SwitchGames builds a big market for used games

SwitchGames is a game trading site that has ridden the wave of demand for used games. Today, the company says its users are now offering more than 100,000 items for trade on its peer-to-peer game trading community.

The New York company, which was a finalist in the GamesBeat 2009 startup competition, makes it easy to trade games quickly and safely without fear you’ll be ripped off. The company hit its 100,000-item milestone in less than a year, said company founder Jason Crawford.

[update: It's not the biggest used game market out there. There are far more games for sale on eBay, and Goozex currently has 186,000 items listed for sale. But SwitchGames has grown its market quickly and is the largest legal peer-to-peer game trading online market.]

Overall, used games are a $3 billion business. Much of that is traded through GameStop retail stores. But users don’t get paid very much, while GameStop resells the games for a tidy profit. SwitchGames instead empower users so they can get much better deals.

The selection adds up to 43 percent of all current-generation console games that are available on eBay. At this rate, Crawford predicts that his site will have more games available than on eBay, the biggest site for used game sales. Some game publishers and developers hate used game sales because they say it hurts new game sales. But SwitchGames argues that gamers wind up purchasing more new games because of the value they get by buying and selling used games.

The company has three full-time employees and launched 11 months ago. Rivals include Goozex and Swaptree. Goozex charges a $1 fee per transaction and has more than 10,000 unique games available, [slightly more than SwitchGames]. Swaptree charges for postage and has 2,727 games available. By contrast, SwitchGames allows for free trading and allows gamers to send their games directly to each other. It is funded by angel money, as well as friends and family.

Be sure to check out our latest announcements on GamesBeat@GDC, our video game conference taking place March 10 in San Francisco.

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