understanding sealed collectors

[mr obscure]

No, but I seriously doubt you need instructions for most 8 bit games. If the box is for shops, why do some non-sealed collectors keep them? Probably because they are neat and have all sorts of cool art and graphics on them. Kind of like the sealed games I own.

And so the true troll comes out. You really had no interest in why people collect sealed, you just wanted to make a statement that sealed collecting is a dead hobby. That's good news for me. I can't wait to get sealed games for a fraction of what they are selling for now. Anyone who agrees with Mr. Troll here, please feel free to PM me lists of your sealed games and I will be happy to offer you the current loose price for the games I still need. Thank you in advance.

You are 1 of those people that think everybody that thinks different is a troll.
What i ment with sealed collecting is a dead hobby? because there are only so much sealed games out there,serieus how many games do you ad to your collection in a month ? 1?
And there is only so much you can do with sealed games.look at them and look again.what do you talk about on a sealed forum ? i looked 5 times at my sealed copy today?
Btw about that 100 years comment / wtf where all wasting time on this planet?
relax 1997
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7goZUYGXAHA

[baraka]

Are there 8bit games with build in tutorials?The box is for shops, its purpose is more a commercial 1.
if nothing is stopping you then please make a youtube video opening all your sealed games.
Sealed collecting is a dead hobby

You sir, are either really ignorant or just trolling.

This whole discussion is dumb. I see you are from the Netherlands, remember Flippo's? I suppose you were that one kid in the whole country who didn't collect those either, or maybe you were too old for that. Or maybe you did, because that (partially) was their "purpose". Just cut the bs already, collecting is collecting and its not hard to understand why some people like it and others don't.

Not everyone is the same, either accept it or make a topic like this, whining about it cause youre so frustrated for whatever reason. Go ahead and post another "I still don't get it" response.

[mr obscure]

No, but I seriously doubt you need instructions for most 8 bit games. If the box is for shops, why do some non-sealed collectors keep them? Probably because they are neat and have all sorts of cool art and graphics on them. Kind of like the sealed games I own.

And so the true troll comes out. You really had no interest in why people collect sealed, you just wanted to make a statement that sealed collecting is a dead hobby. That's good news for me. I can't wait to get sealed games for a fraction of what they are selling for now. Anyone who agrees with Mr. Troll here, please feel free to PM me lists of your sealed games and I will be happy to offer you the current loose price for the games I still need. Thank you in advance.


You sir, are either really ignorant or just trolling.

This whole discussion is dumb. I see you are from the Netherlands, remember Flippo's? I suppose you were that one kid in the whole country who didn't collect those either, or maybe you were too old for that. Or maybe you did, because that (partially) was their "purpose". Just cut the bs already, collecting is collecting and its not hard to understand why some people like it and others don't.

Not everyone is the same, either accept it or make a topic like this, whining about it cause youre so frustrated for whatever reason. Go ahead and post another "I still don't get it" response.

Im from the netherlands and collect weed does that count as a collecting and you get it sealed from the shop?
no serieus i dont get the appeal,you do nothing with your sealed games.
If you take a picture of your sealed collection and ill blow it up and place it on the wall it would be the same thing.
It like looking at a pictur/painting.

[Steven]

It seems that most of the anti-sealed responses stem from jealousy, but unfortunately that is to be expected whenever money is involved.

Probably the case for some individuals no doubt, but certainly not for me. I understand WHY some people would want to and do collect sealed games, but I know it's not for me as I have different values. I really don't care much about what other people are buying. It's their money, not mine, so have at it.




The other point is "Games are meant to be played". Find me someone with a 700+ game library that actually plays them all the time. There isn't one. No grown man is playing Barbie or Color A Dinosaur on a regular basis. Maybe you pop it in the toaster to show friends and laugh but that's about it. Once again it just "sits on a shelf" as our sealed games would.


That's EXACTLY why I never cared to acquire the entire library of any one system. If I know I won't play a game ever (i.e. no interest) I will not waste my time and money on acquiring said game (i.e. Barbie). I only bought games I have intention to eventually play. And while of course, no person with a 700 game library can ever CONSISTENTLY be rotating between 30 titles at one time, I don't think it's outrageous to find someone who is playing through all their games slowly but surely one at a time. Heck, that's me. I'm currently making my rounds through my massive SNES library. Last night I actually played Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse for the first time in over 15 years!

So yes, I did buy these games with the mentality "they are meant to be played" and yes, I'm playing them one at a time. Of course I won't play them all the time. But my goal is to eventually have played them all, as far as I can get in all of them. Believe it or not, there are people who ONLY buy games they wish to play, and also, they actually make a concerted effort to play the games they've bought. It *DOES* happen.

[nectarsis]

Probably the case for some individuals no doubt, but certainly not for me. I understand WHY some people would want to and do collect sealed games, but I know it's not for me as I have different values. I really don't care much about what other people are buying. It's their money, not mine, so have at it.






That's EXACTLY why I never cared to acquire the entire library of any one system. If I know I won't play a game ever (i.e. no interest) I will not waste my time and money on acquiring said game (i.e. Barbie). I only bought games I have intention to eventually play. And while of course, no person with a 700 game library can ever CONSISTENTLY be rotating between 30 titles at one time, I don't think it's outrageous to find someone who is playing through all their games slowly but surely one at a time. Heck, that's me. I'm currently making my rounds through my massive SNES library. Last night I actually played Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse for the first time in over 15 years!

So yes, I did buy these games with the mentality "they are meant to be played" and yes, I'm playing them one at a time. Of course I won't play them all the time. But my goal is to eventually have played them all, as far as I can get in all of them. Believe it or not, there are people who ONLY buy games they wish to play, and also, they actually make a concerted effort to play the games they've bought. It *DOES* happen.



Well put I fully agree. To me the "complete system set" makes even less sense than sealed collections.

[jonebone]

In a way, it does hurt the hobby.

For example, if a game goes for around $10 (say its CIB), and all of a sudden a "factory sealed" copy goes for $300, there is a possibility that people will start to increase their CIB copies to something near the price of the "factory sealed copy". It's worse if buyers, specially those who don't know better, start purchasing the game for extremely high amounts, when it used to be $10. And if the trend continues, it's price will go high, all thanks to those who did not know any better and the opportunists.

It's rare for this to happen, and I hope it stays that way.

How does that have anything to do with sealed? I can make the same argument from Cart to CIB.

"For example, what if a cartridge goes for $10 but the CIB version goes for $300, there is a possibility that people will start to increase their cart copies to something near the price of the "CIB" copy." Etc, copy the rest of your argument word for word.

It's a great theory and all, but it doesn't happen. Otherwise DK Math and Chubby Cherub would be $100 carts by now because they are easily $300+ CIB in excellent shape (DK Math much higher).

I applaud you for discussing this in an intelligent matter unlike some people in this thread, but once again your argument has nothing to do with sealed.

[baraka]

Im from the netherlands and collect weed does that count as a collecting and you get it sealed from the shop?
no serieus i dont get the appeal,you do nothing with your sealed games.
If you take a picture of your sealed collection and ill blow it up and place it on the wall it would be the same thing.
It like looking at a pictur/painting.

Exactly, people collect really expensive paintings just to look at too, while they could have settled for a copy of it. The appeal could be considered the same, having authentic artwork.

Anyway youre obviously just trying to cause a little e-drama on this forum and it really shows how much you fail at life.

And cool story bout teh weedz Hansel.

[jonebone]

So yes, I did buy these games with the mentality "they are meant to be played" and yes, I'm playing them one at a time. Of course I won't play them all the time. But my goal is to eventually have played them all, as far as I can get in all of them. Believe it or not, there are people who ONLY buy games they wish to play, and also, they actually make a concerted effort to play the games they've bought. It *DOES* happen.

I'm not sure why you are arguing with me? I'm the same exact collector, I only collect games that I either have played and liked, want to play someday, or games that have meaning to me. Great example of a "game that has meaning to me" is Home Improvement on SNES. I loved the TV show but the game looks retarded. It's a game I own that I'll never play... so it might as well be sealed.

One important concept behind sealed collecting that no one has mentioned is the CHALLENGE. What keeps us collectors motivated? Great finds of course! Nothing better than scoring a $100 game for $5. Well, it is also equally as rewarding if you've been hunting a game for 5 years and then finally win it, even if you paid a considerable amount. That is the feeling that some sealed collectors certainly enjoy.

That's why I'm into sealed on N64. That was my favorite system and a CIB collection is simply too easy for that. Sealed will be much more difficult and I like to challenge myself.

It compares to video games quite well. Some of my favorite games are quite challenging, like Mega Mans and Ninja Gaidens. While I enjoy Mario also, it was simply too easy to be my favorite. I treat collecting in the same way... carts would be too easy so I like to challenge myself ;)

[baraka]

One important concept behind sealed collecting that no one has mentioned is the CHALLENGE. What keeps us collectors motivated? Great finds of course! Nothing better than scoring a $100 game for $5. Well, it is also equally as rewarding if you've been hunting a game for 5 years and then finally win it, even if you paid a considerable amount. That is the feeling that some sealed collectors certainly enjoy.


Thats probably even THE most important aspect of collecting in general.

[Arkhan]

The same could be said of anything.

And if you don't think someone can sell several thousand games in a reasonable amount of time, you've obviously never visited a little website called Ebay. Heck, I could sell my entire collection in a single auction and make much more than I paid for it, even if each game sells for less than it's "worth".
Euhhh saying "youve obviously never visited ebay" on a site like this is numb :D.

Yeah you COULD sell your whole collection , all at once, if you find someone flailing around on ebay with that money laying around to blow all at once too. Its never a sure thing. Lots of times the "worth" of something is bitch slapped by the economy and you dont get what you hoped for.






LOL. Every single "smart" collector easily has a collection that is worth FAR more than they paid. The only ones who don't are the people who collect like it is a race and buy their collection game by game. If you take the methodical approach of buying lots and selling off duplicates, hunting cheap Buy It Nows and actually do a bit of reselling, it's cake.

Its still only worth this to a small pocket of the world though, and eventually everyones going to have what they want and the whole things going to fall apart as far as OMG THIS IS WORTH MONIES is concerned. Its like a giant sorting machine slowly waiting for all the pieces to fall into the right slots. :)




I went from 0 to 600 NES CIBs from November 2008 to mid summer 2009. The entire collection was funded through reselling and didn't cost me a dime. I will admit that it was almost a part-time job though and it did cost me quite a bit of time.
The part time job part makes it suck as far as I care :) but thats just my opinion.



I sold in waves over on Nintendo Age, about 75-100 games a week. Set a fair price, then drop your price about 10% at the end of a week. At the end of
........
And the whole "but what about time spent?" argument is ridiculous. All of us are "wasting time" by posting on this forum are we not? It isn't time wasted if you enjoy doing it, and I did enjoy collecting.


If you enjoy it, fair enough :). Posting on a forum wastes considerably less time though. If anyone on a forum has turned foruming into a part-time job caliber concept, HOLY shit, thats scary :D

i prefer the slow, pokey, "when I see it at a good price" collecting method myself,so I dont have to dick around with reselling.

[megasdkirby]

It's a great theory and all, but it doesn't happen. Otherwise DK Math and Chubby Cherub would be $100 carts by now because they are easily $300+ CIB in excellent shape (DK Math much higher).

I applaud you for discussing this in an intelligent matter unlike some people in this thread, but once again your argument has nothing to do with sealed.

That's the thing. Right now, it has never, or it has rarely, happened. And I hope it stays that way. However, there is no telling if it may ever happen, since it's not something to be certain of.

Sealed collecting is an entity all to itself. However, those who wish to take advantage of this may one day do so. There is no telling when or where it will happen, nor that if it happens. I certaintly hope not, but I really can't say it won't happen, since it could.

I've seen some crazy things in the past: specially when a collector desperately wants something. For instance, (and even though it has nothing to do with this topic) I remember a member called "the.golden.axe" plucked down over $350 for Tank Command (Atari 7800), when it usually did not go over $200. His reasoning was "he just wanted it", and from what I can gather, quite desperately.

Now, if it should happen that this desperation would stretch out to other areas, like loose carts and CIB copies (which it has happened in the past), people can spend lots of money for items that usually where cheap. Although it can be considered isolated events (and I pray it stays that way), the moment it happens, it can seriously affect our hobby.

It's more of a domino chain of events, but one that one day could happen. And quite honestly, I fear this day.

And who knows, it might be December 21, 2012. LOL

[scooterb23]

Wow, you are really witty and clever. I think I will go over to my neighbor's house today and demand that he start using all of the antiques he collects for the purpose they were originally intended for. I can't wait to use that old plow or put on that suit of armor or start playing with his vaguely racist vintage tin toys. I will also write to every museum I can find and demand that they stop preserving things since many of the things in their collections were meant for practical purposes at one point. Give me a break.

I think there is a fundamental difference.

Someone has used that plow, and that suit of armor. It has a story, it has a history, and now that it has outlived it's usefulness...it has a place as a museum piece. What place in the history of our hobby does a sealed copy of Game Party 3 for the Wii actually have?

[allyourblood]

Euhhh saying "youve obviously never visited ebay" on a site like this is numb :D.

I'm not sure what's "numb" about it, but c'mon -- certainly you've heard of sarcasm??



Yeah you COULD sell your whole collection , all at once, if you find someone flailing around on ebay with that money laying around to blow all at once too. Its never a sure thing. Lots of times the "worth" of something is bitch slapped by the economy and you dont get what you hoped for.

Agreed. But I remain confident that regardless of *shudder*... "fair market value", I can absolutely make more money on my collection than I paid for it.

[Bojay1997]

I think there is a fundamental difference.

Someone has used that plow, and that suit of armor. It has a story, it has a history, and now that it has outlived it's usefulness...it has a place as a museum piece. What place in the history of our hobby does a sealed copy of Game Party 3 for the Wii actually have?

I guess you've never been to an auto museum where prototype or concept cars which have never been driven are housed or to the special collections of the Smithsonian where uncirculated coins and stamps are kept as well as tens of thousands of unused pop culture items like records, books, etc...What about all those military museums around the world that have historic weapons and other items which have never been used in combat? Just because an item has never been used for its intended purpose doesn't mean it has no place in history. I would argue that Game Party 3 has no place sealed or open in my collection, but I'm sure there are others who would find some merit in having a copy in either condition.

[scooterb23]

I'm going to stop banging my head against your wall, I'm likely to dent to shrinkwrap. Enjoy staring at your plastic wrap.

[Arkhan]

I'm not sure what's "numb" about it, but c'mon -- certainly you've heard of sarcasm??



Agreed. But I remain confident that regardless of *shudder*... "fair market value", I can absolutely make more money on my collection than I paid for it.

whats sarcasm? Some kinda fish?

:D

Screw selling collections anyways. Youll regret it every time.

[allyourblood]

whats sarcasm? Some kinda fish?

:D

Screw selling collections anyways. Youll regret it every time.

Well that's something that I know all too well. Seven years ago I sold off huge portions of my collection (yup, starting with the best stuff) because I thought I was going to need the money. Turns out I didn't, and it's going to be at least another seven years before I find and buy it all again. In fact, some of the rarer stuff (sealed games, prototypes, NFS demos) are likely never coming back. I'll never do that again.

[Arkhan]

thats primarily why i only buy what i plan to not get rid of.

sometimes I get duplicates that i usually just give away or trade for stuff.

[Steven]

I'm not sure why you are arguing with me?

My post was in response to your statement The other point is "Games are meant to be played". Find me someone with a 700+ game library that actually plays them all the time. There isn't one. No grown man is playing Barbie or Color A Dinosaur on a regular basis. Maybe you pop it in the toaster to show friends and laugh but that's about it. Once again it just "sits on a shelf" as our sealed games would.

^ Your quote in italics there just struck me as not being true, so that accounts for my post. I'm not trying to pick a fight with anyone, but when I see something that is simply not true, I particularly feel the urge to chime in with my own 2 cents.




I'm the same exact collector, I only collect games that I either have played and liked, want to play someday, or games that have meaning to me. Great example of a "game that has meaning to me" is Home Improvement on SNES. I loved the TV show but the game looks retarded. It's a game I own that I'll never play... so it might as well be sealed.


Haha you're NOT missing ANYTHING (by not playing HI), believe you me. I too love(d) the show. It was awesome. The game, not so much. In fact, you can check out the review I wrote for SNES Home Improvement right here:

http://www.rvgfanatic.com/7401/1167615.html


http://www.rvgfanatic.com/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_1154415/HoImSwing.JPG


But hey...


http://www.rvgfanatic.com/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_1157715/HoImPte.JPG


Since you're not opening your sealed copy, you might as well scope the review :p



One important concept behind sealed collecting that no one has mentioned is the CHALLENGE. What keeps us collectors motivated? Great finds of course! Nothing better than scoring a $100 game for $5. Well, it is also equally as rewarding if you've been hunting a game for 5 years and then finally win it, even if you paid a considerable amount. That is the feeling that some sealed collectors certainly enjoy.

That is true. There is definitely a challenge aspect to it. More power to ya. In the end it simply is a case of "Diff strokes for diff folks." No sense arguing or trying to change the way other people think when it comes to subjects such as game collecting. Everyone has their own way and worrying about what and how other people are doing things is one of the faster ways to burning out and/or becoming cynical and bitter in this hobby. A hobby in which I prefer to always approach with a child-like sense of awe :)

[Bojay1997]

I'm going to stop banging my head against your wall, I'm likely to dent to shrinkwrap. Enjoy staring at your plastic wrap.

Thank you. I'll also be sure to enjoy the non-sealed games in my collection that I enjoy playing on a regular basis. You know, it used to be around here that people would discuss things in a civil manner and when someone made a valid point, they would recognize it and respectfully disagree. After all, most of the world probably thinks collecting video games is completely stupid and it seems like all of us should help and support one another as collectors and gamers. I guess those days of courtesy and respect are long gone.

[nectarsis]

On the flip side of the coin you also see somments like:

"It seems that most of the anti-sealed responses stem from jealousy, but unfortunately that is to be expected whenever money is involved."

That also seems a bit high and might/self important.

[Arkhan]

the high rollin' sealed game collectors country club doesnt even have putt putt.

who wants in on that noise.

[allyourblood]

high rollin' sealed game collectors country club


LOL!!

[The 1 2 P]

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr306/THE-1-2-P/knGHAN_wideweb__470x2940.jpg

In before the lock.

[BlackDS]

unless its something you know will go up in value, sealed collecting is a waste of time/money.

I do however have a sealed copy of super mario world (player's choice GBA), only becasue the guy on ebay just said it was in box, with no image. actually, i am quit mad it is sealed because i can't play it. :angry:.

Oh, and i have a sealed "Xanadu Next" for N-gage, mainly becasue I never seen the game before :hmm:

[neuropolitique]

I do however have a sealed copy of super mario world (player's choice GBA), only becasue the guy on ebay just said it was in box, with no image. actually, i am quit mad it is sealed because i can't play it. :angry:.

So open it and play it. I lost count of the number of vintage games I've opened.

[Ze_ro]

I'm going to stop banging my head against your wall, I'm likely to dent to shrinkwrap. Enjoy staring at your plastic wrap.
The whole argument is a waste of time. They will never see it our way, and we will never see it their way. Let them waste their money if that's what they want.

--Zero

[BlackDS]

So open it and play it. I lost count of the number of vintage games I've opened.

opening games that are no longer released is illegal. The collecting poliece will bust down your door and arrest you if you do that.

[ido]

I'm not a sealed collector, but I have a few sealed games that I picked up for cheaper than a CIB version(Got a sealed Abadox for $10 from ebay). I'll open them if I get around to it or I won't. I'm not going to have them graded or anything like that, though.

I'm more of a hobbyist in the sense that I only want games that I like to play. I'm not collecting to have it all, I just want the stuff that appeals to me, which is why I don't have all that much.

I really don't see the point in having a bookshelf full of sealed games, but to each his own. The case looks the same when it is opened and they still look nice when displayed. I like CIB stuff, but I would never pick sealed unless it was just a die-hard favorite of mine that I just wanted as a fun collectable.

The only game I want sealed is probably both Millenium editions of Xenogears. Only because it is my favorite game ever, and because I wouldn't need to open it seeing as how I already have 2 copies of Xenogears. Besides, it is in Japanese. I actually DO want these sealed to just have them to display and nothing more. These are about the only ones I can think of that'd I wouldn't ever open. If anyone has these I will glady purchase them from you!

That's my take on the sealed/unsealed debate.

[mastamuzz]

Please forgive my comment before you read it!

collecting sealed games and keep them sealed is like bragging that your wife is still a virgin after 15 years of marriage!

and after that she files for divorce and the next guy opens the package and haves fun as it was intended!

but you can brag that she was a virgin for 15 years!

I only collect things I can use and enjoy!! watching a sealed box doesn't make me happy!

[Arkhan]

Please forgive my comment before you read it!

collecting sealed games and keep them sealed is like bragging that your wife is still a virgin after 15 years of marriage!

and after that she files for divorce and the next guy opens the package and haves fun as it was intended!

but you can brag that she was a virgin for 15 years!

I only collect things I can use and enjoy!! watching a sealed box doesn't make me happy!

Best reply in the thread.

LOL this is just a rehash of this scenario in regards to the "sealed games" that are sold on ebay that are just boxes full of rolls of pennys.

THAT version is, you brag that after 15 years of marriage shes still a virgin, then she divorces, rides the new husbands pole, and BAM hes got herpes.

:D



I think I will buy a sealed NES game now, and jam it in the NES still sealed, and see if thats any fun.

[c0ldb33r]

That reminds me, I've got a bunch of ngage sealed games. They're still sealed because I stopped using my QD as a cell phone and don't really play them anymore.

[baraka]

The whole argument is a waste of time. They will never see it our way, and we will never see it their way. Let them waste their money if that's what they want.

--Zero

No, you're all wrong, its one way traffic. Sealed game collectors are not bothering with the way you collect. They perfectly understand why others just go for non-sealed games cause they dont care about keeping games sealed or collecting them.

And on the other side there's people like yourself who cant stand this type of collecting and keep insulting and attacking the people who do.

BTW if someone would say to you that you "wasted your money" because he or she thinks what you bought is shit and does that everytime, you'd soon find that person to become really annoying too.

[jonebone]

I'd hate to see your guys opinions on VGA, lol.

I personally HATE VGA with a passion, even though I have several games sealed. I still consider myself a CIB collector as 95% of my collection is this way, but I will always want Sealed copies of my favorites. I also grab sealed copies whenever they are roughly the same price as a CIB and "go cheap".

I find it absolutely hilarious and ironic that someone would tell sealed collectors to "waste their money". Yeah, we probably would be wasting our money if we bought sealed games for thousands of dollars on a regular basis. But we're just like any other collector and continually hunt for good deals.

I got my Zelda OoT CE w/ seam Minty off eBay for $89 shipped in January on a cheap BIN. Already had offers upwards of $600 for it but this item will stay with me until the day I die. Possibly the best game I've ever played (though Goldeneye is my true favorite) and it means a lot to me to have it sealed.

Guess I just wasted my money right? lol...

[TonyTheTiger]

VGA is a different situation and only tangentially related to sealed game collectors because they currently only grade sealed games. Lord knows what will happen if they start grading opened ones.

I don't get the snarkiness toward sealed game collectors as if they're somehow less legitimate. "It's a waste of money" or "It's a waste of time." Sure. And to some people playing video games is "a waste of time." "You spent how much on a PlayStation 3?! Wow, talk about a waste of money." "Why the hell would anybody in his right mind pay $200+ for an old Saturn RPG? Just burn a CD-R like a normal person, loser!"

[portnoyd]

I'd hate to see your guys opinions on VGA, lol.

See also: my opinion + cursing.

[Jisho23]

I suppose the more "for profit" side of sealed collecting confuses me. I've always felt that its only worth collecting something if you love it and it has value to you (nostalgia, etc.).

The only games I have sealed are ones that I never got around to opening.

[neuropolitique]

Guess I just wasted my money right? lol...

Yes :shameful:

[nensondubois]

I have a selaed Space Invaders for the SNES, a sealed Copy of Super Mario Advance from Best Buy and a sealed copy of Game & Watch Collection from Club Nintendo US. Collecting sealed game is nice but it's not good for people who like to play their games.

[TonyTheTiger]

I suppose the more "for profit" side of sealed collecting confuses me. I've always felt that its only worth collecting something if you love it and it has value to you (nostalgia, etc.).

The only games I have sealed are ones that I never got around to opening.

The "for profit" thing I tend to attribute to selective observation. Casinos exploit this to all hell. The slot machines are the worst odds in the entire casino but they're also the loudest when they win. It makes it seem that winning happens all the time at the slots.

Think about how this applies in the exact same way to game collecting. Everybody sees the Kotaku articles and the message board postings about a game that sold for thousands. That's always followed by at least one person lamenting that they "had the game but sold it since it wasn't any good" or some variation of that. That "it could have been me" feeling starts to spread that way prompting the gambler's appetite.

Since the "winners" are celebrated so loudly it makes it seem like video games are a damn good investment. But who makes a thread on DP proclaiming "A sealed Atari game sold for $8!" All that stuff happens silently, even if it does constitute 98% of what happens out there. There are threads here devoted to gushing over "deals" but where is the "I paid standard market price" topic?

[Bojay1997]

No, you're all wrong, its one way traffic. Sealed game collectors are not bothering with the way you collect. They perfectly understand why others just go for non-sealed games cause they dont care about keeping games sealed or collecting them.

And on the other side there's people like yourself who cant stand this type of collecting and keep insulting and attacking the people who do.

BTW if someone would say to you that you "wasted your money" because he or she thinks what you bought is shit and does that everytime, you'd soon find that person to become really annoying too.

Strongly agree with this. I've never seen anyone post "I don't understand non-sealed collectors". There are lots of subsets of video game collectors who collect things I would never collect (loose discs, Japanese language RPGs, bootlegs, prototypes or review copies of released games, etc....). That doesn't mean I have a problem with what they collect or insult them or look down on them. They still are video game collectors and I am happy that they find some pleasure in this hobby. In fact, I celebrate the fact that they aren't competing with my collecting goals, making things more expensive for all of us. What I can't understand is where all this hatred has come from.

[BlackDS]

That reminds me, I've got a bunch of ngage sealed games. They're still sealed because I stopped using my QD as a cell phone and don't really play them anymore.

oooo, what games are they?

[scooterb23]

Strongly agree with this. I've never seen anyone post "I don't understand non-sealed collectors". There are lots of subsets of video game collectors who collect things I would never collect (loose discs, Japanese language RPGs, bootlegs, prototypes or review copies of released games, etc....). That doesn't mean I have a problem with what they collect or insult them or look down on them. They still are video game collectors and I am happy that they find some pleasure in this hobby. In fact, I celebrate the fact that they aren't competing with my collecting goals, making things more expensive for all of us. What I can't understand is where all this hatred has come from.

Sealed games, and the attention they have suddenly garnered in the media IS affecting the hobby for me, and I have to assume others. I have seen noticeable price increases on even dirt common loose NES games because of that stupid piece of shrinkwrap on a label variant that made Yahoo a couple weeks back.

Super Mario Bros. is now $7.99 at one store. It was $1.99 there 2 weeks ago. What changed? They heard about Stadium Events. Now they assume every NES game is valuable, they've got them all behind the counter now.

I won't even go into the boxed, not even sealed, copy of John Elway's QB I saw for $150 last week in an antique shop.

[Nescollector]

I started to collect Nes games about 12 years ago, bought most of the carts from funco (kinda before I knew anything about ebay) and got up to 250 unique games, then I just started to buy sealed Nes games exclusively for the last ten years. So in ten years I bought 96 sealed games that sit in a safe because I'm to paranoid to have them just sitting around lol. I agree with ido, they look the same displayed, and I could probably have three to four hundred complete games by now easy. Yeah sealed is nice and I got most for pretty cheap (not like the insane prices you see now) but now I just don't care that much that there sealed, I told myself that the actual game is the MOST important part of collecting, then the box, then manual, and so on. So sealed is pretty cool but I have a renewed enthusiasm for collecting again and am thinking of selling 15 or so to get ALL the money that I have sunk into these sealed games and start buying GAMES, not games in plastic......:)

[Bojay1997]

Sealed games, and the attention they have suddenly garnered in the media IS affecting the hobby for me, and I have to assume others. I have seen noticeable price increases on even dirt common loose NES games because of that stupid piece of shrinkwrap on a label variant that made Yahoo a couple weeks back.

Super Mario Bros. is now $7.99 at one store. It was $1.99 there 2 weeks ago. What changed? They heard about Stadium Events. Now they assume every NES game is valuable, they've got them all behind the counter now.

I won't even go into the boxed, not even sealed, copy of John Elway's QB I saw for $150 last week in an antique shop.

And that has what to do with shrinkwrapped collecting? Did people scream and go on the attack when all the publicity came out on Yahoo and a bunch of other news sites about the loose NWC cart that some guy paid $20K for a year or two ago?

It's just a side effect of increased awareness of the hobby. Whenever awareness of a particular hobby increases, resellers swoop in and try to benefit from it. It happened when I was collecting comics, it happened when my brother was collecting baseball cards and it even happened when my dad was collecting coins in the 70s.

What usually happens in a short amount of time is that more copies of previously thought to be rare items are dumped on the market (hence the multiple Stadium Events auctions within a short period of time) and ultimately, people refuse to pay the higher prices on the inflated common items and the prices go back to normal. The benefit is that more supply of everything tends to enter the market and the prices end up decreasing while the quality of what is out there to choose from increases.

Do you need a copy of Super Mario Bros? There were millions produced and I'm sure you can easily get one here on the marketplace board or elsewhere for little more than shipping. $8 is high, but it's not exactly gonna break your budget.

[scooterb23]

Fuck it, shrinkwrapped brick wall again...sorry I tried to explain the frustration.

[jb143]

Could you imagine all the drama that would unfold if sealed protos were a possiblility? There would be some people seriously trying to figure out how to dump it without opening it while others would be arguing about what the poor guy who found the thing should do with it.

[megasdkirby]

You know what would be funny? If Nintendo would re-release the NES and companies would follow suit...re-releasing games that are valuable "factory sealed".

In some cases (NOT ALL)...there goes the rarity of a "factory sealed" copy. LOL

[TonyTheTiger]

So a sealed Stadium Events sells and becomes the story of the week so everybody becomes half-assed Sunday afternoon speculators. It happens all the time. Shit, look at what happened when Michael Jackson died.

You put up with the stupid price increase for two or three weeks and then when these people realize their crap isn't selling they'll drop it down to normal levels again. By that time people will have already forgotten what Stadium Events even is. It really doesn't have anything to do with sealed games so much as video game speculation as a whole.

[megasdkirby]

You put up with the stupid price increase for two or three weeks and then when these people realize their crap isn't selling they'll drop it down to normal levels again. By that time people will have already forgotten what Stadium Events even is.

I hope so. I remember a similar thing occurred with Samurai Shodown Anthology for PS2 a short while back. Massively high prices and BAM, went back to normal pricing.

[Bojay1997]

I hope so. I remember a similar thing occurred with Samurai Shodown Anthology for PS2 a short while back. Massively high prices and BAM, went back to normal pricing.

That really had zero to do with sealed collecting or collecting at all. That was pure supply and demand. The game only had a small run and was sold out everywhere. People realized it was scarce and started jacking up prices. At that point, another run was done which more than covered demand.

[Bojay1997]

Fuck it, shrinkwrapped brick wall again...sorry I tried to explain the frustration.

There is no brick wall and I can't figure out why you even keep coming back to this thread after announcing you were done. You made your points, I respectfully disagreed and explained why and rather than provide additional support or evidence for your perspective, you resorted to emotional theatrics.

If your frustration is that the price of older games keeps going up, I agree, but the blame lies with every one of us on these boards and anywhere else who collects. If you were the only collector in the world, you could pretty much own every game for little or no money. I remember when I started collecting in 1986, I didn't know a single other person who collected (although I now know there were many others out there) and I had to resort to swap meets, garage sales, classified ads and the occasional posting on a Commodore BBS. I don't remember ever paying more than a dollar or two per game. Along came the Internet and Ebay and now I know or know of thousands of collectors and it costs me a lot more money to keep building my collection. In fact, the very fact that people are collecting things and holding on to them reduces the supply and pretty directly results in higher prices. That's just how economics work. Blaming sealed collectors or any specific subset of collectors for changes in supply and demand is just plain foolish.

[The Shawn]

Sealed game collecting to ME would be like having a subscription to Penthouse but not being able to open the 'peekaboo' saran wrap upon arrival...

[Arkhan]

Sealed game collecting to ME would be like having a subscription to Penthouse but not being able to open the 'peekaboo' saran wrap upon arrival...

:guitar::guitar::guitar::guitar::guitar:

[GarrettCRW]

I believe that TheShawn just won the thread.

[megasdkirby]

Honestly, with the money I spend getting something sealed, I rather waste it on more CIB games!

$40K for a Sealed Stadium Events? You know how many games I can get with that cash? Hell, the money makes a great downpayment for a house. Hell, I can purchase 40K 99 cents hamburguers from a fast food restaurant!