Fingerprints now required to sell used video games in Florida

Selling Used Video Games Now Requires Essentially Getting Booked

I'm in line at Gamestop the other day, breaking down and finally buying the much-hated NCAA Football '09, when I hear the clerk ask the guy in front of me for his fingerprints. He's returning a game, and the clerk breaks out some kind of form. He swipes his thumb across an ink pad stuck to the counter and then puts his mark in the appropriate box.

What the deuce? "The sheriff's office has been making us do it," the clerk told me. "People hate it."

...

Broward County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kayla Concepcion said the new requirement comes straight from the Florida Legislature, which enacted a law on October 1 of last year that treated video games like second-hand goods sold at pawn shops. Now any store buying used video games has to collect the thumb prints, along with a bunch of other personal info about the seller.

Almost too bizarre to believe.



[edit on 1-6-2009 by loam]

Ha. This is a ploy from "big video game" to make people buy only new games!

In seriousness though, this is silly. Maybe the government is using this to gather more information about the populous as they know that many people are going to be seeking to sell off some of their unwanted video games to make some extra cash.

Perhaps the nuttiest thing I have read so far today, and thats saying something. Seriously why on this green earth would the sheriff need the fingerprints of people buying used video games? This sounds like something that could only come from that loser Jack Thompson's brain, however last I checked he had been disbarred.

In a case of law plagiarism, Florida state Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla, penned this bill that is almost identical to the recent California bill signed into law by movie and video game star, Ahhhnohld.

The intent of the bill was to seek to ban violent video games from children, despite the industry regulating itself with Movie-style Ratings.

What is more interesting is Diaz de la Portilla's ongoing campaign finance ethics violations, "In 2001 the Elections Commission imposed a $311,000 fine on the senator after finding him guilty of 311 violations of the law."

So, why the video game bill? Because it's convenient, easy, and looks good to voters. Don't worry about the fact that it's unconstitutional and doesn't help to alleviate the problem. However, it gave Alex Diaz de la Portilla street cred with his over 60 years old voters demographic despite his 311 violations of the law.

If the purpose was really to ban violent video games, wouldn't an I.D. suffice? Or in the event of no I.D., common sense that the buyer is of age.

This is nuts. A guy could buy material to make explosives and not get finger printed.

Originally posted by Juston
If the purpose was really to ban violent video games, wouldn't an I.D. suffice? Or in the event of no I.D., common sense that the buyer is of age.

And since when did Americans have a semblance of common sense? They need to have disclaimers to warn them. "Caution: Beverage Hot"

All the more reason to plunge these folks into poverty.

I can think of a really simple explanation. Video game theft and resale is BIG business, HUGE. I once worked part time for Blockbuster and four of our stores in a 150-mile area were hit by thieves in less than two hours. It took them only about 4 minutes to clear $10,000 in merchandise from our store, literally walking down an aisle and out the door while the manager was in the bathroom in our case. A lot of that stuff winds up on eBay, in flea markets, resale shops and those trade clearance shows that you find in fairgrounds. In some jurisdictions property with a monetary value of $500 is considered grand theft, you can see why they might be anxious to establish chain of ownership. Not to mention that the video industry is slumping bigtime, it is prime time to sell or resell bootlegs.

IT's the people selling the games getting fingerprinted, not the people buying them. Doesn't make it any less bizarre, but there IS that distinction, therefor, I can't see how it has anything to do with the rating of the video games.

I CAN however see how it could be similar to pawn shops. To keep theives from pawning stolen goods, a fingerprint is required. I just can't see too many thieves stealing video games of all things to make money. My poor little brother-in-law recently sold back a large lot of old games. He got a buck back for most, IF he was lucky, and these were games being sold "used" for $20+!

Anyway, if there was a rash of videogames being stolen (which is the only logic I can see behind the rule), then I don't think it's going to matter as the thieves probably get more selling them out of their car trunks.

reply to post by secretagent woooman


You beat me to it, this is exactly what I was going to say.

Kid calls in and reports his PS3 and X, Y and Z games stolen, the sheriff calls video game stores to see if store has purchased X, Y and Z games from another kid selling used games, if so, they have some potential suspects to look into regarding the stolen property.

It seems very big brother, but honestly I can appreciate it to an extent. I'm into video games and I know how much money goes into my hobby, so I like the idea of having an easier way to get my games back, if they ever were stolen to be resold. I don't think the finger print is necessary, though. Name, address, phone number. And an ID to verify it all.



[edit on 1-6-2009 by Heatburger]

reply to post by Layla


It's sad, but hey, if it's stolen, any money made selling a game is profit. I've sold back PS3 games I was done playing for 20-30 bucks before, too. If they're new and in demand, you can actually get a decent price on selling back old games. And like I said, to a theif, even if it's 5-10 bucks on 10 video games, that's $50-$100 he or she got off with for free.

reply to post by Heatburger


I could not agree more. And I also appreciate it to a point.

I have twice now have had my house broken into. All that was stolen was game systems, the games and controllers. 2 Laptop and a GPS unit were untouched, and in the same area as the games, all out in the open.

Gamestop will buy all of it, no questions asked. Only recently I heared they are required to take your ID/Drivers license info. Requirments like this help prevent theft. If a crook can't sell it, they wont steal it.

[edit on 6/1/09 by Cyprex]

reply to post by Heatburger


Understood, my point was that if that's the reasoning, the thieves will find somewhere else to sell it. There is definitely a "black market" for these items and they'll be able to make MORE money selling it on the streets than at a game store, and with less risk. Honestly, if your PS# or something were to be stolen, I don't believe you have any more chance of recovering it at a game store after this law went into effect than before it did. If it were me, attempting to sell stolen goods, as soon as they said "fingerprint" I'd say "Hey, you know, I changed my mind" and leave.

Last year I bought my old games to a pawn shop down there and they fingerprinted me. They tried to get my ss# also, but I declined. If I didn't need the money for our move up north, I would have never let them print me for something so stupid.. When I asked them why they needed all that stuff to take some old games, the guy told me that it was since 9-11 and all the new security codes with Homeland Security.. I told him I didn't see how I was a threat with my SNES games, and he said it use to be only for guns.. WTF??? It went from firearms to video games

reply to post by Layla



That probably all depends on locale.

Where I live we definitely have people that will steal games sitting in an unlocked car, or will take then in a break-in, but we don't have the buyers that will hunt for them on a "black market" so there really is none here. I've looked. Not for a stolen game as it is, but for something sold out that no one can get in stock (though in hindsight, if I had found this game it would have likely been stolen), we really don't have a black market for games here.

Here, if a game is stolen, it's taken straight to GameStop or EB Games. If we had an ID system (MINUS the fingerprinting, mind, because I think you're right about them "changing their minds" and the idea of being printed) I believe it would make it extremely easy to recover stolen games and systems here. Granted that is where I live, and elsewwhere it may not be the same.

Elsewhere I do agree it could definitely make the black market for videogames that much worse. People need to think stuff through before they pass it into law




[edit on 1-6-2009 by Heatburger]

This law is out there because game piracy is a very real issue.

That being said, I would not sell a single game requiring fingerprints-it boarders on unconstitutional, and, quite frankly, is an invasion of privacy.

What an incredible thread. Fingerprinting as a method to nab video game thieves.:shk:

Alert! Real thieves are already on to your efforts, and are selling their stolen games out of their trunks or via craigslist.

Another poorly thought out waste of time and money.

reply to post by jsobecky

It may be kind of fruitless but at least they are trying to do something about it. Most times Florida just lets problems get out of hand. I have no problem with pawn shops doing this, it would make it much easier to nab people who are stealing bigger items and selling them, burglary is at an all-time high. That's pretty lucrative here, along with stealing metal and tools from construction sites.

The only time someone tried to fingerprint me was for a concealed weapons permit, I'm pretty sure you can even buy explosives or dangerous chemicals without a fingerprint. This seems a little ridiculous, I guess the law makers have to do something to act like they are busy and needed. I don't know about you but I felt like we had enough laws about the time they decided it was a crime not to wear my seat belt, fingerprinting little johnny when he trades his game for a new one doesn't exactly make me feel safer. And if you are worried about theft start with the missing trillions in bailout money first imo.


[edit on 2-6-2009 by miraclerock]