God, the day Joe sells his collection, the earth's gravitation will shift a bit. That, and Baby Jesus will cry.Originally Posted by digitalpress
EDIT: I almost forgot. To those of you who worry about what your family will do when you are gone, don't be stupid....write out a will, for chrissakes. At the very least, be vocal to several family members as to who gets what. Save them the heartache and enjoy your games.
-Rob
Last edited by rbudrick; 01-07-2008 at 10:48 AM.
The moral is, don't **** with Uncle Tim when he's been drinking!
This thread strikes a real chord with me. My game-buying habits have almost ceased to be, and I don't play too much in terms of recent games. I'd done a lot more console gaming over the past five years, but the really unbelievable and not-so-fun things in my personal life this past year (including a missions trip to India - talk about a paradigm shift) have given me much less of an appetite for all forms of entertainment. Leaving me with loads of games I'm probably never going to finish any time soon.
I'll peck away at some of this stuff over time, but if I do game, I really think I'm going to enjoy more of an intellectual challenge, which means twitch gaming is going to fall entirely by the wayside. There are far too many books I want to read, and as I've been reading more I've found that I believe my time is a lot better spent than it had been previously.
The games are good to keep around - some of them. But I'd have to agree with the poster (think it was RJ?) who said that this generation of games just has no appeal for me. Aside from Bioshock, I really can't think of a game that came out in the last year that I've really, truly wanted to play - including Phantom Hourglass. I'd much rather play X-Com: UFO Defense a second time than Mario Galaxy the first time, when I play at all.
But it's the same thing with movies. I used to watch any old release that came out, but now I find that I a) don't watch movies by myself any more, and b) when I do watch, have a list of things that are recommended so that I don't waste my time. There's just way too much time-wasting stuff out there.
You are startled by a grim snarl. Before you, you see 1 Red dragon. Will your stalwart band choose to (F)ight or (R)un?
Seriously +1 on this thread. Fish, you're pretty much at the place I've been at for a while. I've had to take care of the belongings of three relatives by now and frankly it sucks. All that crap that may have meant something to them or they thought would be worth something (such as collector's plates, Avon bottles, commemorative coins, stamps, tools, etc.) was just stuff that those of us left had to figure out what to do with. Not saying they weren't entitled to their stuff, but we're bodering on hoarding here.
That and after moving, I really don't want to move all this crap again. Plus, I rarely have the time to use any of it. So yeah...if folks want their own personal videogame museum, more power to them. Not me though.
Virtual Hoarding has its problems as well. For example, I once decided to track down copies of every PS1 game. Even though it certainly did not cost me as much as owning every original would have, it was still quite an expensive adventure. Back when I started that particular quest (1997/1998), blank CDs were around $1/each. 200 holder binders were $25-$30 each. I didn't get a cable modem until August of '99; prior to that, I rented every PSX game I copied; we're talking $3 to $5 per game, plus gas going to and from several rental stores (I didn't want them to know what I was doing).
More than money though, the biggest thing all this cost me was time. There was time involved driving to and from rental stores, the time it took to rip each game, the time it took to burn each one (around an hour, at 1x), and the time it took me to file each one in a binder plus add it to a list so I could find it. Before I bought a cable modem, I actually downloaded several PSX games using a 56k modem. That took forever, I assure you. After I got a cable modem, I found myself online all the time trying to find people with new PSX games -- and of course most of these places had ratios, which meant I was uploading games as well as downloading them. More time.
After several years of that, what do I have to show for it? Several binders full of PSX games on CD-Rs, worthless (or even offensive) to other collectors. A bunch of games with no instructions, no cases, nothing. Sometimes it seems like I spent more time and money tracking down copies than I would have spent had I just bought originals. I got caught up in virtual hoarding big time, and the worst part is, when you look back you don't have much to show for it. I can't sell them or trade them or really even give them away.
I guess I just wanted to point out that there are other side effects to virtual hoarding, other than space issues.
For christmas one year we gave my husband's little brother a dreamcast and his collection of burned games. It's still one of his favorite gifts ever. I'm sure if you really wanted to part with the copies you could make someone very happy.
I had to clean out an old ladies house once when she died, it was an old job of mine. Well this lady had some kinda buying disease I kid you not. She must have just kept buying shit because you couldn't even walk into any of 3 upstairs bedrooms. Everything was brand new she would just buy shit and throw it on the pile. Lots of clothes, purses, etc. Well everything got thrown away. But I did find a brand new NES and 2500 cash in the pile shit.
My collection for the most part has all been moved to a $139/mo 10x10 storage room since August. Three moves in 5 years and I had had enough. I hated how long it always took me to move everything since I had to do it all by myself. It's not all video games though. I got into cars a number of years ago and maybe 1/3 of the storage room is parts off my old MR2, parts I bought to put on my MR2 (TRD headers, bigger supercharger, Turbo, etc). And then there's the car magazines and books. Damn that paper weighs a lot!!
Now I face a daunting task of going through everything to try and sell what I don't want. I think I'll keep the stuff you could never emulate like the Steel Battalion controller or my blue Tron joystick but crap like my Intellivision and Commodore stuff (well maybe not my boxed copy of Ultima I for the C64) has got to go. I think I'll keep maybe 100 2600 carts and one system. Or better yet get rid of all carts and just get a multicart.
I'm glad I never really attempted to complete any collections for any systems. Just the thought of browsing ebay to find a boxed Sesame Street or Strawberry Shortcake cart sends shivers up my spine.
Heh, it's funny really - I've lost track of how many other similar threads (though not always as well put) I've seen over the years, and thought "well, guess it makes sense for you, but nah, I'll never do that" but, sure enough, I'm another one who's now sat here in very similar position - a series of events over the past year or so forced a pretty dramatic reassessment of a lot of things, one result of which is that I've recently began to liquidate all my games. As it stands, I simply don't have the time or resources to achieve half the things I want to, and instead spend/waste far too much time, energy & money amassing more unnecessary "stuff" thanks to my obsessive-collector tendencies.
One thing I can say that's different though is that I can be reasonably reassured that probably 95% of my collection can be sold for more than I originally paid - I've always been something of a cheapskate, and have always waited for the bargains. Even though, the amount of time & effort it's going to take to shift everything is pretty daunting right now...
Only other problem I forsee is that it'll take a fair amount of willpower to make sure I actually put the money made to good use, rather than just "re-investing" it in my recently rejuvenated record collecting habit
Personally I think if anyone's paying "extra" $$$ just to store their extra stuff/junk/crap, it's time to admit they have a problem.
"The big things that...nerds like to argue about might not actually matter that much."
I grew up in the era of the Atari 2600 but could never afford one. I would go to a friends house and play Yar's Revenge for hours! What joy to be able to go to a yard sale and get a console and 30 games for $25!! I was sticking it to the man!!! But then it all caught-up to me this christmas when I had to move the new 360 from the living room to the 'game room' (a spare bedroom). I had 16 systems hooked up to one TV and nowhere to put the Xbox! Time to clean it all out! And all the crap I keep finding in boxes and closets is unbelievable!
I know I'm coming in way late into the discussion, but I just wanted to add something that some people may be forgetting. Collecting is a blast! It's not just about the money or the space to store everything, it's all about the hunt for the games and reveling in finding that great deal. If you weren't collecting, 99% of us would be spending our money on something else, probably just as silly when we look back on it in 20 years. You have to remember all the fun you had while doing it, and when you look back you'll forget about the money and the time spent and remember the amazing time you had collecting.
You thought you had it bad
I starting collecting video games just recently. I have found about 500 NES carts, usually in 50 to 150 cart lots for about $1 to $2 each. I have quite a few dupes, but I am waiting to sort it all out when the new guide comes out (i've been looking for a copy of the old one for about a year, so if you have one. The one thing I have not been able to find is a working NES. I've bought 1 on eaby, but by the time I got around to trying it out, I could not return that dead doorstop (If you have a working NES you would like to let go at Thrift store prices, let me know. I teach High School, so I don't have that much left to spend on this stuff
I guess my real lesson came while collecting Olympic pins (I've been at that for 24 years). back in 2000, I bought a load of pins... about 750,000 pins for $.03 each (retail $6). My partners and I sold about 300,000 and each got 112,000 (give or take). I've been bringing them to the Olympics with me to use as sellers and traders, and I am down to about 65,000 pins. I have a great collection and I am usually able to sell enough to pay for a trip to the Olympics, but the key is keeping what I collect carefully defined (I can define my collection in about 2 sentenses). If something doesn't fit into those sentences, Ebay, here I come!
The key in collecting is not to take everything, but have a 1 or 2 sentence definition to your collection and stick to that, no matter what great deals you find.
The difference between Democracy and Theocracy is God.
Oh yeah...
If you want to take a look at me and some of my pins, you can see me live and in person. Just search Dejapooh on youtube.com. It's only about 3 minutes, but it was national!
The difference between Democracy and Theocracy is God.
It's been well over three years since I first wrote the original post and I though I'd post some insights.
A lot has happened in 3 years. I was in a horrific motorcycle accident that I managed to survive. I've got some scars and I'll always walk with a slight limp but I was still very lucky. I managed to keep my job during a horrible recession even as I watched my friends and co-workers lose their jobs and go on unemployment. I got married again and this second marriage has been far more successful than the first one. I also bought a house using a credit card (the house was so cheap that I couldn't get a mortgage and I didn't have 30k lying around). I've been paying the credit card down steadily but now I'm ready to be debt-free again. I've started selling off my massive collection.
Selling games on eBay is a pain in the ass. IT'S A LOT OF WORK! My house is a disaster. Boxes of games lying around on the floor. Packing materials everywhere. I spend many nights posting games on eBay followed by many nights of boxing up games and shipping them out. Thank God for PayPal shipping and Priority mailing boxes! At least I'm not a fixture at the Post Office anymore. We had to actually wait in line to buy MONEY ORDERS back in the days before (evil) PayPal took over.
I've been mostly pleased with the cash I've made. I'll still end up in the hole, mind you. Lots of these games that I bought years ago are not worth the $5 to $10 I paid for them. But other games have increased in value, some of them quite a bit. I'm not breaking even, but I'm not too far behind. Maybe. There's really no telling how much I've spent over the years.
I thought this would be harder than it has been. I used to take such pride in my collection. I could never imagine selling it off! But that's exactly what I've been doing. My Dreamcast collection has been decimated. I've sold off most of the Genesis games and ALL of the Master System games. My prized complete 32x collection is gone, save for the 2 prototypes that I am preparing to sell. All the "good" (expensive) PSone games have been sold. Most of the good Saturn games are sold, too. I've been boxing up bunches of common games and selling them in bulk. It's odd to see all these things that it took me years to aquire sitting in boxes, waiting to be shipped out. I can't say it was "easy" to box up and ship out that Japanese 32x game that took me years to find but it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.
It's been great seeing my friend's basement get more empty. I've taken several BIG boxes home. I've enjoyed seeing my PayPal balance rise, even if the money is gone the next day. The credit card balance is dropping pretty fast! I might even have some extra money to put away when all is said and done.
I'm still keeping some things. Lots of single games that I actually PLAY once in a while. I'm keeping most of the handheld stuff... it takes up a lot less space. I can't yet part with the Dreamcast and Saturn shooters yet. I may hold onto them. We shall see.
My collecting "hobby" was fun while it lasted, even if it consisted mostly of cheap thrills. I spent many a weekend trolling the flea markets and yard sales, happy as a clam. I can't say that I'd go back and do it again (I'd have bought stock in Apple when it was so cheap) but it was still a lot of fun.
I'm still in the hobby, obviously. I'll always like reading about the newest games and I'll always find pleasure in discovering those "lost" games that didn't find an appreciative audience during their first go round. I just don't have to buy everything anymore.
At least I didn't get caught up in Beanie Babies!
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Thanks for indulging my gaming habit when I was young, Dad. You were the best. I miss you. ~David Barnes 1926-2007~
What's your eBay name? Good to see you cleaning house, but you picked a bad year to do it. This is the first year where paypal is reporting anyone who breaks the 200 items sold and $20k in sales barrier to the IRS, so you'll likely have to claim these sales as profit and lose a substantial part to Uncle Sam
WTB Clayfighter Sculptor's Cut Manual Only... PM ME!!
Who cares? You've always had to pay taxes on any profit you made on Ebay. This reporting requirement doesn't impact legitimate sellers in any way.What's your eBay name? Good to see you cleaning house, but you picked a bad year to do it. This is the first year where paypal is reporting anyone who breaks the 200 items sold and $20k in sales barrier to the IRS, so you'll likely have to claim these sales as profit and lose a substantial part to Uncle Sam
I used to have that mindset of grabbing whatever games I could get my hands on, but thankfully it passed quickly and I didn't have the funding to do that anyway.
I have tried from the get go, however, to keep myself to one copy of a console and one copy of a game. It has not been easy, since people give me their stuff every so often, but I try to find someone else who would want it, or otherwise sell it off. These days I mainly go after things that I'd like, so the majority of games I've bought for the past several years have been ones that I specifically sought out and want to play.
On the flip side, I still grab most pre-crash games that I see and don't have. The era is too fascinating and there's a lot there I'd like to play, even if it sucks. Thankfully most of those don't take up a large amount of space, anyway - I have one box for Odyssey 2, one box for Intellivision, and a chunk of loose Atari games among a box and a couple old, smaller cartridge storage units.
As to whether or not I could part with the collection, there's probably quite a bit I could let go of and be alright with, but there's other stuff that has emotional value that I'd probably hold on to. When Robotron died, he wanted his collections sold off to help out his wife, and she decided to let his friends and family get first dibs. I've got a few things of his that I wouldn't want to part with; there's just too many good memories wrapped up in them.
Check out the Kleppings!
Make Way For Madness!
"9 is a poor man's 11, and 11 is a Baker's Ten."
Infinite Lives
Good to hear you're cleaning up! This is probably the best advice to new collectors.
When I started it was really bad. First it was "let's buy all the games I had as a kid!" and then "what about these games I never tried?!" and then "Well hell, might as well try for a complete collection!"
And then it went to everything I saw video game related I'd buy. After a few years I had a TON of crap. I think after some people started debating here about collectors and actually playing the games they owned, I really looked at what I had aquired. There were so many games that had no reason to be in my collection. I started taking stacks of games and spending the day trying stuff I never got around to. Some of it was really good, and I found games that became favorites. While other games were just terrible and they went right into a pile to get rid of.
I think I took 2 to 3 trips to NAVA with a car full to the brim with stuff I didn't want anymore, and did everything I could to get rid of it. And now I've been selling alot of my extra stuff on eBay and really making some space. I've been buying alot of games lately, but it's nice because it's paid for with my eBay money, and its games I actually plan on playing.
I still take gambles when I see a good deal, or buy a big lot of something to keep what I want and trade/sell the rest, but I've gotten in the habbit of really knowing what I want and like when it comes to games.
The thrill of the hunt is still a blast. I guess normal people like my friend who has a collection as large as mine just go out and buy the games they want, but that's not as fun for me. I can play what I have, and track down elusive games for hopefully lower prices to make up for all the stuff I keep buying. Plus nothing beats the feeling of trying out a game you've never had a chance to try and finding out it's awesome.
Sorry to ramble, just thought it would be good to point out the phases I went through. Whenever I chat with someone who is just getting into classic gaming, I always suggest making a plan. Know what you want, know what you need, and keep it organized!
I've never purchased a game that I didn't want to play unless if was in a lot with other's that I did. I also never purchase games for more than $20 unless it's something vintage that I have a real interest in. $20 is also a maximum, not a standard prince point that I go for. I get a lot of game swag as gifts, but I don't really purchase any for myself. I always sell off or give away extra copies of things that I come across, also.
I've honestly never let my collection get out of control, because I'm not motivated by the collection aspect of gaming. I'm just a gamer who's amassed a collection over time because I don't sell off my games (I do revisit most of them, too).
I really like this thread, glad the original author decided to bump and update it after all of these years. I am another really old collector, I've been at this since '97. So, time for me to warm up the DeLorean and bore all of the members reading this thread. Back in my day sonny...
My gaming collecting started with the Sega Master System and expanded to include just about every major gaming system that can be hooked up to a TV (none of that TV games crap). It has been quite a ride for all of these years. I basically never got rid of any games I bought as a kid and I built from there in earnest. It is neat having the same games I saved allowance for and was given from 1988 onwards! I avoided e-bay for the longest time, I've only turned to it seeking rares that can be found nowhere else.
So far I have the US region libraries of two systems under my belt and I have no desire for any more. The library for the Master System had..and has...a special meaning for me, so that was my first. My second was the 32X, for no reason other than I had all of the hard to find and fun ones, and I was only ten away from doing it anyhow. I even posted about it here for those that like to look into member statistics.
I made some rules about my collection early on that held up for a long time:
1. I only bought games I wanted to play.
2. All duplicates on the same system were sold off. If I found one in better shape (box and book), and I actually cared, I'd trade in the other.
3. The most I would ever pay for a used game was $34. This held up for the longest time until recently when the rarer games made this rule obsolete.
I never got into buying bulk lots of systems. I always found they had bad games, and spare systems I didn't need. Sure I have three Sega CDs, but one is a backup. One of them is an odd late run system that is different internally than the other model 2s. I swear it loads games twice as fast as any other Sega CD, and was neat to find. Which moves me onto...
Having great memories of finding all of this cool old junk. When I think about the high points of being a collector, I remember the same stories that all of old collectors can tell. Finding a loose Sega CDX, Nomad, and 3-D glasses in thrift stores. Not all in one day, mind you. Finally achieving the dream of getting a complete domestic library of a particular system. Getting that $700 new system now that no one could afford back then (ie the Neo Geo AES, the 3dO).
There's been a lot of changes too. Favorite independent shops that aree long gone under. Locations change. Names change (funcoland->Electronics Boutique->EB World->Gamestop). The prices of these things seem to change, downward. Very few have appreciated over the years, but this makes sense. What 18 year old kid is going to care about whatever we liked from 1988? They'll probably have the reactions I have when I see anything before ColecoVision. Namely, what old stoneage junk. That's okay. Personally, I got the best deal I could swing when I was at it, and I don't care now.
It sounds like things got out of control for a bit with some of these other collectors, and I can see a bit of that in parts of my collection. There are some games that I got when I bought system packs on the Xbox and 3dO that I don't think I will ever play, and their not worth the trouble of weeding them out of my collection for what little they'll bring in cash. One of these days maybe I'll get bored enough to play them.
Here is to some more happy memories. Cheers ya'll. I am very much looking forward to the 3ds this weekend, maybe netflix will offer Avatar in 3d for the 3ds? Come on, how cool would that be???
Last edited by ifkz; 03-25-2011 at 04:28 PM.
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