EB: No longer taking PC game trade-ins without the box

[Jason McCullough]

New corporate policy because "our PC shelf is a mess", according to the Redmond EB. Does *anyone* keep the box?

Cut off your revenue to spite your face.....

[Derek Meister]

I wouldn't mind if they just purchased DVD cases in bulk with those multiple disc holders inside and just printed up a cover on a B&W laser printer, but that's just me.

Still, looking at some of the used PC games they have, the condition when returned isn't all that great. Maybe this is just an easy way to screen out most of the crap turn-ins.

Sure, they'll be losing revenue in terms of fewer games available, but how much will they gain in people being more willing to look at used PC games when they're in a box of some sort.

I for one am thankful that most places have taken to making having the instruction book a requirement for console turn-ins, though.

[GMicek]

Quite honestly I'm glad. Going to EB and digging through jewel cases and manuals saran wrapped together is a pain in the ass.

[Reed]

Does *anyone* keep the box?

Yep, I keep all my boxes - pretty much everything since the late 80s. Think I'm in the minority though...

[Nick Walter]

Does *anyone* keep the box?

Yep, I keep all my boxes - pretty much everything since the late 80s. Think I'm in the minority though...

I never keep the box or manual. But then, I never trade in a game either, so my concerns relate more to ease of bulk game storage :D

[Graeme Dice]

Yep, I keep all my boxes - pretty much everything since the late 80s. Think I'm in the minority though...

I don't want to even think about how many boxes I have. Everything from the Microprose "Land, Sea, & Air" three-pack for the Amiga to stuff I just bought three weeks ago.

[Dave Long]

I'm glad. I hate those massive stacks of CD cases with no label. What's the point? I was so glad when they did the same thing with console games.

[krayzkrok]

Well, why don't they have a policy whereby the condition of the trade-in corresponds to its value? Mint condition, good condition, average and poor. That's what a lot of trade-in music and book stores do. That way, you have incentive to keep everything in mint condition if you really think you're going to trade it in the future.

[Dave Long]

I think that's just too hard for them to implement. Usually though, since they mandated box and manual, the stuff they get is in pretty good shape, at least on the console side. I bought a Ridge Racer V a week ago for $5.99 that had definitely been around since launch of the PS2, but it's in darn good condition and it was complete.

--Dave

[Mattc0m]

I've got a drawer full of cases. I just can't force myself to throw them away.

[GMicek]

I've got a drawer full of cases. I just can't force myself to throw them away.

Ship them to:

10855 Ivoryton Way,
Mather, Ca.,
95655

Our on-site specialists will know just how to handle them. :)

[hermyhermit]

Maybe it is easier to sell used things as "new" with the box?

I may be paranoid but it seems that EB may already be doing this selling used as new and it just makes it that much easier to do with boxes.
They take ALL the games out of the boxes at my local EB now so when you go buy something they have to put the disc/manual back in the case anyways. Was it really new? There is really no good way for you to know such a thing since the packaging has been opened anyways.

In fact, I just got EPSN NHL2K5 and I swear it looks like this "new" game is slightly not new. The disc has some very minor scratches on it and flakes of who knows what. I wiped the flakes off but the scracthes endure. Again, how could one really know these things now that they open every game beforehand?

[Derek Meister]

With something that's obviously had the factory seal broken, I always try to examine it right there at the counter as soon as it's handed to me, thanks to an incident where I was given the wrong disc for a used game I purchased.

Even when I don't think it's been opened, I've never left a parking lot of any store with any purchase over $25 without cracking open the case or box to make sure everything's there whenever possible.

[Dirt]

It's just a way for them to repackage the game as new.

[nutsak]

Does *anyone* keep the box?

Yep, I keep all my boxes - pretty much everything since the late 80s. Think I'm in the minority though...

Same here, I like displaying what I have. Nerd Pride Y'all.

[Midnight Son]

Does *anyone* keep the box?

Yep, I keep all my boxes - pretty much everything since the late 80s. Think I'm in the minority though...

Yes, after me, you're the other organized person on all of QT3. Ok, and Nutsak too.

[MikeTwain]

The only good reason I can think of for them doing this is that a lot of the games they have on their shelves are basically unplayable because of missing manuals and jewel cases. I saw several copies of games that I knew had serial numbers but that had no manual or official jewel case. (I've actually seen games in unofficial jewel cases that had stickers with CD keys hand written on them!) Somebody that bought one of these games would either have to get a crack or a serial number off the web or something if they wanted to play the game.

My guess is that requiring a box/manual would cut down on the unsellable crap they have.

[shang]

I wonder how long it will take for DVD covers to catch on in the US. They are just SOO much more convenient and, opposed to common misconception, can be made to fit a suprisingly thick manual too.

[Papageno]

Whenever I buy used PC/console games at EB, I make sure to ask the guy to open the shrinkwrap and show me the CDs, that way I know I'm getting something not horribly scratched up.

[Rob_Merritt]

I throw away boxes and jewel cases right away (have an album to store game cds). Don't trade games either.

[Ergo]

Boxes get thrown away immediately. If I kept all my boxes I'd have to buy another house.

[Mike Cathcart]

I'm glad. I hate those massive stacks of CD cases with no label. What's the point? I was so glad when they did the same thing with console games.

I'll tell you the point. Somewhere out there is a guy with a copy of Freespace 2 that he doesn't want and doesn't realize what it's worth on eBay. So maybe he just throws it in a pile and trades it in at EB so he can get WoW (he's not a total moron). Then I buy the CDs for $1.50 and come on here and tell all you jerks about it and someone can cry about how he had it but threw it out the window of the car and now it's part of a racoon's nest. Or whatever you did with all of your games that time.

Besides, the console game thing is different. The box for Cube/PS2/Xbox games IS the box, it just makes sense that you'd have that. PC games have a second layer of box that you just don't need once you open them. Why should EB expect people to keep that stuff? They're not all dorks like us.

[Pace]

I keep all my boxes, and up until recently I had them all on display in my room. My non-geek friends referred to the decor as "Pace's Birth Control."

Now they're stashed in a closet, along with my Tabletop RPG rulebooks, comic books, and my milk-crates full of elecronics cables. The Swiss is happy about the change.

[MikeTwain]

The Swiss is happy about the change.

Yeah but what about The Austrian?

[mutt]

I'm opposed to stores requiring boxes for resold games for two reasons:
one, I don't keep my boxes, and two (most importantly) the chances of finding a rare game or killer deal go way down once everything is boxed up. I've found lots of good stuff in those huge piles of jewel cases just by being the one guy patient enough to sift through them all.

'Course, it has its downside as well--potentially missing docs, CD keys and whatnot--but that could still be true even if the games were boxed. Overall, I prefer the jumbled mess.

[Pace]

The Swiss is happy about the change.

Yeah but what about The Austrian?

Wouldn't know. The Austrian has never been to my house.

[Tom McNamara]

I'm with Shang. I wish the PC side would finally cave in and use slip cases, because those cardboard boxes make that section of the store look shoddy when they come back dented, torn, punctured, and generally broken in. Of course, there's a significant contingent who loves getting thumped over the head with an encylopedic manual, but I'm not one of them. Of course, I work for IGN, so it's obvious that I don't like to read anyway :D

[krayzkrok]

Here in Australia, those uber big PC boxes are a very rare sight these days. However, what we tend to get instead is a DVD case packaged inside a slightly larger box. The DVD case looks identical to the one that's sitting on the console shelves, so it all seems very pointless. Given that PC gaming is less popular than console gaming, why put more resources into PC packaging? I'm all for decent manuals, but you can't fit one into these slightly larger boxes anyway. And frankly, most "big" manuals could do with some serious proof-reading and proper editing anyway - most could be 30% smaller easily.

[Chris Nahr]

Then again, you do get a jewel like Pirates! (!) (!!) once in a while, with an exhaustive 144-page (!) spiral-bound (!!) manual and a fold-out map of the Carribean to boot.

Well, if you bought the American version, that is...