Is it me or does Goozex suck now?

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It seems like Goozex has gotten progressively worse. In the past I had no trouble acquiring games. Granted, newer games took some time to get to, and I generally didn't target them. But now it seems like I can't even get older games. But I was getting games left and right when I first signed up, and for some time after.

I currently have 57 items on my requests list (games & dvd/bluray), with plenty of points and trade tokens for anything on there. The weekly emails that I get are constantly reminding me that the only item currently available to me is Skate 2 for the PS3.

It seems like this is a trend that's happened over the last year. Is anyone else noticing this, or do I just happen to have 57 items that are obscure?
 
It seems to be hit and miss. I may go a month or two with nothing then suddenly BAM three items. Maybe people are trading less?
 
I have 1,000 items in my queue. Like kube00 said, either I sit with nothing for a while or I get a bunch at once. Really hit or miss.
 
I've never used Goozex but the only problem I've heard recently is, that the quality of the game from people sending to you has gone way down.
 
Yeah Goozex has gone downhill since I joined up. It is nice that they allow DVD/BD/Vintage trades, but the points are still too messed up. Blu Rays are usually around 300 points ($15) but too many people are stuck on the "Goozex points have no cash value" mindset so nobody trades them out. They really need to work out the points system. This so called "algorithm" they have doesn't work.
 
I just received Portal 2 and I'm 6th in line for Battlefield 3 thanks to an early access token, but I think after I use up the rest of my points I may be done with the site as it's getting pretty hard to get newer games without an early access token and even older games aren't being traded as much anymore.

During their free trade promotion where you didn't need to use a token to get a game/dvd, I just used as much points as possible on older DVDs and a couple of games. And even after that I still have a ton of points left over.
 
Yeah, it's definitely hit or miss these days. Currently, it's showing 2400 on going trades... it used to be 5000 about 2 years ago.

I think the problem is is that they are simply ignoring some of the most basic demands from users:
1. Go to a pure supply and demand points value system.
2. Add a disc + case option.
3. Add some kind of a punishment for users who send games below the listed condition.

But nope, they're too busy decided whether or not to give points when a product is shipped or wait until the receiver confirms positive feedback.:roll:
 
Yeah I've pretty much stopped usign Goozex. I have 500 points and about 50 items requested under that point value with 3 trade tokens. I haven't had a match in 6 months.
 
It has slowed down some.

I've stopped trading to Canada due to the post office taking so long to clear, that I'm tired of fighting 'Item Not Arrived' disputes.

I'm sitting on about 6000 points I am trying to use up.
 
I used to be a big supporter of Goozex, but even I'll admit that things have slowed down considerably lately. The algorithm isn't being sensitive enough to the supply and demand curve, so we have titles with a gazillion requests sitting at a price point that's too low for any seller.

New users are probably a bit more intimidated as well. Tokens cost $2 now, and people still seem to adopt the "100P = $1" paradigm, which makes the more popular titles seem overpriced and makes shipping budget titles seem less worthwhile. Half the currently-available titles are outdated sports games.
 
Well, that sucks that it seems to be a trend. I guess I'm going to try and use up these last few thousand points and then it might be time to leave the site. That might be a while though, it seems like the only PS3 games that are available now are sports games and DLC. Oh well.
 
I'm loaded with points on there, I regret it now. It has been since release date and I'm in 1-10 position for Yakuza 4, LA noire and Dynasty Warriors 7. Still games takes forever to drop Metroid other at 650 pts still! and Red dead redemption at 1,000 pts are you kidding me?
 
[quote name='Vinny']Yeah, it's definitely hit or miss these days. Currently, it's showing 2400 on going trades... it used to be 5000 about 2 years ago.

I think the problem is is that they are simply ignoring some of the most basic demands from users:
1. Go to a pure supply and demand points value system.
2. Add a disc + case option.
3. Add some kind of a punishment for users who send games below the listed condition.

But nope, they're too busy decided whether or not to give points when a product is shipped or wait until the receiver confirms positive feedback.:roll:[/QUOTE]

I think it's pretty much just #1 that screwed up Goozex. They sold too many points. They really needed to be careful and not sell too many or people would stop sending stuff out.
 
[quote name='DarkRider23']I think it's pretty much just #1 that screwed up Goozex. They sold too many points. They really needed to be careful and not sell too many or people would stop sending stuff out.[/QUOTE]

I agree that #1 is the big issue (and I'm sure so do 99% of Goozex users) but I was trying to say that Goozex is simply not listening to its users. #1 might take some effort to implement but the other two should be easy additions/alternations... and yet, they're not even trying.

Personally, I think they're idling on the most pointless shit simply because they know the site is dying and they're doing their best to do as little work as possible or at least, simply keep the site going in hopes that they can sell it off to a third party.
 
I noticed the slow down immediately when the cost of trade tokens increased. I mainly just get craploads of old PC games now.
 
Just checked which blu rays are available now. There's a whopping 65... including such classics as The House Bunny, Chain Reaction and High School Musical 3.


edit: Well, I just activated a bunch of games, all of which I'm in no hurry to play, just to hopefully use up these tokens and points. After they are used up I think I'm done.
 
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After getting a few games that froze when I played them after I've given the sender positive feedback, I now dish out negatives without second guessing myself.

If someone has the audacity to send me a case that is water damaged, manual with pages stuck together, and the disc looks like someone played frisbee with it, they deserve a negative and getting those points deducted.
 
I stopped using them some time ago. Selling points really de-valued the whole trade business.

I'm sure they are just sticking it out hoping for someone to buy them up. Great idea, but too many bad decisions. $2 for tokens? Selling points? Games going up late at night so it's impossible to get a decent Q number? Pass.
 
[quote name='Hybrid5006']After getting a few games that froze when I played them after I've given the sender positive feedback, I now dish out negatives without second guessing myself.

If someone has the audacity to send me a case that is water damaged, manual with pages stuck together, and the disc looks like someone played frisbee with it, they deserve a negative and getting those points deducted.[/QUOTE]

Remind me never to trade with you on Goozex then. What you described is grounds for a neutral. If the game works, no matter the condition or completeness you can never leave negative.

Hey I don't like it either, but that is why I don't use Goozex.
 
All trading sites seem to have their flaws even here and GameTZ. The best option is to use multiple sites. Sometimes Goozex seems to be a better service for getting older games then newer ones and vice versa its a great place to ditch garage sales games that aren't worth the $1 you paid for them.
 
I used to love Goozex. I had so many incredible games come in from that site, but it's gone downhill so fast lately. Nobody wants to send any good games out, but you can find 40 different demo discs ready to ship right now.
I'll never forget the great games I got from there, but I just spent my final points on a few PS3 games I'll never play just so I could pretty much call it a day on the site. 397 out, 780 in.
Damn I traded a lot on there.
 
[quote name='JoeCamNet'] but you can find 40 different demo discs ready to ship right now.[/QUOTE]

Funny but true. It actually worked out for me, though, when I was looking for the OXM disc that has the US demo for Metal Wolf Chaos. First place I thought of was Goozex, and sure enough, it was there.

[quote name='Porksta']Remind me never to trade with you on Goozex
...
that is why I don't use Goozex.[/QUOTE]

Guess you really don't need to be reminded, then.
 
What's the best strategy for cashing out on goozex? I've got 1250pts but just one trade token. I got a bunch of great deals in the past from goozex but my gaming tastes have seemed to move beyond what it offers (not as interested in old/last gen titles anymore, and collector's editions etc. I would rather buy new for condition).

I was thinking either activate some of the collector's edition requests I have on hold to see if anything comes back, or trying to put 1000-1200 points into a newish game which I could then trade in to GS or somewhere in order to convert it to more usable currency.
 
[quote name='Ruahrc']What's the best strategy for cashing out on goozex? I've got 1250pts but just one trade token. I got a bunch of great deals in the past from goozex but my gaming tastes have seemed to move beyond what it offers (not as interested in old/last gen titles anymore, and collector's editions etc. I would rather buy new for condition).

I was thinking either activate some of the collector's edition requests I have on hold to see if anything comes back, or trying to put 1000-1200 points into a newish game which I could then trade in to GS or somewhere in order to convert it to more usable currency.[/QUOTE]

I'd say add a new release game on there... those usually hover at 1000 points for a long time and are fairly easy to get. Granted, you might be able to buy it cheaper than the equivalent Goozex points but if you want to cash out, then that's the best option.
 
I was wondering when the site would die off, I jumped out about the time they started selling points but didn't appear to be plowing any of the earned revenue back into the site in the form of more games.
 
I think the whole $2 tokens for noobs and $1 tokens for people that have traded a lot really screwed them.

They should have kept the trades at $1 for everyone, and offered a discount to the "power" traders
 
Well that was pretty fast. I activated some of the on-hold requests I had and got matched for AC:Brotherhood. The guy has even already shipped it out and provided a tracking #. I have always intended to pick this game up, but just never got around to it because of my backlog and just waiting until I really wanted to play it in order to buy at the cheapest price. AC:B also works well because it's a game whose CE I have no interest in.

That burned up 1000 points and my last token. Not bad.

Ruahrc
 
I really tried to defend goozex, even through the 2 dollar trade tokens, but this whole Early Access deal has killed trading it seems. Too many people are too busy trying to flip brand new games to get EAs to get new games, that no one really even cares about anything more than a few months old. Plus the guys that run the site's answer to questions now, especially pertaining to how queues for games and pricing, revolve around them saying "too bad, so sad, use the EA". Waste of a good site, and the main reason I'm sitting on 0 tokens 0 points.
 
I think it works best as a supplement; using it in that regard I am very satisfied. I add items that I want, but am not necessarily in a rush to get.
 
[quote name='JMClarkent']I think it works best as a supplement; using it in that regard I am very satisfied. I add items that I want, but am not necessarily in a rush to get.[/QUOTE]

That's not really something you want to say about a site though if you invent a lot of money/games into it and have points stored up though. I use to keep a pretty good excess amount put back, sometimes up to 10,000, but not anymore for sure.

That and where the fuck is the disc + case matrix match? Come on, you said you would do that months ago Goozex. Instead you are too busy implementing bad ideas like the EA and tossing around other bad ideas from the forum. At this point I'm surprised they haven't started selling EA spots.
 
been best last 3 months in over year here

3rd birthday psp
pokemon white
lufa ds
invader zim vol 2 and 3
Monopoly, Boggle, Yahtzee , Battleship -- 4 Game Pack! 40 buck game if it really ships
dragon quest 6
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
monster tail
rock band 3

all since march 1 2011

down to around 20,000 pts from my high of around 28,000 or 29,000
 
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I'm still getting lots of games and even some Blu-rays. Just got Uncharted and DiRT and I've got Fable II, Metal Gear Solid 4 LE, Super Street Fighter IV, Tekken 6, Disgaea 2 PSP, and Night at the Museum BRD coming in the next couple days.

Now, I'm down to 2000 points and I'm more comfortable that sitting on the 5000 points I was at 2 weeks ago.
 
[quote name='EdgeCrusher36']That's not really something you want to say about a site though if you invent a lot of money/games into it and have points stored up though. I use to keep a pretty good excess amount put back, sometimes up to 10,000, but not anymore for sure.
[/QUOTE]

I disagree; for what it is it works perfectly for me. I have 9k plus points right now, I get and send stuff on a regular basis. I have two basic categories for games:

1. Must have (I usually get these from Amazon)
2. Want to play (these are the supplemental games/movies that trickle in).

It works extremely well for me, but again, I don't use Goozex for my "instant gratification" games.
 
Yup, way down hill. They got too big too fast, and that spells trouble. Near as I can tell, most people finish a game, they turn the discs into frisbees. They let their kids play with it like toys. They don't even bother to check that the disc and case match anymore. Just assume it's the same. One should never have to take 3 tries just to get a game right.

Their point system never made sense. Other trade sites (for dvd's, cd's etc) do a item to item trade (blu-rays cost 2.) Granted, video games would need console to console, portable to portable to be fair, but not good old Goozex. The popular brands are ridiculously high. Funny thing is, you can get one of them popular brands rather cheap on eBay a year or two later ($6-$10) . On Goozex, it' still high points. Got to trade 4 regular games for a popular game. Where's the incentive? Buy it cheaper on eBay or Amazon. Get better quality games, and a chance to return.

Goozex needs an overhaul, and the owners need to care about their members. Just because you get a game, doesn't mean it's a successful trade. other problems exist besides game not arriving. Like people lying about having cases and manuals just to ensure they get a trade and their precious points.
 
I still use Goozex and have success, but I'll admit trading has slowed down. I'm sure part of it is the $2 token hike, although a lot of people, like myself, are legacied into $1 tokens.

Goozex works well enough to get popular titles for the major consoles, but if you want anything non-mainstream, it's hard to get. DS games plummet in value, and many of them trade at 100 points. A lot of people don't bother shipping 100 games, as the return value is too low.

I have 4300 points and about 20 active items. I'm still getting a few games a month or so, so the service still has use for me.
 
[quote name='EdgeCrusher36']I really tried to defend goozex, even through the 2 dollar trade tokens, but this whole Early Access deal has killed trading it seems. Too many people are too busy trying to flip brand new games to get EAs to get new games, that no one really even cares about anything more than a few months old. Plus the guys that run the site's answer to questions now, especially pertaining to how queues for games and pricing, revolve around them saying "too bad, so sad, use the EA". Waste of a good site, and the main reason I'm sitting on 0 tokens 0 points.[/QUOTE]
The more vocal members of a gaming community (myself included) tend to be more interested in a wider variety of titles. The mass market, though, really only seems to care about what just came out. In that sense, Early Access was a smart idea if they were trying to get new members to make up for the token price hike, but that certainly hurt my general usage of the site.

The same thing happened with GameTap. GameTap started to get rid of all their classic game licenses, which resulted in a ton of complaining on the forums. "Why did you guys get rid of all the awesome classic games?" "Because nobody was playing them." Their numbers showed that the vast, vast majority of their members were playing the newest titles and ignoring the older ones.

I don't think Goozex is any different, or Gamefly, or Redbox, or any of those other flat-rate game services. The first thing you read on forums and whatnot after using the services is how to get the new titles faster. That's what people really want, and it screws over the vocal minority like us, but whatever. They're running a business.

There is something to be said for changing the rules partway through when you're already heavily invested. If Gamefly changes their rental rules next month, fine. Cancel your membership. But if Goozex changes the rules when you have a bank of 10000 points, you have a right to be upset. I had the same problem with GameTap. That's nice that you found it more profitable to let your Baldur's Gate and Heroes of Might and Magic licenses expire, but what am I going to do with the remaining 11 months of my subscription that I paid for?
 
[quote name='Renaissance 2K']The more vocal members of a gaming community (myself included) tend to be more interested in a wider variety of titles. The mass market, though, really only seems to care about what just came out. In that sense, Early Access was a smart idea if they were trying to get new members to make up for the token price hike, but that certainly hurt my general usage of the site.

The same thing happened with GameTap. GameTap started to get rid of all their classic game licenses, which resulted in a ton of complaining on the forums. "Why did you guys get rid of all the awesome classic games?" "Because nobody was playing them." Their numbers showed that the vast, vast majority of their members were playing the newest titles and ignoring the older ones.

I don't think Goozex is any different, or Gamefly, or Redbox, or any of those other flat-rate game services. The first thing you read on forums and whatnot after using the services is how to get the new titles faster. That's what people really want, and it screws over the vocal minority like us, but whatever. They're running a business.

There is something to be said for changing the rules partway through when you're already heavily invested. If Gamefly changes their rental rules next month, fine. Cancel your membership. But if Goozex changes the rules when you have a bank of 10000 points, you have a right to be upset. I had the same problem with GameTap. That's nice that you found it more profitable to let your Baldur's Gate and Heroes of Might and Magic licenses expire, but what am I going to do with the remaining 11 months of my subscription that I paid for?[/QUOTE]

Exactly, goozex is an investment. Its not just about "instant gratification". Its about having something of value tied up for an indifferent amount of time, effected by how their site does. If there was a cash out guarantee if the site died, it would be ok, but the way the trading has declined down well below 2500 active trades as of late (with a small boost due to the free ps3 trading), its not looking good at all. Plus the goozex team ignoring what people have voted for on the forums with mass favoritism (disc + case, lottery drawings instead of EAs, more retro gameystems, etc) it just shows they are not in touch with the community they support and what they want out of the site. Instead its become more of a business in terms of 2 dollar tokens, advertising of the EA above all features, and lack of customer service for complaints as well, when that was promised to be fixed with the 2 dollar price increase.

Actually, I need to stop ranting, it's just making me remember more and more I hate about goozex in the last few months.
 
Goozex continues to be an awesome value for me personally.

Trading has been slow for at least 2 weeks now but I think this is mainly due to a lul in releases. The next big release is coming in August I believe so there is little pressure for ppl to trade. Just before LA Noire and Infamous 2 released there was a ton of trades going on. Now it's slowed down because everyone is waiting for something to get released they want.

My Trading profile I think speaks for itself. You plan ahead, aka earn EA's, and show up on release night and you'll get awesome results.
 
[quote name='JoeCamNet']IDamn I traded a lot on there.[/QUOTE]

You sure did, lol. You got my Lunar 2 demo disc. I remember looking at your profile in shock at how many trades you had.
 
I still have a pretty decent flow of games coming in. I used an EA for Portal 2 and L.A. Noire but I also received Brink, LEGO Pirates, Crysis 2, Kinect Sports, and Two Worlds 2 all in the past 3 months. I do agree that the EA things (as well as the $2 tokens) were probably bad idea's but the system still works efficiently enough, for me at least.
 
[quote name='EdgeCrusher36']Exactly, goozex is an investment. Its not just about "instant gratification". Its about having something of value tied up for an indifferent amount of time, effected by how their site does. If there was a cash out guarantee if the site died, it would be ok, but the way the trading has declined down well below 2500 active trades as of late (with a small boost due to the free ps3 trading), its not looking good at all. Plus the goozex team ignoring what people have voted for on the forums with mass favoritism (disc + case, lottery drawings instead of EAs, more retro gameystems, etc) it just shows they are not in touch with the community they support and what they want out of the site. Instead its become more of a business in terms of 2 dollar tokens, advertising of the EA above all features, and lack of customer service for complaints as well, when that was promised to be fixed with the 2 dollar price increase.[/QUOTE]
To be fair, the forums would also vote in favor of a number of things that would be very terrible ideas, like being able to exchange your points for gift cards, trade tokens, or new games (on a more extended basis than the Goozex Exchange).
 
I've been using Goozex for a little over 4 years now and I can agree that trading is down quite a bit this year as opposed to the last couple. Beyond that however I've had little problems with the site and as you can see from my sig below have had quite a bit of success with the trading. Right now I'm at about half the amount trades as I was this time last year but if you're patient it can pay off for ya.

One of the main things to keep in mind is not to expect newer titles right away, sometimes it can take a few months depending on where you are in line. The community is helpful and nice (for the most part of course, this IS the internet after all) and if you do run into a problem a moderator is almost always available to help out.

I do understand the frustration at the moment however with the trading volume and wait times but if people keep offering items then it'll just get better. It has a few glaring issue's it needs to work out (point algorithm sure isn't bulletbroof, customer service is somewhat lacking but that's where the mods are helpful in a pinch, certain "promises" that just seem to have never been fulfilled) but for the most part the service works quite well. As has been mentioned already, it's not an "instant gratification" service but it does reward the patient.
 
[quote name='confoosious']I stopped trading on goozex when I realized that someone could just say you sent them a pile of crap and get away with it.[/QUOTE]

If I got a pile of crap in the mail, I'd probably report a negative. Or call the cops. ;)


Fully on-topic: It's fairly clear to that the site owners have other priorities. They promised Disc + Case added to the matrix match more than 6 months ago, and nothing has come of it. An odd promotion here and there really did increase the trading volume, but a week or two after it ends and it drops right back down to around 2k simultaneous trades (it was up to 4,700 during the free trading month of May). It doesn't help that they hardly ever address concerns in their forums, either.

I have plenty of tokens and usually get one every week by participating in the official gaming night events, so I'll probably work towards getting them down by the end of this year, then we'll see where they stand.

And I think the new Early Access passes are a major contributing factor to the recent grumbling and flight from the site.
 
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