Updated: Wal-Mart to buy used games

[Demon_Skeith]

Walmart has leased store space to third-party automated kiosk company E-play, which has released 77 “Video Game Buyback†stations at select locations, Walmart corporate told Gamasutra on Monday.

The machines are part of a very limited pilot program for Ohio-based E-play -- the kiosks are only found in 2 percent of Walmart’s 3,656 total U.S. stores.

Walmart corporate spokesperson Melissa O’Brien said in an email that E-play owns the machines, which reside in Walmart stores’ vestibule leased space areas.

She said the Walmart machines also carry movie DVDs and video game discs for Wii, Xbox and PlayStation platforms for $1 per day rentals, on top of accepting game discs that customers want to sell.

E-play marketing VP and business development exec Kristen Fox explained in phone call that customers scan a game’s jewel case at the machines, at which point a buy back price point appears on the unit’s screen. If the customer accepts the buy back price, he or she inserts the game disc into the kiosk, and the case into the attached bin.

After the machine’s technology confirms the authenticity of the inserted game disc, the kiosk requests the customer’s driver’s license and a credit card. Credit is applied to a credit card of the user’s choice within 2-3 business days, depending on the customer’s financial establishment.

The card does not have to be a Walmart store credit card, Fox said. Store credit can range from 50 cents to around $25 for more recent, high-demand titles, she added. For example, she said that E-play machines buy back Madden NFL 09 for Xbox 360 for $14, although E-play reviews trade-in values frequently “to stay competitive.â€

Fox would not go into details about the contract between E-play and Walmart, and declined to say whether or not there is some sort of profit-sharing deal between the two companies.

Fox also declined to comment specifically on what E-play does with the used games that it buys, only saying there are a “couple different methods†for resale of the games. It’s possible that some of the inventory is injected into E-play’s game rental inventory.

“I can't see this having tremendous appeal to hardcore gamers, unless the credits are substantially higher than those offered at GameStop,†said Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, who also told us that the system could appeal to cash-strapped customers.

“Even if this takes off, it's not going to make much of a dent in the used market. … I don't see it being a big deal.â€

Walmart’s O’Brien added that the retailer would consider expanding the E-play game buy back program if it’s successful.

Prior to the Walmart initiative, E-play had established a base of what it calls “high-tech DVD vending machines†that can hold thousands of discs. The touch-screen operated machines are able to accept discs thanks to playability check technology inside the machines.

While the E-play Walmart program is a third-party initiative, other non-specialty video game retailers have attempted to steal away used game market share from the current used game leader GameStop on an internal basis. Best Buy has attempted to gain traction in the used market by selling used games in select stores, with limited success. Toys ‘R’ Us this year also dipped its toes into used games, as well as online retailer Amazon.

source

I think I'll stick to buying and selling games at Gamestop and video games ect or EB games.

 

[hcfwesker]

Jesus! Wal-Mart just can't stand that there's a business market they don't own. Well, at least maybe we can expect cheaper prices from the, maybe.

 

[cqinzx]

I hope their buyback is better than Gamestop. My friend sold a wireless 360 controller for $2 measly bucks!

 

[Demon_Skeith]

got a update for everyone.

While GameStop, Amazon, and smaller independent stores are duking it out for your game trade-ins, we reported Monday on a kiosk spotted at a Walmart location that automated the act of trading in games. The gamer who tried to use the kiosk had quite the unhappy experience, and the gaming blogs ran with the story that Walmart may be getting into the used game business. We caught up with the company behind the kiosk, e-Play, to get all the questions answered.

The first clarification: Walmart is only providing the floor space for the pilot program; the retail giant isn't getting into buying or selling games directly. "Walmart is providing vestibule space to e-Play at 77 of its Northeast region stores. Some stores have Video Game Buy Back only kiosks and some kiosks are full-functioning, but e-Play manages all aspects of kiosk operations for both types," Alan Rudy, the CEO of e-Play, told Ars. "While we have over 200 other retail locations, this is currently a pilot program with Walmart, but we are optimistic of its success and future expansion."

The system also offers a good amount of security. You scan the game's barcode, and the machine tells you its trade-in value. If you decide to sell the game, you have to put the disc into the hardware directly. "Once a disc is inserted into the kiosk, the disc is spun up, identified and evaluated for damage," Rudy explained. "The kiosk is also able to tell if the disc is burned, is a CD or is an old AOL advertising disc and would reject it. If the disc is unidentifiable or does not match what the user stated, there will be a screen that advises the user that the disc did not match and the disc will be returned.

"If a disc is too badly damaged, we will withhold credit and contact the customer to inform him/her. In most cases, even heavily scratched discs can be recovered with our refurbishing process at our distribution center. The discs are inserted into the kiosk, and the empty jewel cases are inserted into the trade bin beside the kiosk."

The machine then asks for your credit card and driver's license for record-keeping, and the trade-in is credited to your card in a day or two. That's right, you get what amounts to cash, although the possibility of retailer gift cards will also be explored.

These kiosks won't just give you credit for games, you'll also be able to purchase or rent games. One of the advantages of the kiosk system that Rudy points is the lessening of shrink: there is no product directly on the floor for customers to steal, and no employee needs to be trained to operate the machine.

How is e-Play hoping to combat Amazon? "The e-Play trade method does not involve printing shipping labels or waiting on snail mail to deliver your games or to return your Amazon gift card," Rudy said. "Soon, e-Play will also post their buy-back pricing online so customers can preview this information before going to a kiosk." Rudy won't review the "proprietary algorithm" the company uses to determine trade-in value, but by placing the values online and allowing customers to scan the games and see the value before making the decision, they are offering one more data point showing how much used games are worth on the open market. Also, unlike GameStop, the value does not decrease if you decide you want cash instead of store credit for your games.

So what happened with the gamer in the original report? Rudy tells us that if a retailer like GameStop puts their own bar codes on the game cases, the machine won't recognize them. By sliding the sleeve up or down you're able to reveal the original barcode, allowing the machine to recognize the game. Right now PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360, and Wii games are accepted for trade.

more here

 

[froggyboy604]

I think using Craigslist, Amazon Marketplace and eBay are better ways to buy and sell used games since you can determine the price you want to sell something for.