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Slate
03-19-2010, 06:53 PM
Hi, After nearly seven years I finally figured it is time to let my video game collection go. before I sell it I thought perhaps some of you would like to hear my story, So here it goes.

I first started collecting in 2003. I saw the August issue of Tips & Tricks magazine which had Joe Santulli's Video Game Collectors article and Videogamerdaryll's collection was featured in that month's article. This inspired me to collect video games and boy, Did I get into it. Collecting video games or playing them was practically all I thought about, I had no other interests. I even dreamed about buying video games, Some that didn't exist. Then I'd realize I was dreaming and I'd get pissed.

Every weekend I would be going with my dad to yard sales, goodwills and such to look for video games. When I was buying these games I had no real goal except to buy lots of Sega games. Most of the time I just bought anything but I ended up buying a lot of games even before I ended up joining this forum. I even got store displays from Electronics Boutique which turned into Gamestop.

It was a lot of fun while I was still into it but eventually the finds started drying up. In 2006 I got an Xbox 360 and then I got into online gaming, I wasn't as serious about collecting by this time. In 2007 I wasn't really into collecting any more, My Uncle Eddie died and I started figuring collecting was just a hobby. I was still into collecting, I just wasn't as serious as I had been. In April 2007 I got Guitar Hero II, I started getting into music, My best friend started saying I should play a real guitar and I bought a guitar. I didn't practice guitar much until November and December but I got more and more into it after that.

In 2008 I kept getting into music and finding out about more and more bands. I also started getting rid of things from my childhood that I didn't need and I kept getting deeper and deeper into guitar, Even though I wasn't any good at it.

In 2009 I was pretty much done with collecting. I was tired of going around, Buying things when I had more fun playing games on Xbox Live with friends. Then I got interested in repairing guitars. I moved my collection from one room to another, I now have a workshop in the room I moved my collection from. I now work on guitars, I don't collect video games anymore. I've passed up video game lots on several occasions now and have not regretted it, I have finally figured it is time to get rid of my collection since it takes up so much room. I'll probably only sell on Craigslist unless someone wants to buy over $100 of my collection at once or there's something that I can't get rid of locally. So there it is... My collecting story. Check out my For Sale thread in the Buying And Selling forum some time, It is going to get bigger and bigger until I'm done selling a large portion of my collection. Thanks for reading.

- Austin

UnpluggedClone
03-19-2010, 07:25 PM
Google 4 Gaga

Voliko
03-19-2010, 08:12 PM
I'm really sorry, but that sounds like a horror story.

DuckTalesNES
03-20-2010, 04:28 AM
Doesn't seem like a bad story to me. You had a lot of fun, were able to go around with your dad pursuing your hobby, then you got a new hobby and are turning it into a way to make a living. Sounds like the American dream to me.

tubeway
03-20-2010, 04:42 AM
It happens. I doubt collecting video games is the first hobby of many people here. I wonder if people on baseball card forums freak out when they hear about someone moving on to collect video games? ;)

Anyways, kudos. If you find repairing guitars to be fulfilling and also profitable, then that's awesome. At least you're also doing something constructive with your time, rather than purely being a consumer and hoarding possessions. I think it started out kind of flawed anyways -- you saw people that had tons of crap, and you wanted tons of crap. Seems like the people that last the longest in this hobby are the ones that amass games incidentally while trying to collect their favorite series of games, or just games they enjoy playing.

jcalder8
03-20-2010, 11:57 AM
Seems like the people that last the longest in this hobby are the ones that amass games incidentally while trying to collect their favorite series of games, or just games they enjoy playing.
I know that this happened with me when I first started. I went after anything and everything rather than focusing on a more concrete "plan" of course I do still pick up some random stuff :D

I hope you enjoy your new hobby Slate. You can expect at least a few pm's from this.

Slate
03-20-2010, 03:30 PM
Yeah, I might still buy a few games here and there and collect a few things if I get interested again but overall, I don't want to have a room with video games piled in it anymore. I need the space too, I could put a small gym in there or a drumset. And yeah, I do expect PMs since I posted this. I haven't gone through my collection yet but I'll say right now that I never bought any Neo Geo, Turbografx-16, Jaguar or CDI games. I mostly ended up with Nintendo NES, SNES, Atari 2600 and Genesis games. I can name a few rarer ones off the top of my head now - Atari Video Cube, Artillery Duel, Tank Brigade (Brand new in box, Never opened - I think I'm going to sell this one on Atari Age since its probably the only one left brand new) and Frogger II: Threedeep all for Atari 2600. If anyone is interested please send me a PM, I think I'll consider shipping now. I'm not shipping any store displays though.