How is the rarity determined?

[DiabloNeonX]

I've got some games that I thought were much rarer that they actually are.

How is the rarity of a game determined?

Like many of the popular SNES games, like Super Metroid, Legend of Zelda LttP, and Super Punch-Out. I rarely see them in the wild, yet they have a scarcity value of 1.

I'm new here, so I'm just a bit confused.

[JJNova]

How is the rarity of a game determined?


Like this ! http://www.digitpress.com/lists/0_dpguide.htm#dollars

[hydr0x]

I've got some games that I thought were much rarer that they actually are.

How is the rarity of a game determined?

Like many of the popular SNES games, like Super Metroid, Legend of Zelda LttP, and Super Punch-Out. I rarely see them in the wild, yet they have a scarcity value of 1.

I'm new here, so I'm just a bit confused.

i see the games you mentioned all the time in the wild, they are not rare at all

[Mayhem]

Well you have to firstly look at sales figures. If you can get them. After all, all the big titles are going to have massive amounts of sales. Then look at the wild, how many people have copies, eBay, common sense... we then pluck a number from our arse to put in there LOL

(that part is NOT true for all you serious people out there ;) )

We take pride in determining the rarity figures and constantly review them and alter if we feel they need changing based on new "evidence"...

[scooterb23]

Don't let these people fool you, Joe just drunkenly rolled a 10-sided die for each game in the guide...whatever came up was what the game got.




(obligatory ;) for the humor impaired)

[DiabloNeonX]

I guess in your area, you probably see them more commonly than I do. I rarely, if ever, go to eBay.

[Landon]

I think that ebay is pretty much the standard anymore for determining rarity and price of anything. Whether one chooses to use it or not, it has become the market standard.

Bear in mind that usually, rarity isn't tied to price, as there are a number of rare games that sell for far less than more common yet more desirable titles.
This confuses a lot of people who think that rarity immediatley means desirability, thus translating into price.

The 1-10 rarity scale is the best i've seen yet.
The old A+ - F scale just didn't seem to capture the actual rarity of many games. I'd see 5-10 carts of one "A Rarity" title on ebay on any given day where other "A Rarity" carts were maybe once a week. Obviously, the latter were rarer, yet they both had the same rarity grade.
I mean, as rare as the NES Panesians are, you can't rate them in the same league with the NWC cart.

[digitalpress]

I think that ebay is pretty much the standard anymore for determining rarity and price of anything. Whether one chooses to use it or not, it has become the market standard.

Yikes. eBay is for the impatient! It's certainly part of the equation but it's just that - a part.

Again, I defer to this:
http://www.digitpress.com/lists/0_dpguide.htm#dollars

Our rarities and listed values come from a wide variety of resources, including used game shops, online stores, gaming meets and events, personal experiences through massive amounts of trading, and yeah, even eBay.

[StealthLurker]

Some well respected, super hardcore collector guy a-top a mountain makes a decree and everyone bows down to his statement. To further solidify it, he makes a website with all sorts of "facts". Once he has a website stating it, it's pretty much a commandment at that point. :D

[Landon]

I think that ebay is pretty much the standard anymore for determining rarity and price of anything. Whether one chooses to use it or not, it has become the market standard.

Yikes. eBay is for the impatient! It's certainly part of the equation but it's just that - a part.

Again, I defer to this:
http://www.digitpress.com/lists/0_dpguide.htm#dollars

Our rarities and listed values come from a wide variety of resources, including used game shops, online stores, gaming meets and events, personal experiences through massive amounts of trading, and yeah, even eBay.

I disagree.
Anymore, ebay is the central source where almost anything can be had, and where a seller gets top dollar. It is middle-earth for all things "collectable", like it or not. Anymore, anyone who is selling a collectable either does so on ebay or does so at the retail level with their wares priced above ebay.
It has introduced a national, global dynamic to collecting that is a force which cannot be belittled. One can't use 1991 methods to rate things with the juggernaut that is ebay is hovering over all transactions.

Sure, if I wait for 10 years, I *might* find the Panesians at a garage sale... Or I *might* find a game store that has them- but is there any doubt that the selling price of the game store will be in DIRECT consort with the typical selling prices of ebay? Of course it will... And if you can point me to a game store that regularly sells below ebay, let me know and i'll buy from them and sell them on ebay my self.
Welcome to capitalism.

It's unfortunate to see what ebay has done to many hobbies. It's turned "collecting" into a purely financial pursuit, removing most of the chase (which is all of the fun)
Unfortunate, but a reality none the less. To ignore it is just being dishonest.

(I would just like to add for the record that I hate ebay, and wish it didn't exist. But it does, and to deny the scope of it's impact is just being wishful)

[kevincure]

Landon,

I was just working on some Playstation data, crosschecking my estimates of rarity (based on ebay/local experience/DPer experience) with actual sell-through. There is a clear trend that well-known rare games appear much more frequently on ebay that one would assume based on their rarity. That is, there are a number of people collecting them and turning them around for money. It is not unusual for a Popular Rare Game A to have ten copies of sale on ebay while Unknown Somewhat Rare Game B to have one copy.

This is not the only distortion one finds on ebay with regards to ebay.

As far as price is concerned, I do think that, at least as far as modern games are concerned, you're much more likely to buy on ebay that in the wild, and thus ebay prices are fine to use. The problem is, 1) DP prices and ebay prices tend to be similar anyway and 2) ebay prices often swing in the short-run (e.g., Super Metroid was selling 35-40 loose when Metroid Prime came out, but it make no sense to use this price in a book that's been tracking prices for a decade).

[Landon]

Landon,
There is a clear trend that well-known rare games appear much more frequently on ebay that one would assume based on their rarity. That is, there are a number of people collecting them and turning them around for money. It is not unusual for a Popular Rare Game A to have ten copies of sale on ebay while Unknown Somewhat Rare Game B to have one copy.

That is false when it comes to rare games that are actually "rare", and not just "scarce and desirable".
Example (from another thread)- Jimmy Connors Tennis for NES is, flatly, a very rare game. Every indicator says so. Yet it is, in my opinion, sorely underrated with a R6 value.

People sell things on ebay to make money. All one has to do is go and see how many "$5.99 BIN" copies of Super Mario Brothers/Duck Hunt there are listed at any given moment to understand that cartridges are listed by lots of different people who don't understand games...
If they have it, they will sell it on ebay.

If there were copies of JCT floating around there in any appreciable numbers, they would be listed on ebay.
There aren't. Many, many games DP has listed as R7's are found at a 4 or 1 to 1 ratio on ebay when compared to copies of JCT.

As is the case with any online discussion of a rare game title, there are always those folks who insist that there are a half-dozen Zombie nations at their local gamestop, or that they once had 15 copies of Secret Scout and used them for doorstops...
When the rubber hits the road and one asks someone to either product a copy of JCT or show me where I can get one, it gets awfully quiet.

Anyway, I think i'm going to the Classic gaming Expo carrying a picket sign that says "UPGRADE JCT!" LOL LOL

[anagrama]

Jimmy Connors Tennis for NES is, flatly, a very rare game. Every indicator says so. Yet it is, in my opinion, sorely underrated with a R6 value.

There's a stickied thread at the top of this forum where you can point out any games that may have incorrect rarity or pricing.

[Iron Draggon]

Yikes. eBay is for the impatient! It's certainly part of the equation but it's just that - a part.

Well I'd hardly call a place where you have to wait for what you're looking for to show up for sale or auction, which can take years for several reasons, a place for the impatient. Especially when if you really want it that badly, you have to search for it there constantly to improve your chances of finding it, and you may have to fight any number of people for it if it shows up in an auction. Ebay requires patience. And I'd like to know what makes you think that it doesn't.

You make it sound as though I can just go there and find any old factory sealed game that I want for any system at any time, and all I have to do is have the money to buy it. If only it were that easy. Then all I'd need is alot of money. And woe is you if you don't have alot of money for ebay. Especially if you are looking for old factory sealed games, and especially if you're looking for any truly rare ones or ones that are in high demand in factory sealed condition.

[PapaStu]

Yikes. eBay is for the impatient! It's certainly part of the equation but it's just that - a part.

Well I'd hardly call a place where you have to wait for what you're looking for to show up for sale or auction, which can take years for several reasons, a place for the impatient. Especially when if you really want it that badly, you have to search for it there constantly to improve your chances of finding it, and you may have to fight any number of people for it if it shows up in an auction. Ebay requires patience. And I'd like to know what makes you think that it doesn't.
Ebay reqires patience and it doesnt. It does in that attempt to find some genuine rares or games that your looking for in a specific way (ie sealed, complete ect) but since you can set up searches (on a daily basis) do you really need to scour ebay for it? Hardly. I've had some searches up for a few specific things for a long time. Will I even get them should they show? Not necessarily. Am I dying because I dont have the item? Again, hardly. Its just a game. Sometimes I just like to know that they are up there. The only time that your really forced to search for something in this situation (IF you set up favorite searches) and someone puts a game in a system/game lot and the topic of OMG R@R3 PlayStation Gamez!!1! has your penultimate game complete in just the manner you've been looking for. But thats no different than just walking into a store and stumbling across something that is just what your looking for completely randomly.


You make it sound as though I can just go there and find any old factory sealed game that I want for any system at any time, and all I have to do is have the money to buy it. If only it were that easy. Then all I'd need is alot of money. And woe is you if you don't have alot of money for ebay. Especially if you are looking for old factory sealed games, and especially if you're looking for any truly rare ones or ones that are in high demand in factory sealed condition.

No, but then again thats setting very specific rules on what your going to be going after. As a collector of not just games, I know that the first copy seen isnt always your BEST copy. Many times you do need to wait for that copy that fits what your looking for your own personal collecting tastes. But often times when it comes down to it, most everything can still be found in the wild, given the true nature of searching and scrounging that could take you years to find something, which could be pulled off ebay MUCH easier (not necessarily right away, but a helluva lot easier). I had been looking FOREVER for a copy of Syndicate Wars for the PS. Very easily could have gotten one on ebay but I held out till I found one in Chicago when I was out visiting fellow DP'ers of all things and found one, in the wild no less. Sure I could have gone to ebay and waited a while for a copy to show, but ya know.... I did find one in the wild and didnt mind the wait. Needless to say that there are alternate ways to get those sealed OMG games other than ebay. Try going to conventions and things like CGE and hitting up the vendor/trade areas. You'll be surprised in what you can find.

[video_game_addict]

I think all factory sealed collectors are nutty. And you're right, you can't just find any old game in factory seal any time you want it. You can say that for anywhere you're searching. If you are not buying them brand new in the store at the time, then you may be looking for years. You may never see even half of what you're looking for. Collecting new items 10-15 yrs down the road is an uphill battle to be certain. Why anyone would want sealed unplayable games I don't quite understand, but that's your deal. :)


Regarding ebay, if you are collecting pre-crash systems, then I'd say eBay is necessity at this point. Sure you could go without & pool what bit of post-crash & next gen stuff you amass, then offer it on boards like these as trade bait. Or wait around for these once a year trade shows like CGE to happen & go hog wild there.. both of these from the other collectors/dealers you buy from likely have sourced some of their goodies from ebay anyways. But I don't think there's any harm to using ebay.


If I said I wanted to start a Vectrex collection in 2005, and I wasn't gonna use ebay... Well I'd go by all the used game stores in my area, I'd come up dry there. I'd hit all the pawn shops.. another dead end. I'd check all the thrifts, and again I come up dry.. Hit the flea market, early so I don't miss any deals, no good, no Vectrex stuffs they either.. Then repeat weekly for best results.. Then wait 5-10 yrs, maybe I would find something, or maybe not..

Truth is I've been collecting for going on 8 yrs now, & in this time, I've been hitting thrifts & the flea market pretty regularly, as often as I can make time, and I have NEVER seen any Vectrex items at all. :(

I've never seen any Bally stuff, or any Arcadia stuff either. I've found just about everything else though. And maybe I could have traded for a Vectrex with some of the Coleco games I've found or Atari items or something, but where did they come from, the person I trade with may have found them on ebay themselves, and here I wait 8 yrs now without any Vectrex stuffs. Call me impatient if you must, but 8 yrs is a long time!

I found DP in '99 in since that time I've also been on ebay. I was on Yahoo auctions too searching for deals, but mostly just ebay these days.. But when I came online, I had a goal in mind, of one day owning a complete 5200 collection. Up unto that point I had been collecting 2600, Coleco, & Intelly stuffs, plus newer NES/SNES, Genesis, SMS, TG16, blah, blah... But it was the 5200 that I grew up with & wanted so badly to own & play again. I had been looking for years, so imagine my amazement in finding ebay, and seeing auctions daily for 5200 items! And so I started buying. And actually some time later I did make a few finds for 5200 items in my local turf. But I would be nowhere near complete, if all I did was gather trade bait, and rely on deals to transpire thru online boards & gaming conventions. Eventually I would have to bite the bullet on the complete Bounty Bob, I know I would. No amount of trade bait would cover that one.

But I believe that's it's a necessity in this day & time, with some vintage systems, that are just not falling out of trunk boot sales or laying out in people's front yard sales. Some stuff really can't be picked up regardless of where you look, and to shun ebay (the largest online yardsale there is) would be a huge transgression in your quest for the ultimate <insert game system here> collection.

Now, if you are collecting a post-crash system, say NES or SNES, or Genesis, or *shudder* even Playstation, then well you would be stupid to rely heavily on ebay, as most of these can still be found with relative ease in local stomping grounds. Maybe not everywhere you look, but with even a little bit of patience, you should be making finds from stop to stop, and ultimately, it's going to pay off, in the finds you make, and prices you pay. Still even with newer stuffs, I would recommend anyone collecting to use ALL MEANS available to them, including ebay! There are some deals to be had there for sure. And if you don't look, you may miss out.

For best results I recommend driving around 2 hours a day hitting all the local thrifts & pawns, then spend another couple hours a night on ebay for those deals you didn't find during the day. Repeat daily.

Did someone say we ever play our games? I spend more time searching for new ones!

Sorry for the long post. :embarrassed:

[tynstar]

I think all factory sealed collectors are nutty.

If I said I wanted to start a Vectrex collection in 2005 Eventually I would have to bite the bullet on the complete Bounty Bob

Did someone say we ever play our games? I spend more time searching for new ones!

I agree with you on the collecting factory selaed games. Whats the point?

I will trade you my boxed Vectrex with a loose Clean Sweep and a new Heads Up Soccer. I found all of that in the wild. Although I did buy the Vectrex box online. I will trade for the games you just got from Matt (Tempest) LOL ;)

I found my Bounty Bob in the wild loose for 10 bucks.

I am the same way i spend a hell of a lot more time collecting then I do playing.

[portnoyd]

If there were copies of JCT floating around there in any appreciable numbers, they would be listed on ebay.

No, that's not true. Just as rare =/= valuable, eBay =/= gold standard.

A R6 for Jimmy Connors is appropriate.

[digitalpress]

Sorry for the long post. :embarrassed:

No need to apologize, I think most of us appreciate intelligent thought, even if we have to use the scrollbar a little.

[Ruudos]

I think the R1 category is pretty wide. I'm pretty sure that there are still far more copies of Super Mario World than of Super Punch-Out!!

[rbudrick]

DiabloLeonX,

Don't let these guys fuck with you. We all know rarity is determined by a Voodoo priest and a baby rattle. :monkey:

-Rob