The best value when trading games
It's no secret the economy is rough and people are finding themselves with less disposable income now than in previous years. With the average price of a new video game being $50, this could severely limit the number of games you buy. Luckily, there is a new alternative. Last night I had the opportunity to speak with Jason Crawford, the CEO of the website Switchgames.com.
Examiner: Mr. Crawford, tell me about Switchgames.com. What is it?
JC: Now, more than ever, in our current economic climate, people need options outside the traditional brick-and-mortar retail system that they are used to. Used games are a multi-billion dollar industry and 90% is transacted at GameStop. We feel the online space offers gamers the opportunity to get more of the games they want without losing the equity.
Examiner: How long has the site been in existence? I notice that the site is still in beta.
JC: I started Switchgames.com several years ago as a concept site. I basically was working in e-commerce at the time and came up with an idea for a "quick and dirty" game trading site to connect me and my friends to people we didn't know. You see, my friends and I always trade games and I thought, wouldn't it be cool to extend the trading we do outside of our circle to people we don't know. We had a small, hardcore community dedicated to Switchgames.com; I never did any advertising or marketing of any sort. About a year ago, I decided to devote myself full time because it was something people like and I felt I could deliver something truly unique. It took a long time because I went from building and making game interfaces, learning how to make games and I took all of what I learned and used it to build a new version of Switchgames.com.
Examiner: For people who aren't familiar with Switchgames.com, how would you compare with GameStop, who you mentioned earlier is the leading retailer in used games?
JC: Well, you know, GameStop has it's positive points. They are not doing this business in the used games market for no reason. GameStop is generally pretty convenient for people but what they are lacking is the value propostion. Its not just Gamestop, its the retail industry in general. What we are trying to do is build the first practical and effective option to brick and mortar retail. And I think when you look at all of the other offerings online, less than 7% of the used games business is done there. For such a huge industry, I think there's something wrong here. Also, we don't predetermine the value of games. If you take a used game to a retailer, you would be lucky to get $17 in store credit. On Switchgames.com, you and your trade partner determine the value. Switchgames is an open marketplace, a facilitator. If you want to trade one game for another, its up to you. Switchgames doesn't determine what your game is worth, you determine what your game is worth. And that is where our value shows.
Examiner: On behalf of prospective customers, what is the process to becoming a member of Switchgames.com?
JC: Its 100% free, there are no hidden fees and there are no credit cards required. You fill out some basic information, upload an avatar and become part of the community.
Examiner: If there are no costs on the front end, how does Switchgames.com make you money?
JC: Right now, the only revenue stream is advertising. Moving forward, though, we will have additional, optional premium features that will be available that will make transacting on Switchgames.com more safer, more quick and more convenient. You will always be able to trade games on Switchgames.com for free. However, as an example, a new service we will be providing in the near future is SafeTrade which will cost $6.95 per trade. What you get with that is a prepaid mailing label to ship your trade and the game is shipped to a Switchgames.com hub. At the hub, the game will be checked for authenticity and to make sure it is not defective. Also, if your trade partner doesn't send their item to the hub for trade, we send your original game back. We are also looking at having a buy/sell function for which the charge will be a small percentage of the profit. The trick is we won't charge on anything you don't sell. There won't be a listing fee or an expiration date on the listings.
Examiner: Have you had many issues where someone didn't receive a trade and complained to the site?
JC: I don't want to give away too much on how we do things but I will say we have a lot of anti-fraud systems in place, which analyzes behavior and activity automatically to protect the users. We also have a customer service staff that handles disputes. Just because we don't make direct money doesn't mean we don't care. We take fraud very seriously. Mail fraud is a federal crime and we do prosecute. And once SafeTrade is implemented, we expect that will add another layer of security to the customer.
Examiner: Jason, there is something on the site that intrigues me but I don't quite understand. Can you explain to me how the "ribbons" work?
JC: Those are badges that award customers for different things from number of trades to years as a member. Its a visual representation of what kind of member you are dealing with. Going back to an earlier question, there is going to be an option of "verified membership", which, for a charge of $1.95, we verify your information. Once we successfully verify that information, you get the "verify" badge. The badge doesn't say that you are a "Knight in Shining Armor", but it does say we know who this person is. Again, this is an optional feature that is not required to be a member. You can use the site every day for five years without paying a dime if you didn't want to. Its just something else we offer to our customers.
Examiner: How do you get the "philanthropy" ribbon?
JC: That is a fun one. That one is awarded manually by our customer service staff. What's cool about it is you never know how you are going to get it. Do the right thing, be a productive member of the community and theres a good chance you will get that badge. I will say it is not easy to get.
Examiner: Jason, I'd like to thank you for your time and give you an opportunity to make a statement to people who are new to Switchgames.com.
JC: We're different. We are a complete re-think on the used games business. We are an empowering platform that seven years of thought and work have gone into and not a get rich quick scheme. We are dedicated to empowering and protecting the gamer as well as giving them the best value they can get. I'd like to welcome them to the site and have them tell us what they think.
For more info: See the YouTube Video "How a used game can end up costing you almost $70", presented by Switchgames.com For automatic updates, please hit the "Subscribe" button below.
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