A large part of a video game retailer’s business is made up of the used market. As you all know you can trade in virtually any game for “store credit” to apply to other games that you’ll eventually trade in. However, there are some big disadvantages to both the consumer and developer that you have to consider.

One problem with the system is that the credit you receive for your game is not even close to what the store is going to resell it for (don’t even bother trading in games for cash as you get even less). You could buy a brand new game for $ 50, open it in the store, trade it back in right away and you’d only receive around $ 30 if you’re lucky (depending on the game’s popularity and availability, of course). The store will then turn around and sell it for $ 44.99. We need to keep in mind that this is a business. If they gave you what it was actually worth the store wouldn’t make a profit.

Another problem is the credit you receive doesn’t take into account the condition that the game and packaging are in. As a responsible adult gamer I take very good care of my things. The games, consoles and accessories are way too expensive not to. The games are always placed neatly back in their cases and then stored on a shelf in my smoke-free home. My games almost always look as good two years down the line as they did the day I bought them. If I were to trade this game in with the disc and case perfect and someone else trades in the same game with a scratched disc and mangled case, we’d receive the same credit value. Likewise, the person who bought my traded-in game would receive a better product than the one who bought the other copy of the same game for the same price. After it’s all over, someone gets ripped off somehow.

Maybe I’m making mountains out of molehills, but this severely rubs me the wrong way. Why shouldn’t we, who take care of our things, be rewarded for our responsibility by receiving a higher trade-in value? The retailer could in turn charge a higher price for the products in better condition and that’s something I would be willing to pay for.

Then again, we could all do what I’ve been doing; instead of trading in the games I’ve been selling them on eBay. I definitely get a better price for them and I have the freedom to spend the money wherever I choose. The only downside to this is the time and effort plus the usual risks you incur with using eBay. If you’re looking to just get another game a quick Google search brings up a few user-run sites where you can set up the trade terms to whatever both parties agree upon.

Unfortunately developers don’t ever benefit from the used game market. When Game Stop sells a newer used game for $44.99, that’s all going to Game Stop and the developers who made the game aren’t seeing a penny. This is unfortunate as some titles find a second life on the used game shelf more than when they were new and the developer won’t benefit from this.

In the end you have to weigh what is most important to you. Some people might not care about what the case looks like or that they’re not getting the full potential value for their used games because of the effort involved. Personally, I’ll keep not trading in games unless there’s no other way to get rid of it, much like that Game Boy Advance copy of Monopoly sitting on my shelf right now.

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