Gamers, are you tired of trading titles only within your limited arena of friends? Does the game store not have the titles you want at a fair price?
Below are five sites which can help you safely trade games on almost any platform. Whether you want all trades to be handled automatically, a more personal touch, or a rather indirect experience, the sites below are sure to help you with building up your gaming library to the best it can be.
Goozex
A quick Google search for online game trading will likely send you to Goozex, and rightly so. This site is a premiere hotspot for trading your video games (and movies) across all platforms. The system is fairly simple - you pay $0.99 per trade, and with each trade, you earn points. The more points you earn, the more access you have to other games. This is a bit different from other trade sites shown here since payment is involved, but fortunately, this adds an extra level of security.
Since trades are being monitored, and access is given only to certain traders, it's simple and safe. Then again, you may favor a more home-grown approach that is primarily run by the gamer community itself. In that case, this next one may be of interest to you.
Reddit has a thriving gamer community that allows for trading in a couple of areas. Reddit's r/Gaming is the most popular area, but it's focused primarily on gaming discussion. However, you will occasionally see a few trade-related posts, but whenever a hot new game is released, these posts are often overshadowed by pictures and threads about said game. That said, you should definitely try out r/GameSwap which is designed totally for game trades.
Furthermore, the trading system isn't flawless - people do get scammed. Knowing the nature of Reddit, the community does its best to keep things honest, but there will always be malevolent individuals out there. That said, try not to trade with newly-created accounts or any other suspicious-looking entities.
Mooch
One could say Mooch is a bit more comparable to Goozex, and since everything is run by the site itself as opposed to the community, they would be right. However, it appears that the site is currently in a "second beta." That said, things are changing for Mooch, and anything written here may not be the same months from now.
The trade system is pretty interesting. First, you enter the games you want as well as the games you have. Mooch then assigns a point value to each item based on gamer demand, and after automatically looking through the available games that other users have submitted, will conduct the trade for you. All you have to do is mail the game in and receive your semi-new one. As a final note, creating a basic account on Mooch is free, but for $20 a year, you can receive a Verified Membership which offers upgraded features.
Amazon
There may be some debate as to whether or not Amazon allows you to "trade with other gamers," but it kind of does - just indirectly. Much like any other gaming store, you can trade in your games to Amazon for store credit, and this credit can be used towards games turned in by other gamers. Since all of it is handled by Amazon, you can rest assured that you're dealing with a fairly trustworthy entity.
The Amazon Trade-in Program - as expected - is not limited solely to games - CDs, DVDs, books, and other electronics even apply. It's a simple process, though: search for the item you want to trade, get a quote, ship it to Amazon (for free), and if the item is up to inspection standards, you'll get an Amazon.com gift card for the amount quoted. That said, your old, neglected blender could be used to fund your purchase of GTA 5.
GameTZ
GameTZ (a.k.a. Game Trading Zone) is a veteran when it comes to the online game trading world, and as a site that's existed since 1997, it's easy to tell that it's had a rather successful run. The site functions as a forum, so you'll have to create an account (as expected) to participate. If you haven't used forums in a while, the switch may seem a bit old-fashioned compared to our world filled with social media and Reddit threads.
In fact, I'd go as far to say that the whole site looks a bit old-fashioned, but don't let that sway you. The site is functional, useful, and - based on the many years of its existence - trustworthy.
Conclusion
Sometimes we don't have the extra cash lying around to buy a cool new game - that's why we trade. Hopefully, the aforementioned sites will make the process just a bit easier for you.
What other sites do you use for trading video games? What games are you trying to trade right now?
Image Credit: Ann Lusch