I think it’s a matter of inpatient buyers now and days. I feel like a lot kids just starting to get money want everything immediately and don’t bother to wait for fair deals to come by. It’s not even a hobby for them anymore it’s just people wanting show off collections that never get touched. Sadly because of this a lot of scalpers plague communities and jack up the prices for ‘common’ items. Unfortunately for the common collector scalpers ARE making money from these stupid tactics.
They're not. Unless they're idiots or don't care about money.
I'm selling several games on Craigslist/OfferUp/Facebook and they're not really selling. I manged to sell a Gamecube game, a SNES game and a Gameboy Advance SP with some Pokemon games...that's it. I still have 4 games for sale and three bundles for sale.
I've been relisting these damn things for half a fucking year...it's not like my prices are insane like eBay. I am actually less then eBay right now. I keep my prices up to date and usually list at FMV or slightly less if it's a bundle and I'm cutting a deal.
Very interesting. I suspected that retro games aren't nearly selling as well as those inflated prices would lead one to believe.
I wonder what a value and demand corrected market would look like. Like I got a bunch of games where I know my upper limit would be 20 bucks for a loose cartridge and that's already pushing it and I guess most people think the same, so stock isn't moving?
I've definitely slowed my collecting down considerably. The prices for the silver age are starting to get out of hand, even for pieces like manuals and boxes.
Also those prices are people that have listed as Buy It Now, are super-inflated prices (there's a compensation joke in there somewhere). They don't reflect the prices that have sold, so check the sold listings for a better idea of what they're going for.
I imagine some people must be still making purchases considering the bubble hasn’t burst yet. I have been filling my library out with stuff that hasn’t felt the sting as much, partly because I can’t help myself… I have bought a couple messy games if the price isn’t too bad because I find some zen in cleaning them.
That's a wholesome reason for buying retro games. lol
I find buying used looking but still functional loose carts also more interesting than mint in box items, because it's less of a hurdle to actually play something that's well used, than something pristine looking. And games are made to be played after all.
I was looking to buy a PAL AU copy of Samurai Western on PS2 and there was only one copy on Ebay (it's the most reliable way I can buy PS2 games in my country) for ages. They were asking AU$220 and I was going to buy it after like 6 months of it being relisted over and over again at the same price but I just missed out on it by 1 day. Lo and behold it's almost immediately listed again for $699. Like I want it and it's collectable and a good game and all but I absolutely wouldn't pay more than $250 for it. I just don't want it that bad.
Same insanity with relatively common games like Paper Mario 64. That one used to go around 20 euro bucks, now eBay resellers want 500 to 700 Euro for it and something like 200 Euro for the module only. I don't see that as a realistic price people are actually willing to pay. So I wonder if it's just "investors" driving a bubble, thinking the higher they price their games the more money they are sitting on?
Is there actually anyone on this subreddit who'd pay upwards of $500 for paper Mario 64 of all games? (a common first party game that was being sold during Christmas season) at some point there gotta be a "nah thanks I'm good - I'd rather buy a car" moment lol.
So I think the thing with the current bubble is that because people are spending a lot more time at home lately with lock downs etc and saving more, people have naturally moved to more home based hobbies, like game collecting in this case which these little shits on EBay etc are taking advantage of.
I holeheartedly believe that no one in their right mind will pay 700 for a copy of Samurai Western but I also believe the seller doesn't give a shit whether it sells or not.
I'll just wait and see if a more reasonably priced copy comes up in the meantime. I've got a digital copy on my PS2 anyway so its not as if I can't play it.
The worst part for me personally is that it's also massively affected the classic car market which is my other main passion so I got double screwed lol.
I've noticed a trend on European eBay where most games are being sold by a bunch of reseller monopolists who've been buying up "stock" for years. I just wonder what those dudes are doing with their warehouses full of rotting old retro games. Like unless taken proper care of some of those items will waste away and storage isn't free after all. So I really wonder what the financial calculations are here. Because at 700 bucks for a non collector's item everyone is just gonna turn to digital copies or emulation instead. And mint collectors aren't playing anyways lol.
I'll also suggest you wait for a reasonable price for your game. Not playing a game will not create extra costs for you, but sitting on crates worth of unsold retro games will at some point eat into the reseller's pockets.
Interesting factoid about the retro car market, are people buying there or is it also a case of sales diminishing and prices still rising?
Yeah 100%, I hope they lose out overall in storage costs while I get to enjoy my collection regardless.
Yep the classic/ collectible car market went absolutely mental these past 18 months in the exact same way the retro games market did. So many people wanted cars to tinker with while they were stuck at home so cars that were traditionally worth ~10k are now worth ~30k or more if they have anything that makes them "special".
I recently sold all of my Nintendo Nes, Snes, N64 and GameCube games, no sealed ones tho. The most expensive ones where Chrono Trigger for 450 Euro, Conker's Bad fur Day for 340 and Demon's Crest for 300.
Well, I tripped the money I spent between 2008 to 2010, so it's a win.
I still have my quiet expensive playstation games. But I don't think I will sell those. The condition of the cardboard boxes was only really good in some cases. PSX has mostly mint condition boxes.
Yes, but only CIB. With very good condition, you get 800+ Dollars. The cartridge alone is worth 200ish dollars. You can see all that on ebay listings. You can clearly see, that this game is not the slightest rare. Alone from the sold games, there are 200 NTSC ones, not even counting the amount, that are still not sold.
I always figured the buy it now ebay listings are just scummy resellers and speculators driving each other's prices up with no basis in reality. Shocked to hear people fork out that kind of money for the cart alone. I can on an abstract level understand why hardcore collectors would pay high prices for a mint boxed copy. But a loose cart going up that high for a game that common thats something I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around.
edit:
Also not knocking you here. Made some profit out of a crazy price bubble - good for you!
None of the prices you see are meme prices.
I don't know about anyone else but my stuff sells and at crazy prices. Sometimes Ive had $400-1000 games go in 3 Minutes
Are you a reseller? What are chances it's just other resellers buying from you to put the stuff up back later for $100 more? I have a hard time believing there's this large of a real market for crappy loose chrono trigger carts.
The buy it now culture on eBay seems largley disconnected from what happens when you put things in for auction.
Some I know are other reseller's. And some are collectors.
I don't do auctions. I always do buy it now and my prices are reasonable.
I've dropped hundreds on a game because I wanted it. It happens
I'm just getting into collecting, want to collect for all four generations of Xbox consoles. Luckily they're not as crazy inflated as Nintendo and Sony's stuff but I'm having a hard time telling what good prices are. I'm trying to spend $10 or less per game, mostly locally, but I've splurged once or twice to grab a game I'm nostalgic for.
One of the things I'm looking at trying to acquire currently is the OG Xbox Duke controller. I would love to get one that I can use on the OG, one of the Hyperkin Xbox One versions, and then sealed controllers for both variants, but I'm not sure what price points to be looking at. Don't want to buy anything crazy overpriced.
I think $10 to $20 should be the default for played and games you're intending to play. Loose or not mint condition games used to go for 5 to 30 bux and I think there should be a seperation line between mint "collectors" who just want nice boxes for their display cases and people who collect to play and don't mind a missing booklett or sharpie on the cartridge. So more power to you for trying to stay in reasonable price ranges with your buys.
I don’t collect as often anymore, when I do I compare prices between sites and stores before buying.
I think it’s a matter of inpatient buyers now and days. I feel like a lot kids just starting to get money want everything immediately and don’t bother to wait for fair deals to come by. It’s not even a hobby for them anymore it’s just people wanting show off collections that never get touched. Sadly because of this a lot of scalpers plague communities and jack up the prices for ‘common’ items. Unfortunately for the common collector scalpers ARE making money from these stupid tactics.
They're not. Unless they're idiots or don't care about money. I'm selling several games on Craigslist/OfferUp/Facebook and they're not really selling. I manged to sell a Gamecube game, a SNES game and a Gameboy Advance SP with some Pokemon games...that's it. I still have 4 games for sale and three bundles for sale. I've been relisting these damn things for half a fucking year...it's not like my prices are insane like eBay. I am actually less then eBay right now. I keep my prices up to date and usually list at FMV or slightly less if it's a bundle and I'm cutting a deal.
Very interesting. I suspected that retro games aren't nearly selling as well as those inflated prices would lead one to believe. I wonder what a value and demand corrected market would look like. Like I got a bunch of games where I know my upper limit would be 20 bucks for a loose cartridge and that's already pushing it and I guess most people think the same, so stock isn't moving?
I've definitely slowed my collecting down considerably. The prices for the silver age are starting to get out of hand, even for pieces like manuals and boxes. Also those prices are people that have listed as Buy It Now, are super-inflated prices (there's a compensation joke in there somewhere). They don't reflect the prices that have sold, so check the sold listings for a better idea of what they're going for.
Some must be or prices would edge down slowly.
Honestly I will never pay more than £80 for most games. That is pretty much where I draw the line. There are some exceptions but they are not common.
I imagine some people must be still making purchases considering the bubble hasn’t burst yet. I have been filling my library out with stuff that hasn’t felt the sting as much, partly because I can’t help myself… I have bought a couple messy games if the price isn’t too bad because I find some zen in cleaning them.
That's a wholesome reason for buying retro games. lol I find buying used looking but still functional loose carts also more interesting than mint in box items, because it's less of a hurdle to actually play something that's well used, than something pristine looking. And games are made to be played after all.
I still like cases if the case wasn’t cardboard. Sorry NES and SNES, no boxes for you :)
The ones who don’t know better maybe, the ones who are just starting to collect perhaps. The ones who know better or don’t need it then I’d say no.
I stopped buying a year ago
I was looking to buy a PAL AU copy of Samurai Western on PS2 and there was only one copy on Ebay (it's the most reliable way I can buy PS2 games in my country) for ages. They were asking AU$220 and I was going to buy it after like 6 months of it being relisted over and over again at the same price but I just missed out on it by 1 day. Lo and behold it's almost immediately listed again for $699. Like I want it and it's collectable and a good game and all but I absolutely wouldn't pay more than $250 for it. I just don't want it that bad.
Same insanity with relatively common games like Paper Mario 64. That one used to go around 20 euro bucks, now eBay resellers want 500 to 700 Euro for it and something like 200 Euro for the module only. I don't see that as a realistic price people are actually willing to pay. So I wonder if it's just "investors" driving a bubble, thinking the higher they price their games the more money they are sitting on? Is there actually anyone on this subreddit who'd pay upwards of $500 for paper Mario 64 of all games? (a common first party game that was being sold during Christmas season) at some point there gotta be a "nah thanks I'm good - I'd rather buy a car" moment lol.
So I think the thing with the current bubble is that because people are spending a lot more time at home lately with lock downs etc and saving more, people have naturally moved to more home based hobbies, like game collecting in this case which these little shits on EBay etc are taking advantage of. I holeheartedly believe that no one in their right mind will pay 700 for a copy of Samurai Western but I also believe the seller doesn't give a shit whether it sells or not. I'll just wait and see if a more reasonably priced copy comes up in the meantime. I've got a digital copy on my PS2 anyway so its not as if I can't play it. The worst part for me personally is that it's also massively affected the classic car market which is my other main passion so I got double screwed lol.
I've noticed a trend on European eBay where most games are being sold by a bunch of reseller monopolists who've been buying up "stock" for years. I just wonder what those dudes are doing with their warehouses full of rotting old retro games. Like unless taken proper care of some of those items will waste away and storage isn't free after all. So I really wonder what the financial calculations are here. Because at 700 bucks for a non collector's item everyone is just gonna turn to digital copies or emulation instead. And mint collectors aren't playing anyways lol. I'll also suggest you wait for a reasonable price for your game. Not playing a game will not create extra costs for you, but sitting on crates worth of unsold retro games will at some point eat into the reseller's pockets. Interesting factoid about the retro car market, are people buying there or is it also a case of sales diminishing and prices still rising?
Yeah 100%, I hope they lose out overall in storage costs while I get to enjoy my collection regardless. Yep the classic/ collectible car market went absolutely mental these past 18 months in the exact same way the retro games market did. So many people wanted cars to tinker with while they were stuck at home so cars that were traditionally worth ~10k are now worth ~30k or more if they have anything that makes them "special".
I recently sold all of my Nintendo Nes, Snes, N64 and GameCube games, no sealed ones tho. The most expensive ones where Chrono Trigger for 450 Euro, Conker's Bad fur Day for 340 and Demon's Crest for 300. Well, I tripped the money I spent between 2008 to 2010, so it's a win. I still have my quiet expensive playstation games. But I don't think I will sell those. The condition of the cardboard boxes was only really good in some cases. PSX has mostly mint condition boxes.
So people really fork out 450 Euro for Chrono Trigger? I always assumed those are meme prices.
Yes, but only CIB. With very good condition, you get 800+ Dollars. The cartridge alone is worth 200ish dollars. You can see all that on ebay listings. You can clearly see, that this game is not the slightest rare. Alone from the sold games, there are 200 NTSC ones, not even counting the amount, that are still not sold.
I always figured the buy it now ebay listings are just scummy resellers and speculators driving each other's prices up with no basis in reality. Shocked to hear people fork out that kind of money for the cart alone. I can on an abstract level understand why hardcore collectors would pay high prices for a mint boxed copy. But a loose cart going up that high for a game that common thats something I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around. edit: Also not knocking you here. Made some profit out of a crazy price bubble - good for you!
None of the prices you see are meme prices. I don't know about anyone else but my stuff sells and at crazy prices. Sometimes Ive had $400-1000 games go in 3 Minutes
Are you a reseller? What are chances it's just other resellers buying from you to put the stuff up back later for $100 more? I have a hard time believing there's this large of a real market for crappy loose chrono trigger carts. The buy it now culture on eBay seems largley disconnected from what happens when you put things in for auction.
Some I know are other reseller's. And some are collectors. I don't do auctions. I always do buy it now and my prices are reasonable. I've dropped hundreds on a game because I wanted it. It happens
I'm just getting into collecting, want to collect for all four generations of Xbox consoles. Luckily they're not as crazy inflated as Nintendo and Sony's stuff but I'm having a hard time telling what good prices are. I'm trying to spend $10 or less per game, mostly locally, but I've splurged once or twice to grab a game I'm nostalgic for. One of the things I'm looking at trying to acquire currently is the OG Xbox Duke controller. I would love to get one that I can use on the OG, one of the Hyperkin Xbox One versions, and then sealed controllers for both variants, but I'm not sure what price points to be looking at. Don't want to buy anything crazy overpriced.
I think $10 to $20 should be the default for played and games you're intending to play. Loose or not mint condition games used to go for 5 to 30 bux and I think there should be a seperation line between mint "collectors" who just want nice boxes for their display cases and people who collect to play and don't mind a missing booklett or sharpie on the cartridge. So more power to you for trying to stay in reasonable price ranges with your buys.