Game Flipping

Richard Kain

Richard Kain

CAGiversary!
I saw a discussion on this subject in one of the video game deal threads, and kind of wanted to voice my own opinions.

There is a certain degree of antagonism towards game flipping around the Cheap Ass Gamer boards. I can certainly appreciate why this acrimony would develop. For a lot of CAGs, the point of going out and getting good deals on games is to either play the games on the cheap, or own the games on the cheap. The majority of CAGs do not follow bargains in order to make a few quick bucks at GameStop's expense. (or whatever pawn shop game flippers use)

There is nothing illegal, or even particularly wrong with game flipping. It is economics at its most basic. Buy low + sell high = profit. This sort of thing happens all the time in various markets across the globe. Entire industries are based on such concepts.

I think that a lot of the rancor towards game flipping here at CAG comes from the disparity in value. For most CAGs, getting a good game deal means that they have saved a considerable amount of money, and they exercised patience and self-restraint in order to save that money. Instead of rushing out and buying a game they wanted at full price, they waited for months on end until the "right" price came along. They could very well be saving $40 - $50 when they get a good game deal.

With game flippers, the value is considerably lessened. They aren't interested in collecting, or even playing the game in question, so the time they would have to wait is irrelevant. For them, the only real value in the deal is the $5 - $10 they get from pawning game titles. There's also the fact that they are indirectly serving as GameStop's delivery mules. Good deals at normal retail stores are direct competition for GameStop. When opportunistic game flippers snag the stock from those retail stores and immediately flip it, it eliminates competition for GameStop.

Ultimately, if you are a game flipper, don't go sharing your game flipping experiences here on CAG. It is unlikely that any of the regulars will take kindly to your activities. No one can stop you from your perfectly legal transactions. Just don't tell us about it, we don't want to know.
 
I think the reason people dont like flippers is because if a game comes up cheap, these people will go and try to buy 10-20 copies of it so that they can make a couple bucks profit per piece. So for a few bucks you are robbing them of being able to play that game at the sale price. And what makes it worse is they will then come on CAG and brag about it; "I just cleaned out my local Best Buy!", and think they are cool for doing so.

When people go and flip a house they do so for a LARGE profit. There is rarely such profit when it comes to flipping games. Most people would be better off staying at work an hour longer and would make that extra cash that way. So it comes down to more people just being dicks than them trying to earn some spending cash.

Thats my take on it anyways.
 
I've never quite understood what there was to gain by telling everyone that you just flipped a game (or games)... save for a couple of other flippers who are only curious as to how they pulled off the flip the response is always resoundingly negative. Why put yourself through that? Is it just some irresistible urge to share your doings with everyone (thanks alot Facebook)? Masochism? Or are some people just trying to get a rise out of others with their nudge-and-wink "Great deal, just picked up 3!" comments?

I really do think the best policy is to do what you want and never talk about it, not just for the sake of people that don't like flipping, but for the flippers themselves as well.
 
By purchasing large numbers of games at good sale prices, you're robbing other people of the opportunity to buy those games for those prices. It's an etiquette thing, those people have no consideration for anybody but themselves.
 
[quote name='JasonTerminator']By purchasing large numbers of games at good sale prices, you're robbing other people of the opportunity to buy those games for those prices. It's an etiquette thing, those people have no consideration for anybody but themselves.[/QUOTE]

I did a little bit of flipping while I was in college as an easy way to make a little money as a student, but now that I have a full-time job I wouldn't do it again. I always flipped games on Amazon for a couple bucks cheaper than the lowest price so I could get a fast turnaround. On one hand I may have prevented some people getting a really good deal in-store, but on the other hand I also helped people online by providing the cheapest option to buy a new, out-of-print game. Many times I received notes of thanks from these online buyers for selling at a cheaper price.

I definitely felt like I was really helping some people because the majority of the games I flipped were out-of-print games I found on clearance, but there was still a high demand for them and many people couldn't find them in their towns. So they would resort to spending high prices for them online, and if they're willing to pay a higher price, they must really want the game. I liked knowing that I provided someone that really wanted the game the cheapest option, instead of the possibility of someone who just picked up the game in the clearance bin because it was cheap and they probably just added it to their backlog and would take 6 months to even get around to playing it.

Maybe this is twisted logic and was just a way for me to justify flipping. I still think it's sort of a moral gray area, and I wouldn't do it anymore, but I don't really blame people for doing it. I'm pretty sure I was a little more restrained than your average flipper, though.
 
[quote name='Melatonin']I did a little bit of flipping while I was in college as an easy way to make a little money as a student, but now that I have a full-time job I wouldn't do it again. I always flipped games on Amazon for a couple bucks cheaper than the lowest price so I could get a fast turnaround. On one hand I may have prevented some people getting a really good deal in-store, but on the other hand I also helped people online by providing the cheapest option to buy a new, out-of-print game. Many times I received notes of thanks from these online buyers for selling at a cheaper price.

I definitely felt like I was really helping some people because the majority of the games I flipped were out-of-print games I found on clearance, but there was still a high demand for them and many people couldn't find them in their towns. So they would resort to spending high prices for them online, and if they're willing to pay a higher price, they must really want the game. I liked knowing that I provided someone that really wanted the game the cheapest option, instead of the possibility of someone who just picked up the game in the clearance bin because it was cheap and they probably just added it to their backlog and would take 6 months to even get around to playing it.

Maybe this is twisted logic and was just a way for me to justify flipping. I still think it's sort of a moral gray area, and I wouldn't do it anymore, but I don't really blame people for doing it. I'm pretty sure I was a little more restrained than your average flipper, though.[/QUOTE]

What you are describing is not what people get angry about though. Picking up a copy of Chrono Trigger for SNES for $10 at a garage sale to turn around and sell it on EBay for a profit is not the issue. The issue is people buying 30 copies of a game during a sale simply to turn around and trade them in to GS, Amazon, ect. because they trade in for $3 more than the paid during the sale.
 
[quote name='waldo21212']What you are describing is not what people get angry about though. Picking up a copy of Chrono Trigger for SNES for $10 at a garage sale to turn around and sell it on EBay for a profit is not the issue. The issue is people buying 30 copies of a game during a sale simply to turn around and trade them in to GS, Amazon, ect. because they trade in for $3 more than the paid during the sale.[/QUOTE]

This, I'm happy for someone who gets a rare game cheap at a yard sale. What annoys me is when someone clears a shelf at Best Buy to make a few bucks a game and all I wanted was one copy to play.

TBH this problem could be stamped out very easily, if stores would limit people to 1-2 copies of a game that's not at RRP for any reason the problem would be somewhat solved. There would always be a few die-hards who tried to get round it but it would put most people off.

I've moaned about it on here many a time but really it's ridiculous to expect people to police themselves, the stores need to do something. Best Buy at least seem to be making some effort with the trade bans and at least stopping people buying multiple sale games online in the same order.
 
[quote name='Melatonin']Maybe this is twisted logic and was just a way for me to justify flipping. I still think it's sort of a moral gray area, and I wouldn't do it anymore, but I don't really blame people for doing it. I'm pretty sure I was a little more restrained than your average flipper, though.[/QUOTE]

That's the thing. Flipping isn't a matter of morals at all. There is nothing illegal, or even ethically questionable about game flipping. It is a completely legitimate practice. There isn't even any real cause for feeling guilty over game flipping.

The negativity felt on a forum such as this one is more a matter of etiquette and tact. The majority of CAGs are either collectors, or at least players. Most CAGs are looking to enjoy their purchases, and also enjoy the thrill of hunting down great bargains. The practice of game flipping runs contrary to those objectives. Boasting of game flipping practices in this forum is basically flaunting the fact that you eliminated potential bargains that the users around here crave. It's not illegal, or morally grey, but it is tactless.

And you're right, I don't think the kind of flipping you engaged in would upset anyone. Flipping obscure or rare titles in order to get a sizable profit is something that a bargain hunter can respect.

For me, the thing that really galls me is the disparity in value. When you see a game that was originally $60 going for $10, that is a $50 bargain. Because you waited to pick up the game, you get to save $50. But a flipper who snags that copy and sells it to GameStop can only expect to make a $10 profit at most. They are taking a $50 savings opportunity, and eliminating it in order to get pocket change.
 
[quote name='Richard Kain']That's the thing. Flipping isn't a matter of morals at all. There is nothing illegal, or even ethically questionable about game flipping. It is a completely legitimate practice. There isn't even any real cause for feeling guilty over game flipping.[/QUOTE]


Well I can tell you I definitely did not try to flaunt the fact that the games I was buying were going to end up on amazon. Only once did I ever buy multiple copies of a game at the same time, and I felt weird enough about it to never do it again; if there were 3 copies of a game I wanted to sell, I would make 3 separate trips to the store and buy one at a time. It felt somewhat "shameful" to do otherwise.

Most of this was around 2007-2008 when K-Mart had these ridiculous clearance prices that weren't even marked. Games marked at $29.99 or $49.99 were ringing up for $2.99 and $4.99. Did anyone else take sheets full of UPCs to scan at K-Mart to figure out what was marked down?
 
Video games are a terrible investment. If you take flipping seriously I sure hope it's as a hobby and not a normal source of income.

With that said if you go into stores and buy up all the great deals I find that a bit douchey.
 
How do you feel about people who abuse a trading glitch? I remember gamerush ran some stupid promos where they would let you trade 3 used games for a preowned new game. So people would buy gamerush supplies of bargain games trade it for the newest preowned game (highest value) and trade it back to them for a maximum value and trading bonus. It was a real life money glitch. I think I bought two brand new xbox360s from them and only spent $150

I didn't hurt anyone except the stupid bankrupt company.
 
But I can't travel all over the country to flip at ALL the stores. How else will I let my fellow flippers know where to find the best profit margins?

You may call it douchy.
I call you slow.
 
At some point in the past year, the tone of the site went from

-"Sweet deal! I can't wait to play this game!"

to

- "Sweet price. I am gonna flip 6 copies of this!"

----

Yesterday, the MLB/NBA combo pack was on sale for $28. And instantly there's a post like "Why is everyone getting so excited about this? There's no place to flip it to."

and "I flippeded both copies of this I boughted this morning."

Listen up dipshit, some of us are excited to play the games for cheap. I totally get it if you don't like MLB or NBA and flip one of the titles to defray the cost of the other. But I have no idea why there's a need to brag about flipping games. Flippers act like flipping is rocket science. It's not.

edit: the post above mine is a prime example of why people hate flippers. It's not so much that they flip, it's that they have to rub everyone's nose in it. Like they did something really hard to do or something. :roll:
 
It's lame as hell but the fuck you gonna do about it? It happens in every hobby unfortunately.

My backlog slayed me so I gave up on bargain bin scrounging. I just play what I wanna play and am happier for it.
 
[quote name='iamsmart']No one calls me casual and gets away with it![/QUOTE]

stop wearing football kits to church then!

(not sure anybody will get this joke but it amused me.)
 
:rofl::rofl: The reason that flippers and "normal" CAG's can't exist together on the same site is because those who feel it's morally wrong must PREACH to the flippers about how they're Satan and they ruined a deal for them personally even if the flippers and those complaining about them are 1000 miles apart.:roll:

If you see someone saying something you don't like or agree with, put them on ignore or skip over their post cuz you're not gonna change anybody who is into flipping by repeating yourself every chance you can get like a broken fuckin' record.

But the funniest part of everything to me are the usual responses the anti flippers use ad nauseam during every speech. The best one to me is:

"Like omg they're flipping these games I wanted to PLAY for only a couple bucks profit each:bomb::bomb::bomb::roll::roll:"

Admittedly some flippers may be ok with a couple bucks profit if they're transferring credit to/from GS or BB, but that's certainly not me and why I have largely retired from the practice. Unless I'm making a 300-400% profit in most cases I won't even waste my time.
 
The reason that flippers and "normal" CAG's can't exist together on the same site is because those who feel it's morally wrong must PREACH to the flippers about how they're Satan and they ruined a deal for them personally even if the flippers and those complaining about them are 1000 miles apart.
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No, just like every other issue on the web it's a clash of extremes: the overly-righteous vs. the incredibly douchy, with the moderate points on both side going ignored.

If you see someone saying something you don't like or agree with, put them on ignore or skip over their post cuz you're not gonna change anybody who is into flipping by repeating yourself every chance you can get like a broken in' record.
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Pot calling kettle...

But the funniest part of everything to me are the usual responses the anti flippers use ad nauseam during every speech. The best one to me is:

"Like omg they're flipping these games I wanted to PLAY for only a couple bucks profit each
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Yeah it's a real knee-slapper.
 
[quote name='iamsmart']Pot calling kettle...[/QUOTE]
:lol:Are you one of confoosious' alt accounts? Either way, I never said I wasn't repetitive, but I do find it funny that the "moral" people get to berate flippers and their comments seem to rarely be nuked in threads. But God help ya if you even think of saying that word and don't include the words 'are the devil' after it.:booty:
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']:lol:Are you one of confoosious' alt accounts? Either way, I never said I wasn't repetitive, but I do find it funny that the "moral" people get to berate flippers and their comments seem to rarely be nuked in threads. But God help ya if you even think of saying that word and don't include the words 'are the devil' after it.:booty:[/QUOTE]

You don't seem to understand that this isn't a chicken and egg issue. All the "flippers are the devil comment" usually follow some jackass flipper talking about how they flipped 5 copies.

You seem to somehow live in a world where people spout out of the blue "man, i hate flippers!" for no reason at all. Or the second post after a deal gets announced is "flippers suck balls!" Please, next time it happens, you let us know. (Of course you can just tell one of your idiot cronies to do it for shits and giggles.)

I know you think that people witch-hunt flippers but in reality, it really is the stupid BRAGGART flippers that causes all the strife on this board. If they could just learn to STFU, maybe there wouldn't be a flipper/anti-flipper fight on every thread.

I recognize a lot of usernames on CAG that are sellers on amazon and ebay. But nobody has a problem with them. You know why? Cause they keep their mouths shut and don't rub it in others faces.

I also love how you try to play the martyr all the time: "waaaah the mods hate me and keep threatening me with bans but other people do what I do and they get away with murder." If you think that's the case, maybe you want to re-evaluate why that is. Either 1) there's no double standard or 2) you're such a douche that the mods really do hate you.

If the answer is 1, then perhaps you need to get your paranoia in check. If the answer is 2, then perhaps you should re-evaluate your posts, starting with the way you tell everyone to kiss your ass all the time. :booty:
 
[quote name='confoosious']You don't seem to understand that this isn't a chicken and egg issue. All the "flippers are the devil comment" usually follow some jackass flipper talking about how they flipped 5 copies.[/quote]
Even if that IS when the comments about flippers being the devil start, why do those people still feel as if they NEED to say what they say? They could just choose to ignore the flippers comment, but no, they feel compelled to interject their half a cent worth of opinion as to why that person is evil personified, even if they live 1500 miles from the flipper.
You seem to somehow live in a world where people spout out of the blue "man, i hate flippers!" for no reason at all. Or the second post after a deal gets announced is "flippers suck balls!" Please, next time it happens, you let us know. (Of course you can just tell one of your idiot cronies to do it for shits and giggles.)
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Like I said above, even if it doesn't happen without some flipper saying how they bought X number of an item and traded them to Y store, it still comes back to the moral police who feel they just absolutely NEED to tell the flipper exactly what they feel that starts the downward spiral.
I know you think that people witch-hunt flippers but in reality, it really is the stupid BRAGGART flippers that causes all the strife on this board. If they could just learn to STFU, maybe there wouldn't be a flipper/anti-flipper fight on every thread.
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Just like the people who get in on the $5 games or whatever deal they get in on and want to come on to share their experience, so too do the flippers want to share how they just made that next game they plan on buying to keep that much cheaper by offloading some clearance games. So, to you, their comments shouldn't be allowed even though they are simply discussing a deal they got? Alright then, comrade. Maybe we should just send every flipper to the gulag. Will everyone on here be happy then?:roll:
I recognize a lot of usernames on CAG that are sellers on amazon and ebay. But nobody has a problem with them. You know why? Cause they keep their mouths shut and don't rub it in others faces.
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Again, people are supposed to shut up just because a certain portion of the CAG community doesn't like what they have to say?:roll: That sounds very Communist and not very community. Not everybody is going to get along with everybody. But they can choose to ignore those who annoy them and their comments.
I also love how you try to play the martyr all the time: "waaaah the mods hate me and keep threatening me with bans but other people do what I do and they get away with murder." If you think that's the case, maybe you want to re-evaluate why that is. Either 1) there's no double standard or 2) you're such a douche that the mods really do hate you.

If the answer is 1, then perhaps you need to get your paranoia in check. If the answer is 2, then perhaps you should re-evaluate your posts, starting with the way you tell everyone to kiss your ass all the time. :booty:
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:lol:Where'd this come from? You do realize that MANY other people think you're an insulting douchebag and should've likely been banned a long time ago, right? Some other folks even think you're an alt name for one of the mods on here and that's why you seem to be bulletproof.

I disagree with you many times and I do see you insult quite a few and I'll admit I'm annoyed that you seem to get away with so much without so much as even a temp ban. But eh, what can you do?

As for peoples' personal opinions of me, I really don't give a flying fuck what most on here think of me. There's some good people on here, some assholes and some people who really need to clean their noses off from kissing the powers-that-be's asses so much. Which group are you in? I know where I stand.
 
You have two camps:

Camp 1: Pokes people
Camp 2: Pokes back only when poked

Don't you think it's much easier and, more importantly, fairer to say "hey, camp 1, stop poking people" than it is to say "hey camp 2, when poked, just ignore the poke."

To you, camp 2 is the troublemaker for poking back. Do you even listen to yourself?

If someone runs through comic con and yells "you guys are a bunch of fucking losers" and the nerds yell back "f you douchebag!," it's the nerds that are at fault right? In your worldview, they should just learn to ignore the guy who called them nerds; they are as much at fault as the first guy. No they're not. It's the first guy who caused the tension.

You think that CAG is some sort of community where there's freedom of speech or something. No, it isn't. CAG's mods have to maintain the peace. You don't get freedom of speech here.

As for me being insulting, the only people who are insulted by me are idiots.
 
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I can't really speak on not being liked, since I am beloved by everyone on CAG.

I don't quite know how to respond to your idea about gulags and the like IATCG, but I do want to address something else. Every time an argument springs up I see the same thing pour out from your keyboard: "if you don't like it you can ignore it!" It seems rather ironic to me that you prescribe this to so many people, yet you don't seem to take your own advice. You get into plenty of arguments, even from people that annoy you (see your post above)... so, why haven't you ignored them yet?
 
[quote name='confoosious']You have two camps:

Camp 1: Pokes people
Camp 2: Pokes back only when poked

Don't you think it's much easier and, more importantly, fairer to say "hey, camp 1, stop poking people" than it is to say "hey camp 2, when poked, just ignore the poke."

To you, camp 2 is the troublemaker for poking back. Do you even listen to yourself?

If someone runs through comic con and yells "you guys are a bunch of fucking losers" and the nerds yell back "f you douchebag!," it's the nerds that are at fault right? In your worldview, they should just learn to ignore the guy who called them nerds; they are as much at fault as the first guy. No they're not. It's the first guy who caused the tension.

You think that CAG is some sort of community where there's freedom of speech or something. No, it isn't. CAG's mods have to maintain the peace. You don't get freedom of speech here.

As for me being insulting, the only people who are insulted by me are idiots.[/QUOTE]


But WHY does it bother the people who just feel they have to respond SO much that they do respond and usually not in a very nice way? I mean, I can understand if people say 'I don't like what you're doing'. That's fine. But it's usually 'game flippers are a bunch of .

THAT is what annoys me the most. I'm all for people voicing their opinions and for a lively debate. But in many peoples' minds flippers are wrong and THAT'S IT. There is no discussing anything.
 
[quote name='iamsmart']I can't really speak on not being liked, since I am beloved by everyone on CAG.

I don't quite know how to respond to your idea about gulags and the like IATCG, but I do want to address something else. Every time an argument springs up I see the same thing pour out from your keyboard: "if you don't like it you can ignore it!" It seems rather ironic to me that you prescribe this to so many people, yet you don't seem to take your own advice. You get into plenty of arguments, even from people that annoy you (see your post above)... so, why haven't you ignored them yet?[/QUOTE]
Actually I have learned to not respond to everybody anymore.;) So on the ignore people front I am getting better. But this topic just seems to set me off, since as I keep saying it's ok if people say they disagree with what flippers do, but to insult them for choosing to do what they do with their money and time is asinine.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']But WHY does it bother the people who just feel they have to respond SO much that they do respond and usually not in a very nice way? I mean, I can understand if people say 'I don't like what you're doing'. That's fine. But it's usually 'game flippers are a bunch of .

THAT is what annoys me the most. I'm all for people voicing their opinions and for a lively debate. But in many peoples' minds flippers are wrong and THAT'S IT. There is no discussing anything.[/QUOTE]


Why? Because the loudest flippers are usually the most obnoxious ones. They don't go into a thread and say "I found a flip on an endless supply of games and it's awesome, pm me if you want the title."

No, they go into a thread where people are looking for a certain game which usually becomes scarce because it's such a good deal. They then talk about flipping 10 copies. Then, when someone responds (which you know they are absolutely trolling for), they say things like "well, learn to be faster next time you slow bastard." It's antagonistic by its very nature. It's not a discussion. It's trolling.

Look to my previous example. I'm not sure if it got deleted or not but in the midst of a discussion about the MLB/NBA combo pack, some guy jumps in and says "I flipped two copies this morning!" That's it. You think that idiot is interested in having a discussion? No, he's interested in riling everyone up.

How are you not seeing this? Neither side is innocent here. But if you stop the bragging in the deals threads (the initial grenade lob), you stop the fighting.

Look at the GS to BB flip thread. Do people go in there and complain about flippers? Or is that more of a flippers helping other flippers out thread? Why is that?
 
[quote name='crystalklear64']You may call it douchy.
I call you slow.[/QUOTE]

I'm quite fast actually.

I'm not much of a trader or collector anymore but a few years back I enjoyed trading and selling games on CAG and other sites purely as a hobby. I didn't do it for the money, or to get the better deal, simply because I enjoyed sharing games and an enthusiasm for them. I've made several friends from trading here and that's more important than scoring an extra $5 for Bullet Witch

I hope most flippers share that same sense of community rather than seeing dollar signs. If your main goal is to make an extra buck then your time and energy was poorly spent.

Have I flipped before? Sure, several times. It was more of a "right place, right time" scenario. But I didn't rape the deals. And if you are one of the "buy everything" flippers you are not some "plague on humanity" but you are a bit inconsiderate. Some(one) might see that type of thinking as slow. You can call me dumb, I get it. Not capitalizing on an opportunity makes me inferior. I'll be the first guy to tell you I'm not the smartest, but I don't have to scrounge for video games to make a living.
 
[quote name='confoosious']Why? Because the loudest flippers are usually the most obnoxious ones. They don't go into a thread and say "I found a flip on an endless supply of games and it's awesome, pm me if you want the title."

No, they go into a thread where people are looking for a certain game which usually becomes scarce because it's such a good deal. They then talk about flipping 10 copies. Then, when someone responds (which you know they are absolutely trolling for), they say things like "well, learn to be faster next time you slow bastard." It's antagonistic by its very nature. It's not a discussion. It's trolling.[/quote]
To me, I still think some flippers who brag are just trying to let others know where they can flip those items to with no ill intentions by mentioning it. But this comes back to differing views/opinions once again.

But in the case of limited time or limited quantity sales, such as we saw this past week with the BB gaming blowout, it does pay to be there when the store first opens so as to at least get what you want. But even with this sale there were people who waffled and who waited until the last minute to try getting in on the sale. When they realized there was nothing left of the items they wanted, who do you think immediately got blamed? :roll: It couldn't be that regular shmoes came through from last Sunday until whenever they finally got their asses to the store and cleared out any stock they had, right? Nope. It's automatically the flippers/El Hoardo who get the blame.
Look to my previous example. I'm not sure if it got deleted or not but in the midst of a discussion about the MLB/NBA combo pack, some guy jumps in and says "I flipped two copies this morning!" That's it. You think that idiot is interested in having a discussion? No, he's interested in riling everyone up.
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Again, I'll quote what I was told last year when I was about to be banned for 'being a douchebag to others'. Ignore it. That was what I was told when I asked how to handle comments I want to comment on. So if I can learn to control myself a good portion of the time, the anti flippers most certainly can and should as well.
How are you not seeing this? Neither side is innocent here. But if you stop the bragging in the deals threads (the initial grenade lob), you stop the fighting.

Look at the GS to BB flip thread. Do people go in there and complain about flippers? Or is that more of a flippers helping other flippers out thread? Why is that?
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Once again, I do believe that some flippers who mention what they've flipped mean no harm in the comments. They are just proud that by getting rid of some games they won't play that they have lessened their own out of pocket expense for ones they will play.

As for the GS to BB thread, I'm kind of shocked that the anti flippers didn't make even one comment(that I noticed anyway) in there. So my question is, why didn't they? It was still a flipping discussion and the people buying games from GS to trade to BB were depriving someone of those games by transferring them from GS to BB.

It just seems like the anti flippers comment only when they feel the flipping hurts them and not when it may still hurt other CAG's.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']But in the case of limited time or limited quantity sales, such as we saw this past week with the BB gaming blowout, it does pay to be there when the store first opens so as to at least get what you want. But even with this sale there were people who waffled and who waited until the last minute to try getting in on the sale. When they realized there was nothing left of the items they wanted, who do you think immediately got blamed? :roll: It couldn't be that regular shmoes came through from last Sunday until whenever they finally got their asses to the store and cleared out any stock they had, right? Nope. It's automatically the flippers/El Hoardo who get the blame.[/quote]

Because the people buying copies for themselves aren't doing anything wrong. I can be frustrated that somebody beat me to the punch getting that last copy of a game, but I'm not gonna be mad. Flippers and hoarders, on the other hand, are being inconsiderate assholes, and I'll get mad at them, rightfully so.

Once again, I do believe that some flippers who mention what they've flipped mean no harm in the comments. They are just proud that by getting rid of some games they won't play that they have lessened their own out of pocket expense for ones they will play.
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Why are they buying games they won't play? They are denying people the opportunity to purchase those games, people that actually want to play them, by buying them up and flipping them. They might be blind as to how this is inconsiderate, but that doesn't mean that it's not, and they won't learn that it is unless somebody tells them.
 
Gamers are hobbyists.

Flippers are middlemen who take a cut while providing no value.

I guess most instances of flipping are legal but don't expect gamers to like you for making them pay more.
 
[quote name='JasonTerminator']Because the people buying copies for themselves aren't doing anything wrong. I can be frustrated that somebody beat me to the punch getting that last copy of a game, but I'm not gonna be mad. Flippers and hoarders, on the other hand, are being inconsiderate assholes, and I'll get mad at them, rightfully so.[/quote]
But how do you know that it was some other shopper who beat you to that last item or game? You really don't. But that's what amuses me most on here anymore. Many people automatically blame El Hoardo or a game flipper for them missing out.

They figure there's no way in hell it could've been just another normal shopper who bought up what may have been the last copy of X or Y game and they know for certain what the stock levels were at before the sale began because they obviously have inside knowledge of the company/site. With this recent BB gaming blowout sale, if there were a handful of each item sitting on the shelf at opening at the stores then it was a miracle. But many people just automatically assume that someone swooped in and grabbed 10 copies of something even though there may have only been 2-3 to begin with and those were claimed right after the store opened.
Why are they buying games they won't play? They are denying people the opportunity to purchase those games, people that actually want to play them, by buying them up and flipping them. They might be blind as to how this is inconsiderate, but that doesn't mean that it's not, and they won't learn that it is unless somebody tells them.
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Back when I was flipping, I would routinely buy a copy or sometimes multiples of clearance games at Kmart or Sears with the intention of selling them to friends at cost and playing the copy I kept. But like many on here I have a backlog and many of those titles were ones that I had bought as a iffy purchase and didn't even know if I would play them. I only really bought many of them because they were cheap.

But since the return period had lapsed on many of them and I had opened most of them, there was nothing else I could really do with them besides trade them in somewhere. I know that I could've offered them up here to other CAG's for cost + shipping, but I just didn't want to deal with the potential for lowballing so trading them was the easiest route.

As for trying to get flippers to 'learn' that what they're doing is wrong according to you, if it were me you were saying it to I'd just chuckle and continue on doing what I'm doing since there's nothing you can say that will change a flippers' mind if they're set in their ways.;) It just seems like an effort in futility for many of the anti flippers to get so upset over what someone else is doing with their time and money, especially when those flippers may be 1000 miles from them and not have any effect on the stock at their personal stores.
 
[quote name='camoor']Gamers are hobbyists.

Flippers are middlemen who take a cut while providing no value.

I guess most instances of flipping are legal but don't expect gamers to like you for making them pay more.[/QUOTE]
When I see a deal that has the potential to make me decent money and the market is there for it, I'd be a fool not to take full advantage of that. But at the same time that I may buy up stuff like the PSP Go's for $50 each from Sears(that get triple that on Amazon EASILY) or the Black Ops Prestige Editions for $15(that get above the $149.99 MSRP, again EASILY on Amazon) I've also helped out other gamers on here before by buying up stock on items they couldn't find in their areas.

I've done it with some old Kmart clearance games before and a few years back I did it with $7-8 copies of :ps3:Uncharted from TRU. I got those games into the hands of other CAG's who wanted them to play. So while I may be an 'omg evil flipper' sometimes, I do sometimes do good things for the community here.

Albeit I believe a fellow local CAG was unable to get in on the Uncharted deal due to me buying up the local store stock to send out to others on here, so that was one instance in which I knew for a fact that I had hurt someone elses' chances of getting a deal. But most of the stuff I've bought to sell to others for cost + shipping or to flip has been stuff that's sat there for a while collecting dust.

Lately it's been a choice of either I buy the items or the local game store owner is hoarding everything to resell in his stores. So if it comes down to that, I'd rather be the one selling to him than him buying it all and making 100% of the money.;):evil:
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']

Back when I was flipping, I would routinely buy a copy or sometimes multiples of clearance games at Kmart or Sears with the intention of selling them to friends at cost and playing the copy I kept. But like many on here I have a backlog and many of those titles were ones that I had bought as a iffy purchase and didn't even know if I would play them. I only really bought many of them because they were cheap.

But since the return period had lapsed on many of them and I had opened most of them, there was nothing else I could really do with them besides trade them in somewhere. I know that I could've offered them up here to other CAG's for cost + shipping, but I just didn't want to deal with the potential for lowballing so trading them was the easiest route.

[/QUOTE]

Buying with the intention of playing a game and changing your mind/buyers remorse isn't the same as buying and game just to drive it across town (or parking lot) to trade it in IMO. Or even worse walking it from the front of BB after purchasing to the gaming kiosk to trade it right back in.

I don't hate flippers, but I, like like most people who complain about flippers, get annoyed when I miss out on a deal on something I actually want to play. But I look at it this way, if I miss out on the sale, at least having the market flooded with used copies that are basically new only helps increase the possibility of snagging a like new copy of a used game later on. People who take the online passes out of a new game they trade in to try and sell/trade it later are dicks, but then again I won't buy a used game with an online pass if I really want to play online.

As far as El Hordo, I guess if people are dumb enough to pay close to MSRP for a game on EBay or Craiglist, so be it. At least all the El Hordo's usually try to undercut each other on EBay and drop the price down fast. With all these storage/auction/pawn shows on TV lately maybe El Hordo will get their own show too.
 
[quote name='waldo21212']Buying with the intention of playing a game and changing your mind/buyers remorse isn't the same as buying and game just to drive it across town (or parking lot) to trade it in IMO. Or even worse walking it from the front of BB after purchasing to the gaming kiosk to trade it right back in.[/quote]
Guilty as charged on that last part at least 2-4x when I was still heavily flipping stuff.
I don't hate flippers, but I, like like most people who complain about flippers, get annoyed when I miss out on a deal on something I actually want to play. But I look at it this way, if I miss out on the sale, at least having the market flooded with used copies that are basically new only helps increase the possibility of snagging a like new copy of a used game later on. People who take the online passes out of a new game they trade in to try and sell/trade it later are dicks, but then again I won't buy a used game with an online pass if I really want to play online.
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For the most part I've learned not to let missing a game sale get to me on here, since there's almost always an even cheaper sale on it later on somewhere else. As for the game passes and DLC codes when trading in a game, Gamestop doesn't give their customers them(except in certain cases like Arkham City), so I have plucked out the DLC codes from games when going to trade in before if they remained unused.

The only time I might've felt a lil bad is when I had an older copy of the :ps3:Borderlands GOTY that came with the voucher. Trading it in sans voucher made it just a vanilla Borderlands. Although I don't believe BB differentiates between a vanilla and GOTY in either trade value or price to buy pre-owned. So that's at least a small portion their problem if people aren't getting true GOTY editions since the employees aren't trained to look for the different versions of games. Not to mention they just recently folded their gaming supervisors and other gaming reps back into the main employee pool at most stores due to cost cutting layoffs.
As far as El Hordo, I guess if people are dumb enough to pay close to MSRP for a game on EBay or Craiglist, so be it. At least all the El Hordo's usually try to undercut each other on EBay and drop the price down fast. With all these storage/auction/pawn shows on TV lately maybe El Hordo will get their own show too.
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There's definitely a lot of normal consumers who just pay asking price on stuff without even questioning it. That's the good part of reselling, in that people will see your price is a penny under everybody else and go for your listing first thinking they're getting a deal. What they don't know is that you likely paid 1/6th what you're offering the item for.;):evil:

But I have never and will never undercut myself to under what I paid just to give someone a deal if they're willing to pay way over what I got the items for.
 
For some reason any time I read a discussion or rant about game flipping I picture the fat greasy fuck who owned/managed Lone Star Comics in Mesquite, Texas. I guess it was the mid-90's comic companies had the insanely limited variant covers and Toybiz decided that it would be fun to make certain figures incredibly limited. Every time ToysRus, Target, Kmart and Walmart would get a shipment in his fat ass would be over at the store going through their boxes to stock to pick out what figures he wanted. He would buy them then take them back to the store and mark them up for whatever insane price they would be listed at in a guide. Always hated his fat fuck ass and still do.
 
[quote name='crystalklear64']Can't work a day job and flip? Casual.[/QUOTE]

I think he means he has no need to flip since he's working a day job, which is also my situation. But hey, that means there's 2 fewer of us out there leaving more money to be made for you!
 
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