Very disappointed with price guide

[v1rich]

I am very disappointed with the price guide, I have to say. I had been meaning to show some of the problems I had with it but I left my mags at home today. I did notice that the price of a brand new Fun N Games for SNES declined from $100 to $33 and that a complete Harvest Moon is worth only $15 (I sold one for $90 last month). Overall I think the prices in the guide are worthless and I definitely will not follow them at all. I noticed that the recommended price for a complete Bronkie the Brachiasaurus is $15 but for some reason the man himself DigitalPress won one on ebay recently for over $65. I think you guys are way off. Take offence if you want to, something needs to be done about it. I personnaly think that the guide ought to list price ranges instead of absolute prices, but I bet that would be too hard to format. I am disillusioned and feel like I don't even want to look at the future price guides if they are going to be this bad.

[BelPowerslave]

Hmmmm, I guess it's all in how seriously you take the price guide. Me, personally, I just sorta use it as a reference...to get a ballpark figure. I mean, like they wrote: "A good gamer can haggle to get the price down", etc.

Now granted, some prices, seem just a bit off...but man, when you're listing *that* many games, you just can't expect them all to the 100%, spot-on dead accurate, you know? :)

Bel

[Darth Sensei]

I take exception to some of the things you've said.

1. I've read many times in the guide and on this site that those prices are ball park and are included as a low side figure so you won't offend someone while making an offer.

2. With ebay use being rampant the prices of games and system fluctuates all over the place. There's no way for a guide which is only published every few years to be able to predict the insanity of Ebay.

D

[BelPowerslave]

Yeah, agreed. Ebay is just nuts...I mean, I've seen games I could pick up for $5 at Gamestop, go for $20 to $30 easily. It's just crazy....

Then, something really rare like Darxide shows up and you really have to have a tight grip on reality to actually believe how nuts it can get. ;)

Bel

[v1rich]

To clear up any confusion I am talking only about the Manci Games price guide. It sucks.

[BelPowerslave]

As opposed to the DP price guide it's based off of?

Bel

[Griking]

Well, if any of the defenders of the price guide want to sell me their complete copy of Harvest Moon for the SNES for $15 as it's listed in the last Manci issue PLEASE contact me.

[digitalpress]

Well, if any of the defenders of the price guide want to sell me their complete copy of Harvest Moon for the SNES for $15 as it's listed in the last Manci issue PLEASE contact me.

I don't have Manci #1 in front of me, but Manci #2 has Harvest Moon listed as

loose/complete/sealed
25/38/54

If you're referring to issue #1 please remember that it was everyone's first shot at doing complete and sealed titles and we had a very short window to complete it. There may have been a few miscues like the one you've listed here.

We ARE all human, after all, but we never let a noted error stick around.

[v1rich]

My copy of #2 has it listed on the top of the middle column on Page 025 as 30/15/68

Nintendo SNES starts at the left column at the top on the same page 025. Maybe we have different versions somehow.

[nesman85]

My copy of #2 has it listed on the top of the middle column on Page 025 as 30/15/68
i'm guessing it was a typo. why would the complete game be worth half as much as just the cart? has to be a typo.

[FogDogger]

Hey v1rich

Get a life. You act like this is pharmicutical research for cancer drugs. This is a hobby for 99%+ of the fine folks in this community. A keyboard makes it easy to speak before you think. If you can do it better, launch a competive web site or newsletter.

No one wants to hear this crap.

- Jeff

[ManciGames]

Hey v1rich

Get a life. You act like this is pharmicutical research for cancer drugs. This is a hobby for 99%+ of the fine folks in this community. A keyboard makes it easy to speak before you think. If you can do it better, launch a competive web site or newsletter.

No one wants to hear this crap.

- Jeff

Looks like he was studying the price guide to find a typo...

Also, I believe Joe is referring to the N64 version's price (which is indeed 18/45/65 in everyone's copy of Manci Games).

I think the 30/15/68 SNES version obviously has a transposition error. Just imagine that it says 15/30/68 and all will be right with the world again.

Now, please carry-on with your fine research.

[D_N_G]

Ebay is NOT a price guide

Also, There were typos and inconsistencies between issues 1 and 2, but since there is not an issue 3 these could not be corrected.

[v1rich]

Ha ha funny funny

I am studying the price guide.

Actually I was looking it over to see if I thought it was accurate. I don't know about you but I rarely find these games for sale around here, mostly a few at the gamestop but they have high prices, and all others I buy on Ebay or Amazon.com or some other site. I figured it was a typo.

Since I now know that it was a transposition error ( I considered $30 for a loose harvest moon on the low side. I thought the $15 should have been 75. ), I see that the price on that game is way off. It is hard to find a loose one for less than $45 + shipping. The game stores around here do not have them and that is what they go for online which is the only place I know where to find them. If the real price in the guide for a complete one is $30, that is way off too.

You think I am an asshole but I am only pointing out a problem with your magazine which obviously was not the only problem since it FAILED so make fun of me if you want to I am not the only one with problems. I was trying to make the price guide better which I am sure is in a lot of other people's interest. As for me having too much time on my hands, I noticed these and more problems right off when reading the guide, the only indication of too much time is that I took the time to write something about it in this forum where I thought something might could be done about it.


No one wants to hear this crap.

- Jeff


Obviously must have touched a raw nerve with you Jeff. Really I could care less if you get mad, I am not trying to hurt anyones feelings just see what can be done and what the mood is in respect to the price guide prices. From the cool reception I get I think I can safely assume that you all are very defensive of your prices in the guide and think I am a lunatic for thinking that they are way off. No one has voiced an opinion other than mine (except for Griking who wants to buy a complete harvest moon for $15. I'll take one for the actual price of $30 if you have one, in fact I would buy every game sealed in a heartbeat but they are not available of course and if they were I certainly would be paying 2-4 times the price guide prices in most cases to get them). So my purpose of this discussion has been answered for me.

[slownerveaction]

You think I am an asshole but I am only pointing out a problem with your magazine which obviously was not the only problem since it FAILED so make fun of me if you want to I am not the only one with problems.

You know, I would definitely never deny that Manci had problems, and I had my own issues with Jaysen (althought we've come to terms). But I don't think it's fair to characterize some off prices in the guide as the reason the magazine failed. There a million reasons why an upstart, independently published magazine could fail: poor distribution, lack of funds, inexperienced staff, etc. There's a good chance that even if MG were an absolutely perfect magazine right off the bat that it still wouldn't have been able to make it.

Plus, doing any sort of price guide in a periodical (especially a montly one) is a nightmare. You're dealing with the dual horrors of lead time and tight deadlines.

You are, of course, entitled to your opinion. In fact, you've got some good points. However, you might want to consider that even if something isn't perfect, a lot of hard work still went into it.

I do believe that one day, someone is going to do a retro gaming magazine in the US and really, REALLY get it right. There's already Retro in the UK and Yu-Ge (Used Games) in Japan. It's time for us to catch up. :)

[FogDogger]

Yes, you made me angry. Because of the price guide? No. I'm not a collector. In fact, I have nothing to do with the actual magazine at all. I was introduced to the founder of Manci Games, Jaysen Mercer through our mutual friend Joe Santulli, who graciously provides YOU and me with this space. I volunteered to give Manci Games an online presence, which is my area of expertise.

Why did you make me angry? I don't like complainers who criticize what was largely a voluntary effort. The pricing data in the magazine was provided by Digital Press. But, I think you must have just figured that out.

I think that you will find this particular community shares my view. Don't blast the very people who brought this project to life in their home. That is rude and disrespectful. And if you actually subscribed I’d be more than happy to send you your $4.00 back if I can help you move on.

- Jeff

P.S. Joe, I’m sorry to have wasted your bandwidth. This will be the end of my rant.

[D_N_G]

You are 100% right on every title you listed being on the low side. In most cases you caught typos, a cut and paste of different cels in an XLS file are the culprit or a transposition error. (Fun N Games is definitely more than 33 sealed) Trying to double and triple check things was a pain especially on such tight deadlines. And as I said its a shame these cant be fixed for the future.

Criticism is always welcome, positive or negative. (Especially since I worked on this section)

But if you are giving criticism in an open public forum where everyone has access and respond, not just Magazine staff. You have to expect all types of responses. Especially with lines like this in your first post:


Overall I think the prices in the guide are worthless and I definitely will not follow them at all.


I am disillusioned and feel like I don't even want to look at the future price guides if they are going to be this bad.

In future situations, wherever they may be, maybe an email or a pm would help get better results in both replies and attitude. No one disagreed with your findings, only the way that they were delivered.

[ManciGames]

There a million reasons why an upstart, independently published magazine could fail:

Amen to that. I am now fond of saying, "If JFK Jr. couldn't make it with all of his power, influence, and money, then I don't feel so bad."

The success rate of a new magazine is less than that of new restaurants. I knew that going in, so there are absolutely no regrets. I feel like we gave it our best effort.

[LoneSage]

Hey v1rich

Get a life. You act like this is pharmicutical research for cancer drugs. This is a hobby for 99%+ of the fine folks in this community. A keyboard makes it easy to speak before you think. If you can do it better, launch a competive web site or newsletter.

No one wants to hear this crap.


If you can't take criticism, you'll never succeed.

[wberdan]

the price guide had obvious problems,
but keep in mind that we were not just putting DP guide prices in the magazine (at least i wasnt in the CV section)-

i based my prices on a few things- personal transactions, ebay, scarcity of the games in my opinion, scarcity of the games based on others opinions, rarities of boxes... i mean it is impossible to satisfy everyones opinion of prices in any collectible hobby.
i agree that a "low end/high end" price scale may work better, but look was it did with baseball cards... NO ONE sold the cards on the low end of the scale. at least not the people i met when i was in the hobby.

anyway, im just defending the guide. i noticed several errors as well, and some of it i did not agree with, but this isnt something that you just perfect overnight. there is actual research and commitment involved.

thats all

willie

[FantasiaWHT]

@ original post

Price guides for ANY collectible can be just as far off as you described. Price fluctuations are common, ESPECIALLY in video games. You could find every price you consider "way off" they could correct all of them, and within a few months you'd be back here bitching about how terrible it is again

[ManciGames]

the price guide had obvious problems,
but keep in mind that we were not just putting DP guide prices in the magazine (at least i wasnt in the CV section)- willie

Not sure what you mean by that, but DP absolutely provided 100% of the price-guide info... That's why their name is in big letters in the P/G section and on the cover of issue 2. I thought they did a great job.

[wberdan]

the price guide had obvious problems,
but keep in mind that we were not just putting DP guide prices in the magazine (at least i wasnt in the CV section)- willie

Not sure what you mean by that, but DP absolutely provided 100% of the price-guide info... That's why their name is in big letters in the P/G section and on the cover of issue 2. I thought they did a great job.

what i meant was- i wasnt just sticking prices from the DP guide number 7 into the colecovision section. i was going over the prices and updating them, as i imagine the other contributors were.

willie

[ManciGames]

the price guide had obvious problems,
but keep in mind that we were not just putting DP guide prices in the magazine (at least i wasnt in the CV section)- willie

Not sure what you mean by that, but DP absolutely provided 100% of the price-guide info... That's why their name is in big letters in the P/G section and on the cover of issue 2. I thought they did a great job.

what i meant was- i wasnt just sticking prices from the DP guide number 7 into the colecovision section. i was going over the prices and updating them, as i imagine the other contributors were.

willie

Ohhhh, got ya. Makes sense now.