Now that E3 is in the books and gamers finally have a better idea of what to expect out of their PlayStation 3s, Xbox 360s and Nintendo Wiis, it goes without saying that a lot of wallets are going to be drained this second half of the year. One of the best ways to afford all of those great upcoming titles and one of the best ways to pick up titles that released earlier this year is to check out your local GameStop and either trade your game in or pick up a title used for a decent price.
However, what if you didn’t want to use GameStop due to its low ball offers and overbearing employees? That’s fine, because I’ve compiled a list today of the other options you have as gamers to get the upcoming titles this season without having to ever step foot in “there.”
5. Best Buy
Ever since Best Buy announced its game trade program, people were excited to see how it would work. Not only would the company make used games available in its stores for somewhat better prices than GameStop, but you could also trade in games online and ship them out. The only true downside to Best Buy is that when you trade your games in, you’re stuck having to wait a bit in order to receive your game credit.
This can be looked at as a negative if you’re wanting to pick your game up immediately, but if you’re trading in for future titles coming, this isn’t so bad. However, one downside is that Best Buy doesn’t often run any specials with their trade-ins like some of the other places listed here.
4. MMOBay.net
If you’re tired of eBay charging you ridiculous closing fees and on top of that forcing you to go through PayPal in order to pay them even more fees, MMOBay.net is a new solution to check out. The website has recently opened up a place to trade and sell your news game either 1:1 or in an auction setting. Originally set up to deal with MMO characters and worlds, the company is branching out into the console gaming spectrum to get its feet wet and is also dipping into PC game sales and auctions as well. The listing fees are minimal and the return is much better on your product.
While the big question is, is this site trusted? The answer is yes. With over 40,000 registered members and a secured system, MMOBay.net is definitely a valid source for your gaming dollar.
3. eBay.com
If you haven’t heard of eBay yet, chances are you’ve been living under a giant rock or in a cave somewhere in Pakistan. This auction website is the most used around the world and is a fine solution to finding used games at solid prices as well as a great place to sell your games. Unfortunately, the site has raised its fees on several occasions and it sometimes doesn’t feel worth it. The bottom line however is that it still offers you more bang for your buck than a local GameStop.
Yes, you may have to ship something — but big deal if you’re making $10-15 more than if you traded in at GameStop.
2. Amazon.com
Amazon is an easy option after the website giant announced its plans to get into the trade market for used video games. While the only downside with Amazon is similar to Best Buy’s waiting period, the upside is that Amazon regularly runs gaming deals that makes it worthwhile. Whether they’re offering you gaming credit for your new purchase or offering you extra cash for your trade-ins, Amazon is a premiere gaming website to conduct your second-hand business.
Furthermore, there trade-in values are crazy in comparison to GameStop in terms of value and that’s definitely one of the best reasons to give them a chance.
1. GameTZ
Game Trading Zone is by far and away the best place to buy and trade new and used games. Though the one downfall to GTZ is undoubtedly the brash and asinine community of forum goers, the opportunity to trade pretty much anything in return for cash, games, rental credits or anything else for that matter is too good of an opportunity to pass up. Thankfully, while some users live around the low ball, there is a great chunk of community members that will give you market value for your games instead of drag you through the dirt like GameStop does.
GameTZ is the best solution around and so long as you’re smart in who you trade with, everything always goes according to plan.
Amazon.com FTW !
I’ll stick with estarland.com
“If you haven’t -heart- of eBay yet, chances are you’ve been living under a giant rock or in a cave somewhere in Pakistan”? If you haven’t “heart” of spell check then you may also be in that same cave. But seriously, nice list. Although I’d definitely put Half.com on the list as well. Really great prices and VERY easy to use. Just type in the bar code number on the back of the box and it brings up an image of the product you want to sell and you simply fill in the description of yours. It shows how much other users sell theirs for so you can know what range to charge. It also allows you to print the shipping labels to the customers for easy postage.
You’re lucky I like you Reneid.
PS: Heart wouldn’t have shown up on spell check since it’s spelled right, dummy 😉
If only other stores offered pre-order bonuses as good as the ones GameStop offers. Goddammit . . .
@The Dean, lol yeah but I wanted to find some way of incorporating more of the original joke into it.
@TRF, yeah Gamestop has great pre-order bonuses and although you get raped on selling back your games, they have pretty good deals on used games sometimes. Especially when it’s a game no one knows about or how good it is.
I always take have taken advantage if Gamestop here in Canada. I rip them off every month for new releses and trade in cheap games for higher value. Just google for sites that provide trading tips, and trust me you’ll never again pay more than $30-40 for brand new release and make credits when trading in at GS.
I just drive down to eStarland… and you an send stuff in online. Probably a better option than any of this
Money & games, if you’ve got both…the rest is almost history.
GameStop Sucks, They write one thing in their advertisements and when gets to the store they men’t something else, So you just got kicked in the nuts.
I’ve used mmobay.net before, they’re pretty good if you are trying to sell PS3 games.