GameStop Promises More Money For Trade-Ins… Just Not A Lot More
(Marike79)
Video gaming news site Kotaku reports that GameStop’s new simplified, streamlined trade-in program will launch nationwide on August 18.
Internal documents obtained by Kotaku show that GameStop is making two key changes to their trade-in approach. The first is drastically to simplify their trade-in structure. Currently, there are ten different price points the chain might offer for a single game depending on promotions, loyalty program membership, and a host of other circumstances.
The revised approach will offer only four different price points for each game: the cash price with and without loyalty program membership, and the store credit price with and without loyalty program membership. Customers who are members of the loyalty program and who trade in their games for store credit get the most; customers who trade in their games for cash and are not members of the loyalty program get the least.
The other, related change is the one that GameStop shoppers are likely to enjoy the most: more money. The base price for traded-in games will be increasing by about 20%. So where you might have gotten $2 for that 2006 game you never actually played, you now can get $2.40.
GameStop confirmed the change in trade-in pricing to Kotaku, saying, “We anticipate this change to be well-received by our customers as they experience the added value we are now offering them for their pre-owned video game and consumer electronic products.”
The old system is opaque as can be to consumers, who have long complained about the low value they receive for trades as compared to the higher prices GameStop then sells their used items for. This set of changes still won’t turn $2 into $20, but at least it lets customers know what they should expect.
GameStop Is Overhauling Trade-Ins, Will Offer More Money [Kotaku]
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