Why all the reseller hate? (+Poll)

[MrPopo]

In 2009 I put a mint condition complete boxed copy of Chrono Trigger up on eBay starting at $0.01. In the end the market dictated that I sold the game for $200 to some chap in Australia. That price was not set by me, but by the bidders and what they were willing to pay. Am I the bad guy here?

Text book example of why I don't get the hatred on re-sellers. The only thing you did was define the size of the market you were willing to do business with. Then 6 billion people got together and gave it a price. What were you supposed to do? Thank the guy for his generosity, give him a $120 refund and then mail him his game?

I think the complaint is against the person who sets the BIN at $200, as the perception is that other resellers will look at the BIN prices on eBay to set their prices, rather than letting an auction dictate the price.

[Flake]

I think the complaint is against the person who sets the BIN at $200, as the perception is that other resellers will look at the BIN prices on eBay to set their prices, rather than letting an auction dictate the price.

If people pay that price, then the seller is doing alright. If no one pays that price, that's the market's message to the seller. "Hey Dude, lower that price!"

Again - how is anyone hurting anyone else? Sometimes things are more expensive than we like them to be. But we ourselves are the ones who do that.

[TSTR]

Capitalism.

Why it works, yet pisses off people is nuts.

Buy what you want or shut up. If X wants to sell game Y whether he cares about gaming or not shouldn't amount to two beans.

See, now I also think this is an interesting (and possibly tinted with hunger-induced crankiness lov u Luke) way of looking at the situation.

Sure, it may suck to have something you wanted snatched away from you before you get a crack at it or to feel like the wells are drying up, but what's really so wrong with trying to make money in reselling games? Places like JJGames, eStarland, lukiegames, hell even GameStop to a degree--places I'm sure a lot of us have bought or traded to before--have made this their business. What's so different about them than the guy who grabs a bunch of stuff at a thrift store with the intent to make a profit? (Other than their success and not being open pricks to your face about it, of course.)

[Exhuminator]

Sometimes things are more expensive than we like them to be. But we ourselves are the ones who do that.

This is exactly how I feel about it. Demand dictates the price that supply can uphold, not the other way around.

[pvt_awol]

In 2009 I put a mint condition complete boxed copy of Chrono Trigger up on eBay starting at $0.01. In the end the market dictated that I sold the game for $200 to some chap in Australia. That price was not set by me, but by the bidders and what they were willing to pay. Am I the bad guy here?

That depends: Did you hassle some collector out of it? Did you snag it at a garage sale (or similar) and then after you paid for it you told the person how big of a mistake they made? Did you use some form of force and or general "ass-holery" to aquire the game in the first place?

If none of those, then I can't imagine that you are the bad guy. It's the DB's that treat everyone else like crap in order to get the "deal."

The sad thing is, I have one in my family. He is my uncle, and he brags all the time about this stuff, how he scammed some old lady out of an Earthbound cart or yadda yadda. I've just stopped talking to him, and I won't ever show him my collection because I don't trust him.

Let me say this, there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. I guess I've just never met a re-seller that makes me thing any of them are any good. Obviously I know that this can't be 100% true, but again, it's human nature to think this way, and I've been burned enough times to hate them all.

[BoneSnapDeez]

The chodes who don't collect/play and are in it solely to make dough I generally refer to as "flippers". All of us here are resellers.

At the end of the day you just have to laugh at those folks. Flipping collectibles like this is a terrible way to make money. You're better off snagging a part time job somewhere.

[pvt_awol]

^

Agreed. I'm just waiting for the bubble to burst on them, like it did with Baseball Cards and Comic Books.

[TSTR]

The chodes who don't collect/play and are in it solely to make dough I generally refer to as "flippers". All of us here are resellers.

At the end of the day you just have to laugh at those folks. Flipping collectibles like this is a terrible way to make money. You're better off snagging a part time job somewhere.

I like this way of making a distinction.

[Fragems]

Thing that I find funny with a lot of local resellers is they seem to be a bit on the loopy side when it comes to condition. Nobody bothers to clean up their games and if you point out that a disc is so scratched up that it it most likely won't work they act like you are trying to scam them . Most also seem to be clueless that there is a price difference between loose and complete games as well.

I also find it a shame that most resellers don't have resurfacing machines. Seriously they aren't that expensive and it saves games from the dumpster while also keeping customers happy. Plus I have seen people in the past offer resurfacing services in their shops for a small fee which opens up a new source of revenue.

I die a little inside every time I see a game get tossed out . Have tried to talk a few resellers into selling me their damaged games but for whatever reason they are against it and would rather toss them in the garbage then save a box for me . I'm pretty sure there are a few of them that just re shelf none working games and wait for a buyer who is to lazy to come back .


I take pride in reselling so I have a pretty solid cleaning routine for every game I sell .

Cart based games get a nice alcohol rub down for the cart then a nice contact scrub with a q-tip. If there is a lot of gunk I take the cart apart scrap the contacts clean and dust the board off.

Disc based games get a cycle(10 secs sanding, 1 minute polishing, 2 minutes buffing) through the JFJ Easy Pro if they need it(95% off all the games I buy do ). Then I take the artwork out of the case and wipe down the case with some goo gone removing the stickers and any marker.

There isn't a bunch of money to be made since I spend so much time cleaning and testing stuff but it is a fun hobby plus I like preserving the games and getting them back out into the world.

[Aramonde]

I've also had a reseller take or sometimes attempt to take things out of my hand before. Numerous times. The one time that they succeeded, I saw them at their booth, then bragged about what he did to me then try to sell the game that they took out of my hands for 30 times what they bought it for.

If anyone ever took something out of my hand like that i would immediately beat the living hell out of them. Especially that guy who talked shit to you. Or if he had other people around or was some muscle head i would have found out what car he drove and keyed the shit out of it. Fucking scumbags