Decline of the collectors market, how low can it go?

Here it's the other way around - stuff that used to be dirt cheap - Atari, NES, hell, even the noble SNES is now always expensive. Everything is "rare" and a few so-called "collectors" (speculators) bought everything without knowing what it was - only because it was old and "expensive".

Did you people in the first world have that tendency before the big price drop you are currently experiencing?

 

I dunno. Haven't seen much for information sources about gaming in Mexico. Though the language barrier is a problem.

Do you know if Sega actually launched the Genesis console there (not grey imports)?

 

I started stocking up, but im low on income too

 

Yeah, I remember when you could actually find old games at thrift stores, found a few good NES, SNES and Mega Drive games that way. Now, good luck, everyone's selling them on the Internet at inflated prices, especially if they're games for Nintendo consoles.

 

Comic shops sell them at a decent price

 

I miss the days when you could buy an snes and nes for $20, and this was during the whole psx/n64 era. Now forget it. It's not uncommon to pay at least $50 for each. Honestly when did an nes have a value of $50? It still boggles my mind they sell for that much.

 

If I see something I like at an acceptable price, I buy it. If someone makes me an offer I can't refuse on something, I sell it.

Per definition a collection is always an investment, maybe not in the sense of a retirement provision, but tied-up capital.

Some of my games increased in value, some lost a bit, all in all it is pretty balanced. And I collect a variety of systems from Neo Geo to PS3.

 

5 years ago eBay was brilliant for games, car boots were fantastic and ripe for the picking for collectors who wanted things cheap, and sellers who didn't care and just wanted them gone.

Now douchy "collectors"/horders hit all the locations and snipe frequently even on games they don't want if its cheap enough because they can make a profit on it.]

The last item I bought for my collection was bought in 2009 back before the hoarders were taking anything, when I sold parts individually I managed to make atleast 100% profit on everything because I bought things insanely cheap, while selling below market price, that eventually covered me just getting rid of everything in one big go.

I sold Conkur's Bad Fur Day for £20 posted, great game I bought cheap and got a lot of fun out of and made a nice profit while somebody got a great game for below the market price.

Ultimately I think its down to the douchy youtube people who record themselves thrifting and immediately selling for a profit.

 

Meh, I never think about the value of any of my games. 99.9% of them aren't gonna be worth anywhere near what I paid for them in the first place (even if they were found in bargain bins or bought used) :shrug:

 

what? That's a beauty.

 

So true. They always mention RARE, no matter how shitty condition the item is. The "market" is filled with speculators trying to rip off people. This was one of the reasons i stopped buying old stuff for some time.

 

I found a nice little import corner on Amazon.

I've only been burned by Amazon once and the game wasn't even unplayable it was a rental copy and had stickers on the discs and manual.

 

There was never any official Sega launch in Mexico - and in fact I saw Saturn games in a store only once in my life.

The Dreamcast did have some presence in game stores for about a year.


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Now I don't even go to the flea markets or the grey market anymore, because what's the fucking use?

Bunch of douchebags (you know the type - the gangsta wannabes and thugs) who don't know SHIT about gaming hoarded anything they could - they can't even fucking pronounce the names of the games, and they don't even know what they're selling. They drove out the actual knowledgeable vendors, too.

It's a fucking disgrace. And the Internet is even fucking worse.

It used to be that you'd go shopping and could easily find a fellow gamer hoping for a good trade and you'd have great conversations and tips and contacts.

Now, good fucking luck, man. Bunch of illiterate, greedy and ignorant cocksuckers have taken over the whole industry; and the fucking cunts dare call themselves collectors.

To quote the AVGN: "What a shitload of fuck".

 

This pleases me as it allows me to afford random XBox stuff to release here. Granted much of it isn't been too interesting but preservation and knowledge disbursement is the point.

But I do get a bit irked when I find people buying PS2 TEST units to play games they download off the internet instead of using a modchip or something similar. Even more irked when they recommend random people without a lick of technical skill buy a TEST unit as well. Granted there are worse things to see in life but the amount of awesome stuff I've rescued from the garbage can from ignorant people is astounding and frightening.

 

Well I have my places To turn to, Right no my main Focus is on Saturn and Dreamcast and I'm probably maybe 5 or 10 games away from being happy with my Dreamcast collection and stopping...no wait make that 20 forgot about the US releases of Garou and Last Blade 2

 

Now is the time to buy if your a collector, because the economy is so bad right now people need some quick cash and will take any price, im sure in a year or 2 prices will start to rise again.

 

Was looking in completed ebay auctions the other day and saw that a perfectly good copy of Under Defeat (DC) had sold for about $20.

I was sad to have missed that one. Doesn't seem like it was indicative of a trend though. Plenty of games I want still going for expensive prices.

 

I got Zero Gunner 2 in 2004 for around $27 then it skyrocketed

 

EXCELLENT point.

 

One thing that gets to me is "regional rarity" (for lack of better term). Items DIRT common worthless as crap in some states/countries, yet equally difficult to obtain in others.

Look at how little various obscure games like Ninja Jajamaru Ginga Daisakusen go for on yahoo. It's interesting to contrast with ebay's strange virtual lack of that installment, even though others in the series are there. Myself I was lucky to have bought among the few carts posted at ebay in recent memory.