Working at GameStop, I know a few things about how the place operates. That said, I will be writing a few articles on the place. This first article will be about getting more bang for your buck. Some of you Cheap Ass Gamers may already be well familiar with this, but others may not. Let us begin with one of the more whined about issues, then advance to the real money savers.

Sealed games
Some people really hate not getting a sealed game. All I can really tell you is that it's a necessary evil. Everyone enjoys being able to window shop and look over the game cases, and usually only one case must be opened to allow this convenience.

Rest assured, any store that isn't run by a fucking retard will only give you the display copy when every other copy is gone. To actually give you the opened display copy when there are sealed copies left would entail needing to take the time to prepare another display copy. Think about that for a second. If being intelligent doesn't stop them from doing that, being lazy will. Trust me, you'll get a sealed copy if there is one.

Sweet return policy
GameStop's new return policy is pretty much the same as any other game store's. You open it, it's yours. Nothing special. However we're going to look at the used return policy. It's right on every single receipt you get: "Used merchandise and opened new accessories may be returned for a refund within 7 days." You know what that means? You can buy the shittiest damn game on Earth and you won't have to be stuck footing the bill if you bought it used. That also means that you can buy a game, beat it, and bring it back if you really did not feel at all inclined to keep it.

You can get something else, or straight up get your money back. Just don't abuse the policy. Do however keep in mind that buying used supports GameStop as a company, not the original creators. Ultimately it's your right to look out for your own interest, and buying used is extremely safe. However if the company could use your support and you know you want their game, it's a good move to buy it new. Not only that, but pre-order it. It helps the publisher to know how many copies to make.

Use the website
GameStop is pretty eager to toss the price drops sometimes. On occasion a good game drops within a week of release. Hell, they dumped Mad World to 30 bucks brand new for a while. They later seemed to realize that was highway robbery and raised the price again. That aside, the GameStop website catalogs price drops for you to leaf through at your leisure. If you're browsing individual systems the price drop link is very easy to find, but if you want to browse price drops for the entire site you need to click "browse all" and then hover over the "deals" filter. There's practically a big red arrow pointing right at the deals button as of this writing.

Noticed that Marvel vs Capcom 2 just dropped to a slightly less ridiculous price recently? Looking for a copy perhaps? Another handy feature when on the hunt for rare games is the ability to check in-store availability. Looking up a game and inserting your zip-code allows you to quickly be given search results for within 100 miles of your location. I do believe you can check beyond that as well.

HOWEVER, make sure to always call ahead. The inventory is only updated every morning, and it's possible the store has sold it since then. Also, the website uses each store's personal inventory and errors can occur. If you call ahead and ask them to physically check, you will avoid wasted leg work.

Free Shipping and Online Returns
When shopping online, if you don't care to use a credit card you possibly have other options. Your Edge card works should it have any credit on it. Presumably your gift cards as well. What's more, ALWAYS make sure to get free shipping with the SAVER online coupon. To my knowledge you're sent a receipt as well. If I'm wrong, correct me, but this means that used return policy still applies. Take the game and the receipt to your closest store and get rid of it if you're so inclined.

Get an Edge Card
More than likely you block out the noise when someone asks you if you want to sign up for the Game Informer subscription. Don't. The thing will likely save you money if you ever intend to take advantage of the perks I've mentioned. It's a 15 dollar magazine subscription that gets you 10% off of used games and 10% for trade-ins. Essentially if you deal with 150 dollars of used merchandise in the course of a year the magazine and discount are free.

You're going to Destructoid. Unless you need that cash to live, chances are you spend a lot on games. I bet some of you spend 150 dollars on games in one visit. Besides, the magazine's not bad (but FUCK them for giving Elite Beat Agents a 6) and if nothing else it's something to read on the can.

Sign up for the newsletter
GameStop has a weekly E-Mail newsletter. Sign up for it. Every week they send out a coupon of some sort for trade-ins and used games. Last week's was 20% off of used PS2 games. What's more, Edge cards will always stack on top of promotions. If you have an Edge, you can automatically interpret that as 30% off used PS2 games. That stray used copy of Eternal Poison just dropped from 34.99 to 24.50.

There are also special used deals in the newsletter as well. Super Mario Galaxy was 29.99 used last week without need for a coupon. In this particular case an Edge card will apply, but not a coupon. The computer will only allow so many promotions at once.

Don't trade your games... unless there's a good promotion
Everyone knows that GameStop's trade-in values are very low. However it's not always a bad deal if you wait around for a while, and some select games get you a solid value. The single best time to strike is when there's a 30% bonus promotion going on since that's about as high as it gets. The Edge card always stacks on top of every promo for an extra 10%. More recent games typically net you 25-30 dollars. Toss in a 30% promotion + Edge and that's 34-44 dollars. Not quite as bad.

It's very rare that GameStop's trade-in values outweigh the benefit of going into business yourself through sites like Amazon or Goozex, but if you have the right games at the right time it's not always such a bad deal. GameStop itself will not tell you what a game's values are until you have them there, but certain people spread the word themselves. Keep in mind various values are prone to being outdated:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224104

Wrapping Up
There you are. If you have further tips do feel free to add them in the comments section, and do please tell me if you found this a helpful read. Always remember, folks. Shop smart. Shop S-Mart.