The General 360 Owners/Buyers FAQ Thread (Updated 1/15/10)

[quote name='Ink.So.Well.']Speaking of Wii Fits only by selling them for $100 have mine finally started to pull a Houdini and magically disappear. Thank God people are completely oblivious to the fact TRU has like 30 of them in stock. Either that or my stores are the only ones who received their shipments in on time/early. It sucks I can't move them for an actual profit... (BEWARE: Posting them for any more than $100 is a guaranteed flag on Craig's List and I can't afford to pay for shipping to move them on Ebay. Besides no one in my area is going to bite for a higher price with my consistantly plastered ad on the first page so I've effectively eliminated all of my competitors in the process.) but considering the fact originally I just wanted to cash out $800 in credit due to Blockbuster's incompetent customer service I can live with it.

After I move the last two I'll FINALLY be in the perfect position to buy my PS3 bundle thanks to the Sears post in the MSG4 thread. I'm going to save the last three for the holiday season instead of spending that potential money on a 360. I can always flip again for it, just buy it out of pocket, or wait for the holiday bundles and possibility of Jasper. My goal to make at least $600 - $900 off of lazy last minute shoppers. Come Christmas Eve I doubt I'll have much difficulty netting that much, right?

...Ugh. With my luck I'd better start praying stores sell out of their new shipments within the next couple of months. >_>[/QUOTE]

I wish you luck this holiday season, but with the way the economy is going (unemployment coupled with high prices on food and gas), I have my doubts that people are going to be able to pay more than retail on many things (especially luxury goods). Maybe wii fit is an exception. I expect many people, our camp included, to swoop in on stores that have massive sales due to going out of business or black friday type sales. Cheapassness, the new american paradigm?
 
Is it a big pain in the ass to switch a pre-order at Blockbuster? I'll most likely be going when the manager is there so he should know how to do it, but is it worth the trouble for me?
 
[quote name='jmiller']Hey, How do you plan to make 600-900 for them if you cant use Craig List(being flagged) or using Ebay ?[/quote]

By taking the old school approuch my friend. Flyers, classified ads, friends and relatives, word of mouth. It's a gamble but I'm willing to take it. Especially during the holidays when people get desperate and make rash decisions. There's a surplus of middle aged overweight women where my mother works so I'm hoping to bait in a few of them around that time. Truth be told I originally started flipping for just the PS3 bundle and nothing else so the extra credit I accrued from the "perfect storm" is just extra money to play around with considering how cheap 360s are nowadays. $300 out of pocket is nothing compared to $500 or more IMO so even if I have to return them the worst case scenario for me is buying a Wii to sell or converting that credit back to GS for accessories and preorders.

Couple in the fact I'm not banned from any of them and two more stores opened up around here it seems like I'm in good shape overall no matter the scenario.

It's a win-win situation for me so long as I have my receipts.

EDIT: $600 - 900 is rather ambitious, though. Realistically $300 - $600 is more feasible. Anything above $400 would be well worth the trouble.
 
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[quote name='bornrunnin31']Is it a big pain in the ass to switch a pre-order at Blockbuster? I'll most likely be going when the manager is there so he should know how to do it, but is it worth the trouble for me?[/quote]


It depends how well you know the manager. It's been a pain in the ass the three times I've done it.
 
[quote name='Nikadimas']The new were $25?!?! Wouldn't that make the used (which they have piles of) $20? Either way that's good. Just wondering if $20 is the base trade for GTAIV because if it is with bonus + edge that flip will even cover the tax I pay. Plus new means not having to worry about refurb fees.[/quote]


$20 is the base TIV, so with the bonus and Edge I got back $27 at GS. I didn't think to look around for the used copies since the display boxes were all sitting on the table and I was in a bit of a rush. Normally this BB has a poor used game selection.

On Monday I had visited a BB and a GR and they were both running 50% off promos on select new games (including GTAIV) and B1G1 on last gen at the GR. All the used games at both stores were still stickered normally from what I could tell. When I stopped by the GR again on Tuesday, the promo sign said the offer was extended till 9/8. Oddly, during the promo the BB wouldn't take any game trades.

The BB I was at yesterday was not my normal store and I was pleasantly surprised to find the cheap GTAIVs. If I hadn't been in a GS just 15 minutes prior and heard the clerk tell a guy his :360: copy was worth $20 I wouldn't have even considered buying them at all. I had remembered that the TIV was quite low. So I bought 4, went to another GS, and verified the TIV before heading outside to open up one of each to trade. Sometimes the timing just works out that way. :D

Gonna visit another GR today and see if they have the same deal. It's on the way to my duplicate friendly GS so it would be nice to be able grab and dump an extra 4 copies without having to make a special trip back to that BB. Hope the TIV holds or improves for a few more days!
 
Do we have any other confirmation on the low pricing at GR for GTAIV? I'm going to try a coule BB's today, but I'm wondering if that price is YMMV, a franchise store or something... ???
 
Forgot to post this last night, but I have confirmation that BB will be stocking Viva Pinata 2. I was talking to a manager and mentioned I had picked it up from GC, and he's a fan of the game so he scanned the upc and it showed with a Friday delivery.
 
[quote name='Bezerker']Yea, I don't quite get how he could avoid it either, they should have his address on file, though I guess that could be a fake as well. I guess they dont want to bother by putting up wanted posters with blurry security camera pictures.

I was somewhat bad this month, between flipping at Gamestop and Blockbuster I made over $2,500. From what I was told yesterday, it was an order from corporate that went to the district manager, which then went to the store that noticed the msg on the account. I would imagine if corporate really is a center hub, their system should have some kind of system where they can just type in "Trade -> Sort by amount traded by account number" and see who has traded the most, which I guess I passed some kind of border that set off some alarms.

I felt kinda empty looking around at the 360 games at Gamestop today. I saw some flips and instantly thought "Oh man, I gotta get that.... oh wait...". Ah well, from what I am told, some of the stores I go to are not in the same district, so worse case scenario, ill just have to make my trips really worth it, or have a friend trade in stuff for me. Ohhh Segasonic, where are ya buddy?[/QUOTE]

Dude, I just can't believe it's even possible to trade that much into BB/GR without having a manager friend (like kunai), and not get flagged, shit I get nervous with a monthly turnaround of maybe 500$, and I'm surrounded by GS's and BB's. I'm happy to make 60$ a week in profit. Man I'm a major looser compared to some of you.
 
[quote name='sprintfinanceguy']Do we have any other confirmation on the low pricing at GR for GTAIV? I'm going to try a coule BB's today, but I'm wondering if that price is YMMV, a franchise store or something... ???[/QUOTE]

Just called a local corporate store and was quoted 59.99 for the (x360 version). The manager checked teh system for that price. Appears to be YMMV.
 
[quote name='stoned99']Dude, I just can't believe it's even possible to trade that much into BB/GR without having a manager friend (like kunai), and not get flagged, shit I get nervous with a monthly turnaround of maybe 500$, and I'm surrounded by GS's and BB's. I'm happy to make 60$ a week in profit. Man I'm a major looser compared to some of you.[/quote]


It's better this than to get your account scrutinized and banned from trading. Not to say that we haven't all indulged a bit, or that I wouldn't make 2500 a month if I could (cleaned out my BBVs for the most part before even the B1G1 sale), but I feel safe with the credit I'm earning right now.
 
Saturday when I went to a BB they had copies of GTA4 PS3 and XB360 listed at $44.XX and $34.XX. If people are saying they are finding used copies for $20.XX I'm going to check another one that would be the perfect price to pick this game up at using some credit. I'll post back at what I find.
 
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[quote name='nietzsche74']Ok, this is a little inconvenient, but apparently the person who reported it before was right: DK's Prizefighter IS $25 used at Gamestop. Too bad about the coupon, though...

http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=69046[/quote]

I thought we already knew it was $25. It only trades in for $15 at BBV, which, with the coupon, is still a loss. And the coupon is still active today if you actually wanted to own it.
 
[quote name='GuardianE']It's better this than to get your account scrutinized and banned from trading. Not to say that we haven't all indulged a bit, or that I wouldn't make 2500 a month if I could (cleaned out my BBVs for the most part before even the B1G1 sale), but I feel safe with the credit I'm earning right now.[/quote]

Amen.

If possible we would all strive to make $2500 or more a month without looking suspicious, but these days if you haven't gotten flagged or banned (new or old) you should consider yourself victorious. I barely made over $900 before I was flagged and now I'm positive one location believes I'm a dealer. If I can still flip at the store responsible for clearing me then I'll consider myself lucky. I'm not kidding.

I mean... you should have seen the look on one cashiers face a couple of weeks back when I was asking for a Wii Fit. Utterly ridiculous. Even though my account had already been cleared and I didn't steal or commit any crimes it was as if my face instilled the fear of Christ in her eyes. Ditto at the same location I got cleared as one of their store managers (it could have been the same manager flipper that straightened my account out though...) couldn't keep his eyes off of me in his CAR from the time I walked in until the time I left. Surely he questioned just what it was I wanted which was a manual for GoW I had bought from another store.

Trust me. Consider yourself lucky if you aren't marked yet. It's a huge headache. Especially when the flagging had nothing to do with your behavior but outside interferences.
 
[quote name='Ink.So.Well.']Amen.

If possible we would all strive to make $2500 or more a month without looking suspicious, but these days if you haven't gotten flagged or banned (new or old) you should consider yourself victorious. I barely made over $900 before I was flagged and now I'm positive one location believes I'm a dealer. If I can still flip at the store responsible for clearing me then I'll consider myself lucky. I'm not kidding.

I mean... you should have seen the look on one cashiers face a couple of weeks back when I was asking for a Wii Fit. Utterly ridiculous. Even though my account had already been cleared and I didn't steal or commit any crimes it was as if my face instilled the fear of Christ in her eyes. Ditto at the same location I got cleared as one of their store managers (it could have been the same manager flipper that straightened my account out though...) couldn't keep his eyes off of me in his CAR from the time I walked in until the time I left. Surely he questioned just what it was I wanted which was a manual for GoW I had bought from another store.

Trust me. Consider yourself lucky if you aren't marked yet. It's a huge headache. Especially when the flagging had nothing to do with your behavior but outside interferences.[/quote]

Also, we should keep in mind that the whole point of this originally was just to score the stuff we wanted for as cheap as possible. Thanks to BB (and CAG on a greater level) I cringe whenever I pay near retail at all.

Now that I think about it, I can't remember the last time I paid full retail for any game (buying a game at retail price via BB/GS credit doesn't count). Seriously...when was the last time you paid $60 for a PS3/360 game?
 
For those of you looking to flip some of your BBV credit into cash, consider buying the limited edition Pokemon DS for $129.99, I was able to flip it pretty quick on Ebay for $145.00 shipped. These systems are pretty hot right now and are pretty abundant in SoCal.
 
[quote name='davidbaca']For those of you looking to flip some of your BBV credit into cash, consider buying the limited edition Pokemon DS for $129.99, I was able to flip it pretty quick on Ebay for $145.00 shipped. These systems are pretty hot right now and are pretty abundant in SoCal.[/QUOTE]

I mentioned this on Sunday.

I haven't decided if I'm going to flip it quickly or wait for xmas, I may do 1 of each :bouncy:
 
I purchased two of these DS systems and decided to sell one, although I did not intend to own a DS, this system is UBER sweet! Just my two cents, Amazon will have these systems back in stock on Sept 9th or 11th, it may be difficult to flip the system on Ebay once they are back in stock.
 
[quote name='stoned99']Dude, I just can't believe it's even possible to trade that much into BB/GR without having a manager friend (like kunai), and not get flagged, shit I get nervous with a monthly turnaround of maybe 500$, and I'm surrounded by GS's and BB's. I'm happy to make 60$ a week in profit. Man I'm a major looser compared to some of you.[/quote]

Thank you! I preordered at gamestop because supposedly BBGR wasn't going to get it. Turns out they are getting 1 copy but the release date is "tomorrow". I'm keeping my preorder at gstop in case I can't snag this at BBGR.
 
[quote name='bornrunnin31']Is it a big pain in the ass to switch a pre-order at Blockbuster? I'll most likely be going when the manager is there so he should know how to do it, but is it worth the trouble for me?[/QUOTE]

It shouldn't be a problem - they just "deliver" the game to you and you do another preorder. I used to do it all the time at my old Gamerush store and the people at my local BB seem to have no probelm with it.

[quote name='stoned99']Forgot to post this last night, but I have confirmation that BB will be stocking Viva Pinata 2. I was talking to a manager and mentioned I had picked it up from GC, and he's a fan of the game so he scanned the upc and it showed with a Friday delivery.[/QUOTE]

Too little, too damn late :roll:. I already bought it at GS. Had BBV even had it in the system just a few days ago I probably would have preordered it - they need to get that crap straightened out!

As for the whole GTA thing, I guess I'll have to see what's up at my store. But I've never heard of different pricing at different stores (franchise stores excluded, obviously). I really wish people would be more on top of whether their store is a franchise or not - it usually says on the receipt.
 
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[quote name='daminion']if you really want to use BBV credit and not GS credit i'm sure you can think of a way to do this that's perfectly legitimate :)[/QUOTE]

Well, yeah, of course - but it was more in the "not having to drive 18 miles round trip to the nearest GS to pick it up" vein that I was complaining. If I now buy it from BB and return to GS that means even more driving ;).

Though I did want to go up there to trade a few Wii games I got at BB. I'll just stick with my GS preorder pickup though. I mean, I abused them enough during the $15 coupon deal that I probably ought not to raise any flags with a return that isn't all that necessary.
 
Knowing my local BBV's, the price on new copies of GTA IV will be $59.99 across both platforms, but I know for a fact that last week used copies on both platforms were going for $34.99. Though, if the flood of copies is true chain wide, that price may drop soon enough to make it a viable flip to GS during the $5 per current gen game bonus.
 
Thought about picking up Infinite Undiscovery w/BB credit despite the luke-warm reviews. But my local BBs aren't going to carry it. I also haven't seen Tales of Vesperia either. I had thought BB was getting a bit better with their new emphasis on pre-orders, etc. Guess they're still as unreliable as ever.
 
Trying for an even BB->GS flip I did:

Virtua Fighter 5 $14.99 -> $14.90
Metal Slug Anthology $9.99 -> $11.60
Rayman Raving Rabids $16.99 -> 11.60 (whoops!)

Just a heads up so no one else makes the same mistake.
 
traded in (BB price, GS base, GS w/$5 promo and edge) 9/4/08
Wii MSA: $9.99, $6.00, $11.60
Wii Crash of the Titans: $9.99, $6.00, $11.60
360 Meet the Robinsons: $6.99, $4.00, $9.40
 
Checked a BB today that used to have tons of copies of GTA4 now only has one each for PS3 and XB360 and both were marked $34.XX.

One more drop then it's mine or if they do a B1G1

brb
 
Not really a flipping situation, but I stocked up on new "clearance" DVD's last night.

:dvd: Red Dawn, Escape From New York, Fargo - $2.99 each (new)
:dvd: Penn & Teller's BS (Season 2) - $3.99
:dvd: House Of Wax, Friday The 13th 1/2/3 - $1.99
 
I'll most likely be trading in Rock Band (360) at Blockbuster tomorrow. I called, and it gets $32. Does anyone know the TIV for Guitar Hero III disc only?

Also, I plan on preordering Rock Band 2 with this credit. How reliable is Blockbuster with preorders?
 
[quote name='io']As for the whole GTA thing, I guess I'll have to see what's up at my store. But I've never heard of different pricing at different stores (franchise stores excluded, obviously). I really wish people would be more on top of whether their store is a franchise or not - it usually says on the receipt.[/quote]


Well the top of the receipt from that BB looks like the one from my usual GR. Nothing special about being a franchise. It has a BB website and phone number listed under the store info for feedback. But I knew there was a good chance it was a YMMV thing since it was marked as clearance, that's why I didn't make a big fuss about it in my post.

I think the store manager has some say on clearance item pricing. Like when candy gets close to the expiration date or if they choose to discontinue carrying it (really happened at my GR a month or two ago), the manager can drop the price. So that one store is the only one that doesn't carry that brand of candy anymore. Also the clearance pricing on the Indiana Jones stuff has been all over the place. Some stores kept things at full price for a long time.

Might be a district thing too. During the Labor Day 50% off select new games sale, the GR had a lot of games included in the sale, while only a few titles at the BB were in the bin, even though they had the exact same titles in the store. They are 3.5 blocks (0.6 miles according to Google) away from each other but are in different districts according to the BB manager. The BB stocks :ds: games for sale, while the GR doesn't. It's very odd.
 
Some trade in values for this weekend
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
PS3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blacksite 26.00
Bladestorm 36.00
Hellboy 36.00
Sega Tennis 20.00
WSOP 2008 23.00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
360
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bladestorm 35.00
Cabela's BGH 22.00
Cabela's TB 22.00
Fatal Inertia 25.00
FIFA 08 28.50
Hellboy 35.00
Space Chimps 28.50
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wii
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cabela's BGH 20.00
Code Lyoko 20.00
Escape From Bug Island 16.00
Luxor 20.00
Monster Jam 30.00
One Piece 23.00
Space Chimps 30.00
 
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so my xbox i've had since launch finally got the red ring of death :cry:
i'm looking to buy a new system now and i'm just wondering: is the arcade version the same exact system without a hard drive?

thanks in advance :)
 
well it sounds like i'll be picking up an arcade tomorrow when the new price drop is put into effect. thanks for the info/advice!
 
[quote name='vanlandw']Checked a BB today that used to have tons of copies of GTA4 now only has one each for PS3 and XB360 and both were marked $34.XX.

One more drop then it's mine or if they do a B1G1

brb[/QUOTE]

My local BB has about 40-50 used 360 games, and at least 10-15 of them are GTA IV ;). They need to lower the price on it.

I was able to snag RRR2 and Crash of the Titans for $29.98 total (thus getting me yet another Wii sweeps entry). So now I have 4 games to take to GS. I'd like to keep the Geometry Wars so it might work out pretty well - unless I end up finding a few things at another store. But for now I can trade RRR2, Crash, and Avatar at GS at least.
 
[quote name='mkernan']BB TIV:

Kane and Lynch PS3: 16

Saw a few at my local Target for $9.99 but decided that wasn't much of a worthwhile flip. Picked one up to keep for some stupid reason though.[/QUOTE]

I picked up a copy from Target as well.

Good to know though that once I beat it/if I dont like it I can drop it off at BB :D
 
[quote name='Jagged Toaster']I'll most likely be trading in Rock Band (360) at Blockbuster tomorrow. I called, and it gets $32. Does anyone know the TIV for Guitar Hero III disc only?

Also, I plan on preordering Rock Band 2 with this credit. How reliable is Blockbuster with preorders?[/QUOTE]

Sorry, missed this. They are not reliable at all on just random preorders. However, Rock Band 2 (in all its varieties) is one of their featured preorders and those they will get for sure and usually on the actual release date (as opposed to on Friday the week of release like Mario Super Sluggers).
 
Not sure what all the fiasco's about, but GTAIV is $34.99 used. If it's higher than that, you're store didn't do the reprice. If it's lower than that, either the employees are stupid or their running a YMMV clearance.
 
No go at the GR as expected for the cheap GTAIVs but I was able to grab a Wii Fit. Ended up going back to the BB. They really did have used copies marked at $19.99. I asked the manager if there was a limit on how many I could buy and she said no. I always ask since the other stores normally cap me at 2. Grabbed 7 used :360: and 4 used :ps3: copies. Decided to get 8 of each so I asked the manager to get the new ones from the back. While I was waiting I noticed the :360: Special Edition on the counter was on clearance as well. So I got that one as my 8th copy, it was the last SE they had. The :ps3: used ones rang up as $26.99 but she manually deducted $5 from each. I made a weak protest that it should have been $7 but I didn't really care. I also asked if the number of empty boxes on the table represented how many she had left. She said no, they had lots more. Overall I think she was happy to be rid of them, so much so that she wanted to give me one of the framed prints but they were out of them. So I ended up with a GH: Aerosmith one instead. Here's a picture of the haul, minus 4 copies that already went to GS. Gonna visit my 2 duplicate friendly stores on Friday and get rid of the remaining 12. I figured that even if the TIV dropped slightly it would be ok since I paid less this time. If the TIV holds I'll probably make one more run as I still have about $300 in BB credit. Too bad the new GS coupon sucks...

 
[quote name='whymustiregister']No go at the GR as expected for the cheap GTAIVs but I was able to grab a Wii Fit. Ended up going back to the BB. They really did have used copies marked at $19.99. I asked the manager if there was a limit on how many I could buy and she said no. I always ask since the other stores normally cap me at 2. Grabbed 7 used :360: and 4 used :ps3: copies. Decided to get 8 of each so I asked the manager to get the new ones from the back. While I was waiting I noticed the :360: Special Edition on the counter was on clearance as well. So I got that one as my 8th copy, it was the last SE they had. The :ps3: used ones rang up as $26.99 but she manually deducted $5 from each. I made a weak protest that it should have been $7 but I didn't really care. I also asked if the number of empty boxes on the table represented how many she had left. She said no, they had lots more. Overall I think she was happy to be rid of them, so much so that she wanted to give me one of the framed prints but they were out of them. So I ended up with a GH: Aerosmith one instead. Here's a picture of the haul, minus 4 copies that already went to GS. Gonna visit my 2 duplicate friendly stores on Friday and get rid of the remaining 12. I figured that even if the TIV dropped slightly it would be ok since I paid less this time. If the TIV holds I'll probably make one more run as I still have about $300 in BB credit. Too bad the new GS coupon sucks...

[/quote]

Ah, gotta love the 360 games in Wii cases. I won't be able to check my BBs till at least tomorrow, but I'm hoping they are that cheap. I may have to whip out the extra 10% off coupon again this week to get some more fodder from GS. :roll:
 
lol, I had a Wii game in a PS3 case. Raving Rabbids 2. It was a very bizarre thing. I kinda wanted to keep the PS3 case, but I forgot to ask if they had any spare DVD cases.
 
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