Remember that time you walked into a big chain store with a shopping bag full of games, thinking you were going to cash out big time, only to leave with a gift card housing barely enough credit to grab even one new game? Of course you do; we’ve all been there.
GameStop used to be the only option in town, but now that there are more choices for the eager trader, the trade-in experience has to have progressed in some way, right? Are we better off sticking to Amazon and eBay’s third-party seller marketplace to peddle our unwanted games, or have these chains finally come together to offer an experience that doesn’t sacrifice payout for convenience? I decided that it was time to find out just what these big chains have to offer.
March Trade-in Values
We could talk about the overall experience offered by each chain, but what it all comes down to is how much these companies are willing to shell out for your unwanted games, right? Let’s take a look at how some of the trade-in values stack up.
Note: These values were retrieved in late March, 2014.
Best Buy; Total: $71
Assassin’s Creed IV (Xbox One) – $30
Battlefield 4 (PS3) – $18
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Vita) – $7
The Last of Us (PS3) – $16
GameStop; Total: $69
Assassin’s Creed IV (Xbox One) – $25
Battlefield 4 (PS3) – $20
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Vita) – $6
The Last of Us (PS3) – $18
Target; Total: $22.05
Assassin’s Creed IV (Xbox One) – Not found in system
Battlefield 4 (PS3) – Not found in system
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Vita) – $7.56
The Last of Us (PS3) – $14.49
Walmart; Total: $74.32
Assassin’s Creed IV (Xbox One) – $31.50
Battlefield 4 (PS3) – $18.90
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Vita) – $7.12
The Last of Us (PS3) – $16.80
Walmart.com; Total: $74.32
Assassin’s Creed IV (Xbox One) – $31.50
Battlefield 4 (PS3) – $18.90
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Vita) – $7.12
The Last of Us (PS3) – $16.80
Amazon.com; Total: $44.28
Assassin’s Creed IV (Xbox One) – $15.32
Battlefield 4 (PS3) – $15.22
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Vita) – $6.88
The Last of Us (PS3) – $6.86
Time Spent
While time might not exactly be money, nobody wants to waste their afternoon (or wait forever to get their money after sending games into an online trade store). So in an attempt to see who was the most efficient, I timed each of the experiences I had in trading in an equal number of games to each company.
Note: These times are based on an average over two visits (one in February, one in March) to store locations found in suburban South Austin during the weekend. The only exception to this is Walmart, which was only visited in March when the chain started accepting in-store trade-ins.
Best Buy: 0:21 to being helped, 6:12 to complete trade-in process
GameStop: 0:11 to being helped, 4:06 to complete trade-in process
Target: 0:55 to being helped, 6:44 to complete trade-in process
Walmart: 1:05 to being helped, 14:25 to complete trade-in process
Walmart.com: 2 days to receive my shipment, 1 additional day to verify trade-in/email eGift Card
Amazon.com: 8 days to receive my shipment, 1 additional day to verify trade-in/notify of receipt
Knowledge Test
The following conversations took place on two separate visits to each chain. One visit was on a Saturday morning, while the other was on a Wednesday evening in order to get a diverse set of employees. All I had to do was sell myself as knowing absolutely nothing about video games and then see how much leading I had to do to get them to give an acceptable answer. Here’s what I took away from my interactions.
Best Buy
Employees knowledgeable about the differences between PS4 and Xbox One
Since trades are processed through customer service line, one employee started panicking a little when I began asking too many gaming questions and called for back-up from the games department
Didn’t speak too highly of the Wii U
Memorable Quote from Employee: [In response to the question, “What about the Wii U?”] “Nah, that’s mostly kids games.”
GameStop
Probably the most knowledgeable, though some errors were made (like saying Forza 5 was the only Xbox One exclusive, and that Gran Turismo 6 was a PS4 exclusive)
Very enthusiastic responses and very willing to chat about gaming if nobody is in line
Very good at giving recommendations based on their personal experiences
Memorable Quote from Employee: “I like the Wii U. I really do. It’s not going to have the same kind of games that Xbox One and PS4 have, but it does have Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros. coming out soon, and it also has a bunch of time honored classics like Metroid and Earthbound that you can download right to your system. That means instead of spending $500 on Earthbound, you can grab it for $10.”
Target
Employees in Electronics Department were knowledgeable, while the ones who processed the trades in the Mobile Department ranged from having solid opinions on gaming to having no gaming knowledge whatsoever
Very friendly and casual when answering questions
One employee did a good job of referencing pre-order cards when I asked about upcoming games
Memorable Quote from Employee: “The Xbox One has too many bells and whistles for me. I don’t need voice controls and all the apps—I just want to play games. I can tell more people are going PS4 because during the holidays we’d get shipments of both, and the PS4s would sell out immediately.”
Walmart
Probably the most genuinely friendly employees I encountered
One employee had no idea what Titanfall was just weeks before its launch
Employees compensated for lack of gaming knowledge by using general customer service recommendations like “go with the brand you know” or “listen to your friends’ recommendations”
Memorable Quote from Employee: “I’m not sure [about any upcoming games]. They don’t tell us a whole lot in advance.”
Bottom Line: Obviously, the results found in this section are far from scientific. Every company has knowledgeable and less-than-knowledgeable employees. These results were retrieved from two separate employees within the stores in the Austin, TX area, meaning that each experience will be different. Have you had a vastly different experience from the ones I had? Let us know in the comments!
Company Policy
But what about the rules and regulations? The membership programs? The bonuses? We reached out to GameStop, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart to talk a bit more about the trade-in marketplace. All four companies we spoke to stressed the importance of the video game trade-in programs they’ve established.
If you’re planning on heading to trade in your games, you’ll want to bring your photo ID with you, as each of the stores require that one be presented alongside your trades. While none of these retailers charge additional fees to process your trades, you’ll want to take your unwanted N64 and Genesis games elsewhere, as none of these major chains will accept retro titles.
Best Buy
My Best Buy Gamers Club: free program offers double reward points on the purchase of new games, accessories, and DLC towards store reward certificates, double points for trade-ins, as well as special gaming-centric offers
My Best Buy Gamers Club Unlocked: $120 for a two year membership that offers all benefits of the free Gamers Club membership plus 20% off all new games, 10% bonus trade-in credit, 10% off all pre-owned games, and other exclusive offers
Trade-in availability and values are fully accessible on BestBuy.com
Game system trades accepted in-stores, though systems will be valued based on condition and if it includes a power cable
Game trades are graded based on condition
Trades are placed on a brand new gift card. Values cannot be used to load pre-existing gift card
GameStop
PowerUp Rewards Basic: free program that gives you rewards points when you buy items at GameStop, plus special rewards
PowerUp Rewards Pro: $15 for a one year membership that offers all the benefits of Basic, plus 10% bonus trade-in values, 10% off all used merchandise, 10% bonus rewards points, 10% off strategy guides, enrollment bonuses, and a one year subscription to Game Informer
Up-to-date trade values are not readily available online, though many values can be found on community deal-based sites
Store can refuse trade if multiple copies of same game are being traded
Does not require box art or original case
May charge a refurbish fee for damaged games or systems
Accepts hardware and software trades
Trades are placed on PowerUp Rewards card or towards purchase of items in store within same transaction
Photo ID is only needed for cash, not credit
Target
Trades processed through Mobile Department, which operate under different hours than store
$5 minimum trade-value in order to process transaction
Gift cards can be used for anything found at Target
Does not accept trades of PS4/Xbox One games as of this publishing
Accepts trades for select PlayStation, PlayStation 2, original Xbox, GameCube, PSP, and DS titles as of this publishing
Does not accept hardware trades
Accepts games in all conditions, though values will reduce significantly if disc is cracked or scratched, and slightly if game is missing artwork or case
Traders will receive a new printed paper gift card
Walmart
Newest contender into the market
Focused on remaining competitive with trade values
Gift cards are extremely versatile as they can be used for anything at Walmart or Sam’s Club
Hardware only accepted online
Will not provided any trade value for non-working items
Requires original packaging for trade to receive any value
Traders will receive a new printed paper gift card
February Trade-in Values
The trade-in values you saw earlier were from the second run of my experiment, but what about the first time through? Below, you’ll find the values from February 2014, which show an inconsistent amount of fluctuation. While gamers typically assume a game’s value will steadily decrease as it ages, I actually found that some of them increased during my second trip to these stores. According to the representatives of many of the stores, this is due to the values being based on supply and demand, along with staying competitive with the other retailers in this space.
Best Buy; Total: $77 (Compared to $71 in March)
Assassin’s Creed IV (Xbox One) – $32
Battlefield 4 (PS3) – $20
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Vita) – $6
The Last of Us (PS3) – $19
GameStop; Total: $58 (Compared to $69 in March)
Assassin’s Creed IV (Xbox One) – $20
Battlefield 4 (PS3) – $17
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Vita) – $6
The Last of Us (PS3) – $15
Target; Total: $17.64 (Compared to $22.05 in March)
Assassin’s Creed IV (Xbox One) – Feb: Not found in system
Battlefield 4 (PS3) – Feb: Not found in system
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Vita) – $6.79
The Last of Us (PS3) – $10.85
Walmart
NA; In-store trade-in program had not yet been initiated.
Walmart.com; Total: $36.20 (Compared to $74.32 in March)
Assassin’s Creed IV (Xbox One) – $19.50
Battlefield 4 (PS3) – $8.12
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Vita) – Recycle Only
The Last of Us (PS3) – $8.58
Amazon.com; Total: $57.83 (Compared to $44.28 in March)
Assassin’s Creed IV (Xbox One) – $19.66
Battlefield 4 (PS3) – $15.88
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Vita) – $11.04
The Last of Us (PS3) – $11.25
Final Impressions
Best Buy
Pros:
The associates knew what they were talking about for the most part
Trade-in values were generally higher than those being offered by any other retailer
Cons:
The company doesn’t frequently update its system with new releases, so if you’re looking to trade a game in immediately, there may be times where you’ll have to wait a week or two to do so
GameStop
Pros:
Will get you in and out in the shortest amount of time
Most amount of knowledge
Cons:
Trade values are not as high as Best Buy or Walmart on many occasions
More pressure to pre-order upcoming games than other stores
Walmart
Pros:
Competitive trade-in values
Walmart gift cards, which are given for trades, can be used for anything found in a Walmart or Sam’s Club, making the trade-in amounts more valuable to many
Cons:
Lacks in efficiency
Target
Pros:
Target gift cards, which are given for trades, can be used for anything found in Target stores, making the trade-in amounts more valuable for many
Cons:
Slower than either Best Buy or GameStop
Values were middle-of-the-road
Games available to trade were extremely inconsistent
Trade-ins are processed through the Mobile department, which did nothing but hinder the experience greatly (experiences include: finding out Target’s Mobile department has different hours than the store itself, the Mobile employee was on break, or the games weren’t in the trade-in system)
Amazon
Pros:
Does a good job of remaining competitive with its trade-in values
Cons:
Can take up to a week to receive trade-in credit in your account
Values are not as high as the prices that games are going for through third-party sales (selling the game on Amazon’s Seller Marketplace appears to be the better option)
Of course, there’s one missing element from this experiment: non-chain game stores. Whether you’re talking The Exchange in Pittsburgh, 8-Bit and Up in Manhattan, or Game Over Video Games in Austin, many locally-based “mom & pop” shops offer higher values and a more customizable experience than any of the chains are able to do.
The key to getting the best overall experience is to shop around and find out which shop can meet your needs the best, while keeping your eyes open for promotions at the other stores.
Where do you choose to trade your games? Do you go with any of the industry giants or do you stick with a local favorite? Give us your recommendations and share your stories in the comments.
Brian Shea is the Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of VideoGameWriters.com, a freelance writer for multiple major publications, and an awful joke teller on Twitter
