Reflections on 2009

Mike Rohde Says Faithful members of Goozex, who don't always have the opportunity to rush out and buy new titles on release date, have to rely on trading with other Goozers to play the latest and greatest. So, when November rolls around and all the future classics start hitting the store shelves, the Goozex faithful might not play those titles until the following year. They might have to wait an extra month or two, but who cares, they still get to play the same great titles, and save a boatload of money in the meantime.

I added up all the titles I got through Goozex in 2009, multiplied that by $60, and realized that I saved approximately $2000! And I think I'm considered a fairly light trader. I'm sure there are Goozers out there who saved much, much more. My point is, I'll gladly wait a month or two if it means saving some bucks.

Due to the Goozex-wait factor, that means when it comes time for The Goozex Report's Game of the Year awards, you might see some titles from the previous year, which is all fine and good. That's also how CoD4 won GotY last year, alongside Metal Gear Solid, Left 4 Dead, and Fallout 3 (each writer got to choose their own pick).

As the Executive Editor, my qualifications for a game to be nominated is based solely on one factor: how much fun did you have playing that game through the course of the year, regardless of when it was released? On Tuesday, The Goozex Report will publish the 2009 Game of the Year awards. Each writer will contribute their nominations and picks. Which games would you like to see listed? As for me, the contenders include: Halo Wars, The Godfather II, Gears of War 2, FEAR 2, 50 cent: Blood on the Sand, Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution, Dead Space, Fable II, Forza 3, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Assassin's Creed II and Modern Warfare 2.

Tips for Trading on Goozex

Troy Benedict Says Being a fairly active member of the Goozex community for almost a year and a half, I thought I’d share some of my tips on getting the most of out of your experiences with Goozex, being both the buyer and seller. This are my own personal opinions.

Communicate, communicate, communicate!
I can’t stress communication enough! Whether you’re the buyer or seller, you need to communicate with the member on the other end of the trade. It only takes a few extra seconds to send a brief personalized message to another member about the trade. Sometimes a little communication can go a long way.

Be prompt and personal with the shipping confirmation
As a responsible seller, I recommend being prompt with a shipping confirmation. Take a few extra moments, while confirming shipment, to also add a personalized message with the details of the delivery. A brief greeting, with the product name and shipment date, is all you need. A seller has two options with which to send the product upon being matched up with a buyer. They can choose to ship within 1 day or within 3 days. I recommend sellers with busy schedules, or those with multiple packages to ship off to other users, to opt to ship within 3 days, unless you are absolutely sure that you’ll be able to send the package by the next day at the very latest. Give yourself the extra couple of days if there is even the slightest doubt that you won’t be able to ship the package within the next day. If you weren’t able to send a confirmation on the day the package was shipped, take a moment to let the member know the shipment date as soon as possible. If you are late shipping off the package, promptly contact the member and let them know of the delay, and give them an idea of when you expect to ship the package. Most people understand if you’re upfront and honest. Nobody likes to be left wondering when their title will arrive, especially if it’s a new or popular item.

Delivery confirmations or tracking numbers are a must!
Second only to proper communication, in terms of importance during a Goozex trade, is getting a delivery confirmation or a tracking number for your package. As a seller, think of it as insurance for a smooth transaction. It may cost a little extra for this feature, but if there is ever a problem with the buyer claiming they never received the delivery, having this information can be invaluable by helping to prevent unnecessary headaches. Make sure to attach this information to your shipment confirmation, as well. As the buyer, it’s reassuring to be able to get the most recent shipping details from the shipping service’s web site.

Check and double-check when sending multiple packages at once
If you are a fairly active member of the Goozex community, it’s not uncommon to be paired up with multiple buyers within a couple of days. If you are expecting to send out multiple packages to different members, make absolutely sure that you send the correct product to its matching user. I can speak from personal experience, as I mixed up a set of games one time earlier this year. It’s a hassle for both the buyer and the seller, as well as for Goozex, to correct this issue. It was recommended to me, that you physically separate the products and the printed-out member address info as much as possible, so that there is absolutely no way a mix-up would occur. Before sealing the package, double-check that the address on the package matches the address and product on the buyer’s request.

Test the product before submitting feedback
As a buyer, make sure to take a look over the condition of your product and ensure that the content of the package matches what the seller promised. At the same time, if there are a few cosmetic flaws with the case, documentation, or disc, be fair and realistic when considering posting neutral or negative feedback. A dog-eared page in the manual of an otherwise mint-condition package should not receive less than a perfect positive feedback, in my opinion. Please keep in mind that a majority of content traded via Goozex is preowned! Not all products you receive will be brand new, sealed copies. Although there are some people out there that send out brand new packages!

Send prompt feedback, and personalize it
Whether you’re sending positive, neutral, or negative feedback, take the time to send a personalized message to the seller. To me, there is nothing less personal to a seller, especially if the product is in excellent or mint condition, to receive feedback from the buyer with no comments attached. Comments for member feedback show up alongside each person’s transaction history, and are viewable to other members. These comments can be helpful in determining the quality of the person you’ve been matched up. The only time comments are absolutely required is for sending negative feedback. However, I think that all members should provide just a little bit of commentary when posting feedback, even if the trade was quick or uneventful. Even a simple “thank you” would suffice. The comments section is also a good place to add any details about the transaction that you were happy or unhappy with. If you had a practically mint-condition product, but there was a minor cosmetic flaw, instead of giving them an unfairly lower feedback rating, post the details in the comments section.

Is Selling DVDs Worthwhile on Goozex?

JimmyJames70 Says I figured it's about time I looked into the DVD trading feature of Goozex, since after all, it's a new feature and I've got several old DVDs laying around collecting dust.

Before I made them ready and active to sell, I did some math to make sure selling these old movies would make sense. Here's a breakdown of what I'm offering and what they are currently worth on Goozex:

• 150 points for From Hell, Directors' Limited Edition


• 100 points for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2-Disc Set, Special Edition)


• 100 points for Gangs of New York


• 100 points for Austin Powers in Goldmember

Adding it up, that's 450 points for 4 movies.

For sake of comparison, you can purchase 400 points for $20.

Shipping 4 DVDs would cost approximately $14, given that each shipment would cost around $3.50 (of course, that doesn't include the cost of the bubble envelope and the time it takes to print a mailing label and dropping it off in the mail box). If you wanted to get really technical, then it might cost you around $16 to $17 to mail the DVDs. Even with that factored in, you're still getting more than $20 worth of points while spending less than $18.

Doing the math that way, yeah, you're saving money by selling old DVDs instead of purchasing new points. And plus, your clearing your shelf of DVDs you no longer watch.

If you think 100 points is too cheap to sell your movies for, you could always hold out and see if supply-and-demand kicks in and raises the value of the DVD. However, that's probably unlikely for older titles. It looks like the majority of DVDs, that aren't complete collections of a series, will probably stay at the 100 point value. Of course, that's pure speculation on my part. I could be wrong. But then again, I don't foresee a huge spike in demand for Goldmember anytime soon.

DVD Trading Goes Live on Goozex

Dale Culp Says Goozex, the game trading service we all know and love, is about to become even better. A major, new extension of the site will allow movie lovers to enjoy the same, great features that gamers already enjoy. If you've always wanted to trade movies as easily as you trade games, now you can! As the site undergoes its startling metamorphosis, I took the opportunity to get caught up to speed on this fantastic new service with Goozex founder and COO Jonathan Dugan.

One of things I wanted to know was how the back-end of the service was going to work with regards to adding movies to the site. Would they simply open the floodgates and allow every movie ever known, or would there be a limited selection, at first? “Our content provider in the past has been Muze and they continue to provide us with information on a weekly and daily basis. They provided the same information they give us for games but for movies. Some of the information they have provided us has allowed us to boil down the difference between certain special and regular editions of titles whether on Blu-Ray or DVD so that you'll know exactly which edition you'll get – the 3, the 5 disc, or whatever it may be. There's a huge amount of movies you're going to be able to find – some movies go way back. You'll have Spartacus, you'll have Citizen Kane, you'll have a ton of classics that you're going to have access to – some that you'll probably have never found or have heard of. Just like with games, you'll have the opportunity discover movies you might have never heard about or ever played. So, hopefully, you'll have the same experience with the movie section.”

One other question that continues to come up on the forums is the question of “adult” films and how they will be handled. Dugan says that, “You could say there's going to be a filtering process – the filtering process right now is that the adult films have been removed. It's a tricky subject, it's one that we try to avoid. We think it's better to have the physical media for adult content off the site. We don't see adult content and DVDs as being our core.”

I could tell I was hitting a tender subject and my next question was just as poignant, especially when considering that there does exist a strong difference between what makes a Mature game versus what makes an R-rated movie. Certain explicit themes and topics show up in a wide variety of films that just don't exist in gaming. I wanted to know how Goozex was planning to make sure these movies didn't fall into the hands of the wrong people – i.e., minors. “Obviously, you either have to be 18 and over or have a parent or legal guardian sign up for you. What we assume is that anyone on our site either has consent or is 18 or older, meaning they already are permitted to trade or see rated R films. Essentially, if there is someone younger that is trading on the Goozex system, according to our terms of service, they are giving consent that they are 18.”
In other words, currently, there is no realistic way for Goozex to prevent minors from trading mature content. Ultimately, it's up to parents and legal guardians to make sure their kids aren't gaining access to movies and games they, otherwise, shouldn't be seeing.

As for the question of point values and how they get assigned to movies, “It's going to be tricky,” says Dugan. “Hopefully our pricing model works out where a limited edition Terminator is worth more than a standard edition. Whether it's 50 points, 100 points, we haven't really tested it yet. It's something that we're trying to iron out the kinks right now in our beta.” Dugan explains that the beta will be ongoing for the next few months, even once it goes to the public and the real stress test begins. “The system, hopefully, will be able to assign value to each movie pertaining to their edition. Now, we're also going to, hopefully, be able to assign consistent and solid value to box sets – you know, like a season of Futurama, a full season of Battlestar Galactica – and hopefully we're going to have the right point allocation to each box set used. I think, over time, the system based on supply and demand and other metrics, I think a point system should work itself out. As of right now, the movies will likely be a good amount cheaper because, normally, a game is more expensive than a movie, so, from the get-go, movies, most likely will be around the hundred and 400 point range with some box sets going above the 1,000 point mark. Entire box sets of James Bond, for example.”

You might be wondering why a game trading site would be interested in trading movies. As Dugan explains it, “Well, Goozex stands for goods exchange, and originally, the idea was to have a platform that would allow anyone to trade any product. We kinda figured when we first started Goozex that we'd be stretching ourselves thin if we tried to be in every market. Movies, books, music, games – any type of product that you could trade and assign a point value to. We figured that we really wanted to get the trading system down pat and understand how it works, and what we really wanted to do was make sure that it worked really well before we worried about multiple products. So, that's why we started with games. We felt that the most logical product extension for people who play games would have been movies because we assume that a majority gamers, if not all, are interested in watching film.”

If the game trading service works well enough, as Dugan believes it will, there's a huge potential for Goozex to become more popular than ever. Even in the age of rampant movie piracy, Dugan says that the market exists for people who want movies on physical media. “People are losing money, out there,” as he explains, and Goozex is all about saving people money.

The service went live today, August 17, and has already seen trades occurring. According to a tweet from the official Goozex Twitter account, Smallville (blu-ray), Training Day (HD-DVD) and Batman Gotham Knight (blu-ray) were the first three movies traded.

Goozex to Launch DVD and Blu-Ray Trading and an Improved Goozex Exchange

Erik Kubik Says Goozex is adding Blu-Ray and DVD trading this summer to their already successful game-trading service. The new feature launches the week of August the 10th and will run as a beta for 8 to 12 weeks. These additional trading opportunities have generated an enormous amount of positive feedback from Goozex members.

This is what we know so far--like games, each DVD and Blu-Ray will be assigned point values and will require a trade token. The trade tokens and points you receive from trading DVDs and Blu-Rays can be used to receive games, and vice versa. There will not be separate queues for games and DVDs. The movies will appear in your “Requests” and “Haves” lists side-by-side with your games. The options for listing what you have and what you want will be like the games with several options. Although it won’t be the focus of the new trading, HD-DVDs will be included.

Goozex has kept a tight lid on the point requirements for movies, so the biggest question on everyone’s mind is, “How many points will ‘X’ be worth?” Other questions include, will the Goozex Guarantee stand behind the movies like it does the games? Is there going to be a point difference for Widescreen vs. Fullscreen?

Goozex Exchange
Another anticipated change coming to Goozex is the revamping of the Goozex Exchange. The Goozex Exchange is a service that allows users to trade their Goozex points for new games from Amazon.com. The old system was limited by the amount of games Goozex was offering through Amazon and the time frame in which the sale ran. Due to these restrictions, many members felt alienated from this opportunity to purchase their games.

Limited quantities and small sale windows are things of the past! With these promising changes, the Goozex Exchange is now set to run all year long. It will include both movies and games. Users can buy games and movies with their points or use a combination of points and cash to purchase their goods. The new system should be in place in September. The two new features should increase the usability of Goozex while boosting the user base, and increasing the amount of goods and points in the system. Hats off to Goozex for listening to its users and moving forward with new ideas!

For more information, check the Goozex forums for DVDs and Blu-Rays and The Goozex Exchange.

Round 2 of the Goozex Exchange

Kube00 Says: Everyone get excited: it’s Round 2 of the Goozex Exchange!!! The Goozex Exchange is going to happen again sometime soon. The idea behind the Goozex Exchange is that members can use their points to get brand-new, sealed games. This time around, members can get games such as Halo Wars Limited Edition, Halo Wars, Killzone 2, Resident Evil 5, and Street Fighter IV for 1600-2000 points per game.

I am excited about this because it’s a great way for Goozex members to use points to get brand-new, sealed games. Many members have earned a huge amount of points from trading their old games and they don’t know what to spend them on. This is an opportunity for members with a large stockpile of points to trade them in for a brand-new game.

All games from the Goozex Exchange ship from Amazon, so they should arrive fast and in good condition (no broken cases).

If these Goozex Exchanges are successful, then you can look forward to more in the future. I, along with others, look forward to this sale and we hope it goes as well as the last one.

Out with the Old Games and In with the New

JimmyJames70 Says: Gone are the days when only teenage guys played video games. These days it seems like everyone plays games, whether you’re a mom playing the Wii with the kids, or a 20-year old female holding her own—or better—on Xbox Live, game demographics are now 50% women and that figure is likely to grow. Reuters reported that 800,000 Wii’s were sold over the last Thanksgiving holiday. This family-friendly gaming console provides everyone a chance to play and have fun. Unfortunately, these games aren’t cheap. A new game can cost you $60, which helps explain how the gaming industry is worth $35 billion. How do you keep your family in new shoes and new games at the same time while the economy is crumbling? It’s simple, trade in your old games for new ones.

Most kids don’t want to trade in their old games, mostly because they might want to play them again, but that doesn’t stop them from wanting new games. Jennifer Galloway, mother of three and Goozex member (TNmomwith3kids), explains it to her kids this way, “They can wait on someone to buy them a new game while they just keep beating the same old game over and over, or, they can trade their beaten game for someone else to enjoy, and in turn get a different game for themselves!” This is especially great if they have a game that they didn't really enjoy and want a new one.

Several game-trading and rental sites exist, such as GameFly, SwitchGames, and SwapTree. Goozex.com happens to lead the pack. The site was profiled in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Cnet, and several notable gaming sites. The people behind Goozex have a caring heart, last December they partnered with Cause and held a two-month charity drive for America’s military wounded. They also act as mediator for any disputes that might arise during trading.

Chain stores like GameStop buy used video games for a fraction of what they are worth. Galloway says, “My kids were into trading their games for store credit at the Rhinos/Game Stop before I found Goozex. When they saw that they could get equal credit for their old game towards a 'new to them' game, they jumped at the chance.”

The concept behind Goozex is simple. When you’re done playing a game, make it available, and the system finds another gamer who is requesting that game. When the match is made, you are notified via email and you can choose to accept or reject the trade. If you accept the trade, you receive Points (the number of points you receive is based on the age of the game and supply and demand). You then use your Points to request a game you want. Each trade only costs $1. If you have a kid, or a husband—or even yourself for that matter—who burn through games faster than you get paychecks, then a service like this is a must.

The Hidden Costs of Goozex...and How to Avoid Them

Mike Beacom Says: If you're visiting this site, you probably use Goozex, or you're considering it. It's a great service that lets you trade games you've already played, no longer want, or for games you don't have. The Goozex system is simple, nicely automated, and it saves you money compared to the retail purchase of used games. But, if you don't pay attention, it can be very expensive.

If you're new to Goozex, you might be thinking to yourself, "But Goozex is a free service." Well, you're right. And you're wrong. Here's the thing, Goozex IS free [ed note: except for the $1 per trade costs]. Unfortunately, shipping your game to another Goozex user is not. Normally that's fine, but in some cases, shipping costs can really sneak up on you. If you trade game for game, shipping is not an issue. You send out a game and pay shipping while someone else sends you a game and they pay shipping. This is fair and evens out nicely and everyone is happy. The potential for problems starts when you decide to clean out your old game collection to increase your point score.

I'm sure we've all done it. Early in our Goozex experience, we dig through our dusty games looking for the ones we don't mind getting rid of in hopes of squeezing a few extra points into our queue; getting us that much closer to that new 1000 point release. The older games sit in the queue for a while but eventually start generating some points. You start shipping games (for me this is about $3.20 each), and before you know it, you've shipped a bunch of games and gained some Goozex points.

Ok, so let's do some math. Let's say you get rid of five 100 point games, two 150 point games, and one 200 point game. You've shipped 8 games and gained 1000 points. Viola, you just sold some used, old games and got a new one in return. Sounds great doesn't it? But wait a second. If you shipped 8 games at $3.20 each, you just spent $25.60 to get 1000 points. What basically just happened is that you've cut the already low value of your used game in half. And, you've likely waited weeks or even a couple months to get that new game. A better idea is to buy 1000 Goozex points for $50.00. This allows you to get that new game sooner because you don't have to wait for all your old games to be requested. If you get the new game sooner, you'll have a better chance to trade it again while the point value is still high.

Now you're probably asking, "But what about my old games? I want to get something for them." If you want to trade your old games, that's great, there are a lot of people who still want them. What you need to do to minimize the negative cumulative shipping costs is simple. Make sure you have some older games in your request queue. If you request some low point games, you can make your shipping costs go further, because for each game you send, you also receive one. The shipping costs only start to hurt you when you send out a large number of games, but only get one or two in return.

So, make sure your queue is full of a variety of games and game values. There are probably lots of older or more common games you missed that are worth playing. That's part of what makes Goozex great, and something I'll be writting about in future articles. This not only allows you to get more games sooner, but takes some pain out of paying shipping costs on eight games only to receive one.

Editor's Note: I couldn't disagree more with this. Taking Beacom's example of trading 8 games, gaining 1000 points, and spending $25.50 in shipping is an awesome deal. Not only did you get rid of eight games that you no longer play, but you also earned enough points for a new game, which would cost you $60 at retail. You have to think of it this way, you didn't spend $26 in shipping, you saved $30 on a new game.

Purchasing points is something I did one time to get the ball rolling when I first started Goozex and now I wouldn't dream of purchasing points. If I run low on points, I'd much rather spend my money on a used game rather than points. That way, not only do I have a new game to play, but I can eventually sell it back on Goozex for points, and usually at a profit.

Goozex Strategies

Kube00 Says: Want to know how some Goozex members have built up tons of points without spending a lot of money? Well, you could buy new releases, play through them, and then trade them on Goozex to the eager, pining masses. Or, you could gather up your rare games and trade them on Goozex, forgoing their value on the future. Examples of this include the high-demand and super-long-wait games like Final Fantasy VII, or Intelligent Qube. Finally, you could dump your whole collection of old sports games for 100 points apiece and hope that someone in a year or so requests them. Actually, none of the above is the best strategy. Let me help you out with a few secrets of the trade from an expert.

Here’s a better and more effective way, and it doesn’t involve going to Gamestop or Game Crazy. Garage Sales, pawnshops, and thrift stores can be a gamers’ paradise. Who knows, your neighbor down the street might want to offload a few of his Playstation or Dreamcast games cheaply, and who knows, there might be a few worth flipping to Goozex. Your neighborhood thrift shop might have some disc-only PS2 games for less than $1 a piece. Keep in mind that the weather is getting warmer, and that means more garage sales are going on, and a lot of them are listed on Craigslist.

Speaking of garage sales, here’s a good tip. Check out your local Giant Nickel and Craigslist on Wednesdays before the weekend to scoop out the garage sales. Oh wait, you want to save some gas money too? Well, why not email the garage sale hosts, and politely ask them what games they have and if you can buy early. Make sure you plot your route so you know exactly where you are going, it helps to bring along a buddy to navigate. Make sure you get going before 8 am on a Sat/Sun or even a Friday so you can get there when the sales first open.

The only bad thing is you’ll have to know the general value of games, don’t just get anything, know the general point value of games so you can maximize your trip. Pass on copies of Madden 2002, instead, grab that copy of Resident Evil 2 for the Playstation and hold onto it tight. If you have an iPhone or other Internet-capable portable device bring that along as it may help you. Over the last few years I’ve found plenty of games to trade on Goozex, including several high demand titles for next to nothing. So if you are looking to score a few games, why not take a walk, car trip, or a bike around the neighborhood: you might get lucky.

Editor’s Note: When I see a game that is still high in value (over 900 points), has a long wait, and was released over three months ago, I visit eBay. I then place a maximum bid of $30 for the game that I want. If I win, I then play through it, and sell it on Goozex for a profit (granted, I get points instead of cash). This strategy has been pretty successful for me. I’ve done it with Battlefield: Bad Company, Mercs2, and Quantum of Solace.

The Goozex Report is not responsible for things you buy from Garage Sales, pawnshops, etc. Know the value before you buy. Know your spending limit.

Goozex Trade Credit Sale

Kube00 Says: Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Goozex is cutting their prices on trade credits by 50%. What is a better gift for your loved one on Valentine’s Day than credits!

Trade credits are used to get games from Goozex. Trade credits are worth a dollar. You give them to Goozex in exchange for using their wonderful, reasonable, and fast trading system. For example, say you are in line to get that copy of Resident Evil 4; currently that will cost you 200 points plus a trade credit. That’s a good deal, at retail, most copies are still $9.99-$14.99.

Spring and summer are rapidly approaching and that means more new releases are coming soon. The summer is a great time to game and you can find great deals. The sale is an excellent opportunity to stock up on credits for all your summer trading.

Also, The Goozex Report is looking for more writers. If you want to write for us, drop us a note.

Give the Gift of Goozex

Jimmy James 70 Says: If you’re like me, you do like the idea of giving, especially near the Holidays. But you’re probably also a little lazy and you probably have no idea what to get other people. That’s why gift cards are such a fantastical, crazy-good idea. And now you don’t have to settle for some lame mega-store gift card. You can give the gift of Goozex. How awesome is that? Pretty awesome if you ask me (are you listening Lucky Duck 21?).

Goozex Says: Goozex Launches New Electronic Gift Cards for the Holiday Season
Goozex, Inc., the leading online video game trading community, announced today the company’s release of new electronic gift cards for the Holiday season. The Goozex Gift Cards are sold exclusively on the website and are aimed for game players that may have missed out on great games released in the past year or two. With over 9,500 unique titles available on Goozex, gift card recipients have instant access to one of the largest libraries of video games in the world. The Goozex Gift Cards make an excellent last minute Holiday shopping gift for the video game enthusiast.

Video game consumers are burdened with the high price of games and many cannot budget to play every newly released title in a given year. A gamer that receives the Goozex Gift Card can catch-up and play many of the great titles they might have missed and are hard to find in local retail stores. Goozex has a great supply of these games because many video game consumers agree to trade them on Goozex.com versus local game stores because of the fair market trade values they will receive. For example, someone that trades Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii will receive $35.00 worth of Goozex points versus the $10-$15 trade-in value they would otherwise receive at a local used game shop.

Goozex Gift Cards are sold in several different Goozex points and trade credit combinations. Goozex points are the virtual currency used on the game trading site and trade credits are the fees paid to receive games. The cards are given to recipients either electronically via email or can be printed. Gift card values range from $5.00 to $270.00 to satisfy the different types of gamers. To view all available gift card value options please visit the Goozex Gift Card page.

“Our members are passionate about gaming and one of the things they love to do is find and play great titles that they may have missed,” said Jonathan Dugan, co-founder of Goozex. Jonathan continued, “In some months there are three or more games released that a consumer wants, but can only afford to buy one of them. We’ve seen that once the gamer plays through that one game they’ll trade it back out on Goozex, and request the other games they missed out on. For those looking for a last minute gift idea, the Goozex Gift Cards are a great way to share that catch-up and play experience so many of our members do on a regular basis.”

Goozex Offers New Feedback System

The Goozer Says—A big part of joining a video game trading community is trust. You need a lot of trust in your fellow gamer to follow through on sending what they say they are going to send. You also need to trust that people will report back accurate and fair feedback. A gamer's feedback score reflects how reputable a trader they are. Does a trader send filthy, scratched discs and forget to send the manual; or does a trader promptly ship their games in pristine condition? There's no way to tell without a feedback system.

Until November 6, the only way to try and resolve a feedback dispute was to contact Goozex customer service. And you could consider yourself lucky if they responded in a timely manner. Luckily, I've never been victimized by a Goozex scammer. The worse that happened to me was that I got Neutral feedback from someone claiming all I sent them was the disc and manual and not the full package. In reality, I not only sent them the whole package, but it was in like-new condition. This situation didn't hurt me or any future trades, but the potential for harm is out there. That's why I was very pleased to read in yesterday's Goozex newsletter they are improving the feedback system:

From the Goozex newsletter:
Starting November 6, 2008 Goozex will introduce an improved feedback system that includes the possibility for sellers to dispute feedback, and for both parties in a transaction to find a friendly resolution to any issue.

The first major change is that neutral feedback carries a negative feedback score. Sellers will still receive the points for their games, but their feedback score will be negatively affected, and they may face further restrictions on trading.

The new dispute system will come in effect for any neutral or negative feedback given by buyers. At that point, sellers will have the option to accept the feedback (although they can still leave a message), dispute the feedback, or attempt to finding a friendly resolution with the buyer. For example, a seller that may have forgotten to ship a game manual, may offer to follow up and ship it to the buyer. A buyer may then choose to change the feedback to positive.

These changes are intended to give more control to you—our members—on the outcome of each trade. Also, they allow sellers and buyer to provide more organized information to Goozex, in case a negative trade issue needs to be escalated to our customer service. In turn, this simplifies our investigations and allows for faster resolution of problems.

I Love Goozex

It recently came to my attention that not everyone knows how Goozex works. I originally wrote about Goozex on one of my first blogs, Down The Hill We Go. I've since abandoned that blog, but decided to move the I Love Goozex post to The Goozex Report. This is the post that started it all. The response I received on this post is what prompted me to start The Goozex Report:

This was orginally published on Down The Hill We Go on August 19, 2008: I started using Goozex, the game-trading service, in April 2008. Since then, I have received 18 games. In my eyes, that’s $1080 (not including tax) worth of Xbox 360 games. If you’re a gamer, and you’re tired of dropping $60 for the latest titles, then I whole-heartedly recommend Goozex.

The web site works off a point system. Each game is assigned a point value, which fluctuates based on popularity, availability, and for how long the game has been available. Points can range from a maximum of 1000 to a low of 200. You can obtain points two different ways. The first way is to trade the games you currently own. The second way is to purchase them; you can purchase 100 points for $5. For each trade, you need a Trade credit. A Trade credit is worth a dollar. To keep it simple, think of Points going back-and-forth between the traders, and Trade credits go to Goozex (they have to get paid somehow). After someone requests one of your games, then it’s up to you to purchase a bubble envelope, print out the address, and head to the post office. Not a big deal, but on some days it can be a hassle getting to the post office, but they do give you three days before you have to mail it.

A game like Peter Jackson’s King Kong is worth 250 points. Simple math says that you can purchase King Kong from Goozex for roughly $12.50. If you bought it brand new in the store when it was released, you would have paid $60. While King Kong is a fun game with awesome dinosaurs, there is no way the game is worth $60. It is, however, worth $12.50 and I was very happy with my $12.50 game. What made me even happier is that I purchased the game for 200 points and I sold it back for 250 points. That made me very, very happy. In the end, I earned 50 points ($2.50) off the game. That offset the cost of shipping.

For every excellent deal like King Kong, there’s a Viking: Battle for Asgard. A simple button-masher of a game, it does offer beautiful scenery and awesome cut scenes. However, it is very repetitive and the core of the game tests your button pushing skills. I bought this one for 900 points (a big mistake) and, two months later, it’s still sitting on my shelf waiting for someone else to request it. When I do sell it back, I will only receive 750 points (provided it does not drop further in value). I’m looking at a potential loss on that one. Looking at it positively, if I trade it for 750 points, then I will have spent 150 ($12.50) points on the game. Yes, the game is worth $12.50, so in the end, I’m still happy.

Then there are games like Grand Theft Auto IV. When this game released, I ran to the store to purchase it. The game critics were raving about it and it was deemed the game of the century. Personally, I thought the game was severely over hyped and did not live up to it’s potential. I finished the single-player missions and promptly put it up for sale on Goozex. Less than an hour later, someone requested it, and I earned 1000 points for it. My $60 purchase of GTA IV earned me the equivalent of $50. Basically, I played GTA IV for $10. The only way you could beat that is if someone gave you the game for free. This is the beauty of Goozex: it allows you to buy games you wouldn’t normally purchase in the store and it allows you to sell games that you’re not happy with.

The service does rely on the honor-system: if you say you’re going to trade a game that is in good condition, then you better do so. You can provide Positive, Neutral, and Negative feedback. That way, if you decide to be a jerk and trade scratched games, or never send the game at all, then karma will come back to bite you. On the other hand, if you keep your game, case, and manual in new condition, promptly mail the game to the requester, and send a nice note, then you will receive Positive feedback and your karma remains healthy. I’ve only had one negative experience so far and it wasn’t really that bad. I sent a requester a full package, and they gave me Neutral feedback saying I only sent the game and the manual. In the long run, this hasn’t hurt me or my standing with Goozex, and I have had no problems since then.