View Full Version : How much is a yellow Legend of Zelda test cartridge worth?
Gostevie
01-13-2009, 03:21 AM
Hi there,
about 6 years ago I bought a yellow Legend of Zelda test cartridge. Since then I've become less of a videogame collector and because of financial reasons I'm looking to sell it again. I have however no idea how much it's worth now, could any of you help me set a price? Might anyone here be interested in buying it? I remember that the person I bought it from had previously set his auction on Ebay, where it was deleted because Ebay didn't buy that a yellow LoZ cartridge was so rare. I rather wouldn't let that happen to me either :p does anyone have any experience with Ebay and rare sells? Is it even worth trying to put it up there?
Thanks for any responses.
onc1981
01-13-2009, 04:04 AM
you could probably expect the better part of $600. whats the condition? has cigarettes been put out on it?, hows the label?
coreys429
01-13-2009, 04:28 AM
Why were these yellow?
Gostevie
01-13-2009, 05:33 AM
you could probably expect the better part of $600. whats the condition? has cigarettes been put out on it?, hows the label?
For the 6 years I've owned it it has always been inside a plastic casing, so it never got damaged. When I received it the label was unfortunately already a little damaged, there is some wear and tear on three corners. I'll get a picture up as soon as I get my SD card reader.
The better part of $600 is a lot though, wasn't expecting a price that high!
Why were these yellow?
I don't know why they were yellow, I do know that the yellow cartridges were test cartridges used at Nintendo Maintenance (?) stores to check if a NES was working or not. They were never sold to the public and thus not many of them exist.
mrmark0673
01-13-2009, 12:04 PM
I wouldn't expect $600 for it, although they have gone for that high once or twice in the past. There hasn't been one up at open auction for quite some time, so you may very well see a price up there for it.
If you're looking to sell, I don't think you'll have any trouble selling it for $400+. I have 7 test carts and I'd sell any one of them for $200 a piece except my Zelda, that one stays on the shelf. With the drought of them recently I'd be curious to find out what it ends for.
If you stick it on EBay with an $800 BIN with a best offer option you can test the waters on what you can expect to get for it. Contact Gamesniped and get it featured to see a little more traffic on your auction.
MarioMania
01-14-2009, 03:10 AM
What's on the cart anyways..why is it called Zelda
Gostevie
01-14-2009, 05:46 AM
Thanks for the Gamesniped tip, that's a good one. Wouldn't have thought of that myself!
On the cart is the Legend of Zelda (NES) game, as far as I know it works perfectly. It's NTSC and I've only got a PAL NES so I've never tried it out, but the person I bought it from said it was in working state and I have no reason not to believe him.
Nicola
01-14-2009, 08:58 AM
Gamesniped found you. Gamesniped is everywhere, knows everything and likes dirty socks.
I'd expect around 400 usd for that cart. Tell me when you put that on eBay and it will be featured in engrish.
backguard
01-14-2009, 12:59 PM
Why were these yellow?
pee...sadly enough...it was pee...
Gostevie
01-21-2009, 07:52 AM
I finally got my camera working and took some pics of the cartridge:
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/3643/cimg0294sg7.jpg
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/9999/cimg0296qi4.jpg
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/5466/cimg0305xc8.jpg
What do you guys think about its state?
Gostevie
01-26-2009, 07:56 AM
Well, I put it up!
http://cgi.ebay.com/VERY-RARE-Yellow-Legend-of-Zelda-NES-test-cartridge_W0QQitemZ110343075382QQcmdZViewItemQQptZ Video_Games_Games?hash=item110343075382&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A10|39%3A1|240%3A1318
Have fun bidding, if you're interested :)
LuxKiller65
01-30-2009, 02:12 PM
What do you guys think about its state?
I'm not sure you'd like to know...
Gostevie
02-03-2009, 06:19 AM
Sure I do, I can take it :p
LuxKiller65
02-04-2009, 03:49 AM
Well I say it's weird that all the yellow Zelda carts I've seen so far (three or four with yours) look like the label's been (badly) taken off a normal cart and (badly) glued to a yellow cart. But I'm sure I must be missing something.
BeaglePuss
02-05-2009, 08:16 PM
Well I say it's weird that all the yellow Zelda carts I've seen so far (three or four with yours) look like the label's been (badly) taken off a normal cart and (badly) glued to a yellow cart. But I'm sure I must be missing something.
The back of all Zelda test carts have a sticker, but without any stamped number on it. I don't know how you'd go about faking something like that.
The reason they tend to be beat up is because of where they come from: NES Test Centers. Those guys could give two shits if the labels stayed in good shape or not.
Also, a Zelda test cart was just found on NA and it appears to be in near mint condition.
LuxKiller65
02-13-2009, 08:31 AM
That's cool then, just a thought.
is there anyway to tell this from a reproduction cart?
BeaglePuss
03-23-2009, 02:21 PM
is there anyway to tell this from a reproduction cart?
The LoZ test cart has "A sticker, but without any stamped number on it" as previously stated. Also, you would have to use a yellow doner test cart (unless you know a place willing to make yellow NES cart molds on the cheap . . .), and it wouldn't be cost effective. I have yet to see one Yellow LoZ test cart that has been suspected of being a reproduction. It's too much work for too little of a profit.
SparTonberry
03-23-2009, 08:34 PM
Paint a gray cart? :P
The LoZ test cart has "A sticker, but without any stamped number on it" as previously stated. Also, you would have to use a yellow doner test cart (unless you know a place willing to make yellow NES cart molds on the cheap . . .), and it wouldn't be cost effective. I have yet to see one Yellow LoZ test cart that has been suspected of being a reproduction. It's too much work for too little of a profit.
i dont know about that, i can get clear green yellow red anything colors off vendors from the web...
http://www.retrousb.com
spray paint it yellow too...
BeaglePuss
03-24-2009, 12:00 PM
i dont know about that, i can get clear green yellow red anything colors off vendors from the web...
http://www.retrousb.com
spray paint it yellow too...
Ah, no. Those clear carts would look like absolute shit if you painted them, and they wouldn't fool a retarded kid. Also, you didn't address the sticker on the back either.
In order to have the correct color and proper looking back label, it take a lot more than spray painting some crappy cart. If you've ever seen one in person, you'd know it wouldn't be that easy to reproduce, nor would it be cost effective.
So are you asking because you're afraid of getting fooled by some POS spay painted cart? Are you hoping to reproduce one yourself? Or are you just arguing for the sake of arguing? Whatever the reason, I don't see the rationing behind it.
To answer initial question again: Yellow cart, sticker with no stamp.
*Edited a typo
i was only asking because i would like to own one, but am worried that it might be fake...
it be cool if it had some sort of etching or letter put into the cart itself...
mrmark0673
03-26-2009, 03:00 PM
i was only asking because i would like to own one, but am worried that it might be fake...
it be cool if it had some sort of etching or letter put into the cart itself...
I don't know how many times it could be said, but if the back has a sticker without a stamp, it is legit. So essentially, it has the exact opposite of what your are suggesting. Either way, it cannot be faked easily for that reason.
ProgrammingAce
03-26-2009, 04:09 PM
Why would that be remotely hard to reproduce? I'm pretty sure anyone working in manufacturing could reproduce these en mass without any difficulty at all.
It's not like the ancient art of plastic molding and sticker printing have been lost to the ages...
mrmark0673
03-27-2009, 01:09 PM
Why would that be remotely hard to reproduce? I'm pretty sure anyone working in manufacturing could reproduce these en mass without any difficulty at all.
It's not like the ancient art of plastic molding and sticker printing have been lost to the ages...
With that mentality, all video game related items (boxes, manuals, carts, discs, etc.) would be easy to fake and reproduce. This whole hobby is a farce!
Anyway, realistically it would be tough to fake. I have one and I don't lose any sleep over whether it is legit or not, nor do I think anyone else should. It costs quite a bit of money to make up a mold to have new cart cases printed (Bunnyboy is the only person I know to pony up that kind of cash), wouldn't people be better off reproducing Stadium Events carts where they could just use a donor and a front label swap? It would pay out 5 to 1 compared to what you'd get for a LoZ test cart.