A gamer named Josh found himself sitting on a stockpile of dozens of non-functioning PlayStation, XBOX, and Nintendo consoles he had collected over the years. Rather than discarding them or trying to repair them, he chose to sell them still broken and got some money out of it.

In just a matter of minutes, Josh secured more than $10,000 USD by selling the consoles as one sizable lot. After the transaction, he took to online forums and social media to share his experience, quickly igniting a wave of varied reactions from the gaming community.

While some applauded his good fortune as he earned a lot from broken consoles, others contended that he had actually been taken advantage of as his items were quite valuable.

Players Sells Dozens of Broken Consoles and Earned $10,000 USD

Every gamer knows the sentimental weight of parting with a beloved console, but when that hardware stops working, selling it often becomes the most practical path toward funding a replacement. Josh, a resident of Oregon, ultimately decided it was time to clear out his entire collection of broken systems.

His lot was remarkably diverse, spanning multiple generations. On the PlayStation side, he included PS4 units and a PSP; from XBOX, he offered several XBOX 360 consoles alongside Series X|S models. His Nintendo contribution featured original Game Boys, NES systems, DS handhelds, and Switch units, with a SEGA Game Gear rounding out the assortment.

Notably, none of this hardware appeared to come from a cherished personal collection as every single unit suffered from at least one noticeable flaw. Some had broken screens, controllers, and many likely failed to power on or read discs altogether.

Despite the poor condition of his inventory, Josh recognized that the lot still held significant value if he could find the right buyer. As a U.S. resident, his most convenient option was to bring everything to GameStop. And even though everyone knows these retailers are the worst places to sell used hardware, he took them there anyway.

To nearly everyone’s astonishment, however, GameStop’s evaluation came back far higher than expected. After a thorough inspection of each console, the store offered Josh $10,690 USD in gift cards, which he could use as store credit toward future purchases.

Josh was genuinely taken aback by the amount and quickly shared the news across social media. However, he was met with a wave of criticism from players who insisted he had been lowballed.

Consolas GameStop

Community Believes Player Was Ripped Off and Could Have Earned More

Many in the community were equally stunned that Josh walked away with five figures for consoles in such rough shape. Some commenters chalked it up to luck, noting that most retailers avoid buying damaged goods due to the high cost of refurbishment.

Some users commented things like, “For that pile of junk in the photo, I’d give you about $8 USD,” and “How is this even a sustainable business model?”

On the flip side, a part of the community believes GameStop ripped off Josh. They contended that the collection was worth many times more and that he would have been far better off selling on eBay, where he could have obtained cash instead of store credit.

“He could have sold it all on eBay for $100,000 USD,” and “Here’s $11,000 in store credit for the $2.3 million worth of consoles you brought in,” other players commented.

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