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How to Get More for Your Used Video Games by Selling Them Online

Some video games you want to keep around, others are really only fun once. What do you usually do with the games you no longer play? Let them collect dust? Hope that some day they will become classics and be worth a mint? I have a better suggestion: Make some money off of them now. Here’s how:

Avoid GameStop and other “brick and mortar” game retailers. The prices they offer for used games is, quite frankly, insulting. They are aware that they are convenient and can put cash in your hand quickly, so they offer a pittance for your used games. They then proceed to sell the game they gave you $4 for for ten times more! Skip this charade. There is a better way.

First of all, unless you plan on keeping a particular game long-term, you should consider its resale value from the moment you buy it. This means treating the disc well, as buyers won’t be thrilled about coughing up money for a game with scratches or stains on it. Also, keep the instruction book in pristine condition. Finally, keep the case looking good. The better condition your game, case, and instructions are in, the better price you will eventually get for it when you sell it.

When it comes time to sell, sell it on eBay. The sheer volume of people shopping on eBay assures you that you will get the fair market value for your game. If you don’t have an eBay account, don’t worry. Setting one up is simple, and the selling process takes only minutes to learn.

Video games are especially simple to sell, because by simply entering in the number under the bar code on the game case, eBay will bring up a description of the game that will appear on your auction listing. The only thing that you can do(if you like) is upload a photo of your game and add a short description of the condition of your game.. EBay will help you calculate shipping costs and everything else associated with selling your game.

What’s the best time to list a game for auction? As far as video games go, I have found the best times are Monday through Saturday around 8:00 Eastern Standard Time. This is because most people don’t even bid on a game until the last five or ten minutes, and by starting at 8:00 it will ensure that the maximum number of bidders are online and able to make bids just before your auction ends(which will also be at 8:00).

Also, if you list on a Thursday, don’t choose the default 3-day auction. That’s because Sunday evening is not the best time to end an auction. Why this is, I’m not entirely sure, but I always have better luck on ending the auction on other days of the week. Either shorten or extend the auction so that the auction ends on a different day.

While it might seem like a somewhat risky thing to do, I suggest you start the opening bid for your game at just 99 cents. I know you might be worried that somehow your game will go unnoticed and sell for just a buck, but this pretty much never happens. When you try to start the bidding at what you think the game should be worth, you will immediately lose scores of potential buyers. Most buyers do not waste their time looking through games with even moderate starting bids. They instead like to find a game that has a low starting price and keep an eye on it. Don’t be discouraged if there is relatively little activity until the last hour, since this is how eBay works.

If, for whatever reason, you are either unwilling or unable to use eBay, another decent option is Craigslist. Depending on where you live, you can still manage to get a decent price for your game, but it will usually not be quite what you could get on eBay. Also, be wary of phishing scams and other ripoffs on Craigslist! Caution should be the rule when selling anything on this site.

Skip GameStop and their ridiculous used game prices! Sell it yourself and get what the game is really worth. If you keep your game nice from the time you purchase it, you can do fairly well. You can click here as cheap hosting available here for a seamless and easy gaming experience.

Jaime London is a writer, contributor, editor and a photographer. He started his career as an editorial assistant in a publishing company in Chicago in 2009.