What's your monthly budget to spend on classic games?

[gepeto]

I am good for between 100.00-200.00
This past year I have made a promise to wait until prices drop. I has worked out well. I can't tell you the amount of games I purchased at used prices only to see them drop to 15.00 or less in less than a few months. Ex half life 2 and dragon quest at circuit city 10.00 apeice. I know all prices drop but the hype got me.

The monthly spending involves both classic and current. The thing that gets me is the X factor. example I was going to buy a sega cdx for about 75.00 plus shipping. I was beat to the punch by someone else. 3 months later I pick one up for 10.00 mint condition.

Even though I was bummed at missing the cdx for 75.00 I would have never thought I would have gotten it for 10.00.
that is one of probably 100 examples of wammies that I have experianced.

I am impressed at your attempt at finishing the nes collection. mighty impressive.

The one thing I have learned about collecting is to stop overhyping a rare item in my mind and just wait in time it will come to you at a much better price.

Another wild thought is I am willing to bet that there are two people on this site with nearly an identical collection where one paid two to 3 times more than the other. The other saved by being fiscally conservative an patient.

[Kid Ice]

Does anyone here save money, donate to charities, the homeless?

None of your business, actually.

This could become a long and potentially thread derailing argument, and I'm awful tempted just to close this window and move on. But something about statements like this really gets to me.

I guess the question I would return is, how do you know everyone on these forums so well? How did you become aware of all our charitable activities and incomes? Why are you in a position where you can comfortably question the spending habits of others?

For what it's worth, if anything, your're on my A-list of DP contributors, slip81, but dammit this is so offensive.

[coz]

I spend less than $100 a month, and I make practically all of it back selling my extras on ebay.

Since January I've spent less than 400 bucks, gotten well over 2 dozen games, + a genesis, Dreamcast and multiple NES's, and my paypal balance is positive, meaning...I'm ahead, probably way way ahead since I've used some of my profits for food, rent, etc.

[Bratwurst]

The one thing I have learned about collecting is to stop overhyping a rare item in my mind and just wait in time it will come to you at a much better price.

This is very true and some of the best advice to be dispensed on this website. I spend less than 100 a month on average myself. Sometimes 130-ish. I also have a framework in mind that if I can't get X number of games within Y dollars shipped, I don't go for it.

[CreamSoda]

I would say about an even $100.

It's not because I'm poor, but right now all my money is going toward...

-Fixing up my truck('94 Ford F150)
-Saving up for a Hyundai Tiburon(don't laugh I love this car)

I do often go over my gaming "budget" though.

[keiblerfan69]

Less than 100 a month. No job so that kinda kills the buys. But once I get a job almost all my money is going to games.

[cyberfluxor]

Does anyone here save money, donate to charities, the homeless?

I'm sorry, but $1000+ on games each month is rediculous, I don't care who you are or how much you make.

I'm in the same boat with Kid Ice for posting that response. I'll just say that my family is quite generous and we donate things from food, clothes, money, computers, and all types of other materialistic things. My parents donate to college funds and universities to assist in research and others to get an education. In addition, I add money to my bill when shopping at thrift stores to donate more and put my change in donation jars at 7eleven and other places like IHOP.

Lets leave it at that because I can go on for pages, matter of fact I wrote several large paragraphs and deleted it because I figured it wouldn't be wise to submit so much. Plus it may inflame this tangent debate.

[Darren870]

mmm agreed on that question. Anyways, my $1000 does not include the games I wind up selling. I could sell $1200 worth of stuff and wind up saving money that month.

It just tends to be around that high (a grand) without that factored in.

[bangtango]

I try to avoid spending more than $50. Since I currently have all the systems I want at the moment, I buy games to play and not to collect. It means I might get only one or two games a month or mostly lots of sports titles or "bad" games (that I happen to like well enough) off of places like Ebay or these forums.

I have no problem with someone spending a few hundred per month, but if you gave me that amount of money to spend on games, I'd run out of ideas sooner or later since I am not a real "collector."

[swlovinist]

Unless it is a convention, I spend less than $50 a month. I use Ebay to make my game money, and recently I have been crippled with not being able to find a stable job. I usually spend $50 to $150 a month, while a convention I spend more like $300 to $400 for the month of the convention(NWCGE or CGE). I am currently spening less than $50 a month, but have still managed to get within 40 games for my 8th complete collection....Sega Genesis!

[slip81]

Does anyone here save money, donate to charities, the homeless?

None of your business, actually.

This could become a long and potentially thread derailing argument, and I'm awful tempted just to close this window and move on. But something about statements like this really gets to me.

I guess the question I would return is, how do you know everyone on these forums so well? How did you become aware of all our charitable activities and incomes? Why are you in a position where you can comfortably question the spending habits of others?

For what it's worth, if anything, your're on my A-list of DP contributors, slip81, but dammit this is so offensive.

You guys (also aimed at cyberfluxor's responce) are right, and I apologize if I offended anyone. Everyone here seems pretty cool, and I had no right making a comment like that.

I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I was probably just a little annoyed at first because I was thinking about how hard most people have it, and then saw a thread where people were talking about thousands while some have nothing.

In the end there is no excuse, and I should never try to impose my opinion on anyone. I enjoy being a part of this comminuty, and wouldn't want to be blackballed for one ill thought out comment.

Again I'm sorry if I offended anyone.

That said I'd say I spend less than $100 a month, June being an exception because I'm using some graduation money to get a DS lite.

[jdc]

THE coolest thing about classic games in the wild is that they can be had for very little. I don't set a budget and don't always find something.....but yesterday I was in the Cash Converters shop that is on the same plaza as our bike shop (SO handy ) and found a just-traded-in super clean copy of Medal Of Honor PSX for $8 Canadian. I wasn't about to leave it there.

I enjoy the surprises of stumbling onto a classic game rather than actively "going classic hunting" for the day.

[Poofta!]

i brought up this exact point in the ps3 price thread i believe. when i first started i spent about 200 a month, went up to 400-500 at one point for a couple months. now i vowed to keep it at 50-100. not a penny more unless its something unbelievable. a big reason for this is that ive acquired 80-90% of what i wanted for my gaming collection. sure there are games left but they are ones im not as passionate about buying or are very expensive (psx valkyrie profile, suikoden 2, chrono trigger snes).

now that im nearing completion, i see my interest dwindling, not in gaming, i stopped being a hardcore gamer when i started college, but in buying. i love every one of my purchases and i am very proud of my humble collection (only about 300 games) but that fact that they are all MIB and games i like, makes me love it. i dont plan on ever selling it, unless somethign comes up, but i definately no longer have the same spark and enthusiasm as i had before when it comes to buying games for my collection. regardless i reckon i will be complete within the next year.

[cyberfluxor]

That said I'd say I spend less than $100 a month, June being an exception because I'm using some graduation money to get a DS lite.

No problem. I'm trying to do the same thing for a DS lite, but might have to wait for the color I want to come out.

[All Things Sega]

I'd day around $100 a month roughly. Some months more and some less. All depends on the deals I may see. A few months ago got great deals at Sam Goody and Suncoast stores in the nearby towns as they were going out of business. Nothing like swooping in to get games and movies for 70 - 80 % off. That blew my budget a little since I bought in bulk alot of itemns I needed. Usually I can resist impulse buying unless its a great deal.

[Coleman]

Usualy i spend less than a $100 per month but last month i went a litle bit overboard. I think i spent around $1500 all together but that includes a new -360. Typicaly i buy NES games and i spend about $2 - $5 ea. Although it is getting harder and harder to find the games i need at that price!

[Steven]

I try to avoid spending more than $50. Since I currently have all the systems I want at the moment, I buy games to play and not to collect. It means I might get only one or two games a month or mostly lots of sports titles or "bad" games (that I happen to like well enough) off of places like Ebay or these forums.

haha, like $2 for my copy of Nolan Ryan's Baseball
I will try to get it out tomorrow if I can, Monday at the latest.

This month I hate to think how much I've spent. It's been pretty bad. A couple $80+ orders. Total for the past four weeks, maybe... oh... 300+ easily. Hell I just received a package in the mail for 8 NES games, but damn I got them so cheap.

Code Name Viper
Trog!
Darkman
Totally Rad
Gauntlet II
Vice Project Doom
Guerrilla War
Day Dreamin' Davey

for $22? And they wonder why I can't pass it up. :P

[bangtango]

haha, like $2 for my copy of Nolan Ryan's Baseball
I will try to get it out tomorrow if I can, Monday at the latest.

Thanks, Steven. No rush. No sports games for my SNES, whatsoever. Needed a baseball title. Never played it before, you had an extra copy. Viola.

It helps my budget that I am one of the users on this board who actually buys those old sports titles My favorite genre, overall.

[steveant1636]

about $50 a month

[jcalder8]

Normally it is under 50 Canadian because that is how much I have in my budget for it, however that has gone way over a couple of times which I am still paying off which is why I still need 5 items to finish my NES Dragon Warrior collection.