Gamestop surges on back of secondhand market

Gamestop's grip on the secondhand market has been responsible for its financial success in 2008, according to this Wall Street Journal report. The retailer showed a 22 percent increase in sales last year.

Sales of used games are expected to reach $2 billion, or 23 percent, of GameStop's revenue for its fiscal year ending Jan. 31, according to Pacific Crest Securities.

That's up from $1.6 billion, or 22.4 percent, of revenue a year earlier.

The focus on used game sales has kept Gamestop ahead of competition such as Best Buy and Circuit City, the former dropping 12 percent of sales last year, the latter learning a far harder lesson: it's been liquidated.

"Nobody else has that used-games draw," said retail analyst Joseph Feldman of Telsey Advisory Group.

"Once you have played a game awhile and it loses its value, GameStop is pretty much the only place where you can get something for it, and that's a big deal in this economy."

Lots more through there.