I need your opions...

This is a repost of a thread I made over at AtariAge. FOr some people, making cases is a fucking headache. I thought, "Why not provide that service for people that don't have $10 to spend on a case? Tell me what you think.

"I bought a bunch of cases off of GameCaseWorld.com. Those folks are great, and do great work, but, my collection is just too damn big to spend $10 a case on. Instead, I invested in a good printer, plastic shears, a paper cutter, and a case of UGCs.

Making my own cases is great, but, I know not everyone wants to be bothered with it. Of course, most of us know about Universal Game Cases, and that this entire conversation would never happen without the hard work being done over at The Cover Project. Most of my covers come from there, including designs from GameCaseWorld.com, which are, incidentally, usually adapted from TCP community-donated templates, anyway.

My point is this: this is a more-or-less open source sort of thing, but I know people don't have a lot of time or money to spend on that sort of thing, but want their games cased. Given the fact that I don;t use paper as thick as GCW.com, and that my case mods do not include foam, etc., would there be anyone here that would be in the market for custom UGCs for $6-7 shipped?

I'm not trying to undercut Game Case World, as I freely admit that their cases are the best in the business, and truly of archival quality.

I'm not trying to cheapen the work that the folks at The Cover Project do, nor do I wish to take ANY credit for their art.

I simply want to provide an alternative for the gamer/collector that doesn't need archival quality, has a large collection, and simply doesn't want to be bothered with making their own. I will also do DVD cases for PS1, DC, GC, etc.

If there is enough interest, I will post again when the cases can be produced (waiting on a new case of UGCs). If not, we can forget this conversation ever took place. "

Discuss.

 

I never understood the point of these things to be honest. When it comes to the acquisition of games, people are either collectors who want their stuff to look nice on the shelf (let's use "complete in box" as a loose keyboard) - OR, they're just gamers who don't care so much about what it looks like as long as it works.

So who's the guy with the custom cases? In my native language we have a saying: "That's neither fish nor meat". People who have a collection full of customized cases for their loose games are beyond my understanding - I'm not saying that it's stupid, I just don't get the point because those custom cases cost real money and isn't that what people try to save by buying loose games? Lol
Plus, those custom cases don't have much resale value (excluding MVS shockboxes here). For the average game, buying a loose cart + a $10 custom case with insert + shipping is probably the same expense as simply buying the game complete in box in the first place. And ultimately, a CIB game will always sell for more than a loose cart in a custom case.

 

All your points are valid, considering that you're looking at the black and white, without considering the grey.

I am one of the people these cases appeal to, because I don't want complete collections (as in, every cart for every system). What I do want is a collection that looks great on the shelf, and is easy to organize. I think CiB games look awful on the shelf, even in the cases they have for those (In fact, I sell off boxes once I make a case - if someone wants one bad enough, I am not about to deprive them - I'd never keep them).

Also, with my collection, I know what I mean to keep - games I cherish and play. Period. Add to that my OCD need to organize, and you have the dead middle ground of the two poles you deftly defined here.

Example: I paid about $8 shipped for Ninja Gaiden 1 for NES (with all inserts and the manual, just no box). I paid another $9 shipped for the case. CIB Ninja Gaiden fetches $40-60 on eBay. $18 versus $50 for something I think looks superior (and is functional) on my shelf?

I know I am not the only one who feels this way - that's why the cover project exists.

I just want to provide a service for the guy or gal that doesn't want to be bother changing out ink cartridges, slicing paper, and threading inlays.

I truly appreciate your feedback.