As some have predicted, buying an Xbox One has gotten significantly cheaper over time. Adopting the console early can easily cost as much as paying rent in a mid-size city. Without the free games, $499 is the Xbox One launch cost. Many sold their Xbox 360s, hoping to bring that cost down a bit.
An Xbox One today costs as little as $299 for some bundles. Upgrading to console has never been this cheap. These console packs come with one free game – usually two free games. With the Xbox One Backward Compatibility Program now available to everyone, Microsoft has made it easy for you to give up your Xbox 360 to fund your Xbox One purchase. The problem starts here. Prices on the Xbox One have dropped and so has the value of the Xbox 360. Fewer people want the console because it’s something new.
Getting the most store credit or cash for your Xbox 360 trade-in or sale has never been more difficult than it is today.
Where to Trade
For years, buying a new console meant leaving the old console in a secondary rack or cabinet. There was no easy way to sell. Often times, the new console did not support the games you purchased for the console you were moving to. People sat on their old console purchases and chose to keep them around for nostalgia rather than rushing to sell them.
Everything changed when GameStop took the headaches out of console sales. Everyone can show some ID and get cash for their old games and consoles. This money can then be applied to a new purchase, keeping the current cost of staying low. Swap programs have exploded in recent years, as GameStop still offers.
Despite great competition from newcomers, GameStop’s barter program it is still the gold standard by which other trading programs are evaluated. Getting rid of your Xbox 360 is pretty easy – provided you don’t run into problems with the low trade-in value overall. The company distributes cash and gift cards to customers who trade their items, but there is an obvious emphasis on giving that money back to the company with a purchase.
Note that it seems GameStop doesn’t require your system to work for all swaps. Trade-ins at the company require a single controller and the power cable that comes with the console. All other extras like the Kinect and a second controller can be traded separately for more cash.
Online retailer Amazon sticks to direct store credit barter program. It doesn’t hand out cash, and sellers must box their swaps and send them to be verified before taking store credit.
Note that Amazon pays for postage and expects all accessories included with each package to be included. Extra controllers and accessories are also available for swapping.
Finally, there’s Best Buy that offers online trading and in the store. It took away store credit that could be used on other products. It’s not cash like GameStop does.
Best Buy’s online tool can be a little awkward trying to identify your particular console bundle. That’s why it’s a better idea to call the company’s stores to get the correct trade-in value for your particular console. Best Buy says the console must be unlocked and working.
Where to Sell
If you want to try your luck at auctions, the online Ebay site is an excellent alternative to trading programs.
Open ebay Xbox 360 S consoles with 4GB of storage are currently worth $129. Xbox 360 E consoles with 500GB of storage are available for around $170. The problem with eBay is that they have no effective way of predicting how much your auction will reach. There are also delays in getting money from sales, and you have to share some of the profits with eBay for everything you sell.
The selling prices for consoles on Craigslist are even higher than on eBay. The more extras you add to your console package, the higher the price you can charge there. You don’t have to share the profits with Craigslist, but you do have to handle the sale personally.
Tips
Before you sell or trade in your Xbox 360, here are some quick tips. First, remove anything containing your profile before you sell your console. If you don’t, someone who buys the console may gain access to your Xbox Live account and charge for games and extras. It’s happened before.
Second, be sure to track sales at local retailers in your area. Best Buy and GameStop offered increases in trade-in value before users upgrade to Xbox One. These deals can come back at any time.
Don’t worry about your profile or any video you purchased on Xbox 360. This content will be transferred. Games you purchase through the Store will appear on Xbox One as they become available in the Xbox One Backward Compatibility Program. Make sure all your game saves are in the cloud so they are transferred too. Note that some games may never be transferred to the new console.
Good luck with your Xbox 360 trade or sale.
