Too early to start talking about rare/valuable Wii games?

[Betagam7]

So Gamestop ran a promotion where they asked their customers to sell them rare, out of print expensive to obtain games at low prices...and then resold the stock back to their customers at exorbitant ones?

I'm amazed this kind of thing still works in this day and age.

[darsparx]

So Gamestop ran a promotion where they asked their customers to sell them rare, out of print expensive to obtain games at low prices...and then resold the stock back to their customers at exorbitant ones?

I'm amazed this kind of thing still works in this day and age.

It's not really a shock, they're a retail company that sells the game at prices that still sell well enough for them to be happy. Heck that's why first party games don't drop much until the end of the cycle for the system, which sucks but eh

[samsonlonghair]

So Gamestop ran a promotion where they asked their customers to sell them rare, out of print expensive to obtain games at low prices...and then resold the stock back to their customers at exorbitant ones?

I'm amazed this kind of thing still works in this day and age.

Have you never heard of Gamestop before? This is the whole business model.
Sell brand new game game to Sucker A for $60.
Buy back game from Sucker A for $6.
Sell used game to Sucker B for $30.
Buy back game from Sucker B for $5.
Sell used game to Sucker C for $25.
Buy back game from Sucker C for $2.
Throw away game case to save on shelf space.
Sell game to Sucker D for $5.

Hey, that's just business. They don't do it to be cruel; they're just turning a profit.

[Betagam7]

I'm aware of how trade ins at big retail outlets go. But I've never seen a coordinated campaign to get specific games that are known to be rare/out of print and, in the case of Xenoblade, a game that would have largely been purchased by collectors (considering it took an internet campaign to get it released in NA) who you would expect to be more knowledgeable about the potential money/investment they were sitting on.

It's one thing buying up a bunch of games from some clown who doesn't know what he has and just wants to get his hands on a copy of Generic Racer 2014 in exchange but I find it strange that the people who bought Xenoblade wouldn't be a bit more savvy about ebay and other far more profitable alternatives. This isn't the nineties anymore. I just find it odd that they were able to secure so many copies back from people...although I suppose the store credit was more generous than usual.

In fact, didn't Gamestop have exclusivity on Xenoblade in NA?

[Opa Opa]

As I recall, gamestop was selling the game cheaper than anyone on eBay/amazon/forums- even with the slight rise in price.

[isiolia]

In fact, didn't Gamestop have exclusivity on Xenoblade in NA?

They did. The game was only available through them, and directly from Nintendo...presumably because Gamestop actually negotiated with Nintendo to get the game printed and published in the U.S.

Again, they didn't convince tons and tons of people to trade in their copies in order to have as many in stock again as they do now. They negotiated with Nintendo to have more printed, which they sell unsealed as used.

The issue at the time was more that by selling the actually-new copies as used, they could get away with the inflated (according to market demand) used price. They've long since dropped the prices down though.

[CRTGAMER]

So Gamestop ran a promotion where they asked their customers to sell them rare, out of print expensive to obtain games at low prices...and then resold the stock back to their customers at exorbitant ones?

I'm amazed this kind of thing still works in this day and age.

Have you never heard of Gamestop before? This is the whole business model.
Sell brand new opened game to Sucker A for $60.
Buy back game from Sucker A for $6.
Sell used game to Sucker B for $30.
Buy back game from Sucker B for $5.
Sell used game to Sucker C for $25.
Buy back game from Sucker C for $2.
Throw away game case to save on shelf space.
Sell game to Sucker D for $5.

Hey, that's just business. They don't do it to be cruel; they're just turning a profit.

So true. I did add one thing in your quote.

In fact, didn't Gamestop have exclusivity on Xenoblade in NA?

They did. The game was only available through them, and directly from Nintendo...presumably because Gamestop actually negotiated with Nintendo to get the game printed and published in the U.S.

Again, they didn't convince tons and tons of people to trade in their copies in order to have as many in stock again as they do now. They negotiated with Nintendo to have more printed, which they sell unsealed as used.

The issue at the time was more that by selling the actually-new copies as used, they could get away with the inflated (according to market demand) used price. They've long since dropped the prices down though.

Right, like I believe someone posting on Yahoo.

I do not buy into the Reprint guesstimate. Now if Gamestop Corporate (not a local Manager) or Nintendo themselves (not some blog site) posts hard data proof then maybe it might be true. Show me pictures of the supposed reprint production at the factory, Gaaah, I wish there was a way to decipher the date stamp etched on every Wii disc to settle this.

The buyback refurbish campaign is the only tangible proof, the EMail I posted on the previous page was sent out to all customers that bought either game thru their Power Up Gamestop Card. Gamestop took a shot hoping for trade ins from customers moving up to the WiiU and upcoming PS4 and XBox One. The total "Buy Back" numbers are unknown, just strange that a few months later the initial restock run of games show up shiny new with a R Gamestop Refurbish sticker on the back. Take a guess where the only place that sticker is placed at? It is not the local store or Nintendo either.



So maybe the refurbished games could be more uncommon in terms of total numbers resold? No thanks, I'll stick to the original cases, especially Tin Case Metroid Trilogy. Fortunately, I own two before Gamestop got hold of them.

[Fragems]

The extra trade in credit thing isn't exactly new they have been doing that forever it just got a lot more attention for the insane demand for the limited Xeno print. There is usually a call out for a certain type of game or specific title with every weekly ad. Plus as CRT said if you have a game they want recorded in your Power Up Rewards library they will sometimes pop up those emails .

http://www.gamestop.com/collection/trade-in

[mjmjr25]

I suspected your copy was not the original case, during the Metroid Trilogy and Xeonoblade buyback last summer all copies went to the Refurbish Center. Gamestop tossed out the scratched tin cases, the idiots!

Chances are they didn't do that with many, if any. They had the games reprinted. It's been fairly widely reported, and I know my white case Metroid Prime Trilogy disc looks brand new (I have a steelbook copy too, but it's sealed).

At the time, their used price for Prime Trilogy was around $70. If they got a complete version in good condition, one would think they'd have just put it on the shelf.

I messaged my cousin about this a few weeks ago - didn't think to post it until now.

GS was doing the b2g1 Wii/DS sale 2 weeks ago - I went in to grab Metroid Prime Trilogy for myself and then was going to see what else they had.

I brought Mario All-Stars, Prime Trilogy, and Last Story to the counter as they were all w/case and manual on the floor.

The employee opened a case and pulled out NOS copies of Mario and Prime Trilogy. I told him for the value, i'd grab another Prime as my free game and I ended up adding 2 other games with Last Story to get that one for free.

When he pulled out the 2nd copy of Trilogy I took a closer look now that I knew what he was doing - there had to be 150 copies, all CIB / NOS. These didn't even have stickers on the front - just the one barcode sticker on the back. He had Xenoblade in the same drawer - maybe 50 of those.

If these were all accumulated from the buy-back last year - it doesn't add up - they ALL look brand new. You can resurface discs to look new, I guess, but you can't resurface cases, artwork and manuals.

I recall telling my cousing MPT will be a $20 game in a year. With the b2g1 it was essentially 3 for $90 / NOS.

[CRTGAMER]

When he pulled out the 2nd copy of Trilogy I took a closer look now that I knew what he was doing - there had to be 150 copies, all CIB / NOS. These didn't even have stickers on the front - just the one barcode sticker on the back. He had Xenoblade in the same drawer - maybe 50 of those.

The 150 and also the 50 count is really hard to believe, but if your cousin actually saw that then okay. It just seems insane for just one store to keep that much of just one title in stock, especially considering the years of excuses of tossing out cases due to lack of space. You never know from home office buys though.

The other thing I wonder is even negotiating with Nintendo for an older game reprint. Even though the WiiU supports Wii games, at the time the unknown source Metroid and Xeonoblade came back out as the Wii was winding down. Even though a profit initially, I doubt Nintendo would slow production of WiiU products to do another one time release of the two Wii game titles. The publisher of Metroid Trilogy actually announced that it would only have a one time limited run some years ago.

I am curious if there was a boldfaced R on that bar code sticker on the back of the game case. Note that sticker is right on the case which invalidates any shrink wrap torn off to make a game used. The local store receives the game this way, certainly would not put just the back sticker initially. I think the Refurbish Center just places back stickers and not any the front sticker (which has a price); in case of a price change by the time the game hits the shelf.