Huge Game Trade-In Bonus Arrives at Best Buy

Best Buy is looking to boost the profile of its video game trade-in program with some huge bonuess for those who are comfortable trading in their games for credit on the latest titles, accessories and electronics. For a limited time only, Best Buy will boost the trade-in value of any Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4 and Nintendo game by 30%.

The big box retailer, mostly known for selling electronics instead of video game trade-ins, didn’t do a big formal announcement for the new game trade-in bonus. That being said, its website already reflects the deal. Looking up any game in Best Buy’s online trade-in database reveals the base trade-in value along with the 30% boost.

Most online estimates for fairly recent games get Best Buy shoppers about $20 in Best Buy store credit. For example, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Call of Duty Advanced Warfare both fetch $20 normally, but Best Buy is layering another $6 in credit on top of those trade-ins. Forza Horizon 2 is $27 so those who trade that title in stand to get another $8.10 in trade-in value, bringing them to a total of $35.10.

All told it’s a pretty decent deal for anyone already planning to trade-in some of their older titles towards new games they haven’t played. Best Buy’s terms and conditions for the boost in trade-in value do include some restrictions. Titles from all gaming systems aren’t included in the deal. Searches for trade-in value for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3 and PS4 games all yielded bonus values. So did video games for Nintendo’s 3DS handheld console. Titles for the Wii and Wii U are all included in the deal too.

To be clear, Best Buy doesn’t give shoppers the option to take cash for a trade-in. Instead, their program only provides the value of a trade-in values on a gift card that can be used on just about anything in its stores and on its website.

When compared with what video game retailer GameStop offers those trading in titles, this Best Buy deal is clearly the best way to save on future purchases. Halo: The Master Chief Collection only gets GameStop shoppers $22 in trade-in value if they have A GameStop PowerUp Rewards card. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare gets those same shoppers just $17.60. It is worth noting that GameStop also gives shoppers the option to take their trade-in value in cash. This allows them to spend the money on whatever they want, wherever they want. That’s something those doing trade-ins at Best Buy can’t do.

Best Buy accepts video game trade-ins online at its website, but it’s heavily encouraging users to trade-in their video games at its retail stores. That being said, all of its stores don’t offer access to the trade-in program so it’s a very good idea to call ahead before making plans to trade-in a title.

Titles submitted for trade-in online need to be sent within 14 days of formalizing the trade-in offer on Best Buy’s website. Best Buy says that it reserves the right to turn away any game that isn’t in what it considers to be a playable state. If a game has too many scratches, is written on or has cracks it is deemed not playable and will be turned away.

Read: Is Games Club Unlocked a Good Deal?

Unfortunately, Best Buy doesn’t say exactly when it plans to stop offering the boost in trade-in credit. It’s entirely possible the company is using the higher values to call attention to the relatively new trade-in program at its stores and its Games Club Unlocked discount membership. Games Club Unlocked lets users buy new games for cheaper than they would be normally. Its seen by most as a way to convince gamers to not completely go digital with their games purchases.