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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Amazed people didn't take advantage of the nintendogs yesterday. I was too tempted turned $93 of BBY credit to $166.5 BBY credit twice, so $186 to $333. I'm sorry I'm weak.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']How some people in this thread haven't been banned from trading abuse is still a surprise.

There's an example right there.[/QUOTE]

Baby don't be like that ;[
:
 
Just started trading at bby. Opened up a rewards account and got skyrim with trades. I really liked it compared to the GS morons who dont know jack about customer service and who only rarely get a half decent deal in store.

I primarily trade to get games cheaper and off load stuff im done with but I just recently tried some flipping. Might be something I dabble in but I really dont want to get banned from trades. I liked dealing with the game specialist who talked about skyrim with me while doing my trade. GS is all about pushing sales and pre sales.
 
[quote name='kouleefoh']

And I just realize that if I troll the trade in area, sometimes I can buy games off of the customer for cheap. haha[/QUOTE]

This will get you banned, both from the program and the store. It's called soliciting.

Anyway, I'm not banned! Heh, the people at my preferred store are really cool about everything so I was just upfront with the employee, who happened to be the gaming supervisor. Said I had heard of some banning online, and some claimed to have done nothing wrong but it's online so who knows right? Anyway I asked if we could just test it out and she said sure. No issue at all. She did tell me that they had recently banned a few people at their store lately, but in every case it was because of suspected theft. She said that she has had other stores calling to ask how come their trade numbers are so good and how they could improve and she joked with me about how it's not like she's going to tell me to start going to their stores instead.

This definitely seems to be on a store by store basis, and even if it is the DM or GM handing out the bans I would say that the employees have some say in the issue (at least supervisors do). Once again, it really helps to be friendly and get to know the people you are trading games with.
 
Budz made the point that has been echoed throughout this whole thread. Be polite, be kind and don't try to eek out every penny at the expense of drawing attention to yourself.

Many members have said that employees aren't the problem. What you need to steer clear of is getting managers involved. This means you might not always get the best deals or might have to eat 10% once in a while if GCU isn't rung up properly.

While you are entitled to get that deal/TiV having the Store manager notice you may hurt you more in the long run. I still kick myself for that fiasco that ended up in the police getting called. not my fault and I got a GC from corporate as an apology, but now that store manager knows me. She apologized and seemed like she meant it, but I'm not naive enough To think that it is 100% over for her. She has seen me buy over $500 worth of games in the last 2 months along with helping customer and associates while im waiting 20 minutes for my trade ins to be done.

Remember it is almost a requirement for gamer specialists at BBY to be a gamer. As such many of us have at least that in common. Just talk about games and 4/5 they'll talk also. It goes a long way being just a little friendly.
 
It really helps when you are cool with the manager like I am at my bestbuy along with the rest of the employees. You could get some extra perks if you show them respect. They also won't play jr detective on you with big trade ins lol
 
[quote name='strait edge follower']It really helps when you are cool with the manager like I am at my bestbuy along with the rest of the employees. You could get some extra perks if you show them respect. They also won't play jr detective on you with big trade ins lol[/QUOTE]

Mine stopped charging me preorders because when I first came in I (stupidly) did 7 preorders for the 5/$100. Picked up a majority of them but I helped them hit their preorder numbers as I always asked if they hit their number an if they didn't I would through my preorder to the game that they were close to getting free. That way my $5 that I ate would actually help them out also.

Now they don't even ask me, they just give me the max TiV boost. I asked if about future free games for them, but right now none of the games coming out soon they will get for free if they hit a certain preorder amount.
 
Sad shit was I was cool with everyone in their gaming section. Unless they were fake, it'd make perfect sense. Suspicion of theft? I've got receipts for everything.

Now if it's for that Fairytale Fights thing a few years back, then okay.
 
[quote name='strait edge follower']It really helps when you are cool with the manager like I am at my bestbuy along with the rest of the employees. You could get some extra perks if you show them respect. They also won't play jr detective on you with big trade ins lol[/QUOTE]


yep, that's what caleb thought ...
 
[quote name='darkasian']Sad shit was I was cool with everyone in their gaming section. Unless they were fake, it'd make perfect sense. Suspicion of theft? I've got receipts for everything.

Now if it's for that Fairytale Fights thing a few years back, then okay.[/QUOTE]

But they don't see those receipts when a manager notices you coming in with giant stacks of games every week or the employees recognize that you are trading in several copies of games with each trade in, etc. Unfortunately, all they need is suspicion and they may ban you.

Not saying that this is true in your case mind you, just what the supervisor told me of the situation at her store.
 
[quote name='BudzMcGee']But they don't see those receipts when a manager notices you coming in with giant stacks of games every week or the employees recognize that you are trading in several copies of games with each trade in, etc. Unfortunately, all they need is suspicion and they may ban you.

Not saying that this is true in your case mind you, just what the supervisor told me of the situation at her store.[/QUOTE]
In the same grain try and get to know all the guys who work the shifts you trade at. If they ask you why you have multiple copies of nhl 11 tell them what you did to get them. Most of the time theyll say that its smart. Give em a couple tips on how they could start doing it. (Im not saying tell them EVERYTHING just where to look) they'll thank you and chances are you're now on their good side.
 
[quote name='DudeImGodly']In the same grain try and get to know all the guys who work the shifts you trade at. If they ask you why you have multiple copies of nhl 11 tell them what you did to get them. Most of the time theyll say that its smart. Give em a couple tips on how they could start doing it. (Im not saying tell them EVERYTHING just where to look) they'll thank you and chances are you're now on their good side.[/QUOTE]

I sometimes tell them about sales at other stores specifically so that they can take advantage themselves if they want. Hell, I can tell you what system each person in the gaming department primarily plays on and let them know about good deals that they would be interested in.

Come to think of it, I'm an awesome customer. :cool:
 
I can tell you my banning had nothing to do with me not "being cool" with the staff or mgr. I just went in today to buy something, and the girl from customer service came over to talk to me. But what it could be, is the two $200 visa gift cards I purchased and gave them my rewardzone card on. Or when I was at the midnight launch for MW3, and traded in a few games my buddy brought with him, and then gave him the gift card.

I cannot stress this enough. DO NOT DO EITHER OF THESE THINGS:)

Edit: Also. I am retarded.
 
I figured the visa cards would be the first thing they checked for. Giving great ToV and offsetting it by keeping it in store is one thing, but letting that money out would be a huge concern.

Next will probably be kindle card buyers.

Of course this was probably preceded by someone flagging or bringing attention to your account.

I know i won't last if anyone looks at my account.
 
[quote name='DerClaw']Hell, if that's really the case, that is pretty valueable information to have.[/QUOTE]

Indeed. I'm going to ask my friends at bestbuy tommorow if they need a little assistance in getting those free games. They have helped me out a lot so its the least I can do
 
[quote name='confoosious']if they ban people who bought kindle cards, we're all getting banned.[/QUOTE]

I hope not cause of that happens than ill be all by myself here on this thread as I haven't brought those with my credit
 
[quote name='strait edge follower']I hope not cause of that happens than ill be all by myself here on this thread as I haven't brought those with my credit[/QUOTE]

Something tells me you're getting banned too.
 
[quote name='strait edge follower']I hope not cause of that happens than ill be all by myself here on this thread as I haven't brought those with my credit[/QUOTE]

Neither have I. At least we won't have to answer a whole lot of questions.
 
Talked to the gaming supervisor today. Said she'd never heard of anyone getting banned until I told her I was. She said her store was pretty bad as far as trade-ins go, until I do a usual flip to put them up on their numbers. Asked if it were possible if an employee was the cause of my ban, and was told no. GM, PPM(?), new what I did she claimed. She said she'd call on my behalf, but I'm not hopeful. We'll see. Also said something about getting systems due to my returns. Never new that. Maybe she doesn't want to lose the golden goose?
 
[quote name='darkasian']Talked to the gaming supervisor today. Said she'd never heard of anyone getting banned until I told her I was. She said her store was pretty bad as far as trade-ins go, until I do a usual flip to put them up on their numbers. Asked if it were possible if an employee was the cause of my ban, and was told no. GM, PPM(?), new what I did she claimed. She said she'd call on my behalf, but I'm not hopeful. We'll see. Also said something about getting systems due to my returns. Never new that. Maybe she doesn't want to lose the golden goose?[/QUOTE]

My local stores had contests quarterly or sometimes monthly for trade ins. Varied from GCs to games, but never systems from what I heard. I was told these were put on district wise and backed by corporate so the employees push trading in (kill GS). Maybe they had a very generous DM.

Conversly Preorders are put on by the gaming companies themselves from what I heard and was a set number of preorder sales and/or purchase sales.
 
[quote name='confoosious']if they ban people who bought kindle cards, we're all getting banned.[/QUOTE]

See, now, I never bought Kindle cards - never saw the point, really. I've transfered some money to Amazon by buying games and trading them in (get more than 1:1 that way). SO hopefully that looks good in their eyes (I'm actually buying merchandise and not trading it back to Best Buy at least). BUT, I have bought a couple of Visa Gift Cards and I did use my RZ because I held out some stupid hope of getting RZ points on the purchases (this was back when we weren't sure how it all worked) - in fact, I did get a few oddball points from those purchases (like on the activation fee - it was strange). I haven't bought one in like a month though, so hopefully I'm OK. I've made lots of regular purchases since then, many with actual credit cards instead of my gift card credit. So hopefully that makes them happy too.

Most of my credit I've simply kept at Best Buy. I was thinking of maybe buying an iPad for the family for Christmas or waiting until I had work/office purchases to make and then get reimbursed for those. Or simply keeping it there for various deals (the big BF preview sale burned up a big chunk for me even though I never got in on that $79.99 HDTV).
 
She implied she got a free system due to meeting a specific number on trade-ins.

What?

They now get free video game systems for trade-ins? That doesnt make since.
Pre-orders i understand but just for doing their job they get a free system?
 
See, I've always figured VISA cards were "cashing out" and they don't like that. But Kindle Cards might have been seen as "merchandise" and they get margin from Amazon.

It's all speculation. FWIW, they're probably just banning people who trade in thousands of dollars in a short time, that one anecdote being the exception - and god knows what else that person did.
 
[quote name='DudeImGodly']She implied she got a free system due to meeting a specific number on trade-ins.

What?

They now get free video game systems for trade-ins? That doesnt make since.
Pre-orders i understand but just for doing their job they get a free system?[/QUOTE]

I guess corporate wants to motivate their work force more and I think that would do the trick. The funny thing is that the zombies at gs push pre orders on you like crazy and they don't get shit lol
 
[quote name='confoosious']See, I've always figured VISA cards were "cashing out" and they don't like that. But Kindle Cards might have been seen as "merchandise" and they get margin from Amazon.

It's all speculation. FWIW, they're probably just banning people who trade in thousands of dollars in a short time, that one anecdote being the exception - and god knows what else that person did.[/QUOTE]

I thought about that, then I came to the conclusion that wouldn't make sense. As AMZ is a huge competitor to BBY. Unless they struck up a deal with specifically kidle cards then it seems like doing business idiotically. Although allowing GCs to purchase any other GC is stupid business anyway so it could happen.
 
[quote name='confoosious']See, I've always figured VISA cards were "cashing out" and they don't like that. But Kindle Cards might have been seen as "merchandise" and they get margin from Amazon.

It's all speculation. FWIW, they're probably just banning people who trade in thousands of dollars in a short time, that one anecdote being the exception - and god knows what else that person did.[/QUOTE]

Yes, I agree on the speculation - but any gift card purchases are "cashing out" vs. buying stuff in their store. They must get something from the Visa Gift cards too otherwise they wouldn't carry them. I'd imagine it is something low-margin like the Kindle cards.

The funny thing is that my original motivation for buying them (and the reason I bought the first 1 anyway) was that I thought if I wouldn't get RZ points for buying it, I'd at least get RZ points when using it. I mean, if they simply allowed us to get RZ points on our game trade credit purchases, then I probably never would have bothered. Even when I'm "cashing out" it is only to do an exchange - that is, I use the Visa Gift card to buy groceries, etc, then use my regular credit card to buy an equal amount of gaming items at Best Buy so I can get double RZ points (and credit for Silver membership). If they screw me over for that I will be kind of pissed.

The gaming supervisor doesn't believe that you don't get RZ points when buying games with game trade credit (ie, gift cards) and keeps telling me to call the RZ number to get that straightened out as it must just be a problem only I am having :roll:. If Best Buy wants to be serious with this game trading thing, they do need to get this fixed somehow. Maybe they need to make special game trade-in gift cards that are eligible for RZ points and can't be funded any other way than by game trading (so people don't double-dip on RZ points). I mean, GS doesn't penalize you in their rewards program, as weak as it is, by not allowing purchases with trade-in credit to count. The easiest thing would be to not give RZ points on gift card purchases in general and then allow the points when gift cards are used. I don't see why it has never been this way, actually, as they would "save" on RZ points via unredeemed gift cards.
 
[quote name='strait edge follower']I guess corporate wants to motivate their work force more and I think that would do the trick. The funny thing is that the zombies at gs push pre orders on you like crazy and they don't get shit lol[/QUOTE]

Funny thing is that the GS employees aren't getting as much training as the BBY gaming employees. So when you go in and start talking to the BBY employees they know stuff about games other than COD. Had a ten minute convo about Once Upon a Monster and an XBLA game today, never would have that at gamestop. It would of been, "do you want to pre-order COD Modern Warfare 4? No? Do you want to subscribe to game informer? How about a power up rewards card? Do you want a year protection on this disc? Are you sure you want this game, you know this isn't Call of Duty right?"

Least that's how it feels.
 
[quote name='DudeImGodly']She implied she got a free system due to meeting a specific number on trade-ins.

What?

They now get free video game systems for trade-ins? That doesnt make since.
Pre-orders i understand but just for doing their job they get a free system?[/QUOTE]

Makes sense.they want to put GS out of business. Best way to motivate employees is reward (read bribe) them.
 
[quote name='io']
The gaming supervisor doesn't believe that you don't get RZ points for game trade credit (ie, gift card) puchases and keeps telling me to call the RZ number to get that straightened out as it must just be a problem only I am having :roll:.[/QUOTE]


Or he keeps pushing you because it's a smart way to track what your trade in value vs what you spend in store on merchandise.
 
[quote name='DudeImGodly']She implied she got a free system due to meeting a specific number on trade-ins.

What?

They now get free video game systems for trade-ins? That doesnt make since.
Pre-orders i understand but just for doing their job they get a free system?[/QUOTE]

Best buy is offering employees big incentives to push trade ins and preorders. They want a big piece of that GameStop pie and fast.
 
[quote name='confoosious']Or he keeps pushing you because it's a smart way to track what your trade in value vs what you spend in store on merchandise.[/QUOTE]

I'm not even sure what you mean. I use my RZ account every time I buy anything so there's no need for them to do anything else to track what I do.

She seemed genuinely dumbfounded that I was not getting RZ points for my purchases using trade credit like any regular person would (though as a Best Buy employee she should know better ;)). This came up initially because I used a credit card once for one of my preorders because I told her I wasn't getting RZ credit for them when I used the trade credit.
 
[quote name='BudzMcGee']Funny thing is that the GS employees aren't getting as much training as the BBY gaming employees. So when you go in and start talking to the BBY employees they know stuff about games other than COD. Had a ten minute convo about Once Upon a Monster and an XBLA game today, never would have that at gamestop. It would of been, "do you want to pre-order COD Modern Warfare 4? No? Do you want to subscribe to game informer? How about a power up rewards card? Do you want a year protection on this disc? Are you sure you want this game, you know this isn't Call of Duty right?"

Least that's how it feels.[/QUOTE]

It's like that at every gamestop. When they always ask me if there's anything I want to preorder i always say "nah I'm covered for the year thanks" then they check my account and they always say "really now ? Hmm I don't see anything here". They just can't take a hint that there isn't any reason to pre order from there. I also hate it when they ask me "why are you buying those old 99 cent sports games ?" lol
 
I never use my RZ when I buy kindle cards with my trade in GCs. If they want to track it with the GC number and match it up, go for it. But I'm not gonna make it easy on them. :)
 
[quote name='strait edge follower']It's like that at every gamestop. When they always ask me if there's anything I want to preorder i always say "nah I'm covered for the year thanks" then they check my account and they always say "really now ? Hmm I don't see anything here". They just can't take a hint that there isn't any reason to pre order from there. I also hate it when they ask me "why are you buying those old 99 cent sports games ?" lol[/QUOTE]

Pretty sure hardly anyone buys a used game there unless there is a B2G1 going on.
 
[quote name='confoosious']I never use my RZ when I buy kindle cards with my trade in GCs. If they want to track it with the GC number and match it up, go for it. But I'm not gonna make it easy on them. :)[/QUOTE]

See - you are trying to hide something: SUSPICIOUS!!! I'd go all junior detective on that. On my RZ account I'm up front about everything. Not sure if that matters, but there you go ;).
 
I'm just telling you guys what was told to me. When I worked in retail management, all I offered for a jobwell done was pizza, or a bucket of extra crispy
 
[quote name='cheeky']Pretty sure hardly anyone buys a used game there unless there is a B2G1 going on.[/QUOTE]

Gamers around my area are not really smart shoppers. They always buy used games for 54.99 and they buy games like duke nukem used for horrible prices without any type of promo going on. I literally cry inside when I see that happen as I used to be like that lol
 
First off, I'm not banned. I've been trading at Best Buy for almost a year. Mostly at one store, occasionally at a different one, and once at another. I may have gone over the four game limit, but it can be hard to keep track of it when there's no history online or anything. I've never traded in more than two copies of a game at once. I've bought one Visa card and no Kindle cards. I probably average a couple hundred in trade ins a month, kind of small potatoes compared to some of us here. :p It seems like whenever I go to trade in a bunch of games, the blue-shirt seems really excited, probably because I'm pre-ordering most of the time too. I overheard once that because of a trade I did they were "beating" another store, and seemed pretty happy.

From everything I've read and my experiences, it seems like the banning is on a store by store basis, and all it takes is one "bad apple" to raise the alarm. It's like they're shooting themselves in the foot though, unless it really looks like a case of theft.

Has anyone who has gotten banned tried trading at a different store? I know it probably won't work, but you could at least play dumb and see what they tell you.
 
[quote name='cheeky']Pretty sure hardly anyone buys a used game there unless there is a B2G1 going on.[/QUOTE]

Probably no CAG would, but a friend of mine continuously buys used games at GS because he could take them back there it if he doesn't like the games after playing them for an hour or two. He keeps the only games that he wants to keep.
 
[quote name='io']The easiest thing would be to not give RZ points on gift card purchases in general and then allow the points when gift cards are used. I don't see why it has never been this way, actually, as they would "save" on RZ points via unredeemed gift cards.[/QUOTE]

Since your suggestion would involve changing the whole way the GCs work (and de-value giving the GCs as, you know, actual gifts), I'd simply suggest giving RZ points at the time of trade in. You trade in Saint's Row the Third today, you get a $25 gift card and 25 RZ points (base, before any promo or unlocked bonuses).

Hell, maybe we should all spam the forums and make this a suggestion....
 
[quote name='ijustw1n']Havent been on this thread in a bit and heard about all this banning. The sad thing is abuse is just going to kill the overall program and make it another amazon or GameStop trade in with poor promotions and bad TIV.[/QUOTE]
Gamestop's program has been horrible for YEARS, but Amazon just got into the used game racket a year or two ago. In the beginning they did promos like GS or along the lines of what BB is trying to do now. Even WalMart, Kmart, Target and Toys R'Us are trying their hand in the used game market.

Then you have places like Gazelle(horrible values though) and the various other sites you can send stuff into. Good part about some of those indy sites is that they give either the option to get CASH or they just straight up offer cash.;)

More competition is good for gamers(and flippers:evil:), but even I'll admit that exploiting the system by trying to sneak in extras above and beyond their program limits is just asking for trouble.
 
[quote name='strait edge follower']I guess corporate wants to motivate their work force more and I think that would do the trick. The funny thing is that the zombies at gs push pre orders on you like crazy and they don't get shit lol[/QUOTE]

lol. I eat zombies for breakfast.
 
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