Shocking ebay prices! 2

[wakka]

I think the rights would be easy enough in a lot of cases (what with the rights being secured for things like emulated versions of the games being sold, compilations etc). Usually somebody is sat on the rights and if there's some way of getting some money for nothing they'll do it, like that MD reprint of Grey Lancer. Licensing could be troublesome for some games though, especially as it gets newer and you get into things like CD audio. You can end up with stuff stuck in limbo for years, happens with films and music (but not as often nowadays).

Just frustrates me that we have the technology to easily do it, especially in the case of the CD/DVD based games, but we don't. The demand is definitely there for it, based on folks knowingly buying the (often quite shoddy) repro games on places like Aliexpress.

You make good points, I agree.

[Yakumo]

The auction house said there were "fewer than five" copies in such good condition.

And how would they know that? I'll answer my own question, they couldn't know that and they don't know that.

That's just fing stupid. It can't be true. Mario 64, a super common game as well. I bet you I could find a perfect Japanese copy in less than a few weeks and for less that 50 pounds with ease.
People are so stupid with this collecting crap. I wouldn't even pay 10 dollars for a sealed Mario 64. It's nothing special at all.

[Hirst]

That's just fing stupid. It can't be true. Mario 64, a super common game as well. I bet you I could find a perfect Japanese copy in less than a few weeks and for less that 50 pounds with ease.

For some reason all this Nintendo insane price stuff is largely from the American market. They just have to get the American version of everything for some reason (even if it's got little/no Japanese text and the box has awful artwork). Nintendo fans in the US can be so weird about it, I'm convinced Nintendo of America were running a cult back in the day.

[phillv85]

Yep, it's all about the American market, which is good because I don't want them muddying the PAL and NTSC-J markets where I buy from

[Lebowski]

For some reason all this Nintendo insane price stuff is largely from the American market. They just have to get the American version of everything for some reason (even if it's got little/no Japanese text and the box has awful artwork). Nintendo fans in the US can be so weird about it, I'm convinced Nintendo of America were running a cult back in the day.

Been watching a few youtube vids with US collectors going into the wild and finding various games and the American re-sale market of second hand games is crazy. Even certain older sports games are gaining crazy prices certain older Wrestling and American Football doing surprisingly well. PS2 and xbox seem to be gaining ground with quite common stuff selling pretty well, and as always anything first party Nintendo seems to be going silly.

Then their is anything Pokemon a Pal version of Pokemon Blue in its box goes for around £60-80 in the UK, NTSC it's $300-400. A loose copy of Pokemon ruby is $80 going up to $400 if its boxed a UK version is £15 unboxed and £70-100 boxed. What was interesting was a lot of these collectors will warn you to stay away form japanese or european stuff as its not worth the same sort of money and dosent sell well in the American market.

[importaku]

Yep, it's all about the American market, which is good because I don't want them muddying the PAL and NTSC-J markets where I buy from

I was thinking exactly this lol, let americans ruin their own market

[charlesr]

I think it's because Americans would buy a game and immediately chuck away everything except the cartridge, so getting boxed stuff is hard, let alone sealed stuff.

[fuse]

Hmmm, chin scratching time

https://www.actionnetwork.com/news/psa-grading-parent-buys-video-game-grader-wata

[wakka]

Gosh. Terribly fortunate that those record breaking auctions happened just at the precise moment they needed to juice the company value and seal the deal on the acquisition.

[Hirst]

That solves that mystery then, couldn't be any more transparent with their little scheme there.

Got to say that I love the idea that a company can somehow be expert judges in the "authenticity" of a factory seal, I used to work in a warehouse with heat shrinkers for the same purpose and they looked completely different depending on which machine they used, how long they'd been running and even who was operating it. Can completely imagine some bozo complaining that their game was considered to be a potential fraud because for one week in 1996 the factory ran out of wrap and had to get some slightly different stuff in from some other place at short notice.

Anyway, I've started my own rival grading company called WNKA (Worthless Nerds Killing Amusement) and I will grade all your games for a tenner a pop, especially dead rare ones. Turnaround times are a few months, depends how long it takes me to get bored of it. Shooters might take longer because I'm not that good at them. When (if?) you get them back, not only will they come with their official WNKA score brown-taped to the front, but I'll seal up the box, media and even the manual with hot glue so it can never be used again - just as the developers intended. Or maybe I'll just melt it down into a bottle so we can combine it with vintage wine collecting and combine two dumb hobbies into one completely atrocious one.

[monel]

I've noticed for some niches and hobbies, something worth say 50, if it has been 'graded' by some firm and put in a case is then sold for maybe 500 or whatever. How long can this kind of stuff go on, it really surprised me. These items were produced in the thousands originally. This bubble or these schemes can only last because some people are prepared to buy up anything regardless of cost, and speculators. There must be loads of discussion on this but I never looked.

[Sketcz]

There must be loads of discussion on this but I never looked.

There's a secret invite only forum for city bankers, hedge-fund managers, et al, where they discuss these things (stocks, shares, the gold index, high yield volatile assets, shorting, liquidation, real estate, even antiques). Sort of the opposite to that Reddit sub-forum where they fight against these types (sort of like two opposing factions). Lot of stock-jockeys from New York, London, and Hong Kong on there - but the fact-to-BS ratio is off the scale because everyone is trying to outmaneuver the other. Total cesspit.

[samanosuke]

I’m a bit late to the thread… shame as I could’ve told the idiot who won the auction they could’ve done what I did and bought Mario Allstars 3D instead for £40 which not only has Mario 64 but also Sunshine and Galaxy as well. Then they could’ve bought a mansion and a Ferrari 488 Pista with the leftover change they’d have saved.

Honestly this crap is bonkers.

[Soundwave]

Another week another money laundering retro game scam & this time the record breaking game is a sealed copy of Super Mario 1

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It's becoming ridiculous now & just sounds the death knell on retro collecting of any form because people will just cripple the sales on eBay now by asking even more ludicrous prices

Neil

[dataDave]

All those overpriced BIN games on Ebay... No one is actively buying all that in huge numbers. None of it is rare in the slightest.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324704452336?hash=item4b99e4bef0:g:ew8AAOSwAdpg5CuA

€300. Really?