How to Maximize the Trade-In Value for Your Video Games

Many video game collectors would balk at the idea of selling off pieces of their hard earned collection.  You never know when that one readily-available game will suddenly become rare and particularly expensive to buy.  However, if you’re not a collector, there may not be much point for you to keep around video games you’ve already finished–especially if you weren’t particularly fond of the experience.

But, if you want to trade in or sell your games, you definitely want to get the best deal, right?  But, finding the best deal for your used games may not be the easiest process… but I’m here to help!  Let’s talk about maximizing your trade in profit.

Know Your Game’s Value

This is the single most important thing to remember when you’re downgrading your collection… roughly how much your games are worth!  Video games are a volatile market in terms of value, and they can go up and down in price at the drop of a hat.  For example, the prices of the PS4 title Gravity Rush Remastered skyrocketed over the past week, and used copies are easily going for $100.  On the contrary, older versions of annual sports titles are never in demand, and as such asking prices for those games plummet quickly.

Sometimes, trade in values are slow to reflect these changes in demand and price–and you can use that to your advantage, or weigh out the benefits and drawbacks of trying to outright sell your game, as opposed to trading it in.

Research Where You Can Trade In Games

In the past, you pretty much only had Gamestop, and maybe one or two local places available to trade in your games.  Nowadays, though, there are tons of options available for getting credit for your games.  Here’s a list of some of the places you can go to unload your used video games:

• Gamestop
• Best Buy
• Amazon
• Walmart
• Target

Don’t forget local mom and pop gaming/electronics stores, either.  Many local places will take retro games as well as modern, and may give you a far better deal than the corporate chains.

Figure Out Which Retailer Will Give You The Best Price

With so many options at your fingertips, it’s only natural to make sure you’re getting the highest value for your games. So, it’s best to use the online search of all the companies to find who values your games the most.

Let’s take and example with a semi-recent title, The Last Guardian.  At Gamestop, it’s worth $22, or $27.50 if you have a Pro card.  Amazon will give you $24.15.  Best Buy is an even $25. Walmart will give you a slightly lower $24.87, and Target is the lowest of the bunch at only $20.55.

So given this information, it would seem best to turn in The Last Guardian at Gamestop if you have the Pro membership, and Best Buy if not.  However, there is one more caveat to consider.  When you are trading in games, you are essentially trading for store credit.  Sure, some places offer cash, but it’s often at a reduced rate, which sours the deal significantly.  So, depending on your situation and preferences, it might be better to take the 85 cent hit and trade it to Amazon, as their credit is a bit more versatile than Best Buy’s.

Remember that Trade-In Values Are Volatile

Trade-in values of games can change day by day, so if you see a really nice value on a game you have, it’s best to take advantage of it ASAP.  Trade-in values on games, especially new releases, can drop very quickly as more people bring in their copies and the new versions go on sales.  So if you, say, have beaten all of Resident Evil 7 and decided you’re probably not going to play it again (or at least not any time soon), make sure to trade it in sooner rather than later, and you can hold onto the store credit for the next big release.

If A Trade In Doesn’t Seem Worth It, Wait For A Trade-In Deal

Sometimes you really want to offload a game, but the price doesn’t seem worth it.  Only around $12 for Watch Dogs 2 on the PS4 might seem like a bad deal in your eyes, but if there is a week where trade in value is double, that quickly turns into a $24 trade in, and seems like a much more favorable value.  Gamestop and Best Buy tends to have double credit deals and deals for consoles trade-ins most regularly, though the other chains can have their own deals from time to time.

Of course, this does mean being a little patient, so it’s best not to wait for these if you plan on trading in newer releases, only slightly older games that have settled down in terms of value.

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