Where do gamers go?

The choices you have as a gamer are:

1. Buy (Online, Ebay, used, Gamestop..)
2. Rent (Gamefly, blockbuster…)
3. Trade (Goozex, Switchplanet..)

Renting in the past at your brick and mortar rental place can easily set you back more then $5-$7 every week like Blockbuster. There have been other online rental game sites that charge a monthly fee like /month for one game out like Gamefly. Renting is a solution but you spend more time with games than movies. There is a considerable larger amount of time invested in videogames then in movies. Most movies range from 1.5 hours to epics of 6 hours. Where most videogames you could get a good feel for a game in 3 hours but most sports games and long role playing games could be played for more then 70 hours.

This is where Goozex Game Trading steps in. Goozex allows the gamer to keep the game as long as you want but have the option to sell it too. There is only a $1 transaction fee if you request a game on their network. So basically you can trade in your older games and build up Goozex credit until you get enough for a newer title and just pay the $1 transaction fee. All shipping costs are handled by the sender so if you are requesting a game you only pay the and not the shipping and handling. No membership fees so no need to feel you need to use the system. This is ideal in the sense that you could play the game until you are actually sick of it then send it in for credit. So you’re not rushed to get as many games played on the network because you can play at your own pace. Plus you OWN the game. At that point it is yours.

The network is peer to peer in that you can only request games and send games to other members. There is no single central warehouse and the pricing of the credits of the system are in points (100pts = $5). The pricing of the game is determined by market demand, release date, initial cost of the game, and a couple other factors. Most xbox 360 titles will go for 800-1000 pts which translates to $40-$50. This isn’t bad for a used game. Some money can be saved buying used but there is still tax and travel time/cost. Goozex gives you free shipping to you with no tax charge. You also have an option to buy credits if you want but I wouldn’t recommend that unless you have no games to send in or nothing of yours is being requested. The game prices will fluctuate and you will see the price change in your history. I’ve had a couple games I requested and I can see that price increase/decrease. It doesn’t happen that much but some games change +/- 200pts depending on market demand.

So why use Goozex instead of a used videogame store or an auction site with games like Ebay? You just need $1 to pay for the transaction fee. Most people don’t like to continually shell out more money for a game and then feel like the games they bought are depreciating at a very fast rate. Selling your game for cash anywhere will not give you that much. Selling it to a store they will mark your game up to make money. Selling online is tiresome. Goozex at least you get to trade in games you are done with and still get some value out of it as it will lead to other games you really want. There might be more difficulty in sending older sports titles as those don’t have much demand once their season is up like trying to sending in EA sports Madden 2005 will be a hard game to sell to someone on the network. Older games on ebay are a hassle to sell. You can build your own game list and no insertion fees.

Lots of integrated information like tips and reviews. I love being able to see the supply and demand of each game. This will let you know if you have a game people want or if you can possibly get a game on the network. Goozex determines who gets the game by matching up users. There is a waiting list that is generated and when you add a game you will see in what place you are waiting for that game. You get a good feel to when you will get a game. You need to make a list for want and haves for your games. They will show you your place in line per game. This is a good way to build up a wishlist and then have your core set of games your really want now. It is ideal to have a very large set of games you want now so you will have a very good chance of getting a game soon. I was requesting Crackdown for the Xbox 360 and I was 60th person in line. Turns out I got the game in less then 2 weeks. Just because you’re really deep in line doesn’t mean you won’t get the game soon. The system can deliver newer games in a short amount of time which is a huge bonus for gamers that want to play newer games but don’t want to buy them at the store. You have the option of trading just the game, the game with instructions, or the full package that includes case and instructions. Some people tend to not keep cases or instructions. The value of the game doesn’t go down as the credits don’t reflect what is included. This is because the user requesting the game can have the option to request only full packaged games, games with instructions, or just the game itself. I have not had a problem with getting full packages as I’ve gotten over 49 games and I’ve sent out 54 in under 2 years of being there.

Why NOT to use

For this site to be a perfect 5 star site I would like to see:

1. More users (will there ever be enough?)
2. More old school games (nes, snes, saturn….)
3. Sure isn’t free but man it’s 4 quarters. I’m a member of another site that has no transaction fees yet still protects the members.
4. Video game trailers for each game
5. More user interaction like user reviews and tournaments…)

All the above are small tweaks to the system that is already very functional. The main reason someone would NOT want to use this system is time and money. If you have the dough you would just buy it new down the street? Why wait? The main draw to the site is how much money you can save and the community there. If your not interested in connecting with other gamers and plan to play all your games alone then the only reason to use the system is money. If you wanted to save money but are impatient then this sits is NOT for you. I’ve experienced about 1-2 month turn around time for new games. Why? You are placed on a Que. The order of the Que determines when you get the new game, but more importantly is how many are available? Most people will play a new release for a certain amount of time before listing their games. The wait times do get long. Say you want a popular game that normally runs 40 hours to complete. You gotta factor in that a player like me would take over 1 month to beat a game like that. Seasonal games with many updates like Madden will hit the system quick but it’s also a bad thing. If you hold a game too long it will depreciate in value just like on the streets. Trading for early on might be for 1000 points but in a couple months with the market being saturated it could be 500 points in no time losing half of it’s value. Not Goozex’s fault but some games just don’t move well.

Current Goozex Simultaneous Transaction on the Network as of Mar 11, 2009 = 4793