Rather Than Whine About Used Markets, Why Not Enable Them Yourself?
from the swedish-design dept
We were recently talking about how so many in the video game industry seem so antagonistic to the used video game market, despite widespread evidence that a healthy secondary market helps the primary market in a variety of ways. Reader Johnny points us to the news that retailing giant Ikea is now planning to experiment with used goods sales itself via a website in Sweden. The company says that it won't make much money from the offering, but recognizes that it adds value for consumers, thus suggesting they actually recognize how such things help the primary market as well. Nice to see not everyone reacts so badly to used markets.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: enabling, secondary markets, used markets
Companies: ikea
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Too bad people and corporations often ignore the larger economic construct for short term gains.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Differences
The difference is that the game industry doesn't necessarily go into the brick and mortar markets. They have licensing deals with Wal-Mart, Gamestop.
Think about if EA ran their own store where you traded in the new games? It would be an entirely different ball game if their business worked in such a manner.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Obligatory Car Analogy
How would the teenager with a new licence afford their first car?
How many cars would be on the roads if only the rich could afford to buy a (new) car?
How many people in the allied used-car / mechanical repair trades would be out of work?
How often would anyone buy a new car if there was no outlet to get rid of their old one at a reasonable price?
Must be one of the best examples of a healthy used market supporting the new market.
(Yes, I know that games don't wear-out like cars do, but they certainly get old and dated quicker!)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Obligatory Car Analogy
Been wanting one of these for years and they have a preowned section on their main website.
http://www.caterham.co.uk/assets/html/preowned.html
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
IMHO, This is the Norm
An example of this is a fireplace insert that I bought a couple years ago. I looked all over the place to find one that was in my price range, and I just wasn't finding anything new that I could afford. Two companies had resources available that listed those wishing to buy used fireplace inserts, and they used those resources to find me a fireplace insert. They offered a warranty for their product even though I was buying it used. I compared the two companies, then contacted the person who was selling the product I wanted and the company installed it for me in my home and gave me a warranty on the product exactly the same that I would have gotten with a new one.
The car resale model is another example, where companies make quite a bit on the resale of cars. The refurbished model in computers is another...I have several refurbished computers and a couple refurbished consoles that cost me considerably less than the new models.
I've purchased quite a few things used from companies that have bought back their products and resold them to those who cannot afford their new products, and often they will provide warranties comparable to their new models.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Utter lack of sense from video game companies
No one is going to pay 40-50GBP for a game that they cannot sell on when they're finished with it, and get half or more of their cash back.
Would anyone buy a car that is worthless second hand?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ikea recently went after a used IKEA furniture site
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Because...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Reuse saves money *and* protects the environment
Makes me hate their maze-like shops a bit less.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]