Many of you may be geographically challenged as I am, living in a populated suburb of a major city with no hope of a locally owned game store. If you are one of these individuals, then you may know the horror of having GameStop as your only option of a brick-and-mortar location for used games and systems. The advent of online retailers such as Amazon and eBay have offered a means for more affordable options than GameStop with the setback of not being able to hold the product in your hand until a few days after purchase.

After coming to the realization that I would not be able to reasonably afford the latest console offerings from The Big Three, I haphazardly searched Google for video game stores nearby. Surprisingly, towards the top of the search results  was a location by the name of 2nd & Charles. Having never heard of this “used book store” before, I visited their website and discovered they did indeed sell and purchase used games, hardware, and accessories. My interest was aroused.

The reviews for this particular location were generally on the negative side, mainly for customer service related issues, but then again my own personal views of GameStop are not much better. With cautious optimism, I placed a waypoint for this location on my mini-map and made the relatively short journey to 2nd & Charles with a few DVDs and a copy of Bioshock Infinite in hand. Ironically enough, it was located in the same building where a Boarders used to be just a few years ago.

Now, let me pause my story here to remind you that I am a 25-year-old grown-ass man(child). I generally tend to hide my emotions for one reason or another and I admit that I don’t always like showing off my nerd knowledge to strangers in public. However, when I first walked into this store, my jaw hit the floor as I was greeted by the following image.

Could it be? Had I found my used gaming Mecca so close to home? Was this truly Christmas in July? Was I dreaming or had I forgotten that I had taken some type of psychedelic drug only minutes before and was hallucinating everything in front of me? No, this had to be some kind of sick, cruel, perverted joke by some malice individuals so they could laugh maniacally at children and man-children alike whose hopes and dreams were crushed after pulling the curtain away to reveal nothing (or a GameStop). But low and behold, it was all real my friends, it was all real.

It took every ounce of self control I had to not dive into the shelves and displays, knocking over the plethora of gaming goodies and rubbing them all over myself while muttering under my breath “f*** yeah”. Instead, I proceeded to drop my DVDs and game at the “Buy-Back” counter. They entered my information into the system, took my items, gave me a number (343 no less, which is the name of the current developer of the Halo games) and I was told that my items would be appraised in about 15 to 20 minutes. Finally, those magic words were uttered “Go. Run free and explore all that we have to offer while you wait”. And so it began.

I started by exploring the row of used (and new) Xbox 360 games since it is my preferred console at the moment. The diversity and supply of games here was truly amazing. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the store was only missing a few titles out of the entire library of games available on the platform. As I browsed, I jotted down the prices for a few titles to compare with other retailers which will be provided later. After I had reached the end of the aisle, something even more fascinating caught my eye.

The center of the store was a giant, rectangular display case filled with the entirety of gaming history. There was at least one of every console from every generation, including the current generation, with plenty of games for each system and they were all available to take home and fall in love with all over again.

I even found this relic on the “Recent Arrivals” cart.

Oh my brothers and sisters, I only wish you were there to share the glory of this moment with me. It was truly a dream come true although this dream was not without a price.

After probably closer to half an hour later, I checked the screen at the “Buy Back” counter to see if my number had been called, which it had. I was able to walk up to the counter without having to wait in a line to be told what the value of my items were. I was told that three of the DVDs that I had brought in could not be purchased due to condition, which I was able to see and agree with. I wasn’t expecting a whole lot for the remaining four DVDs and copy of Bioshock Infinite, but I was still surprised at the total amount they would offer me: $3.90 cash or $7.80 in store credit. Basically, it felt like I was offered no more than I would have received had I of just taken only the game to GameStop to trade in.

Since I already own a copy of Bioshock Infinite digitally on my Xbox 360 and the movies I brought in were all available on Netflix, I opted to take the in-store credit. I desperately wanted to use towards the purchase of a Playstation 2 slim, but beyond the fact that they didn’t have any of the original Resident Evil titles in store, I knew I was tight on cash this paycheck, so I opted for a copy of Forza Motorsport 2 (which I never completed) for $3.00 and a poster that cost me $10.00.

One of the best purchases I have ever made

As promised, here is the pricing comparison chart for selected games and hardware. All games and systems are used and all games are for the Xbox 360 platform. The prices listed do not include sales tax.

*denotes cheapest offering available for used copy at time of writing with cheapest shipping option available.

It should also be noted that I was under the impression that the used systems sold at 2nd & Charles only included the console, power cord and audio/visual connections. This means that you could probably find a more complete package for cheaper online, but again, you would have to wait to have the console delivered or pay more for shipping to have the console to your home quicker.

While researching the prices of these games, I was surprised to see that GameStop wasn’t that much more than 2nd and Charles and even charged less for Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Granted, I understand this is an extremely small sample size, but it does seem to indicate that 2nd & Charles pricing strategy may be closer to GameStop’s than I had originally expected.

The trade-in value at 2nd & Charles seems to be more of a gimmick to get bodies into the store and it is my only complaint thus far about the store. Still, I find the wide variety of products offered amazing and it absolutely blows GameStop’s in-store offerings out of the water. Beyond games, consoles, and accessories, 2nd & Charles also offers other video game related items such as t-shirts, posters, toys, collectibles, etc., most of those are not used though, thankfully. The staff was also very helpful and didn’t try to shove some subscription service down my throat. I know this was only one visit to this establishment but you know what they say about first impressions. All in all, I would much rather spend my money supporting this business than, you know, that other one….

Now that you have heard my story, I implore that you try looking up local “bookstores” near you to see if they have similar offerings to that of 2nd & Charles, if you are in a similar situation where GameStop is the only physical used game store you have near you. You may just surprise yourself. I even found that I have another type of store in the town next to me, although it does appear to have a lot more foot traffic than 2nd & Charles. I prefer the store less traveled.

***Update***

I have visited the other location in the town next to me that I had previously mentioned. It was a complete let down. The staff was friendly enough, but the store was in deplorable condition and the games were outrageously priced. I understand that some older titles are rare and can mark up its value, but I saw some Nintendo 64 games go for $60, the cost of a new game today (The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask) when they could be purchased for much less online. The lessen here is to not lose hope if the first location you come across is similar to this store as you may find something better.