I would guess the bean counters over at Amazon.com where paying attention to GameStop's earnings recently. While a good number of retail stores are struggling, GameStop has shown not only profit, But a growing one as well. And as many people can theorize, its mostly due to the used game market. Most gamers might know the pain of trading in a game over at the local GS and praying for the best, Considering outside of a special range of titles, GameStop doesn't provide the consumers with a public list of trade-in values. And even with that said list, You can run into a situation where the price could end up being considerably lower than lead to believe (Due to the volume of trade-in's at the published price, Think stock market mentality with video games).
Well GameStop now has a new competitor for the used game market in the form of Amazon.com's new trade in program. Not only can you see exactly what the trade-in is valued at.. But in some cases, You end up getting more from Amazon than GameStop. For example...
| Afro Samurai (360) |
Saints Row 2 (360) |
Street Fighter 4 (PS3)
(since GameStop has no price listed for the 360 version)
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| Difference of: $2.00 | Difference of $2.50 | Difference of $3.00 |
The current (Friday, March 6th 2:22am) trade-in value of for the XBox 360
With a difference of $2.00, $2.50, and $3.00 respectively, You definitely get a better deal from Amazon. However, This is a new project for Amazon, So there may be some growing pains as they enter the used game business that GameStop seems to dominate. So don't be to surprised if some of the policies get modified as people start to utilize this new option. Hopefully this new competition will spark a more open and balanced marketplace where the gamers can truly win.
