There are many reasons people from all over the world choose to shop online today. High-speed service without the hassles of driving from store to store wasting time and money on high priced fuel tops the list for most. Those in search of great deals can find just about anything online and used video games are no different. If you are in the market for great quality cheap video games you can find them easier, faster, and hassle free without leaving the comfort of your own home.Before you make your online purchase of any used game, there are a few things you should consider:Does the site offer return guarantees? Certain things should be covered when you are buying used games whether they are used Xbox, PlayStation 2, Gamecube, or any other popular or vintage games. A good site will accept returns of any defective cartridges or discs. This is also one of the reasons to shop online at a reputable game store, as other online sources such as eBay, where you work with individuals; the return policy is up to that individual, whereas an online store will have a storewide consistent policy for returns, with their reputation hinging on honoring that return policy. Local pawnshops very rarely offer any form of guarantee, with all games purchased as is, i.e. if the game does not work, your money is wasted.Uniform shipping policies are another aspect to consider when choosing an online store. A store should openly state their shipping policies and they should be uniform for every sale. With many auction sites each individual seller sets his or her own shipping and can often inflate those prices to pad their pockets while avoiding auction fees on sales. Some of online used video games stores may offer free shipping on certain order amounts, or other significant savings when quantities of items are purchased. This can be a great advantage since not only are you saving money on the games vs. a retail store, but you are also avoiding the hassle of going from store-to-store, avoiding high fuel costs, and you can spend the time and money you just saved any way you choose.Another point to consider when buying used video games online is to make sure that the product description is clear and concise. Many sellers may attempt to hide product flaws inside lengthy descriptions in hopes of confusing the buyer. When purchasing used video games whether it is a used NES game or a used PlayStation 3 game it may show signs of wear and tear.Cartridge-based games should have stickers without too much visible wear (tearing and extreme fading are warning signs), the cartridge casing should be free of dirt, and the metal game contacts (the part that goes into the console system) should be free of corrosion and oxidation. Reputable game stores will clean the contacts prior to shipping them to you to insure your cartridges are functioning properly.Disc-based games should come complete with the original artwork and case, along with discs having minimal scratching on the playing surface. In some cases, the manual may not have survived years of use, especially if the game is a popular one like Fatal Frame II (Xbox), Tales of Symphonia (Nintendo Gamecube) or Tales of Phantasia (Game Boy Advance), but in most cases this is not a problem, as walkthroughs and Game FAQs are available through numerous online sites. Some online sites will professionally re-surface game discs prior to sending them to you if surface scratching is severe, which generally alleviates any game play problems.A very important, almost final step in choosing your used video game store is to find out what payments the retailer accepts. A good retailer will accept most of the normal online payment methods including PayPal, Google Checkout, direct bank transfer, credit cards, personal or bank check and money orders. Keep in mind that if you are paying by personal check, sites may hold your check for 7-10 business days prior to shipping your order to make sure funds are available on the check. Always make sure any site you are submitting your personal financial information to is a secured site (usually identified by the https:// lead in to the url of the payment cart as well as a ‘lock’ icon located on the bottom or top of your web browser), and you may also want to inquire as to whether or not the site stores your personal and/or credit card information.After you have gone through all of these important steps, the final point to consider is whether or not the games you are purchasing are going to be any fun. There are tens of thousands of games available (nearly 6000 are available with the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 1 alone!), and choosing games from a console or genre you are not familiar with can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Take a look online for reviews, player forums, and blogs about that particular game. Google searches on just about any used video game title will bring up hundreds, if not thousands of relevant results where you can find everything from non-biased game reviews to game walkthroughs, to hints and cheats.Many of these used video game sites also buy games, so if you have cartridges lying around that you are not playing anymore, why not make them work for you? You will get much more for them online than you would at a local pawn shop (online sites don’t have the overhead brick-and-mortar stores do), and most pawn shops will not accept any systems or consoles other than PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or Nintendo Wii any more, as their limited market doesn’t support buying older systems. With online stores, they are able to market to a much wider customer base, and generally will accept the older video game systems.There are several ways to sell your used video games online but the best reason for going to a store dedicated to used video games is that they have a customer base that goes to them for games and they deal only in video games, so visitors to the site are there only to buy games, not movies, music, or bath towels. Online video game retailers also know much more about the business of buying and selling their product.So there it is: save time, save money, and prevent frustration by looking online for your games – you’ve got a variety of sources to choose from, and taking a little time to find your ‘favorite game store’ should result in many happy years of gaming.