Gaming can be an expensive hobby, but here’s how you can use your frugal ways to reduce the amount of cash coming out of your wallet while still getting your gaming fix.
When a new video game costs around $60, it’s a hard pill to swallow, and it’s hard to spend that much money on a new game you really want to play when your budget can’t really fathom the cost. .
There are plenty of game deals throughout the year, allowing you to buy games for less than you would otherwise pay for them. Of course, newer games don’t usually go on sale in the first few weeks after they’re released, so if you want to play the newest games as soon as possible, your wallet may be working a little overtime, but with a little patience you can do it. save big bucks at the end.
Here are some tips on how you can save money and play video games on a budget.
Never Pay Full Price
I can say that the number one rule you should give yourself when playing games on a budget is to be careful not to pay full price for consoles, games, accessories, anything.
This is because someone or a place always has a game that sells for less than what the others are selling. All you have to do is shop and check out a few stores. Most likely, one of these stores will offer the game at a discount of at least a few dollars.
As mentioned, newer games rarely go on sale, but even just waiting a few weeks for the hype to end could result in the first deals to be made for this blockbuster.
Buying a Cheap Console
Before playing any game, you need a game console where you can play all these games. There are loads of places to buy used game consoles and I’ll cover some of those places later, but I’ll give you a quick overview.
eBay, Craigslist, and even Gamestop offer used game consoles. Sometimes you can buy brand new game consoles at a discounted price, such as when retail stores offer holiday deals throughout the year.
For used consoles on Craigslist or eBay, all you really have to do is wait for a desperate seller who needs some cash because his car broke down. In the past, I’ve seen an unopened Xbox 360 Kinect bundle sell for around $250 on eBay when it normally retails for $300 in-store, and I even found a brand new $200 one on Craigslist.
Check out these marketplaces and expect a lot to come; You will soon realize that your wallet is quite full.
Be patient
It’s kind of a continuation of the previous part, but to save yourself a lot of money, be willing to wait a few months or even a year before purchasing the new version, or at least be patient to get it around. This allows time for used copies of a new game to start appearing on eBay and Craigslist.
I can’t even tell you how much money I could have saved had I waited to buy Call of Duty: Black Ops after Modern Warfare 3 came out a few years ago. Usually when a sequel comes out, the prequel suffers a significant price drop.
I also find many great games selling for almost half the cost when they hit eBay recently. Forza Motorsports 5 is now available for purchase new for $40 (or about $30 used). Also, when I did a quick check, older games like Grand Theft Auto IV, Mass Effect 2, Halo 3: ODST, and Batman: Arkham Asylum were all under $10 at various online spots and stores. Sure, these are old games that may have lost their excitement, but that doesn’t mean they’ve lost their appeal.
Be Willing to Compromise
Many popular games have several sequels, and sports games have a new version coming out every year, but you have to ask yourself if it’s really worth buying the latest game in a series.
For example, MLB 15: The Show was released recently, but it’s possible to buy MLB 14 much cheaper and still get 80% of the experience that MLB 15 has to offer. The newer game may have slightly better graphics and some new features, but MLB 14 is still a really fun game and you can earn a few Hamiltons by choosing last year’s version.
One of the biggest things you can do to save money while playing games is to be willing to compromise. You probably don’t need the latest and greatest sequel coming out, especially for a series that releases a new title every year. Instead, go with a game that’s a year or two old to save some big dough.
Where to Find Cheap Games
So where exactly do you find all these cheap, used games and consoles? Here are a few places to look.
eBay
eBay is easily one of the best places to buy used games, accessories, and consoles for cheap. However, the best things to buy on eBay are huge lots where sellers will put together all of their gaming items and sell them all at once.
You’ve probably heard that it’s much cheaper to buy in bulk, and the same concept applies to large packs of gaming gear on eBay. Many sellers collect all their games and accessories in one listing and sell them for one price. This is called the jackpot. Buying a ton of games at once is much cheaper than buying ten or twelve single games separately. Plus, whatever games you don’t want from the party, you can put them back on eBay to get a few bucks back.
Craigslist
Craigslist isn’t my first choice for looking for used gaming materials or anything for that matter, as it can be a hotbed for scams. But if you are careful and feel lucky, you can find a good and honest seller who sells game items for cheap. And as I mentioned earlier, many sellers despair and need money quickly. So you can get great deals.
Amazon Marketplace
If you don’t know yet, Amazon allows people like you and me to sell their used items. If you click on an item you will obviously be given a brand new price, but below that you will see something like “73 used” or how many are currently on sale. Click this and you will be taken to Amazon’s Marketplace.
Prices for used games and gear are very competitive as there are often many people selling the same thing, so you have nothing to lose if you choose to do business on Amazon. Plus, who doesn’t love shopping on Amazon?
Game Pause
Since most of the pre-owned games they sell can often be found online for a few bucks cheaper, Gamestop wouldn’t be my first choice for looking for cheap game gear, so I tend not to go to Gamestop very often. However, it’s worth mentioning at least, so don’t completely remove it from your list.
GameStop has plenty of games for under $10, and a few even go as low as $3. You can even find great deals on used game consoles.
Garage Sales
Garage Sales is a hit or miss when it comes to quality, used play equipment. Sure, you can find a few legacy game systems packed with a few no-name titles, but you’ll have to look a little further to find the good stuff. But it doesn’t take much effort to run into an old lady selling all her granddaughter’s unused play equipment for really cheap.
