We’re not sure what GameStop was expecting with their “Trade Anything Day”, but some of the events that took place must have certainly surprised those poor retail employees. In case it’s not immediately obvious, the “Trade Anything Day” means that for one specific day, you can trade in almost anything for store credit.
If you’re looking for some comedy, head over to GameStop’s X account, where they are sharing all the wild items they received for trade-in. This includes a fake copy of the viral fake AI-generated game “Bird Game 3,” social security cards, a taxidermied bobcat, a speed limit sign (wonder where that was stolen from), and someone even brought a ticket to poundtown…
The Strangest 2025 Marketing Campaign
This absurd one-day exchange took place on Saturday, December 6th, and saw the company accepting everything from a literal “can of whoop-ass” (hilarious) to a basic plastic spoon. The promotion stated that you could trade in anything for $5 in store credit. Now, $5 in store credit won’t buy you FC 26, NBA 2K26, or any other 2025 sports game for that matter, but the promotion was more for the heck of it. The official reason is to raise awareness behind GameStop’s trade-in campaign, but I just think a higher-up enjoyed this idea too much.
For years, GameStop has been ridiculed for its famously low trade-in values, offering mere pittance for relatively new games and consoles. This promotion was a masterclass in flipping that negative narrative, at least for a little while. The sheer novelty of trading a taxidermied bobcat for a $5 gift card promised virality, driving a lot of foot traffic into stores during the holiday season.
Unfortunately, this did come at a high and troubling cost to GameStop’s front-line retail employees. As multiple news outlets, including Polygon, reported, employee harassment was high. Some people brought in some truly obscene items (adult toys, DVDs, and worse), others brought in pictures of Jeffrey Epstein, and some even brought in dangerous weapons (even when Gamestop implicitly stated they would not be accepted).
Some people just have to take the joke too far, and employees had to verbally fight with these people or throw them out of the store. I get it, messing with retail employees will get you viral on TikTok. But is it really so hard not to ruin an otherwise hilarious day? Either way, hopefully, there’s more support for employees if GameStop ever decides to recreate this.
