Topic: game trading: Goozex successor?

[ejamer]

So until fairly recently (probably the middle of last year) I handled most of my online game trading through www.goozex.com. I know other trading sites exist, but the low barrier to entry and "hands off" approach to finding trades that Goozex offered met my needs and was a very enjoyable way to get good value from my old games.


Sadly, Goozex has essentially died.


The site was supposed to be sold, but the transaction took a long time and neither the old nor new owners made any effort to keep the community active and alive during the process. There were also some questionable decisions made about how the internal economy was maintained, choices that seemed to focus on short-term gains without being sustainable or healthy in the long term. Trades slowly dwindled until the site was really only worthwhile for hardcore traders who were already well established -- new traders could still send out games, but the chances of receiving anything back were dangerously low.


So what was next?  GameTZ seemed like the most popular option, but required more effort than I was willing to commit.  Selling second hand games directly offered good value but very inconsistent results. Trading games in to retailers offered great convenience but (generally) poor value. In the end, my trading just stopped since it didn't seem worthwhile and I had a big enough backlog anyway.






I'm not the only ex-Goozex member who felt like they were missing a home. Luckily, some people were more engaged in finding a solution. Thus, www.vgfive.com has just gone live using a system that is remarkably similar to the old Goozex platform. Request games you want to get into a virtual line, send away your games to earn points, wait to be first in line for a game, then use the points you've earned (plus a $1 token that supports the website) to receive that game whenever it becomes available.


Why am I posting this here?


Mostly because I think anyone who used Goozex in the past and enjoyed the experience might want to know there is a new option available. They can get in at (essentially) the ground level and hopefully enjoy trading again.*  But also because I'm curious to hear if others have found a good online trading home after the bottom fell out from Goozex.



*Please note: There are always risks involved with online trading. In this case, most notably the fact that this site is brand new and still in it's infancy. I just signed up and am sending out a game, but for all I know the site could fold next week. I don't recommend that people jump in blindly, or that they necessarily jump in with both feet. However, many of the people involved with VGFive and currently trading games there were active Goozex regulars who have established backgrounds - so that helps. The hardest thing to do with a trading site is establish an active user base that trust each other enough to send out games on a regular basis. VGFive has a nice headstart in that department.

[ejamer]

Ouroboros.


So new management from Goozex buys VGFive after realizing that the trading community there is much healthier than what was left at Goozex. Not sure what will happen now, but anyone thinking about joining VGFive either wants to gamble on joining now before any possible merger or wait and see what happens. Personally, I would tread carefully.




Well, it was a good (if short) run that allowed me to play a number of games I would've missed otherwise. Fingers crossed for the future.