[quote name='okwordyoda']May I ask what items you sold?
As I've stated before I work at an HPB and can made shed some light on the situation. I was a customer for several years before working at one and it's a completely different world on the other side of the counter. My store gets roughly 2,000 items every single day. In the Spring and Summer that number can get bumped up to 4,000 easily. I've never seen a store with even two shelves devoted to game guides. So, we're talking 2 1/2 feet of shelf for all the game guides we're going to get in. The rest are clearance. One of your guides may be 9.99 now but it can become a dollar or 50 cents in a heartbeat. The very next day someone can come in with deluxe hardcovers that sell far better than what's on the shelf, so poof...clearance it is. If your guide isn't Zelda, Final Fantasy, an obscure RPG or brand spaking new then trust me, it has little to no value.
If your games were last gen. We can't pay much. PS2/GC and original Xbox games have an average sell through rate of 3 bucks or less (unless they're something special obviously).
I also don't understand why everyone is upset that Fire Emblem GC is 70 bucks. That seems to be the going rate. We are not a thrift store nor a yard sale. We are a business that tries to make money. I like how everyone assumes the original owner got screwed too. If the bookseller did their job correctly they got 25-28 bucks for it. I know that's not 70 but we're obviously a middle man.[/QUOTE]
thanks for the reply. I can't remember all the games, but I know one was Buffy the Vampire Slayer for Xbox. One thing that caught me by surprise is the conversation between 2 employees who did my trade was how much it was going for on whatever site they were using, and from what they were saying it sounded like they just hit a jackpot. I sold an Alan Wake guide, COD BO guide, a hardbound WOW table top RPG game book (later marked 19.99), I think 2 360 games (not really popular ones so I get that) and a few random books along with the duplicates of the Bourne trilogy and a couple cds (again, niche shit so i understand it being worth more to me than them as a store). there were also a couple college text books included, not old ones but as with college i am sure there may be newer editions.
now again, i understand it being a business and also the sheer amount of stuff traded in seems to be extensive (everytime i go in, including today). but, not to beat a dead horse, it just seems a tad lopsided that I can bring a stack of somewhat current items and get less than a dollar each for the stack. sure, it makes sense for something that doesn't sell to go on clearance in 2 weeks or a month and like most places with lots of stock coming in all the time and limited space for said stock to puch things out like that. Hell, I got a CD today for $1 in the clearance bin that has been on the store shelf (according to the sticker) for 2 whole weeks. but things like the game guides, which I have been told in the past by employees are "higher trade in priced items" as well as the WOW book, those are things that I see sitting on shelves for longer periods of time or can (and seemingly are) sold in a quick turn around. I don't think I have ever been there and found a game guide on clearance.
but your insight as an employee is good to have read about. I am not sure thats a store I would like to work in (even though I love books) because of all the stock rotation and movement. it is nice to have a inside the box perspective to bounce off of though.