MVC reports that Amazon has decided to enter the industry-despised pre owned games market, with a new option appearing on their US website. Gamers will be able to send in their unwanted games for a pre-arranged amount of credit that will go straight into their account.
While it doesn’t sound as convenient as high-street trade-ins, the system looks reasonably simple. The Amazon website will give a quote on any given console game. Customers then print out a shipping label and post the games to Amazon. Once the condition is confirmed, the gamer’s account is credited with the money. To get the scheme off the ground, they’re offering an additional 10% off their next game purchase.
It’s unclear how much they will re-sell the pre owned titles for, but current prices offered for used games include $33 for Street Fighter 4 (PS3), $29 for Little Big Planet, $33.50 for Animal Crossing: City Folk, but just $10 for Far Cry 2.
I personally hope this option appears in the UK store soon. The pre-owned market seems incredibly greedy in this country, with the likes of GAME, Gamestation, HMV and Blockbuster re-selling used games for almost full price, and offering gamers a quickly plummeting trade in value. While Amazon may be no better, they are known for putting up their games at reduced RRP making the credit all the more useful. Case in point, the much-anticipated GTA Chinatown Wars is currently up available for £17.99 pre-order.
Of course, the games industry hates the pre-owned market, fuming at the fact it doesn’t get a cut of any pre-owned sales, which it claims accounts for a huge number of sales. There are various solutions to the ‘problem’ including subscription based games like World of Warcraft, downloadable games and offensive DRM solutions like those used in Spore.
Would you use Amazon’s trade in service if it were in the UK, or is the convenience of the high street incomparable?
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