The Blockbuster/Gamerush Thread XX - SMG $25 new, disc-only used 360/Wii games $9.99!

[Animal7390]

i was the one that was supposed to call about the games from the ds and wii deals but have not had any time. i did just call about the game drops and they do not take history channel and the other 2 already should have posted values.

[PhoenixAZ]

I called on the Wii games yesterday, so I will share...

BBV TIV
My Fitness Coach, Wii, $16
Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party, Wii, $30
Cooking Mama World Kitchen, Wii, $25
Skate It, Wii, $30
Wii Music, Wii, $26

BBV doesn't take any of the following games, so I'll list the GS TIV.
Skate City Heroes, Wii, $5
Are You Smarter..., Wiii, $10
Jillian Michaels..., Wii, $17
All Star Cheer Squad, Wii, $12
Wii Fit, Wii, $55

[Slim Gatsby]

Bad news guys - they nerfed the promo. La it just bumps the TIVs up to $15 instead of adding it to their base.

Still good, just far less spectacular - and no Skate City flips back to GS now

[GuardianE]

Bad news guys - they nerfed the promo. La it just bumps the TIVs up to $15 instead of adding it to their base.

Still good, just far less spectacular - and no Skate City flips back to GS now

I was wondering how long it would take them to fix it.

[mkernan]

Bad news guys - they nerfed the promo. La it just bumps the TIVs up to $15 instead of adding it to their base.

Still good, just far less spectacular - and no Skate City flips back to GS now

Bummer. Glad I did two transactions yesterday. Oh well.

[cheapskate01]

although its bad news so what.. instead of 4x your BBV credit --> GS. You can now triple it for ex: take 2x $9.99 games (1 is free) and getting $15 each at GS. So it'll be $10BBV-->$30GS. Before it was $10BBV-->$40GS so its still well worth it with both promos still going on. Its extremely very rare to triple your BBV credit --> GS

[Animal7390]

i will be testing this later today, hopefully and report back my findings. i didnt even get a chance to take advantage of this yet. bastards

thank you converse for posting those tiv, it is a big help.

[hostyl1]

Can anyone confirm that the price of Ninja Reflex hasn't changed in the past day? The employee rang it up as $19.99, but someone here said that it was definitely $9.99. I remember buying them at $9.99 weeks ago, but I wanted to make sure they didn't boost the price.

I bought a used Ninja Reflex yesterday (1/7) @ $9.99 to keep (paired with a Battle of the Bands to flip). Perhaps you ran into a "new" copy of the game. Those were marked @ $20.99 @ my local BBV.

I read the reviews of Ninja Reflex and heard it's good but short. Short doesnt bother me at all if it's cheap (bad is bad at any price). Looking forward to playing with it this weekend.

[bob330i]

Ditto here. Picked up 2 copies of Ninja Reflex at 2 different stores for $9.99 each.

[Rave Child]

During the summer sale I could go to any BBV and find at least 10-20 2x or greater flips. I usually didn't buy that many at once so I often went back repeatedly to the same stores and got more week after week.

Hmm, it's been completely opposite for me. I've had at least 10-20 flippables at almost every store this time around. I know one store I went to twice, and each time I bought 18 games. Last time, though, that store had the most flippables, and I only got about 12 from them.

omfg now I feel dumb for doing the extra $5 on wii games deal!!!

I know what you mean. I think I traded in 44 Wii games the day after Christmas. Luckily, that wasn't all of them, so I've still got 4 left. Unfortunately, 3 of them are Ninja Reflex, so I would need to pair them with something else. Also, it's too bad that the one store I went to last night to get Wii Fit had wacky promos in the system. The had all the expired ones from over the weekend, and wouldn't manually adjust. Now that the deal apparently got nerfed, that's $10 I'll be missing out on. Oh well, it's still a 3x flip from BBV.

[eugaet]

Bad news guys - they nerfed the promo. La it just bumps the TIVs up to $15 instead of adding it to their base.

Still good, just far less spectacular - and no Skate City flips back to GS nowCrap, I knew I should have tried it yesterday...

[animemaniac14]

Bad news guys - they nerfed the promo. La it just bumps the TIVs up to $15 instead of adding it to their base.

Still good, just far less spectacular - and no Skate City flips back to GS now

damn and this is what i get for waiting and trying to do some work at home...oh well least it's still lucrative to the nth degree :-D

[Slim Gatsby]

This only means I'm not bothering with Layton or NGS for the promo now - those go on half, goozex, or powertrade towards RE5.

[RCS0926]

The Wii trade in deal is still very lucrative even without the added TIV + Edge bonus...

[Friend of Sonic]

Got a pretty healthy update to the third post this morning. Thanks for the update, guys.

It's truly a shame to hear the nerfing of the promo. I was praying it'd last until Friday when I'm off work. Maybe I'll just focus on getting rid of my pile of Wii games in the car.

[speedrunner17]

I think this trade is fine as long as you don't use games with a TIV more than 5. something like ninja reflex and batb would be good. Spiderwick chronicles and bully would be bad since the adjustment doesn't add anymore. Just use the lowest TIV games that you have or can find and it still works out okay. Games with $4 TIV would be ideal like DBZ BT2.

[crunchewy]

If this change gets confirmed (anyone?) then I'm glad I got my copy of DDR:HP2 yesterday! It would certainly make a lot of sense, because the deal made no sense at all. Now I think I'll just do some trade 3+$10 flips as none of the other games really interest me *that* much. I really wish the +$5 per Wii game were still in effect.

[safire]

Picked up some more games today. GTA4 (360) X 2, Tekken 5, Viewtiful Joe 2, Battle of the Bands, Ninja Reflex, and another game that I can't remember (hope its worth the tiv). Does anyone know if Ninja Gaiden Black has a decent Trade in value? There were 2 copies at the BBV for 6.99 each.

[n8rockerasu]

Bad news guys - they nerfed the promo. La it just bumps the TIVs up to $15 instead of adding it to their base.

Still good, just far less spectacular - and no Skate City flips back to GS now

Posting this in this thread as well because as much as this might still be a "good deal", it's still a cheap move on GS's part.

If this is true, I gotta say, I'm not surprised...but I'm still pissed off. As mentioned, the wording of the ad gives no indication that the games you trade in will have no value. The ad says "SAVE $30". If they're bumping the value of the games to $15 each, you're not saving $30. You're giving them products that have value...so now it's more like "SAVE $20". This is just more bullshit marketing by GS. Obviously it was a stupid business move by them in the first place, but I guess I gave them too much credit in thinking they actually had it thought out.

I was still wanting to try to pick up a Wii Fit using this deal, but now I'm almost compelled to not even bother out of principle. I would try arguing my point to a GS employee, but it's hard enough to find one who knows what day it is, let alone somebody who can comprehend the way an ad is worded. Congrats GS first major Fuck up of 2009. First you screw yourselves...then you screw your customers. Nobody does it better :applause:

[sgaldis]

So if I was to grab Skate City Heroes, would I still be +$10 in credit, with the new way the promo works?

[animemaniac14]

haha...we need to add "nerfing" to the first post..in addition to capa, kunai, and those many other terms we freq use on here. Anyone care to define "nerfing" lol

[bgame2]

Does anyone know if they 'fixed' the promo as far as the excess amount goes? Said differently, if I trade in 2 games in order to buy skate city for 20, will it still give me the extra 10 on my edge card? I know the easy way to avoid this is to buy a $30 game, but availability may come into play.

[safire]

Picked up some more games today. GTA4 (360) X 2, Tekken 5, Viewtiful Joe 2, Battle of the Bands, Ninja Reflex, and another game that I can't remember (hope its worth the tiv). Does anyone know if Ninja Gaiden Black has a decent Trade in value? There were 2 copies at the BBV for 6.99 each.

From the Trade 3 - Get +10 Thread, the TIV is $6, meaning it will be a +5 profit.

[mkernan]

From the Trade 3 - Get +10 Thread, the TIV is $6, meaning it will be a +5 profit.

Ninja Gaiden Black is a last-gen title, therefore not eligible for that promo.

Put if you're doing a powertrade or something, its decent. If you consider its only $3.50 if paired up with another $6.99 game in a B1G1. $3.50 -> $6 (plus any Edge and promo bonus).

[theeipi]

Gamestop promo changed

Rounds up to 15 dollars now instead of adding 15. Still good, just not killer anymore

[mkernan]

Gamestop promo changed

Rounds up to 15 dollars now instead of adding 15. Still good, just not killer anymore

Is there an echo in here? ;)

[stoned99]

haha, I am soooo glad I did all my wii trades yesterday. I even skipped out of work for 30 mins to trade 3 sets. I knew this promotion was too good to be around for more than a day or two. I dumped my last wii pair last night, so today is return day. I do plan on keeping 1 copy of RRR TV however, out of all the wii fit compatible games it does seem like the most fun, and IO for gods sake don't even think about Wii Music it was absolute crap. The worst nintendo 1st party game ever.

[mkernan]

haha, I am soooo glad I did all my wii trades yesterday. I even skipped out of work for 30 mins to trade 3 sets. I knew this promotion was too good to be around for more than a day or two. I dumped my last wii pair last night, so today is return day. I do plan on keeping 1 copy of RRR TV however, out of all the wii fit compatible games it does seem like the most fun, and IO for gods sake don't even think about Wii Music it was absolute crap. The worst nintendo 1st party game ever.

Hey, thanks for the one-sentence Wii Music review; upon further inspection, I guess it was two sentences. That's one of my to-be-returned pickups from yesterday but I was almost considering keeping it and letting my 2 yro and 7 yro daughters give it a whirl. Sounds pretty craptastic though.

[RCS0926]

Has anyone who took advantage of the B1G1 sale ever returned any of their games? I picked up a copy of GTA IV (360) and Dragon Ball Z BT2 (Wii), but when I looked at the discs, they were pretty scratched up. If I do a return on these games, will I get $14.99 for GTA IV and another $9.99 for DBZ BT2, or will I just get the $14.99 back for GTA IV? Thanks.

[n8rockerasu]

Has anyone who took advantage of the B1G1 sale ever returned any of their games? I picked up a copy of GTA IV (360) and Dragon Ball Z BT2 (Wii), but when I looked at the discs, they were pretty scratched up. If I do a return on these games, will I get $14.99 for GTA IV and another $9.99 for DBZ BT2, or will I just get the $14.99 back for GTA IV? Thanks.

Depends on if the cashier knows how to do it. Some don't know, some don't care. You may get lucky.

[wiideal08]

I went in this past Tuesday and purchased Mass Effect and Turok for the 360. They only had a few games left at the Mira Loma, CA location I went to. Good deal though.

[RCS0926]

Depends on if the cashier knows how to do it. Some don't know, some don't care. You may get lucky.

I fine with it either way, but it would be nice to get an extra $10 back. :D

[mkernan]

Has anyone who took advantage of the B1G1 sale ever returned any of their games? I picked up a copy of GTA IV (360) and Dragon Ball Z BT2 (Wii), but when I looked at the discs, they were pretty scratched up. If I do a return on these games, will I get $14.99 for GTA IV and another $9.99 for DBZ BT2, or will I just get the $14.99 back for GTA IV? Thanks.

In all my experiences, I don't recall ever seeing a written return policy on used games, but I can recount to you what has always been spoken to me. Within 30 days, if a game doesn't work (because its too scratched, etc), you can bring it in to be exchanged for another used copy of the same game, provided that they have another. If they don't, then I think generally they'll want you to swap it for another of the same price, but they might let you return it (but I doubt it).

As with many things BBV, YMMV.

[dipset121]

so the buy 1 get 1 free deal is still active??? can anyone confirm this for me please?

[Friend of Sonic]

I've been pretty successful getting credit on a giftcard. I try to find another game I want, but sometimes the store just has crap left over. Usually you can talk them into getting your credit back, in a form of a giftcard. I think they'd refund the store credit and then put it on your account and let you buy a giftcard.

[Gertle627]

so the buy 1 get 1 free deal is still active??? can anyone confirm this for me please?
Yes, it's still going on today.

[daminion]

so the buy 1 get 1 free deal is still active??? can anyone confirm this for me please?

uh, read a few posts and confirm it yourself. seriously. it took you longer to type that post that it would have to read a page back and see that it's still active, and has been all week.

[DrNo888]

Seriously, Io should remove the SMG note in the title and replace it with the sales ending date.

[dyeknom]

Seriously, Io should remove the SMG note in the title and replace it with the sales ending date.

Or people could read the first post.

[Denbo32]

In all my experiences, I don't recall ever seeing a written return policy on used games, but I can recount to you what has always been spoken to me. Within 30 days, if a game doesn't work (because its too scratched, etc), you can bring it in to be exchanged for another used copy of the same game, provided that they have another. If they don't, then I think generally they'll want you to swap it for another of the same price, but they might let you return it (but I doubt it).

As with many things BBV, YMMV.
I only get the 14.99 back, but that because I explain that it was buy one get one free.

[stone1061]

Added clear scans to the Gamestop Trade 2 get 30/20 promo thread.

Glad i got my last 3 sets traded in. This is one of the deals where I'm actually keeping the games. Still worth it trying to find one more set for Skate It.
Was able to get the only local copy of Bolt PS3, trading that in tonight with Quantum of Solace. Guess i should wait to see what the Gamestop coupon is first.

Still have to dump 6 games for the trade 3 get $10 promo tonight.

[Animal7390]

so the buy 1 get 1 free deal is still active??? can anyone confirm this for me please?

please read the op and at least the last few pages. or i wish people would do what i do and make the pages bigger. i see 50 posts per page. makes it easier to search.

[DrNo888]

Or people could read the first post.

I dont really care either way since I read every post.

[maiku]

Has anyone who took advantage of the B1G1 sale ever returned any of their games? I picked up a copy of GTA IV (360) and Dragon Ball Z BT2 (Wii), but when I looked at the discs, they were pretty scratched up. If I do a return on these games, will I get $14.99 for GTA IV and another $9.99 for DBZ BT2, or will I just get the $14.99 back for GTA IV? Thanks.

I had this problem with a copy of Mass Effect. One store said they didn't have it but that I could switch for another $14.99 (or less) game. I ended up going to another store that swapped it for a rental copy. No clue about refunds.

If you can't find two games you want at a single store you could try exchanging them at different places. "I bought it as a gift but the person didn't want it," has worked for me.

[Friend of Sonic]

Hey Animal. Your PM inbox is full. Send me your shipping address for the GTA for PS3.

[Denbo32]

Someone must of hit QoS pretty often here in brooklyn, my BBV suddenly had 15 copies of QoS used for sale....

[Denbo32]

I had this problem with a copy of Mass Effect. One store said they didn't have it but that I could switch for another $14.99 (or less) game. I ended up going to another store that swapped it for a rental copy. No clue about refunds.

If you can't find two games you want at a single store you could try exchanging them at different places. "I bought it as a gift but the person didn't want it," has worked for me.

If your lucky you will get an employee that will do that for you. From my understanding you need to go back to the BB that your reciept is from to returns/exchanges. At least that what most of the employees tell me after I'm done buying.

[RCS0926]

I was able to return/exchange GTA IV and DBZ BT2 and picked up Bully (360) and Prince Caspian (DS). I ended up finding replacement games, but I think the credit would've gone back on my account otherwise.

[io]

Bummer. Glad I did two transactions yesterday. Oh well.

Bah - that was fast. At least I did the same as well. And I almost didn't go out yesterday. The good news is that it means much less running around the next few days. I'm not even going to bother looking for the 1 or 2 $14.99 Wii or DS games I might possibly find at every third Blockbuster :roll:.

Sucks that I didn't use my Ninja Gaiden DS yesterday though. At least I got rid of Imagine Babyz ;). Either I need to decide if I want to do one more set with Ninja Gaiden DS and Flash Focus (and lose $9.50 from what I would have made yesterday) or just deal with those in other ways. I would have traded those yesterday if the stupid store had the Guinness World Records game in stock :bomb:. So, if I don't trade those I'll swap the Cooking Trainer game for that and probably return Wii Music.

I have no qualms, now, about returning that as I did yesterday when the deal was "pre-nerfed" ;). I probably would have kept it otherwise. So much for $20 or $30 off those games :roll:. It doesn't count, GS, if you negate the trade-in value of games traded in. While $20 or $30 off + the trade-in value was a bit ridiculous, it is even more so not to include the TIV. Probably a better thing for them to have done was make it $10/$20 with the TIV included. That way your better games get a little more and GS could live with the results - everyone is happy. But they didn't think that through apparently.

As far as Wii Music goes, we did rent it but didn't put much time into it with the new PS3 (and Little Big Planet) occupying all our gaming time. The GS clerk was telling me how awesome it was last night though - very odd given his age/demographic (typical CAG type).

I think this trade is fine as long as you don't use games with a TIV more than 5. something like ninja reflex and batb would be good. Spiderwick chronicles and bully would be bad since the adjustment doesn't add anymore. Just use the lowest TIV games that you have or can find and it still works out okay. Games with $4 TIV would be ideal like DBZ BT2.

Yeah, too bad I traded my $4 and $5 stuff with the $5 deal and only have $14.99 stuff left to buy IF I can even find any of that! Oh well, like I said earlier, this saves me the time and hassle and now I can work on my real job and stay home and actually play games this week.

Seriously, Io should remove the SMG note in the title and replace it with the sales ending date.

No - if people can't read the very beginning of the first post, their loss. I suggest anyone asking about the date just be ignored from now on. The SMG note continues to bring in people who otherwise wouldn't pay attention and gets them an awesome game at a great price (and it doesn't hurt for us to bring what I presume are mostly non-flipping cash buyers to BBV to pay them back a bit for all we've done).

[ninja dog]

Got Spyro 2x, Ninja Reflex, and Battle of the Bands at a BB near me.

Traded at two different GS' for Skate City, got the extra $10 from each put back on my card. I'm gonna return them in a week or something...I AM SO SICK OF DRIVING AROUND! :lol:

In any case, it will come out to about $20 for Street Fighter IV after I get my credit back. Good deal!

[newlu]

GS TIV 01/08/09
All base before bonuses

:ps3:
Devil May Cry 4 - $8.00

:360:
Devil May Cry 4 - $7.00
F.E.A.R. - $4.00
BioShock - $8.00
Eternal Sonata - $9.00
Virtua Fighter 5 - $7.00
Grand Theft Auto IV - $9.00
F.E.A.R. Files - $7.00
Timeshift - $4.00
Turok - $6.00
The Spiderwick Chronicles - $7.00
Bully: Scholarship Edition - $10.00

[vike105]

Around what time do we usually know what the gamestop coupon will be for this week so I can plan my BB flips accordingly....Thanks

[theeipi]

Is there an echo in here? ;)
no echo, just posted from store, as i traded in, to save others time. i had the page with values opened on my phone and just posted in the box on the bottom without reading the last page.

[safire]

OP: I picked up Furu Furu Park, which, according to the Trade 3 +15 thread TIV is worth $5, costs $9.99 at BBV. Not a good flip, but good for the new promotion they're running.

[gemini]

Has anyone checked the TIV of Operation Darkness lately? $28.50 might be a decent flip from Best Buy's $18.

[sgaldis]

Someone must of hit QoS pretty often here in brooklyn, my BBV suddenly had 15 copies of QoS used for sale....

Ha..I just had a similar experience at one of my local BBV's. I went in and there was 2x of basically every good GS>BBV flip clogging their shelves; AiTD Wii, Wild Earth, Legendary, Monster Jam...A few are some of my old trades, but most are fresh, with the date 01.02.08 on the tag...


If you are out there, mr./mrs. lurker, hit me up with a PM. Or maybe one of my disciples has turned on me..NO!!!!:hot:

[bgame2]

Anyone remember seeing the BBV price (used) of Universe at war? I know my store had copies of it, and someone posted in another thread that it treads in for 8 at GS (base) but I cannot remember how much it costs at BBV and I couldn't find it in the first couple of posts either. Thanks to anyone who knows. If no one knows, I'll be checking later tonight and will post the answer then.

[gi60]

I'm about to trade all of my Wii Games (SMG, SMBB, MK, etc) today to get the extra $ 15 but saw the bad news. :(

Io or any other PS3 owner, a little of topic, but a very good deal
Amazon.co.uk has dropped their Planet Earth (BluRay - Region Free - UK Version (narrated by David A instead of boring Sigourney Weaver) for about $ 32 shipped to US (I'm in CA). I bought 1 last month from them for about $ 38 and received it within a week. This is a very good deal for showing off your PS3, TV and for your kids education.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Earth-Complete-BBC-Blu-ray/dp/B000SKNIWE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1229373359&sr=8-1

[DrNo888]

I'm about to trade all of my Wii Games (SMG, SMBB, MK, etc) today to get the extra $ 15 but saw the bad news. :(

Io or any other PS3 owner, a little of topic, but a very good deal
Amazon.co.uk has dropped their Planet Earth (BluRay - Region Free - UK Version (narrated by David A instead of boring Sigourney Weaver) for about $ 32 shipped. I bought 1 last month from them for about $ 38 and received it within a week. This is a very good deal for showing off your PS3, TV and for your kids education.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Earth-Complete-BBC-Blu-ray/dp/B000SKNIWE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1229373359&sr=8-1

How much was shipping to US?

I have the SD version. Doesnt look to good on PS3 with the up conversion.

[gi60]

How much was shipping to US?

I have the SD version. Doesnt look to good on PS3 with the up conversion.

It's $ 32.xx shipped to US.

[RCS0926]

I'm about to trade all of my Wii Games (SMG, SMBB, MK, etc) today to get the extra $ 15 but saw the bad news. :(

Io or any other PS3 owner, a little of topic, but a very good deal
Amazon.co.uk has dropped their Planet Earth (BluRay - Region Free - UK Version (narrated by David A instead of boring Sigourney Weaver) for about $ 32 shipped. I bought 1 last month from them for about $ 38 and received it within a week. This is a very good deal for showing off your PS3, TV and for your kids education.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Earth-Complete-BBC-Blu-ray/dp/B000SKNIWE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1229373359&sr=8-1

If you used BBV's B1G1 deal to pick up Wii games, then Gamestop's Wii promo can still make you a decent chunk of change. If the trade-in value of your games is $7.50 or less, you'll at least double the TIV you would've gotten otherwise. If the TIV of your Wii games is $11.66 or more, then you're better off taking advantage of the 3 for $10 promo.

[animemaniac14]

ummm..i am about to place an order for PE BR and it's only $21.30 shipped...or am i wrong about conversion there? perhaps thats 21.30 pounds..

edit: YEPP...$34.xx US Dollars shipped nvm

[Puffoluffagus]

So, here's my last two days went:

Bought at BBV:
:wii:
Ninja Reflex - 9.99
Tennis - (9.99) - Free

:360:
Bully - 14.99
Bully - (14.99) - Free

GTA IV - 14.99
Dirt - Free

:ps3:
GTA IV - 14.99
DMC4 - (14.99) - Free

I hit up 3 GSs for three reasons: 1.) I was looking for Gripshift for PSP 2.) I was looking for Wii Fits 3.) The guy at the first Gamestop told me I could only trade in 1 copy of the same disc per day.

So, I went to the first GS, traded in Bully ($10.00), :360: GTAIV ($9), and Dirt ($8). Got hit with a $3.00 refurb fee (I have no clue why, he didn't even look at the discs. Maybe it's because one of the covers was a BBV cover?). Anyway, came out to $32.XX to put on a card.

I went to the second GS, traded in Bully ($10.00), :ps3: GTAIV ($11), DMC4 ($8). Ended up being $39.XX . Funny thing happened, after I did the trade, he hands me the Giftcard along with the stack of games I just traded in. I look at him for a second and shake the cases (at first I thought he was just handing me back the cases), and then he realizes what he did and we laughed about it, calling it a new promo they were having where we can rip them off.

I went to the third and final GS, traded in Table Tennis ($8) and Ninja Reflex ($5), but their TIVs get obliterated and it just bumps them up to $15.00 each. (Yes, I know I could have traded other wii games in, I just didn't feel like making another run to BBV, where the Wii selection is pathetic at the moment). And purchased a Wii Fit, and paid the difference using the cards from above. I still have $13.XX left on the card. I might make a run to GS tommorow, and buy Smash court or Monster Jam if I can find them, and trade them back into BBV.

[Gertle627]

:360: Smash Court Tennis $8.99 -> $15 (BB price good thru 1/11)
Just a question about this OP thing. This is Smash Court Tennis 3, right? I saw it today (@ $8.99) but wasn't sure if it was the right one. And the last time I saw it at that location it was like $17.99 or something. I may have to go back by tomorrow if it's the right one.

[crunchewy]

Io or any other PS3 owner, a little of topic, but a very good deal
Amazon.co.uk has dropped their Planet Earth (BluRay - Region Free - UK Version (narrated by David A instead of boring Sigourney Weaver) for about $ 32 shipped to US (I'm in CA). I bought 1 last month from them for about $ 38 and received it within a week. This is a very good deal for showing off your PS3, TV and for your kids education.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Earth-Complete-BBC-Blu-ray/dp/B000SKNIWE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1229373359&sr=8-1

You might want to hook Blockbuster up with it, along with a lot better TV for their displays, because one thing is absolutely for certain, the displays they have set up that are suppose to be showing off how amazing BluRay is on the PS3 are pretty damn underwhelming. I look at the movies on them each time I'm there and they don't look significantly better then upscaled DVDs on my 720p Samsung at home, and that on a $56 DVD player bought at Walmart. Maybe side-by-side I could see a difference, and probably for sure on a much larger screen, but on the screens they've got in those displays, they are doing absolutely nothing for the cause.

[valloq]

Well, seeing as how they've now "fixed" the promo, that'll save the trip I was gonna make going back to GS to get back my $16.50 I thought I had been ripped off on. At least I made out on one of my transactions.

[crunchewy]

I have no qualms, now, about returning that as I did yesterday when the deal was "pre-nerfed" ;). I probably would have kept it otherwise. So much for $20 or $30 off those games :roll:. It doesn't count, GS, if you negate the trade-in value of games traded in. While $20 or $30 off + the trade-in value was a bit ridiculous, it is even more so not to include the TIV. Probably a better thing for them to have done was make it $10/$20 with the TIV included. That way your better games get a little more and GS could live with the results - everyone is happy. But they didn't think that through apparently.

Just to be devils advocate, io, how exactly does this justify your change of heart in this specific case? You got Wii Music when the deal was not "nerf'd". Sure, I agree that the change is messed up, but you did get to take advantage of the deal pre-nerfing, as did I.

[gi60]

If you used BBV's B1G1 deal to pick up Wii games, then Gamestop's Wii promo can still make you a decent chunk of change. If the trade-in value of your games is $7.50 or less, you'll at least double the TIV you would've gotten otherwise. If the TIV of your Wii games is $11.66 or more, then you're better off taking advantage of the 3 for $10 promo.

Thanks.. but my BBV is pretty much out of good flip. I mean to trade my own game like Super Smash Brawl, Mario Kart since extra $ 15 is a LOT. :)

[RCS0926]

Just a question about this OP thing. This is Smash Court Tennis 3, right? I saw it today (@ $8.99) but wasn't sure if it was the right one. And the last time I saw it at that location it was like $17.99 or something. I may have to go back by tomorrow if it's the right one.

Correct. Smash Court Pro Tennis 3 is definitely $8.99 at Gamestop. However, you should know that this game won't scan at Blockbuster. If you're working with a knowledgeable cashier, then he/she will just look it up on the computer and give you the $15 TIV. However, if your cashier doesn't know what he/she is doing, then he/she will probably tell you that the game can't be traded in because it won't scan.

Both situation happened to me. My first trade of SCPT3 at a Blockbuster went fine because the cashier pulled it up on the computer. The 2nd didn't work so well because the cashier wouldn't pull it up on the computer. Instead, she said I couldn't trade the game in since it wouldn't scan. Just be aware of the trade-in complications with this game at BBV.

[n8rockerasu]

Just to be devils advocate, io, how exactly does this justify your change of heart in this specific case? You got Wii Music when the deal was not "nerf'd". Sure, I agree that the change is messed up, but you did get to take advantage of the deal pre-nerfing, as did I.

Well, by my interpretation (and my own belief as well) it means that by changing the promo to something much more in their favor, GS has decided to "play dirty". You're less inclined to feel guilty about doing something that could be considered even the slightest bit questionable, if the company you're doing it to is asking you to bend over and say "ah". ;)

[gemini]

You can add Soul Calibur IV - $45 to the mysteriously discounted new releases list in the OP. I know it was on 360, but I'm not sure on PS3.

[Denbo32]

Anyone remember seeing the BBV price (used) of Universe at war? I know my store had copies of it, and someone posted in another thread that it treads in for 8 at GS (base) but I cannot remember how much it costs at BBV and I couldn't find it in the first couple of posts either. Thanks to anyone who knows. If no one knows, I'll be checking later tonight and will post the answer then.

I believe it was 19.99, or it was last week when I tried to get it scanned. I didn't try this week because no one said anything on a pricebreak on it.

[Drkirby]

If a game is marked at a old/wrong price (Bioshock is marked at $19.99), will it ring up for the right price?

[newlu]

If a game is marked at a old/wrong price (Bioshock is marked at $19.99), will it ring up for the right price?

If it's a corporate store, then yes.

[Drkirby]

Alright. Also, the lady was having some trouble getting Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition, and Smash Court Tennis 3 to ring up for trade in, and wouldn't let her. Any possible reason why?

[Nirron]

If a game is marked at a old/wrong price (Bioshock is marked at $19.99), will it ring up for the right price?

It should. BBV is notorious for lazily updating stickers or stickering things incorrectly (though sometimes to our advantage) so I trust CAG's reported prices much more than what it says on the sticker. Heck, a few weeks ago I picked up a PS3 GTA IV that was stickered $34.99. The employee looked at me like I had muttered some arcane flipper's incantation to make the price change from the box to the computer.

As for Smash Court, that's been known to not ring up correctly. They will have to manually look it up in the computer to give you the TIV as RCS0926 posted here about 30 minutes ago. Oblivion I'd have no clue; I would make sure that the UPC looks alright. Worst case she has to look that one up too.

[crunchewy]

Well, by my interpretation (and my own belief as well) it means that by changing the promo to something much more in their favor, GS has decided to "play dirty". You're less inclined to feel guilty about doing something that could be considered even the slightest bit questionable, if the company you're doing it to is asking you to bend over and say "ah". ;)

Or you could interpret it as: io was looking for an excuse and he found one. :)

In retrospect, I do have to admit that, and as was put up as a counter earlier on, yes, I have used printed coupons (that weren't suppose to be printed), and I suppose returning a game like this probably isn't any worse. So I concede. :)

In any case, whether we like what they've done or not, it would seem that the change may have put a damper on the buy-return activities, so it would seem that they did an effective thing, even if it wasn't the "right" thing. They never should have put themselves in that situation, but there you go. I don't think they could have changed the offer in some other way, such as changing the amount you get off via the deal because the ad clearly stated $30. The rest of the offer is vague, so much so that, as I noted in an earlier post, there was much surprise noted here when it was first discovered that trade in value and Edge was included originally. So any claim that the change that was made now is somehow counter to what is stated in the ad is a bit misleading - most here seemed to think originally that it didn't include the trade-in value and edge.

[Drkirby]

It should. BBV is notorious for lazily updating stickers or stickering things incorrectly (though sometimes to our advantage) so I trust CAG's reported prices much more than what it says on the sticker. Heck, a few weeks ago I picked up a PS3 GTA IV that was stickered $34.99. The employee looked at me like I had muttered some arcane flipper's incantation to make the price change from the box to the computer.

As for Smash Court, that's been known to not ring up correctly. They will have to manually look it up in the computer to give you the TIV as RCS0926 posted here about 30 minutes ago. Oblivion I'd have no clue; I would make sure that the UPC looks alright. Worst case she has to look that one up too.Yah, the UPC had some sticker left on it, which I picked off, but the lady didn't want to scan it again.

[h2dk]

Thanks.. but my BBV is pretty much out of good flip. I mean to trade my own game like Super Smash Brawl, Mario Kart since extra $ 15 is a LOT. :)

I believe you have it off a bit. There would be no extra $15...it would bump each up to $15. Definitely don't trade SSB or MK in for this deal.

[stoned99]

So returned 5 items to GS, bought yesterday using the wii trades, and preordered some games. Pokemon Platinum is in the system so I jumped on that (it's for my kids so no comments please). This was a nice change, making money off of GS.

[n8rockerasu]

In any case, whether we like what they've done or not, it would seem that the change may have put a damper on the buy-return activities, so it would seem that they did an effective thing, even if it wasn't the "right" thing. They never should have put themselves in that situation, but there you go. I don't think they could have changed the offer in some other way, such as changing the amount you get off via the deal because the ad clearly stated $30. The rest of the offer is vague, so much so that, as I noted in an earlier post, there was much surprise noted here when it was first discovered that trade in value and Edge was included originally. So any claim that the change that was made now is somehow counter to what is stated in the ad is a bit misleading - most here seemed to think originally that it didn't include the trade-in value and edge.

I won't get into this too much because I've already posted much of my belief in the actual promo thread. But I never thought that the TIV of the games would merely be bumped. The wording of the ad indicates that you "SAVE $30" by trading in two games. By all accounts, that makes it sound like the price of the game you're buying is reduced...not that your trades are being "boosted".

IF the ad had stated "Trade 2 Wii Games Get X for $29.99" that would infer that the value of the trades is already included. You're not saving $30 if you're giving GS merchandise they can turn around and sell. However, giving you $19.40 for Alien Syndrome and then selling it for $17.99 is obviously moronic. I think this promo was just a bad idea all the way around for GS.

[noone13]

I tried to trade in some games last night and found out my account has been banned, or suspended as they said. The people working last night didn't know anything about it so today I called and talked to the store manager. Turns out he had no idea about it either until last night. I guess he called his district manager and she didn't know either. So I was told its a corporate thing and I should get a letter in the mail about it. Also and I think was the most interesting, he told me this store was no longer taking any trades per a corporate order. He wasn't sure if it was a permanent thing or what. So I am kind of pissed off now since this is the only BBV anywhere around me and now I am stuck with a bunch of games I have no use for. I tend to believe this store manager as he has always been a decent guy and I am pretty sure I am about the only person who ever trades at this store. So I guess now I am off to call BBV corporate.

Edit-- Is there by any chance anyone on here who trades at the store in Cedar Falls IA? If so PM if you can, thanks.

[Animal7390]

I tried to trade in some games last night and found out my account has been banned, or suspended as they said. The people working last night didn't know anything about it so today I called and talked to the store manager. Turns out he had no idea about it either until last night. I guess he called his district manager and she didn't know either. So I was told its a corporate thing and I should get a letter in the mail about it. Also and I think was the most interesting, he told me this store was no longer taking any trades per a corporate order. He wasn't sure if it was a permanent thing or what. So I am kind of pissed off now since this is the only BBV anywhere around me and now I am stuck with a bunch of games I have no use for. I tend to believe this store manager as he has always been a decent guy and I am pretty sure I am about the only person who ever trades at this store. So I guess now I am off to call BBV corporate.

Edit-- Is there by any chance anyone on here who trades at the store in Cedar Falls IA? If so PM if you can, thanks.

gods speed.

[FlamedLiquid]

Great way to start off 2009 for me. :)

Bought a ps3 copy of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith for $9.99 and a 360 copy for $9.99 at meijer. Traded both in at Blockbuster. Got $45. $23 for the ps3 and $22 for the 360.

Got:

Buy 1 Get 1:

Devil May Cry 4 (360) $14.99
Condemned 2 (360) $14.99
Bully (360) $14.99
Bioshock (360) $14.99

Boom Blox (wii) $19.99

So basically only paid an extra $5.

Just got 5 pretty awesome games for $25 and the majority sell for $30 - $40 new

:)

[gi60]

I believe you have it off a bit. There would be no extra $15...it would bump each up to $15. Definitely don't trade SSB or MK in for this deal.

I know.. that's why I'm kind of kicking myself for not trading them yesterday. It was adding the $ 15 to the base yesterday.

[RCS0926]

Yah, the UPC had some sticker left on it, which I picked off, but the lady didn't want to scan it again.

Oblivion: GOTY should scan fine. I traded that game in last week and didn't run into the problems I did with SCPT3.

[IAmTheCheapestGamer]

You might want to hook Blockbuster up with it, along with a lot better TV for their displays, because one thing is absolutely for certain, the displays they have set up that are suppose to be showing off how amazing BluRay is on the PS3 are pretty damn underwhelming. I look at the movies on them each time I'm there and they don't look significantly better then upscaled DVDs on my 720p Samsung at home, and that on a $56 DVD player bought at Walmart. Maybe side-by-side I could see a difference, and probably for sure on a much larger screen, but on the screens they've got in those displays, they are doing absolutely nothing for the cause.

Resolution, shmesolution I say. Who the hell buys a game system to play fuckin movies on? No offense meant, but I still don't see the big deal switching to some new, more expensive format.

I've seen movies in HD on an HDtv on BR's before. I did NOT cream my jeans over the picture, that's for damn sure.:roll:

Of course, IF BR takes over, I'm salivating at the thought of the DVD clearances to come and the fact that maybe I can finally pick up a full set of the Three Stooges shorts on DVD for under a couple hundred.

[Ragnorok64]

Resolution, shmesolution I say. Who the hell buys a game system to play fuckin movies on? No offense meant, but I still don't see the big deal switching to some new, more expensive format. Well I like to use all the capabilities of the items I buy not to mention the PS3 is one of the best Blu-ray players out there for price and capabilities.

I've seen movies in HD on an HDtv on BR's before. I did NOT cream my jeans over the picture, that's for damn sure.:roll:
If that was the reaction you were looking for you were clearly watching the wrong variety of movie...

Of course, IF BR takes over, I'm salivating at the thought of the DVD clearances to come and the fact that maybe I can finally pick up a full set of the Three Stooges shorts on DVD for under a couple hundred. Blu-ray won't be taking over for a while.

[safire]

Blu-ray won't be taking over for a while.

True. But, people aren't considering that even though Blu-Ray seems to be taking over, it will eventually lose out to streaming, which will be the dominant medium.

[js1]

Well I like to use all the capabilities of the items I buy not to mention the PS3 is one of the best Blu-ray players out there for price and capabilities.


If that was the reaction you were looking for you were clearly watching the wrong variety of movie...

Blu-ray won't be taking over for a while.

Same here, it was one of the reasons for me choosing the ps3 over the 360.

[Ragnorok64]

True. But, people aren't considering that even though Blu-Ray seems to be taking over, it will eventually lose out to streaming, which will be the dominant medium.
Streaming is going to take forever to become the dominant medium and Internet providers are going to have to majorly step up their game to make it viable. The amount of bandwidth needed to stream a full 1080 movie with uncompressed 7.1 sound is going to be quite large. Add that to some companies imposing data caps (like Comcast) and just overall sucky internet (Australia comes to mind) and I don't see streaming supplanting disc based media for a good while.

[IAmTheCheapestGamer]

Well I like to use all the capabilities of the items I buy not to mention the PS3 is one of the best Blu-ray players out there for price and capabilities.

I use the internet browser, the photo functions and many other functions that I never thought I would use in a million years.

If that was the reaction you were looking for you were clearly watching the wrong variety of movie...

Well, I was expecting some ground breaking upgrade over the normal def picture. I was underwhelmed.

[bg2001]

found devil may cry 4 (ps3) today for 14.99.

[Gertle627]

Pokemon Platinum is in the system so I jumped on that (it's for my kids so no comments please).
As a pokemon lover, I resent that comment.

But more in topic, I wonder how much of a pain it'd be to get a BBV employee to look up Smash Court.

[stone1061]

Coupon of the Week:
$5 Trade in bonus on Wii/Ds games, minimum $2 TIV

[Ragnorok64]

I use the internet browser, the photo functions and many other functions that I never thought I would use in a million years.



Well, I was expecting some ground breaking upgrade over the normal def picture. I was underwhelmed.
Well to be honest I didn't use my PS3 for BR's for almost the full first year I had it because I didn't have an HDTV. I bought a device so I could pump games through my 20 LCD monitor but since it didn't have HDCP BR and DVD would only play at 480p resolution which that monitor couldn't support.

In any case I saved my money, did my research, and got a nice 40" Samsung. A bit later i got a passable sound system and let my tell you it's great. Watching Cloverfield in HD at 120hz was better than watching it at the theater. Granted the theater we ended up seeing it in in the first place absolutley sucked.

[maximus101]

Someone must of hit QoS pretty often here in brooklyn, my BBV suddenly had 15 copies of QoS used for sale....

kunai/jdm?

[animemaniac14]

kunai/jdm?

/capa?

looks like the new GS coupon is +$5 for any wii game traded (limit of 5) LET THE GAMES CONTINUE!

[polly]

Coupon of the Week:
$5 Trade in bonus on Wii/Ds games, minimum $2 TIV

SWEET!

[n8rockerasu]

True. But, people aren't considering that even though Blu-Ray seems to be taking over, it will eventually lose out to streaming, which will be the dominant medium.

If you consider "eventually" to be 20 years or so, then I'll agree. ISP's have nowhere close to the technology to support this now. I pay $45 a month for a 10MB connection (Charter Cable), and it STILL has trouble streaming netflix in HD. Oh, and it's unreliable and dies whenever it feels like it.

Just last night, the wife and I were trying to watch a movie and we get kicked 70% through the movie. Couldn't reconnect for 3 hours after that. Can't think of a better way to kill a nice evening. Say what you want, but I'll take a disc any day.

[Friend of Sonic]

Can't think of a better way to kill a nice evening.
Well, if your penis crumbled off while she was holding it, that would be a better way to kill a nice evening.

[DrNo888]

Too bad there are no Wii games left to be found at BBV.

[schuerm26]

Transformers for the 360 is $5 well spent.

[DrNo888]

Transformers for the 360 is $5 well spent.

Really? Was going to get PS3 version until I asw the ratings on metacritic.

http://www.metacritic.com/search/process?sort=relevance&termType=all&ts=transformers&ty=3&x=0&y=0

[Ragnorok64]

Well, if your penis crumbled off while she was holding it, that would be a better way to kill a nice evening.
You have an odd sense of "better."

[prateeko]

Quick question - is SMG still $25 new? I can't get ahold of my local BBV...

[n8rockerasu]

Well, if your penis crumbled off while she was holding it, that would be a better way to kill a nice evening.

Haha, leave it to FoS to provide some perspective. Spontaneously combusting penises aside though, I hope you can see my point. As much as I love the ability to be able to stream, it's nowhere near a perfected science.

[dyeknom]

Wow nice coupon for those DS games.

It saves me from having to return a bonus game.. and ultimately better for the 6 and 7 dollar tiv DS games. Also good if you are having to get 19.99 wii games to pair with 14.99 and games.

[n8rockerasu]

Really now...

you guys have problems...:shame:

[HughMBeing]

Quick question - is SMG still $25 new? I can't get ahold of my local BBV...

In my case it was (sealed). Just picked up a copy ten minutes ago.

[RCS0926]

Wow nice coupon for those DS games.

It saves me from having to return a bonus game.. and ultimately better for the 6 and 7 dollar tiv DS games. Also good if you are having to get 19.99 wii games to pair with 14.99 and games.

Yeah, I was going to trade-in Worm 2 and Prince Caspian for one of the DS games and get $20.90 credit (after return). However, with this coupon, I can get $19.90 for those games with the return hassle. The coupon isn't as great for the Wii games unless your Wii games have a base TIV of $10 or more.

[io]

Io or any other PS3 owner, a little of topic, but a very good deal
Amazon.co.uk has dropped their Planet Earth (BluRay - Region Free - UK Version (narrated by David A instead of boring Sigourney Weaver) for about $ 32 shipped to US (I'm in CA).

My Dad's present to us for Christmas was Planet Earth from Amazon (back when it was $50 or something). Oh well... We haven't even watched it yet.

Well, by my interpretation (and my own belief as well) it means that by changing the promo to something much more in their favor, GS has decided to "play dirty". You're less inclined to feel guilty about doing something that could be considered even the slightest bit questionable, if the company you're doing it to is asking you to bend over and say "ah". ;)

Or you could interpret it as: io was looking for an excuse and he found one. :)


The way I viewed the return thing originally is that it is only slightly off though certainly not against the rules or even unethical, really. I mean, the receipt shows you paid $49.99 for it. Thus if you decide to return it that's what you get - it really isn't a problem other than that you know in the back of your mind you really got a good deal on it. That is what the promo does. If the promo truly discounted the game to $19.99 then they could have taken care of that issue (as you'd only get $19.99 back). Maybe that's what they should have done - given you the real trade-in value for your games and charged $19.99 for Wii Music. But then they probably can't do that sort of thing because of Nintendo and MSRP. But is getting a great deal on something a reason to feel like you can't return it? I dunno. In any case, I was content to keep it when it looked like I'd be able to get a few more things with the deal. Now that I'm not, I kind of feel Wii Music for all the trouble I went through yesterday driving around (spent 3 hours out to get 2 games via the promo) is not worth it and I'd rather save that credit for something better (like the overpriced DQ V DS preorder I have at GS!).


Well, I was expecting some ground breaking upgrade over the normal def picture. I was underwhelmed.

I got a nice new 1080p TV and the difference is phenomenal! I can't believe I didn't so this sooner. having said that, we really haven't watched too much on it as it is nearly always being occupied with LBP playing by either me or one of the kids (or all of us together ;)).

Transformers for the 360 is $5 well spent.

That's another game I could never find at this sale but would have snagged...

As for the new $5 DS/Wii coupon, that makes things interesting. Do I take my extra Flash Focus, Nintendogs, and Ninja Gaiden DS and go for that, or do I still use the $20 off game deal? Or, now, do I try to find 1 more cheap DS game to pair with Flash Focus for the deal and trade the other two with the coupon?

[edostar44]

Yeah, I was going to trade-in Worm 2 and Prince Caspian for one of the DS games and get $20.90 credit (after return). However, with this coupon, I can get $19.90 for those games with the return hassle. The coupon isn't as great for the Wii games unless your Wii games have a base TIV of $10 or more.

Wait what copy of worms is this? Is it the wii version? I've seen a couple around here but always passed because they are priced at $24.99 and I've never seen a mention of it being lower.

[DrNo888]

I think he's talking about DS version since he's trading in for a DS game.

[stone1061]

Traded:
PS3 Quantum of Solace $36 (third times a charm :))
PS3 Bolt $30.

Thought i was done but they pulled me back in!
Store had minty fresh copies of Bee Movie and Spiderwick for Wii.
Not sure if I'll trade them with the trade 2 get $30 or just settle for using the coupon and getting a $21.
I'd either get Skate it! (which would be the 6th game I got during this promo) or pull the old switcheroo and return it for something else.
I feel like I got beat on the two sets of DS games where they had nerfed the promo, so I kind of want to get even with them. :twisted:

Brought a box of twinkies and cupcakes to my favorite gamestop. No refurb fees! Imagine that.

[Friend of Sonic]

I'm sort of pissed there's no 20% coupon geared to flipping towards Blockbuster. Finding 22 Wii games in my "Flipper's Paradise" really drained me. =(

[Rhl]

So when does this end? I called up a Blockbuster today to ask what games they had, and the guy said he thinks the promo ends today.

[h2dk]

My Dad's present to us for Christmas was Planet Earth from Amazon (back when it was $50 or something). Oh well... We haven't even watched it yet.



I hope it was the BBC version not the Sigorney Weaver one

[mer71]

I have been banned for trading in 6 copies of Cranium Kabookii.

[Friend of Sonic]

I have been banned for trading in 6 copies of Cranium Kabooki.
I'm sorry to hear that. Were you buying Cranium from Blockbuster and then trading it back in? Or did you buy from Gamestop/elsewhere?

[mer71]

Bought them at Kmart for $5 each. I even went to seperate locations to trade in. One store called the other stores to warn them.

[Friend of Sonic]

...Wow. Did you do two per store? Same day?

[io]

I hope it was the BBC version not the Sigorney Weaver one

Well, you made me run up and check. It is indeed the BBC version with David Attenborough. I'm guessing I should be relieved? ;)

mer71 - Sorry to hear that, it sounds like classic Junior Detectivism. The good thing is that you have a chance of clearing your name. Start with the store manager at one of the locations first. Let them know you have receipts for the game. They most likely think you are stealing them from somewhere and trading them in. It may still not get your account reinstated, but it's worth a shot.

[SakBee]

I checked my local BBV and all I saw were Clearance Games... I guess the promo ended today in Chicago? Oh well, it was a fun ride while it lasted :applause:

[IAmTheCheapestGamer]

:-D Ya know, if BBV did cash trades, I would dump the Singstar bundle I nabbed for $9.97 from Sears for $36 EASILY.

But since I had issues with them and I don't really need any games or credit currently, I guess I'll be keeping it for now.

[IAmTheCheapestGamer]

I got a nice new 1080p TV and the difference is phenomenal! I can't believe I didn't so this sooner. having said that, we really haven't watched too much on it as it is nearly always being occupied with LBP playing by either me or one of the kids (or all of us together ;)).

I usually play later at night with at least one fellow CAG and 2-3 of our friends on PSN. Usually after trying to get 2-3 levels to load, we'll end up back in the game leaders pod and take turns bitch slapping each other around the pod until the next level we're going to try loads.

:lol:

I sit there laughing my ass off and trying not to laugh really loud when I'm playing, since it's usually about 2-3 am when we're playing.

By the way, the random costumes are quite fun at times. That's how I made up 90-95% of my costumes my sackboy wears.

[Animal7390]

well just got back from trading some stuff in at gs towards the ds and wii games. it is definitely nerfed. nerfed: made not quite as good or changed to benefit a different party. but if you pick up skate city heroes you still get a bonus 10 + edge bonus back and a game. so if you got a couple games that trade for 5 then this is still a good deal.

So when does this end? I called up a Blockbuster today to ask what games they had, and the guy said he thinks the promo ends today.

read the op

I checked my local BBV and all I saw were Clearance Games... I guess the promo ended today in Chicago? Oh well, it was a fun ride while it lasted :applause:

read the op. it is not regional.

:-D Ya know, if BBV did cash trades, I would dump the Singstar bundle I nabbed for $9.97 from Sears for $36 EASILY.

But since I had issues with them and I don't really need any games or credit currently, I guess I'll be keeping it for now.

i didnt know you came in here, i thought you just bought strat guides. of course im still relatively new to the thread so who knows. anyway about 90% of the time when i trade in a game they talk out loud and read the screen to themselves and one of the lines says something about cash but they only say that but never offer it. im really curious what it is. just an interesting tidbit.

[Snake2715]

I was banned like 18 months ago and went in on Tuesday. They had me in the system as banned. I had to close and open a new account. I went all the way to the DM back when it happened too. Good luck.

[io]

Random observation of the day:

I see Soul Calibur IV as easy-to-fund future B1G1 fodder much like GTA IV. There were 8 used PS3 copies at one store I went to yesterday. I'm looking forward to getting that from the B1G1 this summer ;).

[Ragnorok64]

Well i traded in my Prince of Persia to BBV and netted

x2 Battle of the Bands
Furu furu Park
Red Steel

I only doubled up on Battle of the band because there was nothing left at the 9.99 or under price point. Everything trades for $5 at GS except Red Steel which is apparently $4.

I figure I'll trade Red Steel and a Battle of the Bands toward Skate City and have the extra $10 (well less than 10 with Tax factored in) on my card. After this I'm not sure what to do.

I could try returning the Skate City, or I could trade the Skate City and Furu Furu for another Skate City and get another almost $10 on my card. Go to another GS and trade that Skate City and my remaining Battle of the bands for another Skate city and another $10 on my card.


Hmmm after typing that out I think it's better to trade 2 toward skate City then another two toward skate City. That way it's $10+$10+$20 (skate City Return)+$20 (skate City Return)=$60 Credit.

As opposed to $10+$10+$10+$20 (skate City Return)=$50 Credit.

Now the hitch is can I get the two Gamestops close to me to accept the returns. I'm considering just returning them immediately when they sell it to me. The one GS workers probably won't care.

[sotc1988]

Random observation of the day:

I see Soul Calibur IV as easy-to-fund future B1G1 fodder much like GTA IV. There were 8 used PS3 copies at one store I went to yesterday. I'm looking forward to getting that from the B1G1 this summer ;).
Always thinking ahead are we?;)
I too was thinking about what games might qualify the next time this happens as I am shooting for the new banjo game.

[Tecumseh!]

My haul for today:

from GS:
exchanged a used PoP w/ receipt for used Rise of the Argonauts
exchanged a used Conan w/receipt for a used RE4: Wii
also picked up the only used Persona 4 within a 100 mile area, but I had to go out of pocket for it, $24.:lol:

from BBV:
can't remember what all I exchanged, traded, etc., but I ended up with:
Dark Sector -X360
Condemned - X360
Condemned 2 - X360
Okami -Wii
Lost Odyssey - X360 (fortunately mispriced at $14.99)
Boom Blox - Wii (also mispriced, I think, at $14.99)
DMC4 - X360
Gun - X360
Dirt - X360
Zack & Wiki - Wii

Additionally, I currently have $34 in GS credit, 3 copies of Skate City Heroes to return and $29 BBV credit. :bouncy:

Oh, and I accomplished all this BBV haul starting with only $60 in gift cards from GS...:hot::bomb::hot:

[newlu]

GS TIV 08/01/09
All base before bonuses

:360:
Hot Wheels: Beat That! - $7.00
Spider-Man: Friend or Foe - $5.00

[gi60]

^the only problem now is that a lot more people are buying used games at bb (sd effect). The used games at store around here is limited now, even the more expensive one.

[JeffMyers]

The Blockbuster where I live never even has used games in stock, for rent or purchase. Their video game selection is terrible. Consider yourselves lucky...

[IAmTheCheapestGamer]

i didnt know you came in here, i thought you just bought strat guides. of course im still relatively new to the thread so who knows. anyway about 90% of the time when i trade in a game they talk out loud and read the screen to themselves and one of the lines says something about cash but they only say that but never offer it. im really curious what it is. just an interesting tidbit.

I made out like a bandit during the period when GS and HWV were running their 10-30% extra credit and $3.99 last gen game sales at the same time.

I turned around $140 in cash into about $400-500 in credit between BBV and GS.

Good times, good times. But unless there's some other really great deals like that going on again I'm done for now.

[RCS0926]

The Blockbuster where I live never even has used games in stock, for rent or purchase. Their video game selection is terrible. Consider yourselves lucky...

I'm pretty fortunate. I have 3 BBVs within 10 miles from my workplace that have a decent stock of used games. I've visited 2 out of 3, and I'll be attempting to make one more flip run at the 3rd tomorrow. Even if nothing comes of it, I'll still have a decent amount of GS credit built up from this deal...

[WuGgaRoO]

wait?!? you can return the game that u purchased and get your points back?

[Ragnorok64]

wait?!? you can return the game that u purchased and get your points back?In theory.

[whymustiregister]

Random observation of the day:

I see Soul Calibur IV as easy-to-fund future B1G1 fodder much like GTA IV. There were 8 used PS3 copies at one store I went to yesterday. I'm looking forward to getting that from the B1G1 this summer ;).


I was thinking the same thing last night! :rofl: Unfortunately I'll have to put in cash just like this round. And there aren't any gift card promos in the summer! I really need to cash out some of my newly acquired GS credit...

[dyeknom]

So, I went to a BBV down the road from my new apartment... and this guy goes "wait, you are giving this to us for what?" and I replied "store credit." He told me that he doesn't think they do that, but then knew exactly how to do it. He then opened the game and it was mint, I mean... I don't think this copy of Bolt had ever been played. He then told me that "wow it's got some seriously deep scratches."

I wasn't in the mood for shananigans today, so I requested he show me the "seriously deep scratches." Looking fairly insulted, he tried to show me imaginary scratches... Yes... imaginary scratches. The only thing on the disk at that point were his fat fingerprints. He then conceded and said that it must have "just been the light reflection."

Yes, the reflection of the light looks like deep scratches, here I thought it was just people not taking care of games. Anyway, that was way too much effort for what I got out of it. Thank god my apartment is seriously across the street.

[ninja dog]

Noticed Metroid Prime 3 is $19.99 used at BBV. Not too shabby!

As for games that could make good future fodder-- there are a ton of used copies of Brawl at BBV it seems.

[RCS0926]

So, I went to a BBV down the road from my new apartment... and this guy goes "wait, you are giving this to us for what?" and I replied "store credit." He told me that he doesn't think they do that, but then knew exactly how to do it. He then opened the game and it was mint, I mean... I don't think this copy of Bolt had ever been played. He then told me that "wow it's got some seriously deep scratches."

I wasn't in the mood for shananigans today, so I requested he show me the "seriously deep scratches." Looking fairly insulted, he tried to show me imaginary scratches... Yes... imaginary scratches. The only thing on the disk at that point were his fat fingerprints. He then conceded and said that it must have "just been the light reflection."

Yes, the reflection of the light looks like deep scratches, here I thought it was just people not taking care of games. Anyway, that was way too much effort for what I got out of it. Thank god my apartment is seriously across the street.

Wow. That sounds shady. I wonder why he was trying to prevent you from trading in your game?

[sotc1988]

So, I went to a BBV down the road from my new apartment... and this guy goes "wait, you are giving this to us for what?" and I replied "store credit." He told me that he doesn't think they do that, but then knew exactly how to do it. He then opened the game and it was mint, I mean... I don't think this copy of Bolt had ever been played. He then told me that "wow it's got some seriously deep scratches."

I wasn't in the mood for shananigans today, so I requested he show me the "seriously deep scratches." Looking fairly insulted, he tried to show me imaginary scratches... Yes... imaginary scratches. The only thing on the disk at that point were his fat fingerprints. He then conceded and said that it must have "just been the light reflection."

Yes, the reflection of the light looks like deep scratches, here I thought it was just people not taking care of games. Anyway, that was way too much effort for what I got out of it. Thank god my apartment is seriously across the street.
Made me LOL heartily. Guess you won't be going back there anymore.

[h2dk]

Well, you made me run up and check. It is indeed the BBC version with David Attenborough. I'm guessing I should be relieved? ;)


Yes, you should. Attenborough has a great narrating voice (much like Waylon on (the TV series) The Dukes of Hazzard;)...yeah, I'm old)

I have all but cleaned out my 5 BBVs here. I was up North of you last night but didn't get a chance to track one down. The only thing left here are GTA IVs...I've already traded 8 of them into my local GS's (each time I was asked how I liked the game). I'm hoping to track down a few more Wii/DS games, but the chances are slim.

[Friend of Sonic]

So, I finally attempted a trade in my district where I was banned. New notation on my account: Corporate banned. However, earlier in the week I traded in a two different districts just fine. This is a bit of a drag, but oh well. One district is located where I work in, so I can do a lot of lunch time flipping. The other district is a few miles away from my favorite Mongolian grill, so I can do weekend flipping there. No big loss if Dickless Asswipe never winds up banning me in all of the districts.

As far as hopefuls for 14.99 go, I'm hoping for GT 5 Prologue. Yeah, I know it's been brought up already, but add me to the list hoping it drops this Sunday.

Question: I moved recently, but never ordered a new license with new address. If I get a new license with my new address and sign up for an account with a different credit card and home address, can I get around my district ban?

[dyeknom]

Question: I moved recently, but never ordered a new license with new address. If I get a new license with my new address and sign up for an account with a different credit card and home address, can I get around my district ban?

Yes and No.

Accounts are linked through Credit Cards on file and driver's licenses and not names since multiple people can have the same name. That being said, if somebody remembers you as "that guy who got banned" and you get jr. detective'D, then the ban can always get transferred to your new account.

[Friend of Sonic]

So, nothing in the system itself will link the account to my banned account? It's just going to take someone to notice I'm trying to circumvent the ban?

[Xfactor19990]

so wait they banned you for trading in games?

[edostar44]

So, I went to a BBV down the road from my new apartment... and this guy goes "wait, you are giving this to us for what?" and I replied "store credit." He told me that he doesn't think they do that, but then knew exactly how to do it. He then opened the game and it was mint, I mean... I don't think this copy of Bolt had ever been played. He then told me that "wow it's got some seriously deep scratches."

I wasn't in the mood for shananigans today, so I requested he show me the "seriously deep scratches." Looking fairly insulted, he tried to show me imaginary scratches... Yes... imaginary scratches. The only thing on the disk at that point were his fat fingerprints. He then conceded and said that it must have "just been the light reflection."

Yes, the reflection of the light looks like deep scratches, here I thought it was just people not taking care of games. Anyway, that was way too much effort for what I got out of it. Thank god my apartment is seriously across the street.

At least they were only finger prints. The ps3 copy of Bolt I got today was scratched to hell. I didnt think you could scratch PS3 games so the person who had this must have really tired to damage it. Needless to say I didnt bother to check the disc before I attempted to trade it in and got denied. (the first time ive ever been denied a trade). I dont know what I should do, should I get it buffed or should I take it back to GS. I really want the Archos 605 and this game would put me over the top.

[nietzsche74]

At least they were only finger prints. The ps3 copy of Bolt I got today was scratched to hell. I didnt think you could scratch PS3 games so the person who had this must have really tired to damage it. Needless to say I didnt bother to check the disc before I attempted to trade it in and got denied. (the first time ive ever been denied a trade). I dont know what I should do, should I get it buffed or should I take it back to GS. I really want the Archos 605 and this game would put me over the top.

Are you sure it isn't just a light reflection?

[edostar44]

Are you sure it isn't just a light reflection?

LOL, Positive, I was able to to feel the indention on the disc.

Oh yeah and to the person who asked about Street Fighter 4 a couple of pages back I was able to pre-order the PS3 collectors edition today at BB!

[YoshiFan1]

Picked up Metal Slug 4 & 5 for PS2 and Harvest Moon Another Wonderful Life for Gamecube for $4.99 total.

[DrNo888]

I have a feeling that there will be quite a few more conversions this weekend! Damn I need ot get some BBV credit but there is nothing to flip except for one copy of Bolt, if it hasnt been bought already.

[io]

As far as hopefuls for 14.99 go, I'm hoping for GT 5 Prologue. Yeah, I know it's been brought up already, but add me to the list hoping it drops this Sunday.


Hell yeah, short term I certainly hope that drops as there's one at my local store. Another is Boom Blox. Really, there are a lot of $19.99 games that have potential. But I just mentioned Soul Calibur IV as a GTA-like future purchase since it seems they overbought those for rentals just like they did with GTA. I don't even know what is is now, but it is more than $19.99. I'm sure by summer it will be down and hopefully we'll have another B1G1 then (or maybe even sooner).

I didnt think you could scratch PS3 games so the person who had this must have really tired to damage it. Needless to say I didnt bother to check the disc before I attempted to trade it in and got denied. (the first time ive ever been denied a trade). I dont know what I should do, should I get it buffed or should I take it back to GS.

Wow, that is hard to do. I thought I read somewhere that buffing doesn't work on blu-rays. You may just have to take it back to GS, unfortunately. There's got to be something else that at least breaks even that you can trade instead.

[trezzi]

Ok I'm new to this whole flipping for store credit thing, and reading this stuff about banning has gotten me a little nervous... I went to my local BBV today and picked up 4 copies of GTA IV... What's the best way to trade these in to GS?

[Puffoluffagus]

Ok I'm new to this whole flipping for store credit thing, and reading this stuff about banning has gotten me a little nervous... I went to my local BBV today and picked up 4 copies of GTA IV... What's the best way to trade these in to GS?

Depends on what your GS trading policies are. I know mine wouldn't let me trade in more than 1 of the Same Game at a time, they only allowed 1 a day. I think I've seen some people allowing at least 2 to be traded at a time. So depending on what your GS's policies are, you might need to pick up another pair of next gen games, and trade in 2 of the GTAIV along with whatever else you picked up, so you can get the "3 + $10 bonus". Then trade again at anothe GS or wait another day. If your GS only allows 1 copy per day, you may need to pick up a couple of pair of games to trade in with GTA IV, to various stores.

Otherwise, GTA IV still sells well on half.com and ebay ($15.00 - 25.00 each), and you could always sell there and buy other games from BBV to trade in.

[trezzi]

Hm, ok thanks for the advice. Also, there are numerous GS/EB games within 15 minutes of me, like 4-5? So lets just say hypothetically that i have 2 other games for each GTA I want to trade in, are the store's computers all linked up so that they would be able to see that I had traded in GTA 4 already (If i go to each store and trade in 1 copy) and would they impose a restriction?

[Puffoluffagus]

Hm, ok thanks for the advice. Also, there are numerous GS/EB games within 15 minutes of me, like 4-5? So lets just say hypothetically that i have 2 other games for each GTA I want to trade in, are the store's computers all linked up so that they would be able to see that I had traded in GTA 4 already (If i go to each store and trade in 1 copy) and would they impose a restriction?


I'm not fully sure. Someone else here might be able to answer your question with more knowledge than I have.

However, I do know that I traded in two copies of Bully today (to different GSs), and all they did was take my phone number and looked at my license. The guy didn't to seem to have a problem taking in my second bully. The place I traded it to was probably about 5 mins away and did the trade about 10 mins after I left the first store.

[trezzi]

Great, will try it out tommorow and see how it goes. =)

[emg28]

Hm, ok thanks for the advice. Also, there are numerous GS/EB games within 15 minutes of me, like 4-5? So lets just say hypothetically that i have 2 other games for each GTA I want to trade in, are the store's computers all linked up so that they would be able to see that I had traded in GTA 4 already (If i go to each store and trade in 1 copy) and would they impose a restriction?

GS's computers are not linked up. When you go in to trade, they will ask you for your phone # and ID at each GS. Only trading in multiples at the same time might raise some eyebrows (they might deny you outright). YMMV on them accepting multiples in the same trade. I have had no problems trading in the same game to the same GS with atleast a week in between trades.

[RCS0926]

From what I was told by others posters at this site, there isn't a lot of transparency amongst different stores with regards to your purchasing and trade history. In other words, one Gamestop won't know what you did at another Gamestop, so I guess the key is to spread your trades out across multiple Gamestop's so that you don't abuse any one store.

Still, from what I understand, GS bans are very rare. It's much easier to get banned from Blockbuster. In fact, there are quite a few posters here at CAG who can't trade games in anymore for one reason or another. From what I understand, different BBVs don't know what kind of trades you make between different stores either. However, if you get banned at one store, they might spread the word to other stores, which might get you banned in your district.

Anyway, it would be interesting to know what led some CAGers to get banned, so the rest of us can avoid this happening to us. So far, I've visited three different Blockbusters traded in 3 copies of Monster Jam (one to each store), 2 copies of Legendary (at 2 stores), 1 copy of Oblivion: GOTY Edition and 1 copy of Smash Court Pro Tennis 3. I'm probably going to be trading in another copy of Oblivion and possibly Monster Jam at a 4th store.

Should I be wary of a ban, or am I safe because I've kept my trade-ins to one game per store (no multiple copy trade-ins)?

[Joe Fongul]

Two trade in values at BB:
Monster Madness: Grave Danger (PS3) $16
Motorstorm $9

I traded these in, but neither clerk knew how to put the credit on my usual gift card, so I was stuck with the selection at this particular store. Wound up with an OK haul:

Lego Star Wars: Complete Saga (Wii) $15
Endless Ocean (Wii) FREE
Timeshift (X360) $10
Stranglehold (X360) FREE

I also saw one of the clerks behind the counter convert about 6-7 copies of GTA 3 for PS3 from used titles to rentals for some reason. I asked him if he was converting them for sale as used, but it wound up the other way around. Maybe some DM is trying to get out of unloading duplicate copies on the cheap?

[emg28]

However, if you get banned at one store, they might spread the word to other stores, which might get you banned in your district.

Anyway, it would be interesting to know what led some CAGers to get banned, so the rest of us can avoid this happening to us. So far, I've visited three different Blockbusters traded in 3 copies of Monster Jam (one to each store), 2 copies of Legendary (at 2 stores), 1 copy of Oblivion: GOTY Edition and 1 copy of Smash Court Pro Tennis 3. I'm probably going to be trading in another copy of Oblivion and possibly Monster Jam at a 4th store.

Should I be wary of a ban, or am I safe because I've kept my trade-ins to one game per store (no multiple copy trade-ins)?

You should be ok. I think most bans are always brought about by close-minded store managers or "junior detectives". Also, I know it would be a pain in the ass to do but you should read through some of the past BB/GR threads (atleast the last one) since some CAGs who got banned posted their stories. It might have been this one, I'm not really sure.

I have 2 BBVs that are close to each other and share employees. I just found out that the SM at one of those BBV, who denies me some trades due to "disc condition", was transferred to the other BBV. So I have yet to trade at both those stores since my run-in with him. Also, one of the shift leaders from those stores knows me as well. She always has problems putting credit on a value card and recently couldn't find the keys to the game case when I wanted to buy some games.

[PhoenixAZ]

I started trading at BBV in October 2008 I believe, and I have probably had what might be considered suspicious activity and I have had no problems yet. I have been consistently trading in Cranium Bukkake, Monster Jam, Legendary (360/PS3), Oblivion, Prince of Persia (360/PS3) and End War (360/PS3) across about 5-8 stores. Often I will trade 2 of the same title at the same store, which sometimes raises an eyebrow, to the point I've added over $2000 in credit during that time. To my knowledge I have no bans and no issues. I have started to keep a log of when I trade to what stores to minimize some of the suspicion however. I have noticed I tend to trade to the same locations more often because there are some stores that will do a trade without looking at the discs, or don't pay much attention while doing it which is much quicker.

At this point I've maximized the market within a 10 mile radius, although I've backed off the 1.3 ratio trades for the moderation.

I would be curious to see what others have done that got them banned though, although the return policy is much easier @ GS then it is @ BBV so you don't really get stuck holding games. At times I have gone to mulitple stores in the same district and traded in more than 2 total copies of the same title within that district. That is probably the riskiest thing I have done thus far.

To the contrary, I have also been trading @ GS with great frequency since June 2008, and I've only had trouble at one store where I opened my big mouth about what I was doing. I was heavily frequenting my home store, because it's less than a mile away, and they definitely started to recognize what I was doing. The one night the kid told me he couldn't take trades from me anymore because another junior detective had told him not to. I asked for the DM phone number, which he obliged, but that drew the manager over to see what was going on. Due to my own arrogance and stupidity, I revealed that I was making profits by trading in, an argument ensued, and they banned me from trading there. They called up the next closest store, not quite 2 miles away, which informally banned me from trading too. I learned my lesson. In total, I've probably traded $3000-4000 worth of credit at GS. Don't even bother trying with multiples there, and obviously watch your frequency of trades per location if you recognize the same employees too much. Small talk helps to smooth things over, and if you do pre-orders (which I don't) that will win them over too.

[sgaldis]

Iand if you do pre-orders (which I don't) that will win them over too.


Ha! Awesome...never give into the man's pressure. I hear ya!:applause:

[sgaldis]

Hey, here's some more TIV's to report (made a BBV run this evening):

360:
Fallout 3 $32
Far Cry 2 $32
Halo 3 $19
Legendary $35
Monster Jam $22
Oblivion: GOTY $35
PoP $35

PS3:
SOCOM Confrontation $16

Most have been confirmed for the week, but there might be a few that could be updated in the OP.

[PhoenixAZ]

Ha! Awesome...never give into the man's pressure. I hear ya!:applause:

I've considered doing it just for the relations aspect, not that I want to develop relations with the kids at the counter, but I wonder if it would help with identifying refurb fees or not. I seem to get refurb fees on 50% of what I would get from HWV, and probably 20% of what I get from BBV, but it varies. My strategy would be to buy preorders on the guys that treat me well, and then cancel them on the guys that don't, but it seems like too much accounting for any value.

In terms of actual gaming, I try to not ever buy anything new unless it's something I know I am going to like. I got RB2 new, but I think that's the first game since this summer when I got Mario Kart & Boom Blox sight unseen. With the coupons you can get at least 20% off used price, which is basically 30% off new.

[io]

Anyway, it would be interesting to know what led some CAGers to get banned, so the rest of us can avoid this happening to us. So far, I've visited three different Blockbusters traded in 3 copies of Monster Jam (one to each store), 2 copies of Legendary (at 2 stores), 1 copy of Oblivion: GOTY Edition and 1 copy of Smash Court Pro Tennis 3. I'm probably going to be trading in another copy of Oblivion and possibly Monster Jam at a 4th store.

Should I be wary of a ban, or am I safe because I've kept my trade-ins to one game per store (no multiple copy trade-ins)?

That's enough to raise suspicion. Basically, any duplicate at any time at any store (even if you never do more than 1 to any given store) could raise suspicion. Then again, you could trade 8 copies in to one store and have nothing happen. It is most certainly not against their trade terms to go in every day and trade the same game (trade agreement says 2 per day, actually!) but since most of the employees and managers won't even think of the possibility that you are getting games cheaper elsewhere and trading them in, they will jump to the conclusion that if you are trading multiples or lots of games in general you must be stealing them and trading them in.

However, it depends on many things - the clerk or manager at any given store must have reason to be suspicious. Then they must have the initiative to call around and check up on you. Usually those things are pretty rare - however, as you've seen, it has happened to many people at various times and with varying degrees of "bannage" ;). Sometimes it is one store, sometimes a district, and sometimes corporate-wide. Some people can clear it up after talking to the store manager or district manager and others can't. It is highly variable, YMMV, half-assed and random ;).

At GS, on the other hand, it takes a whole hell of a lot of abuse to get yourself in trouble. Just spread it around at the GS stores and don't trade too much at any one store. It also helps to buy stuff and preorder and the like. Of course buying stuff is usually not a problem because we are buying other used games to trade back to BBV. And GS just loves selling used games. But seriously, don't worry about multiples there (I mean at different stores or even the same store spaced a few days apart). For one thing, GS gets in so many trades, any one clerk is hardly going to remember what you traded last time. This is in stark contrast to a regular BBV where they get so few trades that you will really stand out if you always bring stuff in there.

Let me check my spreadsheet... OK, I traded in 18 copies of Spiderman 3 for the 360 during the perfect storm (and again, here's why the perfect storm last summer was so much better than this sale - that is a mere fraction of the number of copies I could have bought at BBV during that sale and was just one of many games worth trading though probably the most common one). So, in June and July of 2008 I traded those 18 copies in to about 6 or 7 GS stores in my area (along with a bunch of other stuff of course). Never had a problem. Do that at BBV and you will get your ass banned for sure ;).

[jer7583]

my milwaukee blockbusters are empty. I thought about turning $100 into $200 today, had it all plannedt h out and everything, but I've got nothing to use BBV credit for anymore. All the good GS flips are gone.

I did notice one gamestop by me had about 7 copies of GTA4 for PS3 that were obviouslry from BBV with the stickers half removed. Looks like some amateur flippers in my area are tryihg to get in on it. Didn't notice any other BBV B1G1 flips at any stores though.

I haven't tried trading at any other stores since the one store told me my account was suspended, but I have a feeling that the other stores all called each other and probably won't want me trading there either.

Fortunately my girlfriend doesn't mind coming along every once in a while to flip stuff. She likes getting free dinners out of it.

Jr Detectives indeed. The worst part is that after all this suspicion and anonymity towards me, these fucking stores are selling the shit that I traded to them and making a profit from it! What is the problem, blockbuster?

Hopefully my "ban" is just temporary and the reduced activity on my account will encourage them to clear it off eventually. It's probably going to take a while for the stores here to get restocked enough to really be worth flipping things back to GS after this B1G1. They seriously each have barely 50-75 used games across all paltforms at almost every store.

[RCS0926]

converse/io,

Thanks for the feedback regarding BBV/GS bans. It sounds like bans result when you raise the suspicion of an employee or employees at a particular store. However, it doesn't sound like bans result too often from someone just happening to review your account transaction history and putting the pieces together. As far as spreading out between multiple stores, it appears that one store can't know about your activity elsewhere unless you do something suspicious and that store decides to call around and see what else you've been doing locally. Overall, I'm pretty confident that I'm flying below the radar. I've trade multiple copies of Legendary (2) and Monster Jam (3) to BBV, but I've also cashed out my credit right away.

As far as building credit at GS or BBV, don't employees get suspicious when you have hundreds of dollars of credit on your account? Converse mentioned building up over $2,000 in BBV credit. Was that credit spent right away, or was it stored on your account? Personally, I'm trying to build GS credit so I can get a PS3. I currently have about $200 credit, and that will probably increase to almost $300 if I can make a decent BBV run later on today. I'm very wary of building BBV credit because of the higher probability of getting banned. I would think that having hundreds of dollars in store credit would definitely raise some eyebrows at BBV.

[io]

^^^ Yes! It's fine to leave a bit of credit on the store account at a Blockbuster if you intent to spend it there. I leave all my trades at my local store on the account and I think they appreciate that as they know I will spend it there in that case. I never let it get over $100 or so, though. However, when I trade at other stores I always get it on a Value Card unless I have something specific to buy there the same day. And once you get up to $100 or so on that, just ask for a new card next time you trade. They will often make comments about how much credit you have if it pushes $200 or so and this could spur a Junior Detective to action.

Same thing with GS. I keep my primary Edge card (the one with the discount sticker) around $200. Any more and I just ask for a new card. You can have as many Edge cards as you want, but only the one will have the discount sticker. But you can always have them scan the sticker to get the discount and then swipe the other for payment/credit. I have never had a problem with this.

When I finally took the plunge on my PS3 a month ago, I paid for the entire 160GB bundle ($500) using 3 different Edge cards. They didn't care one bit. (Then I returned it a few weeks later when they had the $50 gift card deal and repurchased it to get that $50 gift card ;)).

[cdeener]

For those trying to figure out bans you can't. It all depends on DM and local employees who decide to look into activity on trades in their area. I hate my area because the same DM is over about every BB and GR over a 20 mile radius.

[animemaniac14]

didn't someone on here confirm that :br:hellboy 2 was $17.99 at BBV? And which version is this (1-discer or 2-discer?)

FINALLY today i get to start up my flipping journey again! yay!

[gamer6587]

does blocbuster still run the $5 off any blue ray $35+, because I wouldnt mind selling some of my games to pick up a copy of iron man for $30

[youngteam]

Hm, ok thanks for the advice. Also, there are numerous GS/EB games within 15 minutes of me, like 4-5? So lets just say hypothetically that i have 2 other games for each GTA I want to trade in, are the store's computers all linked up so that they would be able to see that I had traded in GTA 4 already (If i go to each store and trade in 1 copy) and would they impose a restriction?

If your lucky you'll run into a manager that really wants to replenish their Wii or wants their trade percentage to go up.

I did and was able to offload about 30 wii games in two trips that were an hour apart. Then when the trade 3 get 10 hit I did two trades at the store and these were the multiples between the trades:

2 Bully's (360)
5 DMC4 (PS3)
3 GTA4 (360)
4 GTA4 (PS3)
2 Bioshock (360)

That was on top of single games like Hot Wheels and MLB2k8.
Funny thing was she had to manually add the trade 3 get ten promo so one of the copies of Bully said i got over 60 gs credit for it.

But this whole deal is very out of the ordinary, especially since she knows exactly what I'm doing and has no problem with it.

If you're you'll find a manager who understands that your getting rid of their low margin, hard to move games (legendary, monster jam, smash court tennis), bringing them back pure margin games that will sell (anything Wii, apparently DMC4, GTA4 when the content hits) and also increasing their trade numbers. But as always YMMV.

[steebo777]

For those trying to figure out bans you can't. It all depends on DM and local employees who decide to look into activity on trades in their area. I hate my area because the same DM is over about every BB and GR over a 20 mile radius.
Where are you at in the D cdeener? I'm in the Livonia and Royal Oak area and haven't had any issues at all.

[hopeunknown]

I have been consistently trading in Cranium Bukkake, Monster Jam, Legendary (360/PS3), Oblivion, Prince of Persia (360/PS3) and End War (360/PS3) across about 5-8 stores.

:shock: ! :lol:

I wouldn't even want to know how that would play on Wii! haha

[Denbo32]

FYI a few other xbox 360 games for 14.99 that I found at BB.

Kingdom under Fire: Circle of Doom
NBA Ballers: Chosen One
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty

I don't know what the trade in value is at GS, I doubt it flippable, but if you wanted to buy to own they might be decent prices.

[salty tbone]

However, it depends on many things - the clerk or manager at any given store must have reason to be suspicious. Then they must have the initiative to call around and check up on you. Usually those things are pretty rare - however, as you've seen, it has happened to many people at various times and with varying degrees of "bannage" ;). Sometimes it is one store, sometimes a district, and sometimes corporate-wide. Some people can clear it up after talking to the store manager or district manager and others can't. It is highly variable, YMMV, half-assed and random ;).

Very true. My six-month anniversary has passed from being banned by my home store after trading one Fantastic Four there and two at another store on the same day (I got greedy :bomb:). I've been able to trade freely at any other BBV, though.

However, when I trade at other stores I always get it on a Value Card unless I have something specific to buy there the same day. And once you get up to $100 or so on that, just ask for a new card next time you trade. They will often make comments about how much credit you have if it pushes $200 or so and this could spur a Junior Detective to action.

I have a revolving set of value cards so that every trade I'm handing the clerk a value card with only a couple dollars on it. I have no idea why I go through all the trouble. Guess I like recycling. :) But I definitely agree about not carrying a lot of credit on any one card.

I've even started spreading my GS on several generic edge cards because I'm tired of the CSR saying "Wow, you still have $168 on your card!" Buddy, that's the lowest it's been in months. :lol:

[Animal7390]

i confirmed that hellboy 2 is on sale for 18. it is actually 15 if you have them scan a coupon that is in their promo binder. it is the non-collectors edition which i believe is still 2 discs, i havent opened it yet.

does blocbuster still run the $5 off any blue ray $35+, because I wouldnt mind selling some of my games to pick up a copy of iron man for $30

yes

[CocheseUGA]

i confirmed that hellboy 2 is on sale for 18. it is actually 15 if you have them scan a coupon that is in their promo binder. it is the non-collectors edition which i believe is still 2 discs, i havent opened it yet.



yes

Wow. This, or GHWT?

[PhoenixAZ]

I don't typically have a large balance on any of my cards at once. I got to the point where I had $450 or so on my Edge Card @ GS, and the employees would freak out when they saw that, "You could get a PS3 with that credit, how did you get so much?" I would just reply, "I've been saving up!"

Now I generally don't go above the levels that IO specified, $200 max on any single card, and sometimes I will carry multiple cards. I usually cash out on potential flips when I am at the store in the first place, and I've been spending a lot of my credit frivolously on things that I would not typically buy with real cash, i.e. Archos, Blu-Ray player, games I want in my collection.

I had been on a streak during the holidays where I would flip on flip credit and just keep rolling over the profit. So if I started out with $100 in credit, I would make that $200, $400, $800, etc. I'm at the point now where I am waiting for new releases to come out this year before I do any major spending, and thus will scale down my flipping to 2x or better deals. For me it's a bit of a hobby as my wife puts it, it sustains my gaming entertainment, and she likes it when I bring home a Wii Fit and make $100 cash on Craigslist with it.

[animemaniac14]

i confirmed that hellboy 2 is on sale for 18. it is actually 15 if you have them scan a coupon that is in their promo binder. it is the non-collectors edition which i believe is still 2 discs, i havent opened it yet.



yes

thanks animal! will be picking this up today and hopefully they have the promo coupon your talking about :)

[Yanksfan]

How do you justify having a GS employee put your credit on a generic Edge card rather than your actual one? I always use my actual Edge card since I want the 10% bump that always stacks onto every deal. It would seem silly to ask for a separate one from the GS employee perspective, would it not?

I am not saying it is silly, because I would actually like to do it. I have about $300 built up in credit there and even if most of it is built up not through flipping, I would prefer to keep a low profile. So how are you all asking this?

[Xfactor4]

How do you justify having a GS employee put your credit on a generic Edge card rather than your actual one? I always use my actual Edge card since I want the 10% bump that always stacks onto every deal. It would seem silly to ask for a separate one from the GS employee perspective, would it not?

I am not saying it is silly, because I would actually like to do it. I have about $300 built up in credit there and even if most of it is built up not through flipping, I would prefer to keep a low profile. So how are you all asking this?
After they scan your Edge discount card and you sign for the transaction, they will then ask you if you would like to put the store credit on your "edge" card and you can just ask them you would like to put it on another edge card instead because you do not want to carry around very much money on just one card. I do it all the time and frankly, they offer all the time asking me, "Would you like to to put the credit on this card sir ?" ;)

P.S. Hey IO, in the second post, this needs updating :

:ps3: Chronicles of Narnia ?? -> $7

:ps3: Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian $9.99 -> $7

[GuardianE]

How do you justify having a GS employee put your credit on a generic Edge card rather than your actual one? I always use my actual Edge card since I want the 10% bump that always stacks onto every deal. It would seem silly to ask for a separate one from the GS employee perspective, would it not?

I am not saying it is silly, because I would actually like to do it. I have about $300 built up in credit there and even if most of it is built up not through flipping, I would prefer to keep a low profile. So how are you all asking this?

No, it doesn't seem silly. Just tell them that you want it on a different card to give to a friend. It's just a matter of swiping a different card. They have a stack of empty cards right next to them. Don't worry.

[Yanksfan]

After they scan your Edge discount card and you sign for the transaction, they will then ask you if you would like to put the store credit on your "edge" card and you can just ask them you would like to put it on another edge card instead because you do not want to carry around very much money on just one card. I do it all the time and frankly, they offer all the time asking me, "Would you like to to put the credit on this card sir ?" ;)

Nice. They never ask me that question at any of mine, but I can tell them I want that based off the 'not too much money on one card' line. Thanks man.

[irishsoccermbw]

I have close to 300 on one edge card...with about 20 games left to flip gonna get a second one today, thanks for the heads up guys.

[jkircos]

Did they fix Far Cry 2 for PS3 yet?

[Xfactor4]

Well i traded in my Prince of Persia to BBV and netted

x2 Battle of the Bands
Furu furu Park
Red Steel

I only doubled up on Battle of the band because there was nothing left at the 9.99 or under price point. Everything trades for $5 at GS except Red Steel which is apparently $4.

I figure I'll trade Red Steel and a Battle of the Bands toward Skate City and have the extra $10 (well less than 10 with Tax factored in) on my card. After this I'm not sure what to do.

I could try returning the Skate City, or I could trade the Skate City and Furu Furu for another Skate City and get another almost $10 on my card. Go to another GS and trade that Skate City and my remaining Battle of the bands for another Skate city and another $10 on my card.


Hmmm after typing that out I think it's better to trade 2 toward skate City then another two toward skate City. That way it's $10+$10+$20 (skate City Return)+$20 (skate City Return)=$60 Credit.

As opposed to $10+$10+$10+$20 (skate City Return)=$50 Credit.

Now the hitch is can I get the two Gamestops close to me to accept the returns. I'm considering just returning them immediately when they sell it to me. The one GS workers probably won't care.

Please don't do this. It is much better for all of us who would like to do this to at least wait a minimum of 1 day at least and then return it to a different store on a different day and time since it will not arise as much suspicion as immediately returning it and having some jr. detective associate call their DM or God forgive Corporate offices and nerf this deal any further like not allowing the returns of any games specifically purchased under this promo to artificially boost TIVS since they saw what you did and how easily you did it and what your motives where. :roll:

WAY more under the radar to just return at different store on different day please.:D

Anyone else care to chime in ?

[daminion]

Anyone else care to chime in ?

Agreed. It's a good way to raise suspicion on your account. And trading in skate city for skate city is another way to do the same.

[Ragnorok64]

Please don't do this. It is much better for all of us who would like to do this to at least wait a minimum of 1 day at least and then return it to a different store on a different day and time since it will not arise as much suspicion as immediately returning it and having some jr. detective associate call their DM or God forgive Corporate offices and nerf this deal any further like not allowing the returns of any games specifically purchased under this promo to artificially boost TIVS since they saw what you did and how easily you did it and what your motives where. :roll:

WAY more under the radar to just return at different store on different day please.:D

Anyone else care to chime in ?
Took a while for someone to notice. Doesn't this deal just run till Sun.? though there wouldn't be enough time to to nerf the deal anymore. Additionally I don't have a ton of GS around me, besides the two in my mall the next one is a half our in the other direction, and I'm trying to save gas.

I'm fairly certain worker at one GS won't care, I've know one since high school. Additionally GS bans seem to be pretty rare.

That said I guess I can hold onto a couple Skate Citys till I figure out the best time to return.

[RCS0926]

You guys are fountains of knowledge. I appreciate all the info.

[shumway]

Another pricedrop to mention, not that you will come across it much, but:

Wii-Ninjabreadman $6.99 (BBV) -> $5 at Gamestop still.

[h2dk]

Did they fix Far Cry 2 for PS3 yet?

I doubt it, Motor Storm Pacific Rift is in the system as $0 as well. My bbv was kind enough to scan another new game (in this case, Resistance 2) and give me the trade in value for that. This is highly YMMV, but if you have a good rapport with your local store, they may do the same.

[sgaldis]

FYI a few other xbox 360 games for 14.99 that I found at BB.

Kingdom under Fire: Circle of Doom
NBA Ballers: Chosen One
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty

I don't know what the trade in value is at GS, I doubt it flippable, but if you wanted to buy to own they might be decent prices.

I listed 2 of these GS TIV's last night:


Kingdom: $7 (base)
Turning Point: $6 (base)

I still had problems trading in a PS3 Far Cry 2 yesterday. Scanned not in system. I'm sure they could've looked it up, but I didn't want to press. Also, I tried to trade in a Gears 2 CE, and that would not show up in their system. The CSR actually suggested I take it to GS.

[hellboy74]

guess the B1G1 is done..
went to a local bbv in nyc and was told this promo is over...

update - i went to the one in forest hills, queens
so no go there

[gemini]

Here is a flip deal, especially for Gamefly members: [360] Supreme Commander is on sale for $11.69 after the 10% off for members, it trades in at BBV for $28.50, verified yesterday over the phone. I just hope the price doesn't change before they get to me.

Link: http://www.gamefly.com/products/detail.asp?pid=129335

[stone1061]

Doesn't this deal just run till Sun.? though there wouldn't be enough time to to nerf the deal anymore.
The trade 2 wii games get $30 towards select titles at gamestop is supposed to run until February the 8th.

[Ragnorok64]

The trade 2 wii games get $30 towards select titles at gamestop is supposed to run until February the 8th.
Oh Really? Well now I'm reevaluating whether I need to leave the house today.

[jza1218]

guess the B1G1 is done..
went to a local bbv in nyc and was told this promo is over...

Cant be right. I just picked up 2 games at a Queens BBV 30 minutes ago.


Just a FYI, the club is 14.99, though at mine it was marked at 19.99.

[Animal7390]

Did they fix Far Cry 2 for PS3 yet?

is this not scanning or coming up as 0 or not able to be taken?

[roostarz]

Ok I'm new to this whole flipping for store credit thing, and reading this stuff about banning has gotten me a little nervous... I went to my local BBV today and picked up 4 copies of GTA IV... What's the best way to trade these in to GS?

I traded in 5 copies of GTA4 for xbox at my GS. The manager was a little hesitant at first, because they are "supposed" to only take 1 at a time, because of concerns that the customer could have stolen them. I just LOLed and told him I had the receipt for the games, then he took them.

[hellboy74]

which bbv in queens? it's done in forest hills..

[Yanksfan]

I doubt it, Motor Storm Pacific Rift is in the system as $0 as well. My bbv was kind enough to scan another new game (in this case, Resistance 2) and give me the trade in value for that. This is highly YMMV, but if you have a good rapport with your local store, they may do the same.

Holy crap, I dont think I could ever build up that kind of rapport.

[Denbo32]

guess the B1G1 is done..
went to a local bbv in nyc and was told this promo is over...

Which BB in the City? I did the deal yesterday in a few BB in the City.

[Yanksfan]

guess the B1G1 is done..
went to a local bbv in nyc and was told this promo is over...

Nah, it is still on. Just picked up:

Bully
GTA IV
FEAR Files
Chronicles of Narnia

[Animal7390]

which bbv in queens? it's done in forest hills..

dont ask, just know it is.

[jza1218]

which bbv in queens? it's done in forest hills..

Astoria. That Forest Hills one is kind of meh anyway. The one in Astoria had:

Dark Sector(360)
The Club(360 and PS3)
Haze(PS3)
Super Swing Golf(Wii)
Sonic Superstars Tennis(Wii/360)
Eragon(360)
Kane and Lynch(PS3)


Thats off the top of my head.

[sgaldis]

I traded in 5 copies of GTA4 for xbox at my GS. The manager was a little hesitant at first, because they are "supposed" to only take 1 at a time, because of concerns that the customer could have stolen them. I just LOLed and told him I had the receipt for the games, then he took them.


Ballsy...we've got a bunch of firey newbs around here! Surely this will lead to some kind of trouble...

[youngteam]

guess the B1G1 is done..
went to a local bbv in nyc and was told this promo is over...

update - i went to the one in forest hills, queens
so no go there

I was told the same thing the other day at another store. Just grab two games you would want to play (I grabbed Bioshock and Bully) and take them up to the register. When they ring up, they will be B1G1. The employee was surprised when it happened and mentioned that he has to go put the signs back up.

At worst it won't work and you can just say, you changed your mind.

[youngteam]

is this not scanning or coming up as 0 or not able to be taken?

When I took Far Cry 2 PD3 in the Monday before New Years, I was told the trade in value was 0 and that it would not be taken. They had no used copies at that store.

[rygdy]

I traded in 5 copies of GTA4 for xbox at my GS. The manager was a little hesitant at first, because they are "supposed" to only take 1 at a time, because of concerns that the customer could have stolen them. I just LOLed and told him I had the receipt for the games, then he took them.


:applause:This is how to get banned!!! for all newbies

[Animal7390]

I traded in 5 copies of GTA4 for xbox at my GS. The manager was a little hesitant at first, because they are "supposed" to only take 1 at a time, because of concerns that the customer could have stolen them. I just LOLed and told him I had the receipt for the games, then he took them.

what kind of reason did you give that you had 5 copies that you were trading in at once? this is the exact way to get in trouble and raise suspicion about you and your account. why would you do that. 2 is the most you should even attempt, unless you know the employees very well and personally. with 2 you can always use the sibling excuse.

[h2dk]

Hit a store that was cleaned out last week...must have restocked:

:wii:

$14.99
Jenga World Tour
Guitar Hero Aerosmith (mismarked)
Bleach: Shattered Blade
Code Lyoko
Scarface

$9.99
Wing Island
Super Swing Golf
Nights
Fifa 08

:ps3:

$9.99
Genji

:360:

$14.99
Devil May Cry (2)
Bully

$9.99
Lost Planet

Most were dated 12/31 and LP dated 1/3.

[sgaldis]

Yeah, the old mulitplayer line will explain things sometimes, and some folks might have more than one console in their house, but come on! I doubt even the most spoiled little rich boy teenager on this forum has 5 xbox's in his parents house...kind of hard to explain away.

You can tell them you have reciepts, but if you have to show them, they'll see your game. Nothing is illegal about it, but you will most likely be labeled a 'dealer' (as that is what you're doing: buy low, sell high), and GS does not sell to 'dealers'. So you would possibly be banned from that store, and maybe others.

[ninja dog]

lol 5 copies at once. I brought in doubles once, once, and they started up with "I can't take these, you're on camera, these could be stolen, can we get your address, etc. etc." It was miserable and probably violated some civil rights, but it was some serious basement teen working.

[Friend of Sonic]

with 2 you can always use the sibling excuse.
My family is Mormon. Bam.

[bgame2]

My family is Mormon. Bam.

FOS, that right there is why you're one of my favorite CAGS. Not only are you great with info, but you also go the extra mile by reminding us of the under-utilized Mormon gamer family scenarios. Great stuff!

[ninja dog]

I used the same excuse when they tried to bust me for polygamy. Works like a charm!

[captnjack]

My family is Mormon. Bam.

Hopefully you're blond and blue-eyed. Otherwise this won't fly. ;)

[Animal7390]

My family is Mormon. Bam.

you win this round darth fos.

Hopefully you're blond and blue-eyed. Otherwise this won't fly. ;)

pfft, what a comment. like other people dont like to have unprotected sex and not take birth control. wayyyyy off topic. sorry io just dont use the switch again.

[roostarz]

what kind of reason did you give that you had 5 copies that you were trading in at once? this is the exact way to get in trouble and raise suspicion about you and your account. why would you do that. 2 is the most you should even attempt, unless you know the employees very well and personally. with 2 you can always use the sibling excuse.


They knew I bought them at BBV and traded them in to them. I don't see why they should care. The game is in high demand, they make money off me trading them in, and they are probably paid too little.

I actually attempted to trade in 10. My brother was there with 5. We ended up trading in only the ones that weren't deemed refurbs :D Then returned the badly scratched ones to BBV.

[GuardianE]

They knew I bought them at BBV and traded them in to them. I don't see why they should care. The game is in high demand, they make money off me trading them in, and they are probably paid too little.

I actually attempted to trade in 10. My brother was there with 5. We ended up trading in only the ones that weren't deemed refurbs :D Then returned the badly scratched ones to BBV.


Then keep doing it. We'll see how long you last.

We're all talking from experience and have been doing this for some time. We've seen our share of people who do what you do. Some of them get by fine. Many of them get banned. We're just offering a warning. Don't blame anyone but yourself if you get your account blocked.

And here's another hint, it's not about how employees at your local GS/BBV view you. It's how the district manager views you. Just be cautious, but otherwise none of us can tell you how to trade in the games that you bought. Have fun.

[roostarz]

Then keep doing it. We'll see how long you last.

We're all talking from experience and have been doing this for some time. We've seen our share of people who do what you do. Some of them get by fine. Many of them get banned. We're just offering a warning. Don't blame anyone but yourself if you get your account blocked.

And here's another hint, it's not about how employees at your local GS/BBV view you. It's how the district manager views you. Just be cautious, but otherwise none of us can tell you how to trade in the games that you bought. Have fun.

I appreciate the warning. It was the first time I've traded in games to any store since the days of FuncoLand, and I don't see myself doing this much, so I'll be fine.

[nietzsche74]

My family is Mormon. Bam.

If you ever get funny looks after making that statement, this is why:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy0d1HbItOo

Yes, it's narrated by Frank Herbert.

[nietzsche74]

No idea if it was suppoesed to embed the video like that....

[ets]

Then keep doing it. We'll see how long you last.

We're all talking from experience and have been doing this for some time. We've seen our share of people who do what you do. Some of them get by fine. Many of them get banned. We're just offering a warning. Don't blame anyone but yourself if you get your account blocked.

And here's another hint, it's not about how employees at your local GS/BBV view you. It's how the district manager views you. Just be cautious, but otherwise none of us can tell you how to trade in the games that you bought. Have fun.

Speaks the truth!

Its better to be paranoid than cocky, and even then your still not safe from the ban hammer.

[stone1061]

...and I don't see myself doing this much, so I'll be fine.
Sure, that's what we all say.:)
Flip just to get the games that we want, but then the next big flip is just too easy to pass up(currently for me it's grabbing copies of QuantumofSolace from Bestbuy).
I'm so far into this my 2 year old has her own DS Lite.

[DrNo888]

Wow! That is one disturbing and hilarious video.

[Halo3Champ]

Okay so I traded in a few to many copies of multiple games and did some stupid stuff early on. Haven't traded in months but when I did, I made out like a bandit. Anyways, my stores know my name and face like immediately when i walk in the door. I went into a store yesterday to buy a wii fit and boom the lady asked me what i was doing with all of them, I of course told her i was making a fortune selling them. I have bought like every wii and wii fit from every store, every time they get any. No one has ever said anything and boom I told her. Then she started going on about a eye of judgement game i had traded in without a camera and a battle pad months back. I was like do you want me to buy it back from you right now. She was like no, and i was like okay well I am not doing anything illegal. She was like well we had some majors problems with stuff going on from you. Anyways, I never traded in a non legit game and of course the blockbuster employees looked over every trade and approved whatever they wanted to. They easily could of said no go, but of course they didnt and then boom I am the criminal it seems. Now when they scan my card it shows up like a flashing message, not sure if it says to accept trades or not accept trades anymore but it says something to the extent of do not sell wii or wiifits to this person because he buys them all up.

A) How do i go about getting a new account
B) Why does blockbuster care if i buy all there stuff since it sits on shelves for weeks anyways
C) Would it benefit me in anyway to call the DM
D) Does this sound like a store by store situation or entire district? Some stores dont care that i resell the stuff, they just seem happy to be selling it.


Okay so today 1/09/2009 I am apparently unable to purchase any wii consoles or wii fits at any blockbuster in my local city. Peon of blockbuster informed me that "its not fair to other customers." I explained that you have wii consoles and wii fits sitting in your store for weeks before they sell and no one even knows you sell this stuff. He was like um thats not true. Whatever. I wasnt very clear in my above discussion. I quit flipping games 6-7 months ago and these prick store managers still remember my face. I even offered to buy back one of the EYE of JUDGEMENTS I had traded in just so they could get rid of it and she was like oh no thats okay. I was like um okay whatever. Anyways, I was buying wii consoles and wii fits with my own cash and over the past few months had spent an easy 10-15000 of legit cash at these fcking stores. Store employees even laughed about me selling on craigslist or something not even knowing what i was doing with them but never having a problem with it. Any ideas on how I can approach this. Could I call corporate and complain about profiling or something. I am gonna cancel my blockbuster membership and never shop there again. The stores could of at least put in like a 1 per person policy or something and stopped assuming I was a criminal when all my credit card payments went through.

[RCS0926]

I made what was most likely my last B1G1 run at BBV. $58 netted me the following games:

Haze - PS3
Bioshock - 360
Virtua Fighter 5 - 360
Star Trek Legacy - 360
Timeshift - 360
Enchanted Arms - 360
Dark Sector - 360
Prince Caspian - 360
Cars: Mater-National - 360
Sega Superstars Tennis - Wii

I'll be trading in Timeshift, Enchanted Arms and a copy of Lost Planet that I had left over from a previous BBV run to Gamestop using their trade 3/$10 promotion and trade in Sega Superstars Tennis using this week's coupon (extra $5 trade-in credit). I'll hold on to the rest of the games until at least next Friday in hopes of getting a similar coupon next week for 360/PS3 games...

[Friend of Sonic]

If you ever get funny looks after naking that statement, this is why:
[video]

Yes, it's narrated by Frank Herbert.

:???: It sounded like the origin of Superman until he got to all of... that crap.

THEY WERE CURSED TO BE BORN WITH BLACK SKIN. THIS IS THE MORMAN EXPLANATION FOR THE NEGROE RACE.
Wow.

[CaoPi]

that's a good deal on DMC 4, I was unable to find any GTA 4....

[RCS0926]

BTW, I know this promo ends this week, but on what day do BBV promos generally end on - Sunday or Monday? If it ends on Monday, then I can probably do one more B1G1 run at another store.

[Puffoluffagus]

Bought at B1G1 BBV:

:ps3: Devil May Cry 4 - 14.99
:360: Hot Wheels: Beat That (14.99) - Free

Traded to GS:
:ps3: DMC4 ($8.00), :360: HW:BT ($7), :360: Ratatouille ($4.00) + $10

Bought at GS:
:360: Smash Court Tennis 3 - $8.99

Traded to BBV:
:360: SCT3 - ~$15 + tax (He did have to look up because it wouldn't scan the first time. I felt bad for the guy. After I was finished, there was like a line of 5-6 people all with hyper kids and it seemed he was the only one working).

[io]

BTW, I know this promo ends this week, but on what day do BBV promos generally end on - Sunday or Monday? If it ends on Monday, then I can probably do one more B1G1 run at another store.

They usually run through Monday, which is the 12th, which is the date that seems most reliable and matches up with the usual Monday end date ;). I even finally saw for the first time one of these signs with the end date of the 12th on it. (All other previous signage I had seen had no date).

[Xfactor4]

Took a while for someone to notice. Doesn't this deal just run till Sun.? though there wouldn't be enough time to to nerf the deal anymore. Additionally I don't have a ton of GS around me, besides the two in my mall the next one is a half our in the other direction, and I'm trying to save gas.

I'm fairly certain worker at one GS won't care, I've know one since high school. Additionally GS bans seem to be pretty rare.

That said I guess I can hold onto a couple Skate Citys till I figure out the best time to return.

Actually I think this promo runs through March 15th is what my local Gamestop is telling me. They even got a marketing DVD about it and lots of custom color flyers and signs in store about it. Its a real big deal to them.

As far as further "nerfing" this deal, I was thinking that if people ABUSED the offer and immediately returned the game after getting a $30 bump in TIV, then maybe a corporate memo would go out forbidding people to return the games and get the credit back on their edge card since the boost was only valid towards that game title and if you instantly intend to return the game, you should also not get the extra TIV bump back ;)

Better safe than sorry I say. A few wreckless people could kill the ability to do that scenario outlined above I think..

If you can't go to a different Gamestop store, then at least wait a while and take it back a few days later saying you changed your mind or want to return/exchange it for another game you want more.

Also, I think it smart for people to purchase gift receipts and for those who want to be super safe, you could have a girlfriend, friend, wife, return the game with the gift receipt and put it on a GIFT CARD to give back to you so your name/info/edge card are not involved with the return. ;)

[sixspeednissan]

Are the prices on the first page universal? I stopped into one last night and some of the $14.99 games like Bully for example were stickered at $19.99 or $24.99. If I bring the game up front will it ring up at $14.99?

[io]

Are the prices on the first page universal? I stopped into one last night and some of the $14.99 games like Bully for example were stickered at $19.99 or $24.99. If I bring the game up front will it ring up at $14.99?

Yes, at corporate stores in any case.

[RCS0926]

They usually run through Monday, which is the 12th, which is the date that seems most reliable and matches up with the usual Monday end date ;). I even finally saw for the first time one of these signs with the end date of the 12th on it. (All other previous signage I had seen had no date).

Good stuff. I'll check back with this thread on Monday to see if anyone can confirm that the deal is still in effect at least through Monday. Regardless, I'll go ahead and check out the store and see if I can't find any decent Wii games worth using towards the trade-in promo at GS.

[hopeunknown]

went to about 3-4 blockbusters in the southern ma/ri area today, grabbed:
:ps2: ratchet and clank: size matters 9.99
:ps2: aqua teen hunger force 14.99
:360: bioshock 14.99
:xbox: crazy taxi 3 4.99
:gc: metroid prime 2 9.99
:ps2: frequency 4.99 (was still sealed!)

somerset, ma store still had a lot of ps1 and n64 games, surprisingly. most of those for 1.99! mostly crap, but still funny. i found a mighty morphin power rangers christmas vhs for 0.99 in the east providence store (which has no games really - to save you a trip, possibly)

[saturnotaku]

Got the following for $32.98

:wii:
Bully: Scholarship Edition
No More Heroes
Need for Speed: Pro Street

:ds:
Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword

Turned around and flipped them for $54.10 in GS credit after the weekly coupon.

[irishsoccermbw]

Wow finally dumped everything, up to 500 at gamestop now :) (from 20 at BB at the beginning of this storm) and over that time faced 5 refurb fees including one today on an angelic PS3 game that had a little bit of white blockbuster sticker on the top...in order to recoup the refurb fees I relieved GS of 13 1 month live trials from GTA4s (360)
:hot::hot: see you in hell gamestop.

[RCS0926]

Wow finally dumped everything, up to 500 at gamestop now :) (from 20 at BB at the beginning of this storm) and over that time faced 5 refurb fees including one today on an angelic PS3 game that had a little bit of white blockbuster sticker on the top...in order to recoup the refurb fees I relieved GS of 13 1 month live trials from GTA4s (360)
:hot::hot: see you in hell gamestop.

That's impressive - turning $20 into $500. That's my goal too (to get to $500), but it looks like it's going to take me a couple of months to build up enough credit to buy a PS3. I haven't finished trading in everything I got from my BBV runs, but once I'm done, I should have around $250 credit. If I can get one more run in on Monday, then I can probably break the $300 barrier.

[FlamedLiquid]

Tried taking back another copy of Guitar Hero Aerosmith in today to my local blockbuster and got denied. Different people working today too. Must have alot of people flipping it.

:/

[hopeunknown]

how do you know if your bbv takes trade-ins, btw? is it only if there is a gamerush there? never understood how their system works since the stores around here never advertise trade ins.

[bob330i]

Tried taking back another copy of Guitar Hero Aerosmith in today to my local blockbuster and got denied. Different people working today too. Must have alot of people flipping it.

:/

Ah, that would explain why most of my BBVs have oodles of copies and nothing much else.

Anyhow got lucky, picked up GTA PS3 (eventual flip), Sega Revo Rally PS3 (might be a keeper), Ult. Ghouls and Ghosts PSP (definitely a keeper) and Sega Superstar Tennis Wii (flip).

[irishsoccermbw]

how do you know if your bbv takes trade-ins, btw? is it only if there is a gamerush there? never understood how their system works since the stores around here never advertise trade ins.

Call and ask :) Often stores that accept trades have little red signs that say they accept trades.

Type in your zip code in here:
http://www.blockbuster.com/stores/storelocator
and call as many stores that you don't mind driving to.