Exclusive Interview with Joe Caprara, Founder & CEO of TinFlip Video Games

TinFlip.com is a video game website that offers a unique approach to it's sales of video games. What sets TinFlip apart from the competition is that not only will TinFlip sell you the latest video games at competitive prices, they will also buy them back from you. Customers can return any video game bought from TinFlip within a 60 day "Window Period" and "receive up to 60% back." TinFlip's buyback price is higher than its brick and mortar competitors - and only TinFlip lets you know what that price is up front, before you even make your purchase.

I recently had the chance to speak with Joe Caprara, Founder & CEO of TinFlip. Here's what he said:

Please tell me a little about yourself.
"I'm 26 years old, and grew up in Philadelphia. I went to college in Washington, D.C., then two years after graduation I moved to the west coast. I've been a gamer since my fist Nintendo in 1986. I had a Sega, Neo Geo, N64, and now have all three of the next generation consoles, along with a PSP."

How did the idea for TinFlip originate?
"The Idea for TinFlip was never an aha moment. It was build over the years. As a broke college student, I was always looking for ways to get new games. I tried selling on EBay, Amazon, trading used video games in to stores like Game Stop. My used video games never seemed to get the credit from a dollar stand point, and I thought there had to be a better way.

Would it be interesting to people? The answer was yes! So I put the business plan together, and then went from there, asking questions like: Is it profitable to offer this service?"

What sets your gaming site apart from your competitors?
TinFlip offers gamers all the information before they make a decision to buy, allowing them to know exactly how much money they will get back. Other sites generally have only sales or discussions - none seem to have the best of both worlds. No places that offered one stop that offered quality game discussions AND a good sales price with a [generous] buy back value. TinFlip.com does exactly that."

What are your future plans for TinFlip?
"In the coming weeks we will have a new series of blogs by game writers, and then we will be rolling out guest blogs. We are going to be rolling out sales of our used games very soon. We'd love to get to a point where we are buying used video games from people who haven't bought from us. I'm hoping and expecting the forum to grow."

Is there anything you'd like to add about TinFlip?
"TinFlip allows you to buy a video game, and know what the buyback price is up front. It is all about options to low trade ins. TinFlip is also a community. [Customers should] walk away knowing that this is not just a game store. We offer a unique way of buying and selling games, but we are also a community for gamers."

One can view the TinFlip forums here.