Best Buy Trade-in Thread 2.0: Please see new thread.

BudzMcGee

BudzMcGee

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At 276 pages and countless request for a new OP, it was time to retire the first Best Buy Trade-in Thread and start fresh. Thanks bh47 for your work in the previous thread (and providing the framework for this one)!

All Promotions are available in-store only, and they DO NOT stack!
Only the 10% Bonus from Gamers Club Unlocked will stack with these offers.
Please read FAQ below before asking questions!

Current Promos:
- 50% Bonus when you trade in ANY game.
Get a 50% trade in bonus when you trade in ANY game. Offer valid 01/01/12 - 01/07/12

- Trade 3, get 30% More.
Trade in 3 games or more and get 30% extra trade-in credit. Offer valid 01/01/12 -03/03/12

- 30% Bonus with any Pre-order.
Get a 30% extra trade-in credit when you pre-order any game. Offer valid 01/01/12 -03/03/12

Link: http://www.bestbuytradein.com/bb/Quo...VideoGames.cfm (click on "Show Promotions available in stores only" on top right)\

Upcoming/Rumored Promotions:
All promos that have yet to appear on Best Buy's site (or in an upcoming ad) are listed here:
None at the moment

Previous Promotions:
Promos that have expired:
- 50% Bonus with specific Pre-order from list.
Get a 50% extra trade-in credit when you pre-order any game from the following list: Halo 4, Mass Effect 3, Bioshock Infinite, Grand Theft Auto 5, MLB 12 The Show, Soul Calibur V, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Twisted Metal, Max Payne 3, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and Diablo 3. Offer valid 12/25/11 - 12/31/11

- Trade 2, get 25% More.
Trade in 2 games or more and get 25% extra trade-in credit. Offer valid 11/27/11 - 12/31/11

- 30% Bonus with any Pre-order.
Get a 30% extra trade-in credit when you pre-order any game. Offer valid 11/27/11 - 12/31/11
- 40% Bonus with purchase of any game $39.99 or above.
Get a 40% extra trade-in credit when you purchase any game $39.99 or above. Offer valid 11/27/11 - 12/10/11

- 50% Bonus with purchase of any game $39.99 or above.
Get a 50% extra trade-in credit when you purchase any game $39.99 or above. Offer valid 11/27/11 - 12/03/11

 - Trade 3, get 30% More.
Trade in 3 games or more and get 25% extra trade-in credit. Offer valid 10/30/11 - 11/26/11

- 40% Bonus with any Pre-order.
Get a 40% extra trade-in credit when you pre-order any game. Offer valid 10/5/11 - 11/26/11

- 40% Bonus with Saints Row 3 Pre-order/Purchase.
Get 40% extra trade-in Credit when you pre-order/purchase Saints Row 3. Offer valid 11/13/11 - 11/19/11

- 40% Bonus with Assassin's Creed Revelations Pre-order/Purchase.
Get 40% extra trade-in Credit when you pre-order/purchase Assassin's Creed Revelations. Offer valid 11/13/11 - 11/19/11

 - 50% Bonus with Modern Warfare 3 Pre-order/Purchase.
Get 50% extra trade-in Credit when you pre-order/Purchase Modern Warfare 3. Offer valid 10/10/11 - 11/12/11 (Assuming this means a bonus for purchasing the game after it is released this Tuesday)

- 50% Bonus with Saints Row 3 Pre-order.
Get 50% extra trade-in Credit when you pre-order Saints Row 3. Offer valid 11/6/11 - 11/12/11

- 50% Bonus with Assassin's Creed Revelations Pre-order.
Get 50% extra trade-in Credit when you pre-order Assassin's Creed Revelations. Offer valid 11/6/11 - 11/12/11

- 40% Bonus with The Elder Scrolls V: Pre-order/Purchase.
Get 50% extra trade-in Credit when you pre-order/purchase The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Offer valid 11/6/11 - 11/12/11

- 50% Bonus with Max Payne 3 Pre-order.
Get 50% extra trade-in Credit when you pre-order Max Payne 3. Offer valid 11/6/11 - 11/12/11 - This promo seems a little odd and there is a chance it is an error on the site since the game is so far from release.

- 50% Bonus with Saints Row 3 Pre-order.
Get 50% extra trade-in Credit when you pre-order Saints Row 3. Offer valid 10/23/11 - 10/29/11

- 50% Bonus with Skyrim Pre-order.
Get 50% extra trade-in Credit when you pre-order The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Offer valid 10/23/11 - 11/05/11

 - 40% Bonus with Uncharted 3 Pre-order/Purchase.
Get 40% extra trade-in Credit when you pre-order/purchase Uncharted 3. Offer valid 10/30/11 - 11/05/11

- 40% Bonus with Battlefield 3 Purchase.
Get 40% extra trade-in Credit when you purchase Battlefield 3. Offer valid 10/23/11 - 10/29/11

- Trade 2, get 25% More.
Trade in 2 games or more and get 25% extra trade-in credit. Offer valid 10/2/11 - 10/29/11

 - 50% Bonus with Battlefield 3 Pre-order.
Get 50% extra trade-in Credit when you pre-order Battlefield 3. Offer valid 10/9/11 - 10/22/11

- 40% Bonus with purchase of Batman: Arkham City.
Get 40% extra trade-in Credit when you pre-order Batman: Arkham City. Offer valid 10/16/11 - 10/22/11

 - 50% Bonus with Batman: Arkham City Pre-order.
Get 50% extra trade-in Credit when you pre-order Batman: Arkham City. Offer valid 10/9/11 - 10/15/11

 - 30% Bonus with Rage or NBA 2K12 Pre-order/Purchase.
Get a 30% extra trade-in Credit when you pre-order/purchase Rage or NBA 2K12. Offer valid 10/2/11 - 10/08/11

- Trade 4 get an extra $20 Trade-in Credit.
Get $20 trade-in Credit when you trade 4 or more games (Current gen games only (no PS2) and $5 minimum for each game). Offer valid 10/2/11 - 10/08/11 **** This promo was cancelled early due to technical issues. There have been issues with this promo not working on some stores' systems or simply not even being available, the issue seems to be related to disc-only games (or any game that is typed rather than scanned) so plan accordingly. The $20 extra is once per trade-in, meaning 4 games or 123 games it will only be $20 extra per transaction. So if you want to trade in 8 games, do it in two separate transactions. ****

- 50% Bonus with Rage or NBA 2K12 Pre-order.
Offer was valid from 9/25 to 10/01/2011.

- 40% Bonus with Gears of War 3 Purchase.
Get a 40% extra trade-in credit when you pre-order/purchase Gears of War 3. Offer expired 10/01/2011

- Trade 3, Get 30% More.
Trade in 3 games or more and get 30% extra trade-in credit. Offer expired 10/01/2011

- 40% Bonus with any Pre-order.
Get a 40% extra trade-in credit when you pre-order any game. Offer expired 10/01/2011

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BEST BUY'S VIDEO GAMES TRADE-IN PAGE

Check most up-to-date TIV using BB's Video Games Value Estimator.

Check which BB stores do trade-ins here.
In-store trades are now done at the Trade-In Counter at the Gaming Dept.

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F.A.Q. Best Buy has a short FAQ here.

How does the get **% with pre-order bonus work?
The percentage is based on the final total of your entire trade in, so if the trade in is $100 and there is a 50% bonus your final gift card value will be $150. After trading in your games, the employee SHOULD then sell you the pre-order for $5.

How much is a pre-order at Best Buy?
Pre-ordering at Best Buy cost $5, in fact, you aren't supposed to pay any more than that (and most employees won't let you if you ask). Yes, you can use the gift card you just received from your trade-in to purchase the pre-order.

Can I cancel a pre-order and keep the bonus?
Yes, the trade-in and the pre-order are completely separate transactions. Nothing will prevent you from returning to the Best Buy canceling the pre-order and receiving a refund. Some users have claimed that they were flagged for doing this multiple times though and were denied, so be aware of how many pre-orders you are cancelling. Also keep in mind the obvious facts that this is not how the program is intended to work and over abuse will negatively affect the program long-term. Lastly, returns are tracks on a personal level by a third party. (Read: try not to cancel a bunch of pre-orders)

Do I have to cancel the pre-order at the same store where it was made?
No, this can be handled by any BBY. Don't be surprised if you get a customer service employee who says otherwise though.

Can I pre-order once and get the pre-order bonus on my next trade-in as well?
YMMV. Officially, the answer is no, but there is nothing that actually requires the employee to sell the pre-order in order to apply the bonus so if your blue shirt is in a friendly mood they may be willing. Doesn't hurt to get to know the employees at your store. That said, expect that you will have to pre-order another game and be surprised if you don't.

Can I combine a 3 games for **% and a pre-order for **% bonus?
No. Bonuses do not stack, and you must pick one or the other. The only bonus that stacks with other promotions is the 10% you receive if you are a Gamers Club Unlocked member.

How do I become a Gamers Club Unlocked member and get the 10% bonus?
Any video game section employee should be able to set you up with the GCU membership. It cost $15 and comes with a year subscription of @Gamer magazine. It will also get you a 10% bonus on trade ins and 10% off of used games (Make sure to point it out to the blue shirt doing your trade-in though as it is easy for them to skip, and they are still new to it). It can take 48 hours (or more) for GCU to show up on your Reward Zone membership.

Can I use my Best Buy gift card to purchase Amazon Kindle Gift Cards or Visa Gift Cards?
Yes, although some employees may not be aware of this and incorrectly refuse to do so. Visa Gift Cards have a $200 limit and a $6 activation fee. Amazon Gift Cards are available in $25, $50 and $100 depending on your store selection. IL does not sell Amazon Gift Cards. Yes, Kindle Gift Cards are good for anything on Amazon.

The value on the site doesn't match the store, why?
Sometimes the page may not update immediately. This is fairly rare though. The store's trade-in values are definitive though, so what they say is what you get. 99.99% of the time they will match up.

The value on the iPhone app is way off, why?
The app sucks for updating values (and some games simply don't show up), don't rely on it.

The game I want to trade isn't on the site, what gives?
While rare, there have been some games recently not showing up in the online estimator. You can always check in-store to see if the price is in their system and simply not online, but that is unlikely to be the case. When Best Buy doesn't have a game on file they can offer $1 as a generic SKU, but that's it. New releases appear to be added on Tuesday evenings. Many new releases are taking upwards of a week or more to be added to the site.

When do trade-in values update?
No one knows for sure, but major updates seem to come on Sunday and Tuesday nights (or at least have in the past). Sometimes an update will happen randomly, such as when GameStop has an advertised sale for a game well below Best Buy's trade in price.

What will be the TIV of Game X tomorrow/next week / next month/ etc
Nobody knows.

If I locked in a trade online, and the value drops, will I still get the locked in value when I mail it in?
Yes. You will get the locked in TIV as long as the item is received within 14 days of you locking it in (and the item is in the condition you described it as).

Can you lock in the price online then trade it in-store?
No.

Is there a limit to how many games I can trade in?
Officially, Best Buy only accepts 3 copies of a game, per system (i.e. you could trade in 3 copies of a game for Xbox, 3 copies for PS3 and 3 for Wii). This is for sure the online policy, but it varies in stores. Some people have reported being banned for trading in more than 3 copies of games, others have done so frequently without issue. Obviously it is YMMV, but do so at your own risk.

Can I trade game disc only, or do I need the case and manuals, too?
Best Buy accepts disc only games (for the same value as complete games). The trade in will take longer though as the employee will have to look up the games individually.

Can I trade in games that say "Not for Resale" on the back?
Yes, since the only thing that matters is the disc. Some employees will fight this though, and in that case, just trade the game in as disc-only.

Does Best Buy accept game hardware?
Currently Best Buy only accepts various versions of the Nintendo DS in store, but word is that will change soon.

Does the **% bonuses apply to game hardware?
No, games only.

When I do a in-store trade, I am asked: to be fingerprinted, to have my photo taken, how much I weigh, etc. What's the deal?
Pawn shop laws regulating trade-ins and resale of used goods varies from state to state or city to city. It is not Best Buy's rule, and varies from store to store depending on where you live. At a minimum you'll likely need a state ID.

I went to a store to do a trade-in and they asked for a Best Buy receipt. WTF?
Some stores are required to have receipts to accept trade-ins, again this is due to local Pawn shop laws and could vary from city to city. You can always check if the store(s) near you require a receipt on Best Buy's trade-in site.

Can I trade sealed games?
Yes. You must present your receipt for the sealed games you are trading in. It is ok if the purchase was made from another store. You do run the risk of drawing extra attention to yourself as trading in sealed products is often a sign of theft. Do not be surprised if this is questioned by an employee, or you are asked to leave, open the items and return.
 
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darkasian, can you submit trades online or is that blocked as well. Everytime someone says they are banned I go do a test trade, as I don't want to open a bunch of target clearance only to be shot down during the trade process.
 
Don't know about online, as everything was fine in store until today. Going over everything trying to figure out why this happened. If employees can flag you, then that would narrow it down. There's a former Gamestop employee that works there that was giving me shit about not playing all of the games I was trading in."Don't have time, and you take game trade-ins now right?" He'd shake his head and talk about all the big ticket stuff I could get. I hope that guy's not the cause.
 
3 limit? That's a good question. No more than 10 titles I'd say. I flipped enough for maybe the hot game of the month maybe, then this past weekend I traded in a little under 50 games. Many of them not reaching the 3 per title limit due to BBV's stock of what they had. I've read others complaints and abuses of this system, and always stayed within their rules. With their decision being, "Final." as I was told, I thought I was at least owed an explanation as to why. I'll email them tonight about this and let you guys know more, if they get back to me.
 
Oh wow sorry to hear darkasian. You went within the rules and you still got banned. I think it was Budz that pointed it out where corporate was going to crackdown on the heavy abusers and go further down the list as they deemed fit. I feel bad for you but it clearly was the reselling-like activity you were flagged down as. Corporations frown on resellers so it makes sense. I just did a trade in of 4 games last saturday and nothing happened to me even though ive bought multiples before of items and one could interpret my activity as a reseller. Makes me a little nervous for next time but im glad I got off the trade-in wagon too early than too late.

You definitely deserve an explanation at the very least.
 
I was in to trade in Rage and pick up my Zelda preorder today, and they printed a notice that they were no longer able to accept my trade-ins. Manager had never seen that so he did an overide. But it appears I am also on the ban list. I have traded in 40 or 50 games since they started accepting trade-ins. Called the number on the printout, and was told "they no longer want to do business with you". Couldnt say anything else. I knew about the max 3 rule, and have never traded in more than 3 of any sku. I did trade in 3 of the autobots transformers ds and 2 of the decepticons version. Only possible violation I can think of. Bastards!

Guess it's time to convert my BBY credit to amazon or visa and gtfo.
 
[quote name='jeebert']I was in to trade in Rage and pick up my Zelda preorder today, and they printed a notice that they were no longer able to accept my trade-ins. Manager had never seen that so he did an overide. But it appears I am also on the ban list. I have traded in 40 or 50 games since they started accepting trade-ins. Called the number on the printout, and was told "they no longer want to do business with you". Couldnt say anything else. I knew about the max 3 rule, and have never traded in more than 3 of any sku. I did trade in 3 of the autobots transformers ds and 2 of the decepticons version. Only possible violation I can think of. Bastards!

Guess it's time to convert my BBY credit to amazon or visa and gtfo.[/QUOTE]

when did the notice print out, After they put in your driver's license? Are you doing your trades all at the same bestbuy or spreading them out? Were you buying Visa or Amazon GCs?

If you are getting banned for 50, I know someone who traded in a 100+ bbv games this weekend alone.. and traded atleast 50 games before this weekend..
 
[quote name='jeebert']I was in to trade in Rage and pick up my Zelda preorder today, and they printed a notice that they were no longer able to accept my trade-ins. Manager had never seen that so he did an overide. But it appears I am also on the ban list. I have traded in 40 or 50 games since they started accepting trade-ins. Called the number on the printout, and was told "they no longer want to do business with you". Couldnt say anything else. I knew about the max 3 rule, and have never traded in more than 3 of any sku. I did trade in 3 of the autobots transformers ds and 2 of the decepticons version. Only possible violation I can think of. Bastards!

Guess it's time to convert my BBY credit to amazon or visa and gtfo.[/QUOTE]

wow, that sucks. Thats probably were im at ~50 games. I usually, trade in 6-7 games every time I make/pick up a preorder. I did trade in 2+2 of biggest loser at different locations, now Im a little nervous. Nothing happened when I picked up Zelda yesterday, but I probably wont even think of doing 3 of any game anymore.
 
Shooooot........ I traded in 15 games yesterday. Had 2 of a couple each but some were titles Ive never traded in before so I still stayed within the 3 per title. Dont ban me bro!
 
Right after they put in your license info it came up. Notice said it was tied to my name and d.o.b. I spread out my trades, never traded more than 2 or 3 at a time. Literally only 40 or so trades since they started taking trad-ins. Only traded multiples of the same game 4 or 5 times (never more than the 3 max). I have purchased 2 visa gift cards with my credit.

I just tested the online trading and it allowed it. I actually have a trade i just mailed in a couple days ago, so i will report back on if it's accepted or not. This whole thing blows. At least tell me why, and i might continue shopping there. Instead they wont say anything, so I'm done with them.
 
[quote name='jeebert']Right after they put in your license info it came up. Notice said it was tied to my name and d.o.b. I spread out my trades, never traded more than 2 or 3 at a time. Literally only 40 or so trades since they started taking trad-ins. Only traded multiples of the same game 4 or 5 times (never more than the 3 max). I have purchased 2 visa gift cards with my credit.

I just tested the online trading and it allowed it. I actually have a trade i just mailed in a couple days ago, so i will report back on if it's accepted or not. This whole thing blows. At least tell me why, and i might continue shopping there. Instead they wont say anything, so I'm done with them.[/QUOTE]

I don't think they care if you keep shopping there.

Seems like a lot of banning stories lately. And then you see people buying 3 copies of each nintendog and flip it back to them and you can see why they're doing it. Free money is fun but not for BB.
 
so im still good at bestbuy, but the gamestop dm called me up, apparently she wants to talk about why i was banned, lol. Im only interested if i get a free gift card.
 
Getting banned is scary. I must've traded in 20-25 games since the beginning of this year. Who knows what the exact trigger is.

[quote name='Velo214']so im still good at bestbuy, but the gamestop dm called me up, apparently she wants to talk about why i was banned, lol. Im only interested if i get a free gift card.[/QUOTE]

Flippers are what traders are to the stock market. Flippers are MM'ers.
 
[quote name='jeebert']Right after they put in your license info it came up. Notice said it was tied to my name and d.o.b. I spread out my trades, never traded more than 2 or 3 at a time. Literally only 40 or so trades since they started taking trad-ins. Only traded multiples of the same game 4 or 5 times (never more than the 3 max). I have purchased 2 visa gift cards with my credit.

I just tested the online trading and it allowed it. I actually have a trade i just mailed in a couple days ago, so i will report back on if it's accepted or not. This whole thing blows. At least tell me why, and i might continue shopping there. Instead they wont say anything, so I'm done with them.[/QUOTE]

Feel bad for you. Two questions:
Did you scan your rewards zone card when buying those 2 visa cards with trade credit?

For the number you called to check, Did you call the bestbuy rewards zone people and gave them your member ID and was told that they no longer wish to accept trade-ins for you? Or did you have to give them license info on phone :S
 
I was sweating it again today, apparently another guy was banned. I think it's got something to do with trading at multiple stores. I only ever trade at this one store, and I'm like the #2 trader. I know of at least three ppl banned at this store so far.

I've bought at 15 visa cards so far, so I'm not sure about that either.
 
Just curious for those that are reporting being banned, what is your spending like? (not including what you buy with your trade in gift cards, only purchases paid for with actual cash/credit cards) Were you regular bestbuy shoppers before you started trading in games? Are you silver members?

Just curious if they are targeting more recent "customers" or just anyone in general.
 
Great... well I think tomorrow when I go to pick up Skyward Sword I'm going to have the worker do a "test" trade for me, just to see before I go and bring in a nice stack of games. I'll be quite annoyed if I'm on the ban list, Best Buy has basically been my go-to store the last couple of months, hell I've bought 6 games at release in the last two months and I typically never do that, but with the credit I've been getting I was actually happy to do so.

I would be interested to know, for those who got banned, how much they have been using their credit for in-store purchases rather than just buying amazon/visa gift cards.

All I know is that if I'm on that banned list there will be some call center people who really hate their jobs tomorrow.
 
I'm a decent regular customer at Best Buy. Picked up the last two steelbook Blu-ray combos, 2k12, SR3, Halo, and some point cards here and there. I'd probably say I was one of the bigger flippers in my area because the resource of cheap games were a plenty. Curse I guess now.
 
[quote name='darkasian']I'm a decent regular customer at Best Buy. Picked up the last two steelbook Blu-ray combos, 2k12, SR3, Halo, and some point cards here and there. I'd probably say I was one of the bigger flippers in my area because the resource of cheap games were a plenty. Curse I guess now.[/QUOTE]

have u only been a "regular" customer since you started flipping? And so really havent spent much cash there?
 
[quote name='darkasian']They just took my email address, put me on hold, then told me, "No more."[/QUOTE]

what number did you call, which department was it darkasian?
 
I did pick up some Visa cards(4), and no Kindle cards. Used the credit for game stuff and select films. Overpriced toys for my 4 year-old, when he's with me. Cancelled 2 preorders(Gears 3, got at Walmart instead, and 2k12 Wii because I don't have a Wii. Their error.) Picked up MW3, Halo, and SR3. Had Max Payne, Halo 4, Borderlands 2, Ghost Recon, and a couple others pending. Didn't have my receipts with me, so they could only cancel a couple. I'll get all my preorder credit back, and I'll still shop there. With "their" money? We'll see.
 
[quote name='darkasian']I'm a decent regular customer at Best Buy. Picked up the last two steelbook Blu-ray combos, 2k12, SR3, Halo, and some point cards here and there. I'd probably say I was one of the bigger flippers in my area because the resource of cheap games were a plenty. Curse I guess now.[/QUOTE]

Are you reward zone or reward silver? I'm assuming you are unlocked. Did you make big purchases (TV, computer, gaming consoles) and seem to do "regular" shopping previous to flipping? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions or getting into "personal info".
 
I picked up games I wanted, DotD game deals(for Gamestop, when applicable, or just myself for my backlog), and corny action flicks, all before I started trading.
 
I wonder if buying and then flipping back to Best Buy is a trigger? Not sure I'd like it if people were coming in to my store and buying my new games only for me to pay them to open it and bring it right back?

I'm sort of worried too.. I haven't done the mentioned thing but I have bought a bunch of games to trade in the max 3 as well as traded in a bunch of Target clearance.. who knows though.
 
[quote name='mark_IV']Are you reward zone or reward silver? I'm assuming you are unlocked. Did you make big purchases (TV, computer, gaming consoles) and seem to do "regular" shopping previous to flipping? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions or getting into "personal info".[/QUOTE]

Nothing big. Just the stuff mentioned. Not Silver, just Unlocked. I was sitting on my credit for Black Friday.
 
I used most of the gift cards on more games, like the preorder 5 deal. I am a silver member, even recently applied for the BBY store card. Did most of my trading at the Brooklyn Center store, but traded at some other local stores occassionally. Only ever cancelled 1 preorder. I am still a little surprised by this. I am just assuming it was a business decision. Which i can understand, i dont know how they're ever gonna make a profit off the transformers ds games, but i dont get why they're being all secretive about it. Just say its because they felt i exploited their system. Nuff said.
 
[quote name='jeebert']Literally only 40 or so trades since they started taking trad-ins. Only traded multiples of the same game 4 or 5 times (never more than the 3 max). I have purchased 2 visa gift cards with my credit.[/QUOTE]

if this is all it takes, then I'm sure most of the people who post here regularly would get banned (including me). That really isn't all that much activity.

[quote name='stoned99']I was sweating it again today, apparently another guy was banned. I think it's got something to do with trading at multiple stores. I only ever trade at this one store, and I'm like the #2 trader. I know of at least three ppl banned at this store so far.

I've bought at 15 visa cards so far, so I'm not sure about that either.[/QUOTE]

I don't see how trading at multiple stores matters, but, man, fifteen Visa gift cards would raise a flag with me. I'm assuming you maxed them all out too so that's 15 x $200 = $3000 worth of trades in just a few months? That is on the other extreme. If I was jeebert, I'd be pissed if I got banned and you didn't ;).

Did all of this just break when you tried to trade today? I traded yesterday with no problem, but I've definitely gone over jeebert's totals there (more like 100 games inlcuding several multiples, 3 Visa gift cards, but no Kindle cards). I wasn't planning on doing more trades this week, but then I found a few games that I had forgotten to trade last time and was thinking of bringing those in Tues. or Weds. I guess I kind of have to, now, just to make sure!
 
I've been a regular at Best Buy for years. Never really made any large purchases other than two computers over time, but bought PLENTY of movies and games. Recently I've definitely taken advantage of many flips... I'm pretty buddy buddy with the employees at my local Best Buy, they greet me by name when I show up and we always have nice discussions about games and whatnot. I've made all of my trades there up until 2 days a go, when I went out of town and decided to test my luck at another Best Buy.... I went ahead and broke the limit of 3 games (specifically, traded in an additional 3 Wii Party games). What a great time to finally break the rules, when they're banning people. I've also bought 6 Visa gift cards of various amounts, only one at the $200 max. I've definitely spent more in store than I have on those visa cards though...

I'm a little worried now. :( I've enjoyed keeping the majority of my gaming purchases to one store without having to bounce around. If I get banned from trading I'll definitely have to expand my horizons to other stores for deals.
 
It's funny that they ban people from trading in games but there is no basis as to why this is happening. The only guideline to trading in is the 3 limit rule. They don't say you can't buy visa or kindle cards with the credit so why the bans ? Banning for reasons unknown is kinda fucked up imo
 
My thinking and this is speculation, is that this starts at the individual "store level" like an over eager employee telling a manager. The logic behind this is that if this were coming straight from the corporate level many of us are "abusers" still working with the guidelines. If this is coming straight from the corporate level I'm wondering if they are giving good customers a pass?
 
Really not looking forward to tomorrow as I'm fairly confident I'll be on that list. Not sure exactly what actions I will take if they do ban me though.
 
The only other thing I can think of is many of us are getting a pass since we've been trading since early this year and "averages" have been working in our favor.

Damn speculation, wish we had the real answer!
 
If it's something as lame as an employee telling to score brownie points, I'll be pretty upset. It'll mean one of the video game clerks was a "hater" about it. I'll be there to get Conan tomorrow. I'm asking those there if they have a clue.
 
I, too, am thinking it's happening if an employee flags your account. It would make more sense as to why they don't tell you - so you don't start trouble with the employees as retaliation.

I'm pretty buddy-buddy with my employees; I tell two of them exactly what I'm doing, as they love taking my scraps and doing it themselves. I'd say I've traded about 75 games since they started taking trades; and about 25 of those are from this weekend.

REALLY mad at myself for breaking the 3x rule for the first time yesterday. Arg!! Hope that doesn't bite me in the ass.
 
[quote name='mark_IV']My thinking and this is speculation, is that this starts at the individual "store level" like an over eager employee telling a manager. The logic behind this is that if this were coming straight from the corporate level many of us are "abusers" still working with the guidelines. If this is coming straight from the corporate level I'm wondering if they are giving good customers a pass?[/QUOTE]

People reporting bans aren't in the same area/store. Be unlikely for that to happen by pure coincidence.

Hell, for all we know this is BB starting to end their trade-in program, by banning high traffic customers to cut off the trade-in supply, and then just kind of slowly killing it off in the background, quietly. The average customer will have no idea if it goes away.

Just locked in a trade online without issue... have any of the recently banned people tried that to see what happens?
 
[quote name='strait edge follower']It's funny that they ban people from trading in games but there is no basis as to why this is happening. The only guideline to trading in is the 3 limit rule. They don't say you can't buy visa or kindle cards with the credit so why the bans ? Banning for reasons unknown is kinda fucked up imo[/QUOTE]

Yes, it always seems this way. I got temp banned at Blockbuster for a while and I was operating within their rules. They never really gave me an explanation (despite my appeal to the District Manager) but eventually the ban went away (there had been a note attached to my account). What I finally figured out was that I had gone to one store and was just making small talk with the clerk about how I had just been at another store. He disappeared for a while and then came back out. What I'm thinking he did was to call the other store to see what, if anything, I had traded there. It turned out to be the same 2 games I was trading at his store. Blockbuster had a 2 per day limit and the 2 games were 2 different ones, so I was within the limit. But that doesn't matter if they think you are up to something. So this jackass got all junior detective on me and decided I must have stolen them (because how else would you have more than 1 of something?). The reason I think that was the way I was treated a few days later at a store I had never even traded at before (the manager said I wasn't welcome there any more - WTF!?). In any case, as I said I appealed it to the DM letting them know I had receipts, etc, and eventually it went away without them ever contacting me back. So maybe they removed it, I dunno. In the meantime, I was still able to trade in a different district so it was no big deal (plus I wasn't doing that much trading back then anyway).

My point is that you'd be surprised how easy it is for them to ban people who are technically within their guidelines. If they think you are dealing with stolen goods or are simply cutting into their profit (as many here are) then they'll do it.

[quote name='kouleefoh']I think the individual store flag the person, then sent the report to corp. If that happens, you're banned. =/[/QUOTE]

Hopefully this is the case. And if so, I'm going to restrict all my trading to a single store where I've gotten all buddy buddy with the main game guy. We always talk about what's coming out, what I've played, etc. This is the closer of the 2 stores I've traded at anyway, so that makes it nice and easy.

Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that they were welcoming people in with lots of trades because they got bonuses or at least brownie points for getting lots of trades? How quickly it turns! ;)
 
I get along well with the employees at my store. They recognize me and we always chit chat. Hard to believe they flagged me, but its possible. More likely corporate is monitoring trade activity and making decisions based on who knows what criteria. I work at a DMV and I even helped a girl at BB get her car title. I thought we were boys Crystal! I THOUGHT WE WERE BOYS!
 
[quote name='mattcube64']Thank you, good post!

I propose a series of questions that if you're willing to answer, please copy the questions and post your individual answers. Might help us see what the variable is in a sea of constants.

1: Are You banned from trading at BBY?
2: How long have you been shopping at BBY w/ your RZ account?
3: How long have you been using BBY's trade-in service?
4: Do you do trades online, in-store, or both? Multiple stores?
5: Have you traded in more than three titles of the same game/same system?
6: How many games have you traded total? How many in the last 7-days? How much credit accumulated?
7: How much have you spent on Kindle cards?
8: How much have you spent on Visa cards?
9: How much have you spent in their store since starting to trade?
10: How many pre-orders have you made, canceled, and picked up?



So, I'll start:

1: Not banned
2: About 6 years
3: About 8 months
4: Just in-store; 3 stores total
5: Yes, one time this weekend I traded in 4 SvR2011 (D'oh!)
6: Traded-in approx 50 games. 25 this week. About $800 total.
7: $150 spent on Kindle Cards
8: $0 spent on Visa Cards
9: Spent about $400 in their store, cash, and about $250 w/ credit.
10: Made about 5 pre-orders, 2 fullfilled, none cancelled.[/QUOTE]

While it would be a good idea if the forum were private, is it really wise for us to offer up "confessionals" on a public forum for BB to read? I personally would advise against it.
 
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