How much are games really worth...

docdolittle

Ok, I'm getting rid of my entire back collection of games and I was looking up prices on ebay.. Why is there such a huge difference in price between the likes of megadrive games! :eek: The likes of sonic 3d are going for €5-10 and then sparkster is €45 at the cheapest..

I remember seeing one game going for a few grand on ebay a month or two ago, I'm just wondering going through my collection... am I going to end up giving some of these away for barely anything to what they are worth :pac:

My dusty sparkster:

PirateShampoo

Then why dont you follow suit and sell them on ebay also?

docdolittle

PirateShampoo wrote: »

Then why dont you follow suit and sell them on ebay also?

Because my next step is finding the dam box :pac: It's somewhere here I prob will, the teenage mutant hero turtles game I have seems to be selling for about that too, worth a shot....

Retr0gamer

Some games are rare and hard to come by and are really good and sought after. That's what raises the price. Take a look at the prices panzer dragoon saga goes for as an example of a game that is commonly regarded as one of the best games ever made and only a few thousand copies of it exist.

tman

Yup... Price is usually based around how many copies were produced, and how well it was received.
However, sometimes that rule is totally ignored and you get ****e games going for silly money

Jonny7

Collectable stuff in the box, in good condition, will get you a good price.. you gotta know the market

o1s1n

Also note that just because something seems pricy on ebay doesn't mean anyone will give you that for it. There's no way I hell I'd ever pay 45 euro for Sparkster.

I am also going to assume you're based in Ireland. In which case you'll get even less for the games on ebay as people are inclinded not to bid on items from here.

Best bet is to put them all up on adverts.ie. There's an arcade and retro forum on boards and I am sure there are a few people on there who would be interested in some of your games. Including myself

witnessmenow

o1s1n wrote: »

Also note that just because something seems pricy on ebay doesn't mean anyone will give you that for it. There's no way I hell I'd ever pay 45 euro for Sparkster.

I am also going to assume you're based in Ireland. In which case you'll get even less for the games on ebay as people are inclinded not to bid on items from here.

Best bet is to put them all up on adverts.ie. There's an arcade and retro forum on boards and I am sure there are a few people on there who would be interested in some of your games. Including myself

Lol, someone with vested interest does not make the best advisor. :pac:


I havent forgotten about the DC games, just havent been near a post office"

o1s1n

witnessmenow wrote: »

Lol, someone with vested interest does not make the best advisor. :pac:

shhh!!!!

>_>

<_<

No in all seriousness though, ebay Ireland is rubbish for sellers. Great for buyers. The amount of times I've gotten stuff there for ridiculously cheap just because we're an Island and the rest of the world isn't interested in the high shipping costs. If the same item was for sale in the UK it would go for a lot more.

I recently bought Gradius 2 for the Saturn from an Irish ebay seller for 7 euro including postage. I've seen PAL copies of that for sale on ebay.co.uk for 50 sterling.

Australia is similar. Nobody is arsed having stuff shipped from there. It's where I get a large chunk of my rarer Megadrive games. Megaman: The Wiley Wars only cost me 40 posted from Aus. Same item on ebay.co.uk would sell for well over 100 sterling. I even saw it listed once at 250 sterling.

witnessmenow wrote: »

I havent forgotten about the DC games, just havent been near a post office"

I demand my free games now god damn it! :pac:

Purchiz

just but them all up on eBay for 45 if they don't sell after a week take the price down by a 5er

Do this every week until you sell them.

easy peesy

Niska

Gamespy ran a recent article on the top ten "holy grails" of game collection:

http://www.gamespy.com/articles/492/492961p1.html

And there's currently a copy of "Air Raid" for the Atari 2600 currently on E-bay (curent bid, AToW, $12,000) ...

http://cgi.ebay.com/AIR-RAID-CARTRIDGE-W-BOX-VERY-RARE-ATARI-2600-GAME-R10_W0QQitemZ110514343174QQihZ001QQcategoryZ139973QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

super_furry

I've always been surprised by how little games retain their value. I'm begining to stop buying any game at launch because you can be sure that two or three months down the line, it'll be half the price you paid for it. HMV are selling the likes of Bayonetta, Darksiders, Mass Effect 2 and countless others for pretty much half of what they cost at launch.

There seems to be a window of three weeks to a month in which a game sells and after that it's discounted. There's the odd exception - Nintendo games and Call of Duty games seem to continue to sell - but elsewhere games just leave the public conciousness and head straight for the bargain bin.

o1s1n

super_furry wrote: »

I've always been surprised by how little games retain their value.

It really all just depends on the console/game you're talking about. I know you're referring to this generation (In which case it's to do with the sheer volume of some modern games print runs) but if you look at some older, more lesser known consoles, some of the games really held value.

For example you'd be lucky to get an AES Metal Slug for less than €3000-4000..all the other AES Slugs will cost you a fortune. As will many other Neo Geo AES carts. there are a few Megadrive games worth over 250. Darxide, Primal Rage and T-Mek for the PAL 32X will cost you up to a grand each.

Then there are arcade boards. Again, some of which will set you back a small fortune.

But yeah, as for the mass produced stuff..it depreciates at the same rate as other modern media. I generally try not to buy any new releases myself either. I'd like to support the development teams..but it's just sickening when you see the game for 2/3 of the price a month or so later.

docdolittle

super_furry wrote: »

I've always been surprised by how little games retain their value. I'm begining to stop buying any game at launch because you can be sure that two or three months down the line, it'll be half the price you paid for it. HMV are selling the likes of Bayonetta, Darksiders, Mass Effect 2 and countless others for pretty much half of what they cost at launch.

There seems to be a window of three weeks to a month in which a game sells and after that it's discounted. There's the odd exception - Nintendo games and Call of Duty games seem to continue to sell - but elsewhere games just leave the public conciousness and head straight for the bargain bin.

A lot of places seem to do launch specials now though... I got MW2 for €45 on the release day and you probably won't find it much cheaper for the 360 anywhere for the next few months.. is it really worth waiting for a game you want to play to save €10...? I only have this frame of mind for games I've been looking forward to for a while (MW2, Bioshock 2, FFXIII and next game will prob be fable 3) The rest I prob would wait for :pac:

speedboatchase

With things like Xbox Game Room and the Wii's Virtual Console we're seeing more and more of these "relics" ported over, unaltered and completely lowering the market value of your game. If I was in your shoes I'd study the market, see what the best deal is and make a sale, rather than wait things out

o1s1n

speedboatchase wrote: »

With things like Xbox Game Room and the Wii's Virtual Console we're seeing more and more of these "relics" ported over, unaltered and completely lowering the market value of your game. If I was in your shoes I'd study the market, see what the best deal is and make a sale, rather than wait things out

Not really though. Emulation has been around for years and original copies of classic games are still going up in value.

Many people like collecting the original relics and have absolutely zero interest in digital downloads. Myself included.

Jip

Niska wrote: »

http://www.gamespy.com/articles/492/492961p1.html

I used to have a copy of both Miner 2049er and Bounty Bob Strikes Back, never realised it was a collectable.

Overheal

Collectability is one thing. Only so many copies were ever produced of Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. And while its now available on WVC, the Cartridge still sells and Auctions for excesses of $45 and $60, varying on condition. It also happened to be a fantastic title spearheaded by Squaresoft and a unique genre for the Mario franchise.

In some rare circumstances where you get limited print items (like Contest-in-a-magazine NES cartridges, limited to 10 copies ever made kinda sh*t) The price can be stupidly high. Whether or not the game was any good.

Original Zelda; Original Package; Gold Cartridge; slightly used - $70

http://cgi.ebay.com/The-Legend-of-Zelda-original-packaging-gold-cartridge_W0QQitemZ110389393230QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Vintage_Video_Games?hash=item19b3b8774e

o1s1n

Wow, that's really bloody over priced. I have a boxed gold copy and I think it only cost about 15 euro. Really is in your best interest to shop around.

Now this is more like it! -

http://cgi.ebay.com/METAL-SLUG-1-Neo-Geo-AES-Japan-Import-BRAND-NEW-MINT_W0QQitemZ230440545038QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_VintageComputing_RL?hash=item35a753ab0e

Or this -

http://cgi.ebay.com/AIR-RAID-CARTRIDGE-W-BOX-VERY-RARE-ATARI-2600-GAME-R10_W0QQitemZ110514343174QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Vintage_Video_Games?hash=item19bb2b0d06


:pac::pac::pac: