Smart move by them. Too bad most people buying the games (usually unaware parent's) won't know the difference between buying used games at say GameStop vs. used Games at Circuit City; i.e. the price tag. $5 less is good but $10-$15 is much better.

I don't shop much at Circuit City... but if they do get into the used product thing for real I will definently check out what they'd sell one of them HD tvs ^_^

The only stupid people here are the ones paying $5 less for a used game than a new one. If your going to spend that much, you might as well spend the extra money so you know no one had their grubby hands on it... and you not making the store another $20 for the second time they sold the same game.

You people are slightly mis-lead, used game sales are not really that much more profitable than new game sales. The markup on new games is also about 30-60%, it is game consoles that have no overhead. A retailer makes less than $5.00 for selling any of even the new generation systems. I do agree with you guys that used games sales can be pretty lame on the consumer's side of things, but the used market is expanding and compititon is always a good thing. I doubt we will be getting more $ for our games anytime soon, but prices are getting even lower to buy now.

oh gawd the used game market is such a ripoff! A used game should sell for about 80% of the new game price. And less if its missing a manual or has scratches. The amount you get PAID for trading in your used game is usually 30-50% of the price the game sells for used. In other words, its a cash cow! A store can also dictate price changes by the minute, so a game thats dropping in popularity will earn you less $$$ while a game you traded 2 weeks ago that just gained $10 in price....LMFAO! Oh well
C.City & B.Buy could make a go of this business, but only if they study how EB/Gamestop works. I really don't like EB/GS so put em out of biz I say!!

Alright, I work for CC, and this is the first I've heard of any used games sales. This speaks volumes about communication in the company, since I work in the video games dept. I hear everybody's complaints about service, too, so let me break it down for you. CC stores generally have a barebones staff. If one person calls in sick, somebody is pulled from an area less busy (eg, the movies, music and games dept) and placed in the busy area until the commotion dies down. The problem is, they usually pull people from depts that make less money. If you think I'm going to go out of my way to learn about products so I can more effectively do somebody else's job for $8 an hour, you are sadly mistaken. I know, it sucks for you guys, the customers, so I encourage you to complain. I hate CC, but it pays the bills, and the people are actually friendly if you really need help and don't ask stupid questions. We really are here to serve you, but help us help you.

oh come on if u buy a game from gamestop for 60 dollars and you return it in like a week they will give you like 45 dollars for it. it can be completley new and only used once they will still give u the same price and then they will go off and sell it for 5 dollars less you know i went to gamestop once and they had a used game and it was the same price of the new and unused 1

They can't compete with Gamestop in the used game market. It's suicidal. I don't like Circuit City either, 90% of the people who work their know nothing about technology, and their customer service is depressing.

Retailers make more money selling used games, they buy them for cheap on trade ins and sell them for a significantly higher pricepoint than what they bought it for. For example, you you traded in a game and got 2 dollars credit, that same game may be sold at 6.99, roughly 7 bucks, thats 5 dollars over what they gave you, thus a higher profit margin. New games, however, have a significantly lower profit margin in contrast to cost, thats why cashiers will prompt buyers to buy used copies in an effort to make more money on the same game. Personally, I avoid used games and perfer new factory sealed games. Trade-in is mostely the driving force for Gamestop and EBgames, as for Best Buy and Circuit City, it's new sales since they can allocate greater inventory of fast selling games than EB and Gamestop.

I've traded in games in the past year, usually it's 10 bucks if even that if it's an old title. Now a new title, that came out a month ago or something, you may get 25 bucks or more for, but that just means you paid 60 - 25 = 35 dollars for a month rental. Gamerush gives the best trade in values but they are not in all towns and even here in a big city, I have to drive about 20 minutes to get to one. I really just don't trade anymore, and with prices the way they are now, I really don't buy anymore, I just rent from gamerush and return when I'm done, unless it's a title I know I'm going to be playing for a year plus like Halo for me, or Splinter Cell, I don't buy the game (except Crackdown cause it had the beta, foiled again), I know people with systems, so if i'm done with an old game or old system, I just give them away. I would rather give someone a gamecube then get 20 bucks trade in value or give someone a game then get 5 dollars for it. Hell, donate them to salvation army or goodwill, make someone's day when they see a good xbox, ps2, gamecube game in there used or a used gamecube, xbox, ps2 system. Beats putting enough money in my pocket to go to Wendy's while the store puts enough money in their pocket to go get a steak.

dont care-I hate Circuit City---they suck horribly.....

lol your better off selling a system / titles in bulk on ebay then taking it to gamestop they jack you so bad offered me 14 bucks for a 3 mo tiger woods 2005 sold it on ebay for 37+ shipping ... lol gamestop has some decent deals on dvds (for buying) but really they just keep so much profit

TRU is buying and selling used games now too, at some locations, but very few people know. I know because I work for them; Why don't they talk about us? We have been doing it for a little while now and we are a way bigger video game retailer than Circut City, with a much larger selection of titles for all systems. We only give store credit but we give a good rate and you can sell systems with all supplied accessories for a higher rate, or missing items and still get credit also. Plus we accept all used games and systems all the way back to the Atari... Beat that Circut City!

I totally agree with Wheel of TIme. But i still pre-order games that come with a special bonus. I also pre-order game when i go to my Bros Gamestop and he is working cashier.

gamestop is responsible for higher next gen game prices as well.

Now hear me out. I remember when I used to go into a store and there were no used games. I would buy a game, and the profit went all to the game maker. Now you can go get a game that is 5 dollars cheaper new(used version). None of that money goes the publisher it all. It all goes to gamestop uppers pockets. So lets see here. This little example is not scientific by any means, but it iwll work

Lets say Joe, john, and bob want to buy final fantasy 40. Lets say joe goes and buys it retail, and john and bob think wow I can save 5 bucks on a used copy in a few months. Lets look at the math here

lets say final fantasy 40 is 59 dollars. Lets times that by 3. That is 177 dollars. If all three people would have bought a new copy a big chunk of that would go back to the publisher to help recoup for software development. however since only joe bought a copy from retail, the rest went to gamestops execs pockets. So how are software companies going to make up for money lost. Raise prices.

To back up my argument, pc games are still 49. They are harder to write for, and take up more time. Why are they 49 still. I would say because you can't buy them used at gamestop. you have to buy a pc game generaly new(unless ebay) and all of that money goes to developers pockets.

I never pre-order at gamestop. I never buy used titles. I wil refuse. I want to pay the developers not the greedy uppers in gamestop. I do trade stuff in I don't use, but I do not buy. Quite honestly I can't stand going into gamestops anymore. They are just pre-order bots, and I hate that. Every conversation is hey pre-order. I know they get a bonus for that, and they can get fired if they dont' do that, but it is rather annoying. I used to be able to go into gamestop and pick up those obscure titles, now I can't because of pre-order. If the demand to pre-order for that title isn't high. They will only cary it 1-2 weeks and then its gone never to be seen again.

competition is good, maybe Gamestop will give more than $5 for a game then resell it for $24.99

i dont really care!

[This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

Frankly, I think the margins on used games are crazy high. I can understand why Gamestop/EB can't help but feel giddy over them. And in some cases, it's good for the consumer too. But generally for newer titles that are $55 used, the gain is almost purely the store's.

Unfortunately, most game stores are very small and have limited shelf space, so if you're looking for real classics or obscure titles, you're better off searching online. But there are some finds to be had for titles that are no longer shipping to stores.

Kepp dabbling, I love you Circuit City.

Circuit City sucks. Best Buy is so much better!!!!!(has nothing to do with the fact that I work there. lol) Oh yeah pre-owned games suck too just not worth it.

to Doc_Dosman, When was the last time you traded in games? and what games are you giving them when I trade in games I'm lucky to get 10 dollars!

never bought anything from circuit city and Im not gonna start but I respect them for trying to make more money

And now my circuit city rant. It was the day after thanksgiving, all the big sales, and they had their 50 inch sony lcd rear projection marked down to something like 1100.00 bucks. So I went online to order, it said not available for in store pickup, online purchase only. So I kept trying to purchase it and kept getting an error message. I called the customer service line waited for about an hour before hanging up because I had to be somewhere. So I e-mailed customer service, saying I want to buy this tv, it says available online only, but I can't purchase it. They e-mail me back saying this tv was for in store purchase only. I e-mailed them back saying that is not what your website said and I have a screenshot of the page to prove it (which I did). Circuit City still did not honor what they had listed on their website. That is bad business. I used to buy all my electronics from Circuit City and a lot of games, accessories, car stereos, cables, mp3 players, surround sound, etc, etc, etc. Unless it's an unbeatable deal that they will actually honor, I will not be buying my things from Circuit City. They can have their used games, I won't be buying them.

These stores give 25 dollars for a game they sell for 50 or 55 dollars. I don't like trading games, cause I can't stand the fact that I'm getting screwed. I mean come on, 25 dollars for a game they will sell for twice as much, that's just messed up. First they make money off me buying the game, then they make money off me again. That doesn't sit well with me. And honestly, unless they have some deal going where you buy 2 used games, get one free or something, I would rather pay the extra 5 bucks and get the new copy. It's funny when I see games like Lost Planet and what not, 59.99 new, 54.99 used. What savings!!! Gamefly is the way to go, they just need to fix their shipping issues by putting in a few more shipping facilities, mainly east coast shipping facilities, it takes forever to send back a game and get a new one when you are on the east coast shipping all the way to cali.

"Good dialog, in any case. Thoughts?"
Heh, sure.

If Gamestop is using a business model that doesn't make them enough money than that's what they need to change. When I was a kid game stores didn't sell used games and they didn't go out of business, they expanded. And it sucks for kids and people who can't afford new games all the time. Hell, sometimes I can't afford it, but used games aren't even that much cheeper. They're only like $5 less than a new one. Plus with Blockbuster canceling late fees, you can rent a game for a week, than keep it another week past the due date before they charge you. Or can also use gamefly for $15 a month. I'm not trying to say anything bad about people who buy used games, I just think it's kinda underhanded for game makers to not get paid when someone buys one of their games. I got sold a used Elite Beat Agents that an eb games employee got for free at a convention. It still had the 'not for resale' sticker on it. I loved the game but if not many people tried it, or at least didn't buy the new game, than there won't be enough sales for the company to think it's worth it to make a sequel. I'll agree walmart and target aren't that great for games, but best buy and circuit city do a better job. At least you can look at the back of the game and it's not locked up. and I found Gears of War and Crackdown at Bestbuy before EB had them.

"watch what's happened to the very similarly structured (and equally plagued by loss-leading) record industry."
The RIAA is going broke because of file sharing and I couldn't be happier. For years I paid $18 per CD's that only had one or two really good songs. Well now I'm getting the last laugh because the last time I paid for music was when I bought the soundtrack for the first Matrix. I don't expect to EVER pay for music again. Yea I've kinda got a double standard

Circuit City is one of the worst places to shop. They have terrible customer service and very rude managers. i have had nothing but bad buying experiences there and i don't shop there anymore!

ghsacidman said:
Finally, another company is getting into the used market. Selling Gamestop your game is highway robbery! They'll go as low as $3 for the unpopular 360 games... then turn around and sell them for $30! Rediculous.

I could not agree with you more. You pay $60 for an Xbox360 game then they only offer you like $11 at the most for trade in credit then turn around and sell it back used for $54.99. I mean I totally understand wanting to make a profit, but come on, be reasonable. Gamestop/EB....what a joke.
Oh, and I like their trade in slogan signs claiming you get top dollar for your trade-ins and great deals on used games....wonder when they're gonna get hit with a false advertising suit....I think the best way to sell your used game would be on Ebay or Amazon, the same goes for buying used.

brerrabbit23, I can't say I appreciate your cruel comments against people who work at gamestop. I work for gamestop, I love great games and I love my job. I get to lead people to buy great games, and inform them of the best deals available. I have been to many, many gamestops. Some workers are punks, some are really friendly people. Don't generalize all workers as jerks, just because you have had bad experience.

I am 13. I can't get a job and I get four dollars a week in allowance. If I don't buy used games I can't play play games. Also because I don't get money in an effective manner I don't have a 360 so even If could buy new games I couldn't because Microsoft decided to halt all production on x-box games so all there is, is used games. The used game industry helps the game industry in more ways than help pay for it (which it does, look it up) it provides the fuel to keep the future generation gaming.

onilordsai wrote:
"the gamestop card is more then worth it cuz u save much more then the 15 bucks it costs to buy."

The Gamestop card saves you 10% on all used items. That means you would have to spend $150 on used games to get your 15 dollars back just to break even, and even more that $150 to actually 'save' money. Either you are just defending Gamestop or you buy ALOT of used games

wow.. now major stores are selling used games? i never heard of that before... ugg too bad no circuit city in montreal *not that i know of* or bestbuy near my house... meh used games 4 life homies!!

Sam_Lowery: "That theory would only be true if the person who can't buy a used game decided to buy nothing. But If the same guy who couldn't buy a used game bought a new game the people who actually spent the time making the game would get paid too."

I guess I should clarify that the point I'm making in your quoted text is that if Gamestop only sold new games, they'd go bankrupt. 20% margin minus 27% op cost = -7% profit. That would leave no one but Wal-Mart and all the other mega retailers who have higher margin goods to sell along side their cut-priced, traffic-driving games. Wal-Mart and Target being the only US retailers who can afford to sell games would be bad for everyone, game studios in particular. If you don't believe that's plausible, watch what's happened to the very similarly structured (and equally plagued by loss-leading) record industry. All loss-leading, no innovation. Then there's what you said in response to my quote.... I guess I don't see it, because by your logic, people buying used cars hurts the auto industry. It doesn't. There's a reason....

Some people (most particularly those living outside the dev community in SF who taught you this opinion) *can't* afford to buy new games, and with a secondary market constantly decaying retails, broke kids get to play too. You could try to take the pressure off the specialty retailer by widening the margins on games, but that would only further incentivize Wal-Mart selling games as loss leaders (at or under cost). Again, bad. Kills specialty.

So... you need specialty to survive, because they provide a forum for the hardcore, who support innovation, which you need unless you want to be a WW2 shooter afficianado/Madden player until you're dead. Specialty can't survive on 20 points of margin. Dev can't widen the margin gap without adversely affecting specialty. What to do? OOH! I KNOW!!! Sell used games! Wal-Mart can't crack the market because the business is too hard to manage without trained associates. Best Buy tried and failed. Blockbuster tried and loses wads of cash, hand over fist. Circuit is now trying and will fail, as they do with virtually everything (am I the only one who remembers their DIVX debacle?). And so, specialty survives to sell weird games to the weird hardcore who then prove to boring suits that innovation in whichever direction is safe enough to spend development dollars on.

To your point, some people can afford to buy new games, and they trade in their old stuff to offset the cost of purchase of the next new title (which does pay the development community). That does two great things for the industry. First, it accellerates return visits and new purchases. Second, it supplies specialty with used goods, which specialty then sells to SURVIVE.

Good dialog, in any case. Thoughts?

brerrabbit23 "Used games hurts the industry" is a myth perpetuated by people too slow to understand that 25% of the revenue in the games industry would evaporate"

That theory would only be true if the person who can't buy a used game decided to buy nothing. But If the same guy who couldn't buy a used game bought a new game the people who actually spent the time making the game would get paid too.

Buying a new game helps the game industry more than buying a used game.

Its a quck 10 bucks off if you got a discount card.

ive always bought new games...i dont think ive ever bought a used game..not once.

Used game prices are a joke. Who would be dumb enough to pay $5 less for a game that who knows what was done with it. I can see when the games drop done to like $20 or more less but that is normally when the game is really old and crap by then. I'll stick to new thanks until you come up with some real prices.

Ebay is great for this kinda thing. I buy games at GameStop, but I'll admit their stores have a very.. well.. the best way to describ it is like how some comic book stores have a certain.. I don't know.. atmosphere about them, as only being inviting to core gamers, and being non-invitational to non, and/or casual gamers. Anyway, I dispise the fact that now I can't buy NES, SNES, or N64, systems, and/or games from Gamestop. That makes me sick{not literally, but almost!}. And this fact is true, even more so for me, considering I don't own a Wii, and even if I did, broadband's not in my area, so that rules out VC games. And yeah.. I too think Gamestop is a bit overpriced, but I sometimes shop there anyway, cause it's either that, or Ebay for me if I want older games, and/or systems.

Bananas are made by impoverished children, I always thought they were grown on trees. Only kidding, good post brerrabbit!!!

I love Gamestop... used games 4 life

New games sell for 20% margin (now THAT'S greed, and not on the retailer's part). Your $50 game cost your retailer $40. The retailers get to keep $10 of your $50.

Gamestop runs 27% operating costs (paying their monkeys, rent, electricity, etc.) but sells goods at only 20% profit. How do they make the 7% gap? They sell used games.

"Used games hurts the industry" is a myth perpetuated by people too slow to understand that 25% of the revenue in the games industry (specialty shops, primarily the Evil Empire that is Gamestop) would evaporate behind Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Circuit. Wallyworld is perfectly happy to sell their games at cost, so that they can attract more traffic to buy higher margin goods (milk, bananas, textiles made by impoverished children, etc.)

Once you're only able to sell games in Wal-Mart, know what happens to titles like Katamari? Ever try to sell a game like Oddworld to an executive buyer who lives in Arkansas? Where's your ability to release games that innovate now that you're selling games to someone who doesn't care about your profits and can't understand the appeal of anything other than Madden?

I've heard the "used games hurt dev" argument a thousand times. Know what? It's complete and utter crap.

And no, I don't work for Gamestop. I think they're overpriced and terrible at customer service, too. I think their stores look, feel, and smell very very bad. I just understand *why* they do what they do. Before you open your mouth to beat them for being $54.99 on a used game that just came out, you should too.

Calo1224
"ticalmc2k2, Why would you want them to succeed when they're probably going to do the same thing? Just look at the prices in the article. It's exactly the same as EB/Gamestop does"

Because at least they will have some legitimate competition and hopefully prices will at least occassionally go down.

So basicly we'll be getting screwed over by yet another retailer on trade ins.....................

This issue is important to me. I remember the days of smaller, locally owned stores with people whom I knew and appreciated my business. Yea, I might pay a little more, but the community was worth it.
EB games and Gamestop destroyed the local gamestore owner. I still shop at EB/GS, but was devistated when they merged. I used to be able to shop between the stores to find the best value, but now they are all the same. Also, Gamestop used to offer more coupons and incentives when they had competition, but that has lessened considerably. I wish someone would challenge Gamestop's monopoly on the used game market. With more competition, the consumer wins, not the faceless corperation.

ticalmc2k2, Why would you want them to succeed when they're probably going to do the same thing? Just look at the prices in the article. It's exactly the same as EB/Gamestop does.

cool, more used games available...

got to blockbuster with a gamerush to get the best used game trade in values and best used game buying prices

Even though I dont think they will succeed, I hope they do. I hate EB/Gamestop with a passion. Low trade-ins, high used prices, ignorant and extremely fanboyish employees and they never get a game in when they say they will. If a game releases today, they wont get it until it ships to them a couple days later. I'd rather go to Target or Bestbuy and get it the same day.

i baught final fantasy 3 for 35 bucks new and traded it in a month or so later after i beat it and got 25 bucks back! i was able to get another game. also you can really take advantage of the 7 day used game return policy. if thats evough time to beat it the n return it if u dont like it or whatever u can return it get store credit which when used to buy saves u tax. the gamestop card is more then worth it cuz u save much more then the 15 bucks it costs to buy. also at the gamestop im at i get people who know the games and have no problem helping me and knowing what there talking about. i would shop there just for the customer service.
im not saying i condon there little racket, i just dont have a problem trading in a game or buying one if the price is fair, and sometimes you can get a real good deal.

Why would I buy a used game anywhere? High prices for USED games.

Last week I bought new Half-Life 2 and Rainbow Six 3 : Black Arrow at Circuit City for $4,99 each. I just checked, the EBGames price for Half-Life 2 is $12.99 used.

In the past two years, I have bought about 20 games for $3.00 each new at Circuit City on sale. No dogs in the bunch, I read the reveiws carefully, and all those games were Gamestop rated between 7.8 and 8.8