Grapevine-based GameStop structures its entire business on the idea of "reusing."
“Here at GameStop, we have what we like to call the ‘circle of life,’ and we call it the ‘circle of life’ because the customers, they trade their games, they purchase the new, and then once they’re finished playing the new, we ask them to bring it back and trade it again,” said Blane Ridings, GameStop’s director of pre-owned merchandise
GameStop’s model also serves those who don’t want to buy "new."
“By doing that, the benefits are two-fold," Ridings said. "It puts purchasing credit in the hands of the customers who are trading their games to the tune of $520 million in 2010, and it’s also the means by which we gather our pre-owned inventory that we have here in the store that is appealing to our budget-conscious shoppers."
One more way GameStop supports customers and the environment is by letting them trade in both defective games and systems to keep them away from landfills.
Ridings said it's something that most of GameStop's competitors don't do. The retailer gives the customer some credit for those exchanges and tries to repair them. Refurbished items are sold, but items that can't be repaired are donated for recycling.
