Curmudgeon Gamer
19 May 2007
Used Games Lose Their Fleas?
During my irregularly taken morning run, I passed four yard sales. Running isn't the best way to take a quick survey of what's for sale. Regardless, I didn't see one video game system, appliance, nor game at any of the four, all seen before 9am. I'd already thought I'd noticed a dearth of games at yard sales, which this morning's events only supported.
Where have the old games gone? The title of the post is a bit of a misnomer -- I do still see a decent collection of games at fleas, but they are increasingly at a stand/store dedicated to gaming rather than individual stands, where you could occasionally bag a find or two before. Between these flea stores and real gaming stores, I wonder if the increased "value" of used games, more accurately described as "ready money for used games," hasn't killed the game hunter's supply. That is, now people go trade in used games for nothing at EB rather than keep them in a box to put in their driveway.
Matt has an interesting story of being caught in a line at one such store hearing a lady trading in a GBA on an SP and being offered a price low enough that Matt himself had to consider beating it. Did she trade it in anyway? Value is now more about the "ready" in ready money, not absolute value.
Still, it's not like games have quite yet disappeared in spite of the efforts of GameTap and other virtual rare book rooms. Where are they going? More directly, what have EB and Rhino and friends done with the games they've taken out of circulation as unsellable? They 're sure not showing up at neighborhood yard sales like they used to.
Where have the old games gone? The title of the post is a bit of a misnomer -- I do still see a decent collection of games at fleas, but they are increasingly at a stand/store dedicated to gaming rather than individual stands, where you could occasionally bag a find or two before. Between these flea stores and real gaming stores, I wonder if the increased "value" of used games, more accurately described as "ready money for used games," hasn't killed the game hunter's supply. That is, now people go trade in used games for nothing at EB rather than keep them in a box to put in their driveway.
Matt has an interesting story of being caught in a line at one such store hearing a lady trading in a GBA on an SP and being offered a price low enough that Matt himself had to consider beating it. Did she trade it in anyway? Value is now more about the "ready" in ready money, not absolute value.
Still, it's not like games have quite yet disappeared in spite of the efforts of GameTap and other virtual rare book rooms. Where are they going? More directly, what have EB and Rhino and friends done with the games they've taken out of circulation as unsellable? They 're sure not showing up at neighborhood yard sales like they used to.
Labels: used
--ruffin at 10:17
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