General Category > General Discussion
GameStop to Offer Classic Consoles and Games
nkorth:
--- Quote ---The article doesn't mention if they will also offer cash for the items.
--- End quote ---
That could be a major issue if many of the people trading in old games are in fact non-gamers digging things out of an attic. Those people wouldn't be interested in store credit, and they could be a nice opportunity for you I imagine.
wiggy:
--- Quote from: videogametrader on April 18, 2015, 03:26:22 PM ---I thought i would weigh in on this topic since I am the owner of an Independent Retro Game Store.
Just as some background. I've been selling online since 1999 and opened my first retail store in 2010.
I don't necessarily see GameStop accepting retro games as a bad thing for us. But it will slightly affect our trades. We are frequented by many GameStop employees and managers and we get a good number of trade-ins that were direct referrals. I am sure that once they start accepting these retro games that those referrals will stop.
However, we have a nice supply of current and previous gen games, accessories and consoles. Lots of people prefer giving their business to a locally owned business rather than a big company like GameStop. Gamestops have been giving $20-$25 for PS2 consoles lately and we still get plenty of PS2 consoles in trade.
Some random thoughts on the matter:
* They are only going to increase their skus by about 5000. And they don't even mention that they will take in GameCube. 5000 skus is only about half of the games. My guess is they wont take any sports or cheapy games. That means i will have to be careful not to get stuck with all the "GameStop rejects".
* Most independent stores already pay more then GameStop so this might not have as large as an impact as some may think. I don't see my existing customers going to GameStop rather then trade-in to us. If anything it might make it tougher to get new customers as many customers find us after they've already been told by GameStop that they don't accept the games. I see my advertising budget increasing.
* The article doesn't mention if they will also offer cash for the items. 60% of our trade-ins are for cash so i don't see that dropping much.
* I don't see this causing a drop in retail pricing. If anything i think this will cause the prices for the cheaper games to go up. I don't see GameStop collecting games, having them go through the refurbishing centers and then selling them for $5. I think the higher value games might stay the same or even go up in price as they will get even tougher to find. I've noticed the popular SNES, N64 and GameCube games, especially N64, have nearly doubled in retail price just over the last year.
* If this works I do see GameStops selling some of the better retro games in-store in the future. It wont take up much space and they can get a premium by stocking them.
* If Play N Trade isn't already dead this might be the final nail in the coffin.
If you have any other thoughts or direct questions, I'm happy to answer, and if any of you are in the Atlanta Georgia area, come and visit :)
--- End quote ---
See shenske's post.
They're not even taking games, only consoles.
UncleBob:
I'm not sure where this idea that they're only taking consoles came from.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/04/15/gamestop-to-offer-classic-consoles-and-games
"According to a spokesperson for GameStop, the qualifying locations will begin accepting "games, systems and select accessories for most 'retro' platforms," going all the way back to the Nintendo Entertainment System. If the program proves successful, GameStop hopes to roll it out nationally "later this year."
videogametrader:
--- Quote from: wiggy on April 20, 2015, 06:33:08 AM ---
--- Quote from: videogametrader on April 18, 2015, 03:26:22 PM ---I thought i would weigh in on this topic since I am the owner of an Independent Retro Game Store.
Just as some background. I've been selling online since 1999 and opened my first retail store in 2010.
I don't necessarily see GameStop accepting retro games as a bad thing for us. But it will slightly affect our trades. We are frequented by many GameStop employees and managers and we get a good number of trade-ins that were direct referrals. I am sure that once they start accepting these retro games that those referrals will stop.
However, we have a nice supply of current and previous gen games, accessories and consoles. Lots of people prefer giving their business to a locally owned business rather than a big company like GameStop. Gamestops have been giving $20-$25 for PS2 consoles lately and we still get plenty of PS2 consoles in trade.
Some random thoughts on the matter:
* They are only going to increase their skus by about 5000. And they don't even mention that they will take in GameCube. 5000 skus is only about half of the games. My guess is they wont take any sports or cheapy games. That means i will have to be careful not to get stuck with all the "GameStop rejects".
* Most independent stores already pay more then GameStop so this might not have as large as an impact as some may think. I don't see my existing customers going to GameStop rather then trade-in to us. If anything it might make it tougher to get new customers as many customers find us after they've already been told by GameStop that they don't accept the games. I see my advertising budget increasing.
* The article doesn't mention if they will also offer cash for the items. 60% of our trade-ins are for cash so i don't see that dropping much.
* I don't see this causing a drop in retail pricing. If anything i think this will cause the prices for the cheaper games to go up. I don't see GameStop collecting games, having them go through the refurbishing centers and then selling them for $5. I think the higher value games might stay the same or even go up in price as they will get even tougher to find. I've noticed the popular SNES, N64 and GameCube games, especially N64, have nearly doubled in retail price just over the last year.
* If this works I do see GameStops selling some of the better retro games in-store in the future. It wont take up much space and they can get a premium by stocking them.
* If Play N Trade isn't already dead this might be the final nail in the coffin.
If you have any other thoughts or direct questions, I'm happy to answer, and if any of you are in the Atlanta Georgia area, come and visit :)
--- End quote ---
See shenske's post.
They're not even taking games, only consoles.
--- End quote ---
According to the original article they are increasing the skus they accept by more than 5000. It also states they are taking games.
shenske:
I think the article has been edited. I read it minutes after being posted on ign and the article is much longer now. It definitely only said consoles before (the article was ~3 sentences long). If these ever make it to the store level I strongly bet it will only be the consoles w/ the games being ordered.