Items that are difficult to value due to rarity

[attakid101 | 272]

Do you own anything that’s so rare it’s hard to value?

What about things you want to buy? Is there anything you want that’s so obscure you’re not sure how much to pay for it?

Do you have any stories of making a purchase or sale of this kind?
 

[TDIRunner | 2,754]

I have a unique Sega Saturn Demo of Skeleton Warriors that came in a long box jewel case.  Years ago, I tried to research it to see where it came from and spent a lot of time on multiple forums and websites trying to find another copy with no results.  I had a lot of interesting conversations with big Sega collectors and fans, but ultimately, I was never able to find anything else like it.  So it's certainly rare and possibly one of a kind, but at the end of the day, it's still just a demo disc of an average game and probably not worth much.  While researching it, I had several people offer to buy it, but since I wasn't interested in selling, we never spent much time discussing price.  I highly doubt it's worth much.  Maybe $50 best case scenario, and even then that's probably pretty generous.  So being one of a kind does not necessarily mean valuable.  It needs to be desirable as well.  

[final fight cd | 187]

49 minutes ago, TDIRunner said:

I have a unique Sega Saturn Demo of Skeleton Warriors that came in a long box jewel case.  Years ago, I tried to research it to see where it came from and spent a lot of time on multiple forums and websites trying to find another copy with no results.  I had a lot of interesting conversations with big Sega collectors and fans, but ultimately, I was never able to find anything else like it.  So it's certainly rare and possibly one of a kind, but at the end of the day, it's still just a demo disc of an average game and probably not worth much.  While researching it, I had several people offer to buy it, but since I wasn't interested in selling, we never spent much time discussing price.  I highly doubt it's worth much.  Maybe $50 best case scenario, and even then that's probably pretty generous.  So being one of a kind does not necessarily mean valuable.  It needs to be desirable as well.  

Can you post a picture? Is it just essentially the demo, or is it a long box with inserts too? 

[TDIRunner | 2,754]

8 minutes ago, final fight cd said:

Can you post a picture? Is it just essentially the demo, or is it a long box with inserts too? 

Oddly enough, I've already had someone PM me about this demo.  It's been years since I've talked about this demo disc, and the last time I tried to find out any information about it, I ended up empty handed.  I haven't even tried looking since then, but I'm more than happy to discuss it again if people are interested.    

I don't want to derail this thread, so if others are interested in this, I can start a new thread.  The last discussions took place on NintendoAge and SegaAge years ago, so they are probably long gone now.  

[Sumez | 2,973]

2 hours ago, attakid101 said:

Do you own anything that’s so rare it’s hard to value?

What about things you want to buy? Is there anything you want that’s so obscure you’re not sure how much to pay for it?

Nearly every single Arcade PCB in my collection.

It's not like they are super rare (with a few exceptions), but listings are uncommon enough that each new sale dictates the going price afterwards.

[spacepup | 2,405]

I have all sorts of interesting / unique Japanese items, that I can barely find any information on, including Japanese sources. 

One such example is a PlayStation 2 Japanese demonstration disc:

Prismix: PlayStation 2 Sen'you Music Visual Soft: Demo Disc Vol. 1

It is an interesting demo-style disc (Mushou Haifuban) that contains a demonstration of the Sony FourthView technology, which involved a special Sony-developed video-camera, used to record live video, and let you "move around" in 360 form, playing back the video.  The technology was used in a few PS2 games such as "A Visual Mix" which features Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki.

I've literally only seen this disc one time - and it was in the listing which I bought.  I have not seen it again, nor can I find any information about this disc specifically.  I did research the FourthView technology and the associated history / camera equipment, but can't find anything about this specific release.

It's probably not something that interests many people, but I personally consider it very valuable for me.  I research, document, and collect demonstration-style discs, particularly PS2 Japan, so it was a great find.

I have lots of other unique Japanese content that I plan on sharing more at some point - I just have to get organized.

Edit:
By the way, in case anyone cares, this is the camera:

[BirdDogGaming | 218]

I just got this Rayman 2 promotional slinky that I’ve had a saved search for for years. I was the only bidder and won the auction for $10. Very rare item that very few people care about. Depending on the audience it could sell for 5 times this amount or 1/5 of this amount

Edited August 22, 2022 by BirdDogGaming

[DarkTone | 987]

Bought a memory card on ebay. The wu tang controller is uncommon but this memory card seems to be rare. Pulled the trigger with a few seconds to go as the only bidder and got it for £1, including shipping. An hour later I found £1 on the ground. 

The part that worries me is research. With no evidence online that this exists, how do I know its real? 

[Tanooki | 4,943]

I have some stuff, not gaming though, that would check your boxes.  I imagine I mentioned these some years back either here or NA, whatever the case.

The first two images are of a set of toys that came from Israel right after the country was founded, Gamda made this, it's their second rarest toy produced, first among sets.  While there is this set, there is a co-set which swapped out a couple pieces with a couple I don't have.  The only info I could get on it was a google-books pick up scanned of some old media that had bits of info on the company and the toy, coupled with me contacting an ebay seller some years back who dealt in these types of things and was selling utterly destroyed singles from this set for $100-300 a pop 5 years ago.  That guy begged me for it, was the only time he's seen someone with the set, complete, and the box at all.  He paid over over 1K for his set offered me upwards of 2 for this, I kept it but kept his email (how I know the years.)  I got it out of a goodwill for $10, they had no idea, and no way to know.

 

The other, it's family tied, moms side their parents.  That game was only sold at the ballpark and local, official and licensed, not that many made, good luck digging stuff up on it online.  The mass release of it was Line Drive, that you can a little bit.  I have all the original physical patents, trademarks, a scrap book with that and articles, ads, cut outs, photos with 50s celebs, etc the works even a couple store hanging mobiles.  The second of the two shots, if you didn't read the file name, 1of1, a finished prototype that didn't go into production of a travel version of the game.

 

I could not even begin to guess the values on any of these things, a bit on the jewish stuff, but people have become so greedy and craven that old offer is light by now and the baseball stuff... no clue, none, definitely one of those whatever someone is willing to pay things as Dr Jones said, It belongs in a museum.

[a3quit4s | 4,116]

I’d like to eventually find a 8 bit Xmas 2008 and 2009 to complete my set but I’d have no idea what to pay for them. I’m just gonna assume more money than the next guy lol

[Silent Hill | 276]

Here are a few examples of things I never see up for sale, not that I constantly look for them, but over the years I've never seen another pop up. 

Edit: These are ones I own

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by Silent Hill

[spacepup | 2,405]

That Shining Wisdom art is awesome.  Good luck to ever finding one!

[RH | 4,935]

22 hours ago, TDIRunner said:

I have a unique Sega Saturn Demo of Skeleton Warriors that came in a long box jewel case.  Years ago, I tried to research it to see where it came from and spent a lot of time on multiple forums and websites trying to find another copy with no results.  I had a lot of interesting conversations with big Sega collectors and fans, but ultimately, I was never able to find anything else like it.  So it's certainly rare and possibly one of a kind, but at the end of the day, it's still just a demo disc of an average game and probably not worth much.  While researching it, I had several people offer to buy it, but since I wasn't interested in selling, we never spent much time discussing price.  I highly doubt it's worth much.  Maybe $50 best case scenario, and even then that's probably pretty generous.  So being one of a kind does not necessarily mean valuable.  It needs to be desirable as well.  

Very interesting and I'd love to have something like that, but I probably couldn't pay what it's worth.

However, if you do want to try to make a few bucks (and I know people aren't going to like this) then that feels like a prime WATA item sent to Heritage.  "One of a kind" stuff seems like it might sell well with the right hype.

13 minutes ago, Silent Hill said:

Here are a few examples of things I never see up for sale, not that I constantly look for them, but over the years I've never seen another pop up. 

 

 

That Shining Wisdom poster is dope.

 

Regarding this discussion, I actually just bought with BIN yesterday a copy of Myst.  It's the very first release, so it's actually a bit hard to come by.  I know @DefaultGen has a copy and when I receive mine I'm going to ask him questions because I think mine actually as a registration card with a serial number in it, and it's in the 18,000s.  I need to verify that's what the number is, though.

Anyway, I paid less than $30, but again, it was a BIN item and the seller didn't know what they had.  I've seen some sellers offer the second print run copy for something like $100, but I've never paid attention to see if they sold.  Is it worth a lot?  I'm not really sure.  Everyone at this point has to have at least 3 ways to play Myst.  That can add to the mystic of the first edition, but I just don't think enough people care. I'm not buying this for an investment, but I really don't know how to value it.

I also have one unreleased proto of a Game Boy game.  Those have been all over the place.  It's a racing game by Tiertex, and I'd say it's about 75% complete.  I really have no idea how to price this.  The proto market can be weird.

[Silent Hill | 276]

32 minutes ago, spacepup said:

That Shining Wisdom art is awesome.  Good luck to ever finding one!

I should have clarified that all three of those items are mine, just never see them come up for sale, especially the Boogerball. 

 

I got the Shining Wisdom poster from eBay close to 10 years ago from someone who said it was hanging up in WD office and he worked there (not Vic Ireland)

[spacepup | 2,405]

Ooops, I'm silly hah! I misread your message.

That's awesome!  Well, congrats then! It's a really cool piece.  I've not seen another one for sure.  

Classic Working Designs is

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

Very cool thread. I love seeing all this oddball stuff. Pretty much the only resource for pricing is forums like this or maybe conventions and the occasional eBay sale.

One notable item I have is a Timbuk2 Runner's Bag that was specially made for the release of Mirror's Edge. It was limited to 200 pieces, although it's surprisingly findable on the internet.

Here is mine:

 

And here's what it looks like (not my pics):

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by DoctorEncore

[Code Monkey | 2,011]

Someone posted a near complete set of Tengen prototype CHR and PRG chips and I offered $1500 just because I sold a graded game for that amount and was looking to put it back into my collection. I had no idea what the collection was worth but it's what I had and they were happy so the deal is done.

I got offered a Megaman 2 prototype for $20,000 and the only reference I had was a bunch of common NES prototypes that sold for $1000 - $2000 and a Super Mario Bros. 3 prototype (sample) that sold for $33,000. I had no other data to base it on but I agreed.

I got offered a complete Hot Slots in good condition for $1800 and it had been over a year since the last public sale so I really was just shooting blind with that one. I simply had to use my general knowledge of 10 years of collecting to determine a value guess and said yes.

Someone offered me a prototype of NTSC Super Mario Bros. Classic for $600 and nothing like that was even known to exist at the time. I had no reference for value but I simply said yes based on how much I wanted it.

I am currently looking for a complete Tooth Protectors for Atari 2600 and put out a public bounty of $1500 on some Facebook groups but I have no clue if that's even accurate at all. I think I'm going to have to increase it.

A local game store sent me a photo of a Atari 2600 Halloween manual with a crease in the cover and wanted $50 for it. I'm not sure one of these has ever sold loose so I had no clue on value, just had to say yes on a hope and a prayer.

I was offered a Megaman 3 prototype for $1250 and again had no way of determining value. It's just guesses based on years of collecting and how much I want it. Even if it's worth $500, I wanted it badly enough to spend $1250 on it and that's really the only way to gauge it.

I found a test market Deluxe Set with great condition matte sticker games inside when picking up something else from a reseller and neither of us knew any way of valuing this. He wanted $800 for it as a wild guess on value, I said yes simply because I've never seen one.

I saw a posting for chips from Atari 2600 Malagai and Gauntlet which are R9 and R10 games for rarity, actually rare games. I had never even heard of them before so even though there were no cartridge cases, just the chips, I took a chance on both for $150 I think it was.

I found a sealed F-Zero for SNES locally here on a Facebook group and I don't usually sell games but thought I'd pick it up since it's so cheap. I spent $150 in shipping and grading from Wata and since then after seeing some others sell at Heritage Auctions, I estimate I could sell it graded for about $50. Oops.

Someone locally posted a NES rental case for sale for $100 and I was scrambling trying to find some way to value this, there is no sales data to base this on. I decided I would take the chance on it since I've never seen another one and it was a bonus when I found out a working NES was inside.

Lots of obscure Transformers figures I've purchased and are still the only examples I've ever seen.

There are probably more, I've bought many things on a hope and a prayer for value. It helps to have been collecting for a decade.

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

This 'Pocketsize' variant box of the DK Game&Watch is very rare in any shape. I got this at a local pawn shop 7 or 8 yrs ago and have only seen a few documented examples online and maybe one for sale in as many years. My guess is this should be worth around $1k +/- $250 but I think it could probably go for more to a big G&W collector that's yet to come across one. This is one of those items that's just really tough to find. I see the DK2 Pocketsize variant around sometimes (two on eBay now for $800-1000) but not this one. 

[Tanooki | 4,943]

That falls in with the Israeli toy.  I would perhaps sell it eventually, but only if I had a grasp of what it's worth.  The fact I've never seen another copy of the set complete online, just used mostly broken/well loved single vehicles going for bizarrely high sums just makes it too uncomfortable to even venture a guess.  I imagine there are many people here even in this forum with an item or two you know could be a $1000 item or a $10000 item but you have no clue and it gets weird of someone offered or you wanted to offer it up being over it/in a bind.

[Ankos | 452]

Rare stuff with low demand you kind of just have to collect for yourself. There is stuff that I have that I think is cool and uncommon, like bootleg/unlicensed games, but I don't think I could reliably turn a profit on them. As a result, I think that if something does not have an obvious value, then it probably isn't worth a super high price. Of course, you can always find an enthusiast to sell it to

[Romiked2689 | 120]

@attakid101you know what to do with your rare item send it to me:p 

 

Here’s my recent pick up definitely falls in these categories and basically I had to either leave the item or pay the price asked
 

 

[16BitBricks | 59]

I’ve had mixed results with truly rare or obscure stuff. My advice is to do your research and ask around. Talk them up, add 50% to whatever you think it’s worth and be prepared for them to come back with a counter offer of double that (minimum). I’ve had times when the seller reached out to me and sold said item way under what I thought it was worth. It’s an emotional roller coaster, lol!

[RH | 4,935]

11 hours ago, Romiked2689 said:

@attakid101you know what to do with your rare item send it to me:p 

 

Here’s my recent pick up definitely falls in these categories and basically I had to either leave the item or pay the price asked
 

 

What is that, exactly?

[RH | 4,935]

The book collector marketplace has a very old, common saying--there's nothing more common than a rare book.

I think the the book collecting market is probably the oldest and most established market, at least compared to the quantity of items in this world.  I think they've really gotten a handle on this.  I have a couple truly rare books from the 1800s.  Not many are found online, other than libraries in England and the US.  Are they worth anything?  Not really.  Maybe $40-50 at most.  It's the same thing for us, but we're not peddling 200+ year old items "on one has ever seen before".  Regardless, I could certainly see the gaming collector market getting that way in 100 years.  How many LRG or other boutique games that only have 10,000 or fewer copies out there that line shelves now will be lost with time because in time "who cares" about them.

[Tanooki | 4,943]

2 hours ago, RH said:

What is that, exactly?

That if I'm not wrong here (too lazy to go pull it out of my book shelf in the closet) is the art from Nintendo for Link's Awakening.  That's koholint island and the egg there is the wind fish.