People keeping prices high in your area

[thetoxicone]

Ever run in the people that ultimately keep the prices to high at certain shops in your area? Wednesday I ran into a guy buying crappy nes games at about 3 times the price anyone in their right mind would buy them at and I decided that he is one of the reasons why games are priced so high at some local shops in my area. Just let them sit and eventually the prices will drop but now the seller is going to think that every nes game he has will sell at $8-$10. I wanted to grab the guy by the shirt and slap him. Anyone else ever get this feeling?

[spoon]

Yeah. Just ask Perkar. He and I were in an Allied Record exchange a few months back. We were making fun of the eight dollar price on SMB 3. I was joking about how together we had like six of them in our trade boxes. Not thirty seconds later, a guy walks up and buys it.

This is always going to happen in all hobbies. Not everyone is as informed as we are. Also, some games are driven by demand. Some people also believe a higher price equals a higher value or are a direct relation to the quality of the item. AS we all know, not always the truth.

I also want to say something to them, but, I really don't think it is my place, also, I don't want them breaking in on my deals.

[Volcanon]

I have friends who just hoard NES games because they collect them and have the cash to pay more than they might need to.

When Mario 3 came out it was like 50 bucks, a gamer would find 8 a bargain if he wanted the game to play with.

[smork]

When Mario 3 came out it was like 50 bucks, a gamer would find 8 a bargain if he wanted the game to play with.

That's very true. Sometimes you want a game and sometimes you don't want to wait to find it at an "optimal" price. It's one thing to pay $50 for SMB/DH, but anything under $10 isn't so bad because, hey, it's under $10.

I say if it costs less than a decent lunch than the cost isn't worth worrying about, as long as you can afford it and its something you really want.

As a collector, I'll wait for the best price for a game I want to collect, but as a gamer, sometimes I'll just buy something I want to play even knowing I could likely find it on sale somewhere else -- as long as it's not a complete rip-off.

[FantasiaWHT]

If you get rid of online sources, those higher prices become a lot more understandable. Somebody with a brick & mortar store HAS to charge more than it would cost online to pay their overhead (lease, electricity, wages, etc.). They also have to make a profit, which a lot of people on ebay aren't doing.

A lot of people won't buy online for lots of reasons a) credit card security, b) shipping charges, c) waiting for the product, d) not being able to see the product first. Even if it's possible that a brick & mortar store, or a flea market/rummage sale might have the game somewhere else cheaper, there's a cost in gas, time, and convenience to driving all around trying to find it that make that extra couple dollars worth it.

And like Smork said, to a lot of people, anything under $10 is really conceived of as the same price. If it's something they want, $3 or $8 doesn't matter. Especially if you aren't buying dozens or hundreds of games.

[vintagegamecrazy]

I know a resale store owner and used to do a lot of business with him but stopped as much because of high game pricing. He uses Game Dude for pricing. I tried to tell him, sometimes it's a good thing sometimes not. He told me he's the only one around and people will buy the stuff, I couldn't believe it but he sold 3 Contras for NES in the last month of so at $22 each easily. People will more than easily pay it and I don't blame him for wanting to get the most. I probably would do the same. I do agree though, some people will care less what they pay for something regardless of whether or not it's killing the market.

[Videogamerdaryll]

This happens to me at the flea market..(the only reference around here that I can go by)

Sellers will have common NES and SNES carts out at $10-15 each..(SNES Super Mario World with destroyed label $15.00 WHAT?)

These sellers think they can get that price for everything..(because some dope actually falls into it and pays it.

Seller at a previous flea market had those prices set,I waited around checking out who bought what at what price to see if he actually could get away with those prices.

A saw a girl buying common NES titles at 10-15 each like as if the games were super rare(I already searched the box,nothing rare in there)
..another girl and her dad were doing the same slobbering over the games like it was a long lost item....I can understand that sometimes as a lot of people are stupid to game prices and or know ebay.

It's the people who"I" know go to these places,know games prices but still pay the high prices...... people who know game prices but are greedy to have to buy up everything they see,will buy the games at those prices keeping the prices high ..

[swlovinist]

I see both sides. Brick and Mortar stores usually have alot of overhead. I would pay more for a game locally if I didnt have to pay shipping on the internet. $8 for SMB 3 isnt too bad, considering that is what you would pay with shipping on the net. I have worked for a private game store when I was in college. It is easy for the consumer to bitch about pricing and not think of the headaches any owner goes through.

[udisi]

I know a resale store owner and used to do a lot of business with him but stopped as much because of high game pricing. He uses Game Dude for pricing. I tried to tell him, sometimes it's a good thing sometimes not. He told me he's the only one around and people will buy the stuff, I couldn't believe it but he sold 3 Contras for NES in the last month of so at $22 each easily. People will more than easily pay it and I don't blame him for wanting to get the most. I probably would do the same. I do agree though, some people will care less what they pay for something regardless of whether or not it's killing the market.

Oddly enough Contra was going for about $20 shipped on ebay a few months back...it's not that terrible to see it go for $22 at brick and mortar.....granted if you have more outlets locally it would go cheaper.

[Pantechnicon]

With luck and patience the shopowner may eventually blink. My main local store has some overinflated pricing and their I've noticed that the inventory has barely budged in the last six months or so. For the last month they've been having an unadvertised BOGO-1/2 off sale but it's not helping much. Frankly it's got me worried that they might go under, buried by their own hubris, but there's still some hope. Last week a batch of Virtual Boy carts came in including some rares and all were priced under $10, compared to last year when they were bucking for $30-$40 apiece.

[koster]

Ever run in the people that ultimately keep the prices to high at certain shops in your area? Wednesday I ran into a guy buying crappy nes games at about 3 times the price anyone in their right mind would buy them at and I decided that he is one of the reasons why games are priced so high at some local shops in my area. Just let them sit and eventually the prices will drop but now the seller is going to think that every nes game he has will sell at $8-$10. I wanted to grab the guy by the shirt and slap him. Anyone else ever get this feeling?
You should have asked him if he was interested in buying any of your NES doubles (at marked up store prices, of course :)).

Of course, he may not be buying those games for himself, but hoping to sell them for bigger bucks on Ebay.

[Slate]

The goodwills in my area have been pricing any game (Or game related item) Way too high. First they wanted $2 per atari 2600 common (Combat, defender..) And then it was $4 per game, Then I saw a Playstation sports game for $8.. And then a regular gameboy brick for $25! O_O

They were discouraging me for awhile, I even considered stopping collecting because I haven't found anything good for a while now.

[tritium]

I've practically stop collecting from the wild simply b/c my area doesn't support it. Now I pick and choose from online shops, trades, and ebay.

[ScourDX]

Last weekend I went to a local game store called Gamestop (no relation to franchise store in US), they have a lot of old games and console. I couldn't believe how much they charge. Used Nintendo cost $50 and popular NES like Castlevania, Contra, Mario, Zelda, & Megaman game cost between $15-25 cart only. Some people still buy them. They do have cheap buy 2 get 1 free games which cost about $1.99/each. I wouldn't say the store is overpriced, but they do have some good deals.

[bangtango]

That's very true. Sometimes you want a game and sometimes you don't want to wait to find it at an "optimal" price. It's one thing to pay $50 for SMB/DH, but anything under $10 isn't so bad because, hey, it's under $10.

I say if it costs less than a decent lunch than the cost isn't worth worrying about, as long as you can afford it and its something you really want.

As a collector, I'll wait for the best price for a game I want to collect, but as a gamer, sometimes I'll just buy something I want to play even knowing I could likely find it on sale somewhere else -- as long as it's not a complete rip-off.

Agreed.

On paper, I've "overpaid" for a few games over the past couple of years but it was always a game that was right in front of my eyes and one that I really wanted to acquire. Why wait around when there is no guarantee you'll come across that game again anytime soon?

One example is Double Dragon on the original Gameboy, which I paid $8 for earlier this year at an antique store. I'd wanted to get the game back for months and that was the first copy I came across. The woman wouldn't budge on the price, so I had to eat the extra $3-4 inflation. I also paid a little more money than I should have, in my local game store, for Super Mario 64 and Zelda: Majora's Mask earlier this year, too. But again, I needed the games.

I also think it depends on the game. Paying $8 for a classic like Super Mario Bros. 3 or even Super Mario Bros. 2 is a lot different than paying $8 for crap like Karate Champ or John Elway's Quarterback. I don't care how common Mario games are (save for SMB/DH), at least they are good games compared to those other two. Of course I can't say I've ever paid $8 for a Mario game (in the past several years) but I don't blame a person who does one bit.

I've also never paid $15-25 for a copy of Contra, River City Ransom, NES Zelda, Maniac Mansion or Mike Tyson's Punch Out (except when they were still new). But if someone wants to relive their old memories that badly, then who am I to judge someone who pays that much for those games? You can't always put a price on a memory and for some folks memories trump $$$$$.

[grolt]

There's a huge vintage gaming shop in my area that actually has a sizable collection of older systems. I went there a few months ago looking to complete some of my Saturn titles, and they indeed still had a batch of Saturn games. Problem was that every game was $20 at a minimum, and this is for games like DAYTONA USA and HEIR OF ZENDOR, which both can be found for $1.00 complete online if you look. PANZER DRAGOON ZWEI was $85. They had a bunch of Sega CD games priced in the same manner, including old sports games. I looked at their cartridge games for comparison, and same thing. A cartridge-only MARIO 64 was $35. Just insane.

As bad as those were, the funniest thing was their CD repair service. It wasn't just priced for disc, it was priced based on the console. A Sega CD game cost $8.00 to repair, a PS2 game cost $15.00 and an XBOX 360 cost $21. I don't know how they can do that when places like Blockbuster operate a $3.99 charge for any disc, but you can be rest assured I'll be sticking around for the closing out sale when their high prices drive them out of business.

[jwm2]

This happens to me at the flea market..(the only reference around here that I can go by)

Sellers will have common NES and SNES carts out at $10-15 each..(SNES Super Mario World with destroyed label $15.00 WHAT?)

These sellers think they can get that price for everything..(because some dope actually falls into it and pays it.

Seller at a previous flea market had those prices set,I waited around checking out who bought what at what price to see if he actually could get away with those prices.

A saw a girl buying common NES titles at 10-15 each like as if the games were super rare(I already searched the box,nothing rare in there)
..another girl and her dad were doing the same slobbering over the games like it was a long lost item....I can understand that sometimes as a lot of people are stupid to game prices and or know ebay.

It's the people who"I" know go to these places,know games prices but still pay the high prices...... people who know game prices but are greedy to have to buy up everything they see,will buy the games at those prices keeping the prices high ..

My dad once told me, the value of something is what someone else will pay for it. If someone will pay it, then thats its value :(

[Barbarianoutkast85]

There is a store back home I used to go to, about once a month becuase they usually got a decent amount of new inventory. I only ever bought one or two things when I went, because of the inflated prices. Those one or two games I would pick up, were games that I had really wanted, or were rare. So I didnt mind paying $12 for a Genesis game. Now if it were a common game I wanted, but thought I could find someplace else I'd walk out of the store empty handed.

Anywho, the two people that run the store, the Arcus Brothers (also the name of the store) are insane. Very pushy, and just nuts, to me at least, I guess you have to meet them. I bought one complete Genesis game for $12 (they are all $12). I pulled my wallet out and the owner must of seen in my wallet. Because he pulled the game back, and started INSISTING that I go pick out some more games, and he'd make me a deal.

When a store owner tells me to pick out a few more games, and that he'll make me a deal I think I might get a couple bucks off or something. You know, something to make it worth my while. I go back and pick out three more titles. I take them to the cash register and he tells me the price is $50.88 (Thats with sales tax). I looked at him, and said I thought you were going to make me a deal. Then he started going on about how a lot of Genesis games are worth $50 to $60 and that I was an Ebay'er. So I ended up buying NOTHING, I f'n hate that man.

[InsaneDavid]

The thing you have to remember about those overpriced vendors that charge a set price for any cartridge (example: all NES carts $10) usually don't know what they have. Sure it's a lot of common stuff like Bases Loaded but when there's something rare mixed in there you can grab it at a bargain price.

As for the "high" prices, Super Mario Bros. 3 for $8 isn't bad at all. It's a good game, it has a lot to it, it's well worth $8. Here are some of my resale list prices for instance...

$5.00 NES California Games (loose)
$35.00 NES Console (2 controllers, 1 RF, 1 AC adapter)
$10.00 NES Donkey Kong Classics (loose)
$5.00 NES Jeopardy! (loose)
$10.00 NES Kirby's Adventure (loose)
$15.00 NES Legend of Zelda, The (loose)
$10.00 NES Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (loose)
$3.00 NES Star Voyager (loose)
$3.00 NES Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt (loose)
$10.00 NES Super Mario Bros. 2 (loose)
$10.00 NES Wall Street Kid (loose)
$3.00 NES Xenophobe (loose)
$5.00 NES Zapper Lightgun GREY (loose) [REFURBISHED]

Granted if someone wants more than just a single item I cut a deal, especially in the case of a bundle. For instance the above items total $124.00 but were all sold as a bundle for $50.00. $50.00 for that bundle isn't a bad deal at all if you don't have an NES, in fact it's great for the games it starts you off with. Some of the best games of the platform, some obscure ones, and a couple uncommons.

[kentuckyfried]

I work for several mom and pop game stores that sell at some of the previous prices listed, though we take in older games fairly high as well (ie 5$ trade-in for mario 3)

[spoon]

Ok. I guess SMB3 was a bad example. I meant it in the fact of myself being a collector and knowing that it is the most (next to SMBDH) common NES game. Quality wise, that game is worth just as much as it cost the day it was released. Just, as a collector I know I can found it around for a dollar.

Alos, the same store routinely prices there NES games down to a Quarter. That is when I buy them all.

[koster]

Alos, the same store routinely prices there NES games down to a Quarter. That is when I buy them all.
The only NES game I've ever found for a quarter was Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt. :(

[8-bitNesMan]

I fondly remember the day I bought a mint CIB copy of Super Mario Bros 1. for 50 cents. Small potatoes I know, but it made my day :)

[Kitsune Sniper]

Oh god. Do not get me started.

There's three "classic gaming" stores in my area (Calexico). One is Tavio's. The owner is an okay guy, not a jerk, and his prices are $5-$15 over MSRP depending on the game. He can also order stuff for you if you want. I haven't bought anything from him in a while, but I still stop by in case he gets Dreamcast stuff. He's also got a booth at the flea market.

The other two stores... I apologize if I sound racist, but... One's owned by a Chinese moron. The other by a Korean moron.

The Korean guy has a new copy of King's Field for the PS1 for $40. It had DDR Disney Mix for $80 for several years and SOMEONE BOUGHT IT. He also sells a bunch of GBA multicarts for $50 a pop. He's had one in the store window for so long that the colors are almost gone!

The Chinese guy is much worse. I went to buy a few cheapo cables for some things I'm setting up, right? Well, he's got a ton of PS1 and PS2 games, so I asked for some prices. I pointed at Tekken Tag Tournament. $29. o_O I pointed at another GH game. $29, too. Then I asked how much did Art of Fighting Anthology cost. $40! And he has a Wii for sale for $400, with one extra game and that stupid tennis paddle thing! Not to mention he routinely goes to stores where huge clearances are going on to RAPE them and get them for the store. He also has lots of good games in the window, but they have spines that are mostly faded due to constant exposure to sunlight. Oy.

There was one other guy at the flea market I go to, who had games like SMB/DH for $10. He's been gone for a couple of months. Maybe he got out of the business, I dunno.

I seriously CANNOT understand how the Chinese and the Korean stores stay in business.

[mnbren05]

Went to a flea market in Myrtle Beach over the summer to see if anything was to be had. Dirty mashed up 2600 with Pac Man and controller $40. (The guy told me "It's a classic and they don't make them anymore." Thank you captain obvious) Also had boxes full of NES, SNES, Genesis common carts for $10 a piece. N64 were $10-$15, PSX all $8 (nothing good) (plus he seperated multi disc games trying to cheat someone into paying more) Although he did have 3 nice sealed games (although pricey) N64 Super Mario $100, N64 Quest 64 $80, Mega Man 64 $55. Boxed games NES Predator $125, and Spiro for PSX $200.

I will say though that while I was there he moved probably 20 carts and some various Xbox/PS2 games. I was thinking this man was crazy for having these high prices, but would he honestly keep the prices if people were not dumb enough to buy them. It seems like too many people are completely willing to feed these guys cash for over priced goods.

[XianXi]

I think value should be calculated by "average" sale price not "peak".

[FoxyGamer]

well interestingly, I have the same issues with a local fleamarket around here- there is a guy that sells carts for ungodly amounts loose, nothing boxed- mega mans for 20 or 25 bucks, it's insane. He *thinks* he knows what he has, but I've caught him listening in on conversation with my husband when I throw his scummy carts down in annoyance and vow never to buy a single cart there, rare or not.

However, there is a guy at the same flea market that I bought Qix, Chip and Dales Rescue Rangers, Duck Tales, Tale Spin, and Yoshi's Cookie off of for 3 bucks a piece, so I guess it's just guys who think they are selling to collectors, and guys who are just selling to rid themselves of games they don't care about.

[Slate]

Come to think of it, There is some guy who sets up at the North point park flea market (Near pittsburgh) And he sells NES games for $5 each. They are all sun faded since he's had them for so long. I also saw some random guy there trying to sell regular gameboy bricks for $15 each... Some bald guy..

[cyberfluxor]

I rarely have these issues because:
1) I don't go to random/new stores much anymore because I have a large quantity to stop at already.
2) I know which places aren't worth my time to check in on every few days or weeks, they just suck.

There are some fleamarkets around here but they don't appeal to me. They smell horribly, are generally overcroweded, I'm too busy and want to sleep in so seeing "what's new" is pointless and they aren't in good neighborhood.

Also I like the more reliable places I run to and their general selection/prices. Some places even sell the various products I demand other than games i.e. anime, movies, records, audio/video equipment, computer components, furniture and so forth.