The Great Sell Back - Getty Images As winter begrudgingly surrenders to spring and you begin that annual task of
cleaning out all the detritus that has accumulated in your closets over the
past year, you might want to start with your game collection.
Everyone has a few favorites they'll hang on to forever, whether for sentimental value or because they enjoy replaying them from time to time. But most video games simply gather dust -- and while some of those games on your shelf might have limited value, others are in high demand.
As you might expect, no one's interested in that 2001 copy of Madden you've been
holding onto. Newer games, quite simply, sell better.
"The newest games have the highest values," says David Abrams, who runs CheapAssGamer.com, a site dedicated to finding the best deals in video games and video game trade-ins. "Amazon and
GameStop don't really seem interested in buying up classic games."
Of last year's titles, CAG research finds the one most in demand is actually The Sims
3. Amazon is currently paying $30.75 for a used copy of the Xbox 360 version and $28 for the PS3 version.
Call of Duty: Black Ops, which is still ruling the new game sales charts, fetches hefty
resell prices as well, with Amazon paying $30.75 for the PS3 version and $27
for the Wii version. GameStop will give you $28 for the 360 version, $1.50 more
than Amazon's trade price.
Other top titles that are commanding premium prices from resellers include Assassin's
Creed: Brotherhood, first-party Wii games like Donkey Kong Country Returns and
New Super Mario Bros., Dragon Age:Origins Ultimate Edition and Kinect launch titles Kinectimals and Kinect Sports.
Most valuable trade-ins:
All data courtesy of CheapAssGamer.com
| Game | Amazon | Gamestop |
| The Sims 3 | Xbox 360: $30.75 | PS3: $28 | N/A |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops | Xbox 360: $26.50 | PS3: $30.75 | Wii: $27 | Xbox 360: $28 |
| FIFA 11 | Xbox 360: $28 | PS3: $25.25 | N/A |
| NHL 11 | Xbox 360: $25.25 | PS3: $23.7 | Xbox 360: $18 |
| Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition | Xbox 360/PS3: $25.25 | PS3: $18 |
| Castlevania: Lords of Shadow | Xbox 360: $23.75 | PS3: $22.50 | Xbox 360: $17 |
| Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood | Xbox 360: $28 | PS3: $25 | Xbox 360/PS3: $18 |
| Donkey Kong Country Returns | $31 | N/A |
| Kirby's Epic Yarn | $25 | N/A |
| Super Mario Galaxy 2 | $28 | $23 |
| New Super Mario Bros. Wii | $27.50 | N/A |
| Mario Kart Wii | $17.50 | $25 |
| Super Smash Bros. Brawl | $17.50 | $25 |
| Kinect Sports | $23.25 | N/A |
| Kinectimals | $20 | $20 |
As you can see, trade-in prices vary depending on where you
choose to do business. They also tend to rise and fall daily, so the prices
above may have changed by the time you dig through your collection and start
the trade-in process. CheapAssGamer updates the Amazon value of titles on a
daily basis. GameStop values are provided on the site when available (via user
submission).
In general, GameStop offers the lowest trade prices on a day-to-day basis, but if
you visit during an in-store promotion, the store credit can increase
substantially. Amazon.com generally offers more per game, but you'll have to
wait for the credit.
The best way to get the most from your used games is actually via direct sale. Ebay and
sites like Glyde.com let players sell their back catalog for cash, which is
often preferable to store credit. It's a slower process, though, and demands
more from the user. Ultimately, it can be a bit much for the person who simply
wants to get rid of a sackful of games quickly and easily.
