Thoughts on CEX and EBGames
I’ve noticed that since we’ve exchanged our Nintendo DS and games for about 500+, it took us about 1.5 years for us to fully utilize the voucher credits. About half of the purchases were for B’s Skylanders for different consoles.
Since EBGames have started to sell PS5 games, as well as Buy 2, Get 1 Free, that would also mean CEX would be impacted based on their pricing model for their games. EBGames doesn’t trade in older consoles and games, so that means CEX is left. Granted we can sell on Amazon, but the amount of work and effort to ship out isn’t worth it. CEX has a good exchange rate of 60%, unlike EBGames of about 1/3 of the price.
We did some exchanges this weekend with CEX and managed to get back about 400 in voucher credits. Makes me wonder if CEX is as profitable. I’m pretty sure they’re buying old consoles and games thinking that they’re antiques, but it’s very risky nowadays.
As for Playstation, almost every console isn’t backward compatible due to their technical aspects. PS3 is standalone. PS2 is standalone. PSN is already selling PS2 games digitally. Won’t be surprised if a few years from now PS6 comes out, and PS3 starts to be sold digitally on the PSN. There are still PS emulators for those more game savvy gamers. I’m using Genesis Emulator on my PC. Nostalgia I know.
Last few months, we sold the X360 console. This month, we just sold the PS3 console. Games are still much cheaper on these platforms. However, don’t think it’s worth risking CEX not exchanging them back so would rather just keep the PS5 with a mix of PS4/PS5 games.
Taking advantage of the Buy 2, Get 1 Free from EBGames for games over 45+. 45x2=90/3=30. Buying 3x 45 games, would average 30 per game as we get 1 Free.
Once I’m done with the games, will exchange them back with CEX. Rinse and repeat. Any games below 40, will use the CEX Vouchers. Game delivery fee is fixed at 4, so it’s not worth buying games under 20. Collecting from the store is more worth it only if they’re available.
PS5 games retail about 100. About 3-6 months in when gamers start exchanging them for credit, PS5 games would decrease in value by about 1/3 based on supply and demand. The more games CEX buys back, the cheaper they become as they would need to liquidate their inventory.
