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GameStop's 'Trade Anything Day' Draws 80,000 Trades as Workers Report Chaos

The $5 promo drove huge turnout, prompting staff accounts of harassment, safety issues, operational strain.

Overview

  • GameStop says it processed more than 80,000 trades nationwide on Dec. 6, awarding a $5 gift card for each eligible item.
  • Participants were limited to one item that fit within a 20-inch cube, with exclusions such as living animals and hazardous materials.
  • Company highlights featured unusual trade-ins including a taxidermied bobcat and goose, a speed limit sign, a creepy doll collection, Air Jordans, a Wii Netflix disc, and a “can of whoop-ass.”
  • Frontline workers described disruptive behavior, explicit or disallowed submissions, customer ejections, and instances where police were called, with some videos of staff posted online without consent.
  • GameStop noted significant canned-food donations for local charities, though it has not detailed how most nonstandard items will be handled or valued.