Video game retailer GameStop has changed a lot over the past decade. The company, already known for its strange behavior (mainly involving the stock market), will try another move. December 6 will be a “Trade Everything Day,” where participants can trade whatever they want for $5 in store credit. Of course, there are many realistic (and unrealistic) exclusions to promotion. The biggest caveat is that this is one item per customer, so you can’t just bring in a tray’s worth of Madden 2006 PlayStation 2 discs and expect to turn a profit.
According to GameStop’s Instagram, promotion is usually limited, of course, to video games and media, as well as, oddly enough, taxidermy. However, many electronic devices are excluded, including televisions, gaming peripherals and computers. You also cannot trade jewelry, illegal items, or firearms. This seems wise.
Everything else is fair game; It might be worth trading in a moldy old video game and/or stuffed squirrel you have lying around for some extra store credit.
Sorry, no chaos emeralds
The expanded list of what’s not allowed is where it goes into left field and never really comes back. For example, you can’t trade “This Zune you only used once.” You’re also not allowed to trade your siblings, people in general, or the 2002 Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team, although that may be disappointing for some. GameStop also won’t take the Ark of the Covenant (good luck getting it from the warehouse at the end of Indiana Jones). Additionally, a few video game titles are explicitly listed as ineligible, including ET The Video Game for the Atari 2600, a game that was criticized by critics and gamers alike and was later buried in the desert. Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 is also excluded (along with Chaos Emeralds).
However, if you manage to obtain Halo 3’s battle rifle, a United Nations Space Command Armory Misriah BR55HB from 2552, you are eligible for a $5 store credit. Although it’s safe to say that it would be difficult to obtain such an item, and if you managed to get one, Master Chief might need it more than you do.
