Yahoo! Articles will ruin affordable collecting

[icarwngs55]

Yahoo! by posting these articles is in no way helping people find treasures, but instead artificially inflating the value of these "treasures." Yes, the upside is we are getting a better idea of how many of these "rare" items are out there. But the cost seems to be that everyone now thinks they have sold gold...not to mention fakes.

Worse damage than ebay or craigslist ever did...

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/gotta-collect-em-all-the-ten-rarest-video-games/1396084

[Enigmus]

Yahoo! by posting these articles is in no way helping people find treasures, but instead artificially inflating the value of these "treasures." Yes, the upside is we are getting a better idea of how many of these "rare" items are out there. But the cost seems to be that everyone now thinks they have sold gold...not to mention fakes.

Worse damage than ebay or craigslist ever did...

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/gotta-collect-em-all-the-ten-rarest-video-games/1396084


Yeah, Yahoo! has become quite the bullshitter since 2007.

I like how they try to appeal to hardcorists, which ends up sounding like those instructional videos from Wii Sports Resort.

Either way, Yahoo! is bullshit. Case closed.

[BetaWolf47]

It may cause demand for those games to go up really high. It should, however, tell people that their NES with SMB/Duck Hunt, TMNT, and Contra isn't really worth $250.

[Callin]

That's funny. They list an $18000 price for Air Raid with the game box, when such a thing has never been sold before. :-P

[icarwngs55]

Well...yahoo! sees the future

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=110514343174&Category=139973&_trkparms=algo=LVI&its=I&otn=1

[IronBuddha]

That's funny. They list an $18000 price for Air Raid with the game box, when such a thing has never been sold before. :-P

LMAO icarwngs55 beat me to the punch by a minute.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

Hey, we did an article with JJ previously...he'll know rare games, since he runs a pricing website!
*sigh*
Congratulations, Yahoo! You don't even bother writing your own articles anymore. Have someone write the article for you for publicity.

The $18k for Air Raid is estimated, btw.

[Gameguy]

The $18k for Air Raid is estimated, btw.
Maybe Yahoo will just bid $18k to prove their article is accurate.

[Bojay1997]

Similar articles have been popping up for at least the past few years, maybe longer. It happens in every hobby. There may be some short term price inflation, but eventually when all the greedy sellers figure out nobody is buying their stuff, the prices come down again. I think the proliferation of fixed price auctions on Ebay and grading (both of which involve a tiny number of buyers and sellers but which result in a perception among the masses that games are all of a sudden rare commodities) has had a far more detrimental impact on the hobby than any article ever has or ever will.

[Voliko]

*shakes fist at Yahoo*

[DigitalSpace]

/me says "meh," continues browsing porn

[FxMercenary]

whats even more retarded are the comments made on the article. They are either talking about Jesus, or claiming they have a few of the games listed.

[Gameguy]

whats even more retarded are the comments made on the article. They are either talking about Jesus, or claiming they have a few of the games listed.
And some are just plain stupid.


Hello there in reply to your post comment. I was watching Pawn Stars on tv about 6 months ago. Some middle age man turned in a Atari 2700 Edition (clean and fully workable) with 40 games!!! The Pawn Shop guy gave him 2,500 for it!!!!!

:frustrated:

Quick, someone contact that guy and unload your crap games...fast!!

[Haoie]

Collecting is affordable?!

That's news to me.

[UnpluggedClone]

Google 4 Gaga

[Icarus Moonsight]

All warfare is based on deception...

[Kiddo]

I sometimes tend to wonder if Satellablog has this sort of thing done as an unintentional side-effect of me trying to document the Satellaview, but then again, I tend to cover more "Newly discovered" material than "collecting" things...

(On the other hand, when I initially made the blog you could get a base set for 50 bucks, and now it's always double or more....)

[AlanD]

And so it begins:
http://norfolk.craigslist.org/vgm/1683266029.html

and someone's reply:
http://norfolk.craigslist.org/vgm/1683314814.html

(none of these are my posts to CL)

plus we have our first brand new poster to the board asking about value of DKC Comp.

[tom]

Did that $40.000 sealed Stadium Events actually sell in the end? I've heard it was like a hoax or something

[boatofcar]

Ebay is ruining collecting. Craigslist is ruining collecting. Yahoo is ruining collecting. Well, with all of these things ruining collecting, better just give up the ghost now, eh? PM me with all the stuff you want to get rid of :)

[icarwngs55]

Haha, well I never said they ruined collecting. I just think they perpetuate the stupidity of the masses...

:)

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Ebay is ruining collecting. Craigslist is ruining collecting. Yahoo is ruining collecting. Well, with all of these things ruining collecting, better just give up the ghost now, eh? PM me with all the stuff you want to get rid of :)

You forgot. "Other collectors are ruining collecting."

[portnoyd]

Hey guys, can I ruin collecting for a bit?

[chrisbid]

if yahoo didnt write about it, somebody else would have.

the whole point of the internet is to increase the flow of information and knowledge

how people use their newfound knowledge is the real issue

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

The worst problem with video game collecting is the overabundance of "Buy It Now" sellers on E-bay who post sales at super inflated prices. When nobody buys the item, the just relist it, againn and again, because they think the game is worth a lot. They are probably getting their pricing info from outdated and poorly researched sources, when instead, they should be checking the completed auction sales on the E-bay search engine.

[Swamperon]

Also, as more people hear about this hobby and get into it (for whatever reason) demand for many titles, especially the more popular ones, is going to increase and therefore prices will go up.

Which I guess is detrimental to existing collectors as that effectively increases competition.

[Fatalstar64]

Yes people get into collecting for very interesting reasons... to say the least. I got a guy started when I told him I was buying up old SNES games and all of a sudden he wants to buy a bunch of expensive games CIB just because he likes them not even to play them.

[Jisho23]

I'll never understand this part of collecting, people getting into it to make a quick buck (I'm not referring to just games). I think people don't understand that when you collect something its never about making money its about investing in something that you genuinely love and has personal value.

[Callin]

Ebay is ruining collecting. Craigslist is ruining collecting. Yahoo is ruining collecting. Well, with all of these things ruining collecting, better just give up the ghost now, eh? PM me with all the stuff you want to get rid of :)
Other people trying to acquire the same items are ruining collecting! :puppydogeyes:

[rpepper9]

I have had first hand experience with someone who got their information from a source like Yahoo! but has no idea.

A while ago Yahoo! had an article about the NES with Stadium Events that sold for something like 12.xxx or whatever it ended at. If you read the whole article it did say that it wasn't the NES that went for that high price, but the fact that it included Stadium Events.

Flash forward to the cable guy in my home office. He sees a NES sitting on the floor, points to it and his haw drops, exclaims "Those things are worth a lot of money!" "One recently went for over 12.xxx dollars!"

I should have offered the NES with hook ups to him for the bargain basement price of 1000.00. Now we have non-collectors thinking that NES is worth 12 thousand dollars. The impact I see is that people at garage sales are going to start raising their prices, and it may be more difficult to find good deals.

Just my thoughts.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

Well, in the least, the article pulled up a Blockbuster World Championships II Genesis cartridge. It's being sold on eBay for $50k BIN or BO.
I have no problem with the publicity, as Top 10 Rarity or Top 10 Most Expensive articles have been out there for ages. I just think they should verify their sources.

[Gameguy]

Well, in the least, the article pulled up a Blockbuster World Championships II Genesis cartridge. It's being sold on eBay for $50k BIN or BO.
I have no problem with the publicity, as Top 10 Rarity or Top 10 Most Expensive articles have been out there for ages. I just think they should verify their sources.
Is that an already known copy or a new one? If it sells for a best offer is there any way to know what the final selling price is?

I'm curious to know if these have gone up in value since the last time one sold. I also notice the auction says less than 5 exist but there have been at least 5 or 6 confirmed already. Oh well.

[portnoyd]

gametimevault is DreamTR.

[Enigmus]

And some are just plain stupid.



:frustrated:

Quick, someone contact that guy and unload your crap games...fast!!


Holy crap, that better be a slip of the keys when that guy wrote Atari 2700, or else it proves the Internet Stupidity equation.

Seriously, if he's never seen a Heavy Sixer, he must not leave his house much.

[Ryaan1234]

/me says "meh," continues browsing porn
Just wait until Yahoo starts artificially inflating the price of porn with articles like "Gotta Collect 'Em All: The Ten Rarest Examples of Porn". Then you'll be sorry you didn't do anything

LOL

[Swamperon]

Just wait until Yahoo starts artificially inflating the price of porn with articles like "Gotta Collect 'Em All: The Ten Rarest Examples of Porn". Then you'll be sorry you didn't do anything

LOL

Rather off topic but... is there actually a 'porn collecting' community out there that discusses rare/expensive pornography in same manner we discuss video games? I suppose there must be...!

[DefaultGen]

.....

[AcePuppy]

I love how they just picked a price out of thin air for Air Raid.

18,000 is pretty fair. A legit AA.com member put a private offer on the auction for around that and was declined.

[The 1 2 P]

There are only 30 of that Uncharted 2 special edition:eek 2: I should have bought the one I saw at Walmart:(

[understatement]

Looks like Yahoo was a bit off on the boxed Air Raid $31,600 :eek 2:

[HurricaneAndrew]

Seriously, if he's never seen a Heavy Sixer, he must not leave his house much.

It wasn't even a Heavy Sixer, it was just a regular 6-switch VCS.

And they didn't buy it for $2,500, they bought it and all the games for $100.

[Robocop2]

Rather off topic but... is there actually a 'porn collecting' community out there that discusses rare/expensive pornography in same manner we discuss video games? I suppose there must be...!

If it exists; somebody collects it.

[skaar]

Hey, we did an article with JJ previously...he'll know rare games, since he runs a pricing website!
*sigh*


This basically sums up my opinion of the article. There is a strong bias for him to inflate value to protect his investments. The same as all of the NA people bidding up auctions to retain their "market value"

MRN is a classic asshat for this, I'm told.

[Icarus Moonsight]

If it exists; somebody collects it.

Yahoo! rep: Tell us a little about your hobby.

Tinfoil hat guy: I'm not merely a bottle cap collector. I'm also a post-apocalypse currency investor! I'm actually providing a future essential service. You'll all be working for me, or my theoretical offspring someday. Unfortunately, now that you know the truth, I can not let you live. Can't have people knowing this... Cuts into my action. Nothing personal, just the bottle cap business.

Yahoo! rep: :eek:

[Robocop2]

^ knows too much now.....

[Rickstilwell1]

I have had first hand experience with someone who got their information from a source like Yahoo! but has no idea.

A while ago Yahoo! had an article about the NES with Stadium Events that sold for something like 12.xxx or whatever it ended at. If you read the whole article it did say that it wasn't the NES that went for that high price, but the fact that it included Stadium Events.

Flash forward to the cable guy in my home office. He sees a NES sitting on the floor, points to it and his haw drops, exclaims "Those things are worth a lot of money!" "One recently went for over 12.xxx dollars!"

I should have offered the NES with hook ups to him for the bargain basement price of 1000.00. Now we have non-collectors thinking that NES is worth 12 thousand dollars. The impact I see is that people at garage sales are going to start raising their prices, and it may be more difficult to find good deals.

Just my thoughts.

Oh I already got an email from a pissed off idiot that said I was a scammer for looking for a $10-$20 blinking NES that was in bad condition so I could fix it up for myself. I told him in reply "they are not worth that much unless they are in good shape and come with good or rare games"

[Tenjikuronin]

Rather off topic but... is there actually a 'porn collecting' community out there that discusses rare/expensive pornography in same manner we discuss video games? I suppose there must be...!

Yes, but they refer to it as 'Erotica'....

[Nature Boy]

The worst problem with video game collecting is the overabundance of "Buy It Now" sellers on E-bay who post sales at super inflated prices. When nobody buys the item, the just relist it, againn and again, because they think the game is worth a lot. They are probably getting their pricing info from outdated and poorly researched sources, when instead, they should be checking the completed auction sales on the E-bay search engine.

Just because you don't agree with someone's perceived value for something doesn't make that person (or yourself) wrong.

They'll either get the price they want eventually, or tire of holding on to the item and price it lower - just like what happens with new games as they age.

[buzz_n64]

This pisses me off greatly. People think they are sitting on gold, when what they have is worth a couple bucks. Lately I've been seeing some NES systems with no cables, and untested trying to be sold for $50, and some generic Genesis sports games selling for $6-$8! Yahoo is giving people who don't know the subject, a false sense of value. Craigslist is a prime example.

[Cauterize]

If there is money to be had, people will flock :(

[icarwngs55]

YAHOO! Strikes again!!

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/got-a-video-game-goldmine-in-your-garage-/1397628

[Enigmus]

YAHOO! Strikes again!!

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/got-a-video-game-goldmine-in-your-garage-/1397628

Goddammit, I just saw that a few minutes ago.

I suggest a good, ol', healthy spambombing of messages against this causal gamer-written bullshit until they give us a name of their "source" A.K.A. 12 year old boys who go "DURR I DONT KNOW NES IS $12000 IT SUX GO COD." :angry:

[darkslime]

Goddammit, I just saw that a few minutes ago.

I suggest a good, ol', healthy spambombing of messages against this causal gamer-written bullshit until they give us a name of their "source" A.K.A. 12 year old boys who go "DURR I DONT KNOW NES IS $12000 IT SUX GO COD." :angry:But most of it is true and the prices are in the general area of how much they actually go for.

[bigred5687]

God dam yahoo, cant they find another hobby to write about. All they ever take about now is classic video games

[Ryaan1234]

http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/ga/buzz/feature/vg27/powerglove_150.jpg
WTF is up with the power glove picture they used? It's not supposed to have those wires...

Oooh they just stole and cropped this (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://technabob.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/wii_power_glove.jpg&imgrefurl=http://technabob.com/blog/2007/06/10/the-wii-power-glove/&usg=__5q9SwXruiwxZxDtKSRtt9rODi-Q=&h=347&w=520&sz=26&hl=en&start=2&sig2=mKl97IdIwENikflEEU_NTQ&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=yti51cOsU6XiBM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=131&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpower%2Bglove%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26cl ient%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=WEXaS_DpJoL68Aak64Rd) from another site. May I mention it's like one of the first things you get when you type "power glove" into google images? That's not even a correct power glove, it's modded to be used with a Wii. Very professional, Yahoo.

aand look at the comments, some dumbass has mentioned that Death Race and Shockwave (both on NES) were never released to the general public. Someone please set him straight.

[pseudonym]

More people who don't really know anything about the NES, talking like they're collectors. There isn't any gold-colored version of Punch Out on the NES- that's the Famicom version he's talking about. That's about where I stopped reading it.

[Gameguy]

There isn't any gold-colored version of Punch Out on the NES- that's the Famicom version he's talking about. That's about where I stopped reading it.
I noticed that too, though it would be funny to see all the craigslist ads with people looking for gold coloured Punch Out carts that don't exist. Might as well ask for a unicorn horn too. LOL

[kupomogli]

YAHOO! Strikes again!!

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/p...arage-/1397628

Hopefully this doesn't increase the price of the Power Glove. It's one accessory that I'd one day want to pick up one but figured I could at any time.

[Astrocade]

Man, I'm getting sick of seeing these articles. I've noticed that in the last two years, it seems like the most ignorant people on earth read these articles and then automatically turn to Craigslist to peddle their "collector's items".

Typical Craigslist Atari ad:

Really rare Atari systen

This a really rare Atari system 2400 from like 1972. It was first console ever. It has really rare games like Pac Man and Combat. Worth at least 2,000 dollars, I will sell it for 1,900.00.


Typical Craigslist NES ad:

Old Skool Nintendo!


This ad is for an ORIGINAL Nintendo Entertainment System!!!!!!!!!! These things are ULTRA RARE now and HARD TO FIND. Comes with Mario Bros/Duck Hunt and some other rare games, including the limited edition GOLD Legend of Zelda cartridge.

I'm asking 200 or best offer. No spammers!

[pseudonym]

I love the Power Glove. It's so bad.

[JimmyDean]

1900$ for a 2600? Lol. Anyway, I feel that the guys over at Yahoo think that they know what they are talking about when they really don't. I think they just make up this crap like gold-colored punchouts to get more hits on their site, therefore getting more ad revenue. Anyway, every time an article on yahoo comes out about vintage games, or an Angry Video Nerd video comes out, the prices on items mentioned in the article/video get driven up astronomically. I saw Swordquest Waterworld go for $250 briefly. I don't mind Yahoo publishing these articles, but when they drive the price up on games and blatantly lie about stuff like gold-colored punchouts it pisses me off.

[Coptur]

Yeah, I'm really sick of Yahoo and their articles. Gamers chances of getting these games now are basically impossible. All these big websites like Youtube, Google and Yahoo are nothing but GREED.

[Icarus Moonsight]

This stuff is pretty funny, but does anyone really think that Yahoo! columnists can tie their own shoes let alone ruin classic game collecting? It's a premise worthy of a Yahoo! Games article really.

[icarwngs55]

1900$ for a 2600? Lol. Anyway, I feel that the guys over at Yahoo think that they know what they are talking about when they really don't. I think they just make up this crap like gold-colored punchouts to get more hits on their site, therefore getting more ad revenue. Anyway, every time an article on yahoo comes out about vintage games, or an Angry Video Nerd video comes out, the prices on items mentioned in the article/video get driven up astronomically. I saw Swordquest Waterworld go for $250 briefly. I don't mind Yahoo publishing these articles, but when they drive the price up on games and blatantly lie about stuff like gold-colored punchouts it pisses me off.

There is a Gold Punch-Out cart my friend. It was given away as a prize in the Golf U.S. Course Famicom Tournament in Japan, just prior to the official release of Mike Tysons Punch-Out in the USA.

Just thought you should know

[JimmyDean]

Really? I surely feel stupid now! Anyway, I am into all that game tourney history stuff, so I guess that is a cool thing to know. I am always out seeking to expand my videogame knowledge!

Edit: Isn't that the Wii power glove some guy made in Japan? Lol. Yahoo is really stupid when it comes to this stuff. Anyway, I suppose he just wired up the buttons to the bend sensors, no?

[darkslime]

There is a Gold Punch-Out cart my friend. It was given away as a prize in the Golf U.S. Course Famicom Tournament in Japan, just prior to the official release of Mike Tysons Punch-Out in the USA.

Just thought you should knowI thought it was a Famicom cart, not a NES cart though? Yahoo was implying that there was a NTSC-U NES gold punch out cart.

[kupomogli]

I was just looking around Ebay. Check out these awesome prices. Affordable? I think not. Ebay usually isn't though.

http://stores.ebay.com/Level-99-Games

[Sonicwolf]

One thing that really pisses me off when im browsing eBay is the prevalence of the word "RARE!!!!1!" on every single fucking listing. God damnit.

I give game collecting until 2020 before it goes the way of the house at the end of Poltergeist.

*explodes, implodes, vortex to the other side*

[kupomogli]

I decided to just put rare and search in the video games. Most games not rare, including this one, but if you're missing FF7 PAL version, this person spelled it Final Fantacy so probably will get no other bids.

You can get it for $20 + shipping. Might be worth it considering searching Final Fantasy 7 PAL came up with copies of the game $50+ Sure it's not rare. But if you can either make some money off it or you can keep the game since it's a pretty good game.

http://cgi.ebay.com/FINAL-FANTACY-VII-7-PLAYSTATION-PS1-PS2-GAME-RARE-/400117656822?cmd=ViewItem&pt=AU_PC_Video_Games_Games&hash=item5d28deecf6

[Sonicwolf]

Super Mario World is so rare that I just pooped myself!

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Super-Mario-World-SNES-NEW-SEALED-RARE-VGA-80-/150431361216?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item23066868c0

.....Annnnndd how exactly is this rare?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Sony-PSP-3000-Gran-Turismo-Pack-Silver-RARE-BUNDLE-/110492652168?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Video_Games&hash=item19b9e01288

[Icarus Moonsight]

http://blogs.amctv.com/movie-blog/caddyshack-560-gopher.jpg

[dnehthend]

I love the Power Glove. It's so bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsJkbbUT9fM



craigslist is ridiculous

[ryborg]

I was just looking around Ebay. Check out these awesome prices. Affordable? I think not. Ebay usually isn't though.

http://stores.ebay.com/Level-99-Games

He's sold ~150 items over the last two weeks. Your definition of affordable is irrelevant.

The amount of hate here for good sellers who have high prices is pathetic. Some people need to get a life.

[Ed Oscuro]

The amount of hate here for good sellers who have high prices is pathetic. Some people need to get a life.
this is basically it in a nutshell - it's the market

And now, if anybody cares, I will attempt to explain with the power of INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS!11 101 how this shit works; if anybody cares I encourage them to see if I've got anything wrong.

As Shadow Kisuragi said, there's the possibility that Yahoo! and some other outlets aren't vetting their material and are letting people with a financial incentive write the content. I kind of doubt it with Air Raid and even Stadium Events, but a person with a stack of Game X I could theoretically worm their way into the Yahoo! community and write: "If you don't have Game X you are nobody! in collecting!!!" in preparation for a glorious dumping.

Some people have been able to achieve this with some veneer of legitimacy: I have mentioned here at DP before about the guys who went around the nation buying up pieces of antique furniture from a specific little-known maker, and then the buyers promoted the artistic values of the chairs with interviews, essays, and the like (I mean they were serious into the history of this furniture), and at that time people started to go "hey we missed those" but to get the pieces you more or less had to go to those guys. It was a brilliant movement and they increased critical appreciation for a historic product at the same time.

What we have here seems to be slightly different, though, because few chances exist for somebody to realistically corner the market on released games, especially the sort of well-known games Yahoo! articles seem to be plugging. If the PAL Kizuna Encounter cartridges were just showing up I'd be suspicious (almost all of the known ones were sourced through one person, last I heard). This I would put down just to poor standards of journalism. It will help the people with inventory, but a lot of people will be able to ride that wave - unfortunately it's quite bad for buyers but there's always been a war between buyers and sellers - before collecting of anything, too. Otherwise, what's happening on Yahoo! is just like the guys with the furniture, except the guys with the furniture did more for their hobby than mindless Yahoo! cheerleading will - but that's just my view.
_______________


The worst problem with video game collecting is the overabundance of "Buy It Now" sellers on E-bay who post sales at super inflated prices.
Wrong. Smart buyers know to avoid them. Items that loiter on eBay, without being sold due to too-optimistic prices, are old hat; it's been a part of eBay forever, like OMG R@RE LQQK!!

The problem is an abundance of idiots that don't know to check Completed Listings, and who buy things for ridiculous amounts: There's a difference. Price inflation has to happen with the content of the buyers. If a few people don't do their due diligence and pay something ridiculous, market price won't move much or at all as smarter buyers laugh at their wastefulness on Internet Forums.

For anything with a decent supply, it takes many other people to follow suit to do it, at which time it really is what the market thinks acceptable, at least until they hit a wall with supply and demand (kind of like what I heard happened with Zero Wing MD / PAL).

For anything without a decent supply, like boxed Air Raids or sealed Stadium Events, you're kind of stuck with the whims of the biggest bidders, unless more supply can be found.

Aside from super-rare items (where supply and demand rules), I don't think that the market is swayed all that much in the long term by ridiculous prices, and if you can't be patient you're screwing yourself over - it's a choice to buy anything at a given time. What I'd be worried about are sort-of-high prices that push "acceptable" prices higher and higher (beyond inflation I mean).
________________

The worst problem may also be too much press given to ridiculous pricing, but at some point supply and demand has to come into it. Only so many items are sold at any given time on eBay, so for many people that seems to be the extent of the supply, pressure which may feel especially acute after a certain item gets press (for instance, the recent Stadium Events business). And many people are poor gumshoes / flea market buyers with limited time, so $40K might seem like a bargain for their time and money. LOL

Kind of like how my copies of Dracula (Castlevania) for X68000 kept getting cheaper as I went along: Being unknowledgeable, I paid WAY too much early on. I feel that's been the case with 90% of my import computer games collecting and a significant amount of my other games collecting too.

On the other hand, I've mentioned before how I tried to benefit from some people paying $1000 for that same game (they forgot to bid on mine and so it went for $150; in the end, I lost money but I got what I needed at that immediate moment to pick up Nemesis '90, so it was an alright trade).

I sometimes tend to wonder if Satellablog has this sort of thing done as an unintentional side-effect of me trying to document the Satellaview, but then again, I tend to cover more "Newly discovered" material than "collecting" things...
Your goal is to make the best and most complete site possible before you worry about affecting prices. If you're worried that prices are going up too fast, then you have a conflict of interest as a buyer - but that comes naturally when dealing with something a bit rare. The Satellaview has been one of those "ZOMG!!11" items for as long as I can remember (circa ~2003, I guess). The only people who are likely to care are, perhaps, sellers who want you to mindlessly cheerlead without correcting pricing for them: so long as the people they buy old Satellaview items off of don't know of the potential value for some collector who also doesn't know the price the seller is getting - as long as those two wires don't cross and short their own system, they will be happy. If an item gets so popular that everybody knows about the add-on, however, what you'll see is not people being more aware of the actual distribution of these items, but instead even further increased interest in collecting, and higher prices. The only way to avoid this is to allow something to stay in the shadows.

Which I suppose is why we don't see many "The Next Big Thing in Collecting" articles from old hands at this ^_~

For what it's worth I thought at a time that perhaps the Atari home computer games could be it (others as well I suppose, there certainly are a lot of classic 8-bit home computer games I love), but right now I think it's arcade games.

[Icarus Moonsight]

The good ol' pump and dump. Thanks suckers! LOL

I can understand pumping if you have a motive, despicable sure, but at least it has a purpose. Yahoo! on the other hand...

Inclining price without offering more value is an age old merchant skill. On the good side it's offered on persuasion, on the bad, it's inflicted. If you stick to your own internal value judgments, you're pretty well insulated from both sides of the game.