Sickened by "collector's prices"!!

[maxlords]

Ok...sure..games are collectible. Some are even expensive! I should know..I have one or two games :) In fact, I've been "collecting" since 1995, so I'm fairly familiar with most stuff NES and later. But now, every shmoe that has a copy of E.T. for the 2600 seems to think it's bloody well collectible! Example...this happened to me yesterday:

The local record store is advertising video games for sale and trade, and that they pay cash, so I drive over to check out their stock. They have lots of bargain software, and a stack of carts for Atari, Coleco, NES, Genesis, etc etc. Asking semi-reasonable prices for some, but many were far too high, and virtually everything was common, cept for a Battle Outrun SMS that I got for $3 complete, and a $4 Baseball Stars for NES that I passed up. So I continue to look around and I see:

NES Zapper: $10
Legend of Zelda (Gold cart, cart only) NES: $29.99
Final Fantasy NES (cart only) $50.00!!!

So I ask the clerk if their prices are serious or a joke! He says, oh no, that's what they're worth these days cause they're "collectible". He tells me that that's the going rate on the "internet". So I ask him what sites they are going by and if he's seen the going rates on eBay and such. He tells me, no, they don't use eBay, they use gaming websites that sell for retail prices to price their games, and refuses to tell me what sites! Then he goes and clicks the mouse a couple times and says "It's $35 US on this site here, so that's what it's worth!" I leave, content in the knowledge that he's a bloody moron, and with my nice complete Battle Outrun that's worth more than the Final Fantasy (and if it's not, oh well!).

But I've been running into this more and more. The other day at Value Village, they had Sega CD games for $8 each and SMS games for $6 each. I asked them why they were so high, since they got them for free and they told me "Because they're collectible now!" I'm really tired of people marking up crappy games that I'd be happy to pay $2 or $3 for and calling them collectible and marking them at $20-50. It happens at all the flea markets here, and at a lot of hte pawn shops and even the retail gaming stores now! In fact, I went to a local game store (the owner is a nice guy though) and tehy had Ghost in the Shell for PSX for $60.00 + tax! I asked him why it was so expensive and he tells me "because it's rare." Same guy sold me Lunar Silver Star for Sega CD that same day, near mint, complete for $15. Go figure.

Has anyone else encountered this? It seems that since people started hearing about the occasional really expensive game, they've all begun to assume that ALL games are worth good money. I can't even buy an NES game in this area for under $5.00, and that's IF I can find any at all, which I usually can't. I'm tired of people trying to screw you for games, just cause they figure if THEY have it, it must be worth something, cause they haven't seen it anywhere else (even though they don't look). Anyway, sorry about the length of this rant! :) </rant>

[zektor]

This has been happening all over. People see that there is somewhat of a demand now for retro game systems/carts, and are trying to take advantage of the fact. Funcoland/Software Etc in my area are selling nasty, dirty toaster NES systems for $50 a pop. As a matter of fact, I saw the Salvation Army actually auctioning off a Colecovision system on Ebay. It is getting nuts...

[Sniderman]

I'm not picking on maxlords with my response, but I've seen this "These guys are over-priced ripoffs!"-type threads too often on other sites. So, here goes my canned response:

Yes, some folks use the "It's a collectible" response when you point out how outrageously priced their stuff is. But here's a question: If you came across an ultra-rarity - an actual by-God "collectible" - in one of these places, would you point out that they were undercharging what its true value is? Hell, no. You'd come back to sites like this and crow about the fact you just took these folks to the cleaners.

"I just got Stadium Events for 50 cents! What rubes! HAHAHAHA!"

My point is, yes, you can feel "sickened" at some of the high prices you see out there from clueless sellers. But you had also better never brag about the way you in turn ripped off a clueless seller. Otherwise it's hypocracy of the highest order.

You see, it's all in how you look at it. I'm off my soapbox now.

[maxlords]

Interesting that you should say that Sniderman. In fact, the last time I found some rare stuff the other day at a local Microplay. Lunar Silver Star Story, Vay, Dark Wizard, and a Sega CD Backup RAM cart, all for GREAT prices. I told hte guy they were worth way more than that. You know what he said? :) He told me he didn't care what they're worth, cause it's too much of a hassle to find what they're actually worth, and then try and find buyers for em. So he sells everything for older systems at a flat rate and gets a good turnaround instead. When sellers are nice, I WILL point out that things are worth more than they're selling them for. Most of the ones that I'm willing to do that for will sell me the game at the marked price anyway though.

The people that I WON'T help are the sort of people that are charging $10 for common NES carts and Atari 2600 games, and act all offended when you try and haggle, even though they paid like $.25 for them. These are the people that don't put prices on their stuff so they can charge more when you pick up a game and ask about it cause "it must be rare or worth money." They charge top dollar for EVERYTHING and get it at rock bottom prices. They won't pay cash for anything, and only do trades when it's way in their favor. These are the people I have a problem with, not the nice people that are accomodating. So if I find a Stadium Events in one of THEIR bins, sure I'll laugh about it, cause it shows them even more that they have no clue, and are just trying to screw people. I laugh at the crooks who get screwed, and I'm honest with the honest people...I think that's fair, and I don't think that's hypocrisy so much as it is justice. That's how I am though...some people would rip off the nice people too and you're right about that.

[Sylentwulf]

Fact is, like it or not, older games and systems ARE "collectibles" and ARE very hard to find. I'm sick of seeing 2 types of posts right next to each other:
XXXX Is charging $XX.XX for game X at a store near me and saying it's "collectible"! I'm sick of this, these games are only worth $X.XX, so I laughed at him and left.

Next thread:
Is it drying up? I haven't seen system X in years at any flea markets or local thrift shops, I remember when you used to find them all over for $.10!


Do ya think these 2 threads MIGHT have something in common?!
If people are charging those prices, the games ARE selling to SOMEONE. Otherwise they would change their prices.

[jaydubnb]

In situations like the one you mentioned, i point to the buyers. They're the ones that keep clunking down hundreds of dollars for "L@@K! RARE!!!" titles like Silvergun and Dracula X....be it due to ignorance or lack of caring. Hell, if a few buyers pay $20 for a copy of Super Mario Bros, and the word spreads, all sellers would start doing it. Conversely, if sellers were selling SMB for $20 and no one touched it, sure as hell the price would drop.

[maxlords]

@ Sylentwulf:

Sure...they ARE collectible...but not ALL of them are worth the coin people are asking. And, while supply is limited here..it's mostly limited for rare stuff..hence the stuff is RARE :) Strangely, I used to live in a spot where even rare stuff was common, but I think that was just a fluke. I see more overcharging lately than I EVER have before, and I come back and see the EXACT same games at the same prices week after week after week and the prices don't go down. They don't price adjust to match demand in my area..they just sit on the shit, waiting for someone to come in and not know any better and that IS wrong.

Just because stuff doesn't sell doesn't mean EVERYONE lowers their prices...smart businesspeople..yes, crooks..no. And once people are convinced that something is worth good money (like Silvergun and Drac X which are basically common!) then everyone pays it anyway, and the price is driven up for something that isn't rare at all.

[Buyatari]

High or low you can make out dealing with an idiot seller.

If they sell too low.
You buy it cheap

If they sell the stuff way too high
Give him a great deal on some rare collectable sega sports games


Adam

[jaydubnb]

Sure...they ARE collectible...but not ALL of them are worth the coin people are asking.


That's very true. Sapphire for the PCE CD has been ebayed for 300-400 dollars, but playing a CD-R of it, I can definitely say its not worth the money, IMO, because its nothing about it that makes it so much better than any other shmup...despite its rareness.

However, one can take the opposite stand and may want game so badly that theyre willing to pay anything, just so they dont lose a chance at owning it. ie, back in the early 90s (sometime after Street Fighter II hit the SNES), I stumbled across the import Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting in Chinatown before the American release of it, and had to buy it. I HAD to. So I shelled out $90-something bucks for it. Was it really worth 90 in terms of collectables? Hell no. But for me personally? Yup :)

This is why I blame these high prices on buyers. Most sellers are always out to milk someone out of a bit extra, thats to be expected. But when buyers start complying to their outrages prices, thats the problem because it establishes a new standard.

[Britboy]

There's a 70's-themed shop in Pittsburgh that sells Atari carts for $20 to $40. I told the clerk this was completely outrageous, and he replied that he totally agreed, but there was no denying the fact that people buy them anyway. At least he was honest. With ME, that is ;) However, can't blame the guy for charging what the market is willing to pay.

[michael]

I hate getting the "well it goes for this mich on ebay!" at FLEAMARKETS I told this lady "well correct me if I'm wrong but this is a fleamaket and NOT ebay" and walked away... stupid slut.

[vincewy]

Talk about hypocracy, like those buying 30 copies of Ikaruga for Dreamcast at release and in the mean time whining about high prices on older games. Well, if anyone has the chance to buy them chep and sell them for profits, who wouldn't do it? If you think the price is too high, shop elsewhere, keep in mind that stores are desingned to run profits and there're a lot of overheads running stores.

An extreme example would be Neo-Geo where games can go up as much as $1000 (yes 1K), while many gamers rip on Shawn (the site owner of Neo-Geo.com) for buying Metal Slug for $1500 and sell it for $2500, think about it, wouldn't you do the same if you have the chance? Plus he had put in more help into the NG scene by financing the English release of recent titles (prepaid full amount of hundreds of home carts), sometimes he gets stuck with too many copies of new release (ie: Sengoku 3)

[Captain Wrong]

The thing that always cracks me up about discussion like this is it's always somebody getting upset over some seller overcharging for commons. And usually, and it's happened even in this thread, you see something like "he had SMB for $50!!! Can you believe that? But I did manage to find buy a sealed copy of Stadium Events for $1 from the same guy." I'm exaggerating slightly, but I think you get the point.

It's been my expirence, and seemingly that of others, that the people who have prices way out of line are always charging the top dollar for dirt common stuff and letting the real rarities go for cheap. Why? Well, the person coming in for a nostalgia trip who isn't going to do the research on what is a fair price isn't going to be looking for Peek a boo Poker. They want Zelda, Mario, Contra, etc. and probably have the disposable income to throw away and don't care too much about the cost.

These people aren't profitting off serious collectors. We have knowlege of the market. We know where to find the stuff and how much is fair to pay. And we're willing to wait for find something at a reasonable price.

The term "collector's prices" is a bit of a misnomer. I've never met a collecor that pays collector's prices for ANYTHING. I think it's something that shops tell the clueless when they wander it to justify their prices.

Is it fair to jack up the price just because someone doesn't know any better? Well, in a free market, consumers have the choice to not buy something if they feel the price is too high. If people are buying this stuff at these prices, then apparently someone thinks they are fair prices. (Now, the flea market ladies who would rather be burried with their overpriced junk than sell it at a reasonable price are another issue altogether. :))

I have yet to see something offered by some overpriced seller that I couldn't find somewhere else cheaper with little effort. That's the bottom line for me. If it gets to the point where I can't even get a SMB/DH anywhere for under $10, then I might worry. But I don't see that happening in my lifetime.

Besides, let's be completely honest here. Who among us wouldn't take $20 a pop for our common carts if we knew we could get it?

Oh, one more thought. I've been collecting records much longer than videogames. Record collecting is a fairly old hobby compaired to game collecting. I've seen this kind of thing happen with records several times and it does sort out eventually. There was a period not too long ago when it seemed like every thrift was selling every and any record for at least $3, even if it was Herb Alpert or the JC Penny Christmas Album (the record equivalent of Combat and PacMan quanitiy times 10 and with even less demand). After time, people do figure they're sick of sitting on this dead stock and knock the prices back down to reasonable levels.

These things run in cycles. It's a trend right now. I'd be willing to bet it will correct it self eventually.

[omnedon]

I NEVER pay "collector's prices".

I did a couple of times at first, but I never do now. If you have a bit of time to frequent thrifts and so on, there isn't much need, for the bulk of things anyway. My collection grows by at leat a few carts each week, and occasionally makes leaps of 50 to 100 carts at a shot.

Being a reasonably new collector, this works for me. As my Intelly collection closes in on the last 25% of titles, I fully realize that it's getting less and less likely that I will find the more elusive titles in a timely manner, and that will no doubt be the case across the board eventually.

There are places where I live that specialize, and I could walk in and buy Phantasy Star for the SMS ($45) or Gunstar Heroes for the Genny ($60). I need those games. They can stay on the shelf though.

I can't afford that.

I won't pay that.

I buy "entire lots" of games for prices like that. Will that shop sell those titles? Probably, but they haven't yet, as far as I can tell. If someone else will pay that, good for the store, and good for that collector.

I vote with my money, and patience is a virtue. There is always emu if one just "has" to try it now. I believe it will work itself out, as I think more people are willing to pay those prices, and they have more means than I. Oh well.

(i still get steamed when I see a stack of SMB/DH for $9.99 each, or 2600 Asteroids and defender for $4.99 though - but they can stay there - what scares me is when the next week comes.. and they are gone! :o )

[sniperCCJVQ]

I hate getting the "well it goes for this mich on ebay!" at FLEAMARKETS I told this lady "well correct me if I'm wrong but this is a fleamaket and NOT ebay" and walked away... stupid slut.

Yes! i can understand at a certain limit, that can be said in a store but in a Flea Market......It's the WORST thing you can heard !!!!!!

[autobotracing]

I can see your point on that .The real killer is when you ask them why they want so much for zelda they tell you "because its gold it's worth more" you would be suprised how much I get that

[Raedon]

95% of the overpriced games I see are ones I've had for years.

[ClubNinja]

In a related tidbit, I overheard something amusing while in a Funco last night. I was holding the first copy of Qix for the NES I'd ever seen and gagging at the $14.99 price tag, when I noticed these two high school guys looking through the NES carts, too. One to the other:

"Shit dude, it's a GOLD Zelda game!! It's only twelve bucks, too! I'm so buying this - it's gonna be worth a lot of coin one of these days!"

His friend:

"Man, that's so cool, but check this out!" *Holds up Mario/Duck Hunt cart* "This isn't even a buck! I'm definitely buying this one!"

At the time, I had to bite my entire fist to contain the laughter, but now, I think this little scenario illustrates a point. People are willing to pay these insane prices. That second kid probably would've even dropped 5 bucks on that Mario/Duck Hunt. Until this phase wears out, we just need to hang in there. Sure, my finds have been few lately, but my trades have gotten increasingly better. Broaden your horizons.

[GENESISNES]

One of the main causes of these idiots saying "hey this here combat is worth millions!" Is ebay. Before ebay, most people would say "atari? is that some sort of anti-persperant fruit drink?" now, if some person sees an atari game, they either say:

1.)wow, i can make millions off of ebay for this!
2.)I should sell this at an extremely high price, because I noticed on ebay that this is goin for gold!

I was at a garage sale once, and some people were selling a heavy sixer, some joysticks, and around 25 games, FOR FIFTY BUCKS!!!
I was overwhelmed by the price tag, since these people looked like country bumpkins. I asked them, why the high price? They said "Are you kidding me? This is a bargin! I can get twice this much on that internet auction thingey" I stormed away pissed.

One store where they dont jack up the prices, is a good old fashioned goodwill. All you have to do is find a game either without a price tag, or with a high price tag(tear it off. LOL ) and ask some idiot 18 year old girl "how much would you sell this toy for? showing them the backside of the game. They'll think its some peice of plastic shit, and sell it for .25. Works for me!

goodwill

[Raedon]

I don't know.. I bought 5 Atari 2600's and 1 7800 for $5 each with a large box of controllers psu's and paddles.. Plus 120 games for under .50 cents each.. some uncommon, light rare.. The deal was made at a flee market at 7:30am in 40 degree weather. It was from a guy named Dewey who got them in an estate sale.. He got em along with a bunch of furnature, clothes, etc for $1000 or so, made a fast profit and helped me make a profit.. I had to do a lot of leg work and a lot of hand shaking to get to a deal like that.

People pay the prices because they don't want to do the leg work. My non-game entertainment is the hunt. To find the hidden atari cart in the 8-tracks at some backwoods flee-market..

You don't want to pay $10 for Zelda or $30 for Chrono Trigger? Well you got to be hiding in some clothes at Goodwill ready to grab that stuff when it's put out, because no place that specializes in games will give you that for $1.50 when they can put it in a glass case and sit on it a month for some guy to come along with a $50 in his pocket and a blood stream filled with Alcohol and pot..

As for people at fleemarkets and garage sales who have like a Saturn with a sports game for $60.00...

I have a Saturn, it's nicer then your $60 Saturn and I got it for $30 boxed mint.. so Nyaaa :P

[YoshiM]

I think the stores don't understand what a "collector's item" really is. With many stores they base their prices on popularity and demand rather than actual collectability. If you look at some of the games you see at Funco and other such places, you'll notice many of the popular games like Zelda, Zelda II, Contra, and such are priced higher than say a Captain Comic or a Dragon Power. The demand for these games is higher so the companies try and price accordingly. While that doesn't explain some pricing on carts, that's pretty much the reason.

Now other stores who want to sell these games either follow the same rule or just go what they think will be hot sellers and will crank up the price. Sometimes this mentality backfires: see Electronics Boutique. They got NES games and were selling SMB/Duck hunt for $11.99. Sure it's popular, but the pricing brass doesn't do the research to remember that EVERYONE got this game originally.

[Captain Wrong]

I remember when Funco used to print their price lists. Every mom and pop store around here used to use that as their guide for pricing.

Those Funco prices have nothing to do with rarity, but everything to do with popularity. It doesn't matter that Contra sold a gagillion copies, they're gonna charge $15 or whatever because that's what the average punter wants to buy. Still, I did pay $30 (I think) for my Bubble Bobble 2 at Funco, but I still feel that was a fair price.

[Chunky]

Gamestop is got to be the worst place. Well i giess if you don't know the people there. I always bring a pile of games to the counter. and they weed through them if the price was what they thought was low.

But i have gone there for commons, many i don't have. I've seen them rifling through a box of NES games with some printed price guide next to them(2 guys). buying from the store what they though could fetch a nice price on ebay for themselves. eh whatever.

I went last week to a Gamestop i've never been to before. I asked wheres your SNES/NES games. she was like, are you kidding. we never sell those, they just lie here, so we don't take them or anything anymore, got rid of them all.

Then i asked does anyone ever try to come in with anything else out of the ordinary...say a Neo-GEO. "Like whats a Neo thing?" I said a semi expensive console from the 90's. "Like who the hell would want one of those?" ug, i left.

[RucasRiot]

Will someone please explain to me why the hell why we are complaining that games we all have are overpriced and games we need are underpriced???

[Nature Boy]

Every hobby goes through the same sorts of growing pains.

As long as the retailer is selling them for those prices (at a pace he/she deems adequate) then it would be ridiculous for them to lower anything.

If you're a true entrepreneur try getting todays games (used of course) for less than what they'll be 'worth' eventually. Assuming, of course, that today's massive pressings don't equate non-interest in the future that is.

[Ruudos]

Some prices I hear, I think are low. It's little bit amazing cheaper how cheaper older games are in the US/Canada than in Europe.

[Lady Jaye]

I noticed a few months ago that the price of SNES carts have gone up, probably because of the GBA (people play Super Mario World on the GBA, then they become nostalgic for the other SNES classics that they used to play 10 years ago). Heck, I even saw a loose Yoshi's Island being sold at a barely lower price than what the GBA port goes for brand new.

[batmanlivesatmyhouse]

I'm new to the "collecting" scene (which I just see as recapturing my youth by buying all the old games that I have lost over the years, to play, mind you), and would like to thank all of you on these message boards to make me more aware of the economics of the gaming hobby, what's a good price, what's too high, input that is negative and positive on every which side. Thank you for making me more informed, everyone! :)