The Retrogame Bubble Thread - "that's worth HOW MUCH now?!"

[Sprite]

Rollin' in the dough there now! Seriously, I'm impressed. I honestly hope this doesn't become the norm, though. There are still a few things I'd like to get, but these prices are just killing my cheap self.

The combination of quarantine and stimulus definitely caused a spike that wouldn’t have happened otherwise, but I have no idea if prices will go back down. Googling “retro game bubble” reveals that we’ve been in a so-called bubble for at least the last few years, lol.

 

[Sarge]

Yeah, I know the NES "bubble" hasn't popped yet. Not sure it ever will at this rate.

Over at HRG, we define "retro" as 10 years old or more. Yeah, that feels wrong sometimes (PS3/360), but I think that comes down to how folks my age perceive the passage of time. NES to SNES to N64 felt like forever, but it really wasn't. 360 came out almost 16 years ago, though, and to me now, that doesn't actually feel like that long ago.

Basically, I'm getting old now and it sucks.

 

[Kazin]

Buyer cancelled their bid due to a "mistake" which is frustrating. Other bidder is in the UK, and I have no idea how much it'd cost to ship there, and I suspect due to the size of the package it's not going to be cheap, so I may have to rely on the relisting.

FFS.

 

[Sarge]

Dang, sorry to hear that.

 

[Kazin]

It sucks because I wanted to leave him negative feedback, but I guess I can't after cancelling an order - he tried to lowball me a few hours before the listing ended, then "mistakenly" bid afterwards, presumably to see if after cancellation I'd sell it to him for less, is my guess. I'm actually really annoyed about it. Oh well, it's not like I needed the money just this second... just frustrating.

 

[Mr. Sensible]

I've had buyers pull similar antics on me before. Unfortunately eBay sellers can't leave negative feedback for buyers at all, which often makes selling even more frustrating.

 

[Phantoon]

Over at HRG, we define "retro" as 10 years old or more.

Sounds good to me. I'd describe it as the generation before last. It means it's been out of shops for five years or more, regardless of long tails. Wii and that generation (and DS) are absolutely retro. Young adults played with them as small children.

Sorry to hear that Kazin. That sucks.

 

[Kazin]

I'll survive, thanks. Someone else messaged me and if the UK buyer falls though (which would be understandable), he's on board for $400+shipping. I knew I could sell the thing for about that.

 

[Phantoon]

While I wouldn't pay it myself, I understand it. It's unique hardware whose games have largely remained on the system. I sort of wish I'd bought one in the day, but I fully understand young Phantoon wanting to save the outlay for other things. I think its failure is what makes it rare and interesting, and games like Star Wars Arcade, Virtua Fighter and Virtua Racing have interesting or unique 32X versions.

 

[muteKi]

And Blackthorne! Got a unique set of snow levels that you can't play anywhere el-*thumb to ear* wait, really? No, last week? You know April Fool's is next month, right?

 

[ShakeWell]

As is typicall, the US packaging is the worst worldwide.

Later Japan titles (like the aforementioned Big Bang Pro Wrestling) came in cardboard boxes with shitty brittle plastic inserts.

 

[Kazin]

32X lot was sold to an American for $400+shipping and he paid. Whew!

 

[Sarge]

Congrats!

 

[Phantoon]

Hooray!

 

[Kazin]

My wife busted out her nice camera and we did our best, but here is the listing for my sealed Persona 2: Eternal Punishment... Hopefully someone buys it now lol

Also, Game & Watches aren't as expensive as I thought? I mean, the super rare ones are - Donkey Kong 3 and Donkey Kong Hockey and whatnot costs hundreds, but I just got the multiscreen Donkey Kong II for $85 which I didn't think was too bad. On the rare occasion where I'd see one in person at a game shop, any title would be at least $150, so even though I'm spending a ton on these, I feel like I'm getting a deal.

 

[Sarge]

Whoa, sealed? Yeah, I'd be tempted to unload that and then replace with a CIB version at a minimum.

 

[Kazin]

I'm going to be replacing it with Game & Watches haha

I've gotten out of physical game collecting (Game & Watches aside, though who knows, maybe I'll sell all those in ten years). It's nice to get rid of all the stuff, and after acquiring all of it, I found myself not hooking up the old systems very often, and usually opting to emulate. So, as cool as it was to have all this stuff on my shelf, I may as well sell it, really. Especially because I worry one of my cats is going to figure out how to open the closet door and wreak absolute havoc in there lol

 

[Kazin]

I'm going to be replacing it with Game & Watches haha

Case in point, I just bought this which is an incredible deal. It may be untested, but I see no LCD bleed so worst case scenario, afaik, I may have to get new polarizers. It's in great shape, and comes with the box, which routinely puts this in the hundreds of dollars range, whereas this one was just $100... Not sure if it comes with the manual, but I pounced on it as soon as I saw the listing because of how good a price it is.

I need to stop looking at eBay lol

 

[Mr. Sensible]

Case in point, I just bought this which is an incredible deal. It may be untested, but I see no LCD bleed so worst case scenario, afaik, I may have to get new polarizers. It's in great shape, and comes with the box, which routinely puts this in the hundreds of dollars range, whereas this one was just $100... Not sure if it comes with the manual, but I pounced on it as soon as I saw the listing because of how good a price it is.

I need to stop looking at eBay lol

That looks awesome. Please update us when you get it; I'd be interested to see someone repair a G&W.

 

[Phantoon]

The Retro Future's done it for one

 

[Kazin]

That looks awesome. Please update us when you get it; I'd be interested to see someone repair a G&W.

Well, if you consider "replacing polarizers" a repair, I've done that, it's basically just disassembly, so all you need is a flathead screwdriver. Fixing LCD bleed doesn't seem to be possible, as far as I can tell.

 

[Neo Skimbleshanks]

Oh my g*sh, I should really sell my copy of Rule of Rose before this pandemic ends or whatever. That’s probably the most valuable game I own but I haven’t really checked and have never sold anything.

 

[Sarge]

I have a friend of mine that has Rule of Rose. Yeah, I should probably tell him to sell it.

 

[Kazin]

I sold a copy of Rule of Rose complete in box five or six years ago for about $125, so it's gone up in value since then, I see.

 

[Phantoon]

I have PAL Rule of Rose. It's bobbins. I really should sell that thing

 

[Neo Skimbleshanks]

Definitely have a few more survival horror games I should try to sell, looks like. Hoping to work a lot the next few weeks but if I don’t or get some free time I should try to figure this out. Hard to tell what’ll actually sell and what people are just putting up optimistically but best to get started now before I really need to...

 

[Mr. Sensible]

Survival horror games often seem to appreciate considerably for whatever reason. I mentioned a few pages back how all the Silent Hill games sell for ridiculous prices now (even the entries that aren't good), and that collecting fervor appears to extend to other horror franchises like Fatal Frame, Siren, etc.

Oh, and if you want to see what these games are actually selling for, make sure to filter your eBay searches for "Sold" listings and sort by Ended Recently. It seems like PriceCharting.com sometimes lags a bit on current market values.

 

[Ludendorkk]

Definitely have a few more survival horror games I should try to sell, looks like. Hoping to work a lot the next few weeks but if I don’t or get some free time I should try to figure this out. Hard to tell what’ll actually sell and what people are just putting up optimistically but best to get started now before I really need to...

Let me know what you have available

 

[Neo Skimbleshanks]

I will! Might not be this weekend. So far it's looking like I might want to sell Haunting Ground and Kuon, though the latter's cover is damaged. Maybe that's the extent of what I have and will feel like selling.

 

[Kazin]

Alright, Persona 2 sealed just went for $500 even. Hooray! Just paid for like ten of the Game & Watches I've already bought lol