GAME to stop ripping you off on game trade ins

They closed our local game last week, leaving just a small concession in the sports direct and, yeah, no second hand games there, boyos.

Considering GAME charge five quid for pretty much doing anything with them I'm surprised they've not decided to charge a fiver to trade in.

I imagine CeX will now take advantage of having no competition in lowering their trade in rates.

My boys each received a £10 Game voucher for Christmas, I've already warned them they're in for a disappointing trip when we finally drive miles to the nearest store to see the pathetic range of crap they'll have available for £10. Aah the days when Gamestation were about, sure they were really grubby and stank (the shops, staff and most customers) but they were really busy and buzzing places. Good times.

From I've seen they receive more money from digital purchases now.

They always seemed to have such a woefully low stock of S/H games, that said the odd times I've been in over the last decade I always remember doing a double at the prices when I suddenly realise I'm looking at S/H game prices not new.

I’ve not been in the one here for awhile but from the outside I’m not sure they even stock games anymore. Its all POP figures and game adjacent tat. The new Sports Direct has a GAME concession in it and its no distance from the current shop so that’ll be them shut soon.

Back 15-20 years ago, when I last used to go into GAME stores, they were really pushing the trade-in / second-hand stuff so much that it was often impossible to get a New game.

Then Steam became a thing and I stopped buying physical games, except the occasional time I'd be walking past CEX, or that other 2nd hand store I've forgotten the name of cash converters, and spot a game I wanted going for a quid.

Though in the last 2 years, what with the kids getting a Switch and Switches having bugger all storage, I've started to appreciate getting physical carts again.

At least until I discovered that half of them don't actually have the game on, so you have to download the entire thing anyway, so it doesn't save you any storage space.

It is a bit weird buying and swapping physical media again though... feels like I've gone back in time to the 90s! 

I have! But that doesn't seem to stop it being eternally full up. *cries*

Electronic Boutique was a magical place back in the day. For my entire student life I rinsed their 10 day guarantee policy, just completing and exchanging every possible game I could get.

I think them switching to nerd tat is to compete with Smyths, who are regularly undercutting them for physical games at the moment. I must admit my go to is usually Smyths, if I see a cheap physical game. 

I remember, mid-90s, some kid would buy Hexen or whatever, install it, lend it to a bunch of mates who'd all install it too, then return it.

I can't remember if that was EB or a local indie store, but they soon realised their no-questions-asked refund policy didn't work as well on PC games as for console ones!

I think CEX are doing well in handling mobile phones that routinely seem to find it's way into their hands.

I use CeX as a mail order movie rental service these days. If I can't find what I want on streaming I'll just buy it from CeX and and then sell it back once I'm done. The kind of stuff I get that way is usually only a couple of quid

That's kinda what i used to do with eBay back in the day. 
If i thought I'd watch it again I'd keep it, if not I'd sell it for about what i paid for it (minus postage) and buy something else. 

Course, that was when i had the free time to package stuff up and go to the post office 3times a week.