Book-Off in NYC now buying/selling used import and domestic games

[blueshinra]

I don't know if this interests anyone else, but recently I went to Book-Off (a used book/CD/DVD store located here (http://www.bookoff.co.jp/en/info/kaigai02.html), if you've never been there) to browse and noticed a sign by the cash register - they're looking to buy used console games!

Looks like we'll be getting another alternative for buying used games at retail. I hope they'll carry used imports as well.

ETA: Figured it was about time to change the title ;P

[pulsar0510]

That's awesome. Book off is a great store.

[whitereflection]

They're going to have the games in the end of June. Also, they are getting rid of the point card.

[TomoyoN]

They're going to have the games in the end of June. Also, they are getting rid of the point card.

which consoles? will they be selling imports?

[whitereflection]

They're accepting trade-ins right now, so I would assume all consoles. They're also getting shipments from Book-Off Japan, so they'll probably have imports too.

[Darkvash]

They're going to have the games in the end of June. Also, they are getting rid of the point card.

I loved using my point card. Have you asked why they decided to do this?

[whitereflection]

I did, and they didn't know either. If I had to guess, it might have something to do with Book-Off paying 100 million yen to publishers since their used book sales cannibalize the publishers'.

According to the employee I spoke with, they're getting rid of it in all stores, not just the New York one.

[trq]

Hrm. I'll have to check this out for sure. Wonder exactly when in June this is kicking in...

[blueshinra]

I did, and they didn't know either. If I had to guess, it might have something to do with Book-Off paying 100 million yen to publishers since their used book sales cannibalize the publishers'.

According to the employee I spoke with, they're getting rid of it in all stores, not just the New York one.
Good thing I used up my card awhile ago and never got another one.

Also, I didn't hear about that payoff. Was Book-Off sued or something?

[whitereflection]

No, it was just an offer on Book-Off's part when the publishers complained about declining sales. (The same companies have also been been trying to stop fansubs.) IIRC, they had trouble coming up with a name for this payment since they didn't want it to seem like a bribe or extortion.

[MarkMan]

The Book Off in San Deigo has a TON of used Japanese/US games... It's good stuff.

[superdry]

Nooo...I love using the point-cards. It was so easy racking up points buying some CDs and photobooks (and then realize how much money was spent just to get the max at once $10 off).

I was wondering when they were gonna start stocking used games. I can't wait. And, knowing book-off...you'll probably not get the best trade-in value. One thing I've noticed is that they'll sell stuff at around half the msrp which is why they don't give so much for trades (like US manga costs $6, but they buy back at $1).

[superdry]

I dropped by today to see if the store was selling used games already. The sale of games wasn't ready yet.

They had shelves setup for the games and a whole slew of boxes in front of the shelves waiting to be unpacked. Unfortunately, in today's humid/hot weather, and no AC in the store, I quickly left.

An interesting note is that they'll be selling Japanese Xbox 360 games.

I'll be dropping by later this week to see what type of games they initially have.

[detectiveconan16]

Book-Off? Sounds like Kinokuniya. I can't believe I've never heard of this store. Are the prices better?

[whitereflection]

A lot better, with many books only a dollar. Everything's used, though the majority are in immaculate condition.

[mang9432]

nice, i walk by here everyday on the way to work

[Darkvash]

Anyone know if the games are in the store yet?

I think I'm about to call them up tomorrow morning to check.

[Darkvash]

Well, I just came back from the shop and I'd have to say, they have a pretty impressive selection of imported titles. Wanted to get myself a couple, but could only afford one for today, so i got myself Gundam Battle Chronicle for the PSP.

The prices on the imports are pretty fair, good in fact, when you compare them to other places where imports are sold. I spotted a couple of Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy there. Overall, i think the American selection was rather thin. I'm sure they'll get more sometime soon though. Other than that, Nice. Everyone should check it out.

[richieyoo]

What was the price range?

They do have decent prices.... but i've noticed them jacking their prices up a bit in the last few years. It used to be that everything was no more than half the cover price. Now expect to pay 6 or 7 on a book that might have cost 10 dollars.

Still a great store.

[blueshinra]

I stopped by today. Pretty decent selection of mostly import games. By the way, they're on the first floor near the cash registers; also, they've moved the CDs and DVDs, but it's not as drastic a change as when they moved the manga upstairs.

As for the price range, I mainly looked at DS games; the lowest price I saw was $5, and the highest was $39. All of them looked like they were in great condition as well (at least going by the condition of the outer packaging).

[richieyoo]

I stopped by there yesterday. The selection is ok I suppose. But the prices are a bit high imo. 40 dollars for used game, import or not is still too high for me.

Yes they did get rid of the points card. They took mine and refunded me a dollar for the card (although I think I paid more to get it initially) and 25 cents off for each stamp I had.

[whitereflection]

Ha, so at least three of us actually went yesterday.

I don't recall the point card ever costing more than a dollar. I think it was even free several months ago up until they canceled it now.

[detectiveconan16]

I went today, hoping to look for Japanese strategy guides like at Kinokuniya, but the clerk said they didn't have any... :(
I got a nice haul anyway, as there were enough JP comics to keep me satisfied for a while. I bought big volumes of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Fist of the North Star.

Checked out the video games, saw a particular game at an okay price.
Overall, I'm okay with this store, even if the english manga prices were a bit steep. I guess that's why I go to Strand.

[blueshinra]

detectiveconan: Sometimes they'll have strategy guides for sale in the section with the Japanese computer books (if they still carry them, that is...), but yeah, Kinokuniya's selection has always been better in that respect.

[Trikip]

I'm going to NYC in August so is it worth stopping by there?

[whitereflection]

Even if you're not interested in ridiculously cheap ($1-3) books, Japanese music CDs, or manga, I'd say it's worth a visit just for the aesthetics alone: the staff politely greets customers in Japanese and the store's design is very different from Western designs. The first time I went there I literally felt like I was on another planet, or at least another country, so it's interesting if you want to see what a modern Japanese store is like.

And there's the absolutely gorgeous Kinokuniya and the biggest library in the city (the non-circulating one looks like a museum) just within a stone's throw.

[dragonjud]

tag for later

[anicomplex]

I used to work here (and still do on vacations from school).

I haven't been there for a while but yes, we are beginning to sell used games. I can't confirm anything on the Members Card though until my friend comes home from Japan.

[eelsushi1]

i went there yesterday. they had some nice import games, but they were from $29-$35. there were some strategy guides in the $1 book section though. also a wide selection of $1 manga

[detectiveconan16]

Success! I sold some of my penny guides that were taking up room, and got them for a dollar each.
Now to find a place that buys them for more...

[detectiveconan16]

Hmm... I found the prices on some of the import games reasonable. I got an SRW game for $12!
Now if I could find wtf are the strategy guides. A Japanese used book store should have 'em but no success...

[whitereflection]

The strategy guides are on the shelves opposite of the last one (from the entrance, the right side of the store). It's on your left next to where all the cookbooks are.

[blueshinra]

I think he's looking for Japanese strategy guides specifically...

detectiveconan I didn't see any last time I was there (which was about a week ago). Have you tried asking one of the clerks?

[whitereflection]

Ah. I'm glad at least one of us knows how to read. Japanese strategy guides seem to be upstairs where the anime artbooks are, but the selection is pretty tiny. Offhand, I can only think of Melty Blood, Dead or Alive 4, and a few PS2 RPGs.

[themidnighter23]

the import games, are they playable on north american consoles or do you need to modify

[blueshinra]

Most of the import games at Book-Off are DS ones (though they've been steadily getting more for other systems), which are playable on any DS in the world. Same goes for the PSP (for games, not movies) and GBA. Japanese PS3 games should work on American consoles, since they're in the same Blu-Ray region. Everything else, I think, requires Japanese consoles or a workaround.

[jeffx]

Sorry to revive this thread but I bought a bunch of 3.50$ PS2 games, import and domestic. If you haven't been in a while, maybe some of the games you wanted have been given a price cut.

[Alpha2]

Anyone know of any import friendly PS3 games?

I was in there like a month ago for a few Manga and noticed some PS3 game boxes on the shelf out of the corner of my eye, but I was caught off guard by the casier tellingme about the cancelation of the points card thing (I hadn't been in there for months), so I didn't bother to check it out afterwards.

[whitereflection]

Sorry to revive this thread but I bought a bunch of 3.50$ PS2 games, import and domestic. If you haven't been in a while, maybe some of the games you wanted have been given a price cut.

What were the games you bought?

[detectiveconan16]

$3.50?! Last time I bought a game from there it was $13. The more recent games run at least $20 maybe $25.

[TomoyoN]

Do they have any import 360 Games? [PAL / JP]

[whitereflection]

I just went yesterday and I didn't see any Xbox games. I do seem to recall that they did have them before, though.

[Nibi]

Was there last weekend, they had maybe 6 or seven shelves of games, not too much. I ended up picking getting Victorious Boxers (PS2) for 7 dollars. The store in general is great, the games area is a nice addition but probably not reason enough to go.

[TomoyoN]

Was there last weekend, they had maybe 6 or seven shelves of games, not too much. I ended up picking getting Victorious Boxers (PS2) for 7 dollars. The store in general is great, the games area is a nice addition but probably not reason enough to go.

Did u happen to see if they had any import Xbox 360 games?

[Nibi]

Sorry, no import 360 games. In terms of Import games they only had GBA, DS, PSP, PS3, PS2 and Wii. They did have American Xbox 360 and Xbox games

[whitereflection]

I went yesterday and in front of the store, it said that their biggest sale ever was going to start today or tomorrow (I don't remember, sorry) and will go on through February. If anyone knows the details of this promotion, please post.

[blueshinra]

Any more news on that sale, and is it still going on? I'll be in Midtown next week and am thinking of stopping by there.

[Nibi]

As of yesterday the sale was still going on. Sale was for 20% off of everything instore except $1 items.

[superdry]

Thank you whitereflection for posting that the store is having a sale this month. I go to the store maybe once or twice a month.

I was able to pick up some manga at a good discount (I might go back to pick up some more). I would have sifted through the import game titles, but the store is a like a sauna in the winter time.

[Kapwanil]

I was able to pick up some manga at a good discount (I might go back to pick up some more). I would have sifted through the import game titles, but the store is a like a sauna in the winter time.

I haven't looked in two weeks or so but I have a feeling that it'll mostly be the same titles that were there before.

Most of the PSP imports are forgettable. I believe there was a copy of Talkman, as well as Salamander Collection, but both were priced around $39. Not necessarily earth-shattering, even with 20% off.

PS2 and DS...I can't remember offhand. Personally, I didn't see anything interesting in there, although I think they may have had the Eyeshield 21 DS game. Not a good price, once again (in comparison to Play-Asia and whatnot), but not terrible, either.

It's mostly a crapshoot. If it's still sitting there, they do have a cart-only Contra 4 (domestic) for less than $10 after the 20% off sale, though.

[detectiveconan16]

20% off... More like 10% after tax. It was hilarious that they called it the biggest sale they ever had.

I got me a Slam Dunk vol. 1 (Raijin edition) and a volume of JoJo.

[whitereflection]

There's a new promotion going on now that runs till the end of May: trade in 3 games, get an extra $10, trade in 6 games, get an extra $30. The games have to have a trade value of at least 50 cents, you can't trade three of the same game, and some other exclusions I'm sure I'm forgetting. The games also have to be current-gen, so no PS2, Gamecube, Xbox, or GBA.

[blueshinra]

There's a new promotion going on now that runs till the end of May: trade in 3 games, get an extra $10, trade in 6 games, get an extra $30. The games have to have a trade value of at least 50 cents, you can't trade three of the same game, and some other exclusions I'm sure I'm forgetting. The games also have to be current-gen, so no PS2, Gamecube, Xbox, or GBA.
Little update: they're doing this very same trade-in promotion right now, and it will run until Dec. 31, 2009.

Also, it appears they aren't taking Gamecube games for trade-ins at all.

A little side note, in case anyone's interested: the Asahiya Bookstore on 45th between 5th and Madison, just a few blocks away from Book-Off, is closing for good at the end of this month :-( Save for magazines, just about everything in the store is on sale, including CDs and DVDs. I went there last week, made my final trip today, and came away with some great stuff both times... and there's still a decent amount left.

There isn't much game-related stuff outside of soundtracks (mostly Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest ones), artbooks, and (import) guide books and magazines, but just wanted to mention it all the same. Asahiya was a great alternative to Kinokuniya, and I'll be sad to see it go.

[detectiveconan16]

What? I haven't gone there yet. I might go later this week if I can find the time.
How were the discounts?

[whitereflection]

I always wondered how Asahiya could afford the rent in Midtown when hardly anyone goes there. I guess that answers the question.

[blueshinra]

What? I haven't gone there yet. I might go later this week if I can find the time.
How were the discounts?
The best discounts I found were on various special edition manga. There's still some left, including tons of copies of the Fullmetal Alchemist vol. 13 SE (which comes with a deck of playing cards) for a buck apiece, but most of the best stuff is long gone.

The other discounts are nothing to sneeze at, though. The CDs can now be had for roughly half-price (or less); the same goes for the books and, I presume, the DVDs. Also, there's practically no stationary left (unfortunately, as it was one of my favorite parts of the store - they'd almost always have some Ghibli stuff that Kinokuniya didn't).

[superdry]

I'm sad to see Asahiya closing down, again (if anyone remembers, they use to be on vanderbilt ave. not too far away from their current location). I've always like the store better than Kinokuniya as they had a better selection of anime magazines, the points card, sometimes cheaper than Kinokuniya and the store was always quieter.

With their half-price off CDs and DVDs...you can get some game soundtracks at a decent price. The book sale is not bad too as its 100 yen to $1 rate they are using.

Oh yea...I also loved the stationary sold at the store as I was able to buy fine-tip pens (why is it so hard to find .35 through .4 tip pens?) over the years. But, within the last year, their pen's selection wasn't too great.

[blueshinra]

The book sale is not bad too as its 100 yen to $1 rate they are using.
I recall seeing that rate on my visit last week, but it's apparently dipped lower than that since then. Yesterday, I got a 3,000 yen book for $17.80.

[detectiveconan16]

I went today, and I was pleased with the manga I got. $2 for Jump Comics.
But I was disappointed with the CD and DVDs. They only marked them down enough that they cost as much as new ones here in America. But good selection! Kamen Rider DCD, and Dragon Quest, and FF.
I really wished magazines were included, so I could get that Dengeki Hobby. :)

BTW Kinokuniya's having a sale this weekend. 20% off merchandise or something.

[YaYaIsBack]

Does anyone know if they carry Yakuza 3 titles for PS3(aka Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan! & Ryu Ga Gotoku 3) Any info would be greatly appreciated : D Also does anyone have the exact street address for Book-off in NYC? I'm super surprised they have them here in the US. Last time I went to one was back in Japan of 2007, when I had gone on a trip. Awesome store btw: D

[blueshinra]

Book-Off's address: 14 E 41st St., New York, NY 10017 (Google Maps link (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=14+E.+41st+Street,+New+York,+NY&sll=40.756376,-73.979874&sspn=0.009379,0.014527&ie=UTF8&ll=40.756116,-73.979917&spn=0.009379,0.014527&z=16&iwloc=addr))
Phone #: 212-685-1410 (don't know if they have Yakuza 3 specifically, and their stock changes all the time anyway, so it couldn't hurt to call ;))

[YaYaIsBack]

Thabk yóu for the info^_^ Much appreciated: D Definitly I'm gonna call them to make sure if they have it in stock.

[YaYaIsBack]

Sorry about the typo in my last post. Damn blackberry keyboard,lol: D