HMV considers selling pre-owned online
It's all the rage.
HMV is thinking about following Amazon's lead and selling second hand games online next year.
"We don't sell used games online at present, but it is something that we are considering for 2011," HMV's Martin Baxter told MCV.
The shop already offers a pre-owned service in-store: Re/Play.
Earlier this month Amazon launched an online pre-owned service of its own. Box-up Medal of Honor, for example, print out a special pre-paid delivery label and send your item off and in return you'll get an £23 Amazon Gift Card credited to your account. Do the same for Just Dance 2 and get £15. Repeat for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and get £28.
Once your old game has been received, Amazon will email you to say yes, you can have the money or no, your game was broken and we're sending it back. The latter can take up to two weeks. And in some cases, faulty goods may be thrown away.
Some, however, remain unconvinced by such schemes.
"Online trade-ins will always have issues and delays involved, which many consumers will find intolerable when compared to store trade-ins," ShopTo marketing manager Phil Driver said.
Have you tried Amazon's pre-owned online service? How was it for you?