How to Save on Gaming Consoles

Discount codes

The easiest way to save on your next console purchases is to use one of our many discount codes. We have discount codes available for Microsoft and Nintendo, we also have discount codes available for established tech retailers like Currys, AO, Amazon, and more. So, no matter what you’ll be able to save big on your next purchase and shop the way you want. 

Look out for deals

Seasonal Sales

Seasonal sales obviously hold some of the most enticing offers when it comes to game consoles. The main ones are Black Friday, Prime Day, and Christmas sales. For example last Black Friday the Xbox Series S was on sale for £189.99 whereas it currently retails for £250. 

Sony’s main offering could also be found at a price of £479.99 which is the same as its current MSRP, meaning this year's Black Friday Sales might even have a better offering. So, make sure to jot the 26th of November down in your calendars. 

A pro tip we always recommend in regard to seasonal sales is that you find the usual retail price beforehand as some retailers have been known to artificially raise prices before a big seasonal sale. We also have our own guide to help you avoid unsavory business practices around the holidays. 

Sites like PriceRunner are also a good way of keeping track of a product's price history across a number of different retailers, which can be a good way to determine the ‘true’ price of a games console.

Retailer Sales

Of course, the big three that is Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have their own sales throughout the year. Sony usually hosts its ‘Days of Play’ sale around May while the sale is mostly geared towards discounted games and accessories it's always worth keeping an eye out. 

Xbox has its summer mega sale during the month of June which once again is geared more towards games and accessories, however, consoles have been known to go on sale in the past making it a decent consideration regardless. 

Nintendo rarely has sales and they usually don't offer any significant savings on their products from games, consoles, and accessories. If you’re really looking out for a Nintendo store-specific sale it's probably best to sign up for their newsletter and keep an eye on your inbox. 

Sell your old console, CDs, DVDs and Games

Trade-in Game Stores

Chances are if you’re reading this article you're looking to make the jump from last-gen consoles to the current-gen. This also means you're already sitting on, or rather gaming on, some significant capital to go towards your next games console purchase. 

One of the easiest ways to trade in your old console is to visit an established retailer like GAME or CEX. GAME even have a ‘Most Wanted’ page where they list their most desirable trade-ins with an increased offer incentive, so it's always worth checking that page out to see if your sitting on a potential goldmine. 

However, an obvious drawback of going this route is that retailers like GAME and CEX often gatekeep their best prices behind store credit which obviously locks you into making your next purchase from them, meaning you might miss out on better game console sales elsewhere. 

Facebook Marketplace

This is where online marketplaces often have their advantages as they allow you to set the terms of your sale in a way that entirely suits you. Bear in mind this will often come with its own caveats from the site taking a commission on your sale to having to sift through a plethora of lowball offers made by potential buyers looking for a deal. 

Sites like Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree are often best for this kind of transaction as they often promote your listing locally. This basically negates the hassle of having to figure out how to safely package your console and a trip to the post office.

eBay

If you’re comfortable with shipping your console or goods further afield then a marketplace like eBay is probably your best bet as it can help you calculate those costs but it also has Seller Protection reducing the risk of you getting scammed.  

Shop Refurbished/Second Hand

eBay [Again]

Speaking of eBay, the retailer is one of the best ways to shop for second-hand consoles with some great savings available on current-gen consoles. You can even save more with one of our discount codes. 

The beauty of eBay is that because the site is primarily made up of independent sellers the range of asking prices and final auction sales can be vastly different day-to-day meaning some real savings can be made if you’re vigilant. 

Now an obvious concern is that you might get scammed, we’ve all seen the viral stories of people paying hundreds of thousands of pounds for a car listed on the site only to receive a picture of it instead of the real thing. 

eBay has taken a fair amount of steps since then to reduce this kind of thing from happening including seller ratings and buyer protection. However, if you’re still unsure you can shop for established brands eBay stores like Currys who list a lot of their overstock and open box products on the site. 

Refurbished

A more secure alternative is to shop for refurbished products directly from the manufacturers themselves or via third-party sites. The benefit of shopping refurbished is that your chosen console has gone through rigorous testing and quality assurance to ensure that it's up to scratch. 

Not only that but refurbished consoles from manufacturers' sites often come with a warranty, which can help ease the anxiety of investing your hard earned money into a used console.

If you want to read more about buying refurbished tech consider reading our blog article on the topic which will give you some of the best hints and tips.

Physical versus Digital versions

A recent trend in the gaming sphere is the move away from physical discs and towards digital codes. As such both Sony and Microsoft have adapted to this change by offering Physical and Digital editions of their consoles. 

While you might be scratching your head thinking ‘What's a digital console?’ you needn't worry the reality is far less complex despite the confusing names. Digital consoles simply refer to the fact that the console can only play games digitally due to them having no disk tray. 

The consoles themselves are in fact still physical, and better yet they’re cheaper! Right now the digital edition of the PS5 is £90 cheaper than its disk tray-endowed counterpart. While Microsoft doesn't have a diskless version of the Series X yet they do offer the Series S in a digital variation. 

Gift cards

Cardyard

Gift cards won't give you a massive saving on your next console purchase but they will help shave a couple of quid off regardless. You can save even more by purchasing your Gift Card through Cardyard. Cardyard is essentially a place where sellers sell unwanted Gift Cards at a discounted price, giving you just a little more bang for your buck.  

Microsoft Rewards

If you’re looking for an Xbox console then Microsoft Rewards is a great way to save on your next Xbox console purchase. You can earn reward points by playing Xbox titles on an Xbox console or PC via Gamepass. 

However, don't worry if you don't currently have an Xbox console or PC to game on as you can earn points by simply using the Bing browser where you can earn points on each unique search. You can also earn points by doing quizzes and surveys on the Microsoft Rewards page. 

Points can be redeemed for Gift Cards which can obviously help you out with your console purchase. A £25 Gift Card will need 31,500 points to be redeemed which is a fair amount but you can easily earn around 15,000 points a month. If you’re feeling lucky you can even enter a giveaway for an entire console where your points count toward a specific amount of entries. 

Energy costs

Energy costs may be often forgotten when discussing consoles and how we can save money but with the current cost of living crisis it's as poignant as ever.  

How much does it cost to run a console?

This is a bit more complex than it sounds as first we need to know how much electricity your console uses. However, this fluctuates wildly depending on a number of factors such as whether you're using it to game, stream, or utilise any VR capabilities. To make things simpler we’ll do our calculations based purely on maximum wattage drawn during gaming. 

Xbox’s flagship consoles the Series S and Series X use a respective 75 watts and 180 watts during gaming. Whereas Sony’s PS5 uses 200 watts. 

The cost of usage is worked out using the current UK (July 2023)  electricity price cap of £0.30 applied to sessions of 1 hour per day, 3 hours per day, 1 week, 1 month, and 1 year. 

While we doubt most of you will be hitting the costs of 1 year or 8760 hours of constant usage, just seeing the impact an average 3-hour game session can have on your electricity bill is quite eye-opening. 

Xbox seems to be the most efficient when it comes to power draw. However, each console has a number of settings that can have both positive and negative impacts on power draw such as eco-modes.  

We suggest using an Electricity cost calculator to get a better understanding of how much your console usage is actually costing you. Furthermore, if you’d like to learn more about how much appliances are costing you be sure to check out our guide on the topic. 

Financing

While financing doesn't technically save you any money overall, breaking a large payment can be helpful depending on your financial situation.  

Xbox All Access

If you’re looking to get the latest console offering from Xbox, the Series X, then the Xbox All Access financial plan could be for you. The plan operates on monthly payments of £28.99 a month across 24 months with 0% APR. What really makes this plan worth it is the included bonus of Gamepass Ultimate for 24 months. 

Gamepass Ultimate gives you access to hundreds of current titles, day one access to Xbox first-party launches such as Bethesda’s upcoming sci-fi epic Starfield. Another great benefit is the included EA Play membership which gives you access to a bunch of EA titles like Battlefield, Fifa, and more. Ultimate also gives you the ability to play games across a number of devices from mobile, PC, and console.

PayPal, Klarna, ClearPay

While neither Nintendo nor PlayStation offers any unique financing options similar to Xbox’s All Access program. There are other options available to you, PayPal’s Pay in 3 is a great solution that splits your overall total into 3 zero-interest monthly payments. To qualify for pay-in-3 all you need to do is create a PayPal account. 

Both Klarna and ClearPay have pay-later options available. Klarna works in a way very similar to PayPal’s pay-in-3 system where payments are split into three spread across three months. ClearPay however, splits its payments into four instalments which are paid every two weeks.