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Post by Anon Mous on Jan 15, 2017 3:09:06 GMT -5
So I don't know if any of you have kept track of the prices of the video games we used to play. I do, being a collector and doing stuff for work. I got into a discussion about retro gaming and we got into a bit of a collector off. He showed off a 40 some odd inch CRT TV for his system, while I mentioned my Working Designs tower with my two copies of, among others, Magic Knight Rayearth for Saturn. I decided to look these up when I got home. I bought them at $35 and $45. They are now regularly in the $400 range per copy. Popful Mail on Sega CD is $300 easy. Dragon Force is in the mid 100s. Vay goes between $50 and $100. And, of course, the games that brought us all together, Lunar $50-$150 depending on the version and completeness.
I knew some of the games were getting up there, but what really floored me was that the guides for these games were hitting the $50+ mark. I don't know about the rest of you, but it's really starting to hit me what kind of money I'm sitting on in my collection. Not that I'm looking to sell, but those were just some of the WD titles, and not even with the autographs factored in. I've got other rarities like the Mega Man Xs and Shining the Holy Ark that are not even in my WD shrine. Or some of the systems. A TurboDuo like the one I have sold for over $800 (not typical but $400+ is). Virtual Boy is still way up there as usual. My Vectrex is pricey too. It's a bad time to be a collector, but a good time to have a collection.
Anyone have any thoughts on this or a collectable game they want to brag about?
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Post by Roas on Jan 15, 2017 10:08:49 GMT -5
I have thoughts, as someone who recently liquidated part of his collection, but I'm walking out the door. I'll comment later today.
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Post by Roas on Jan 16, 2017 9:54:24 GMT -5
Okay, so in order to buy games for the last 8 months, I've had to do slight of hand trade ins over and over again for store credit. This means I've had to liquidate the majority of both my game and console collection to do so. Now, in the end that was not as hard as some might think. Once realizing that you really aren't going to use or play something ever again...it's easy to get rid of it, especially if you are not really into collecting anymore. Here's just a partial list of things I've parted ways with:
A Wii and the one game I had for it (Xenoblade Chronicles)
A DS Lite and several games (FF3 and FF4...which was not hard since I have the PSP FF4)
A Game Cube (had to flat out sell this since no one wanted it)
A number of PS1 and PS3 games, including parts of my FF collection, though not hard to get rid of FF7 with a remake coming out. It was kinda hard to get rid of Suikoden 2, but it can be downloaded now, so, eh.
Now, I was surprised at the trade in values for some of these, like Suikoden 2 had a $30 trade in value. It is indeed interesting that retro game collecting is suddenly making a comeback. The Lunar games all had very high trade in values, but I was not going to go that far and trade them in...I'm not that desperate. I find it interesting that you say guides are also worth something. I have the guide for TSS and SSSC, but both are not in great shape (the TSS one is a mess). And although I have them, I know that my copies of TSS and EB would be worthless because of two reasons:
1) the cases are destroyed. Unlike when I traded in my copy of FF7 where I was able to replace parts of the jewel case, I can't fix those old Sega CD cases, which means their retro classic collector values are shot...despite the fact that the discs are in pristine condition.
2) I hacked up my EB manual over a decade ago when I was making an RPG game collage poster. I called it my RPG Wall of Fame. It was made up of tons of stuff I got from magazines, manuals, posters, etc. So at one point I cut out the character portraits from the EB manual and stuck them on there.
So I understand that even if a game disc is perfect, if the rest of the product is shit, no one wants it.
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Post by Anon Mous on Jan 16, 2017 13:48:44 GMT -5
And although I have them, I know that my copies of TSS and EB would be worthless because of two reasons: 1) the cases are destroyed. Unlike when I traded in my copy of FF7 where I was able to replace parts of the jewel case, I can't fix those old Sega CD cases, which means their retro classic collector values are shot...despite the fact that the discs are in pristine condition. 2) I hacked up my EB manual over a decade ago when I was making an RPG game collage poster. I called it my RPG Wall of Fame. It was made up of tons of stuff I got from magazines, manuals, posters, etc. So at one point I cut out the character portraits from the EB manual and stuck them on there. So I understand that even if a game disc is perfect, if the rest of the product is shit, no one wants it. Bull. Disc only Lunar TSS goes for $35-$45 on ebay. Lunar EB hits 50's to upper 60s. If you want to fix the case, it's easy. Go to a local retro store, get a copy of Madden with its nice box because nobody ever really played it much, pry the edges apart at the joints (They come off easy), swap out the inserts and reassemble. Most collectors of that style of case know that trick by now. |
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Post by Roas on Jan 16, 2017 14:44:51 GMT -5
And although I have them, I know that my copies of TSS and EB would be worthless because of two reasons: 1) the cases are destroyed. Unlike when I traded in my copy of FF7 where I was able to replace parts of the jewel case, I can't fix those old Sega CD cases, which means their retro classic collector values are shot...despite the fact that the discs are in pristine condition. 2) I hacked up my EB manual over a decade ago when I was making an RPG game collage poster. I called it my RPG Wall of Fame. It was made up of tons of stuff I got from magazines, manuals, posters, etc. So at one point I cut out the character portraits from the EB manual and stuck them on there. So I understand that even if a game disc is perfect, if the rest of the product is shit, no one wants it. Bull. Disc only Lunar TSS goes for $35-$45 on ebay. Lunar EB hits 50's to upper 60s. If you want to fix the case, it's easy. Go to a local retro store, get a copy of Madden with its nice box because nobody ever really played it much, pry the edges apart at the joints (They come off easy), swap out the inserts and reassemble. Most collectors of that style of case know that trick by now. Ah, see, in this nice little pustule of an area I live in, there are no retro stores for games and stuff, at least not to my knowledge. Until you saying that, I didn't even think that old Sega CD games of any kind could be found letting me do the replace trick I did with my PS1 cases. I thought after my brief dip into retro stuff that without a complete case the collectors want nothing to do with the game. Course, since I still have a functioning Genesis and Sega CD...I'll never give up my TSS and EB. |
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Post by Solana on Jan 17, 2017 9:21:51 GMT -5
The first thing I thought of for this was actually Pokemon cards. My bros and I were addicted to the show and got into the first generation of cards big time. Right now, I have an original card of every single of the first generation, not including the Japanese versions, the dark versions, and the gym trainer versions. With Pokemon Go and the resurgence of first generation ones, I've wondered if I should sell them now or not...
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Post by Rune Lai on Jan 17, 2017 12:58:56 GMT -5
I got into collecting the games I missed back in the early 2000s, because that's when I finally had a job and disposable income. I was on ebay so much, but the result was that I ended up "catching up" and getting the vast majority of games I wanted back before downloading old games was a thing. Most of them were new and for $20-40 depending on the game.
The worst was getting Panzer Dragoon Saga new after its limited print run had run out. That cost me about $70, maybe $80, whereas now it's like $400-600 and it'll be opened, but mint condition.
Since then I put anything I'm concerned about missing on my Amazon wishlist and check the list about once or twice a month. Once it gets to $20-30 I buy it. If it never drops and I'm unwilling to pay full price then I just don't get it (but usually I already know what I'm willing to pay full price for because I already pre-ordered it).
The result is a lot of backlogged games, as my sig file can attest, but I don't pay through the nose to get anything anymore.
I've sold a few games over the years as part of housecleaning, but they've been games that I've had minimal attachment to. No RPGs, but some old action/fighting/sports games have been let go.
I don't buy just to collect though. If I buy anything I do intend on opening and playing it someday.
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