Play n Trade thoughts?

whackedspinach

whackedspinach

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A friend of mine is considering buying a few Play n Trade stores. Play n Trade is a franchise similar to Gamestop (except better in my opinion)
Here is a quick rundown of what they offer:
Website: http://www.playntrade.com


  • Trade in/buy used games and systems/accessories
  • Play any game before you buy it
  • Tournaments with store credit prizes
  • Console and Disc repair
I have never been in one of these, but my friend visited one in Michigan and says they were really friendly and the store looked clean. They had 6 or 7 TVs, he guessed 32", all hooked up to systems to play games. Apparently, one employee said that when a Play n Trade opened next to Gamestop, they put Gamestop out of buisness. I heard Shipwreck mention the store on CAG Foreplay, and I decided to ask you CAGs what your experiances have been with the sotres and what you think about them, gamer or buisness point of view.
 
Better trade-in values and seem to have a constant B2G1 coupon at my store. Though I was pissed they opened my PREORDER and slapped stickers on it.
 
[quote name='whackedspinach']Lol, k i will remind him not to slap stickers on your pre-orders[/quote]

I will love you forever. So will all of his customers.
 
What exactly do you "get" for buying a Play n Trade franchise, and how much do they cost? Sorry for my ignorance.

Personal opinion: I don't really see Play n Trade as a brand that people recognize that would be worth paying for. If it were me doing it, I'd certainly at least consider the idea of doing a store myself without paying for a franchise.


I sell games on eBay for 100% of my income, so I have a little bit of an idea of where I would start.

Their website says they're one of the fastest growing franchises in the US, which I certainly believe. Games are at an all time high for popularity, and I only see it getting bigger.



I will say that I have been to 2 or 3 Play n Trade stores and loved them to bits. I do wish the chain were larger so that there would be some in my neck of the woods in MD. As it is, the closest stores to me are in DC. I also got some pretty good deals there. :) And *anybody* to give Gamestop some interesting competition is A-OK in my book.
 
PnT are totally up to the staff/manager in terms of their quality, maybe even more so than Game Crazy or Gamestop.

There are a couple good owners of PnT franchises that post here on CAG, but my local one sucks and if I don't buy at GC or GS, then I have a local tabletop/comic/video game store I buy from.
 
my local store is bad cause it tests out EVERY fuckEN SIGNLE THING you bring in to trade in, and if a customer comes in they have to stop and help them >_
 
[quote name='cranguy']Yeah, it's nice to be able to dump all my defective games at Gamestop. (No, I am not kidding.)[/QUOTE]

the problem was that all my games were mint!!! >_
 
Is it just me, or was there some other discussion a while back on someone wanting to open a Play n Trade franchise? O.O
 
[quote name='refusedchaos']my local store is bad cause it tests out EVERY fuckEN SIGNLE THING you bring in to trade in, and if a customer comes in they have to stop and help them >_
 
nice people at mine but the prices are higher than game stops.... and i mean GS is high as it is... so they pretty much rape fools who don't know their ass from a hole in the ground
 
I have 2 PnTs close to me, and what draws me to one over the other are the prices. One charges up the ass for older games (ps1, saturn, etc.) while the other sells games like Panzer Dragoon Saga for $60 and gives a 10% discount for disc-only games.. The one I hate sells stuff like MvC1 for $50 disc only. Also, the better one has way more knowledge of games (prolly because they're asian).
 
I have been to 5 PNTstores, 1 that I am in twice a week. There is 1 horrible one by me (Segasonic pointed it out) that uses ebay to price their games. They are absolutely horrendous (currently have a roughed up Chrono Trigger cart only for $70) and take away business from other PNTs (have people tell me they refuse to go to PNT because of their experiences there). The great on uses his system recommended prices and makes sure that he says hi to everyone. The owner is almost always there so it gives a real mom and pop feel and I send him business all the time. The most unique one I have been too carries Japanese game toys, sells a variety of T-Shirts and had the CDI Zeldas when I was there. The prices were alright, but he gave me a 10% off card because I talked games with him. The other two stores are good, the prices can be on the high side, but the people are relatively pleasant, especially at the Azn store Segasonic pointed out. They talk to me about business all the time and always make sure I get great customer service.
 
I haven't had a great impression of Play and Trade, especially considering that the first time I found one I went in, they had Wii's in stock, and I wanted to buy one but no...they only sold them in these expensive 500.00 bundle with crappy games. I also found a Wii in the display case that had a 249.99 price tag on it, and I told the Manager that I wanted to buy the Wii at the sticker price that they have on display, and she refused.

I won't shop at a store that refuses to sell me something at the price they have it marked for on display.

EDIT: In other words, if your friend wants to open some stores, greed is going to lose him a lot of customers...you will get a LOT of people looking for deals, and pricing games at ebay prices will run customers away, as I personally will not go into several stores for this particular reason.
 
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eBay pricing is awful, we really would have to have good prices seeing as these would be the only stores in Illinois, and not many people will know the brand.
 
I wouldn't if I were your friend. No support from PnT corporate and no customers equals bad company.
 
I only have one Play N' Trade by me, and I must say, overall, the store has more potential, and is better then Gamestop for what it is.

First things, the store gets mucho credit in my book for selling old generation stuff (NES, SNES, N64 gen. etc.), they are the only major chain still doing so. Second, the stores are very clean, and atleast my store has a nice darker atmosphere that actually looks like a game room. Third, the staff at my store is very nice, even if everyone isn't the god of video game knowledge, the staff is friendly, and atleast filters stuff (I was denied several trade ins due to questionable condition, what a concept!). And last, but not least, the pricing is pretty much awesome. I don't see very much price gouging going on, which is a miracle in this day and age.

Now, my negatives: The selection isn't always the best, especially for older stuff. Now granted, this is probably due to not very many people owning the old stuff anymore, but I still wouldn't mind coming in to find some of the older PS1 RPG's I missed or the like. Second, as other people have mentioned, the store seems a little unorganized, as well as the staff. I've had it before where I was trading something in, and they put me on hold to help out another customer. While this was annoying, I can see why they were eager to help everyone out, you kind of have to show the customer you're their when trying to become a popular business.

So ya, that's my overall short story about Play N' Trade. I think I might actually visit mine soon!
Later
 
[quote name='Ziv']I wouldn't if I were your friend. No support from PnT corporate and no customers equals bad company.[/quote]
I think the whole idea of the franchise is that PnT corporate is there for support?

Thanks for the stories guys, if he does buy them I will pass these along!

Keep the coming!
 
my friend got pretty pissed off at them becuase the credit he got for his trade-ins suddenly expired one day. Is this just universal store policy?
 
I've got one by my house and I love it. They give much better trade in values than GS, much much more friendly employees, and as said before the store has a great atmosphere.

New games are usually a few dollars cheaper than retail, and they almost always have newer games used.

A few days ago i picked up ESPN 2k5 for 50 cents and also Pilot Wings on 64 for 3.99
 
I've only been to my PnT once, but they were friendly (and not condescending, while at the same time being stupid fucking liars.), knew what they were on about, and had services which I plan to use later if I ever freaking remember when I go out (disc resurfacing and various repairs). I got some good deals, but I totally forgot the coupon which would've made my haul even better.
 
I used to like the PnT by me, but not really anymore. Their selection is meh, it seems like they only get a few copies of new releases (Seriously, I got shut out on Burnout Paradise, Lost Oddesy, NCAA '09, MLB 2K8, Professor Layton, Patapon) among other games that should not have been that popular). What really hurts is that there is a Target right across the parking lot, and every time I just went there. They have a decent used selection compared to others, but prices aren't THAT great compared to GS/EB.
 
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