To open or not to open?

[gepeto]

Hello

I am curious to see collectors views on new and sealed products. I know most of us have rooms of doom filled with new and wonderful items EX Halo Xbox edition, Akuma sf controller, Growlanser deluxe, when you buy a collector item like that do you open it to see if it works and has all the bells and whistle or do you keep it sealed and trust the manufacturer? Does the item drop in value the minute you open to test it? Would you hold that against the seller if you were buying an item that had opened just to test? Given the recent prices for some of these (limited edition bundled items) I would hate to find out if something I bought didn't work properly when is is finally opened. The Collector in me says keep it sealed. The Devil in me says open it up and take a peak see if it works. Finally is there any reasonable way to protect or slow down the aging process of the outer boxes of systems or games that are on your shelf because I swear I have a unused item that everytime I look at it there is a new crease or wrinkle its like looking at the picture of Dorian Gray.
Thanks

[Rugal]

I know how you feel. My Sealed Arc the Lad: Collection calls my name every once and awhile. I really wanna play it but i be damned if i open this one. I feel the same about Castle Shikigami 2 and my Rival Schools.

[MegaDrive20XX]

In the words of the Comic Shop Guy:

GREAT SHATTNER! NO MAN! Special Edition Limited Edition in Mint Condition SEALED in package! It's value is too superior my friend!

Seriously though, what I would do in cases like this, keep one sealed...because chances are, down the road you will run across another one that is loose or cheap..2 of the same item is usually the safest route to take

[pookninja]

i always open,play,and enjoy.i just have to open a new game when i get it,even if its a collectors edition.cant enjoy it if ya dont open it.

[vincewy]

I came across the same dilema, Dreamcast games, easy decision, as most are cheap enough that I can afford to buy another down the road, therefore if it's prestine, I keep it sealed, in fact I'm so obsessed with prestine copies to a point where if I want to open and play the games and they're flawless, I keep them sealed and find another one.

Another system that I'm gradually building up sealed collection is Gamecube, with clearances from TRU and CC, I was able to buy certain games 2 copies, those that are hard to find in sealed and non-PC versions, there's no way I'll open them, whether I plan to keep them later or not, the values of those will drop drasticly if I open them, down the road you can always get the more common versions cheap.

[Xantan the Foul]

I buy games to play them, so I open them even if I have no intention of playing them at that moment (to inspect the disc and maybe flip through the manual a bit).

[Daria]

Depends. Do you collect games for your own personal enjoyment, or do you collect with the intent to resell later?

If the former, what harm could opening it do? You'll have more fun playing the game and enjoying the extras, and if the later then opening it would indeed deapreciate the value of your investment.

[Jumpman Jr.]

Never open a sealed game
I had a buddy of mine (long_shawn_silver here on DP) open about 10 sealed 7800 games right infront of me and laugh while he was doing it.
I just about lost it.
I have alot of sealed stuff, and I don't think I could ever bring myself to open it.
But yeah, its all about what kind of person you are. I'm more of a collector. I do play alot of games, but a few games being sealed isn't the end of the world,

[wisekrak]

It really comes down to you're definition of "value" I feel that my games are valuable because of all the memories that I have from playing them.
When I look back at them I can remember all the long nights trying to get through one more dungeon.
If you feel as though you games are "valuable" because they go for whatever price on eBay or whatever the DP guide says, then you already know the answer to this question.
My feeling however is that collecting a sealed game is no different than collecting baseball cards unopened or anything like that. In fact it's almost worse. I can stare at a trading card for only so long after I've opened it, but you can NEVER create the fond memories I have playing my favorite games with a sealed copy of anything.
It may also be that most of my collection is here due to the fact I have never gotten rid of anything.
I bought most of my games because I wanted to play with them. I did take care to preserve almost everything after opening however which has kept them in almost pristine shape, but that's probably due to my anal retentive nature anyway.

[Bluteg]

Well if it's something replaceable then just open it and enjoy it before you lose interest or it becomes too dated to enjoy. I allways think of it this way. If I was too die tomarrow I might never experience what could have been my favorite game of all time because of my anal-retentiveness of fucking plastic shrinkwrap.

[Iron Draggon]

Open it up and play it, dammit! Are you a gamer or a cellophane collector? I may be obssessed with buying sealed games, but only to open them up and play them! What's the point of paying big bucks for a game you'll never play? It's like buying a book you'll never read! Why even bother buying it? Enjoy it!

[jdc]

I'm talking about COMMON titles here. I used to be a keep-em-sealed collector. Then I realized something. What the hell was the point? Was someone going to come along, look at my collection of sealed games and scream "OMFG!!! The game I've always wanted and it's SEALED too! Here....I'll give you a MILLION dollars for it, on the spot, right NOW! You'll be set for life!!"

The point is....you probably will never sell it....you'll never play it, but might be itching to do so....boasting about owning a sealed copy usually falls on deaf ears since not many people care (do you REALLY think that you're the ONLY collector in the world who owns a sealed copy?)....and you're just denying yourself the pleasure of enjoying something that you've paid for.

If it ain't TRULY rare...open it.

[FurinkanianFrood]

Open games. Play them. Having two copies is a waste of money and causes there to be one less copy for people to play.

I didn't realize until recently that there was such a thing as collecting games simply for the sake of collecting them. I'm not going to judge anyone because then I would have to judge coin and stamp collectors etc. also.

I don't understand it, but knock yerself out. It is a boon to people who sell older games, that's for sure (many of whom may not even fully understand why people are willing to fork over such large wads of cash).

I'm for anything that might help independent game retailers. I also can understand the joy that can come from a feeling of completeness and perfection. I just could never spend money that way myself.

If it ain't TRULY rare...open it.

Even then, I wouldn't understand who I was trying to impress.

If a game is in decent aesthetic condition I don't give a @#$%. I like to look at my collection, but I'm not a perfectionist about it.

I know most of us have rooms of doom filled with new and wonderful items EX Halo Xbox edition, Akuma sf controller, Growlanser deluxe

I don't think many of us do. But that depends on whether us means everyone on the forums ot just collectors. Or is it sarcasm? Or are there more collectors than I thought could possibly exist? Or Orr, that guy from the Cars?

[imanerd0011]

I think that it really depends. If it's a new game from the current generation, OPEN it, because chances are it will never be worth anything rare.
If it is a classic game from the SNES or older, keep it sealed. You will be able to buy another copy for next to nothing unless it is a very rare game. Opening sealed classic games is pretty stupid if you ask me, especially since you can buy a complete copy for much much less.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

Well I have a sealed Resident Evil 4 special edition that I just want to rip into but just can't bring myself to do it. I know its not rare, but i'd figure i'd just leave it sealed and pick up RE4 when it drops to 20 dollars and buy it used or something. Last thing I want to do is open it and see a sealed one sell for 150 dollars on Ebay next year.

[Snapple]

I really think keeping things in their shrink wrap forever is pretty dumb.

When you think about it, the reason that games are worth more when shrink-wrapped is because you know that the game is un-used and in perfect condition. But what's the point of having a game in great condition if you never open it, and therefore never play it? The only reason to save the shrink-wrap is if you plan on re-selling it. Otherwise, tear that crap off.

[garyfoo182]

i had a sealed PAL copy of Marko's Magic Football on Mega CD with SPINE CARD and i opened it. I think it may have broke pr8cjb's heart

GAZ

[Raedon]

This subject has been WELL covered before 2001. but the search feature here doesn't cover that.

I want to play my games.. when I find wrapped games I trade them.

[maxlords]

When you think about it, the reason that games are worth more when shrink-wrapped is because you know that the game is un-used and in perfect condition.

This is NOT true. I've bought several factory sealed games, opened them, and had them have folded up manuals or scuffed discs right out of the shrink wrap. Factory sealed never guarantees mint condition. Ever.

Personally, I buy most of my games sealed...then open them. I don't bother to open them right away, just when I'm about to play them. But it doesn't matter to me if they're opened or sealed and shrink wrap holds no value for me. There's no point. If you can get em cheap sealed, sure, but excluding that, why bother? You're better off buying a flawless mint opened copy than a sealed one any day. Shrink wrap is irrelevant to the gamer, pure and simple. To the collector, that's a different story, but many of us are gamers first and just have collections BECAUSE we are gamers. You can't make an argument for or against it because you're talking about two types of people...one who wants the status of owning something rare and sealed, much like an action figure collector or someone who CCG (?) grades their comics and leaves em in those awful slabs, and someone who wants to own it to use the item, like gamers who open and play their games, comic collectors who read all their comics, etc etc. There's a HUGE difference and you can't say either one is wrong. One has more disposable income obviously Both enjoy what they do however.

I'm just waiting for buyers to start asking me if the jewel cases the games I sell are in are the "original" jewel cases.

[Push Upstairs]

Open it and play.

I purchased a sealed copy of "Magic Knight Rayearth" for Saturn...did i keep it in the package?

F No! I buy games to play them. They were designed to be played and enjoyed. Its much the same way that people who own old and rare cars drive them instead of letting them waste away in a garage.