Guide · Inventory
Tracking used video game inventory
Why a used game store tracks copies rather than titles, and what that changes about the record and the back room.
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You built a system when you started. Bins by console, a spreadsheet, a note of what you paid. It held up fine for the first eighty games.
Somewhere after that it stopped. Not on a particular day, and not because you got sloppy. The spreadsheet just started being wrong more often than right.
The short version
The system did not decay. It was lossy from the start. A used game store does not stock titles, it stocks copies, and anything that groups by title throws away the three facts you need about each one: what it cost, what condition it is in, and what work it still needs.
Why the usual advice does not fit
Two schemes get recommended for this, and each is good at something else.
Collector schemes sort by console, series or alphabet. They answer "do I have this?" well. A store rarely asks that.
New retail sorts by product code and counts units, which works because one new copy is interchangeable with another. Sell one and the count drops. It does not matter which one left the building.
Neither assumption survives a trade-in counter.
Two copies of the same game are two items
Three copies of Ocarina of Time come through in a month.
The first arrives loose in a trade, costs $12 in store credit, and has a peeling label. The second comes inside a collection you paid $400 for, complete with box and manual, and you have never worked out what that copy cost you. The third you buy outright for $35, test, and shelve.
Your spreadsheet says: Ocarina of Time, quantity 3.
That line is wrong about everything that matters. It cannot tell you which copy is ready to sell, which one still needs a new shell, or which one you can afford to discount. When a customer asks for the cheap one, you go and look.
You do not own Ocarina of Time. You own three specific copies, and only one is ready to sell. What each one cost is the number every later decision runs on. See how trade-in values are calculated and how to price used games for resale.
Giving a copy an identity
A cartridge has no barcode. A disc case has one, but it names the title rather than your copy, so two copies scan the same. Nothing on a used game tells you which one you are holding, so the thing that does has to be assigned by you.
A number on a sticker does it. What matters is that it is written down once, stays with the item, and points at a record holding the rest: cost, condition, and what has been done so far. See how to grade used game condition.
Where it is, and what it is waiting for
A record like that carries two facts that are easy to confuse: where the copy is, and what it is waiting for.
They move independently. An item can sit in the same bin for two weeks and pass through three states. It can be Ready to Sell and still be in the back room. Track only location and you can find things without knowing whether they are finished. Track only state and you know what is left but not where to go.
That also decides the back room. Group bins by what the items are waiting for rather than by console, and the next person in can see the work without asking. The shelf customers browse is a different problem and can be arranged however sells best. For the states themselves, see retro game store operations.
When the record and the room disagree
Records drift quietly. The record says one thing, the room says another, and nobody finds out until someone goes looking.
Warning signs
By then keeping the record in step with the room is its own job. RetroBase holds a record per copy, from Intake through Ready to Sell, including what each one is still waiting for, and it runs alongside your POS rather than replacing checkout.
One record per copy, not per title.
RetroBase tracks each used game as its own item, with its cost, its condition and the work still waiting on it, from Intake through Ready to Sell.
Know which copy you are looking at.
RetroBase gives every used game its own record, so two copies of the same title never share a price, a condition or a next step.
Frequently asked questions
Should each copy of the same game have its own record?
Yes, if you want to answer anything useful about it. Two copies rarely share a cost, a condition or the same remaining work, and one line cannot hold three different answers.
How do I label used games that have no barcode?
Assign your own number and put it on a sticker that stays with the item. The number does not have to mean anything. It has to be unique, and it has to point at the record.
Should I sort my back room by console?
Sorting by console helps customers browse. It does not help you work. Group the back room by what items are waiting for, and keep console sorting for the shelf they sell from.
What should I track for each copy?
What it cost, what condition it is in, where it is, and what it still needs. Anything else is optional until it earns its place.
Can I track used game inventory in a spreadsheet?
Yes. One row per copy rather than one row per title. A spreadsheet stops working when keeping it in step with the room becomes a job of its own.
Written by
Burak EsenFounder, RetroBaseBuilding RetroBase with retro game store owners: the trade-in, pricing and inventory workflow between the buy and the shelf.More about RetroBase