In a move that’s sending shockwaves through the gaming community, one resourceful customer has turned a mountain of broken consoles into a king’s ransom at GameStop. While GameStop“>GameStop is often criticized for its notoriously low trade-in values, this particular transaction proves that sometimes, even the most skeptical gamers can be surprised.
From Broken to Bankable
On August 17, 2026, the official GameStop X account shared a story that’s quickly gone viral: a customer from Clackamas, Oregon, traded in “hundreds” of broken consoles spanning multiple generations. The result? A staggering $10,690.06 in store credit.
The post included photos of the impressive haul, showcasing a veritable graveyard of gaming history: PSPs, Nintendo Switches, an original Game Boy, a classic NES, and much more. Seven lengthy receipts documented the exchange, with each totaling around $900. The customer himself even posed proudly with his stack of GameStop gift cards.
While the amount is substantial, many online commentators lamented the potential earnings lost by not selling the consoles elsewhere. One user on X quipped, “Bro could’ve sold it all on eBay for $100,000 if GameStop actually shelled out $10,000.” Another joked about GameStop’s exchange rates being so low that it was akin to trading a Ferrari for the store credit.
Even the official Razer account chimed in, playfully asking, “What would you be willing to sell him for all $10,000 at once, though?”
A Record-Breaking Trade?
While this transaction is remarkable, it’s not the highest amount ever earned through a GameStop trade-in. That record belongs to a customer in Grapevine, Texas, who famously traded a 2003, fully-authenticated PSA 10 Gengar Holo Pokemon card“>Pokemon card for an astonishing $30,494.70.
GameStop celebrated this record-setting trade-in on social media in December 2025, with a tongue-in-cheek statement addressing the common criticism of its buyback program. “Any trolls who publicly claim that GameStop trade-in values are bad are hereby factually and demonstrably incorrect,” the company joked. “Any prior and ongoing objections to our trade values are now deemed without merit and factually invalid.”
This latest story follows a series of wild events stemming from GameStop’s viral “trade anything day” event, where customers could exchange almost anything for store credit, resulting in some truly hilarious and horrifying transactions“>hilarious and horrifying transactions.
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeGlaze“>@TheeGlaze.
Source: IGN Gaming
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