Game Trading Zone is a website that allows its users to trade games directly to one another

Website Review: The used game market has expanded dramatically along with the video game industry, but it’s not necessarily a market that’s good for consumers. GameStop has the commercial used game market dominated, but GameStop’s low trade-in prices and high used game mark-ups can leave a bad taste in one’s mouth.

Enter the Game Trading Zone, a website that allows its users to trade games directly to one another, only paying shipping costs. GameTZ, as it’s known, is built on trust and over a decade of successful trading. The trust is occasionally broken, but the site’s community and software can quickly note those failures with “Bad Trade Reports” which show up as bright red marks on a user’s page. In order to prevent new users from running scams, the site recommends that new users ship their games first, at which point the other user can ship their part of the deal back in return.

GameTZ requires its users to register in order to function. Once you register, you have the ability to fill out three forms: Games Wanted, Games Available, and Collection. In the first and second, you can mark what games you’re want and are willing to trade for, and in the Collection screen, you can, if you wish, mark what games you already own but are currently unwilling to trade. The website also has a database which includes most commonly known video games, and then can match you up with users who have games you want and want the games you have. Making trade proposals is also fairly easy and generally automated – you can mark which games you want to include in the deal, as well as attaching notes, and then see if the other person accepts, declines, or offers a counter-proposal. Cash is also used in trades; many deals include direct sales of some or all of a game.

There are also a set of GameTZ website reviews, where users can rate and describe their favorite (and least favorite) games. The website itself is not the most attractive on the Internet, but it is very functional and can easily be used to get the information needed to complete the trades that are the focus of the site.

The Game Trading Zone isn’t just for games – its database also includes the ability to easily trade music, movies, and books. However, it started as a game trading site, and games are still the main focus of most of its users. The site also has thriving forums, both for discussion and for more complicated trades, such as those involving items not included in the site, like collectibles and toys or computer hardware.

Website Review Final Word: Frugal gamers who would like to trade their used games directly to and from other gamers will find www.GameTZ.com extremely useful.