Digg is one of my favorite websites of all time. You get to rifle through new content every day, and it often introduces you to sites that you have never seen or heard of before.
Articles, pictures, videos and interviews are a few of the great things that Digg will expose you to. Most of the time, I browse the featured page(s) and click on what interests me by the article name (probably not unlike most users).
On the front page Sunday, I came across and article called Nintendo: Consumers Don’t Like Used Games from GossipGamers.
From the article:
Reggie Fils-Aime, President of Nintendo of America has said the
company does not believe second hand game sales are in the best
interest of consumers.
“We don’t believe used games are in the best interest of the consumer†Fils-Aime told Venture Beat. “We have products that consumers want to hold onto. They want to play all of the levels of a Zelda game and unlock all of the levels. A game like Personal Trainer Cooking has a long life.†“Describe another form of entertainment that has a vibrant used goods market. Used books have never taken off. You don’t see businesses selling used music CDs or used DVDs. Why? The consumer likes having a brand-new experience and reliving it over and over again. If you create the right type of experience, that also happens in videogames.†“We just think it’s a bad idea,†he insisted. “The one retailer thathas a substantial business in this has figured out a way that is effective for the consumer.“That’s tough for other retailers experimenting with this, in part because their employees don’t have the expertise in this market.â€
This notion is indeed ridiculous. I do not know any gamers who have not played used games. In fact, most of the people I know who do play video games regularly purchase used titles. Which made me think, what if other company executives spoke out about previously owned products on the market? If clothing manufacturers or publishing companies suddenly had a problem with their products being sold in second hand shops, what could be done?
No, the companies do not make money the second time a product of theirs is sold, but consumers do not keep items until they are broken or obsolete any longer. There are many products that you can trade for cash or newer items and video games are one of these products. Over the past 15-20 years, previously owned items have created a market of their own. It used to be that rummage sales were one of the few ways to rid yourself of unwanted and unused merchandise. Nowadays, you can sell your items nearly anywhere. Ebay, Craigslist, Amazon… and the list goes on.
I can not say what would happen if the used market disappeared. I can say that it is not going to happen. In fact, the market for previously owned merchandise is bigger than ever (especially with people becoming more focused on saving). The above example is probably not the last that we will see from a well known company, but I do not believe that it will change the minds of consumers. Hopefully, we will continue our saving, and become more self reliant by utilizing used products and finding deals wherever we can.
For the best deals, I use the following sites:
Woot! Woot Sellout Amazon Ebay Craigslist Beat My Price
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