Why do people buy from online gameshops ?

[Th3 hoff]

Why do people buy from online gameshops ?
I'm talking about retro games here. I can understand that people buy the latest ps4 game online.
But why would you buy retro games in high priced online gameshops ?

A. they are noobs that don't know anything about prices
B. I want it now and have to much cash $$$$$$$$$
C. I'm to scared to buy online from stangers and overpay at safe gameshops.

I can understand it if you are searching for a game for years and find and buy it at a online gameshop.
But it baffles me how many there are and that people buy there.
You could even go so far by saying that buying from a online gameshop is bad for other retro gamers and prices.

I also find it hilarious that people think that they are buying from real professional online webshop.
A good webpage gives them trust and a good feeling. ( This goes for online shoppers in general btw )
When in fact some of these shops are just guys living with mom and dad and selling stuff from there bedroom.
Sad for real shops that have a online webshop on the side.

[Tanooki]

You basically answered your own questions. People don't research, they don't think, have plenty of cash and don't care, or they want to live in a false safety bubble of buying from an ebay reseller with a store front or a .com store front. It is what it is, you can't solve stupid and nervous so there's really no debate over it or arguing it. In the end them doing such things increases the prices so they'll end up ahead anyway sooner than later.

[Th3 hoff]

I know that i answered my own questions. But i can't believe it.
So i was kind of hoping that somebody would give me another point of view.
Something that i missed completely.

[Bojay1997]

I know that i answered my own questions. But i can't believe it.
So i was kind of hoping that somebody would give me another point of view.
Something that i missed completely.

Not all online gameshops are overpriced. Some items are impossible to find in the wild and some items rarely or never show up on Ebay. As such, online retro gameshops are a great source for hard to find items in certain cases.

[wizardofwor1975]

Not all online gameshops are overpriced. Some items are impossible to find in the wild and some items rarely or never show up on Ebay. As such, online retro gameshops are a great source for hard to find items in certain cases.

Agreed, I've had pretty good luck buying hard to find retro games from online gameshops as well. As long as you do your research like Tanooki said I think you'll be alright. That being said I've also had mostly good luck buying from individuals outside of Evil Bay.

[Th3 hoff]

Not all online gameshops are overpriced. Some items are impossible to find in the wild and some items rarely or never show up on Ebay. As such, online retro gameshops are a great source for hard to find items in certain cases.

Could you give me an exsample ? I know that some rare gameboy games are overlooked by shops but that's it.

[Az]

Could you give me an exsample ? I know that some rare gameboy games are overlooked by shops but that's it.

Other than buying mod chips, copiers, flash carts and other illegal/counterfeit items (or maybe converters which are prohibited on eBay) I see no reason either.

The only possible legitimate item I could see is buying AES carts from the Neo Store and that's an entire different animal altogether. If you're paying 4-5 digit prices for a cart I expect a complete rundown of the condition plus a money back guarantee. I wouldn't buy an AES cart from eBay any sooner than I'd buy a car.

[Tanooki]

When it comes to the AES unless you have a moderate 5 figures budget to piss on a goodly sized stack of games, you could few a few hundred or so get the popular banana yellow colored multicart with like a couple hundred games on it, all legit versions, no stupid hacks, and you can just slot that thing into a cabinet or console and get all you need out of it. If there's something specific it lacks, at least you're only sinking into a cartridge or two. Buying anything SNK on a cart outside of their pocket systems is playing with fire.

[retro junkie]

I am a retro gamer. I spend most of my gaming time with the old stuff. The only way that I can obtain any retro games is through the net, mostly ebay. There is nothing in my local area for miles even if I drive across the state line. My only source to feed my love of retro gaming is purchasing my games online. I do have my limit, that line I will not cross, when purchasing a game. So there will be many retro games I will never enjoy simply because they are just too expensive to obtain. I very rarely seek out an online "gameshop," but if I do it is usually a Japan shop.

[Gatucaman]

Other than buying mod chips, copiers, flash carts and other illegal/counterfeit items (or maybe converters which are prohibited on eBay) I see no reason either.

The only possible legitimate item I could see is buying AES carts from the Neo Store and that's an entire different animal altogether. If you're paying 4-5 digit prices for a cart I expect a complete rundown of the condition plus a money back guarantee. I wouldn't buy an AES cart from eBay any sooner than I'd buy a car.

Hold on, Converters are forbidden on Ebay? huh, cause last week i saw a bunch of them.

Overpriced of frickin course, specially the Honeybee, gee, why people has the entitlement to charge top $75 just for that one?, it doesn't work any different than every other Converters.

[Tanooki]

Retro: Which part of KY are you in as it's that way here too in Louisville and as bad or worse over the river. You can get the nicer stuff here but thanks to half price books (aka Highest Buy it Now Books) they wrecked the local market to being over ebay so I stopped buying and flea markets rarely get squat.

Gatucaman: It's hit and miss, kind of depends on how it's listed and if you hit a jerk being a snitch and flagging it just right. Converters themselves are legit but perhaps it's attached to a bootleg or multicart then it could be toast, but someone could make the wrong argument they're counterfeit goods and if some ebay tool boob doesn't use their brain cells they were gifted with you get the auction pulled. Converters are fine, flash kits get flagged under copyright infringment/dodging tools. Multicarts often pass muster, but sometimes they get flagged legitimately as bootlegged goods. What's most odd is that I rarely if ever see a so called 'reproduction' we all know it's just repackaged warez flagged and removed, same with people doing perfect copy replacement stickers since they don't own the copyright to do so or permissions at the least.

I've sold at least a half dozen 'reproduction' games on ebay in the past and never had one flagged and you can see them fly by daily.

[SparTonberry]

Probably cause I got most of the dirt-common games I'd want (which is what you're most likely to find in stores these days for retro systems).
Many stores have caught on to ebay, and if they're willing to budge from that, probably not by much.

I don't know how many people watch Pat the NES Punk but his friend Ian has gone on for some time about his experience working in a retro game store. It sounds like, yes he'd like to give game-playing fans a good deal on games but he needs to price games so they're not enticing to resellers.

[Az]

Hold on, Converters are forbidden on Ebay? huh, cause last week i saw a bunch of them.

Yep, they're indeed illegal to sell on ebay. Ebay lumps region converters in the same category as mod chips and considers them to be a form of copyright infringement. Obviously you'll see some on there and not every item gets pulled or reported by crybabies. It is even set up so there are certain terms that are flagged automatically like Mega-Key and Honeybee that will be picked up by the system without a human reporting it.

I know this for a fact because I had auctions pulled that resulted in me being suspended since they were all pulled within a week or so. One was a JP MD title and in the auction text I mentioned it worked on a US Genesis with a Mega Key. I've since deleted the email, but they said this was "encouraging copyright infringement" to say the item worked with a converter, but I was free to relist the item without mentioning the converter in it. They also mentioned 16-bit Game Genies and Action Replays are OK to sell but you are strickly forbidden from mentioning their region defeating features, however devices that are strickly region converters (Pro CD-X, Mega Key) are forbidden.

Here's a link to an extremely old guide, the guy only got it half right though. Cheat carts are OK if you only mention the cheating aspects.

http://www.ebay.com/gds/GAME-ENHANCERS-REGION-CONVERTERS-Cheats-Extra-lives-/10000000001958173/g.html

Fun fact: when the Dreamcast was current you couldn't sell Japanese games on eBay.... period. None. Seems like it was a year or two after the DC died before they changed this policy.

[MadaoBob]

Why do people buy from online gameshops ?
I'm talking about retro games here. I can understand that people buy the latest ps4 game online.
But why would you buy retro games in high priced online gameshops ?

A. they are noobs that don't know anything about prices
B. I want it now and have to much cash $$$$$$$$$
C. I'm to scared to buy online from stangers and overpay at safe gameshops.

I can understand it if you are searching for a game for years and find and buy it at a online gameshop.
But it baffles me how many there are and that people buy there.
You could even go so far by saying that buying from a online gameshop is bad for other retro gamers and prices.

I also find it hilarious that people think that they are buying from real professional online webshop.
A good webpage gives them trust and a good feeling. ( This goes for online shoppers in general btw )
When in fact some of these shops are just guys living with mom and dad and selling stuff from there bedroom.
Sad for real shops that have a online webshop on the side.

That's the only way I can get any retro games in this country.
: ^|

The number of retro game stores round here can be counted on my hands, to the best of my knowledge anyway.

[Tron 2.0]

Not much selection around here for retro video games period.Most of the time it's ebay or amazon and that's when i can find a good deal.Beside,using sites such as japangamestock when i am looking for imports.Yeah some sites will price gouge but not all of them.

[Tanooki]

Probably cause I got most of the dirt-common games I'd want (which is what you're most likely to find in stores these days for retro systems).
Many stores have caught on to ebay, and if they're willing to budge from that, probably not by much.

I don't know how many people watch Pat the NES Punk but his friend Ian has gone on for some time about his experience working in a retro game store. It sounds like, yes he'd like to give game-playing fans a good deal on games but he needs to price games so they're not enticing to resellers.

Pat is a basket case, but Ian there he's right. I used to live in that area and talked with him on quite a few occasions at the shop and it's all about what you said start to end with quite a few places. Yes some like to act scummy and grease the locals, but quite a few really have no choice being forced by the online trouble makers because if they kept pricing stuff even 30-90 days out of date over what stuff was going online for they'd be picked clean and used for flips. Sure they'd empty their shelves and make money in the short run, but once people figure out a few jerks are using them as ammo they just won't come back because they have actual lives and/or jobs that keep them from waiting around until stuff comes in or when the door opens in the morning so they lose out. There was a game shop that lasted like 3~years in San Diego too, they actually let people put their name in a book for any game in their library of stuff and if it came in they'd get it at whatever cheap price they had in order, they didn't limit you at all. I went in a couple times in the area, third time I asked why all they had was commons and beat up sports stuff when I was reading onlien they had this and that for old school prices. I was shown the book, asked if I wanted in on it, I said that wasn't right, and never went back -- they closed a couple years later and I saw heaps of online complaining about their practices. You just can't do that (sell for reasonable rates, or setup a book for pond scum to get all the copies before walk-ins.) A quick facebook/google check shows they closed up in the early days of 2014 so almost 2 years ago.

That's the problem. Had people online not decided it was the new IT thing to bake people on like cards and comics 25 years ago at the pre-internet local level you wouldn't see all this. Had Luna Games (Ian's shop) kept up their price models from around 2008-10 on games instead of watching the rapid inexplicable rapid increases in costs on NES games (then SNES) nearly over night on stuff they'd have been wiped out. You either price just a little under ebay so a reseller sees no gain, or you price at or over and make the 'you buy local and touch it and get a warranty' excuses and that's your only choice.

[celerystalker]

Most of what I buy online are imports, and there are reputable shops and ebay for that. Not everyone gets screwed on ebay. I frequently win games well below their going rate by doing some quick searches on my phone when I can't sleep or whatever.

I'd hazard a guess that most people who buy US stuff online just don't have a good local scene. Patience can save a lot of money, but let's be realistic here. Ebay basically is the going rate these days. It's what most stores use as their barometer now to keep up, so it's become the new price guide. Anything lower than the average price there constitutes a solid buy these days.

[The 1 2 P]

Most of what I buy online are imports, and there are reputable shops and ebay for that. Not everyone gets screwed on ebay. I frequently win games well below their going rate

Same here. I buy mostly import 3DO, Xbox, and Saturn games online and those aren't going to be found in any local shop and even ebay barely has stuff from my want list. So for that I use dedicated import shops located in Japan. But when I do buy stuff from ebay I never pay the going wait. I wait for the last seconds and snipe like a pro. Or just use buy it now. Either way, I never get ripped off.

[retro junkie]

Retro: Which part of KY are you in as it's that way here too in Louisville and as bad or worse over the river. You can get the nicer stuff here but thanks to half price books (aka Highest Buy it Now Books) they wrecked the local market to being over ebay so I stopped buying and flea markets rarely get squat.


I live in Hopkinsville which is close to Fort Campbell. This area has been so dry for the last 20 years. Nothing, not even pawn shops carry anything. There is a store that has just recently opened locally carrying some older video games, but they watch eBay and online stores for their pricing. Believe me eBay is cheaper. I was in there after they opened and they was showing me a copy of Tetris NES wanting to sell it to me for $75. They won't last long in this area at those prices. I know very few people in this area that retro game. And I have been influential getting some interested.

eBay is really my only source other than an occasional bargain I find on Amazon. Usually the Japan stores I connect with is through eBay.

[SparTonberry]

a copy of Tetris NES wanting to sell it to me for $75.

Did they at least know the difference between the different versions? :D

[Retro321]

Because they want the easy route. Searching for a game in real world can take some time but will definitely cost less money... I personally rarely buy a retro game online.

[XYXZYZ]

What if you want a Turbografx game? They don't exist outside of ebay.

The "records and comics" secondhand stores are the only places I've seen good deals on old video games, the dedicated video game stores in my area that carry retro games tend to have higher prices than online shops.

[Tanooki]

Ahhhh OK I see where you are now and that sucks, and I hope that shop wises up or fails fast.

Since Japanese shops pop up for eBay I can recommend ryoplanshop and yamatoku classic and domestic pal52 shishochou and I'm forgetting a third I've got saved which are solid.

[SparTonberry]

I've seen a FEW TurboGrafx games once outside of ebay, but unsurprisingly they were some of the least wanted (I think they were like Moto Roader, one of the TV Sports games and The Addams Family), and one retro store had a few Japanese PCE CDs (though none particularly highly desired or valuable). (I'd say worst games but I guess you wouldn't find Deep Blue too easily now since it's a somewhat notorious crap game these days.)
Odd though that when I saw the Turbo games in one store, I recall finding an okayish number of Master System games but not a single thing for Saturn (although both were pretty poor sellers in America, Saturn was a little better known :D ). You'd expect to at least find a sports game or two.

[Tron 2.0]

Ahhhh OK I see where you are now and that sucks, and I hope that shop wises up or fails fast.

Since Japanese shops pop up for eBay I can recommend ryoplanshop I'm forgetting a third I've got saved which are solid.
I can vouch for the ryoplanshop as well.When i'm looking for mega drive or sfc i often find what i'm looking for from that seller at a reasonable price.

[DeChief]

Online shops are overpriced? I was under the impression that it was the opposite, where retail stores charged up the ass for everything. That's what it's always been in my experience anyway, both in Japan and Australia. Japan is a bit better I will admit, but you can't beat Yahoo Auctions.

[Leo_A]

I fail to see the harm in buying a videogame from an online store. Why would anyone take offense that others make such purchases for?

Heck, I don't even have a classic gaming store anywhere close to me. Where exactly am I supposed to go if it isn't some sort of exchange online off eBay, Amazon, dedicated online retailers like StoneAgeGamer, the AtariAge store, the marketplace forums at communities like this one, and so on?

[retro junkie]

Ahhhh OK I see where you are now and that sucks, and I hope that shop wises up or fails fast.

Since Japanese shops pop up for eBay I can recommend ryoplanshop and yamatoku classic and domestic pal52 shishochou and I'm forgetting a third I've got saved which are solid.

I have dealt with ryoplanshop. Looking at those others you have listed. Another one that I have found some great bargains with is Hit-Japan.

[Tanooki]

Shisochou and retro_saikou would be what I couldn't remember. I've had good luck with mostly famicom but also game boy too.

[homerhomer]

I've totally bought games from online retailers. About 4 years ago I bought a bunch nes carts from someone like jjgames or estarlight. There was a sale going on and I went for it. All the games I wanted were pretty cheap like $3 and $4 dollars. If I remember right, I got free shipping, spent like $25 and got like 7 games.

[YoshiM]

(Puts on the devils horns)

OP: please define what a "real shop" is. And what makes a "real [shop]" better than somebody selling games out of their parents' livingroom?

The kicker is, brick n' morter or online seller, will price what the market will bare. Sometimes you get great deals depending how hard you dig. Sometimes you won't. Sometimes these "noobs" may value their time more than what they are paying, so when they see what they want in the condition they want, why not pull the trigger and buy?

The biggest question to ask is: is the purchaser happy with their transaction? If yes, what does it matter to you? What does it matter to anyone beyond the opinion of "well, not the best deal but glad you got it!"

I know its teh intarwebs but can't we be happy that someone found what they were looking for?

[Tanooki]

I think it comes down to personal damages and the wreckless behavior of others compared to ones own tastes in what they're willing to pay because they know better or because they've been at it so long the change is a shell shock.

If someone is happy effectively overpaying on a game just to have it for whatever reason (have the money, don't care, value hours of work vs cheap price, impatience value, etc) then they're happy and they don't care how it creates a new median everyone else has to deal with then because they already got it.

[CDiablo]

I have no idea what people are talking about here but online has typically been cheaper for retro. The stores around me usually get their prices from the internet and have some sort of internet presence(webshop or usually ebay.) They make most of their money off of fidgety people that have an immediate itch for retro and are willing to pay $40 for loose SMB 3 with a retro emulation console. Everyone has access to the internet so you are lucky to find a good deal on craigslist.

[Ozzy_98]

So... the OP is a troll, or doesn't understand just how good of an area he lives in.

In my area, the last time I found a nes game at a yard sale, (not counting the "yard sale" of a text book reseller who owns a consignment shop) it was dragon warrior. This was 2001ish. My home town had no game stores other than GameStop from like 1996-2008ish. You had goodwill, but my goodwill was one of the first ones to use shopgoodwill.

Now, when I go game shopping, I can stay in town (I'm between two towns), one has 2 game stores + goodwill, the other has 1 gamestore + goodwill. Or I can drive 45ish mins and hit up some crappy hole-in-the-walls. I have almost 2 hour round trip to make it to a store where I can save some money, and the money I save there isn't a whole hell of a lot. Generally when I buy in person, it's one of two things. I'm looking for any cheap commons on any system, or I'm spending $200-500+, and I'm asking to see the manager so we can cut a deal as I move out some of their old stock.

But when it comes to saving money, it's almost always GameStop's sale section, or online deals.

[stlgamer75]

I'm happy to buy retro games outside of ebay, amazon and craigslist for a good price but as it's been said before....the online stores and ebay drive CL and video game retail store prices anyway so what's the benefit? If anyone has suggestions for finding cheaper than online cost retro games, I'm all ears. Please don't say flea markets and garage sales because I have a full time job and a family and spending my Saturday driving from garage sale to garage sale to flea market isn't a viable option, especially if you have no idea if you'll even find video games there at all. Am I missing some obvious source of retro game bounty where no one has heard of the internet and selling games for half the price of what they go for online?

[celerystalker]

I'm happy to buy retro games outside of ebay, amazon and craigslist for a good price but as it's been said before....the online stores and ebay drive CL and video game retail store prices anyway so what's the benefit? If anyone has suggestions for finding cheaper than online cost retro games, I'm all ears. Please don't say flea markets and garage sales because I have a full time job and a family and spending my Saturday driving from garage sale to garage sale to flea market isn't a viable option, especially if you have no idea if you'll even find video games there at all. Am I missing some obvious source of retro game bounty where no one has heard of the internet and selling games for half the price of what they go for online?

Nah, in my experience the garage sale scene in St Louis is dead anymore, and video game stuff rarely pops in at thrift shops. When the Game Trader was open up in St Charles, it was the best for finding a good price, as Brian's prices were based more on what he felt was fair and not just a copy/paste of ebay sales. I know there's the Game Trader II in the same spot now, but it's a totally different animal with prices usually at or just below ebay, and without the distinct opinions Brianhad. I miss that guy.

[stlgamer75]

Nah, in my experience the garage sale scene in St Louis is dead anymore, and video game stuff rarely pops in at thrift shops. When the Game Trader was open up in St Charles, it was the best for finding a good price, as Brian's prices were based more on what he felt was fair and not just a copy/paste of ebay sales. I know there's the Game Trader II in the same spot now, but it's a totally different animal with prices usually at or just below ebay, and without the distinct opinions Brianhad. I miss that guy.

I hit up Trade N Games in Fenton and Epic in south county every so often but both have same issues as other retailers with over pricing and/or only having super common games.

[celerystalker]

I hit up Trade N Games in Fenton and Epic in south county every so often but both have same issues as other retailers with over pricing and/or only having super common games.

Yeah, Trade n Games is where I usually send people looking fir the basics, but they rarely have anything I want. Epic... Jesus, what a mess. The guy that runs that place doesn't even know what his stuff is. I asked him about an import in his display case (Lupin III for SFC) once, wanting to know the price when I was gathering up all of the Barcode Battler compatible games. He not only asked me what it was called, but then got on ebay to look up a price, choosing the highest unsold buy it now right in front of me. I was polite about it and just declined, but maybe know your prices before putting it prominently on display?

The stores where I actually find something once in a great while locally are Bodach's Games in Arnold and the three V Stocks. I think the guys that run Bodach's are just dying to close up and play Magic the Gathering every day, but they're nice enough and their stuff is organized and clearly priced. V Stock is a total crapshoot with employees who know absolitely nothing about games, but they usually have solid prices, and occasionally just sell something for insanely low prices, especially for Intellivision and Atari 2600. I think I usually end up buying more books and movies for my wife and kid there, but I find something for me once in awhile, and snap up old Choose Your Own Adventure books if I see them.

[stlgamer75]

Yeah, Trade n Games is where I usually send people looking fir the basics, but they rarely have anything I want. Epic... Jesus, what a mess. The guy that runs that place doesn't even know what his stuff is. I asked him about an import in his display case (Lupin III for SFC) once, wanting to know the price when I was gathering up all of the Barcode Battler compatible games. He not only asked me what it was called, but then got on ebay to look up a price, choosing the highest unsold buy it now right in front of me. I was polite about it and just declined, but maybe know your prices before putting it prominently on display?

The stores where I actually find something once in a great while locally are Bodach's Games in Arnold and the three V Stocks. I think the guys that run Bodach's are just dying to close up and play Magic the Gathering every day, but they're nice enough and their stuff is organized and clearly priced. V Stock is a total crapshoot with employees who know absolitely nothing about games, but they usually have solid prices, and occasionally just sell something for insanely low prices, especially for Intellivision and Atari 2600. I think I usually end up buying more books and movies for my wife and kid there, but I find something for me once in awhile, and snap up old Choose Your Own Adventure books if I see them.

That's hilarious re: Epic. I only go in knowing what something is worth ahead of time because admittedly they have no clue. They had a Colecovision they didn't know what to do with, untested, no power supply, dirty as hell, asking for $100 with the offer they would take it back if I bought it and it didn't work. No thanks. Also, I will be blunt and tell them I think certain items are overpriced but it doesn't seem to make a difference as they don't adjust their prices accordingly. I will have to check out Bodach's as I've never been.