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SwitchGames.com: Possible Gamestop Killer?
March 18, 2009
I wouldn’t consider myself someone who trades a lot of games, mainly because I just don’t think it’s worth it – and this is coming from someone who gets a lot of games for free! I look at GameStop and wonder how gamers ever let game trading get this bad. Every day, swarms of gamers walk through the doors and hand over used titles for a small fraction of what they’re probably worth, while the chain unapologetically rakes in the loot to monster profits.
I realize there are sites out there that let you sell your used games, apparently for more than Gamestop offers. Admittedly I haven’t used any of them, as they seem time consuming and geeky. But lately the discussion in games communities about used games has really heated up, and a buddy has been big-upping free game trading site SwitchGames.com to me, so I decided to use this as my entry point. I glanced at the site, it seemed simple, so I signed up and decided to do a “hands on” for you, the loyal reader.
While cleanly laid out, the site is a little bland upon initial viewing, but its blazing fast and its simple to connect and trade a game. The first thing I wanted to do was start posting my online collection. The database they have is pretty comprehensive, even picking up older Sega Genesis games. I also liked the fact that I could denote which titles are for trade and which are not – the last thing I wanted was hundreds of people pestering me about my recently purchased copy of Street Fighter IV, which is most definitely not for sale.
After posting a few of the games I’m willing to part with, it was time to build a Wishlist. For the purposes of this hands-on I decided to key in some of the more popular titles right now (Fable II 360, Fallout 3 Ps3, Chrono Trigger DS, etc). With my Wishlist set and ready, I clicked on the “Switchbot” tab (an automated system that searches out perfect matches for trades). Only one trade popped up that I wanted to complete. I clicked on the user, offered a trade and two days later I received an acceptance (I was notified via email and SwitchGames’ internal message system). SwitchGames provides you with the mailing label, so all you need to do is print it out, tape it to the box and bring it to the post office. This is a *great* feature, no idea why eBay never figured it out. I guess its worth pointing out that you do have to pay for postage, just as the other person pays for their end of the postage. So technically its not “100% free”, but no fees are paid to the site. No matter what, I did a direct trade for just over $2, so I don’t think anyone can bitch. The package eventually did arrive as promised and the game was in great shape and I was one happy customer.
I performed two more trades after that, but not using Switchbot as I wasn’t seeing perfect matches. I found its fun to just look at what other members have, since there are plenty of games I’d like to have that aren’t front of mind. For example, it was nice to pick up the latest Tiger Woods for Wii, a game I’d never pay full price for, or even the used price for at Gamestop. Just exchanged MLB Power Pros for Wii for it, a game I never play.
While the site is navigable in every sense, there are still some issues since its still in Beta. Issues include the search page disappearing if you click outside of it, periodic server connection problems and a relatively low base of games to search (at this time it’s around 21,000 titles actively listed for trade.. good enough to find good stuff, but not everything I want) will deter some of the crowd, they’re still working on the site and are open about asking for community feedback. Also, according to some comments online from SwitchGames, buying and selling is going up soon, as well as some other security features.
Speaking of security, this is something I have to address. I had no problems with my trades, but an awful lot of people on the site are new (judging from sign up dates), and they could easily scam. Its pretty much the wild west on this Beta version of SwitchGames – it definitely requires some trust. I just dove in, but I’d advise first trading with games you could live without, just in case.
Overall, I’d recommend trying out SwitchGames, keeping in mind security caveats. Once in the habit, it can feel like you are getting fresh games every few days. Admittedly I have not tested the other big used game sites, which are apparently Dawdle.com and Goozex.com, but I will soon, as I’m hooked on the concept now. I’m not a game collector, so its time to start clearing out stuff I don’t play. Stay tuned as DasGamer explores the space.
