Anyone ever considered "Selling up"

[Mianrtcv]

As time goes by I have less and less game time like so many people do. I debate ditching the stash. I have games that in truth have never been played. I also have normal family living expenses that sometimes make me work a little more than I care to. I have this thought repeatedly, is it time? The items I would consider most selling/trading first would be imports that I never really played in depth. I amassed these items in haste. My collecting fever was higher than ever back then. HoweverI have never been able to sell or dispose of anything yet. I still accumulate games. Even get some systems, sparingly. I don't want to regret getting rid of some items that either gave me great enjoyment from play or just have sentimental value for other reasons. Now I have to pay for a party ($$$$) and the thought again stirs. In truth I think my wife would not let me get rid of it. At least not yet. She has helped me keep the room of doom in order, she has even helped amass numerous items even though it sometimes drives her nuts the space taken up. She also has played some games with me and House of the Dead on the various consoles solo. I don't know if/when it'll happen. The thought will always be near though.

[goatdan]

I've answered similiar questions before in relatively the same way...

I actually don't own that much stuff. Since I have an insane Dreamcast collection, a lot of people figure I must have a ton of stuff. Truthfully... I basically just have an insane Dreamcast collection. And a Jaguar one. Beyond that, almost everything I have I want to keep because it is a memory of my childhood or a time gone by. Other than that, I don't get so attached to things. My 2600 / NES / Colecovision / SNES collections are each probably no more than a total of 100 games, and I am not actively seeking out more.

My Dreamcast and Jaguar collections are both very personal to me. They are both very large, but I collected the Jaguar when it was relatively cheap because I literally have liked nearly every game I've played for it, and the Dreamcast for the same reason. The Dreamcast has become especially personal to me especially because of the new releases that I am responsible for, including the one that I just got done playtesting that is really awesome.

Beyond that though, if I'm not playing it, I don't really care to have it so much. My only other Sega item other than the Dreamcast is a CD-X because I have been using it to check out a few Geni games I have wanted to play... but none have convinced me to keep them yet. I had a Saturn and sold it. Same thing with a TON of other consoles, and I'm currently working on that for my GameCube / Xbox 'collections.'

So would I sell my collection? For the most part, I feel that I already do. As things get older, I tend to get rid of them either through the GOAT Store or with great deals like the current trade 5 in, get $25 dollars credit at EB. The rest of my games are the ones that I really feel are personal, and I would do whatever I could to not have to sell those. If I had to or risk losing my house or not being able to eat, yes they would be sold. Otherwise, I would rather attempt to get a second job first.

[PDorr3]

I thought about it recently, but I know I will never do it unless completely necessary.
I just wonder how much I could get if I sold everything individualy...

[Anthony1]

Is it just me, or does it seem like more and more people on these boards are pondering the question of selling off collections and getting out of gaming (to differing degrees).


I used to be the type of guy that would always sell all my current get stuff, to get next gen stuff, and I would repeat the process over and over. Then I went retro, and I had to buy back all my old stuff.


In the long run, I still came ahead, because I sold my old stuff for way more than it cost to repurchase it at this later date.


But the concept of selling current gen stuff for next gen stuff isn't really what we are talking about here. We are talking about people either stepping away from the video game hobby altogether, or maybe giving up the "retro" part of their video game habit, or maybe just trimming their collections down to the bare essentials.


I've never even remotely considered giving up video games altogether. I don't think I ever will. I will game till I die. However, I have on a number of occasions considered going back to my old ways. My old ways of only being interested in the absolutely newest technology and next gen systems. I've been doing the retro thing for about 3 years now, and I've been questioning my dedication with it.


I've been wondering if it's just a phase that I went through, or does it really have long term staying power? I still haven't ultimately decided the answer to that, but I have decided to scale back my retro collection. Systems that I don't really play are being sold. Like my Game Gear stuff and my Master System stuff. I never ever play it, might as well sell it.


I'm not a collector, more of a gamer, so I'm not concerned about preserving any particular collections. Having said all of that, there is no way I'm going to ever part with my SNES and my Turbo and some key SNES carts and key Turbo Hu cards. Same thing with the Genny and some key Genny carts and the Saturn and some key Saturn games.


With me, it's more of a question if I'm going to sell all my gaming magazines and all the games that I never play and systems that I never play. I'm still undecided on the mags, but I'm definitely starting to part with some games that I know I'm not going to give some decent time to. No need for crap to just collect dust for no reason. Any money that I get from any of this stuff just goes into other video game related issues, like improving my Movie Theater setup (which is about enjoying my games to their fullest extent from an audio/video standpoint), or buying next Gen hardware like the 360 and PS3.


Hey, these new systems are quite pricey!

[crisssybwoy]

I keep trying to sell off my collection & regularly sell off large chunks of it, usually when something goes wrong with my house or if the kids need something new & I dont have the funds for it etc.

I have certainly stopped buying as much so that I can concentrate on my family more etc. I do miss my SNES games & they are the biggest regret I have, but to be honest, I rarely played them as I play DC more often.

Once the kids are older & my wife can go out to work my collecting will resume & I'll get all the nice SNES games back & play them

[mcarocks2003]

I'm TAKING MY GAMES TO THE GRAVE!

Precious SONIC - heal me now!

[marcus12024]

I don't want to sound like a chump, but I've got a decent job (finally!!) and can now afford most every game that I want. Therein lies the problem - I've started to buy junk that I'll likely never play just because it was a good deal. It's pretty stupid, and I need to stop it. I'm guessing lots of people run into a similar problem the first time they have a decent amount of money coming in. It's hard to all of a sudden need to actively budget your spending when you're used to having no extra money outside of rent, bills, and food.

However, I have considered chopping my collection down to about 150 (from 500), and using the money as a down payment on a house. I have a lot of games that I don't play anymore, and that don't have any emotional meaning to me. Now I just need to get off my lazy ass and ebay the hell out of all those games. Ugh!

[Oobgarm]

I most certainly have, a lot more recently than before. I'm getting married next year, have debt that looms overhead, and I'll need a place to live that's not an apartment.

I can't count how many times I've contemplated selling off everything except the games I deeply value and cherish...but games are the one thing that I think 'defines' me as a person, and I can't bring myself to do it.

I think I'd regret it, even if the things I sold could be bought back later on.

[Kamino]

well, lately i've been selling off shit carts that i don't like. Why hold on to crappy games that I don't want to play???
There's a good number of games i will NOT part with, for ANY reason.
There's always flipping burgers if more cash is needed.

[zerohero]

well, lately i've been selling off shit carts that i don't like. Why hold on to crappy games that I don't want to play???
There's a good number of games i will NOT part with, for ANY reason.
There's always flipping burgers if more cash is needed.

Hmmmm, maybe I should get rid of this Ramna 1/2 Hard battle game I have. It's pointless for me to keep it since I don't play it.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Call me selfish and greedy and unethical, but if I were starving and hadn't eaten for a week, I would rather resort to stealing food than selling off some of my prized posessions. Thankfully, I have never been in that sort of position.


I can just vision it now ~ Friends or family find me one day, dead and skeletal. They simply wipe the blood stains off of my sealed games and keep them themselves! Lol.


So long as I am still standing, and able to work, I will never be short of money. And even if I was crippled, so long as eBay remains, I shall never have to resort to selling my own collection.

[ozyr]

Is it just me, or does it seem like more and more people on these boards are pondering the question of selling off collections and getting out of gaming (to differing degrees).

It's not just you...

I've been debating this for years. Heck, I even sold off a chunk of it years ago, only to buy it all back in the last three years.

However, I'm finally too the point that I just have too much of this stuff. I can't afford to keep pouring money into this hobby, as I have other hobbies that I find more important. I am really, really debating taking a good BIG chunk of what I have and sell it in a few weeks at a video game gathering. If I do this, I'm just keeping the stuff I really like.

I can just imagine the amount of space I'd have. I always laugh at the rooms of doom on DP. I have one, but it is more like the 'Boxes of Doom' - boxes of video games, in every single room of my house!

[jdc]

I actually used to have tons of stuff. I used to work in the industry and acquiring large amounts of videogaming items was incredibly easy. I've had the multiples of each of the consoles and the large libraries that go with gluttonous collecting. Now that the videogame thing doesn't put food on my table, it has lessened in importance, not to mention the cornucopia of free stuff ended as well. It's a bit different when you have to pay for your shit.

I woke up one day and saw my overblown collection as a waste of space. I was tired of looking at it, sitting dormant and meaningless on shelves. Lots of software that never got played, backup systems that would never be needed. It needed paring back like a weed infested electronic garden. I methodically went through each system, kept what I truly liked for each, and scrapped the rest. Reducing the N64 library was the hardest and the one I saved for last, but I have no regrets. Now I have 7 consoles (NES, Genny, N64, PSX, Dreamcast, Xbox and PSP) that each have tiny, neat, manageable libraries of the best of their respective software. Sort of a "greatest hits" of each console. I completely scrapped the Cube and PS2 in their entirety and got rid of all duplicate consoles with the exception of N64 variations.

My "collection" may be a total joke compared to the monster that it once was, but being smaller and more playable has actually given it more value.

[ClubNinja]

My "collection" may be a total joke compared to the monster that it once was, but being smaller and more playable has actually given it more value.

Well put. My console collection now looks like it did only a few months after I started collecting actively. I've never enjoyed it more.

[Buyatari]

I thought about selling my collection before but it would take so long by the time I was half way through I'd change my mind and start over. If somehow I could sell it all at once without substantial discount I'm sure I'd have already done so in a moment of weakness.

[Nescollector]

My collection is small compared to allot of people here, but It means to much to me. I was turned on to the Nes at a time I hit rock bottom in my life (cocaine addiction) and it was an intense, awesome feeling to get so much joy from something real. Plus I have over 50 factory sealed games, many that are going for ridiculous prices nowadays.

[junglehunter]

I've been going through the thought of this lately. I don't have much time for gaming as it seems to be. I've just been thinking about how it's going to part out and everything. Granted, I don't have as much as others, but I've amassed some really nice stuff over my time collecting. :/