GameStop now buying/selling retro titles, including Star Wars
Video game retailer GameStop recently announced that all their locations are accepting retro trade-ins for games, consoles and accessories.
This announcement came via a tweet earlier today and it allows people to trade in retro games for in-store credit. Select Star Wars titles have also begun to sell under the “Vintage Software” category on GameStop’s website.
Games include the original Battlefront, Battlefront 2, the Rogue Squadron trilogy and several NES, SNES and GameBoy Star Wars titles. In total, the “Vintage Software” category contains 22 Star Wars games at the time of writing.
Note that while a game might appear on that list, it doesn’t mean your local GameStop will take it. According to Kotaku’s Mike Fahey, his nearby GameStop did not accept Star Wars: Super Return of the Jedi on the SNES, despite the game retailing for $14.99 on the company’s website. Most likely, game acceptance depends upon the current stock and demand for a title, so the list could vary depending on time and location.
So how do their prices stack up against competition?
At least before shipping costs, they’re pretty competitive. I looked at several titles on the website and compared them with the game’s current price on video game pricing website, Price Charting (as of October 26):
- Battlefront (Xbox): $9.99 at GameStop, market value of $13.99 complete
- Battlefront II (Xbox): $29.99 at GameStop, market value of $30 complete
- Rogue Squadron (N64):$9.99 at GameStop, market value of $7.50 loose
- Republic Commando (Xbox): $12.99 at GameStop, market value of $12.99 complete
- Bounty Hunter (GameCube): $7.99 at GameStop, market value of $9 loose
I compared the loose or complete value based on if the game appears to be loose or complete on GameStop’s website. PowerUp Pro members can also get 10% knocked-off the price of the games. The market value is also does not include shipping.
Of course, if you sell to GameStop, the amount of money you’ll receive will be less than the market value. Additionally, it appears that you can only receive in-store credit. As such, if you have the time and patience, I’d recommend trying to sell your games on Ebay or Amazon first. However, selling to GameStop might be an easy alternative if you’re in need of some quick in-store credit.
