As grotesque as GameStop can be... I can’t be too mad at them. After a death in the family we had THOUSANDS of DVD’s. This person was a DVD hoarder, but they bought mostly bargain bin straight to DVD type movies no one has ever heard of. Selling those things would have been ridiculous, and we could donate them to a second hand- but honestly- flooding some poor second hand with a bunch of terrible DVDS just to have them gone seemed more horrible than not donating them at all. Game stop took every last one. 2 car loads FULL of DVDS- and while they gave us almost nothing for them- asides throwing them out I really don’t know how else we would have gotten rid of them. We went to places that buy and sell DVD’s- and they took some- but 2 car loads were left of what no other retailer would buy.
But it isn’t just that (that’s kinda a pocket case isn’t it?) I can’t be too mad at GameStop because they aren’t really that far off from what most people do. Go on eBay or Craigslist and you’ll find plenty of reasonable priced sellers, some crazy deals once in awhile- but you’ll also find tons of buyers and sellers that are looney as GameStop.
People asking $10 less than new for old, used, damaged, common stuff. People asking for MORE than new on things that you can literally go to the store and buy for less, not limited edition or anything- just hoping that someone will be gullible or ignorant enough about the market or where to get things- or assume that a listing on these sites will be a value and not check.
Buyers offering insane low balls and trades.... so it isn’t something I like to see- but I can’t say game stop isn’t just doing what anyone else is. What’s more- I can say that GameStop is usually pretty fair in their pricing of used hardware and games. Not always- and seldom the best deal in town in used stuff- but they tend to price at fair market value and generally offer better (although inconsistent) post purchase support than a random private seller.
To their credit- I’ve also snagged lots of limited edition collectibles and in demand hardware or software from them, things I couldn’t find anywhere else, or that were MASSIVELY inflated at online retailers and specialty retailers and private prices- and they didn’t care. If that collectible was going for 10x retail online- if they had it in stock they sold it at retail. So that’s nice.
And there have been times- once recently (I forget what exactly..?) where I’ve NEEDED something gaming specific, something that the somewhat simplistic gaming sections of retailers like Walmart or Target or Best Buy didn’t even stock- and I needed it same day- and GameStop was good for it.
They are far from perfect. I’m not a fan overall- their business model has long been at odds with both fans and creators of games, and their service and other aspects can be spotty- but having a dedicated physical speciality shop for a hobby, that is far from perfect- is better than none. Some folks are lucky enough to have local independent shops with selection and service and stock- where I live most of those shops went out of business. The rent here is too high for small specialty shops to thrive unless they charge far more than what you can get online or just really reach their market and keep it.
I’d take any one of the local owned stores that used to be around here 20,25 years ago over GameStop- but... those guys didn’t buy just whatever crap game or loser peripheral you wanted to unload- and they also had memories for those they felt annoyed or offended them- and even the best ones I knew, they were collectors too. They priced the cool rare stuff to market value not retail much of the time. They weren’t GameStop who will put a figure going for $200 online on clearance for $30.
And you're 100% right about crazy deals online. This was a hilarious lesson easily learned from online video games. If something you post on a marketboard starts at 3, yet is being sold for 1, that means you can buy it for 1 and literally burn it at an NPC merchant for a profit. I've made thousands doing that.
That’s a sweet hustle! There’s a lot to be had flipping stuff- and if you’re patient and have yours eyes open- it’s surprising how often you can find a sweet deal.
Honestly, go to a fucking pawn store over GameStop, you're likely getting twice as much.