Video Game Legend Ben Gold's New Auction House

[8bitgamer]

There's a really cool new auction house specializing in classic gaming memorabilia. It's run by Ben Gold, the video game legend who won the That's Incredible arcade contest back in 1983. This is a new venture, and Ben welcomes feedback, especially in the form of constructive criticism.

You can check out The International Video Game Auction House here:

http://www.ivgah.com/

[8bitgamer]

Lively thread about the topic over on AtariAge:

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/206419-international-video-game-auction-house/

[8bitgamer]

More info on the International Video Game Auction House:

http://www.brettweisswords.com/2013/01/international-video-game-auction-house.html

[Bojay1997]

As I pointed out on Atari Age, this is a completely unnecessary business venture. Ebay and Game Gavel do everything this guy is planning to do while bringing massive bidding pools to rare items. There are plenty of websites and forums that cover auctions for rare video game items and memorabilia and his venture is not going to bring more prominence or prestige to the hobby, especially when websites like CNN and national or large regional newspapers already cover unusual auctions for video games on a regular basis when items go for large amounts. I really don't understand why someone would just randomly show up and try to start a business like this without doing some research first to see if there was a market for it.

[Collector_Gaming]

As I pointed out on Atari Age, this is a completely unnecessary business venture. Ebay and Game Gavel do everything this guy is planning to do while bringing massive bidding pools to rare items. There are plenty of websites and forums that cover auctions for rare video game items and memorabilia and his venture is not going to bring more prominence or prestige to the hobby, especially when websites like CNN and national or large regional newspapers already cover unusual auctions for video games on a regular basis when items go for large amounts. I really don't understand why someone would just randomly show up and try to start a business like this without doing some research first to see if there was a market for it.

I say good for him... Ya don't know unless you jump into the big blue yonder and give it a go..

I mean think of many other buisness's out there. Probably the easiest example is grocery store chains.

You go to any large town/city you'll find multiple grocery chains and even some regular stores and have grocery to compete with them (super walmarts and targets for example).

If I was to goto a large populated area in new england i can find shaws, price chopper, hannafords, and so on. They all supply the same product for the most part in general and their deals are the same. So why is there more chains in a market where one will do the job just fine?

[Bojay1997]

I say good for him... Ya don't know unless you jump into the big blue yonder and give it a go..

I mean think of many other buisness's out there. Probably the easiest example is grocery store chains.

You go to any large town/city you'll find multiple grocery chains and even some regular stores and have grocery to compete with them (super walmarts and targets for example).

If I was to goto a large populated area in new england i can find shaws, price chopper, hannafords, and so on. They all supply the same product for the most part in general and their deals are the same. So why is there more chains in a market where one will do the job just fine?

Grocery store chains compete on price, selection, location, customer service or some other specialized niche or else they fail. This guy so far has failed at all of that. His auction software is very poor, the items he has had listed so far are mediocre or grossly overpriced for their starting bid, he requires bidders to be personally checked by him massively reducing the potential bidder pool, he charges a significant buyers premium, etc....None of these are the things that will differentiate his business from the existing ones in a positive way. It's like this guy completely misunderstands the modern video game collecting and auction market but still wants to get into it regardless of his lack of understanding. Someone like that should not be encouraged or supported.

[wiggyx]

Meh, it seems like it's almost all just memorabilia, and pricing that sort of thing is a nightmare. It's really the type of thing that needs to be sold in person, at something like a local auction or pawn shop IMO. And yes, the starting prices seem a little absurd, especially considering that collecting VG memorabilia is essentially brand new (if it's even a thing at all).

[Bojay1997]

Meh, it seems like it's almost all just memorabilia, and pricing that sort of thing is a nightmare. It's really the type of thing that needs to be sold in person, at something like a local auction or pawn shop IMO. And yes, the starting prices seem a little absurd, especially considering that collecting VG memorabilia is essentially brand new (if it's even a thing at all).

I disagree with the in person/local auction/pawn shop thing. People sell one of a kind video game memorabilia on Ebay and Game Gavel all the time. There is a market for it and the marketplace figures out what it's worth. Rare video game items go for lots of money so it's not like collectors aren't aware of it or don't collect it already. This guy's "service" isn't needed as it does nothing that those existing sites can't do already in a more efficient manner.

[8bitgamer]

The next auction is underway. Ben welcomes your comments, both positive and negative, as long as said comments are civil:

http://ivgah.com/browse.php?id=0

Thanks for viewing...

[JSoup]

...he requires bidders to be personally checked by him..

Too damn fiddly, I'll stick with eBay.