Best Buy expands online video game trade-in program to its stores

Best Buy expands game trade-in program to stores

NEW YORK — Electronics retailer Best Buy Co. said Thursday it is offering store credit in exchange for used video games at nearly 600 of its stores, expanding an online trade-in program that has been in place for about a year.

The move follows Wednesday’s announcement by Target Corp. that it is launching an electronics trade-in program at 850 of its stores later this year. Besides video games, Target will also offer store credit to customers who turn in their mobile phones and iPods.

Best Buy plans to roll out the trade-in program to the rest of its 1,089 stores by October. The company also said it will start selling used video games in its stores soon, but it provided no specifics. The current trade-in program involves customers mailing in games after filling out forms online.

GameStop Corp., the world’s largest video game retailer, has long offered such trade-ins. Selling used games is a big part of its business, and it has helped the retailer appeal to budget-conscious gamers in the recession.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. also offer video game trade-ins.

Different video games will fetch different prices, depending on their popularity and other factors. The best-selling “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” for example, will get you $13 to $17, according to Best Buy’s online trade-in calculator. Buying the same game, also used, on Best Buy’s website will cost you $35. A new game goes for $60.

Shares of Best Buy, which is based in Minneapolis, slid 53 cents to $31.95 in afternoon trading Thursday. GameStop investors seemed to shrug off the competition. The company’s shares fell 18 cents to $18.24 amid a broader market decline.