This interview is with Brandon Perton, Owner, The Old School Game Vault.
How did your career evolve from your first buy/sell moment to running a trusted cash-for-games and retro marketplace?
I remember my first buying transaction, which was a ColecoVision console and several games. I bought it for $50 and sold everything for almost $250. That made me realize there was a market here. Over the years, I focused on being transparent and honest with my customers. That has paid off, as people find our customer service a breath of fresh air.
Building on that trust, when someone trades games for cash, how do you transparently determine fair value and explain the cash-versus-store-credit difference?
One of our main advantages is that we pay cash instead of store credit. Many stores that offer store credit raise their prices by 40% or more, so trading your collection for credit usually isn’t the best choice. Our approach is simple: we pay cash.
To determine fair prices, we look at sold listings on eBay to see what games are currently worth. eBay is a large marketplace for retro video games, and its completed sales data helps us price older games and understand their rarity.
On quality control, what specific steps do you use to authenticate and test cartridges, discs, and consoles before paying out?
Authentication is huge nowadays. Every cartridge has a few standard tells, but the easiest way to confirm authenticity when I have a concern is to open the game and look at the board. There are plenty of identification factors we use, but opening it up and viewing the game board gives us 100% accuracy.
We also test everything for functionality. Most cartridge games we receive haven’t been played in years, so we always clean the contacts before testing. I would rather buy a collection than reject it. After we process an order, if any items do not work or do not meet our quality standards, I notify the customer. I explain the issue, attach photos if needed, and ask if they want any rejected items back before we issue payment.
Staying with inventory, what sourcing habit has consistently yielded your best buys that a small shop could replicate this month?
We offer a nationwide trade-in service and focus on acquiring games from customers across the United States. Our best sourcing habit is relying on organic search engine traffic. We have built a library of blog posts and articles about retro gaming that attract people looking to sell their collections.
When someone searches for where to sell old Nintendo games or to find out what their collection is worth, they find us. It is not flashy, but consistent content creation has been our most reliable way to connect with sellers. Any small shop can start doing this today.
You’ve used community stories in campaigns; what’s one repeatable idea any game shop can run to turn nostalgia into long-term conversions?
We have made our blog a resource for retro gaming fans. We share articles on topics like Nintendo seal variations, label types, spotting real games, and pricing tips. When someone feels nostalgic and looks up their old games, they can find helpful information from us.
We don’t just ask people to sell us their games. We help them learn what they own, why it matters, and how to tell if something is fake. This builds trust. When they decide to sell, they remember us because we have already been helpful.
Looking ahead, what trend in game trade-ins, pricing, or retro demand are you planning for in 2026 that should change how sellers operate now?
The biggest trend I’m seeing is that more competitors are popping up online who seem to offer higher trade-in values than we do. The catch? They pay in store credit, not cash. It may look like they’re offering more, but those prices are inflated by 40% or more, and many people forget about the credit and never use it.
For sellers, the takeaway is simple:
- Always ask if you’re getting cash or store credit.
Cash is king, and that’s what we offer at The Old School Game Vault.