When Amazon recently decided to get into the games trading business, the world of game trading was no longer monopolized by the d’bags over at Gamestop.
The main reason for going through Amazon instead of Gamestop is that the credit you get is so much more liquid. With Gamestop credit, I’d have to buy overpriced games at Gamestop; with Amazon credit, I can buy almost anything from a multitude of vendors. Additionally, I’ve heard that Amazon trade in values are a bit higher, but that’s hard to confirm since these values change constantly based on supply, demand, and competitor price points.
The overall process is very simple and straightforward – You load up your cart with trade ins until the total value is over $10. The site generates shipping labels that you print out. You are responsible for packing and shipping everything out within 7 days and Amazon covers the shipping.
The service requires that the game be in good condition, meaning few scratches on disc, booklet, and original case and cover. If Amazon doesn’t deem your submission appropriate, they’ll mail your game back to you at their cost, which is pretty nice of them.
I recently made the plunge to take up their offer and decided to trade in two games on the 360 where I finished completed 1000 achievement points – Quantum of Solace and Force Unleashed. Amazon updates the trade in values for their products daily and, in what I saw when I checked, they have the potential for of either going up or down.
The mistake I made was that I should have used one of my old Amazon boxes to ship the games over. I went over to the post office with only the merchandise, thinking that they would roll up the cost of the envelope into the cost of shipping. However, that wasn’t the case, and I ended up paying 1.39 on my own dime for the shipping. I know that’s not a lot of money, but considering I’m only getting $17 for the entire transaction, it does sting a little bit.
So I’m now waiting to receive $17 of credit. It usually takes about 2 weeks for the credit to register, but I’m in no rush. Considering I only paid $25 for both games originally, I consider this a win for me.
