Retro hunting at yard sales - is it dying?

[MrPopo]

(My wife, for example, collects antique art pottery and furniture. In those areas, $200 will not even get you a paper weight...http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-c-1910-GRUEBY-FAIENCE-Scarab-Paperweight-with-Lotus-Stamp-BOSTON-/190700733699?pt=Antiques_Decorative_Arts&hash=item2c66a64503).

Whenever I worry that I'm spending too much on a video game I'm consoled by the fact that there are people spending far more on something much dumber (in my opinion).

[Gunstar Green]

I know there's some hostility against re-sellers, mainly because they get the games cheap and take them out of the wild which makes the physical hunt for collectors like us more difficult. It's exacerbated by these TV shows where "Old and collectible = Money" especially during a troubled time like this where everyone's looking to make some extra cash on the side.

Still, on the bright side re-sellers are often buying games that may have been sitting in someone's attic for years or rotting undiscovered at a flea market for who knows how long and making them available to others world-wide, though at a cost.

There's a good and bad side to it.

Like prfsnl_gmr I also feel this retro bubble is going to burst. Demand is way up right now but it's not going to stay that way. It's fashionable to be into retro-gaming right now, lots of people who aren't video game collectors have burst in on the scene. Some of them will stay with it but many won't and those games will be back out in yard sales and thrift stores once again.

(My wife, for example, collects antique art pottery and furniture. In those areas, $200 will not even get you a paper weight...http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-c-1910-GRUEBY-FAIENCE-Scarab-Paperweight-with-Lotus-Stamp-BOSTON-/190700733699?pt=Antiques_Decorative_Arts&hash=item2c66a64503).

Whenever I worry that I'm spending too much on a video game I'm consoled by the fact that there are people spending far more on something much dumber (in my opinion).

I always get that feeling when I watch some of the shows I mentioned earlier, but I assume those people get as much enjoyment out of their random collections of whatever that I get out of mine.

When I think of how many games I own that I haven't beaten I feel like I'm not that much different than them.

[Pichu]

Having experienced each of the following bubbles:

* baseball cards
* beanie babies
* comic books
* internet stocks
* real estate

I am confident that I will see the prices of retro games fall significantly in the next 3 to 7 years. Once resellers learn that they cannot make much - if any - money trying to sell $200 loose copies of Earthbound, the prices will fall.

This is why I like older people (the cool ones, not the bitter douchebags), they have life experience. And thus give me hope.

[Hazerd]

Like prfsnl_gmr I also feel this retro bubble is going to burst. Demand is way up right now but it's not going to stay that way.

I hope your right, id like a copy of Earthbound for under $80

[FiftyDollarCurse]

Is there any irony to be found when there is a group of people who claim to value old video games and "have passion" for them lament the fact that not enough people consider them worthless anymore? It's kind of strange to assume that you deserve to obtain something you personally value for next to nothing.

That happens with a lot of media. In the 1980s vinyl records were next to worthless. Now they are priced at a premium. Travel back to 1990 and you probably couldn't give away your Atari games. In 2002, no one in their right mind would give you anything for your LaserDiscs.

I still see a ton of video games at yard sales. Right now I mostly come across very common or kiddie PS2, Wii and especially DS and GBA games. I find the occasional N64 or Genesis, but always common items.

To answer the actual question - yes, probably. In so far as a decade plus of the internet, eBay and Craigslist have made it easy to find a fair buyer for anything of value, even locally. Would you put your copy of Earthbound out on a table for 25 cents? No? Why do you expect anyone else in the world to do so?

[Retrogamer0001]

Is there any irony to be found when there is a group of people who claim to value old video games and "have passion" for them lament the fact that not enough people consider them worthless anymore? It's kind of strange to assume that you deserve to obtain something you personally value for next to nothing.

That happens with a lot of media. In the 1980s vinyl records were next to worthless. Now they are priced at a premium. Travel back to 1990 and you probably couldn't give away your Atari games. In 2002, no one in their right mind would give you anything for your LaserDiscs.

I still see a ton of video games at yard sales. Right now I mostly come across very common or kiddie PS2, Wii and especially DS and GBA games. I find the occasional N64 or Genesis, but always common items.

To answer the actual question - yes, probably. In so far as a decade plus of the internet, eBay and Craigslist have made it easy to find a fair buyer for anything of value, even locally. Would you put your copy of Earthbound out on a table for 25 cents? No? Why do you expect anyone else in the world to do so?

I don't know about you, but I don't drive around for hours on the weekend to pay hundreds of dollars for old video games - I can easily use Ebay if I want to pay a premium on a game. Part of the charm and attraction that this hobby has for me (aside from actually playing the games) is finding that rare gem for a cheap (or at least reasonable) price. Do I mind paying 80$ for Earthbound? Not really, if I really want to play it and can't find it anywhere else. Should a complete copy cost me 700$? I don't think so. There is a difference between a fair price and an inflated price, and it makes it extremely tough on the people looking for a fair price and who aren't wealthy or have a lot of disposable income.

[bryan_65]

There is a difference between a fair price and an inflated price, and it makes it extremely tough on the people looking for a fair price and who aren't wealthy or have a lot of disposable income.

I know what ya mean buddy, but there will always be way more people with more disposable income than others. Just be patient and you will find some good deals, maybe not what you want, but good deals none the less. I find maybe one good deal a year and that is it.

[benderx]

You just got to wait until people die . Their junk will end up lost and then given away. I say your retro hunting will begin in the year 20xx. Its are hard to buy old classic cars nowadays.

[Anapan]

I blame it all on Storage Wars. I've had way too many people tell me that my NES is worth $20,000 recently. TV stupidity spreads quick and we all suffer.

[prfsnl_gmr]

(My wife, for example, collects antique art pottery and furniture. In those areas, $200 will not even get you a paper weight...http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-c-1910-GRUEBY-FAIENCE-Scarab-Paperweight-with-Lotus-Stamp-BOSTON-/190700733699?pt=Antiques_Decorative_Arts&hash=item2c66a64503).

Whenever I worry that I'm spending too much on a video game I'm consoled by the fact that there are people spending far more on something much dumber (in my opinion).

My wife's collections definitely put mine in perspective. (She has pottery that is worth more than my entire NES collection...) Nonetheless, my wife asked me to state that she disagrees with your statement because Grueby paperweights are awesome. (Even she admits that she would not pay inflated eBay prices, however. The retail price is more like $250-$350.)

This is why I like older people (the cool ones, not the bitter douchebags), they have life experience. And thus give me hope.

Get off my lawn.