Video Game Collecting Tell me If Im Wrong here? OLD MAD LADY

[TechXRenAgadeX]

So an older lady just freaked out at me and called me a cheap ass blah blah whatever. I had put a post out on a facebook group of people in my area saying i was looking for retro video games if anyone was getting rid of some i would take it off their hands whatever.

So i get a message from this women sending me a picture of stuff she had and I wasn't too interested in most of it but i told her there were a few games I'd want to purchase on the side. She asked me to make an offer on the games. And usually I hate when people ask this because as we all know we dont want to pay full retail on these games and were always looking for a deal.

I asked her if there was anyway she'd take $10 dollars for everything.(it was like 10 cheap games nothing to crazy) I was expecting her to ask for more no big deal but instead she went on to insult me and say i was a cheap ass and that these games were worth more on ebay and blah blah -____-.

I mean am i wrong here or if someone says to make them an offer they shouldn't freak out at the response isnt to their liking. I was totally willing to pay more but like i said I dont really know what to say when someone asks to make an offer Anyone have something similar happen to them?

[chupon]

Don't sweat it. You are in the right. She clearly has a number she wants for the games - best to just leave it.

I've gotta say though that I recommend staying clear of Craigslist / the Facebook for retro stuff. Stick with reliable forums and members or just buy outright on the eBay. So much less hassle and I'm fine shelling out a few extra dollars to know exactly what I'm getting.

[darsparx]

Gotta agree with chupon...feels like most times anyways I'm more lucky to find what I'm looking for here or on ebay. Plus on craigslist or facebook groups some of these people have done their "research" and know what they have and what it's worth in most markets and there's too many of them getting to that point making it hard to get a good deal on those two anymore. Heck even Goodwill in my area knows what they have when games come in and send most of them off to a store called "The Grid" so yeah...too many know what they have now and think you're cheap if you want a deal on something you want. Of course you could have a someone trying to just get out of the place and dump the rest for a cheap price(which is how I'm stuck with some games I've been trying to get rid of for a year o_O)

[Tanooki]

I agree too with chupon on the part of where not to look, but while she was kind of in the wrong to get all insulting, I'd have been insulted too if someone offered me $10 for 10 games. Ebay or not, unless they were so bad you couldn't move them on ebay for $5(minus fees) it was kind of a slap. Some people like to go back and forward, others are straight shooters and want a respectable answer or something close to that so they can either agree or fire back a first and final price in return.

Personally though, anyone ever brings up ebay to me at a flea market or in an online spot like that I've taken a new mind frame with that in recent years that ebay = 4 letter word. You're basically saying eat a dick, just being disrespectful. I just put the goods down and walk away and that's that. On rare occasion I've had someone get mad at me for it which is amusing or try and shame me to find a better deal. If they do the latter, I'll pull out my iphone and go 'like this one?' which is notably less. If they persist on the line of I can see and touch it, I'll throw back...and I'll never see you again or could make it stick to pay me back if it's broken, my risk not yours.

If someone took the time to price ebay they should sell it on ebay and realize there's a little work and probably a 15% loss (or more if it's cheaper) in fees as you lose 10% +3% and 30 cents roughly.

[Ack]

I agree too with chupon on the part of where not to look, but while she was kind of in the wrong to get all insulting, I'd have been insulted too if someone offered me $10 for 10 games. Ebay or not, unless they were so bad you couldn't move them on ebay for $5(minus fees) it was kind of a slap. Some people like to go back and forward, others are straight shooters and want a respectable answer or something close to that so they can either agree or fire back a first and final price in return.

The thing is though that she seemed to not give any indication of an estimated value. Sure, $10 might be lowballing, but you gotta start haggling somewhere. If he'd said $10 and she replied with $100 or even $1000, then at least there would be a range to work with. Instead she told him to make an offer without any stipulation whatsoever, he did exactly that, and she went apeshit because it didn't fit into her idea of what things were worth.

Also, it really does depend on the games. If she had 10 copies of Capcom's MVP Football, $10 is quite good.

[Fragems]

Yeah pretty much VGPC and eBay has trashed the local markets. Finding someone who is pricing based on the net and selling at reasonable prices is hard and when you do find someone like that 90% of the time they have been picked over by some other prospector who's hoping on this mythical video game gold rush. I still enjoy going out I just go out with the mindset that 99% I'm only going to find so-so deals.

If someone took the time to price ebay they should sell it on ebay and realize there's a little work and probably a 15% loss (or more if it's cheaper) in fees as you lose 10% +3% and 30 cents roughly.

It's actually worse then that because they also charge fee on your shipping costs which is BS they implemented thanks to the cons selling $0.01 items with $10 shipping. That is pretty much why I offer free shipping on my stuff now eBay is going to charge me either way and it's less to think about for the buyer when entering a bid.

Example:

A CIB PS2 game that sells for $5 shipped
Regular Seller with Free Insertion= $0.80-$1.5 after fees + shipping + materials (Not Factoring in Initial Cost of Game)
Top Rated Seller with Free Insertion= $0.90-$1.65 after fees + shipping + materials (Not Factoring in Initial Cost of Game)

Basically if something sells for sub $4 you basically could net yourself a negative total. Meaning you would be paying to get rid of your games lol.

[chupon]

It's taken a few yeas but all the local stores I'd hit on a circuit once a week have caught on to what I'm doing. Any game of value $10+ Cant not be found in the "wild" within a ~3 mile radius of where I live.

Over the last three or four years I'd hit pawns, thrifts, fleas, and salvation armies grabbing only the good stuff. Shit - two years ago I snagged Chrono Trigger, Ogre Battle, and Secret of Mana for a grand total of $4.50 before tax from my local Salvation Army. I'd grab every mario, Zelda, etc I could find at usually 10% games true after market price.

Now though - every store and shop - even goodwill on my area sells online and checks prices on everything. Only the reject cheap games are seen in the wild now for me. It's really sad actually.

I had a good run of a few years where I probably made a few thousand dollars flipping games quick online for less than their going rate. This opportunity is now dead for me though.

[Tanooki]

Ack -- I do agree with you, but I was mentally picturing a bunch of $4-6 dollar type games and no more than maybe one duplicate if that. And yes I loathe people who refuse to spit out a price, unless it's something unique enough pricing is sketchy then I get that. She was clearly fishing yet already had a price in mind and $10 pissed her off but good.


Fragems -- Well said, I know I left the FVF off, and I don't really think about insertion fees since they give like 20-50 free a month. I just stop when the freebies run out until the next promo or 1st of the month. That's what I was considering on that, and you are right if you ever sell something under $5 on there, it's like a dollar or nearly two profit but can be a loss. I'll use free shipping on anything that's more expensive or collector value and I just eat the cost of the usps small flat rate priority box. If I can't get $5 on a game I use it as local trade fodder to get a few bucks and tax off another game, blu ray, or whatever the place has.


Chupon -- I did the same thing for 3 yrs when I was back out in CA and then more casually about 6 mo back in KY, and since then stuff I sell is part of what I have left I grew tired of. Sold lower than the ebay average but not low enough to be used by a reseller for profit was my thing. Things were going fine, but then nationally Half Price Books decided to start using the higher priced to sell Amazon marketprice values or the highest paid ebay BIN they could and throw it on a sticker. It forced my favorite local ma & pa micro chain to match their prices because everyone went there and picked the shelves clean for months and it caused them some pain. Since then retail is a rarity of an old sticker someone missed both there and consumers or really nothing at all. My area people lightly use craigslist or turn stuff into the local shops I noted, or ebay. I'm just glad I got what I want or I'd be annoyed and bummed out.

[ejamer]

A lot of sellers are unreasonable and expect more value than their goods are worth.

A lot of buyers act like dicks by aggressively lowballing with the hope of flipping games for profit.

Asking for judgement about who is "wrong" here is kind of silly without more details. For all I know, she might be right about you. $10 for ten games is pretty low no matter what games there were or what system they came from - and if you are cherry picking a subset games from a larger group it sounds pretty ridiculous...

If the real goal is to bitch about how online pricing has inflated costs in the second-hand market for games, well I sympathize there. It's an unfortunate reality of the times that makes finding real deals even more exciting.

[KayJay]

Out of curiosity, what were the games?


I don't think I can truly answer without knowing what the games were.