James Tenser

Wal-Mart and Best Buy Bail on Used Video Games

February 3, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Last year when Wal-Mart Stores and Best Buy decided to test kiosks for the buying and selling of used video games, it was seen as a direct challenge to GameStop. Now both retailers have decided to remove the kiosks from their stores.... What is your take on the decision by Wal-Mart and Best Buy to get out of the used video game business?      [more...]

Walmart and Best Buy are in the business of buying and distributing products to many shoppers, not buying products from a few shoppers for resale. The former depends on a massive and consistent supply of goods and a mass buying discipline. The latter is fundamentally a customer service with no supply chain consistency.

Then there's the matter of delivering this service using an in-store kiosk. Even under the best of circumstances, the number of potential daily users is limited by simple physics: one user at a time per machine; so many minutes per user. You can do the math--the productivity is limited. It's just a poor fit for mass retailers like these.