Topic: Buying and Selling Retro and new Games

[zangetsu468]

Hey all,

I've been through a phase of buying collectibles for a while now, mainly in the form of games.
Most of these games consist of titles that I like or that I can get a deal on (for example today I got 3 copies of Tearaway for PS4. I paid around 19 AUD for these copies and I thought it was a good deal.)

Generally I would buy games that I like such as Castlevania, Megaman, Zelda and so forth. Just yesterday I bought 2 copies of SCIV (PAL version) for SNES, and there's a reason I bought 2 copies, it was an experiment as I would like to start selling some of my games and try to make some business while keeping collecting and trading/ selling as an interest on the side.

Here's the issue where I feel a little bit uninspired. I've called the geographically closest two retro game traders in my area, they've told me a couple of "facts" that I don't believe are sitting right with me:

- Due to living in a PAL English speaking country, Japanese games are worthless here.
- NTSC (US) games still fetch something but not worth as much as PAL, specifically in this location.
- Japan made so many more of their games than our country had made, so the games aren't worth as much (seems to be saying Japanese games aren't worth much in general).
- Basically they can take the Japanese games "off someone's hands" but it will be a bargain bin item so they would only pay a few dollars.
- The only time the guy's ears perked up was when I mentioned Megaman X and Super Castlevania IV.

I'm believing this is general shopkeeper/ buyer bullshit spiel for the following reasons:
- I have  seen Japanese games and even consoles go for a LOT more than PAL versions online, specifically when it's a particular limited -hard to get - edition.
- PAL games generally do cost more than NTSC to my knowledge, but that's a regional thing.
- Japanese games such as SOTN for Sega Saturn and PSX still seem to be very hard to get and very expensive in the online market.
- No mention of anything like Sega Saturn Spine cards and so forth despite showing extensive knowledge about video games, consoles and the like.
- We used to have several Game traders stores around the city that ended up shutting down. They always had Japanese games on display and they were always more expensive than the PAL games. Baring in mind this was a different phase of the economy, still riding off the back of a boom. However just because someone is stating there is no market for something, this is 1 person versus the internet which is saying otherwise.
- Although I mentioned MMX and SCIV he glibly added that it had to be bared in mind that it was a store and they still had to make a "couple of bucks".

As some context, I've been a collector of things all my life. I collected comics, figurine and games (less so back then as they were expensive) since I was 7 years old. For Birthdays, xmases etc I would always get one of the above if not more. (My parents were generous like that). I always remember that my Dad used to collect stamps and I recall him having hundreds, maybe a couple of thousand. We would always go to this one shop where the buyer would tell him all of his stamps were worth nothing. I see this repeating itself now with what I'm collecting. I've seen it happen with comics before also, not that we have ever taken the bait.

Does anyone have any thoughts or direction on this? Is anyone in this forum an experienced trader/ seller?

My thoughts are seriously that Ebay is the way to go, getting fed up of people being happy to take things for nothing. I would bet if I walked into their shop they would one day have a copy of SOTN for Sega Saturn in the display case for $300.00. I would stake my copy of tearaway on it! (definitely pun intended)

Also if anyone is selling copies of Castlevania games what are they? Feel free to DM me if you don't want to disclose it on here, I'm happy to take a look and I do have a paypal account set up.

[Bloodreign]

Show him how much a copy of Magical Pop N or Doremi Fantasy goes for online, both SFC, watch his eyes bulge. Worthless my ass.

[PFG9000]

Some people will tell you anything when they don't know the answer to your question, because it's too hard for them to say, "You know, I'm not sure on that...let me find out for you."  We don't have Game Traders in the USA, but we have Gamestop (unofficial slogan, "Gamestop?  More like Same-stop!").  And they're probably just as bad if not worse. 

Japanese games are absolutely not worthless in any place where you have access to a worldwide market (i.e. eBay, Amazon, etc.).  NTSC games, PAL games, and Japanese games all have their own values, mostly independently of each other.  Sometimes the PAL version is worth more than the NTSC version and Japanese version, and vice versa.  What would these clowns tell you about a game like Rendering Ranger that wasn't released outside of Japan?  Does it have no value in Europe?  What about Europeans who would like to play it - what are their options, in these clerks' eyes?

If the guys who told you this aren't idiots, then the other option is they're trying to short change you on your sale.  They want to take advantage of you by downplaying the value of what you're attempting to sell you.  They might give you $5 for an NTSC copy of Super Castlevania IV, but then they'll turn around and sell it to the next guy for $75.

If you want to get the best value for your collectibles, never sell them to a resale shop.  They wouldn't be able to give you what they're worth if they plan to stay in business.  Instead, go with eBay or Amazon, or join an online forum like NintendoAge/SegaAge/AtariAge that has a marketplace section, and sell your collectibles right to another collector.  The only games I sell to resale shops are the ones that don't have much value to begin with.

[zangetsu468]

They're absolutely trying to short change people!
They're selling Mario All-Stars (cartridge only) for $40 AUD. Some kid or teenager who's father or mother left him this has been shafted for $2.00 out of his collectible.
They were selling a Faxanadu cartridge for $10.00 and tried to convince myself than an NES copy of SMB rrp was $30.00 AUD.

I believe I know why they are doing this. They are promoting their own brand of NES, Genesis/MD carts which you can plug Micro SD's with roms into. The irony is that they also claimed they were starting to promote SS mod chips, hence the question if nobody in PAL territory plays Japanese/US games and originals are "not worth much" why the fuck would people be modding their consoles!!!

I think instagram is actually the best way. All sales private, no bs, no odd return policies unless agreed to by both parties. The site doesn't take commission either.

[PFG9000]

I've never used Instagram, because I'm old, but any venue that lets you sell directly to a collector will get you more than selling to a middleman.

That's really interesting that they sell pirating carts.  You'd think that would threaten their market.  All of the retro game store owners around me frown heavily on any sort of pirating.  Even the repro market is only half-heartedly endorsed by them, because it's such a grey area.

[Lelygax]

If they try to buy something from you for a ver low-price, show them their own price list. Or they are ripping off you, or it is a good place to buy things instead of selling. /sarcasm

They're getting these prices from where? Pawn Stars?



Second part of the video have a very low quality (144p recorded with a cam pointed at a TV):

(click to show/hide)

[zangetsu468]

It's bullshit. Their reasoning is that online is overpriced. They told me they have contacts who are able to "make action replays and universal adapters" so they're worth nothing. They say they're trying to keep prices down because the market is o/p, yet if they're selling NES titles for as little as $10, I'd hate to think what they're buying them for.

I was tempted to buy Faxanadu for $10, but it just seemed wrong to me. I didn't get a good vibe from it.

[Lelygax]

Faxanadu is a cool game, you should give it a try