More cheap ass: Buy vs. Rent

BondJamesBond

BondJamesBond

CAG Veteran
Being the cheap ass i am, always have to go with the best deal.

I've gone through the hassle of selling and getting cheap used games via ebay & craigslist, rigged auctions and spam, no thanks.

That said now I rent, gamefly all the way. Buyers don't freak out on me, I still own some, I end up keeping a few here and there.

Ive Found this to be the most cheapass way to play. Your thoughts on this timeless debate?
 
Neither for me as I don't game enough to justify a rental service.

I use Goozex to trade games. No hassle, super easy to use, never had any issues etc. etc. Only draw backs are it takes a while to get new releases (like 4-6 months) if you care about that.

I've bought one game since joining in Spring 2008--Gears 2 last fall. Everything else has been from goozex as I built up some points trading old last gen games, and have kept it up by generally getting a game, beating it and trading it back for the same amount of points I spent on it.

Can't be it for me, ideal for someone that just games a handful of hours a month as it's so easy and cheap ($1 to request a game--and they sometimes have sales on trade credits, around $2.20-2.30 to ship a game out to someone).

But renting is a good value if you game enough to justify the Gamefly fee, care about playing new games etc.
 
Neither for me as I don't game enough to justify a rental service.

I use Goozex to trade games. No hassle, super easy to use, never had any issues etc. etc. Only draw backs are it takes a while to get new releases (like 4-6 months) if you care about that.

I've bought one game since joining in Spring 2008--Gears 2 last fall. Everything else has been from goozex as I built up some points trading old last gen games, and have kept it up by generally getting a game, beating it and trading it back for the same amount of points I spent on it.

Can't be it for me, ideal for someone that just games a handful of hours a month as it's so easy and cheap ($1 to request a game--and they sometimes have sales on trade credits, around $2.20-2.30 to ship a game out to someone).

But renting is a good value if you game enough to justify the Gamefly fee, care about playing new games etc.
 
Oh I forgot about trading, sorry to exclude that. Haven't tried Goozex, but not getting new releases for 4-6 months would not work for me. Gamefly turns out to be only about $3-4 a games anyway. Sometimes I go through a lot other times not many, it all balances out. Last game I bought was Fifa09.
 
Yep, like I said, Gamefly is a great deal for those who game a lot.

I'm lucky to get 5-10 hours a month in, and probably at most beat 5-10 games a year over the past few years so it doesn't make sense for me. And I don't care about playing new releases other than the rare game I want to play online (not big on online gaming) as a single player game is just as fun down the road.

But renting is great for those who game a ton. I love my Netflix account for movies (which I spend a lot more time on than games), saves me a lot of money vs. buying which I did a lot of (300+ DVDs) from around 1998-2005 or so when I finally joined Netflix and stopped buying so many movies to just have on the shelf gathering dust.
 
Rent is most cheapass, but I still prefer Buy on games I might keep.

I'll probably start renting with Gamefly soon since very few game recently have I decided to keep.
 
I don't think renting is that good anymore. There's very little chance you'll get what you want unless you camp out for it when a game is released, and either takes a long time to get (Gamefly) OR it's unreasonably priced for the amount of time you rent it (Blockbuster)
 
It depends on the game. I normally buy RPGs & fighters. Action/Adventure games I Gamefly. Once I beat them I never play them again.
 
id rather just buy the games i want and anything im curious about i get at a very discounted price. renting seems like a waste these days with all the deals you can get on good games and if ive bought something and dont want it anymore you just trade it to someone.
 
I never cared for renting personally. I'm not sure how long they allow you to rent a game for, but in my opinion, I always feel rushed if I ever go that route (haven't in a couple years). I'd rather buy my games, that way I can play them whenever I get around to it and enjoy it, not because of some deadline.
 
buy. even if the game ends up crap, you can still dispose of bad games by selling them to used game stores like gamestop. in this sense, at least you'll get some of your money back.

if you rent, you'll only live with what you can get at that moment. once that moment is gone, then you can't get it back unless of course you bought it in the first place.
 
[quote name='JStryke']I never cared for renting personally. I'm not sure how long they allow you to rent a game for, but in my opinion, I always feel rushed if I ever go that route (haven't in a couple years). I'd rather buy my games, that way I can play them whenever I get around to it and enjoy it, not because of some deadline.[/QUOTE]

Gamefly is like Netflix for movies.

There's not late fees. You can keep the game as long as you want, then send it back and they send you another. Prices very by how many games you can have out at a time.

So deadline isn't an issue with the mail rental service FYI.

If I gamed enough to justify the monthly fee I'd definitely rent since it's even more convenient than using Goozex for someone like me who never replays games (unless I do right away like playing through the Gears games on Insane) and thus has no reason to buy them and keep them around permanently. But since I beat a game once every 2 or 3 months it's just not worth the Gamefly fee so I stick with Goozex--get a game, beat it and trade it back. But deadline isn't an issue with renting either--other than just trying to get your money worth by playing enough each month to justify the subscription.
 
GameFly sucks. At first, they treat you like gold, then they shit all over you.

There was a point where they sent me nothing for 2 weeks. I had a 2 game at a time plan, and 5 of the games on my list had a high availability.

Renting is great if you can find a good plan. There's a video store near my apartment that offers a plan for 20.00 a month to rent one game, Blu-ray or DVD at a time. They will also hold games for me if someone has them out, or order them if they weren't planning on getting them. So if you can find a situation like that, renting all the way.
 
I always hear people complain about Gamefly but in my 2 years of subscription I've never had an issue with them. Maybe I'm just lucky. With that said I also have a Netflix subscription and Gamefly definatly isn't at their level of service.
 
It probably varies a lot by how close you are to the distribution center.

Netflix has a lot more centers, so there service is more consistent around the country.
 
^ Yeah that's what I figured. I'm sure if Gamefly opened a distribution center in Miami I'll get my games a day or two quicker. I think the nearest one is in Tampa.
 
I just looked it up. Gamefly has distribution centers in 4 cities (Los Angeles, Tampa, Pittsburgh, and Austin).

I wasn't able to find a firm count for Netflix, but from various sites that popped up in a google search it appears they have 30+ centers.
 
Don't game enough for gamefly, regular renting is too expensive and I usually take a while to beat a game, so I always buy, usually once a game is a year or so old and at the $20 price point.
 
Gamefly is worth it during the Xmas season but that's about it. Otherwise, I think I probably save more money finding a deal on a game and then trading it in or selling it. Netflix is a lot faster than Gamefly, but Gamefly didn't even used to have a FL distribution hub. I cancelled because it would take over a week to process my return/receive a new game. Now that they opened the Tampa hub, the turnaround is much improved. I like Gamefly actually but I think they need to lower their price to $19.99. Over $20 a month is a psychological barrier.
 
I used to just buy used games from gamefly before I signed up for renting, prices are right even if you dont rent. But now Im totally down with renting year round after i compared the cost. $20/month I get all I can play normally about 4-5 a month and dont get screwed anymore buying games that flop.
 
I rather buy the game... on some rare occurances I will rent a game, but honeslly, its about 7 or 8 dollars to rent a game from BB and I rather just buy the whole game for about 10 or 15 dollars. Usually, if I rent a game I will NOT go back and buy it. Renting for me takes away the joy I get from playing the game for the very first time.
 
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