What collecting advice would you give a younger you?

[portnoyd]

Keep. All. Those. Sealed. Contras.

[dgdgagdae]

i would tell myself to never open any games and definitly not throw away the boxes

Well that would have been a fun childhood!

[RPG_Fanatic]

I would have told myself not to sale then re-buy and then sale then re-buy the same games over and over.

[VACRMH]

I think I started collecting at 16, when I realized I could buy games that I never got a chance to play with my own paycheck. So I'd tell him...

1. Don't buy something just because it's video game related (Strategy guides for random games that I'd either never own or wouldn't be worth squat)

2. Have realistic goals in mind (Unless it's something you really think is worth it, don't bother with a complete collection)

3. Only buy games you 100% intend to play. Or know you can sell/trade for games you do intend to play.

[shawnbo42]

Strictly video game-wise, since to the best of my knowledge they were sold on store shelves in my area, RUN, don't walk, get to the nearest Woolworth's and pick up a Stadium Events or two. And DO NOT open them...
Other than that, should have bought that NES Flintstones when it was $50....

[Cornelius]

I gave away my NES to a friend after it had sat idle for a year or so in the late 80s. I'd love to have my original console and games now, so that'd be #1 even though none of it was rare or valuable. Also, we kept the games in the boxes until the boxes were falling apart and got thrown out, so I'd tell me to just put the boxes away somewhere. Of course, then that storage box probably would have gotten chucked at some point.

Starting collecting sooner since I only started 6 or so years ago comes to mind also, but realistically I wouldn't have taken that advice anyway since I had other stuff going on.

[98PaceCar]

Don't buy arcade games that I don't really want just because they are cheap. Hold out for the good stuff. I ended up selling almost everything I bought early on and rebought the machines that I still have now, essentially building 2 arcades over the course of my collecting.

That and don't sell your original Commodore 128 collection in college. I still regret that.

[boatofcar]

I think that can be expanded further--don't buy anything just cause it's cheap. I'd definitely tell my former self that.

[skaar]

Don't use SNES protos as box cutters.

[98PaceCar]

I think that can be expanded further--don't buy anything just cause it's cheap. I'd definitely tell my former self that.

I don't know about that. I made quite a bit of money selling off my console dupes. It took a while, but it did fund some bigger purchases nicely. The arcades were hard to flip because they were crappy titles to begin with and I took a bath on them because nobody wanted them in the first place. Probably the reason why they were so cheap!

[binici]

The compiled list would be huge! Seroiusly though, keep ALL games in mint condition as well as systems (no trade-ins).

[8bitgamer]

I would tell myself to keep my 80+ ColecoVision boxes (at least I kept the manuals).

[tom]

'don't sell that grey boxed Hangman'

[OldSkoolBrian]

I would say... "Hey Jerkoff stop tearing those NES Boxes apart" and "Don't make a Paper Airplane out of that Super Nintendo Earthbound Box"

[BenG76]

Buy the rarer games first and get the common stuff later. There are several games I want now that have only went a good bit in value since I started collecting around 5 years ago.

[xelement5x]

Don't pirate your games as much, or at least buy the legitimate copies when they drop in price to something cheap.

Though, I think one reason I was able to make it through college without a ton of debt is because I pirated a lot my entertainment, I wasn't dropping $50-$60 on a game all the time. Now all I've got to show for the work I put into making copies are binders of games that are essentially worthless.

[Edmond Dantes]

"Never lose the packaging or documentation to anything. Right now, anything you've already lost is in the past, but henceforth step up your game and keep all that you can."

"Always keep the game, the documentation etc. in the box when you're not playing them, and don't EVER put them on the floor. Always put them on a shelf or in a drawer."

"Don't get into collecting fantasy novels or comic books. You're never gonna read most of them because they're shit, and that shit is why you wound up selling all your really good games in my timeline."

"In general, don't sell games unless their market price is below $60. That way, if you sell it and regret doing so, it'll be easy to reverse the mistake. If you have a game that's worth ginormous amounts of money, KEEP IT unless it's a game you absolutely fucking hate with a passion."

"Don't sell anything before you've discovered the glory of painkillers and are able to make more balanced decisions. Depression leads you to do stupid things."

"By the way, never sell anime either. If you need cash, get rid of your american cartoons--practically all of them are gonna get re-released later anyway."

"Doctor Who is awesome."

That's about it.

[Darko]

I would tell myself to sell everything I owned and convince my parents to let me invest as much money as possible into Microsoft and Apple. I would then I'd then travel a bit further forward and knock out a short sell on 9/10 for every US market possible. After that I'd return to the present time and start collecting game companies instead of games.

[SpaceHarrier]

"Never lose the packaging or documentation to anything. Right now, anything you've already lost is in the past, but henceforth step up your game and keep all that you can."

This. Also, "Dont. Ever. Sell. Anything."

I regret selling most every game I've sold.

Except Mega Man X5, Stupid Invaders, and Mission Impossible.

[Mr Smith]

Don't bother buying a Saturn.
Keep your Sonic and Knuckles box in mint condition.
Love the manuals.