Price trends on used games in your area

[Technosis]

Even though I have to admit that I haven't been paying attention to the posts here as much as I used to ( move, new job, fiance, tropical vacations, etc.), I've noticed some obvious trends in my area. I'm going to list a few in point form-thanks

*note if this has been covered in another thread please point me to it

I've noticed this trend in used games:

Xbox 360: Except for cult followings like Katamari, etc...the new releases get progressively cheaper as time goes on: Very predicaible

Xbox: In the basement. Except for rare titles the prices for games are dirt cheap (perhaps because of the backups :-)

PS3: Can't comment since I don't own the system

PSP: Ditto

PS2: Tons of titles, most fairly cheap. RPGS seem to command the higher values on aveage

PSX (PS1): This bit I don't quite understand. Of all the consoles, rare games for this system fetch the most. It has the only used game over $100 in the chain of indy stores I frequent.

SNES: Better/Rarer titles still hold a good value especially if boxed.

NES: In the basement. Apart from the Mario Games and obvious rarities, most are dirt cheap.

Nintendo DS: Moderate prices, loose games go for MUCH less

Nintendo GBA: Very good bargains since 90% are loose

Nintendo GB/GBC: Prices in the basement. Many can be had for a mere $2. The only standouts are the Pokemon games

Nintendo Game Cube: Good Value. Prices are low but haven't collapsed.

Nintendo Wii: See XBox 360 synopsis

Anything older than NES: Not Carried

What I find interesting about this is how a PSX CD based game, easily backed up, can rule over cartridge titles. In the age of hi-res photocopiers, emulators, etc. this seems illogical.

What are the trends in your area....please comment.

Thanks :-)




Sega games aren't carried so no comment.

[Fuyukaze]

Anything before PS2/GC/X-Box is currently priced high in my area. Everything from those 3 to current varries but Wii stuff tends to be the most expensive with pawn shops asking 18-22 per game reguardless of what it is. Realy good for the new and exspensive, sucks for everything else.

[betamax001]

My local PnT's retro stuff is all over the map. I got Pokemon Snap for a buck in fantastic condition and a week later a faded copy was 5 bucks. Some games are really cheap while others are high. For example ActRaiser on the SNES was 5 bucks, while on Amazon its about 16, while ActRaiser 2 was 15 bucks at PnT and it was about 5 bucks on Amazon. Weird.

[duffmanth]

Most of the stores in my area price NES era games pretty cheap except for some rarer titles, especially if they are boxed with the manual. SNES and Genesis era games are pretty cheap for the most part, except for rarer games like FFII & III, which I see for upwards of $100 sometimes. PS1 and N64 games is where things get interesting. For the most part, PS1 games are fairly inexpensive, but there are some gems like Suikoden II that I've seen going for $150, and even games that could once be found anywhere and are now kinda hard to come by like Metal Gear Solid are even up around the $40-50 mark sometimes. The only N64 games that I still see going for high prices are the 1st party Nintendo titles like Super Mario 64 and Zelda: Ocarina of Time. PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube titles are dirt cheap for the most part, aside from the odd rare game. PS3, 360, and Wii titles that are fairly recent are usually in that $40-50 range used, while the games that are a few years old now are under $20 used mostly.

Of the 5 or so decent indy game stores that I frequent in my area, 3 of them are priced pretty reasonably on everything from NES games right up to current games. There are some of the rarer games that they will price higher, especially if they're in good condition and complete with box, artwork, and a manual. The other 2 stores have a lot of common games, but also have a wide selection of some of the rarest games out there and the prices on many of those games are fucking retarded. Just a few examples: Suikoden II $150, Silent Hill $70, Metal Gear for NES $60, TMNT in Time for SNES $60, and so on.

[Baloo]

Most stuff in my area is priced pretty decently in my area. Most of the older cart games are sold for $3 or so at my local flea markets, even my local Goodwill prices really well. There was one video game store near me that had some really terrible prices like Golgo 13 for $30 and SMB/DH/WCTM for $30, and Sonic 2 for $10, but they closed down very early this year.

So really:

NES - $3-5

Genesis $3-5

N64 - $3-5

SNES - $3-10. It's kind of hard to find around here, but when you do the prices are pretty good.

Saturn - Pretty much nonexistant around here.

Playstation - $5-10

Gamecube - Varies. The Goodwill near me priced some Gamecube games extremely cheaply at $2 apiece CIB. And then I saw some flea market vendor trying to get rid of some Gamecube titles at $20-25 apiece.

[Steve W]

There's a chain around the Dallas area (and one in Fort Worth) called Movie Trading Company, and they've started allowing traded in retro video games. All Atari games are $1.99, because they don't have any rarity guides in their computers. There are a few that are priced higher, just because the person pricing things didn't know any better (Space Invaders for $9.99 in their rare game display case, but a dozen more on their regular shelf for $1.99) but generally they're two bucks each, along with Intellivision, Atari 5200, Odyssey2, and other classic consoles except Colecovision, which they tend to price higher for no reason I can understand.

All other eras are fairly cheap, and in the case of N64 and Genesis games, plentiful. They do price those games based on rarity lists, but usually the bottom end of what they're worth rather than eBay prices.

[Zthun]

Most stuff in my area is priced pretty decently in my area. Most of the older cart games are sold for $3 or so at my local flea markets, even my local Goodwill prices really well. There was one video game store near me that had some really terrible prices like Golgo 13 for $30 and SMB/DH/WCTM for $30, and Sonic 2 for $10, but they closed down very early this year.

So really:

NES - $3-5

Genesis $3-5

N64 - $3-5

SNES - $3-10. It's kind of hard to find around here, but when you do the prices are pretty good.

Saturn - Pretty much nonexistant around here.

Playstation - $5-10

Gamecube - Varies. The Goodwill near me priced some Gamecube games extremely cheaply at $2 apiece CIB. And then I saw some flea market vendor trying to get rid of some Gamecube titles at $20-25 apiece.

I've had nothing but bad luck with flea market vendors. They're almost just as bad as the craigslist idiots who try to sell a bunch of sports games with a broken system for 200 dollars. Seriously, who would pay 15-20 dollars for nfl 2k on the dreamcast?

[Baloo]

I've had nothing but bad luck with flea market vendors. They're almost just as bad as the craigslist idiots who try to sell a bunch of sports games with a broken system for 200 dollars. Seriously, who would pay 15-20 dollars for nfl 2k on the dreamcast?

I do run across some vendors that believe retro games should be really expensive, like Final Fight SNES boxed for $10, or some Capcom Saturn import fighting game (the one with Little Red Riding Hood) for $15. Or even a Master System sports game for $5. But they don't seem to be around that much. There are some vendors that consistantly sell video games at decent prices at the flea markets near me.

[darkslime]

It greatly varies depending on the store.

[Zthun]

I do run across some vendors that believe retro games should be really expensive, like Final Fight SNES boxed for $10, or some Capcom Saturn import fighting game (the one with Little Red Riding Hood) for $15. Or even a Master System sports game for $5. But they don't seem to be around that much. There are some vendors that consistantly sell video games at decent prices at the flea markets near me.

You're lucky; around my area, Final Fight SNES boxed would be like $30. The cart alone would be $10. It's outrageous. Every now and then you can find a normal dude selling his collection and that's usually when you can find a deal, but it's very rare. I got a mint condition Secret of Mana cart for $10 this way.

I've seen vendors sell Mario All Stars for $35 because it has more than one game on it. Pitiful.

[Game Freak]

It's really varying in my area. I don't have many places to go (or haven't seen any recently at least) but yard salewise i have been unsuccessful, not seeing any games in at least a year (last september.) At the used book superstore down the street they have all games priced at $2.50, old or new. Sometimes a PC game is overlooked and placed in the CD section (Where i scored Sonic and Knuckles PC collection for $1.25.) Go down the street to a thrift store and find all disc and cartridge games for $1, boxed games and "sets" between 3 and 5 (got two copies of Half Life 2 for 6 bucks!)
Go up the street a bit further to a consignment store and the prices are god awful. A faded, scratched to hell copy of Spyro 2 for 13 dollars. Incomplete NES games and Atari games for 15 dollars apiece (and these games being Jackal, Jaleco's GOAL!, and Coleco Donkey Kong. The prices are overkill, and I feel i even payed too much for an almost 100% mint copy of R.C. Pro-Am: $10. It beat the prices for loose games...

Also scored a $1 StarFox 64 nintendo power advert movie...pretty good find there i guess when you look back on my lack of finds for a whole year. >_>

There is a store a few miles away that sells games on ebay listings, but sometimes I can find good stuff. They bottom out at $3 though, which kinda sucks.

And then theres a flea market. One of the indoor sellers has a $5 each or 5 for 20 deal, and the others seem to scalp a bit on prices.

[Push Upstairs]

The last time I was at a use game store I saw that Genesis games (in general ) were basement priced, Xbox stuff was $5-10 (what I actually looked at)...which was fine by me.

I then spied a cart only copy of "Super Mario World" inside the glass case for $25.

[AB Positive]

There's but one indie game store in my area and... it sucks.

There's deals to be had if you go in repeatedly and find something obscure the owner doesn't want to deal with (got a boxed Virtual Boy with 6 games from him for $50 once) but man. Loose NES games are rarely under $5 and often go for outrageous amounts...

LoZ: $39
Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! - $49 loose.... LOOSE.

FFIII loose going for $49, Mario Paint loose for $29... seriously. It's horrendous. His best 'deals' are usually in the $8 complete Genesis area and that's only if you know what you want or are looking for.

Insanity.

[HYB]

Here prices are just blown up on everything, especially on older games. NES carts start from 20 eur and up, depending on the title, and some things like a LttP cart can cost +40 eur. Boxed and cib games pretty much go by the same logic. I did manage to score a nr mint Journey to Silius once for 20 eur though (of course complete).

The cheapest ps2 game I've seen yet was 10 eur. Some like We love katamari can cost 30 eur used, when you can get it for 10 new in the shops. So the best bet you have is to go to flea markets, some past finds I've had are Sonic 2 mint, 2 eur and Zombies ate my neighbors mint 2 eur, cib RE3, FF7 and FF8 for 3 eur each. Of course there has to be some douche selling sports games or some platinums for 20 eur but that's life.

[cyberfluxor]

I haven't been out game hutting most of this year. Early on it was many disappointments, not in prices but selection. Either super commons have become the only games left or stuff is just dry due to the recession. I've had a few gem finds this year, many non-game related and it's a bit depressing. I think around next summer or towards the end of 2010 I'll see a turn-around in the local classic game market. If I had started collecting/gaming old stuff around now I'd bet this hobby would have ended shortly after starting.

Most thrift stores are still asking $2.50-6.25 for cartridge games, sometimes $8 when it comes to newer disc-based games in DVD cases like PS2 and Xbox stuff. Jewel-case games are in the $2-3 range and usually scattered with the music Cd's of the same price. Computer stuff is between $0.50 and $5.00 depending if it comes in a big box, apparently bigger is always more money even if it lacks a game or manuals.

Pawn shops are generally under $10 for anything pre-Dreamcast. I went through a place the other day with many loose NES, SNES, and N64 carts for $1.25, a few for $2.50. Genesis and PS1 stuff were $1. PS2 and Gamecube games were $3-15, most were $5 though. $15 was for stuff like Smash Brothers and Final Fantasy XI type stuff.

Game stores have been game stores. Some have slashed game prices to sell stock, others have been doing quite well and holding firm to their standard but generally competitive inventory prices. A number of these places pay upwards of 60% trade-in cash or credit so they have good followings and sell the overly hyped games for less than eBay bids, so you'll generally do good if you really want a game they have. One thing I've noticed about a lot of the local game store owners around here is they want to make money, but not screw over the classic gamer.

[thetoxicone]

Depends on the location but most the thrifts in town hover around $4.99 for playstation and older games, 6.99 for xbox, ps2, cube, and 15-20 on new ones. There are the occasional pricers at the thrifts who price older games at 2.99. Overall the pricing works great for the many rare games I've picked up but sucks when it's a common game and you either have to pay up or hope it sits there until half price days or another promotion.

Overall though this place is tons better than the other towns I've lived in because in the past year I've picked up so many good games for under $5.