It's no secret that North America is going through some tough financial times. And in spite of the common perception that video games are recession proof, the industry has been hit pretty hard, with layoffs and studio closings dominating the headlines. Of course, even gamers aren't immune to the recession. And while game sales have remained relatively strong, many gamers are seeking other ways to get their gaming fix from a limited budget. So we talked to the minds behind online marketplaces Dawdle and Goozex to learn about some of the options that frugal gamers have.

Online marketplaces are nothing new, but it can often be frustrating to find specific items, such as a hard-to-find game, on sites like eBay. Dawdle aims to fix this with an market designed specifically for the gamers. "Dawdle's built just for gaming," President and CEO Sachin Agarwal told Ars. This includes a streamlined system for listing, selling, and buying games. "You just search by name—or if you're fancy, search by UPC—pick from the drop downs, and you're done." The site also features another added benefit in these economic times: no listing fees.

This all seems to benefit Agarwal's venture, as site activity has actually increased over recent months. "Things have picked up for us, certainly," he explained. According to Agarwal, one of the reasons that consumers are still buying games in an economy like this is the fact that they know that those games can later be resold on services like Dawdle, recouping at least a portion of whatever money was spent. "It's risk mitigation," he explained.

The used games market has come under fire of late—especially by publishers—for having a negative effect on the industry. But unlike the way popular dedicated game retailers handle it, Dawdle is attempting something that will benefit everyone: publishers, consumers, and retailers.

"If someone sells their used game for $40 on Dawdle instead of trading it in for $20 in-store credit at GameStop, we can do things to incent the seller to spend those cash money proceeds on new games," Agarwal told Ars. "Either by partnering with the publisher or a retailer to bankroll that incentive."

This technique is paying off, as Dawdle is currently in talks to partner with a number of different developers and publishers—and possibly even some retailers—though nothing has been announced at this point.

But for those who'd rather not go out and purchase games at all, even used ones, there is always the trading route. And with the advent of online trading sites, this process is now simpler than ever. "There is no bartering with others, no money lost on trade-ins at stores, and no time spent negotiating a price," Goozex founder Jonathan Dugan told Ars. Goozex is the largest video game-trading site in North America, which allows gamers to swap games using a points system.

"To ensure fair trades, Goozex provides a standard value in Goozex points for every individual video game on each system available on the site," Dugan explained. "The points system was developed and based on a patented algorithm that allows Goozex to assign value to each and every game in the system. By removing the idea of cash, members can game and participate on Goozex without having to worry about allocating significant portions of their budgets to gaming."

Like Dawdle, Dugan has seen activity on his site increase recently, given the rise in demand for more affordable gaming solutions.

"As gamers and their families continue to weather the current economic storm, we see the trend to find an escape from reality via gaming," Dugan told Ars. "Game trading volumes continue to rise, as well as values that gamers receive when they offer their games available for trade."

And while many people in the industry believe that the used game market is a bad thing for gaming, naturally, Dugan doesn't agree.

"I think overall, secondhand games only help the industry," he explained. "Say you’re an Xbox 360 RPG fan and you can only afford Fable II or Fallout 3. The person can purchase the game they want, play it, and then trade it to get the other game they couldn’t afford at the time. What you then get is more and more people viewing and experiencing a game that they may not otherwise have access to."

With both Goozex and Dawdle seeing a steady increase in business, it looks like gamers agree.