Does GameStop buy laptops and MacBooks? The question might be a little surprising to some people. After all, GameStop is best known for selling games rather than buying hardware.
But the company also offers credit and cash for a fairly wide variety of gaming-related items.
For example, you can trade in consoles and even iPhones or tablets.
Unfortunately, the company’s surprisingly flexible support doesn’t extend to laptops. Gamestop won’t buy your used laptops or Macbooks.
Taking a Closer Look at GameStop
Most people think of GameStop as a general-purpose game store. It’s somewhere you can go to pick up the latest and greatest games. And of course, you can also buy the consoles those games are played on. But there’s a lot more to GameStop than you might assume at first glance.
In reality, GameStop combines modern technology with an open market ideal. You might not be able to barter at GameStop. But you can pay for games in a variety of different ways. And one of the most significant of these methods involves store credit.
You can get store credit at GameStop by trading in used merchandise. The most common example involves buying a game at GameStop, playing it for a while, and then trading it back in for store credit.
Though there are no real limitations placed on where those games were initially purchased. GameStop is just as happy to purchase your used games from Amazon or other stores as they are games that they’d originally sold to you. It’s also important to note that GameStop will buy far more than just your used games.
What Devices Can You Sell to GameStop?
The fact that GameStop will buy your old games isn’t much of a surprise to most people. Likewise, it’s not overly surprising to discover that GameStop will buy used game consoles. But what is surprising is that the company will purchase other electronics. And much of these items are only tangentially related to gaming.
For example, you can sell your smartphones and tablets to GameStop. The company will generally purchase mobile devices from any major vendor. This includes most phones and tablets from Apple. But you can also sell a range of Android devices, such as Samsung’s Galaxy line. However, less well-known brands of phones and tablets will typically require on-site assessment by GameStop.
Additionally, GameStop’s interest in mobile computing goes beyond phones and tablets. GameStop is also interested in wearable electronics.
Apple Watches are generally the easiest to sell thanks to a combination of popularity and uniformity. GameStop can easily assess the value of an Apple Watch and give you a quick quote. But the company will typically buy smartwatches from other major manufacturers such as Samsung.
Of course, gaming accessories are a common point of interest among GameStop customers. And you can sell some of those accessories to GameStop.
Gamepads are probably the most important example of this type of deal. Modern gamepads have come a long way since the earliest days of gaming. Today they’re high-tech components with a lot of extra functionality built into them.
And you can often resell controllers for a fairly significant percentile of their original value. Headsets are the other major gaming accessory that GameStop’s interested in buying from the public.
However, as previously noted, there’s one major exception to the generally broad banner of items that GameStop is willing to buy. GameStop isn’t interested in buying laptops. And that holds as true for MacBooks as it does for standard laptops.
Does GameStop Actually Give You Cash?
GameStop provides two forms of compensation for your used games and electronics. The first of these is store credit. But GameStop can also give you cash rather than store credit. But there’s one major catch if you want the cash option. GameStop has an obvious motivation to get you to come back to the store.
As such, the company typically gives you more in-store credit than you’d receive for a cash sale. So you’ll almost always get a better deal by going with in-store credit than if you’re selling GameStop items for cash. But as the name suggests, in-store credit is only applicable to future purchases at GameStop. And that limitation can be a significant issue for a lot of people.
Where Can I Sell My Laptop or MacBook?
All of this might leave you wondering where you should go to sell a used laptop. Thankfully there are a lot of good options out there. But it’s important to first consider one fundamental question. Do you want to sell your laptop online or in a physical store?
It’s understandable that you’d want to use a physical store for your trade-in. After all, one of the biggest draws of GameStop’s trade-in policy is the fact that you can just walk into the store and take care of everything in a matter of minutes.
Apple Store
The closest analog for laptops is the Apple Store.
You can simply bring your laptop to any nearby store for a trade-in. However, there are a lot of restrictions that you’ll need to keep in mind. The biggest is that they only buy a subset of MacBooks. And even then the store only issues trade-in store credit rather than cash. They will recycle older MacBooks and non-Apple laptops. But you won’t be compensated in any way. The recycling program is essentially just a method of reducing e-waste rather than a resale program.
Best Buy
Best Buy can also be a useful local resource to sell laptops. The Apple Store is generally the best option for selling Macbooks. But Best Buy is a good generalized option that covers a wide range of different laptop options. However, it’s important to keep in mind that Best Buy won’t automatically accept all laptops. You’ll have to bring the laptop into a store and have them check it out to assess the value. And, if accepted, you’ll only receive store credit rather than cash.
Craigslist
Craigslist can also be a useful way to sell locally. Of course, this process also carries some unique issues. The most important part of selling on Craigslist is to ensure that the sale occurs in a safe area where you’re both comfortable. One of the most significant benefits of using Craigslist is that you can receive actual cash rather than store credit. Though you’re limited in deals being totally dependent on someone in your area actually wanting the type of laptop you’re trying to sell.
Gadget Salvation
Your options open up a little more if you’re willing to handle the sale with online vendors. However, some take more work than others. Gadget Salvation is generally one of the best options to sell laptops online due to the fact that they accept a wide variety of different brands. You can get an estimate online and then simply need to ship your laptop to them. The fact that you receive cash rather than store credit is a big advantage over many of the other options. And they even offer multiple payment options including PayPal, Zelle, and physical checks.
Ebay
Ebay is a good plan B if Gadget Salvation doesn’t work out since it doesn’t place any limits on what you sell. However, keep in mind that sales are based on directly connecting buyers and sellers. Ebay will let you post almost anything for sale. But actually making a sale will require someone out there who’s looking for what you’re selling. That can be a significant issue if you’re selling a laptop that’s already highly represented on the site.
