Trading Video Games with the Cap'n
Now that you're here, you will find all the information needed to Trade in your video games for up to 50% retail value!
In some cases, we may offer you as much as 80% of our retail price! It is rare, however, if we have a customer who really wants a game... we go all out in order to satisfy our customer's needs!
We use a small business called, Price Charting, to provide a base price for our video games. It's just a base, not the amount we give every time.
With a base, we then factor in a few things...
- What is the current price in the video game marketplace? We use the service which keeps up with everyone else's SOLD price (Amazon, eBay, etc.) so we don't charge too much (or too little) for any of our items.
- What condition is your item in? If we have to do anything to it, we have to factor a little less (think buffing or a new case is needed and the labor associated with it).
- How many copies do we currently have? If we have one already, we give a little less. If we have 5 or more, even a little less... and if we have more than 11 copies, still even a lot less. If we have so many copies now, odds are good we won't need more for a while (think old sports titles). However... we DO take everything... and give a value for every item.
We factor EVERYTHING into our pricing quotes...
- the game itself
- the case
- the insert
- the manual
... to ensure you are treated as fairly as possible! We all know having the original manual for a game increases the value. Those "other" stores out there who don't factor those things in? I dunno... I just wanna be fair to everyone! Some manuals sell for $40+ alone!
Also keep in mind, we don't sell newly released used titles (or preowned, previously played, previously touched, previously enjoyed, blah blah blah) for Five Bucks under the brand new price. That's craziness! We look it up and see what others are actually paying for that newly released, yet now used, video game title.
That's called fairness. And that's what we strive for!
To get a trade in quote right now, we need a little work from you...
We need to know what you have!
Soon, you'll be able to add your items to a Trade Cart, for easy quotes. Until then...
Create a detailed list of everything you have to get a trade in quote. I recommend using a spreadsheet (Google Sheets, OpenOffice.org) to create a list of what you have.
Common Headers are: Title - System - Condition - Includes. Having these common headers makes it easier for us to give you a quote.
Example:
SUPER MARIO BROS NES COMPLETE
SUPER MARIO BROS 2 NES GAME ONLY
SUPER MARIO BROS 3 NES INSTRUCTION MANUAL ONLY
We take everything! From cartridges and discs to inserts, manuals and cardboard boxes. Even styrofoam and cartridge insert holders. If it's video gaming related, we'll take it in!
We also pay cash for some items. Cash Value is less than Store Credit values, as is common for the marketplace. We ALWAYS recommend selling your items Person-to-Person if you are looking to get the absolute most out of your items. Retail prices are for retailers, right?
Send your complete list via email (copy/paste out of spreadsheet into email body) - DO NOT SEND ATTACHMENTS (or pictures). Too many viruses, so any attachments are NOT ACCEPTED by the email server. Sorry.
Send your email to Sales<at>CapnGames.com - use Subject "Quote Please" to receive a quote for your items. We use a filter so please be precise (we get 1000s of junk email a day).
All quotes received are printed out and put in queue with the other quotes we get every day. Since we are the only game store that takes everything (that I'm aware of), we get a TON of stuff traded in. Please be patient.
Upon receipt of your quote, we will reply with a time-estimate based on our current work-flow as for how long it will take for us to respond with a quote inquiry.
Any questions? You can also give us a call at 775-677-0311 - HOWEVER, we DO NOT give any sort of quote for your items over the phone. Quotes are all done in writing only.
And final note: 90% of all walk-in trade quotes are DROP OFF ONLY. We get so many trade quotes a day, we can't always help you with your many items at that exact point. We've tried countless times to come up with a better system for immediate trade-ins. The best we got is under 10 video game item trades, processed at time of walk-in (as able). Anything with a console must be dropped off. They overheat after time and can go out on ya... can't have that, right? So we hook it up and let it run... and see what happens :)
Drop slips were created in 2015 as a way to keep from having people stand around forever, since we have always taken everything other game stores send away (including sports titles). We count every item you bring in, notate serial numbers, gather contact info and then put your accounted-for items in queue to be processed for a quote. We welcome customers to take pictures of their dropped stuff and to help us count/verify the dropped items BEFORE signing the release form.
As holidays get closer, more and more people want to trade items in.
Please be patient with us around the holidays. Especially 11/20 to 1/31. New toys and a need to trade in old toys keeps us pretty busy!
We commonly say, "We give up to 50% store credit or 40% of Market Value for items you bring in." Please note the "up to" part and the process described above.
Thanks for reading about How we Trade items in. This page updates frequently, so please check back. We will assume you have read this page each and every time you've traded with us... and trading signs update in-store as well.
Thanks!
~ The Cap'n
Update 9/1/2025: As of today, ALL STORE CREDIT VALUES will be considered "Store Credit Discounts." Your items will be treated as "donations" to our company. A "thank you gift" of a negotiated with you amount to be used as a DISCOUNT off our in-stock, non-consignment retail prices.
What does this mean? When you bring in stuff and give it to us, sure we'll buy it from you if you want. But if you give it to us, we'll give you discounts totalling a negotiated amount that you can use to reduce the price you pay, even to ZERO!
Example: Let's say you bring in some Pokemon games and give them to us. We'll thank you with a discount card totalling MORE than we'd give you in cash, as a thank you gift for bringing your items you don't want anymore, and giving them to us. We appreciate you wanting to foster the love of current and retro video games! We're on a mission to spread the love and appreciate your donation.
So let's say we're so happy to get your Pokemon games, we give you a $40 discount card (or whatever our fair market value estimate of your items comes up to).
You then use THAT discount card to purchase items from us... and it reduces your shopping cart total. So you buy something for $19.99 right? You have a $40 discount card to use, so that $19.99 becomes $0 and you still have a $20.01 discount card available. You can choose to receive the new card physically, or via email.
And the next time you come in, we'll pull up your discount code, and apply it towards your next purchase.
Does all that make sense? If "Savers" can thank you with a 20% discount off their merchandise when you drop stuff off there, we can do the same thing, right?
##End Update 9/1/12025-JPS##