Trading my XBOX in to EB

[Chris The Rock]

Fed up with occaisonal Dirty Disc Errors with my Xbox, I reached a decision about how to deal with it. Easy, I thought...I'd buy a new one. Well, after seeing loads of ads encouraging me to trade in my old consoles, I packed up my 'Box (an original, got it on release day) and my unused-for-several-months GameCube, and headed down to EB.

 

After hoisting my trade-ins up onto the counter, the clerk asked me "why are you trading it in, if you don't mind my asking?". Well, actually, I did mind him asking, because I was about to trade in an Xbox and use the store credit (at a different EB) to help me buy a new one. I made up some lame reason, and then he asked me if it still works.

 

The answer is yes, it still works. It just occaisonally (about 3 times a week) won't start a game up the first time, and once or twice (since I've owned it) I have had a game lock up on me. But he didn't ask if I've ever had problems with it, or whether I ever get dirty disc errors - he just asked if it "still worked".

 

After the transaction was complete, I asked him if they send it somewhere to be refurbished, or to have the hard drive formatted. He said, "nope, we just put it back on the shelves the way it is." Needless to say, I was a little shocked. I was glad that I deleted my XBL account from the harddrive - but I wondered about the soundtracks I'd ripped, or the save games that I had on there. Does the next person get all that too?

 

Anyone here know what really happens to an Xbox when it gets traded in? Does someone test it out before they sell it? What if it had been struck by lightning and didn't work at all anymore? (Yes, they took down my contact information, but still...)

 

By the way, with my trade-ins (XBOX, GC, Wavebird, memory card, 1 GC game), I had almost enough store credit to get a new Xbox ($5 short).

[Sam P]

Actually, I do. I work part time at EB.

 

Exactly what the clerk told you.

 

However, when the next person buys it and finds problems, he/she has 14 days to get an exchange for another one. After that, the defective XBOX gets sent somewhere to get refurbished.

 

DrunkOM works at the same store I do, and he's told me that there've been people trading in their systems only to buy a new one on the same transaction. We don't test them beyond plugging them in and making sure they power on, so there's really nothing we'll do to hassle you for that.

 

Also, the contact information is more to do with stolen items traded in than anything else.

[Camp]

It goes back on the shelf.

 

You just passed your defective Xbox to the next customer -who will have to go through all the same troubles you did. I hope you're ethically OK with that.

 

A good trade shop will test it at the time of the trade. If anything looks remotely suspicious they will deny the trade before it was ever made. There is no chance it will wind up in the hands of a trained technician at any point.

 

It really doesn't matter if the trade shop tests it though. Not to them, at least. The $90 (or so) in store credit they gave you for the Xbox will be very profitable in the long run. They'll make good money on the Gamecube, Wavebird and even the defective Xbox -much more than the store credit they issued you.

[adamsappel]

If you do answer, "Yes, I'm getting DDE messages," will the clerk refuse to buy it? How about the ethics of a store that will just resell an item without checking to see if it even works (powering on and working are two very separate things). I'd also like to think that I'm not buying an Xbox with a hard drive full of someone else's music or perhaps a modded unit that's going to fry my Live account. How do gamestores handle defective Xbox returns? Do they trade them back to MS for new or refurbished units, or does that same unit get repaired and sent back?

[JoeyN]

I know the gamestop here checks if the box is modded or not. beyond that i dont think they care what condition its in

 

capt

[splunk]

At GameStop we test the machine with a game and a DVD. If it loads and starts playing both of them just fine, then we take it in and sell it. If it doesn't, we can buy it back for like $35 and we send it in to get fixed. We have discs we can use to wipe the HDs clean, but it's not required that we do so.

[dogbert]

Do you look at the screws/seal to see if the xbox has been opened?

[Chris The Rock]

Thanks for the replies, especially from those of you who work at the stores.

 

As far as the ethics of the situation, I could have lived with the DDE's, but I'd been wanting to get rid of my GC (because I haven't used it), and I had heard from another person whose Xbox got fried in an electrical storm that the store buys it from you and immediately ships it out somewhere for refurbishing. And the reason, I was told, is that the Hard Drives have to be formatted, because of the custom soundtracks and XBL account details that are on the hard drives.

 

I was a little surprised to find that the next customer who gets my Xbox will inherit my problems, but I also know that EB takes care of their customers.

 

I just hope they don't send Big Mickey and Jimmy Two Times to my house with ball-peen hammers for my kneecaps for trading in a less-than-perfect machine.

[Sam P]

I just hope they don't send Big Mickey and Jimmy Two Times to my house with ball-peen hammers for my kneecaps for trading in a less-than-perfect machine.

 

Like I said, your info is simply for legal purposes (i.e. stolen machine). E.B. does not have the sort of resources to hire Big Mickey, let alone Jimmy Two Times. Gangstas ain't cheap.

 

If you do answer, "Yes, I'm getting DDE messages," will the clerk refuse to buy it?

 

Yes, the clerk will refuse to buy it.

 

How about the ethics of a store that will just resell an item without checking to see if it even works (powering on and working are two very separate things).

 

I don't think there is any ethical dilemma here. The customer knows he/she is buying a used machine and that it is guaranteed for 14 days to be free of problems. If they got one with DDEs then they simply bring it back for another used item, and so forth, until he/she finds one that is satisfactory.

 

I'd also like to think that I'm not buying an Xbox with a hard drive full of someone else's music or perhaps a modded unit that's going to fry my Live account.

 

It's your prerogative to ask all those questions before you make your purchase. If the possibility of inheriting someone else's 10 hours of Scandinavia pop is something you would rather avoid, then a used machine probably isn't for you. Besides, when you consider the savings (and the notorious failure rate of new XBOXes, let alone old ones), there's really very little reason (for me, anyway) to spring for a preowned system.

 

How do gamestores handle defective Xbox returns? Do they trade them back to MS for new or refurbished units, or does that same unit get repaired and sent back?

 

At EB we send them off (apparently to a department of EB that deals with refurbishment) as opposed to dealing with MS. This unit is then sent back to be sold as a refurb' item, which costs a tad more than a regular used item.

[Graeme]

What everyone has said is true, of course you'll get a bit different experience in procedure depending on the store, and who is taking your trade in.

 

We're supposed to check the machine over to make sure that it is not seriously damaged in anyway, make sure the security seals are still intact, the controller and wires don't appear to be damaged, and plug the system in to make sure it's not DOA. I also like to open and close the tray/lid to make sure it functions and that the person didn't leave a disc in the machine (which happens quite a bit).

 

This doesn't always happen through since personal and training can vary. I know not everyone in our store is good at checking the security seals. For me it's just instinctual.

 

Other then any problems there, the system is taken in and resold as soon as you sign if possible. I don't know how other stores might be set up, but around here there is really no way for any of the stores to check out the systems since any sort of monitor is either encased in an interactive or hanging from the ceiling (used for the promo loop tapes).

 

Recently our systems were setup with broken system skus that we can use to taking in broken systems as trade in at a discounted value. Those systems are sent back to be refurbished (piss poorly I might add) and tested out to be resold.

 

And you'd be surprised as to how many people are honest if you ask them if the system is in good working order. I've had more than a few people tell me that they are having problems with it.