How do you Collect Your Games? [Archive]

DuckTalesNES

03-11-2010, 03:31 AM

I have a rough idea of the games I want and basically just buy them. I'm not collecting for any systems or anything, just for playing games by myself and with friends. I mostly get games that I want to play so I'm relatively impatient about getting them so I look for a "reasonably" good deal and then I buy them. If I see a game I know I want to play sometime for a good price I'll pick it up.

For example, I found a guy on craigslist selling ChronoTrigger w/ the manuals and maps on craigslist for $30 so I went out and picked it up even though I'm not planning on playing it soon. $30 is probably a pretty good deal but its hardly amazing. But I don't care about scouring the earth for a $10 copy, I have better things to do :-)

Other times, I realize I don't have a copy of Rescue Rangers for the NES anymore so I look over all of the ebay auctions for one that seems like its in good shape and a good price and I just order it.

For newer games I wait for the major price drops and then I scoop them up and play them later. Rarely do I buy games at the day 1 prices. (The only ones I've done that with this year were Beatles Rock Band and Bioshock 2 Special Edition).

If I find something valuable at a thrift store or something that I can turn around and sell relatively easily then I'll do that. I go to used video game stores, and check out a few other places (Goodwill, craigslist sometimes, half priced books). I saw a complete SNES at the goodwill for $12.99 and then traded it in to preplayed for $25 so that seemed worthwhile. If I don't see anything I want, then I don't pick anything up.

UnpluggedClone

03-11-2010, 04:02 AM

Google 4 Gaga

DuckTalesNES

03-11-2010, 05:59 AM

Ahh see, if I see a copy of Snatcher for like $60-75 and I'm interested in playing it I'll probably shell out for it. But I consider that I've saved that money by not dropping $50-$60 on newer games that I can wait and buy for $20-30 about 6 months later. But I agree, I don't really drop face value on things.

aclbandit

03-11-2010, 06:24 AM

I live in the middle-of-nowhere, WV, USA. I don't have many options. Craigslist is usually pretty much without anything useful EVER,and I've basically cleared out all of the local flea markets (only one of which ever even really had a good selection).

My only option is, sadly, eBay (or the neo-geo.com forums for my arcade stuff). I know that I'm paying a little more than I would have to if I found it "in the wild," but when your options are severely limited, you do what you gotta.

The plus side to this method, though, is that if I decide I want something specific, I just go buy it, and I have it within a few days; there's no searching for weeks or months on end.

Also, Snatcher is amazing. Even if you DO have to pay eBay price, it's honestly worth it, IMO.

jonebone

03-11-2010, 08:29 AM

I do all of my buying and selling on eBay and forums. I also live in a rural area in MD, so I might be lucky to find a NES System with 5 generic games two or three times a year on CL or at yard sales. I only collect CIB and Sealed though, so all of my collection items have been purchased online.

But I'm in the same boat as you, my entire collection has been free. It started with a $500 "investment" in a bunch of NES resale lots that I bought off eBay. I started flipping games and keeping CIBs that I needed, along with repairing the systems and replacing the 72 Pin. That started in August 2008, so I've been a "collector" for maybe 18 months now.

I'll probably go for a full CIB or Sealed N64 set, but I just collect populars / RPGs and "games I want to play" from NES and SNES. Probably have at least 100 CIBs on each platform, and no filler. Probably another 50-75 on Genesis and I just began collecting PS1 last month. Already around 30 CIB / Sealed on there, I can tell I'm going to have a lot of fun with PS1.

Its just a matter of collecting within your means. I have a girlfriend who is still in school so I'm the one stuck paying ALL of the bills, mortgage, electric, DirectTV, internet, grocery store and everything inbetween. Reselling is the only way I can afford to collect so if I'm buying fast, then I'm selling fast too :)

I always slow down collecting in the summer though, gotta enjoy the nice summer weather!

cityside75

03-11-2010, 11:07 AM

I have a large collection (will post pics within the next couple of weeks) and my entire collection is from going to thrift stores, pawn shops, CRAIGS LIST, and garage sales etc... In a way i've paid nothing for my entire collection considering all the money i've made from buying and selling, almost my entire collection is from cherry picking craigs lots etc... I have so many games that i run into the same games i have often and sell off what i already have, if i find a complete copy i sell off the loose copy i have. I've bought less then 15 things on ebay total EVER! Luckily i live in a large city (LA) where it has a large selection of craigs lists adds for vintage gaming.

I've never been able to justify paying ebay prices for stuff that if you work hard for there's a chance you will find it out in the wild. That and the fact that i'm not very wealthy and my wife would never let me spend 120 bucks for bubble bobble 2 on ebay. There is a lot and i mean a lot of things i would love to have but just can't pay ebay prices for it.

But the cool thing about not buying stuff on ebay and hoping you find it in the wild is the incredible high you get when you score something. Do any of you guys do a lot of thrift store hopping? Because the high of finding something like a Sealed Super Nintendo at a thrift store for 30 bucks is amazing.

I know for some people that live in small towns you have no choice but to shop ebay. But what are your guys collecting habits like and how do you do it?

You described my collecting habits almost to the letter. I live in suburban Chicago, so like you I have many options aside from ebay. There are very few (if any) games that I really want to have, my pleasure comes from the unpredictable nature of hunting in the wild. For example, I never had an overwhelming desire to own a Sega Nomad that would justify the ebay prices for one, but when I found a nice condition Nomad at my local Goodwill for $2.99 a while back, it was such a great feeling to add that to my collection.

I'm sure some of our friends think that I blow a huge amount of money on my game collection, but in reality my unwillingness to pay "market prices" for most games and the ebay selling that we do means that like you, my game collection isn't really all that expensive.

BetaWolf47

03-11-2010, 11:30 AM

I only, only buy locally. I've only bought from craigslist three times. Everything else in my entire collection is from pawn shops, thrift stores, flea markets, Play N Trade stores, and other game stores.

I'm from the suburbs in Southwest Florida. Collecting conditions are amazing there. Here's what it's like:
-Nobody knows the true value of the games
-There's just enough population to circulate classic games in the wild, but not enough so that I have big competition
-There's a decent amount of secondhand shops

So yeah, I've gotten some really great finds from my hometown. Besides a couple Play N Trades by my college apartment, my new area has been pretty dry.

SegaAges

03-11-2010, 12:05 PM

There are multiple collectors here in Omaha, so I have to be quick if I see something worth while. I am serious when i say that some guy was selling 49 NES games for $50, and one of the games was Stadium Events. I e-mailed him less than 30 minutes after it came up on Craigslist, and the next day he had already gotten an offer above me.

I know a couple collector's in Omaha, but there are a bunch of hidden collector's out there as well in Omaha that will just randomly pop up.

UnpluggedClone

03-11-2010, 12:47 PM

Google 4 Gaga

Rickstilwell1

03-11-2010, 01:34 PM

The local shops in my area seem to be the types who check ebay for prices. That said, I rarely find a better deal locally than I do on Amazon.com or ebay. On craigslist, old school games are rarely listed and all I usually ever see are current gen or last gen systems and games. I tried listing my old classic games and got no reply.

I guess around Seattle there are less people into old school gaming enough to go hunting locally. But maybe it's the impression that it is just click on ebay and get it in the mail instead of going around searching. Could also be the mindset that gas prices to drive somewhere + the cost of the game locally = the same thing as ebay.

This forum is a great place to turn to when I want something specific, but if I can't get any replies such as when I was looking for a CIB Crash Bandicoot 1, I go straight to both ebay and Amazon.com and compare prices, choosing the cheaper of the two. I still check the local store every once in a while to make sure if they have something I am looking for. If the guy looks on ebay and sees it's cheap he'll make it cheap for me.

When I collect I usually go for games that I know about. Unless I am buying games in large lots. If it's a CD game I usually prefer getting it in the jewel case / DVD type case with its manual and if it's current gen I will only buy it if it has those. But if it's older and it's a really big price drop for getting it without the case, i.e. X-Men: Children of the Atom for Playstation and I really want to play the game, I'll go for disc only to start with and come back to a CIB one after I get all the games I want (which will probably never happen anyway as new games are always coming out.)

For cartridges I don't really care yet because I really don't have space. If I were to collect everything CIB I'd lose 2/3 of the games in my collection because I'd have no room for them, not to mention missing a lot of my favorites. And with some of them especially the pre-Nintendo stuff, boxes are very hard to come by.

Steven

03-11-2010, 03:25 PM

Rickstilwell1

03-11-2010, 04:16 PM

I'm pretty much done buying games but my buying habits in the last 4 years since I got back into the SNES included:

-Buying mostly only SNES games. I know it closes me off on other great games on other systems, but you can't play them all, anyway. I find it extremely satisfying since the SNES is my favorite system of all time and I don't really feel like I'm missing out on much. Plus there were a lot of games I missed from my childhood I always wished I could play. Now I own them!

-eBay was my main source

-Craigslist

(My CL Memoirs can be read here: http://www.rvgfanatic.com/7443/34701.html)

-Flea Markets

(My FM Memoirs can be read here: http://www.rvgfanatic.com/7443/1018115.html)

-Internet forums and game selling sites

I didn't go for buying the entire SNES library. That never appealed to me. Why would I ever play Barbie? lol. I only bought the games I loved as a kid, games I wanted to play but never could, and games that looked cool and I would want to play. That list turned out to be pretty huge in and of itself! It's a very cool peaceful feeling to be done buying games and just taking your time to enjoy them instead of waking up early on Saturday mornings to hit the flea market. Instead you can wake up and play that game you been wondering about for over 15 years :)

Or perhaps even better, sleep in a bit ;)

Man I would love to do that. Get to a stopping point in getting such urges to spend money when I don't have much to begin with. My backlog is so big but I keep seeing stuff I would want.

I think when I get a job I want to do sort of what you did. Start with a system that doesn't have many games I want for it and just get all of the ones I want for it and call it a day till I get bored with it. You know, might as well take advantage of being able to still play all the old stuff while it still works.

I should start by saving $50-$100 for a copy of the rare Space Invaders clone for Channel F and never have to look back at the system. Start at the beginning of programmable gaming time and work my way up. Original Odyssey's are too expensive and I don't picture enjoying myself with TV board games anyway... I've got nobody to play them with.

I'll let emulators be my tester to see what I want and only make educated purchases.

mobiusclimber

03-11-2010, 04:21 PM

I've got tons of amazingly good deals off of Craigslist (I live in Seattle, someone on the forums swooped up the one CL ad that I am still pissed I didn't see soon: three or four prototype NES games including Final Fantasy for .... $30? some ridiculously low amount) and I'll pick out what I want and resell the rest. If I didn't have other more important things in my life my collection would be double what it is now just from CL, yardsales and local shops. But I also use Ebay quite a bit. Anyone that thinks you can't get a good deal on Ebay just doesn't have the patience or hasn't bothered to try. Mint CIB Princess Tomato for $25 shipped? I've gotten it. Panzer Dragoon Saga disc and manual (along w/ the first two PD games disc and manual) for $70? Yup. I actually can't count the number of great, cheap auctions I've won on there. CL is great, the forums are great, but man it is satisfying to win an auction for half or more of what it should have ended at. There are certain games I doubt I'll ever find anywhere else but on Ebay... or if I do I'll have to be super fast at seeing the ad and getting to the guy's house. Seriously, if someone had an ad on CL for PDS at $70, just by itself, it wouldn't last more than an hour.

PapaStu

03-11-2010, 04:38 PM

From stores (be it Indy or Corporate), people (on sites like DP or at conventions like CGE) and the occasional eBay item.

I don't bother with thrifting, or craig's list or trade sites like GameTZ because I really don't buy game lots or stuff I don't want in the first place. I buy once and thats it. I am not in the market for speculation or for teh 2k monies and I don't get rid of the stuff I have.

Orion Pimpdaddy

03-11-2010, 04:41 PM

I have a large collection (will post pics within the next couple of weeks) and my entire collection is from going to thrift stores, pawn shops, CRAIGS LIST, and garage sales etc... In a way i've paid nothing for my entire collection considering all the money i've made from buying and selling, almost my entire collection is from cherry picking craigs lots etc... I have so many games that i run into the same games i have often and sell off what i already have, if i find a complete copy i sell off the loose copy i have. I've bought less then 15 things on ebay total EVER! Luckily i live in a large city (LA) where it has a large selection of craigs lists adds for vintage gaming.

I've never been able to justify paying ebay prices for stuff that if you work hard for there's a chance you will find it out in the wild. That and the fact that i'm not very wealthy and my wife would never let me spend 120 bucks for bubble bobble 2 on ebay. There is a lot and i mean a lot of things i would love to have but just can't pay ebay prices for it.

But the cool thing about not buying stuff on ebay and hoping you find it in the wild is the incredible high you get when you score something. Do any of you guys do a lot of thrift store hopping? Because the high of finding something like a Sealed Super Nintendo at a thrift store for 30 bucks is amazing.

I know for some people that live in small towns you have no choice but to shop ebay. But what are your guys collecting habits like and how do you do it?

You are assuming that E-bay is always more expensive. If you buy large lots, you can still do the reselling of items you already have. I got MUSHA for free by buying a lot, taking MUSHA out, then reselling the rest of the lot.

Also, make sure you are checking E-bay's completed items when judging prices. Don't get pricing info from the expensive Buy it Now items that sit there for years on E-bay.

I don't know how you find any good deals at thrift stores and garage sales. I live in a major metropolitan area, and the thrift stores around here hardly ever have games, and when they do, they are about the same price as thier E-bay counterparts. I would probably have to visit 10,000 times to find something that is sealed, in box.

I also spent a whole summer checking garage sales, but only came away with a few deals. Consider yourself lucky! I buy about 98% of my stuff on E-bay and the remaining 2% is from a local game store.

Arkhan

03-11-2010, 05:05 PM

I go to all the local game stores and see if they have anything I want.

if I have to have something asap because im spastic, I go find it on ebay if its cheap.

that or i import the cheaper Japanese versions because I could care less what language its in :D

Richter Belmount

03-11-2010, 05:18 PM

I buy them

UnpluggedClone

03-11-2010, 06:15 PM

Google 4 Gaga

Arkhan

03-11-2010, 06:25 PM

:band:

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142290

this is how we get games!

WOO

lol

Bloodreign

03-12-2010, 01:55 AM

I go to pawn shops, a weekly weekend swap meet (mainly on Sundays, if I'm not having to work on that Sunday), a PC repair shop that also sells used PC's (and sells games, woot) and 2 Play N Trades. If I want something in particular that I can't find at these places, then I hit ebay, though I should start dealing with Game Gavel more, I see fairer prices there.

Arkhan

03-12-2010, 04:40 AM

, a PC repair shop that also does PC repairs .

it ALSO does PC repairs? Whats its main line of service?! :)

DefaultGen

03-12-2010, 06:02 AM

.....

Atarileaf

03-12-2010, 09:34 AM

I think ebay and online forums are a great supplement to local buying. Sometimes that works to your advantage moneywise, sometimes definitely not. I chuckle at those that refuse to spend $20 or $30 on a game on ebay but have no problem dropping that much or more in gas driving all over the place going to thrift stores and yard sales and maybe coming up empty.

I like the "thrill of the hunt" as much as the next guy but spending so much in time, gas, and money has its drawbacks.

Sometimes I find better bargains on ebay than I do locally. For example, a local game store wants $15 for a loose TG-16 Space Harrier and I just won one last night for $6 and change WITH shipping.

Canadian Psycho

03-12-2010, 11:26 AM

Mostly from eBay these days. I'm tired of looking at every other pawn shop and flea market.

As far as the way I collect my games, here it is:

Cart only for NES, SNES, N64 and original Game Boy.

Complete for Genesis, Game Boy Color, GBA, DS, PS1, PS2, GC, Saturn, Sega CD and every newer machine.

Everything must be in excellent condition. I'm mostly picky about cart condition (labels to be precise). I don't mind a couple scratches here and there on CDs.

Mikhal

03-12-2010, 11:46 AM

My collection is built solely from pawn shop or flea market finds and then your occassional craigslist score. Older rare games i never pay face value for, i would trade though face value. Don't buy new releases on release. I wait till they go on clearance or trade for them later. Sega Saturn and Psone are my fav. to collect for so i do not accept any incomplete games.

UnpluggedClone

03-12-2010, 12:53 PM

Google 4 Gaga

csgx1

03-12-2010, 03:40 PM

There are awesome deals at the thrift store or flea markets that cant even compare to Ebay auctions or online listings. I still go to Ebay for stuff I can't find or really want.

I love the thrill of buying a huge box of random game items for cheap and taking it home to find some pretty nifty surprises.

Though I'd say that finding really good stuff in the wild is getting harder due to the increase of online usage and Ebay. Plus, more and more people are collecting too.

mobiusclimber

03-12-2010, 08:25 PM

I'm actually more of a stickler for boxes when it comes to cart-based games. Especially for expensive CD-based titles, I'll take incomplete. Printing off a color insert doesn't bother me but I can't exactly do that for making a box for a cartridge. (I could but it would be a LOT more work.)

Arkhan

03-12-2010, 08:40 PM

mobiusclimber

03-12-2010, 11:12 PM

None of the games besides EVO are expensive enough for me to need to do that (I'm not angling to collect every game or anything) so while I've considered other alternatives it just makes more sense for me to go w/ actual boxes for cart games and not worry so much about disc-based ones. The other thing is that if I get a cart game and then later get a cib one, I can sell the cart game no problem. Getting/finding someone who wants a disc only game is a bit tougher.

Bloodreign

03-13-2010, 06:01 AM

it ALSO does PC repairs? Whats its main line of service?! :)

That was a line after a long shift, it was supposed to read it also sells games, but I kept on typing like nothing was wrong. :P

It's main line of service is selling used PC's. ;)

Robocop2

03-13-2010, 10:20 AM

Mostly the B/S/T forums or if its something that I either don't want to wait for/ the price is decent enough E-bay. The thrift stores and craigslist around here are pretty sparsely populated with gaming goodness and none of the pawn shops will take anything older than a PS2 these days

swlovinist

03-13-2010, 10:43 AM

Here is my basic formula:

1. Shop locally. Pawns, thrifts, Flea Marts, and yard sales. I keep what I want to keep and save the others to trade with friends, sell online forums, or ebay

2. Craigslist-finds have been fewer recently, but I still actively scour the site and have found some

3. Online forums: This site, Atariage, and Nintendoage have been the three sites that I have found AWSOME homebrew video games. A definite plus to the collection.

4. Video Game Conventions-this is the place to get good prices on uncommon items, as well as fill holes in collections with better than average condition merchandise.

5. Online Auctions-I go online only when I cant find it anywhere else. The great deals for me have been slim online.

snester

03-13-2010, 11:25 AM

Mostly online. I don't live anywhere near an urban area, and my local selection of thrift stores, garage sales, etc. is pretty limited, and Craig's List is pretty useless where I live. I've found a few good deals on Amazon, but that's a service better suited for selling than buying (I'm an Amazon seller!). Ebay is my biggest source. I understand the economics behind the idea of buying lots instead of individual games, but most lots I see are 90% shovelware that you can't give away, much less sell (as in cherry picking and selling unwanted games). So, I typically buy my games individually on ebay. I look at it like this: I would have paid $50-$60 for this [NES, SNES, N64] game back in the day, so I really don't mind paying $10-$20 on ebay for one in good shape now. I have hit the jackpot on occasion locally though. My girlfriend is a thrift store junkie, so I have her well-trained to spot video game bargains. She'll sometimes call me from the store and ask me if she should buy something or not. Last summer, she found 2 NES consoles, 4 controllers, 2 zappers, all the hookups, an NES Advantage controller, and a few games bundled together--all for $10!!! I had to spend $40 on parts to get the consoles running again, but that was a steal.

darkslime

03-13-2010, 05:47 PM

I spend a lot of time hunting for games because reselling them is my sole source of income. My collection is games that look fun to play or what I played as a kid, I only keep what I really want and sell the other crap.

I live in an urban area with a huge retro gaming scene, lots of poorer people trying to sell stuff off, so it is easy to find good deals on stuff I can resell at least. I rarely resort to online buying except for some good deals on stuff.

raptor94k

03-14-2010, 12:31 AM

T2KFreeker

03-14-2010, 12:44 AM

Man, between swap meets and thrift stores. I do okay. I try and buy online from people but generally stay away from ebay. I'm not going to say I never buy from the bay, but I won't get into high priced bidding wars for stuff, which has made Jaguar collecting a pain in the Ace at times. Still, it is fun finding the stuff from time to time in the wild.

jferio

03-14-2010, 11:12 AM

I hit thrift stores a lot, but I only have a few I hit regularly within a few miles of my home, the rest I'll hit when I'm 'in the area' doing something else like a movie night or visiting a friend, but I have a fair amount of my collection, including several of my consoles, that I've acquired that way.

There's also a few local gaming store franchises, Play 'n' Trade and Game Force, that I'll also look at when I'm in the local area, or sometimes I'll go with a friend and we'll go do a deliberate gaming hunt around town.

I haven't really poked much at Craigslist, and eBay is nowhere near my sights these days. The former just because I get distracted by other things on the internet, eBay because I have issues with their shifting policies shutting out the little guys and pressure to use PayPal.

Besides, I actually like the 'on the hunt' aspects of haunting the thrift stores. There is nothing like the rush of finding something really neat, like a complete boxed Dreamcast for $25, or an NES toploader complete for $15, or even my one find of boxed complete Atari 2600 games.

mobiusclimber

03-14-2010, 11:42 AM

For those of you that sell your dupes and such...any advice for a n00b?

I have acquired several duplicates games/systems/accessories over the years and I would like to sell a few off so I can have some income to buy new games with. I've looked into doing it on Ebay, this forum, game gavel, and amazon and all have their ups and downs. Ebay is the worst because it is obviously the biggest audience, but the fees (including PayPal) make it seem like it isn't worth it to sell a game thats worth less than 10 dollars.

So how can I go about getting started?

Amazon has the highest fees, but in general they also have the highest prices. I wouldn't sell any super common games there, tho obviously people do. I suppose since it doesn't cost $4 to ship a NES cart, they can afford to charge under a buck for something really common, but I just don't see how.

What I'd do is start small and work my way up. You have systems AND games. I'd make bundles and post them up on Craigslist. Don't meet at your house unless you have to (and can have a friend or friends over at the time), tho I've never had any real problems (beyond someone trying to gank my DWIV cart). I've also found CL can be a great place for selling common NES and SNES games for more than you'd get elsewhere (generally $5+ on non-sports and a buck or two on sports).

Ebay is also a good place to sell bundles. But any game you can get over $20 for, I'd suggest putting on Amazon. I just like them more overall.

As for shipping, always get delivery confirmation for every single package you send out. Figure out the lowest amount of money you'd be willing to eat and anything over that get insurance on. (I've heard it's a hassle to get the PO to pay up if something is lost or damaged, but I also think insurance helps deter would-be thiefs. No proof of this except that since I started doing it I havent' had anyone try to rip me off.)

Forums are also good, just be aware that people are going to want stuff dirt cheap. I usually have a rule that you need to buy at least $20 worth of stuff, and if you're selling cheap things, this might be a good idea. I honestly don't sell a whole lot through forums. I've tried, given up, and sold the stuff on Ebay/GameGavel/Amazon/CL pretty quickly afterwards.

Also if you would rather have more games to play, gametz is a great site to trade games w/ other gamers. It's also a good place to get rid of cheap games for something worth more. I see a lot of people who have games for other systems and then decide they want to start collecting for another system, so they're looking for common good games to start w/. I've actually traded a box full of common NES games for a Wii on there!