Is Trading In Used Consoles Worth It?

DataportJunkie writes "Most people choose to trade in their used game consoles when a newer one comes out to save a few bucks, but this editorial at Gaming Horizon suggests that you just hang onto them. 'Stores typically only make $1 or $2 when you pick up a new console from them, but when they give you $70 for your used PlayStation 2 and sell it for $95, they just made themselves an easy $25.' The author recommends using eBay or donating your used consoles to hospitals if you need to get rid of a system."

Comments

WTF are you smoking?

[Linus Torvaalds]

If somebody gives you $70 for something you don't use anymore, then that deal is worth $70 to you. It doesn't matter whether that person goes on to make $5 or $25 when they sell it on, the bottom line is you just made $70.

Spite?

[BlackCobra43]

So I should hang on to my consoles to spite the retailers? Come on, if my consoles are gathering dust and I can easily get a few bucks for them it's perfect - I don't feel like hunting down a buyer or organizing an ebay auctions with all the shipping and payment worries it entails. What's wrong with that?

The question is specious at best

[WidescreenFreak]

There is a rule of thumb to which I strictly adhere: Nothing is obsolete until it no longer suits your purpose

When it comes to the question of trading in consoles, there is no blanket answer. Some people will say, "Yeah, I'll sell it for $90". Others will say, "Well, I'd rather give it to a friend or relative who would not be able to otherwise afford it, thus saving them $90 while giving me a feel-good moment." Which one is a better deal? More importantly, who am I to give an answer for your particular situation?

The problem with questions such as this is that worth is completely relative. Someone might see absolutely no value whatsoever in a product whereas someone else might put a huge value on it. Case-in-point, on eBay I sold a used optical drive with shrink-wrapped media of 1.2 GB each that I was given - trash interception, as it were. I expected it to go for maybe $50. That was my expected value based on my perception of this unit compared to the price of new DVD drives and blank media, which holds 3x as much as the opticals that I was selling. The drive sold for more than six times my percieved value after a bidding war ensued at the last moment. Obviously, someone else's value was completely different from mine.

In contrast, I've sold items that I thought were of a much higer value than the final price, but the highest bidder (and therefore everyone who bid less) thought otherwise.

So, the whole question of "Is it worth it?" is specious and subjective at best. The only person who can determine if a console (or any item) is worth trading in is the person in the mirror.