Best buy/sell/trade?

[SoulBlazer]

Since I know many people here are collectors, where I just consider myself a gamer, I'd be curious to know what you think rank as some of your best buys, sells, or trades. What have you bought new at the time that is very rare and/or could sell for mucho money these days? What have you sold for a huge profit? Made any good trades that have you laughing about it for the next week, even ones you did by accident?

I think mine would have to be:

In early 2000 I was looking to get rid of my Game Boy Pocket, which my folks had gotten me for Christmas 98, because they turned around and got me a Game Boy Color for Christmas of 99. I was a active member of the EZTrade site at the time and soon struck what, at the time, seemed like a balanced deal -- my GBP for a used copy of Suikoden II and $20. I had rented and enjoyed Suikoden and I was interested in the second one, but not sure I wanted it, so it seemed like a decent trade. I used the $20 I got to buy the Prima hint book. Now, of course, both the game and book are selling for crazy ammounts, I love the game to death, and consider the set one of my 'true' collectable items. Too bad the front of the case cracked during one of my moves. :/

Last year I reacted to news reports that Animal Crossing and other US GC games would support the keyboard, so I bought one from Hong Kong on EBay for $100. It did'nt take long to discover that AC had NO typing keyboard support and I did'nt like PSO when I rented it so I decided to sell it back on EBay. Imagine my surprise when a newbie swooped in and bought it for $300! And he paid, also!

Just last month I sold my Prima book for Star Ocean II, still with the price sticker from EB for $15 on it, on Amazon for $55. A few months eariler I did the same thing with the book for Harvest Moon (PSX) -- bought new for $20, sold for $70.

Two years ago I bought a mint set of old board games -- Diplomacy, Civilization (the AH one), Shogun, and Axis and Allies -- from a game store in a mall going out of business for only $100. I could easily sell these for about $50-75 each, going off current prices and demand.

Okay, your turn.

[chadtower]

Off the top of my head, things I bought new at regular retail price or on clearance:

Panzer Dragoon Saga
House of the Dead
Magic Knight Rayearth
Shining the Holy Ark

PCE:
Dracula X
Ys IV
Emerald Dragon
the whole Far East of Eden Series
the whole Cosmic Fantasy series

[hezeuschrist]

My best "at the time" purchases were Earthbound, all the Squaresoft SNES games, Lunar SSSC, but other than that I really don't have much of worth.

Oh yeah, I just found my copy of The Kilrathi Saga complete mint the other day when someone started the "what computer games are rare" thread.

EDIT: Oh and of course, asking for Suikoden II for christmas and getting it that year

[atomicthumbs]

Magic Knight Rayearth for Saturn $20 new.
Chrono Trigger $5 used
Super Mario RPG $5 used
Earthbound $7 new

[Pantechnicon]

This is the first time I've written about this trade on the forum, will probably not be the last. It's not a "one that got away" tale so much as it is a "one I gave away" tale.

Last summer about three weeks before CGE I found a copy of the utra-rare Atari 2600 game Malagai at a local game store. I paid $4 for it. At the time I had no idea what it would be worth. So before I purchased it I went home and looked it up on my trusty DP CD-ROM. Imagine my shock when I realized I found a Holy Grail. So about five days later, I went back and picked it up (yes, five days, and there's no telling how long it sat there before that, which you should give you an idea how non-existent the collecting scene is here in Albuqerque).

As an acquistion, it was the rarest thing I had. As a game, I thought it sucked. So I figured I'd take it to CGE and make a trade. I wound up trading the Malagai to another forum member for two multi-carts: 5200 and Vectrex.

You can ask my wife for confirmation of this, but I am not by any means a negotiator. However, Malagai for multi-carts was the best trade I ever made, or probably ever will make.

[l_lamb]

Sealed Final Fantasy Tactics (non-GH version) for $2.99 a couple of months ago at Goodwill. They go for $50-$70 on eBay.

I also have a large selection of guides that I got new for free, and a few that I bought used for prices under $4 that go for $30+ including:

Spyro: Year Of The Dragon (3 copies new - 2 w/TRU excl stickers)
(why does this guide go for so much???)

Secret Of Evermore
Secret Of Mana
Final Fantasy Tactics (TRU exclusive cards)
Final Fantasy Anthology
Star Ocean 2
Vanguard Bandits (I ordered the poster, but mint otherwise)

[BIGMIKE]

bubble bath babes in box, $5 video rental store going out of bizness