U.S. gaming retailer GameStop, which already buys and resells iPhones, iPads and iPods, may soon begin buying and selling Apple's MacBooks, new details suggest.
An anonymous GameStop employee provided Kotaku with a screenshot of the company's inventory screen. It shows three MacBook models listed among used Xbox 360 hard drives, HDMI cables and a PlayStation Portable carrying case.
A second screenshot shows a more extensive list of MacBooks, complete with prices well below retail, suggesting that the retailer will sell refurbished Apple notebooks rather than new hardware. Listed in the inventory system is a 2-gigahertz 13-inch MacBook for $459.99, an 11-inch MacBook Air with a 1.4-gigahertz processor for $749.99, and a 17-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.4-gigahertz processor for $2099.99.
Four more low-end MacBook models are also listed in the inventory system, with a 2.1-gigahertz MacBook listed for $589.99 a 2.4-gigahertz model for $749.99, a 2.53-gigahertz-powered machine for $799.99, and a 2.66-gigahertz notebook for $949.99.
GameStop's trade-in program allows customers to sell their used gaming hardware or software to the U.S.-based retail chain for store credit, or 20 percent less in cash. Though GameStop specializes in traditional console games, late last year the company began accepting trade-ins of iPhone, iPad, and iPod hardware.
As software sales become increasingly disc-less, GameStop has also pushed into the digital distribution business, and offers PC game downloads from its website. Just this week, the company even began selling gift cards to Valve's Steam, a competing digital download service.