GameStop Just Pulled Its Strangest Stunt Yet, And It's Gonna Get Weird Fast

Video game retailer GameStop has changed a lot over the last ten years. The company, already known for odd behavior (mostly involving the stock market), is going for another stunt. On December 6, it's having a "Trade Anything Day," where participants can trade in whatever they want for $5 in store credit. Of course, there are multiple realistic (and unrealistic) exclusions to the promotion. The biggest caveat is that it's one item per customer, so you can't just bring in a flatbed's worth of Madden 2006 PlayStation 2 discs and expect to make a profit.

According to GameStop's Instagram, the promotion is generally limited to, of course, video games and media, as well as, oddly, taxidermy. However, many electronics are excluded, including televisions, gaming peripherals, and computers. You also can't trade in jewelry, anything illegal, or guns. That seems wise. 

Anything else is fair game; it might be worth it to trade in an old, musty video game and/or taxidermy squirrel you have around for some extra store credit. 

The expanded list of what's not allowed is where it goes into left field and never really comes back. For instance, you can't trade in "That Zune you only used once." You also aren't allowed to trade in your siblings, people in general, or the 2002 Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team, as much as a bummer as that is to some. GameStop also won't take the Ark of the Covenant (good luck getting that from the warehouse from the end of Indiana Jones). Additionally, a few video game titles are explicitly listed as ineligible, including E.T. The Video Game for the Atari 2600, a game that was famously panned by critics and players and subsequently buried in the desert. Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 is also excluded (as well as Chaos Emeralds). 

However, if you manage to secure the Battle Rifle from Halo 3, a United Nations Space Command Misriah Armory BR55HB from the year 2552, that is eligible for $5 of store credit. Although it's safe to say that securing such an item would be difficult, and if you did manage to have one, Master Chief might need it more than you do.