Every gamer goes through the process of buying a new video game – playing it until bored or finished and then moving on to the next game. For some, the retail value of £40 (~$60) for most new video games makes moving on to the next game a difficult task, making gaming an expensive hobby! This article will discuss some of the methods for purchasing/obtaining new video games available to gamers and consider whether video game exchange sites represent the best value for a gamer when moving to a new video game.
Trading in Video Games
Trading your video game at a local store is one method – this often means losing more than half the value of the game you paid for in the first place. And a local store will probably sell your video game for a much higher price. So the value exchange they offer you won’t keep you in the store too much so you still have to donate extra cash to get new games. However, the process is easy and you have your next game as soon as you are in the store!
Advantages:
1. Comfortable
2. Instant
Deficiency:
1. Low trading value
2. Hefty mark ups by retailers mean you pay more money for your next game
Video Game Rental
Joining a game rental service, such as Boomerang or Lovefilm, is another option. You usually pay a fixed monthly subscription fee and receive a limited number of games that you can keep for as long as you want. The quality of these services varies widely and the main drawback here is that you have to keep a list of the games you want – so you receive any games the rental company owns when they receive the returned games. So the danger here is that you may not actually get a game at the top of your list. Other downsides include waiting a long time for the one game you want – or receiving a game so scratched that your console can’t play it! The most important,
Furthermore, the value in these services varies from game to game. Some games can be completed within a few days of being played, so the cost-effectiveness of playing these games is a fraction of the monthly subscription fee. And some games will be played for years, making playing these games via lease very expensive! So in this case, the rental has the advantage of letting you try a large number of games for a monthly subscription fee. If you think the game has long term value then you can simply buy the game safely knowing that you will be playing this game for a long time! But then PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 gamers can try new games by downloading them, disabling this point in their case.
Other game rental options are often available from local video stores. Rental fees are typically 5% to 10% of the cost of the video game for a game duration of up to 7 days. Using a local video shop to rent games is definitely convenient and the value of the service to you depends on whether you actually finish the game or decide it’s none of your business (i.e. you get the most out of them) before the game is due again.
Advantages:
1. Huge collection to choose from
2. Easy to get new video games when you finish old ones
3. You can try a large number of games for a nominal subscription fee.
Deficiency:
1. May not get the game you want
2. It can be a long wait for games depending on the rental company’s stock level
3. You don’t really own anything in the end
Selling your video games
Another route is simply to sell you video games. One of the easiest ways to sell is to auction your game on eBay or TheGameCollective. If the game is new and popular, you’ll probably get a good price – potentially a lot more than the local shop will pay, and all you have to do is wait a few more days for the auction/sale to end, then send your game in the mail. Slightly less convenient than local stores, but for many, the extra value in video games is well worth it.
The draw back here is that eBay will take a deduction from the current final sale price of 8.25% of the final fee and if you accept payment via PayPal, you will have to pay an additional fee (~4%), representing a loss of up to 12% of the final price. (unless you’re sneaky and include this in the P&P price – but that’s a scourge for many!).
Advantages:
1. Can receive a good price for your game
2. Quite comfortable
Deficiency:
1. Have to wait a few days for the sale to be agreed
2. Commission on the final selling price
Video Game Exchange
Exchanging video games through online game swapping networks is another method. These sites include TheGameCollective, gamejam or hitflip and for little/no cost these sites will allow gamers to agree to swap and then exchange home addresses and ship their games to each other. This service gives gamers the opportunity to play new video games for the cost of installing a game. So in this case, the game swap option offers great potential for value conscious gamers.
Game exchanges are not currently widely adopted so unless a game exchange site experiences heavy traffic, a gamer may have to wait a little longer to get the video game exchange they want. This can take a while depending on the popularity of the game and in this case the exchange of games is not as convenient as, say, trading. But as game exchanges grow in popularity, the process of moving to a new video game will become a much better value experience.
Advantages:
1. Can be obtained with the cost of submitting the game
2. Easy to get new video games when you finish old ones
Deficiency:
1. May have to wait a long time to find other gamers willing to swap
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