Anyway to protect collections short of putting all games in a safe

[LINK398]

For some reason lately I've been thinking so negatively. Since my collection has been growing steadily in both consoles and games I want and in both rarity and common games I've been getting nervous lately.
Thinking....what if something happens to them....something that I can't really do anything about like a fire....maybe I'm crazy but I'm curious to know if anyone else thinks like this and if it's possible to take extra insurance out on the games lol (maybe something supplimentary to homeowners, I don't rent so renters insurance is out of the way....than again I've never really looked into it) short of buying a huge safe and putting everything in there. thanks

[Gameguy]

A regular fire safe wouldn't be enough, you'd need a media safe. Regular fire safes only protect paper documents from fire, any type of plastics, electronics, or magnetic media would still melt. Media safes are extremelly expensive.

[DK1105]

Don't quote me on this but home owners should cover this but make sure you have it documented what you own. I keep everything I own on one of the collection websites to make it easier to check if I am buying a double but this should also help out in making an insurance claim. Make sure to photograph your collection as well and post it online.

I have never really looked into insuring my collection but I think there is also collectable insurance that you can get but I would have know idea if video games would be covered.

I hope that helps a bit and gives you some peace of mind.

[LINK398]

Especially how insurance companies always under value everything....Oh some Old Video Games? "Gotta be like 25 cents a piece"

[Rickstilwell1]

Yeah also if you have any games on tape or floppy disk a fire safe would probably be a bad idea since it is metal and metal is often magnetic.

[bb_hood]

You could always sell them on ebay BEFORE your house burns down.

[wayultratech]

^^ what BB Hood said. i have Nicholas-Cage-in-Matchstick-Men-level OCD and, in addition to being an obstacle in other aspects of my life, it has become ridiculously hard for me to enjoy or even handle my own collection for fears that "anything and everything is out to get my games" including fire, dust, bit rot, moisture etc etc. so i am, even at this moment, debating whether to sell everything off just for peace of mind. however i haven't been able to go through with it due to turning into one of those "screw the actual carts, get an Everdrive/SD card loading cart and all the games you want free/immediately". i don't necessarily hate or harbor disrespect to that type of gamer, but as i collector i genuinely appreciate the packaging, feeling of owning a real cart, seeing my collection on the shelf, even small stuff like buying a Japanese game CIB and finding an original receipt inside hand-written in Japanese. But at this point, and in my condition (literally chapped bloody hands from washing 4,238 times a day for no reason) it has become a real headache to even set up a system and play a game. So i really sympathize with the worrying/fear aspect, and i am hear to say that, for some, the fear of lost/stolen/damaged/destroyed belongings (especially collectibles) can become too much and result in having to part with their collection as the burden of owning outweighs the benefit.

Having said all this, i am at this point still trying to hold onto my collection as i battle with severe OCD. if it eventually turns out i simply can't enjoy the games anymore, yeah i will turn to eBay (or here as yall are as real as they come as far as collectors) with a tear in my eye and a low BIN.

[Rickstilwell1]

Since I'm already living in a pretty good apartment complex but I need more room and money before I can do any type of major video game collecting, one idea my girlfriend and I considered is after I save up a good chunk of money over the next few years is that I could get a second room here at the apartment complex instead of a house and just make sure the hobby place is a 2 bedroom one so I have more room for stuff in it. The one bedroom we would continue to live in would be comfortable and have plenty of space without all my extra tvs and media collection stuff in here. Utilities in an apartment are by far cheaper than in a house and if you own a house there's still the expensive property taxes and maintaining the yard.


So that said, being in an apartment there's more people that can screw up and start a fire, but in general I've never heard of one here. We've got fire extinguishers in the hall and are in a main part of the city where fire trucks can get to it fast. If you use wooden bookshelves that can't protect games from fire, but if you can find metal storage lockers with doors that have shelves inside, that could be a good bet. If you could find the right size file cabinets that might also work well. Just remember I wouldn't put any magnetic media in there without first encasing them in a thick cardboard box, unless it is a metal that a magnet doesn't stick to. I am personally not going to worry about any disasters and will probably use wood because it is cheaper. If I ever collect any high profile items worth like over $1000 I might just keep them in my main unit, separate from all the regular stuff. So in case of a fire on my side of the building I can move them to the other unit if that unit is far away enough.

If you own your home you could also renovate your game collection room with cement or build a brick wall, floor and ceiling on top of the wooden structure that is already there, complete with a metal door. You could call it the game dungeon. lol

[bb_hood]

and in my condition (literally chapped bloody hands from washing 4,238 times a day for no reason) it has become a real headache to even set up a system and play a game. So i really sympathize with the worrying/fear aspect, and i am hear to say that, for some, the fear of lost/stolen/damaged/destroyed belongings (especially collectibles) can become too much and result in having to part with their collection as the burden of owning outweighs the benefit.

Its crazy that you mention this because I have OCD for real also. I am constantly washing my hands also.
I also live in constant fear that my wood stove will somehow explode and take my games along with it.

Over the last year Ive begun selling off alot of my games. Prices have gotten ridiculous lately, and I just dont play them. I have gotten over the urge to have a massive collection, but there are some items I will never get rid of. My NES collection, Japanese Saturn games, and my PC Engine/Turbo Grafx games wont ever get sold. Part of me will always love collecting video game stuff, but awhile ago I realized for me to continue spending money on this hobby is just stupid.

I also own flash carts for many systems, so I can play almost any game I want without even changing carts. This is a big plus because just searching for any specific game can be enough of a hassle to make me not want to play the game.

[LINK398]

That's nuts you guys can't be serious I too have really bad OCD. I wash my hands so much throughout the day especially with the cold my hands are really chapped. I have to wash my hands before I even play video games and also have trouble switching between consoles and even playing games. Once in a while I wont even play video games even though I really want to because of a certain event or anything that might have happened that day. Another aspect is I won't even get some games that I might really be interested in because of the title of the game. I have also washed games carefully with soap and water when I have got them. It is a huge hassle and it sucks

[wiggyx]

Especially how insurance companies always under value everything....Oh some Old Video Games? "Gotta be like 25 cents a piece"

Wrong.

[Greg2600]

Greatest threats are theft, followed by flood. Sure fire is always a threat, but theft and flood (basements) are much higher.

[wayultratech]

For sure, i definitely agree that logically there are things like theft and potentially fire/environmental damage over time that can actually ruin games. for me it's the not-rational but nonetheless effective/overpowering fears of loss of the games/hardware/accessories etc that have had such a meaningful personal significance. i don't really want to sit here and list off my OCD traits or pen some sob story, but i will say i for sure understand the "threat" collectors feel, as the games/systems represent a financial commitment and nostalgic memories, and it'd suck to have that taken away, but i also have to constantly force myself to remember that games on any platform/era (although 1985 - 1999 wins in my mind) are fun amazing works of art and that's why we're all here talking about them, loving them, and playing them.

[bb_hood]

My main concern is 10-20 years down the line, re-visiting games and finding out that they just dont work. I would hate to have to go through thousands of games testing them all just to see if they are ruined or not. Disc-rot, leaking batteries, whatever. Who knows how long it will take this stuff to break down. Plastic does not last forever.

[wiggyx]

Plastic does not last forever.

Pretty close to it though.

[MetalFRO]

Don't quote me on this but home owners should cover this but make sure you have it documented what you own. I keep everything I own on one of the collection websites to make it easier to check if I am buying a double but this should also help out in making an insurance claim. Make sure to photograph your collection as well and post it online.

I have never really looked into insuring my collection but I think there is also collectable insurance that you can get but I would have know idea if video games would be covered.

I hope that helps a bit and gives you some peace of mind.

If you own your own home, you ask your insurance company/agent about a rider to cover your media collection. You value your collection and get the appropriate rider. Same goes for renter's insurance, you just ask your agent about a rider for media. You may not be able to fully replace each piece with the money, but at least you'd have a head start beyond the tiny contents policy that is usually applied.

Wrong.

Seconded. I spoke with my insurance agent, and they told me to document everything. Take photos and archive them off-site somewhere, if possible, along with any relevant info, i.e. title, publisher, condition, purchase price (if you know/remember), purchase condition (i.e. used, new, CIB, shrinkwrapped, etc.), and so on. You can use a site like Colexions.com to catalog your stuff with photos, and it even has the ability to catalog comic books and collectibles. If you're paranoid about having your whole list of stuff out for the world to see, at least make a spreadsheet with the info you can provide to your insurance agent, along with a CD or digital media card/USB drive so they can have that to refer to if it ever becomes necessary. The insurance company may not understand why a copy of Radiant Silvergun is worth $250 on your list, but as soon as they check eBay and see that's what it generally goes for, they'll get the picture. As I said, unless you buy a big enough rider to cover what you consider as the value of the items you have, you still won't get enough to piece it back together again fully, but you're miles ahead if you take that step.