Glossary · Trade-ins
Trade-in and offer
Someone is standing at the counter with a box of games. Two words cover what happens next, and neither of them is the number a lookup returned.
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The short version
A trade-in is the interaction. An offer is the number inside it. Market value may inform that number, but it is a reference point, not the offer.
The terms
- Trade-in
The interaction where a customer brings items in and the store decides whether to buy them, and on what terms.
Often confused with
Intake. A trade-in is one way inventory arrives. Intake is the workflow stage every source passes through, including items an accepted trade-in hands over.
In the store
Someone brings four games to the counter. That is one trade-in, and it may end with the store buying some of them and none of the others.
- Offer
The amount a store presents to the seller for an item.
Often confused with
Market value. Market value is an outside estimate the store may consult. The offer is what the store decides to pay, and it accounts for the work, the risk and the time the item still needs.
In the store
One console, one market-value lookup, and two offers on the counter: one in cash and a higher one in store credit. The seller picks.
Why the distinction matters
The mistake these words prevent is offering market value. A lookup describes what an item is worth somewhere in the market. It knows nothing about the testing, cleaning and shelf time this copy still needs, or what your store has to cover. Pay the reference and there is nothing left in the item.
Cash and store credit are two offers rather than one number paid two ways, and a store can put both on the counter for the same item. Once a seller accepts, that amount becomes part of what the store has in the item, and the item can enter Intake. How the number is worked out is covered in how trade-in values are calculated.
Frequently asked questions
Is the offer the same as market value?
No. Market value is an outside estimate a store may consult. The offer is what the store decides to pay, after the work, the risk and the time the item still needs.
Is a trade-in the same as Intake?
No. A trade-in is one way inventory arrives. Intake is the workflow stage every item passes through, whatever its source.
Are cash and store credit one offer or two?
Two. A store can put a cash amount and a store-credit amount on the counter for the same item, and they are often different numbers.
What happens to the amount once a seller accepts?
It becomes part of what the store has in the item, which is one of the things a store tracks against each copy from then on.
The same offer, whoever is at the counter.
RetroBase brings market value and condition into the trade-in, then sends accepted items straight into Intake.
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