The ultimate in NES collecting

[Avatard]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=62053&item=8127508856&rd=1

FF1 NIB facotry sealed! It looks legit too me, no box wear. If it is legit it would be one heck of a centerpiece. Ah, if only I had the cash, only at 11.50 atm but its sure to fly up.

[sniperCCJVQ]

It's legit. It got the "sealed line"

[Bronty-2]

Is this your auction? If so I wish you luck with it, but if not, I'd hardly call it the ultimate in NES collecting... there's a factory sealed one of these on ebay every week. -_-

[captain nintendo]

Maybe my eyes are bad , but I dont see a line across the back of the box :hmm:

Normally its pretty obvious , but maybe its because its so glossy I cant see it 8-)

[leonk]

Folks, don't be fooled by the sealed line on the back.

I've seen boxes with that line on the back, and when I opened them, they were filled just with styro! Rental stores back then had machines to seal boxes with the line on the back!

[sniperCCJVQ]

http://i11.ebayimg.com/03/i/02/59/3f/fb_1.JPG

[sniperCCJVQ]

Folks, don't be fooled by the sealed line on the back.

I've seen boxes with that line on the back, and when I opened them, they were filled just with styro! Rental stores back then had machines to seal boxes with the line on the back!

Wow!

That would suck when you realized you've been screw after opening the box !

[Bronty-2]

sniper,

thanks for posting that pic. that is the worst reseal I've ever seen x_x

[suppafly]

is that a reseal?

[briskbc]

I suspect it is a reseal as well. This one on the otherhand.......

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=62053&item=8127691720&rd=1

[Bronty-2]

and now you guys see what I mean about a sealed FF being not that big a deal. They're all over the place.

And yeah, that first one is a brutal reseal - there's not even a doubt. Second one looks good from what you can see.

[portnoyd]

Best advice is to stay away from sealed NES on the eBay unless it's dirt ass cheap.

And that 'ultimate in NES collecting' bugs the shit out of me. It's like a 100 game lot is HUGE, and Contra is RARE.

dave

[Ninja Blacksox]

Yeah.

Weren't there kinda sorta a fucking ton of these things made?

Rare? No. The centerpiece of a collection? No.

I'm with Portnoyd. "Contra?" Rare? How come every single kid I hung out with in elementary school had it?

I blame the "Konami Code."

Just 'cause every dope wearing a "trucker hat" can turn to his pal and say "DUDE! REMEMBER THAT FUCKING CODE, DUDE?! BRO! FUCKING UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A START, MAN! REMEMBER THAT SHIT?! FUCKING SWEET, DUDE! BRO!" doesn't mean that Ebay sellers should charge $20 for the cart.

Although, considering waterhead morons like the ones quoted above are willing to shell out $20 for the thing... Hrm...

I guess I should just compliment Ebay sellers on their racket.

Well done SuperStarSeller69. Well done...

You truly are a king among men.

-A Boy

[Adonick]

I would call 100 games huge ;)

[suppafly]

Contra is NOT rare, its just in very high demand. Kind of like Toejam and Earl 1 for genesis..the game always sells for over 25 US complete...and there must be hundreds of thousands copies out there

[Nesmaster]

not to mention the guy never refers to the term, "factory sealed" in that first ff1 auction... ;)

[Bronty-2]

Best advice is to stay away from sealed NES on the eBay unless it's dirt ass cheap.



I know what you mean, but I think that's kind of extreme, too. It certainly pays to educate yourself though.

[Ed Oscuro]

Nah, I think he's onto something there. I'll buy sealed games like lots of folks, but I only buy new or if I've got a good idea it's likely to be legit.

It's like Pascal's wager, only you can replace the Pascal bit. And the part about it being mathematical, but you can bet that the chances you'll run across ne'er-do-wells is increasing by the very minute

So you've got a "OMG KANOMI \/LTRA R@R3 L@@@@K!!!1 NES CASTLEWAGIA 3 III" ...what're the chances you're going to get messed up?

a.) The seller is honest and the item is legit
b.) The seller isn't honest and the item isn't legit
c.) The seller is honest but doesn't know the weight of a sealed game, and the item itself isn't what he thinks it is (due to store reseal, bought off a shady dealer a couple years back, etc.)

Plus:

1.) The item is legit, you're out $90 and change, and you can't enjoly your n3w ULTARRAR CW III.
2.) Item isn't legit and seller weighed it down with a rock...you don't discover the difference until either a.) You take it for a CAT scan b.) You resell it years from now and then the buyer shows up at your house with a shotgun c.) a flood carries away your house and all your sealed games with it*
3.) Item isn't legit, and chances are you'll never discover it, or you'll realize it's lighter than usual, or you CAT scan it, and you either don't get a refund or you do, and in either case you're out time and/or money.

All of which goes to say that things can turn out any of three ways, and only one of them is good.

*In which case you should've had flood insurance, but outside of this I can't give any suggestions, like filling your house with fake sealed games and duping your friends into thinkin they're all the real thing so you can get buku bucks off their testimony when the floods come

[Darth Vader]

http://i14.ebayimg.com/03/i/02/59/5f/95_1.JPG

I believe this pic is even more telling. I don't think I've ever seen a legit seal look that shitty on the bottom. Looks like a definite fake to me.

Danny

[Bronty-2]

Yeah I saw that pic too. Worst attempt at a seam ever.. it should win some sort of crappiness award for the most pathetic reseal ever.. :hmm:

[Darth Vader]

Yeah I saw that pic too. Worst attempt at a seam ever.. it should win some sort of crappiness award for the most pathetic reseal ever.. :hmm:

Right on.

Most seals that I've seen for NES games are straight. Not all jagged like this garbage.

Danny

[-hellvin-]

Yeah I saw that pic too. Worst attempt at a seam ever.. it should win some sort of crappiness award for the most pathetic reseal ever.. :hmm:

Right on.

Most seals that I've seen for NES games are straight. Not all jagged like this garbage.

Danny

Indeed. This is just some stupid bastard with a heatgun and cellophane trying to make some quick bucks.

[Bronty-2]

Right on.

Most seals that I've seen for NES games are straight. Not all jagged like this garbage.

Danny

Yup.. he might as well have used saran wrap and duct tape as far as I'm concerned...

[Ninja Blacksox]

Hrm.

I was under the impression that the telltale sign of a factory-sealed game is the seam across the back of the game, not on the top or the bottom.

Needless to say, the seal job on the first auction is hilariously bad.

However, the sealed "Final Fantasy" auction posted later on looks to be legit. This one shows the seal across the back that I'm talking about...

Am I correct, here? I definitely still have a lot to learn...

-A Boy

[swlovinist]

ummm yeah this does not look good.................and definately not a big deal.

[Bronty-2]

Hrm.

I was under the impression that the telltale sign of a factory-sealed game is the seam across the back of the game, not on the top or the bottom.

Needless to say, the seal job on the first auction is hilariously bad.

However, the sealed "Final Fantasy" auction posted later on looks to be legit. This one shows the seal across the back that I'm talking about...

Am I correct, here? I definitely still have a lot to learn...

-A Boy

It's like this: licensed games should have a "H" shaped seam. The long parts of the "H" are on the sides of the box, and the middle of the "H" is the horizontal seam across the back. There should be no seam at all on either the top or the bottom flaps. Follow what I mean by the "H" shape? The only exceptions to this rule should be stack up and big box gyro, which would have no back seam. The rest of the licensed games, ie all the standard sized ones, should have the "H".

Unlicensed games are different and vary depending on the manufacturer, but I don't know of any with a seam across the back. Typically they are sealed on three sides of the perimeter, but again that varies.

SNES games are the same thing, only with a twist. The "H" seam is the same, but the graphics are oriented sideways instead of lengthwise on snes boxes, making the horizontal seam a vertical seam and the "H" more like an "I" (in other words, an "H" on its side). Clear as mud?

[Ninja Blacksox]

It's like this: licensed games should have a "H" shaped seam. The long parts of the "H" are on the sides of the box, and the middle of the "H" is the horizontal seam across the back. There should be no seam at all on either the top or the bottom flaps. Follow what I mean by the "H" shape? The only exceptions to this rule should be stack up and big box gyro, which would have no back seam. The rest of the licensed games, ie all the standard sized ones, should have the "H".

Unlicensed games are different and vary depending on the manufacturer, but I don't know of any with a seam across the back. Typically they are sealed on three sides of the perimeter, but again that varies.

SNES games are the same thing, only with a twist. The "H" seam is the same, but the graphics are oriented sideways instead of lengthwise on snes boxes, making the horizontal seam a vertical seam and the "H" more like an "I" (in other words, an "H" on its side). Clear as mud?

Crystal, actually.

Just as I thought, not counting the unlicensed games.

Thanks very much for the tutorial!

-A Boy

[Avatard]

If I had to pick one sealed game to have in my collection then that would be the one. I don't see why that seal looks so bad, mass production doesn't equal precision production. True I've made better seals on resales at the movie rental shop but if its real or not I don't care, I'm not bidding. So ya'll think a true sealed FF isn't so rare? I'd still pick it over a rarer game.

[Bronty-2]

Crystal, actually.

Just as I thought, not counting the unlicensed games.



A Boy, no problem, although I left out one thing - a very few of the LJN and some of the later acclaim games have a different type of seam - a "vertical overlap" seam on the back. These types of seams are in a tremendous minority though. Out of the 700(?) or so licensed games, I doubt that there are more than 15 like this.

[Bronty-2]

If I had to pick one sealed game to have in my collection then that would be the one. I don't see why that seal looks so bad, mass production doesn't equal precision production. True I've made better seals on resales at the movie rental shop but if its real or not I don't care, I'm not bidding. So ya'll think a true sealed FF isn't so rare? I'd still pick it over a rarer game.

Well, it's still rare compared to loose carts, and its still a nice one to have, it's just not the be all and end all, you know?

[portnoyd]

So ya'll think a true sealed FF isn't so rare? I'd still pick it over a rarer game.

Sorry man, I can't say it is. The frequency on eBay (fake or not), and the fact that it's FINAL FANTASY just says not rare.

Not to mention you can't play it. A damn shame!

dave