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Nintendo Switch games are incredibly good and allow users to get a good gaming experience while also enjoying many of the classic characters that we have all known for years. The Nintendo Switch is loved by people of all ages because of its versatility and timeless characters and games.
One huge downside to the Nintendo Switch however is the fact that the games are quite expensive. Often games will stay at or near the original MSRP for YEARS before the prices start to drop slightly. So of course the one thing that all Switch users want is to know how to save some money on their Switch games and find them cheaper.
Finding cheap Switch games for newly released games is impossible as Nintendo enforces pricing rules on all of the stores that carry its items. You can find games cheaper by purchasing used after the game has been out for a while but even then the prices will often not drop by much for many many years.
If you can’t afford to pay the higher prices that Switch games are going for then you will have to buy the less popular games or wait multiple years to own the popular ones.
Since the Nintendo Switch has advanced technology and is versatile in that it can be used as a handheld or on a TV the console has been quite a large success and some of the popular games have barely gone down in price at all even though they were released a few years ago!
To find Nintendo Switch games for cheap it is all about where you find and buy them at as well as the specific titles that you want to own. For example, if you want to buy Mario Kart 8 for the Switch was released almost three years ago but the price for a new game is still almost exactly what it was at its release three years ago and the price for a used game is still almost exactly the same as a new one at places like Amazon.
There are other games (such as Carnival Games for the Switch) that have been out for a year and a half and are almost half the price of what they were on release. So the game and where you buy it from is vitally important to what the final price is that you will pay.
To learn more about WHERE you should look to find cheap Nintendo Switch games you will want to keep reading. If you would like to learn more about why Nintendo games are expensive and rarely go on sale then you can check out the video below.
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Where to buy cheap Nintendo Switch Games
There are a variety of places where you can buy Nintendo Switch games and save some money. All of those places will be cheaper because the games are used and not new and are often not the latest releases either.
Each of these places that we will discuss below will vary from place to place as some people will have great luck on Facebook Marketplace in their area while others might have success at pawn shops. Ultimately once you find a place near you that has Switch games at a good price you should keep going back there as a place like that can be incredibly hard to find!
Facebook Marketplace/groups
Facebook has long ago gone from just a place to chat with your friends and is now an incredibly popular place to buy and sell via Facebook Marketplace and the different for sale groups for your local area. Most of the time you can find the best deals by keeping a close eye on these two places and being ready to act at a moment’s notice.
Since the Switch console is incredibly popular if someone posts the console with games or Switch games cheap it will often be gone within minutes. You will have to either be checking back constantly or hope that you get lucky by being on at the exact right time.
Facebook does have its downsides as having to drive and meet with people can be annoying especially if they don’t show up on time but this is the price that you pay for saving money.
For sale sites/apps
Similar to Facebook Marketplace there are a variety of websites and apps where individuals buy and sell things locally. Some popular ones are Craigslist, OfferUp, Nextdoor, etc.
Each of these have the same downside of having to meet someone to buy the item as well as not having return policies and the items are sold as is. You also have to keep an eye on these apps as things can sell incredibly fast so acting quick is a must!
Pawn shops
This is either one of the best ways to acquire Nintendo Switch games real cheap or the worst. It all depends on the pawn shop and its owners. Pawn shops get a massive range of games from people who just want to get rid of the game due to different reasons and need cash fast. Some pawn shops will then turn around and sell them to the public at a marked up price while others will list virtually everything that they get on sites like eBay!
You will often be able to tell which type of pawn shop you are at by their prices. If the prices in the pawn shop are the same for virtually all games then they are probably not an eBay seller. However if the most popular games are for sale at almost retail prices then they probably are selling on eBay as well as in the store and you will NEVER find good deals on Switch games at places like that!
eBay
eBay can be an incredible place to find used games for a low price but it depends on a variety of factors and there are certainly things to watch out for. In recent years more and more sellers from places like China have popped up on eBay and so the items will take weeks or months to arrive and will often not even work with your console properly!
You also have to constantly refresh the app/site as things are constantly being bought and sold so if someone lists a game at a great price it is unlikely to last more than a couple of minutes before being scooped up.
One trick you can use is to search for misspellings of the game titles as sometimes eBay won’t catch those and you can score a deal that way. You can also watch auctions and try and buy something that ends in the middle of the night to hopefully not have to deal with last minute bidders driving up the price.
Clearance bins
These can be incredibly rare but you can sometimes find Switch games at normal stores in clearance bins. Since stores only have a limited amount of space, once a game has been out a long time or is no longer very popular it can often be put on the clearance rack and bought at a discount. You won’t always find the best games this way but it will help you find cheaper options.
Places like Walmart, Target, and other retail stores are great to check out every time you are there shopping. It only takes a couple of extra minutes to walk by the gaming section and you might get lucky!
Nintendo subscription
If you purchase a subscription to the Nintendo platform then you will get the opportunity to buy game vouchers in two packs. The pair of game vouchers allows you to download two Nintendo Switch games for only $99.99 thereby saving you $20 off what you would pay at a retail store for the games. There are only certain games that you can purchase with these vouchers but you can find the entire list of games on Nintendo’s website.
This is a great way to save some money on new games but you can only use the game vouchers for the digital version of the game so no cartridges and only certain titles can be purchased.
Conclusion
Ultimately the prices for Nintendo Switch games vary a considerable amount depending on where you get them from, which games you are looking to buy, and when exactly you buy them. Your best bet for buying cheap Switch games is to keep an eye on local for sale groups or try and find a local pawn shop that doesn’t resell everything on eBay or Amazon.
No matter where you get your games from you will not be able to get them cheap unless you are able to act fast or buy the less desirable games. Either way, you will likely find that buying Switch games at a discount will be a lot more work than what you were anticipating.