It sounds like you didn’t request the game. Even if there are no copies of the game available right now (true for “Need for Speed Most Wanted, Platinum Edition, XBox 360”), it should show up your list of requested games. If you don’t have any points, it will be marked as “insufficient points,” but it will still be on the list.
The thing you have to understand about Goozex is that it isn’t really a trading system. It’s an artificial, moderated marketplace. You sell games for points instead of cash, and buy games with those points.
As a new user, you won’t get any points for a game you sell until the buyer confirms they received it in good condition. Once you’ve sold several games (3 or 4, I’ve forgotten), Goozex will give you the benefit of the doubt and credit you with points the moment you agree to sell the game. You still have to get positive feedback from the buyer sooner or later, or Goozex will reverse the points you received.
Buying and selling are both done with queues. If you want to buy a game and there are no copies available, you get in line. Everyone ahead of you in line gets to buy the game before you do, but once they all have copies, the next one goes to you. It works the same way if you’re selling, if no one currently wants the game, everyone ahead of you in line gets to sell first, and then you get to sell yours.
You can check the line with the “trading info” link on the game’s page. For most popular games, even lines that look incredibly long are actually not that bad. It’s typical right now for a new game to get 100-200 requests upon release, but churn through all those requests in 2-3 months. By the same token, a game that’s a year old may have 100 copies for sale ahead of you, but will sell in 3-4 months.
However, niche titles or special editions, games with very few copies in the system, may have poor turnover. That’s the case with the game you requested. The Platinum edition has only 5 active requests right now, but has only traded 15 times in the US in the last 18 months. It’s likely you’ll wait 5-6 months or longer for those to clear. In contrast, the regular version of the same game - which is exactly the same except for the packaging - has 7 active requests, but has traded 183 times in the last 18 months, and has 4 trades currently running. It’s likely you’d get it in a month or less. Of course, it’s also 250 points instead of 150.
Points are nominally $5 per 100, and Goozex pegs the prices to the current price of the new game at that rate. Most of the time, anyway, for some titles sometimes it’s very different. Of course, what you’re actually getting is a used game, and if you check Goozex prices against current eBay prices, typically it’s more like $3 per 100 points. So you netted about $15 from the sale of your 500 point game, and you’re looking to pay $4.50 or $7.50 for a copy of Need for Speed, depending on the version. Plus $1 for the cost of the trade token, so $5.50 or $8.50.
Overall, I do like the system. Goozex tends to be slow compared to buying and selling on eBay, but it’s very little hassle, the prices are less random, you’re usually guaranteed to buy or sell your game eventually, and there’s no real risk of getting burned. If you don’t get a game or it’s broken when you receive it, Goozex will refund the points.
