Do you collect video games for profit?

[davepesc]

If so, how?

According to the DP guide, (which runs a bit high, IMO) there are some 300 US video games worth more than $50.

300 is a small fraction of all the games ever released. So, if you are in this for profit, how do you decide what games to squirrel away?

Limited releases are always a safe bet, but not easy to come by in the first place. And re-releases could pop up at any time and drop value.

How do you guys collect? I never buy games with the intention of selling later, I just keep em and love em forever.

[goatdan]

This might sound odd coming from one of the guys that runs the GOAT Store... but no, I don't.

My collection is my collection either due to what I feel is personal value (such as my 2600 / NES collections, which are JUST what I had as a kid) or were a challenge (complete Jaguar / Dreamcast collections).

The GOAT Store I run not because of the great wads of money it makes me (*cough*stillhavenotmadeadime*cough*), but because of how enjoyable it is for me to help others complete their collections. I learned how damn tough it is to find games in the exact conditions I was looking for when I was completing my Jaguar collection, and I really appreciate getting emails from people that say, "I can't beleive that you have this! Thanks!" It truly is a labor of love.

[Damaramu]

Nope. I collect games purely for nostalgia/fun factor.

I'm slowly rebuilding my Genesis/SNES collection from my youth and at the same time having a blast reliving old memories through these games! Plus, I had forgotten how fun some of these games are!

[Mr.FoodMonster]

I collect to play.

Not to say that if I ever come across something worth a pretty penny ($100+) I would keep it. I would sell it in a second, just so I can get a bunch of good cheaper games. Or hell, just save the money for something else =P

[SKVermin]

I collect for nostalgia as well, and to show my kids how spoiled they are with the quality that games are at these days (with exceptions, of course ;)). I collect primarily for playing, and partially just for the sake of collecting. So if I have a choice of two games and have to pick one, I'll buy the one that looks to be most fun.

I have some sort of collecting gene in my system. I've always liked to collect stuff if for no other reason than just to see how many and how varied a collection of stuff I can accumulate. It started out with baseball cards (quickly expanding into hockey cards, football cards, Desert Storm cards, pretty much anything that got pressed to cardstock), and I still have them all. I gave up collecting cards years ago, and could probably sell some of my collection for a pretty penny, but then all that time and effort would be gone and forgotten.

I also collect beer bottles from around the world, as well as old role-playing games. Maybe I should get around to selling off those old cards and fund my more current addictions? :)

[Videogamerdaryll]

Do you collect video games for profit?

NO............

.................................................. ............
I buy and resell video games for small profits...

[TisLord]

Profit here...I used to collect for myself but anymore its only for ebay....I am a dealer...not an addict...lol, just kidding

[hezeuschrist]

I just purchase whatever I intend to play, regardless of the era.

And likewise to the above, if I find something in the wild that's intensely rare I'll surely pick it up and put it on ebay (if I don't intend to play it). Better to be in the hands of someone who knows and appreciates what it's worth than to be hopelessly lost to some videogame store sloth. Plus I'll make money, and can buy more games I intend to play.

[Diatribal Deity]

Since this site runs the gamut in terms of collectors/players I think it goes without saying that if you see an underpriced/undervalued item that either you already have or have no use for and can resell to further fund your hobby I don't see any harm in it.

For example late one evening I saw an ebay auction for a Saturn Psyq development kit pretty much complete with some games for $75 BIN shipped. It was listed as special Saturn system. Although intrigued by the unit I knew I would never get around to harnessing its potential but I wasn't going to pass it up. So I bought it and a few months later sold it for $650 without the games.

Needless to say that funded a bunch of PC adventure games I was collecting at the time. So I think most given the opportunity would turn a profit if worth while.

[Anthony1]

hell yes I do.


It helps fund all my other video game hobby related needs.



I think that anytime you are involved in a somewhat expensive hobby, you should try to take advantage of your knowledge in said hobby, to help pay for said hobby.

[Ed Oscuro]

I don't collect games for profit, no...though I'd like to cut back on buying crap games LOL

[smokehouse]

I’m with many of you. I buy what I want for my collection. Every once in a while I come across a decent deal (Top Load NES in box-$20/NES Contra Force in good shape-$2) and sell some on EBAY but for the most part they go to my collection.

Another reward is having people over to my house that are not expecting to see my collection.

“Holy sh*t! How many games do you have?!”

That reaction is always fun to witness.

[tritium]

Not even if I tried. I buy some stuff I just intend to sell, but it only mildly reduces the amount I spend on stuff for my collection.

out of every 300 I spend about 1 or 2 is for reselling. I make like 4 or 5 from it.. therefor I spent less than 300 bux for my collection =)

Its the whole less than thing... Helps the ego.

[pixelsnpolygons]

Nope. The only time I ever purchased a game with the hopes that it would be worth something was when I picked up Suikoden III. At the time people were saying they'd stopped making it. I found a copy at Funcoland and snagged it up. The intention wasn't actually to buy it and profit, but I had only picked it up because I had hoped it would be worth something some day. Really, I just wanted to have a game in my collection that was worth something.

edit: by worth something obviously I'm talking in monetary terms. I've got old beat up carts that are priceless when it comes to their worth in fun and nostalgia.

[smokehouse]

It's like the Pioneer Laseractive I bought last fall and intended to resell. Hmmm, it now resides in my HT rack never to leave. I just get to attached to stuff. I picked a large box of Jaguar stuff and had the hardest time selling most of it although I already had many of the games. I took a while but I finally and reluctantly sold most of it.

[Porkchop]

I started out that way. I was a collecting early home computers and would see video game stuff in the thrifts and yard sales, so after looking on Ebay I decided to pick up the video game stuff and sell it to fund my computer collection. Then it hit me that video games were home computers and most of the stuff never got sold. So I now own over 50 system with games for each.

I would say I have a made LARGE negative porfit from video game. LOL

[Gamereviewgod]

Can you really collect if you sell the games you buy? :hmm:

[scooby105]

i buy and sell video games to pay for the video games i want to keep. if there's a lot of 20 NES games and a system, i need 10 of the games, and 2 of the games i don't need are something like bubble bobble and final fantasy, ill buy the lot, keep what i need, sell bubble bobble and final fantasy as separate auctions, and the system and the other games i don't need together. you usually end up paying zero dollars for the 10 games you didn't have then.

sometimes i'll buy stuff because i want to collect it and then decide i don't want to collect for that system anymore and just sell the stuff off. you usually get lucky and make money that way too.

[crazyjackcsa]

I collect for me, but If I happen to run across a good deal on a game I already have, or one for a system I don't, but know is a good deal, I'll pick it up and turn it around for a little bit of a profit.

[Speedy_NES]

I collect to document (this includes collecting stuff that has already been documented in order to document variations ;)). I don't collect to play and I don't really collect to make a profit, either. I do see my collection as an investment, and do hope that its value will rise as the years pass by - but making a profit is not my primary goal. The only times that I purchase items with the intent of resale are when I can get a sweet deal for an item that I already own or don't need, in order to finance other purchases for my collection.

-Speedy

[Jed]

Well, JedMart (not a real store :P) is all about dealing. I buy up cheap games and sell them for slightly less cheap. I'm not out to make uber profits, I'm here to get collectors the games and things that they want, at competitive prices.

[racketboy]

I don't, but sometimes it worked out in my favor.
Over the years I've sold some games and systems off because of moving and trimming my collection.

Because I'm a cheapskate and fairly good shopper, I've gotten some good deals and when I go back to sell them, I usually end up getting back more than I spent.

It's a nice feeling, but I collect just to make me happy :)

[felix]

I tend to get all of my stuff off of ebay. I see the price from ebay as the "true" value of a game, because obviously I was willing to pay that amount and nobody else was. Although I don't see myself turning a profit on them, I DO see them as an investment. Whether it be that I hand them down to my children or end up selling them 40 years down the line.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

Depends. I've bought alot of games I already owned or had no interest in owning at flea markets before and turn them around for a small profit. However I think buying sealed modern games in the hopes that they'll become rare or collectible is a waste of both time and money. If you ask me you'd be better off saving your money it or putting it towards the stock market then buying a sealed PS2 game for 13.67 at Wal-Mart.

[Jumpman Jr.]

I think I've sold about 5 games in my life.
So no, I don't collect games for profit.

[Griking]

If so, how?

According to the DP guide, (which runs a bit high, IMO) there are some 300 US video games worth more than $50.

Funny, I've always thought that the Guide's prices were way too low in many cases.

As far as selling for a profit, I generally pick up lots of games to get certain titles that are included that I'm looking for. I'll usually sell any duplicates that I pick up and put any money made back into buying games. I don't do it to make money, I do it to get games.

[DTJAAAAMJSLM]

Nope, I collect my games for personal enjoyment.

[Amy Rose]

I buy games to play them, so I only really sell games that I've either finished and didn't enjoy enough to ever play again, or if I hated them to begin with.

Having said that, I've got over 200 of the dang things now. I've also trimmed down my psuedo collection 3 times this year! So maybe I'm a collector in denial. :P

[cracked8ball]

Depends. If it's something I want for my own collection I'll keep it, but if it's a rare game I know will make some good money on ebay, then I'll sell without a second thought.

[WanganRunner]

I think that anytime you are involved in a somewhat expensive hobby, you should try to take advantage of your knowledge in said hobby, to help pay for said hobby.

I completely agree.

I buy stuff up in large lots (usually off ebay) then piece it out and sell it. Helps pay for the hobby, my collecting ends up either costing me nothing or making me a few $$$.

I'm also into cars, and I do similar things with cars wherein I'll buy one at an auction or from a private listing that seems mispriced, then sell it for what it's worth.

[tylerwillis]

I buy and sell, and I have made a profit in doing so - but I would not be doing it if I didn't collect myself. The buying/selling funds most of my collecting habit.

I don't really think that it would be easy to make enough profit off this hobby to make it worthwhile as a regular business.