Nintendo 3DS Price Round-Up

[Johnni]

I was told by the sales person @ EB it was $140 trade in for my DsiXL... No way worth it, GAME deal with 2 x NDS games is MUCH better, but I ended up getting the Dick Smith deal with Ghost Recon last week for $283.10.

[ianinozzie]

Interesting enough, in the same shopping mall, the EB Games were giving $80 trade-value for a DS Lite and $140 for the DSi. I wish I had gone to EB Games first and found that out.

I may have made a mistake on this one, either not reading properly, or it was just listeed properly...I'll find out this evening when I go back. I just called EB Games and they were offering $80 for a DSi trade-in (and not DS Lite as I've said above). That and Johnni's above post which said the DSiXL trade-in value was for $140 makes me believe I've read the promo incorrectly.

But I'll go find out for sure tonight.

[Anthony]

Interesting enough, in the same shopping mall, the EB Games were giving $80 trade-value for a DS Lite and $140 for the DSi. I wish I had gone to EB Games first and found that out.

I may have made a mistake on this one, either not reading properly, or it was just listeed properly...I'll find out this evening when I go back. I just called EB Games and they were offering $80 for a DSi trade-in (and not DS Lite as I've said above). That and Johnni's above post which said the DSiXL trade-in value was for $140 makes me believe I've read the promo incorrectly.

But I'll go find out for sure tonight.

Please do get back to us on it. The data could be out of date (either yours or the guide), or those could be prices you get when trading in specifically for a Nintendo 3DS preorder. Any clarification would be beneficial.

[ianinozzie]

I didn't make a mistake...I DID see it correctly.

My local EB Games (Ringwood Eastland) had $80 for a DS Lite, $140 for a DSi and I *think* $200 for a DSiXL...the catch being that these must be traded in towards a 3DS.

I'm not sure whether it's just my local EB or whether this is state-wide (or Australia-wide). I don't go to any other EB games with any sort of regularity so not able to verify at this time.

Other Ecogamers who frequent EB Games, can  you confirm whether these trade-in deals are applicable to your EB Games? My local EB Games does do some great specials from time to time (Manager's 50% extra trade-in value special at the end of last year...I know other shops had it but not all EB Games it seems!).

[sillygostly]

Yes, U.K. games (or games from the PAL region in general) should work just fine on the Australian console.

[Anthony]

I didn't make a mistake...I DID see it correctly.

My local EB Games (Ringwood Eastland) had $80 for a DS Lite, $140 for a DSi and I *think* $200 for a DSiXL...the catch being that these must be traded in towards a 3DS.

I'm not sure whether it's just my local EB or whether this is state-wide (or Australia-wide). I don't go to any other EB games with any sort of regularity so not able to verify at this time.

Other Ecogamers who frequent EB Games, can  you confirm whether these trade-in deals are applicable to your EB Games? My local EB Games does do some great specials from time to time (Manager's 50% extra trade-in value special at the end of last year...I know other shops had it but not all EB Games it seems!).

I have those prices listed as GAME, not as EB Games. EB Games' values can be found on their website. The $80, $140 and $200 price points were at GAME. Have EB matched them?

[ianinozzie]

Anthony: It could just be one of those things like the 50% extra trade-in value Manager's Special back in December 2010, where EB could be doing this if there were a Game in the same shopping complex. Don't know for sure but if I have time, I'll go to the other EB Games in Ringwood (where there's no other gaming store in the same complex) to see what their trade-in prices for the DSLite/DSi/DSiXL towards a 3DS.

As I said, I did call EB Games about the DSi and they quoted me $80 trade-in price, which was very different from the trade-in price towards the 3DS from the Ringwood Eastland EB Games.

[Johnni]

I went into the EB @ Swanston st and Elizabeth st in the  Melb CBD and was told by both stores $140 trade-in for the DSi XL, regardless if I'm trading it for 3DS or not.

[ianinozzie]

Ok, I went to both the EB Games in Ringwood (one in Eastland and the other at Ringwood Square) to get some confirmation of trade-in prices for DS consoles, also to try and clear up any confusion that I had (and anyone else had).

Started off at Ringwood Square first, and they had an ad hanging from the ceiling advertising the 3DS for only $249 with the trade-in of the DSi; so that works out that the trade-in value of a DSi towards a DS was $100. The sales assistant didn't seem too interested to serve my mate and I so we went to the EB Games in Eastland Ringwood.

I will confirm again that the trade-in prices for DS consoles towards the 3DS are as follows:

DS Lite - $80
DSi - $140
DSi XL - $200

I've got photographic proof of this:



Also, at EB Games Eastland, there was a similar ad hanging from the ceiling as the one I saw in EB Games Ringwood Square, though this ad was advertising that the 3DS could be purchased at $209 with a trade-in of a DSi, a whopping $40 less than the same deal I had seen earlier at Ringwood Square!




I'm not really surprised that EB @ Swanston and Elizabeth Streets don't have the same promo. Back in December when certain EB stores had the Manager's Special promo of an extra 50% trade-in value towards games, some of us worked out that this wasn't nation-wide and the EB stores that had this promo had a games-specialist competitor in that same shopping mall (either a Game or a Game Traders).

I know I went to check both Melbourne CBD stores in December about that 50% extra trade-in promo and neither store had it. Dungeon Crawl is in the city, but it's not quite a "big" games specialist like Game.

Anyone else come across the "extra value" trade-in prices of DS consoles towards their 3DS consoles? Surely I can't have lucked out with my local EB Games being the only one offered this promo?

[Anthony]

Thank you very much for your information ianinozzie. I don't intend to keep track of individual store promotions but the clarification seems definitive and I've updated the guide with a note that people should check in stores for EB Game offers

[ianinozzie]

No worries at all Anthony. Just "Ian" is fine..."ianinozzie" is a mouthful!

I've been doing my research on the 3DS for a while and I try to keep abreast of the latest promos relating to the 3DS if I can. Helps that I've got two pre-orders for the 3DS at two different shops; one with EB Games and the other with Game.

I missed out on the Dick Smith promotion and I wish I wasn't that triggerhappy with the pre-orders because after I had pre-ordered, the $328 price offers for the 3DS came out at JB Hi-Fi, Big W et al! But I guess at least with EB Games and Game I can pay less coz of trade-ins...JB's trade-in values are hardly great.

[Strand0410]

$200 for a DSi XL is verrryy generous. Only 33.3% dip in value, without worrying about eBay listings is perfect to upgrade.

[ianinozzie]

Strand0410: Absolutely. Given that the DSi XL was only released last year, it still has quite a high trade-in value, at least for these Game and EB Games promotions.

Though I'd rather keep my DSi XL for the bigger screen and trade-in my DSi, even though it has a lower trade-in value. Depends on each individual and what consoles they have and what they can afford I guess...to each his/her own.

[Johnni]

*Rolls up sleeves* Time to head back to EB in the CBD!!

[Strand0410]

@ianinozzie

The 3DS is actually somewhat comparable for DS games now due to the enlarged top screen now, and it also has higher pixel density. I can't imagine why anyone would want to hold onto their XL now, besides sentiment.