One of the side effects of covid 19 I've noticed is that with stores being closed, and options for purchasing games getting reduced, it has led to a negative consequence of some video games becoming more rare than they should be. Prices of games that were once readily available seem to have skyrocketed, and continue to do so because people online know that people looking for certain titles have no where else to buy them. Switch games have always had an issue with maintaining stock and availability, but it's gotten even worse where games that I could probably find for $40-50 before covid 19 have gone over the $100 mark. Some are not as bad as others, but the signs of increasing prices are there. Whether you try looking on ebay, craigslist, or facebook marketplace, the price of games that should be easy to find are being charged for new prices if not more if the seller is greedy.
Older game consoles that were once readily available at every Gamestop near me, like the Wii U where they were sold for $100-130 depending one deals, are trying to be sold for over $200 for every marketplace listing I see. I feel like this is just a taste of what can happen when you limit the retail space for these type of things that were already on the rise in terms of prices. They were at least a little more steady, but it just seemed they jumped exponentially because of the covid situation.
I'm not a fan of Gamestop as a company. I worked there for years in the past, and hate their practices, however they also did provide a service that made finding games easier for those who just wanted to buy and own games. At one time, I might have also demanded they go out of business because of how shitty they treat their employees, or how they try to rip off their customers. Now that I've had a taste of what the physical games landscape is like without Gamestop though, it would really suck whenever they do go out of business.
Older game consoles that were once readily available at every Gamestop near me, like the Wii U where they were sold for $100-130 depending one deals, are trying to be sold for over $200 for every marketplace listing I see. I feel like this is just a taste of what can happen when you limit the retail space for these type of things that were already on the rise in terms of prices. They were at least a little more steady, but it just seemed they jumped exponentially because of the covid situation.
I'm not a fan of Gamestop as a company. I worked there for years in the past, and hate their practices, however they also did provide a service that made finding games easier for those who just wanted to buy and own games. At one time, I might have also demanded they go out of business because of how shitty they treat their employees, or how they try to rip off their customers. Now that I've had a taste of what the physical games landscape is like without Gamestop though, it would really suck whenever they do go out of business.
