Let’s make no mistake about it; gaming is an expensive hobby. Especially in your teenage years when you’re too young to get a real job, but you just keep sizing up that used 360 in the window (naive of the RRoD problems, granted), and then woefully looking into your wallet. So, here’s my top five tips to get you into the hobby of gaming at a knock down price.
- Consider your options. Yes, you may want the 360 Elite, or the 80Gb PS3 with LBP (or soon, Killzone 2), but is it really necessary to go out and spend all that cash? Could you get the item second hand? Could it be cheaper to buy the console on it’s own from somewhere else, and then get the game later? Always know where you can go for your consoles; Gamestation, GAME, HMV and Blockbuster are never the only places to get consoles from. Consider your local pawn shop (always ask for a receipt, mind you, and ask how long they will take it back for, if it develops a fault), or the local Ads Paper. There’s always online: Check out eBay and such. Always make sure to check out the websites of the Videogame Stores as well; they sometimes have online-only specials that you can print off, and pressure them to honour it in-store (this takes some guts, and probably the riling of an employee or two, so try and go somewhere you won’t visit again).
- Be thrifty. Search the Bargain Bins, the Pre-Owned range, always glance at the ‘PRICES SLASHED’ shelf. They want you to buy these, simply because they take up space and they need to be gotten rid of to keep the business making money. A good chunk of it will be old titles that nobody wanted for a reason, but you will occasionally find diamonds in the rough. And then, four months later, you’re paying £5 for a title that would’ve cost £40 on release day, and that’s a worthwhile saving. Also, never forget that there are stores that you wouldn’t normally go to, that do games and will have offers to attract attention.
- Trade-in is NOT the only way to get money for your games. I’ve honestly known people that will accept £2 for a Playstation2 game, when I’ve told them that they could quite easily get at least £5 after postage costs. For current titles, trade-in can be useful, but for the older titles it’s simply a way for your local Blockbuster or Gamestation to make money off your purchases. Sell on eBay, or your local Ads paper, or even dare to try and sell some to your friends.
- If there is an error in your favour, push it. It doesn’t matter who put that £39.99 game in the £10 section. What matters is that you picked it up in the £10 section. If they say anything different, press the matter. If necessary, ask to see the Manager (Never ask to see the Supervisor, they’ll still follow company policy. Only Managers always have the power to override sales prices). If that doesn’t work, ask for the Head Office address. They’re legally obliged to give you this address, and they will have been told this often enough because it’s a trading standards nightmare if they don’t give it you. Write to them, but make sure to read your letter over to avoid sounding like that loony at Tesco Express that holds the queue up for a few pennies, shouting at the cashier with an infant bawling in it’s pram (you know the one). Remember that they are also legally obliged to reply, even if it’s with a ‘Sorry, but we cannot do anything’ pre-printed letter. If you’re lucky, you’ll get some vouchers out of it, or even the game you wanted at the cut-down price, or a mid-ground compromise. The power lies with you as a consumer when there is a discrepancy with price, and it will go as high up as you want it to, or until you get a resolution.
- Get yourself on mailing lists. Junk Mail is a problem, but there can be useful Junk. Getting yourself on the mailing lists of the likes of Blockbuster, GAME and HMV will mean that they have the opportunity to advertise to you via mail, but they will also attach coupons to the leaflets to get you to come into the store and spend some cash. It won’t exactly eat into their profits, but any money saved is a good thing. Go for electronic mailing lists as well. RSS feeds for deal sites are aplenty, and they will give you the rock-bottom price that they can find. They’re after your custom, be it in terms of money, or viewing the adverts on their website, and they will give some good incentives to get it.
READER SUBMITTED TIPS:
(got one? Leave yours in the comments with your site, and we’ll plug both!)
- Brent, from the Electro to DnB Podcast, wholeheartedly recommends Craigslist.org
- Bob reminds us that CheapAssGamer is an awesome resources for thrifty gamers.
- The entire GamesAreEvil staff recommends GOOZEX, a pretty killer game trading service.
Follow these tips, and you’ll be able to get a good collection of games for various consoles at a good price, and when you grow sick of them, you’ll get a good price for them as well. Remember that regardless of whether it’s an online deal, an in-store deal, or just phoning someone up that’s offering games at £3 a pop, the power lies with you as the consumer. They want your money, and, as has been seen during the recent few months thanks to the recession, all businesses will go to seemingly extraordinary lengths to get it.
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