How Do You Collect?

[Skipper_Lucky11]

Hi Everyone. I hang around NA most of the time. I came here to see if anybody had any SNES CIB games to sell but I need to wait 10 days to see the Buy/Sell Thread (dont really get that one?!). But anyway I just wanted to tell you guys how I collect and was wondering how you guys collect?

I am mainly NES/SNES. My CIB NES collection getting the most attention as of late. But I am not a "completest" as I call them I dont want every game for a certain system. I find it pointless to waste my money of a CIB "Barbie" for the NES or Cheetahman II and spend loads of money for a game that sucks.

So how do I collect? Well I only collect good games. And for the NES that is about 250 out the of the around 800 NES games. For super nintendo im up to about 120 but more will be added. Im sure i'll be about 250 for that system to. I will usually buy the loose carts try out the game or go to NESguide.com and watch a video of the game try it and if I like it it goes in my "get CIB" list. lol So how do you guys collect? And for what systems. I am trying to collect the best games from NES, SNES, GENESIS, N64, PS1, PS2, GC, XBOX, and some other SEGA SATURN etc.. later. Mainly NES and SNES right now.

Oh and if anybody has any SNES stuff they want to sell/trade PM me I need some. I still dont get why this site makes you wait 10 days? makes no sense to me.

[Fuzzball24]

I buy only games I am interested in. Even if it's only slight, it builds my collection bigger. I collect N64 games (just loose carts for now). :]

Welcome to the forums!

[Jackattack]

I don't know how much of a collector I am, as the only real thing that classifies me as one is that I keep all the stuff I "collect." I have about 15 systems but less than 300 games because I only buy games that I'm interested in or have heard are great. It doesn't net me a whole lot, but I still get to enjoy searching for the games and eventually I get to play some really great stuff so I like it. Plus I love browsing these forums.

As for your wait time, I would assume it's due to the fear of hoards of people coming here and spamming the forums with selling and buying requests only out to make a quick buck. Ebay is the place for that and the 10 days serves as what would seem a pretty effective deterrent.

Anyway welcome to the forums!

[punkoffgirl]

The ten day waiting period also helps deter just plain spammers from cluttering up the Buy/Sell forums with junk.

Also, from the FAQ:

So you want to buy something, or sell something? After TEN days on the Roundtable forums, the Buy and Sell forum unlocks and you're free to conduct business here. Take these early days to learn the rules and observe how the community works. It's easy but our simple rules must be followed.

Please title the thread appropriately giving as much detail where possible. In the thread if possible, list prices you are selling at, or will pay for items if wanted. It helps anyone else out to know what ranges are on offer.

Here are some common abbreviations that people often use in their topics and posts. You may want to use these to let people know if you are buying or selling an item, for example.

WTB = Wanting To Buy
WTT/WTTF = Wanting To Trade/Wanting To Trade For
FS = For Sale
FT = For Trade

The ten days also gives people a chance to just observe the rules and how business is generally conducted here, before jumping in and potentially doing something that'll anger someone else.

[Sudo]

I only buy games that I'm interested in playing, as well. I don't have the money to spend on games just for collecting purposes, at least not at the moment anyway.

[Bloodreign]

My budget's limited, so I only collect what I know I'll play, and every now and again maybe an oddball title or two, which I'll still play anyway.

[Cornelius]

I find it pointless to waste my money of a CIB "Barbie" for the NES or Cheetahman II and spend loads of money for a game that sucks.

My main collection is any and all cart-only NES, though I'll keep a box if I come across it. I find it pointless to waste my money of (sic) a box that I can't get any real use out of. Do you CIB collectors rub the boxes all over your bodies or something? :P I'm just kidding. I don't think you meant any disrespect to other types of collectors, it just sort of came out that way.

NES is just what I have the most sentimental attachment to. My method in practice is just to get anything and everything that I find and is cheap. That allows me to sell off what is extra or doesn't interest me to fund that which does. Of course, it also makes it easy to just accumulate shitloads of stuff. In the end I hope to have every US game for NES, SMS, VB, and maybe possibly Vectrex (two of those I don't even bother praying will ever happen). I have a bunch of most everything else, but for the most part I try to keep those to things I'd like to play someday.

[nickerous]

I was trying to get all the US SNES releases, but that is on hold right now. I'm running out of space and I only have a little over 200 snes games.

Also, I've been trying to trade lately.

[Toandirte]

When I started about 9-10 years ago I would buy anything and everything that was cheap . As time went on I found that all I had collected was cheap games and a couple handfuls of gems. I needed focus, this led me to "THE LIST". I still wanted a complete cart only NES set (minus the big 7 of course -220 to go), but I read through the DP Guides and picked the systems and their games that appealed to me ( about 350 games for PS1, PS2 SNES, GEN, SMS, DC, TG16, SAT, GCN, N64). This has helped me tons as far as collection quality and money spent on games. I still buy sellable double to support the local Mom & Pop shop when they get in somthing I want.

[Skipper_Lucky11]

My main collection is any and all cart-only NES, though I'll keep a box if I come across it. I find it pointless to waste my money of (sic) a box that I can't get any real use out of. Do you CIB collectors rub the boxes all over your bodies or something? :P I'm just kidding. I don't think you meant any disrespect to other types of collectors, it just sort of came out that way.

NES is just what I have the most sentimental attachment to. My method in practice is just to get anything and everything that I find and is cheap. That allows me to sell off what is extra or doesn't interest me to fund that which does. Of course, it also makes it easy to just accumulate shitloads of stuff. In the end I hope to have every US game for NES, SMS, VB, and maybe possibly Vectrex (two of those I don't even bother praying will ever happen). I have a bunch of most everything else, but for the most part I try to keep those to things I'd like to play someday.

I am sorry if it came out like I was disrespecting collectors but I wasn’t. I am going to voice my opinion how dumb and stupid it is to collect games that suck lol just kidding. Now I do think its cool to have every game but just not my idea of collecting. Plus collecting loose carts for everything like you did does not add up to 1/100th of the price of CIB of everything you know what I am saying? So loose carts for everything is fine with me. And thank you for making the CIB collector joke, you make a good point!

The reason I collect CIB games was originally for the manual (yeah I know why not just get the manual then). Some games like Track and Field for the NES you need a manual to know how to do some of the events. I also found things out I never knew about games like Double Dragon and even Ice Hockey! You would be surprised how much you can find out in a manual. The boxes..well the boxes I collected because I noticed on eBay for a lot of the games you could get the same game CIB for the same price that the cart went for 95% of the time. Like SMB3 cart only on eBay is about the same CIB same with Bubble Bobble. THE MAIN REASON however is this. On NES games they can sit very nice and you can read the label of the game but for SNES, N64 you cant do this unless you stand them up and all weird and then there pushed in more than the NES games. So the NES games in the box look better on my bookshelf then having all SNES and N64 etc.. boxed but not having NES would look weird. Again a major part of my collection is showing it off. So I said “box art, better on the bookshelf, they hold the manual game, posters etc.. together” then def I want the box to. So that’s why most people collect the CIB games.

Box Art
Hold your game, manual, posters (Alien 3, Battletoads etc..), maps (like Zelda, Final Fantasy) together
Looks better on the bookshelf
Can see what the game is easier.

If I where you I would start your CIB collection before prices get to high

[swlovinist]

I collect as affordable as I can. I collect for the passion, the love of video games, and most of all...history. I love to have a piece of history that can also double as entertainment. I dont care for new games, used is fine. Mint shape is not a big deal, complete CIB is preferred. As time goes on, I find myself just collecting stuff I am interested in, and worrying less about complete collections...although I have several large ones done and under my belt. Lastly, I collect becasue it is something tangable that I can do as with money, that can be shared with other people that care about it as I do.

[Cobra Commander]

I collect anything and everything. If I see a game at a thrift store, I usually get it.
I try to collect boxed older games, but if it's loose and I don't have it, I'll pick it up for sure.
Obviously, I'm far more picky when it comes to modern games. The only modern system I'm collecting for really is Gamecube. The rest, (PS2, 360, Wii) I just buy what looks good to play.

[DefaultGen]

.....

[Artican]

NES is my main collection, with around 490 games. At this point I've gotten most of the games I really want to play, so from here on out I'm focusing my energies on just buying on a "want to play" basis. This does not apply to sales, though. For example, one of my local game stores went out of business, and I took the opportunity to load up on sports games and titles I just had a hard time convincing myself to buy. 50 cents per game will do that. ^_^

For everything else, it's strictly a "want to play" criteria for buying.

[NES_Rules]

I buy just about anything I can if it's cheap enough and the condition is acceptable. Even if it's for a system I don't have. I also only buy from the wild
(garage sales and the flea market are my favorites) so finding rare games is a challenge (but possible) so I'm not really trying to get every game for a particular system.

[Pantechnicon]

My collecting M.O. observes three basic rules:

1. The hobby needs to pay for itself.
2. There is nothing I want so badly that I need to pay more than thrift store prices for it.
3. Classic Gaming Expo and similar events temporarily suspend #2, but never rule #1.

For the pre-NES consoles I own (which are my main focus) I buy indiscriminately, meaning that if I don't have it already, I wants it. If I'm not permitted to separate the 1 or 2 titles I need from, for example, a pile of 20 or so commons, then I'll buy the whole pile and either hang on to the excess as trade bait or bundle them with an extra system and sell it on Ebay, and all I'm looking to do in these cases is break even.

For post-NES consoles it has to be a game I really want to play, or something that I know to be unique or rare but its acquisition does not break rule #2, e.g. - a CIB copy of the original "red box" release of Night Trap which I got for $3.

Come CGE time, I usually liquidate any excess tradebait and maybe some systems on Ebay to net some extra cash. I've also been lucky enough to have been commissioned by somebody to build at least one MAME cabinet every year for the last five or so. After the cost of materials, this also nets a few extra bucks with which to go a little crazy in a guilt-free way for hobby-related gatherings.

And this is what's worked for me for the last 12 years. The general keys are patience and perspective (carefully re-read rule #2, taking into account that I'm a married father). I'm in this for the fun of it, not because I want to be rich, and certainly not because I feel like I need to have these things. If my kids were starving and I had to trade my entire collection for a case of ramen noodles, I'd do so gladly and content myself with emulation for the remainder of my gaming days.

[Skipper_Lucky11]

yeah I plan on going to the CGE this year. I didn't know it was so popular?! How many people would you saw come to this thing?

[Cinder6]

Like many others, I only buy what I want. I have no interest in owning a bunch of crap games (unless it's for some specific purpose, and cheap). With cart games, I don't care about CIB, unless there's something special about the game. For disc games, though, I want them complete.

I buy a piece at a time, not in lots. Because of all this (and because of my relatively recent start in collecting), my collection isn't very big, but at least it's full of games I enjoy

Currently, I buy for NES, SMS, Genesis, SNES, Sega CD, PS1, Saturn, N64, Dreamcast, PS2, Gamecube, Xbox 360, and PS3. Though I have portable systems, I tend to neglect them.

[Jackattack]

So is CGE always in Las Vegas? This is the first time I had heard about it and I would love to go if it was somewhere in the south east. I know that doesn't leave a lot of options, so I thought I'd ask if it ever has been down here or anywhere else for that matter.

[Zebbe]

I collect for the Mega Drive, Mega CD and 32X. I have some rules:

1) Only r@re games or games I find good.
2) Only CIB. Registration cards, spine cards, ads etc. aren't important though.
3) At least good condition, but mint is prefered.
4) Euro version, best version and/or cheapest version if possible - that sometimes includes boxart. Sometimes I buy the US version because the Euro version is censored, plays worse etc.