How Does it Work?
Amazon Trade-In Hub
First you have to head to the Amazon.com trade-in page. You can trade-in videogames, DVD/Blu Ray, and books (even videogame strategy guides). Then you just type in the products you would like to trade and the search results will show you their trade-in value. Then you just click "Trade-In" and that item will be added to a special trade-in cart on your account. Once you have everything in your cart that you want to trade, you submit your list.
You will then be given a specific trade-in transaction number as well as shipping info. You have the option of printing out a free UPS or USPS shipping label, or if you can't do that you can send your items however you want at your cost. You just pack your items in a box, print out a packing list and put it in the box, and then ship it. If you have second thoughts on trading stuff in, you can just as easily cancel your trade-in transaction with no worries.
A third party company handles the trade-ins for Amazon, so you send your items to them and they tell Amazon whether your items are accepted or not and how much credit to put in your account.
My experience was pretty amazingly flawless. I sent my 5 games in on a Friday via Priority Mail and they received and confirmed them on Monday and credited my Amazon account that same day. Your timeline will be a little different depending on how you ship stuff (I paid for Priority Mail because I wanted it to go quickly, if you use Amazon's free shipping labels things go slower). The process was fast and smooth and painless and I'm itching to do it again. I have a pile of DVDs to get rid of next.
If your items aren't accepted, they will be returned to you. If, however, you include items that do not match the items on your packing list, they will not be returned, so be very careful when you pack stuff.
One thing to keep in mind is that values can go up or down (usually down) at any time. However, once you put everything in your cart and confirm your trade-in order, those prices are locked in and can't change. My advice when you see a high price is to jump on it today, because tomorrow it will probably be lower.
Why Should You Trade-In With Amazon?
Because you are trading in for credit, you won't get as much as you would if you sold them on eBay or something. That is to be expected. But sometimes it is just easier to trade-in for credit if you don't want to go through a lot of hassle. Some items aren't in demand and you can't sell them for months anyway. Then you factor in eBay/half.com/Amazon Marketplace's commission, plus shipping, and the cash you're getting for selling isn't as much as you thought.
Another benefit is that Amazon offers generally better trade-in values than GameStop. Of course, when GameStop has a special promo going on (tiered trade-ins, $10 bonuses, etc.) they might be better.
The main difference and ultimate benefit of trading in with Amazon instead of GameStop, however, is that Amazon credit can be used for anything you want on Amazon.com while GameStop credit can only be used at GameStop / ebGames, which means only videogame-related stuff.
Bottom Line
Trading stuff into Amazon is fast, easy, and relatively painless. You won't get as much total value as you would if you tried to sell the items for cash, but sometimes the ease of getting a fat wad of credit all in one step is a lot more appealing than hassling with buyers, shipping separate packages, and having to pay commissions and shipping on multiple sales. I was impressed and plan on using Amazon's service again in the future.
If you have been on the fence about trying it, there really isn't much to worry about. As long as you are careful with what you try to trade in (you have to have the exact version they have listed, so check UPCs and ISBN #'s to make sure your product is correct), there really are no worries. Be sure to get tracking and insurance on your packages, just to make 100% sure they are safe.
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