Who here has a complete SNES loose cart collection and how long did it take you to get them all?

[wiggyx]

I totally agree. It's so nice talking with people who understand the drive to collect. I have come across so many people that hear about my collection and say something ignorant like "You know you can just get an snes emulator and a rom set for free, right?"

These people should be tarred and feathered then sent on their way.

[cheesystick]

I completed my cart-only set about three months ago, which included the competition carts and the South American games. It took me about 12 years to collect them all, although I was doing very little collecting in my college years. I decided I wanted to complete the set at about age 14 and I finally did at age 26, (a strange goal for a kid, I know.) I have been meaning to do a write up of my recent success here on Digital Press, thanking various people including forum members for helping me out, but I haven't quite gotten around to it yet. I am really thankful to everyone that helped.

A lot of my success involved collecting a large sum right when SNES games hit their price floor, probably between 2000-2003. Gamestop was clearing out their stock, (not that I got much from them, but it puts the time into reference), and it was really easy to find games for next to nothing. Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 was all the rage back then and some N64 and PS1 games held some value in the secondary markets, but nobody cared about SNES and Genny stuff at that time. I was able to clean up pawn shops and thrift stores back then just because it was the right time to buy, which is not something you can get away with today, (unless you're into GBA/PSP/XB/PS2/GC games, then it's the perfect time to buy.)

My advice? Well, I'll try to be brief:
- Always ask at garage sales or pawn shops. You never know what they'll have in the back.
- Don't be afraid to buy large lots, even if there are a lot of dupes. You can always resell and DP is a great place to do it. I have purchased lots that cost over $400 multiple times and this is really the way to go. You have less competition buying them because not everyone wants to buy everything. Each time I was able to add to my own collection basically for free, while usually reselling everything else and still making a profit. Look for people trying to sell their entire collection, or a storage unit, or just a huge lot. These people are usually easy to haggle with because they want it gone and you'll also be giving them way more money than Gamestop or a pawn shop would, so it's a win/win.
- Don't be afraid to buy games that aren't complete or are in crappy condition. You can always upgrade later and it makes for easier buying decisions. That is, it will be easier for you to buy a Super Mario RPG in excellent condition for $30 when you know that you can sell the one you already have in rough condition for $20 plus. You can look at it as only a $5 -$10 expense as opposed to just a standard $30 expense, and this also always keeps the hunt alive.
- Go after the rare games first. The seem to be inflating at quite the stellar rate
- Chase after Craigslist ads if you have the time. I purchased a whole SNES system lot, Super Scope, and a eight games for $75. I had all the games already except for one, but that game happened to by Kirby's DreamLand 3, which goes for over $50 loose these days it seems. I only scored this deal because I called and inquired, but it was clearly worth it in resale value. A lot of other collectors would have looked over buying such lots, but every now and then you can score a true gem when someone posts they have some ill-defined "Nintendo tapes" or something. Sometimes they have a SNES for sale as a "Nintendo" and they don't even know it.
- Let other people know you collect. I got SNES games from friends and friends of friends, people I didn't even know just because they heard I was going for a complete set through the grapvine. I had a friend give me Last Action Hero out of his childhood box because he knew I needed it. It is only worth a couple bucks, but instances like that really add up, and you never know when your Dad will come home with a box of "worthless games" from the office's secretary, or something really tangental like that.

One of the biggest mistakes I made in collecting was that I didn't prioritize collecting games that were expensive but not necessarily rare. For example, the last game I needed to complete my set was Harvest Moon. This is not a particularly rare game, but it is an expensive one. I prioritized my eBaying, (I got over 80% of my collection in person, but most of my "rare" games I got off Ebay), to get the rare games. Some of those games were indeed rare but not worth much, like Super Solitaire. Meanwhile, I was putting other games that I didn't consider rare on the backburner, games like Ogre Battle and Lufia. Before I knew it, these games had jumped in price astronomically. I thought to myself, "Not as rare - Not as important," but that was a financial mistake. Most of the last games I needed were not that rare, just expensive, and I watched Harvest Moon go from about a $35 game to a $100+ game in the matter of a few years because I didn't quite prioritize it.

Also, don't buy every game you see just because you don't have it. Make a game out of it. I can't tell you how many times I passed over the Bugs Bunny game just because I though it was too expensive, (turns out to be one of the most common games that I saw over the years). I would keep on seeing it for $3.00 and passing it up. Paying three bucks to cross the game off your list seems like a no-brainer, but the reality is that I knew for a fact that I would eventually find it for a dollar, or get it in another lot for free. It took awhile, but I eventually did find it for a dollar. If you know a game is super common, give it time and don't necessarily buy everything you see. It will help out in the long run and might make collecting a bit more enjoyable. I was stoked when I finally found it for a dollar, personal pride I guess.

Also, I found the Digital Press guide to be very helpful and accurate. The games they list as being super rare are indeed the really rare ones, but I'd like to shed more light on some other games that were really hard for me to find. To be frank, here are some games that I virtually never saw in three years of collecting:
- Ghoul Patrol
- Syndicate
- Super Goal 2
- Sparkster
- Pocky & Rocky 2
- Ren & Stimpy: Buckaroo$
- R-type 3
- Space Megaforce

These were games that seemed a lot harder for me to find than the guide would have led me to believe, at least on the West Coast anyways. Trading on Digital Press was also a huge help and I made friends doing this over the years that I have actually met in person and started genuine friendships with. If it stops being fun for you or ever feels like a chore, it't time to stop. But if you get enjoyment out of the hunt, then good luck, and game on!

[Informationator]

I have come across so many people that hear about my collection and say something ignorant like "You know you can just get an snes emulator and a rom set for free, right?"

I will absolutely check you guys out. I enjoyed chatting with you, dude.

You know the saddest thing? I had three roommates, all gamers, who said basically the same thing. "I can emulate it". Well, good for you. Good luck emulating Miracle Piano Teaching System, Lethal Enforcers, or any Super Scope game. It was just irritating in general. I like coming by my games legally and I like playing them on the original system if possible. Plus there's just something about that old art and having the actual cart... ...being able to grab it off of a shelf and hold it in your hand. Staring at my SNES shelves... it's a thing of beauty.

...and I enjoyed chatting with you too! Send me a PM if you join us on Reddit

These people should be tarred and feathered then sent on their way.

, I know the feeling.

I completed my cart-only set about three months ago, which included the competition carts and the South American games. It took me about 12 years to collect them all, although I was doing very little collecting in my college years. I decided I wanted to complete the set at about age 14 and I finally did at age 26, (a strange goal for a kid, I know.) I have been meaning to do a write up of my recent success here on Digital Press, thanking various people including forum members for helping me out, but I haven't quite gotten around to it yet. I am really thankful to everyone that helped.

A lot of my success involved collecting a large sum right when SNES games hit their price floor, probably between 2000-2003. Gamestop was clearing out their stock, (not that I got much from them, but it puts the time into reference), and it was really easy to find games for next to nothing. Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 was all the rage back then and some N64 and PS1 games held some value in the secondary markets, but nobody cared about SNES and Genny stuff at that time. I was able to clean up pawn shops and thrift stores back then just because it was the right time to buy, which is not something you can get away with today, (unless you're into GBA/PSP/XB/PS2/GC games, then it's the perfect time to buy.)

My advice? Well, I'll try to be brief:
- Always ask at garage sales or pawn shops. You never know what they'll have in the back.
- Don't be afraid to buy large lots, even if there are a lot of dupes. You can always resell and DP is a great place to do it. I have purchased lots that cost over $400 multiple times and this is really the way to go. You have less competition buying them because not everyone wants to buy everything. Each time I was able to add to my own collection basically for free, while usually reselling everything else and still making a profit. Look for people trying to sell their entire collection, or a storage unit, or just a huge lot. These people are usually easy to haggle with because they want it gone and you'll also be giving them way more money than Gamestop or a pawn shop would, so it's a win/win.
- Don't be afraid to buy games that aren't complete or are in crappy condition. You can always upgrade later and it makes for easier buying decisions. That is, it will be easier for you to buy a Super Mario RPG in excellent condition for $30 when you know that you can sell the one you already have in rough condition for $20 plus. You can look at it as only a $5 -$10 expense as opposed to just a standard $30 expense, and this also always keeps the hunt alive.
- Go after the rare games first. The seem to be inflating at quite the stellar rate
- Chase after Craigslist ads if you have the time. I purchased a whole SNES system lot, Super Scope, and a eight games for $75. I had all the games already except for one, but that game happened to by Kirby's DreamLand 3, which goes for over $50 loose these days it seems. I only scored this deal because I called and inquired, but it was clearly worth it in resale value. A lot of other collectors would have looked over buying such lots, but every now and then you can score a true gem when someone posts they have some ill-defined "Nintendo tapes" or something. Sometimes they have a SNES for sale as a "Nintendo" and they don't even know it.
- Let other people know you collect. I got SNES games from friends and friends of friends, people I didn't even know just because they heard I was going for a complete set through the grapvine. I had a friend give me Last Action Hero out of his childhood box because he knew I needed it. It is only worth a couple bucks, but instances like that really add up, and you never know when your Dad will come home with a box of "worthless games" from the office's secretary, or something really tangental like that.

One of the biggest mistakes I made in collecting was that I didn't prioritize collecting games that were expensive but not necessarily rare. For example, the last game I needed to complete my set was Harvest Moon. This is not a particularly rare game, but it is an expensive one. I prioritized my eBaying, (I got over 80% of my collection in person, but most of my "rare" games I got off Ebay), to get the rare games. Some of those games were indeed rare but not worth much, like Super Solitaire. Meanwhile, I was putting other games that I didn't consider rare on the backburner, games like Ogre Battle and Lufia. Before I knew it, these games had jumped in price astronomically. I thought to myself, "Not as rare - Not as important," but that was a financial mistake. Most of the last games I needed were not that rare, just expensive, and I watched Harvest Moon go from about a $35 game to a $100+ game in the matter of a few years because I didn't quite prioritize it.

Also, don't buy every game you see just because you don't have it. Make a game out of it. I can't tell you how many times I passed over the Bugs Bunny game just because I though it was too expensive, (turns out to be one of the most common games that I saw over the years). I would keep on seeing it for $3.00 and passing it up. Paying three bucks to cross the game off your list seems like a no-brainer, but the reality is that I knew for a fact that I would eventually find it for a dollar, or get it in another lot for free. It took awhile, but I eventually did find it for a dollar. If you know a game is super common, give it time and don't necessarily buy everything you see. It will help out in the long run and might make collecting a bit more enjoyable. I was stoked when I finally found it for a dollar, personal pride I guess.

Also, I found the Digital Press guide to be very helpful and accurate. The games they list as being super rare are indeed the really rare ones, but I'd like to shed more light on some other games that were really hard for me to find. To be frank, here are some games that I virtually never saw in three years of collecting:
- Ghoul Patrol
- Syndicate
- Super Goal 2
- Sparkster
- Pocky & Rocky 2
- Ren & Stimpy: Buckaroo$
- R-type 3
- Space Megaforce

These were games that seemed a lot harder for me to find than the guide would have led me to believe, at least on the West Coast anyways. Trading on Digital Press was also a huge help and I made friends doing this over the years that I have actually met in person and started genuine friendships with. If it stops being fun for you or ever feels like a chore, it't time to stop. But if you get enjoyment out of the hunt, then good luck, and game on!

Congrats!!! Man, you really got started at the right time. I STARTED about 20 months ago... I'm sure you'll end up having spent 1/5th or less what I end up spending to finish mine.

Thankfully I had the sense to prioritize rares first. I already have a mint aerofighters, mint hagane, mint buckeroo$, and their respective manuals etc. etc. Even in just the last few months it's amazing how prices for those have shot up. Unfortunately, I have NOT been prioritizing populars - I've made the same mistake you did. I still need Mega Man 7, Wild Guns, Ghoul Patrol, Syndicate, Super Goal 2, Pocky & Rocky 2, and Space Megaforce. Kirby 3 as well... Ugh. I CRINGE every time I think about spending that kind of money on such common games, but I'm just going to have to bite the bullet in the next few months and buy them all up before they get to earthbound levels too.

Thankfully, while those are stupidly expensive, they aren't all that rare, at least, not compared to trying to find 3 ninjas and casper manuals.

I, too, buy massive lots of games if they have a significant portion of games I need. It ends up saving me a nice margin on the games and a ton on shipping. So far I've gotten to my 450-something games (I haven't sorted through all of the lots that have come in yet) via ~140 auctions, which isn't too bad considering a lot of those auctions were for individual rares or were manual-only auctions. For the remainder I do upgrades and throw the rest in boxes for sale once my collection is complete. I won't start buying individual games until hit around 95% completion. ...I'm pushing hard to complete this collection in the next year because every month that goes by is more money out of my pocket.

FYI, if you used the guide to make your spreadsheets... It's spelled "Buckeroo$" not "Buckaroo$" (I think DP has it misspelled). They also misspelled Nickelodeon Guts and SkulJagger has the subtitle of "Revolt of the Westicans", NOT "Revenge of the Westicans", which is what DP has it as.

You should join www.reddit.com/r/gamecollecting too! :P Announce yourselves :P Other than Byuu I don't think we have any other members with complete SNES collections.