Wait did I really think this?!

[demen999]

I sit in my computer room surrounded by boxes, games, papers and things, my organized mess as I like to call it. Typing, blogging, editing my life away, then... I look to my right and see a 4ft box full of systems and games. I start to think crazy like "Hmm maybe I should sell those that I REALLY don't want", I snap myself out of it but soon enough I think it again.

Have I really gotten to the point of wanting to only have what I want and getting rid of the rest? What is a video game pack rat to do? Nintendo systems and games will always be at the top of the list, then Sega but only Genesis, Turbografx then Atari 2600.

Has anyone ever got to the point of wanting to slim down the collection but you get so indecisive that you don't end up selling anything?

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

I am in slightly the same situation. For a number of years I collected stuff to the point where I had so much suff that I didn't know what I had or where it was. I moved into a house almost 2 years ago and it seems that since I now have my "man cave" and more space, I am collecting less. I have gotten rid of a bunch of stuff and will probably get rid of more. I just don't seem to have the time or desire that I once did. The hardest part will be determining what to keep. Probably my Saturn stuff and my harder to get stuff for other systems.

The biggest problem in trying to sell the stuff off is dealing with the conditions of things, especially the disk based games with regards to scratches and stuff. I am not faulting anyone for wanting quality items, but it is much easier to deal with in person as opposed to on a forum or eBay. That is why I already tried to sell off a bunch of my sealed items a while back.

I just need to get off my rear and do it. I probably will once I finish my college classes for the semester.

JY

[mobiusclimber]

I've luckily never had the mentality of collecting stuff just to have it. I think part of that comes from reselling to fuel my collection (so I'm in the habit of selling off stuff I know I'm not going to want to play).

[WanganRunner]

Has anyone ever got to the point of wanting to slim down the collection but you get so indecisive that you don't end up selling anything?

^^
This is sort of where I am right now.

I've sold things in the past and DEEPLY regretted it, so I want to proceed very carefully.


At the moment, I'm debating selling off all my loose stuff in hopes of having a collection that is 100% boxed, aside from items that never had boxes.

[demen999]

It's gotten as bad that I think I have bought 4 copies of the same game! I have an intellivision and don't know jack about it or the games, I bought it years ago for video game pack rat collection purposes cause I thought it was cool to have. I remember going to a Philly Classic and racking up 800 bucks worth of stuff and maybe half of what I bought was the "oooh awesome!" reaction. Granted I've come across a cool amount of things but now more than ever are just things, yet I kind of don't want to part with lol. I too have sold/traded then felt the wrath of regret so I tread lightly on that.

Also when you have your treasures and prizes then try to get rid of the rest, it's something that in the video game collectors eye won't be worth much... maybe I'm stuck with all this plastic and chips I 'might' not want!

[megasdkirby]

Currently, I'm pondering about selling games that I just don't use or even play with. Mainly those games that I don't like, never play, or are just gathering dust. I will not sell any rare/expensive games, or any games from complete or almost complete collections...or any games I really, REALLY like/love. Just those that I won't miss at all.

If I do this, I should be able to eliminate at least 50% of my collection, roughly over 1,700 titles or so, which would really open up alot of extra space...which is HIGHLY needed.

[Emperor Megas]

I've never collected anything for the sake of collecting. I've happened upon a lot of things that I don't really care about or need through bulk acquisitions however, but those things get sold off.

I don't do it right away though. I hold on to a lot of stuff until I'm motivated to sell, and then I do it all at the same time (not in the same lot, just at the same time). The last few weeks I've been unloading a lot of my surplus stuff to finance travel and holiday expenses. I've been taking time off from work lately, and selling off my extras really has been helping me supplement my income.

If you have adequate storage space and you rack up a lot of extra stuff in your collecting that you don't really want, it's a good idea to wait until a peak time of the year, or when you really could use some extra cash, and sell everything off then. I think it's more gratifying to make a few hundred bucks at once, once a year, than just a couple bucks each month or so.

FWIW, if your have things just 'sitting in boxes', it's probably a good sign that you can let it go. Even if it's just in there because you have a storage issue, and no dedicated gaming area, I think it's better to lose the non-vital pieces and concentrate on making a proper place to enjoy your hobby and then reacquiring it all again.

[Dr. Dib]

Honestly I occasionally think that it would be nice to sell of my collection to free up space. Then I realize I'd want to use the money I made to purchase more video games which doesn't really make much sense.

I have thought of selling off some titles I don't really care for, but most of those are old sports games no one would probably want.

[theclaw]

I've narrowed my games to the point where most are now solid enough looking titles I'm finding them harder to let go, despite a dire need of space.

[Snappaccino]

I like to refer to that part of my collecting as a "quality control" phase. That is the time when I look at my NES games and think to myself "Why do I have 3 baseball games... I don't even like baseball" this is the time the slimming down happens.

[Dobie]

Yes. I actually went through with slimming down my collection, and never looked back. I used to have tons of STUFF. Dozens of systems of all types, hundreds (thousands?) of games, accessories, old computers, software, spare parts... you name it. I got rid of nearly all of it. All I have left is the current gen consoles, and my NES collection. It was extremely relieving once it was all sold and gone. I'm seriously considering doing away with my NES collection as well. I simply don't have the time or desire for the "hunt" anymore. But I still love games. I love to play them, talk about them, share them with my kids. I just don't have a huge accumulation of them anymore, and I'm seriously OK with that.

[muteboy]

I plan on doing this as well. It's too overwhelming for me to collect for so many systems. I'm narrowing it down to Gensesis, Dreamcast, Nintendo, and Super Nintendo. I really only play those systems these days anyways. Anything else I wanted to play I could always just emulate on the computer.

[The 1 2 P]

I got to this point with a few titles that I knew I'd have trouble getting a nice affordable copy if I sold them(Snatcher, Ocarina of Time collectors edition, Ninja Gaiden 3, etc). But the fact that I need bills paid and the fact that I never planned on playing the sealed copies of those games anyway meant that I was free to sell them off, despite my reluctance to do so.

[Compute]

Thanks for posting this thread, it really has me thinking. While I am still in acquisition phase, I really do need to pare down my collection. I probably have close to 50 NES games right now, and I have played maybe 10 of those in the past year. The ones I like I really like keep being played, while the other 40 are taking up space.

The hard part is the systems that I love but don't play much. I could probably dump my Vectrex and C64, but I really like both of those systems and have not explored them nearly enough.

[SpaceFlea]

I've also been thinking about selling the whole collection lately. But I wouldn't want to piece it out to various people. If I sell it, it's gotta be as a single lot, because it's far more valuable as a whole. But I don't know how many people are keen to purchasing so much at once.

I also need to purchase duplicates of all the games I wish to keep to avoid breaking complete sets. It's all just too much to think about right now - it really needs time to brew.