Buyer Tips When Purchasing A Used Xbox 360

Need some buyer tips when purchasing a used Xbox 360? Maybe we can help. Microsoft's Xbox 360 has been out for a year now, and with the PS3 and the Wii bursting onto the market in time for Christmas, this is the perfect opportunity for the smart budget-conscious gamer to look at buying a second-hand 360.

The best place to start looking is eBay. Now that 360s are no longer scarce, the over-inflated prices are gone, and with a bit of persistence, you'll probably be able to pick up quite a good deal. It pays, though, to be very careful you know what you're getting. If the price is suspiciously cheap, there's going to be a reason.

Make sure you know whether what you're bidding on is a Core System or a Premium Package. The core system initially retailed for US$300, the Premium for US$400. The easiest way to tell which one you're looking at from the photo is that the Core comes with a wired controller, and the Premium with a wireless one. It's really not worth buying the Core system, because it doesn't come with the 20Gb hard drive. Without the hard drive, you can't access Xbox live, save your games, or even play your old Xbox games. If you're looking at buying a second-hand Xbox 360 core system, you'll need to find out how much the hard drive is going to cost you and factor that in to what you're prepared to pay for the system.

Then there are a couple of questions you need to ask the seller. Was this one of the systems that crashed to blue screen of death straight out of the box? Was the 2006 Fall Update installed? If it wasn't, you won't be able to access Xbox Live until you download it. If it was, did it make the console brick, as it did about one percent of 360s? Has it ever been shipping back to Microsoft for repairs? Is there any warranty left on it? Retailers like EB Games offer excellent warranties on the consoles they sell for a small extra charge. You still have to be able to return the console to the store, though, and if that store is in Los Angeles and you're in Chicago, you may find that the shipping cost is dangerously equivalent to the price of a brand new Wii. The same goes for shipping a faulty Xbox back to Microsoft for repairs.

Then you need to look at the accessories you're getting with the bundle you're buying. If someone's offloading their console, they're probably getting shot of their games, too. What you really need to look for, though, is the 20Gb hard drive, and at least one extra controller - unless you have no friends. Every system should come with a composite-video/stereo audio A/V cable, and second-hand Premiums should have a component HD AV cable and an ethernet cable. Most premium packages came with the headset, though some came with the media remote instead. That last is a handy wee item that makes it much easier to use your Xbox for playing DVDs and music. All the accessories that you're going to need without getting into things like steering wheels would cost you up to US$200 to buy individually, but will probably get thrown into a sale package for only about US$50 more.

Remember to factor in the cost of shipping, too. With something this big, that could end up being a hefty portion of what you pay. Look for a console close to home.

There are other avenues to try for buyer tips when purchasing a used Xbox 360, too. Look out for places like EB Games and GameStop taking trade-ins - that means they'll have second-hand stock for sale. And while the normal retail price of the Xbox 360 hasn't budged from launch, if you keep an eye out, you might be able to find a bargain. Amazon.com ran a brief promotion where they sold band new 360s of US$100. If you're prepared to put in a bit of time and in no hurry to buy, you can save yourself a lot of money on your gaming experience.