How often do you turn doubles into profit?

[Steven]

More specifically, in your gaming journies, how often do you pick up doubles (for under market value) and then turn around to sell it with the intention of turning a nice profit? I know there are some here who never buy doubles, because they believe this gaming hobby is strictly that -- to play games and not turn a profit.

Back in the day (circa 2001) I used to be a part of that latter group -- that selling doubles to make a profit was not my thing. But over the years, when I happened to come across cheapie rares or cheapie pricey's, I'll snatch them off and either trade them for a game I wanted or sell them for a nice profit.

I, however, do not intentionally look for them. If I happen to come across a good deal, I probably won't pass it up.

Where do you stand on this? I know gamers have been selling doubles since probably the 80's, but these days it's probably in its peak form, based on internet and the ability to buy games online.

[Simply Dave]

I do it all the time. It's paid for a lot of my collection.

[Steven]

I do it all the time. It's paid for a lot of my collection.

Yeah I bet you do, heh. I bought 20 NES games from you earlier this year for $72, so I'm guessing it's not on games like Rygar or Megaman 2 ;) (unless you somehow bought them for a penny, but hey you gave me a great deal on them)

At one point, I had as many as five copies of Dragon Force. I won a complete copy off eBay in like 2003 for $8 BIN. Not surprisingly, it was a female seller who had no clue its worth.

I turned around and made like a nice $65 profit on that one.

[NESVIDIOT]

That is the only way to build a collection unless you are rich. And why not, isn't it foolish to pass up a deal on a game if you can trade it for a game or two to help along your own collection. Collecting is like playing- play to win. and if you can't win have a good time trying.
When oppertunity knocks, answer the door!

[FlufflePuff]

I will buy good games for cheap to turn a profit, but I don't do it very often. More commonly, I find games that retailers overvalue (Super Mario Bros 3) for cheap and trade them in. There is a store near me that offers $20 in trade for every SMB3 and Excitebike. I will happily buy every copy I see for $5 and turn around to trade them in. That has paid for much of my collection.

[icbrkr]

I frequently buy dupes if it's a good deal. I use em as trade bait or for my online store.

[cyberfluxor]

All the time. I just buy everything I see that's a good price, and when it's a dupe it's put in a pile to be resold, which ends up generally buying more games and rarely to get a cash out for other things. It's not something that should be done to make a second income on because it just won't work. I've never tried to make it into another source of solid income but know some that do with trades ranging from speakers, electronic equiptment, video games, records, ect and doesn't make much of anything. After the cost of living, food, gas, whever else it's just not worth it. It should be about the adventure and excitement about finding a game you already own and knowing that you have the chance to change the destiny of that game. LOL

[tornadostormxl]

I do it all the time but i dont make double maybe 50 percent more.

[noname11]

if i dont resell doubles someone else will!

besides that, some people will honestly enjoy the games i pick up more than i ever will, and when they get tired of the game, they can resell it at the market price minus their transaction costs

why even rent games anymore? just buy what you want and play the hell out of it and resell it once it loses all value

[PapaStu]

I tend not to buy doubles unless theres some lot on ebay that has something I really really need at an excelent price (I'm talkin about you Sonic LE) But I did do that with a bunch of NGPC games and every lot I bought for any games/systems paid for itself and I got to keep the needed items for free.

[50TBRD]

Trade and sell them. They finace other games that I need or want. I don't get rid of anything otherwise.

[Cauterize]

I do it all the time. It's paid for a lot of my collection.

Count me in! Makes two of us!
(Hey wait a minute, this text is clickable! wow!) (http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZcauterize4QQhtZ-1)

[christhegamer]

most of the time, if I have doubles (or even more likely triples), yes, I do generally try to trade 'em off. a big exception is anything gameshark, game genie, etc; man, I just can't get enough of those things :D

[carlcarlson]

I do it all the time as well. It's paid for my entire collection and then some. Basically I have a few thousand games that I've paid nothing for!

[RadiantSvgun]

I have a bad habit of keeping doubles...

[Julio III]

I don't pick up stuff to buy because i'm extremely bad at reselling/trading the doubles i have. I've had a few things for probably a year or 2 that i need to get rid of really

[bangtango]

Good topic, Steven.

I used to put my doubles on Ebay to turn a small profit, but since coming here I prefer to trade them with people. Since a lot of these items aren't the $50-100 games, I'm not cheating myself out of any real profit.

If the game is around $25, or less, all I care about is getting my investment back or something comparable in value. I guess that is because I am not a collector or reseller, anyway.

If the double is a game that pops up in the "Wanted" threads, then I like the idea of letting someone have it without making them spend extra for it on Ebay. I'd rather help someone here find a game they are looking for and let them share the find than rip them off or get market value. If all I spent is a couple dollars on some $10-20 game, then I can live with doing someone a favor.

Something else worth mentioning was brought up by noname11. In my neck of the woods, I have two or three regulars, not including a woman who runs a game shop, that harvest good finds in the area to resell at market price. If I don't grab the games, some of those people will. I know damn well the three regulars and the lady with the game shop don't play games and just want to list them on Ebay or toss them into a store for two or three times the price paid, many times more.

[jajaja]

I do it all the time. It's paid for a lot of my collection.

Same here. If i hadnt done this i wouldnt have so much games that i have today.

[gepeto]

I do it all the time as well. It's paid for my entire collection and then some. Basically I have a few thousand games that I've paid nothing for!

That has to be a full time job. Buying, selling, keepin, buying. Going that route how long does it truly take to amass what you want?

[NES_Rules]

I'll buy whatever I can for cheap and if it is something I already have, I intend to re-sell it and make some money, but I never actually get around to it.

[briskbc]

I will buy anything for any system that I don't want or already have that I can use as trade bait or as a means to boost my Paypal account.

[Wavelflack]

I have a hard time selling doubles (or trples, or whatever).

Here's my thought process:

1. "Whoa! Another copy of Ultimate Qix! I can sell this one for a few $$!"

2. (after purchase)
"Hmm...well, it'd be nice to have a backup copy. Besides, it might go up in price. Better hold on to it."

3. "Whoa! Yet another copy of Ultimate Qix! This one is definitely going up for sale!"

(after purchase)

4. "Hmm...what if something happens to the other two copies? I better keep it as a 2nd backup. Also, if it goes up in price, I'll have THREE copies to sell!"

(etc.)

[carlcarlson]

I do it all the time as well. It's paid for my entire collection and then some. Basically I have a few thousand games that I've paid nothing for!

That has to be a full time job. Buying, selling, keepin, buying. Going that route how long does it truly take to amass what you want?


nah, I just do it on the side. I go to school full time so it helps pay the bills a bit. It does take a little while, but I find it to be much more satisfying than just plunking down the cash. It's like the collectors who will only collect stuff that they find in the wild. Sure it may take years to find a Valkyrie Profile, but it's worth it. Anyone can pay $120 and get one just like that, but it takes some real work and persaverance to get one for "free".

[mailman187666]

When I go to the flea markets, I always look for stuff that i want to put into my own collection. If there is something i already have in my collection that i see for cheap, I'll pick it up to sell. Usually I wait until I have a big stack accumulated of things I want to sell before I list them, that way it all kinda comes in one lump sum. I don't bother unless i can find something that i can make $10+ profit, i just leave it for the next guy to pick up.

[udisi]

I do this all the time for 2 reasons

1) I sell the dups to pay for things I want in my collection, Self-supporting hobby

2)I keep some for trading with other collectors, I'm still a fan of the old fashion trading, and a good dup box goes a long way here.

[Kejoriv]

I do it all the time. It's paid for a lot of my collection.

Exactly what I do. Im always scouring Ebay, flea markets and yard sales. If I have it and its a cheap price, I will turn around and sell or trade it.

All the $$ I make on eBay goes into my collecting fund.