While the combination of ever increasing rents, dwindling footfall, and rising digital sales mean physical game stores are getting wiped out, they still perform a great function for many gamers. This includes the ability to trade items. Being able to sell or part exchange is one of the pros of owning physical media with many a seasoned gamer taking advantage of it at their local video games store even as the practice is slowly fading away. But one instance of trading in went viral recently as a customer made an exchange that had many online viewers widening their eyes.
On Twitter, multiple accounts shared a video of a man who exchanged some rare Nintendo items for a Zelda Tears of the Kingdom edition of the OLED Nintendo Switch. But going by the things he traded in, and the reactions of many to the video, it seems the guy might’ve got a raw deal while it was the store’s lucky day.
In the clip below, which is only around 19 seconds long, presumably the store employee films what the customer traded in that day for his OLED Zelda Switch, as it pans from the items exchanged to the man (who is named Quincy) holding the box of his new Switch and looking pretty pleased. But from the value of the items he traded in, many believe the man was “robbed”.
In the clip we see a Japanese orange Pikachu Nintendo 64 in its original box, a NES Action Set, and various N64 classics such as Goldeneye 007 and Mario Kart 64, all of which he “traded up” for the new Zelda Switch. The store employee says they gave him a $700 payout before asking if he is happy. “Yes. Yes I am,” Quincy says simply.
While getting the seven hundred bucks isn’t to be sniffed at, many thought he got the worse part of the deal. “Poor lad,” a game developer commented below the video. “He has no idea how bad he got screwed. And they recorded it too.” Another said: “Watch as one man miraculously transforms $6000 into $1000.”
While the items might not have fetched that much, according to the popular Price Charting website Quincy’s collection came to a total of $1,124 (thanks Dexerto). There’s also the fact that rare and retro game items are becoming increasingly sought after, so who knows what they could fetch in the years to come. But if Quincy is happy, then who are we to judge? (Of course, obviously we’re all judging…)
