It's hard to believe that anyone who has ever shopped in GameStop would be unaware of the fact that the retailer offers a trade-in for credit or cash scheme but it seems some 60 per cent of the stores' customers don't know about it.
Speaking to GamesBeat, GameStop President Tony Bartel commented:
“The biggest opportunity with trades is awareness. Believe it or not, only 40 percent of the people who walk into a GameStop store today know that we accept trades of games.”
He adds that even fewer people realise they accept old iPhones and tablets. Bartel believes that trade-ins are a key part of the game eco-system as most of the money generated from trade-ins goes on buying new games.
“The way our people look at it is [that] it’s another form of currency. We see it as a way to affordably get the games that you really want. Seventy per cent of that trade credit goes right back into purchasing new games. We see it as an integral part of the entire video game ecosystem.”
$1.2 billion of trade-in credit has been spent in GameStop's stores over the last year on games and related products. I would have thought GameStop was known for its trade-ins almost as much as it is for its pre-orders but there you have it.
Some developers and publishers may not like trade-ins but they are a key source of revenue when it comes to buying new.
