Buy Games Frequently? – The Most Common Mistakes of Buying Video Games

So you’re a frequent video game buyer. You constantly purchase games new or used, recent games or old, triple A or indie games. But do you know the 3 common mistakes of buying games? They may haunt you and burn a hole through your wallet, but they are very simple to overcome, making you a wiser game buyer.

Mistake 1: Buying a Game Based on Its Cover

You know the saying. Don’t judge a book by its cover? That also applies to videogames, whether you like it or not. Buying a game based solely on what’s on the cover or the back of the case is not a valid reason to do so. If you want to save money and time from a potentially bad video game, do your homework and check out more information on the games you want to buy beforehand. This includes simply browsing around game sites such as Gamespot, Metacritic, or GameInformer for video game news, content, information, media, and especially reviews. Make sure the price is right for the game of your choice. Don’t buy blindly!

Hey, do you like our content? Like us on Facebook, follow or tweet to us on Twitter, or share this content with your friends via the buttons above/below this page. We’re sure they’ll find it as useful as you do!

Mistake 2: Buying a New Game Over Its Used Counterparts

There are multiple opinions on this and most argue that buying new games is the “safe” way of making sure a video game works. I agree, but with the array of bad videogames out there in the market, I absolutely bind with buying used games over new games. There are a couple reasons for doing that. First, game stores like Gamespot make it easy for customers to return used videogames if they do not work. You can find a loophole in this system. If you don’t like the game you bought, simply return it within 7 days with your receipt and claim it didn’t work. This is quite shady and some Gamestop locations check if you’re right, but you can always claim it didn’t work on your specific console.

Another reason I love used games is because again Gamestop makes it easy to return it. This time, if it really doesn’t work, you can return it with ease. My last reason for used games over new games is obviously the price. With the steep price of games nowadays, it’s easy to see why used games have an advantage here. Some games are up to $20 less than if you buy it new. Of course there are exceptions such as new release titles.

Mistake 3: Buying a Game ‘Just Because’

Why are you buying that game? Because. Because what? I don’t know.

This is usually the case with a lot of video game purchases. People often buy games “just because” or “because they can”. No, no, no! You’re trying to save money aren’t you? And you’re receiving enjoyment out of playing your games, not from collecting them, correct? So why are you buying a game you have no idea about, throwing your hard-earned money away, and increasing the games in your backlog? It doesn’t make sense and an easy way to get rid of this fatal mistake is to put a strict budget on your gaming purchases. Perhaps you’re paying for games in a mall with other shops and you can’t really limit the amount of money you bring to the mall because there are other places to buy other stuff? Well, keep a specific card or some cash in a separate pocket or wallet that is only for buying your games. This forces you to review and do your homework on future game purchases.

Preorder your first next generation game on Amazon! Click here to find out more.