Electronics retailer Best Buy has announced it will roll out its used game program, which is still in test phase, to all of its retail stores by this fall. Also planned are dedicated game sections with separate cash wraps and gaming experts. Gamers looking for more bang for their buck can sign up for Best Buy's new gaming magazine, as well as 10 percent off used game purchases and 10 percent bonus on game trades.
Sound familiar?
And in this corner wearing red trunks you have GameStop. The art (and high profit margins) of used games and game trades is something that GameStop has enjoyed for years and years, perhaps to the point where they feel they have a vice grip on the market, and seem to laugh in the face of those who dare oppose them. The used market is something that GameStop takes very seriously and they don't want to see any of that market slip away. You don't hear much these days about Amazon or Wal-Mart's (select stores) trade programs, but what if the Best Buy program takes off? Granted it will take them years to build a foundation and a sound business model that GameStop currently enjoys, but if their deals are better or they offer more trade credit (which they probably will at first), how will this affect GameStop's stance? I think that competition is a great thing, and would like to see GameStop and Best Buy give the other guy a run for their money. It only means that gamers will win in the end.
I'm really looking forward to see how this plays out once Best Buy goes company wide with their used program this fall.
Feel free to share your thoughts!
-Mark
I was there today and the guy was telling me all about the site and how I could get trade values any time on my phone and online. That is something GameStop should do, but overall, I did see that they do have higher priced stuff at the same time they have lower. It will indeed be interesting to see how this pans out in the long run. I see it becoming just like GS if it does, or they just don't have the opportunity to do it as deep and specialized as GS so they can't keep up.
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