Many people buy a games console at a young age or when they go to college or university. Gaming is a cheap form of entertainment; it’s fun and it’s something that you can do with your dorm mates, or alone if you feel like a quiet night in.

However, once you leave university and get a full-time job, it’s normal for gaming to start to take a back seat. You have other obligations such as family, children, work and other hobbies. Why leave that games console sitting there collecting dust?

Now is A Good Time to Trade In

If you’re thinking of selling an Xbox 360 console or a PS3, now is a good time. The next generation of consoles will be released later this year and when they come out trade-in values for consoles will plummet. Bricks and mortar stores may offer decent deals on in-store credit if you trade in an Xbox 360 to pick up one of the next-generation models, but the cash value of the console is not likely to stay high for long.

It’s easy to trade in your console online and many sites will give you a quote for your console and your games collection before you commit to making the actual trade. This is ideal if you’re unsure about making the trade. You can find out exactly how much you’ll get without having to go to the trouble of boxing everything up and taking it to the store.

When you’re filling out the details of your console, answer the questions about its condition truthfully. It’s a good idea to try to dig out all of the cables, controllers and other items that came with your console. If you can find the box, that’s even better. A “like new” console will attract a much better trade-in value.

What to Buy With Your Trade-In Cash

Depending on the size of your games collection, you could end up with a sizeable amount of cash when you trade in your console and games. You could spend that money on a PC or laptop (PC gaming is incredibly inexpensive and you may rediscover your love of games if you travel for work and can game in the hotel on a good laptop). Or you could treat yourself and your family to a nice day out.

The thought of trading in your games console can be a little sad, especially if you’ve spent a lot of time gaming on it. However, there’s a good chance that your favourite games will come to Xbox Games on Demand, or you could pick them up again on other platforms if you decide to buy another console at a later date. So if your console is sitting there unused right now, why not sell it on so that someone else can enjoy it?

Idania is a competitive gamer and freelance writer from Croydon. She is a multi-platform gamer and knows that selling an Xbox 360 console today is easy and with new consoles on the horizon, there’s never been a better time to do it.