trade said the trade-in value was only $8 as of today and commented that the value was lower because you can't erase saved data.