Microsoft is emailing Xbox owners to trade in old consoles
Microsoft is emailing some Xbox owners, pointing them to Best Buy trade-ins worth up to $375, as RAM shortages squeeze console supply, according to Engadget.
The facts
- According to Engadget, which credits PowerUpGaming, Xbox has started emailing some users to ask if they want to trade in a Series X or S they no longer play.
- The email points to Best Buy for 'up to $375 back'. Engadget says that is the top offer for a good-condition Series X, and Best Buy pays only in store credit.
- Engadget says Xbox Series X and S prices rose again in June, after an increase last October, as the AI sector keeps demanding RAM.
- Engadget says RAM shortages are expected to last into 2028. Its explanation for the campaign (more consoles in use means more Game Pass and digital sales) is its own analysis, not a statement from Microsoft.
Case notes · Danny's take
Why it matters
Look at the pattern, not the email. AI demand for memory pushes up the cost of consumer hardware, and a company that helped drive that demand now wants your old console back in circulation. A console sitting in a cupboard earns nothing. One in someone's living room can keep earning through subscriptions and digital sales. Engadget's reading of Microsoft's motive is an educated guess, so treat it as one.
For builders
Hardware shortages push companies toward getting more life out of devices already in people's hands, such as resale, refurbishment and trade-in services. If you build in that space, watch how component costs, especially memory, feed through to consumer prices.
Not financial advice. Do your own investigation.
This story was summarised with AI from Engadget's reporting and checked against our editorial policy. Danny's take reflects his views. Disclaimer.
Danny Walter
Founder of Moon Republic, Volt Terminal and Moon Republic Academy. Author of The Market Is a Crime Scene and After the Applause.