Games you were able to re-buy for less

[LostLevel83 | 85]

Games have been going up and up for the last dozen years or more. Typically, if you let go of a game and then bought it again years later you pay a lot more.

What games have you been able to re-buy for less that you initially paid?

I’m not taking about yard sale finds. More like games that were republished or rereleased on a modern system, ect.

[dogbowl | 150]

This is a good question .. unfortunately I don't have any examples.

I've got plenty of the opposite though -- selling when I thought it was a the height of the market.  Notables include boxed DKJR Math, sealed Zombie Nation and boxed Super Mario RPG.

 

[RH | 4,903]

I feel like it shouldn’t count but I sold off all of my RPGs in a massive lot a couple years ago.  Since it was a massive purchase and I didn’t have to hassle selling and shipping hundreds of items, I gave the buyer a good deal.

Anyway, Valkyrie Profile for the PSX was in the lot and I probably sold it for about 70% of eBay price.

Anyway, several months later I was at a yard sale and a guy had a PS1 and a lot of about five games including Final Fantasy XI and Valkyrie Profile.  I bought the whole lot for $30. 

Like I said, this feels like it shouldn’t count and, yeah, it’s been the best score of yard selling and thrifting since I started in 2016.  However, I have a hunch these are the only stories your going to hear—people picking up games from others needing quick sales or who don’t know what they have.

Edited September 24, 2022 by RH

[DefaultGen | 5,405]

Basically everything from my childhood when I rebought it. It’s pretty uncommon than any video game at all costs more than MSRP was, which is pretty neat.

Nowadays some Zeldas CIB and whatnot are up there but most people probably played Blaster Master, Sonic 2, and Metroid Prime growing up, not MUSHA, Gun Nac, and Cubivore.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,530]

Most of the PS2 I rebought back in 2015 or 2016 or so.  My local reseller had them priced at $5.  So I got Tsugunai, the Contras, the Guncon stuff, and dozens of other games at a discount.

And then stuff I paid full retail for originally.  Front Mission 3, Xenosaga, Xenosaga II, etc.

[Tanooki | 4,933]

Honestly, not much, because the first go around in 1985-2005 I kept all my stuff nice and CIB(from SNES/GB era.)  But if we pretend that boxes don't matter then I could get serious.

I know of a few things I guess.  I mean I did buy a snap case launch GB Pocket in the mid 2010s for $20, bought it when it came out new at the store in the 90s too and weren't they like $100 or something?  A few years back I got a CIB graphite GBA 101 too for I think $60, that was less than retail.  About a decade ago I got a DK Super Set complete in the box with a few loose games for $80 which made it more like $20-40 range, and my original launch SNES was 200+tax.  So really the consoles and handhelds have been cheaper oddly to re-acquire than the games so far.

If I'm allowed not caring about the cardboard boxes or manuals, I could make a decent list of re-acquired stuff for less than retail done between around 2005-2012 an spotty since as prices turned to trash.

[Bighab | 58]

In 2002 I bought Panzer Dragoon Saga CIB for $200. Sold/traded it a year or so later.  Then around 2014 I thought I'd give it a try again and found a copy locally with a broken disc 2 for cheap($120) I was able to get a loose disc 2 off Ebay for cheap($50) I technically spent less acquiring the game the second time around which is uncommon for a rarer, pricey game. I tried playing through it again and was like meh so I sold it off with no desire to play it again.

[Tanooki | 4,933]

5 hours ago, Bighab said:

...I technically spent less acquiring the game the second time around which is uncommon for a rarer, pricey game. I tried playing through it again and was like meh so I sold it off with no desire to play it again.

Come to think of it I did the same spread over a little time.  I never owned Earthbound brand new.  I got a second copy of the game for $80-85 I think about 15 years ago, it was already not cheap even then but I feared it hitting $100.  Eventually found my interest wasn't that great and sold that one off.  But 2010 or 2011 I found a third copy, I'm sure some here who were on NA remember when I told the story of the mexican lady with the clothes pile, a few ea pc boxed games, and 2 snes carts where one was either BON or that in the distance.  Power walked/ran over there, snapped it up realized, asked, got 2 fingers, and paid $2 and cleared out quick.   Back in town here about a year later someone had the guide spotless(minus the one air freshener mail out card gone) for $60 so I grabbed that too so I'm in $62 vs $80-85.  Ahead, a little, and with the guide no less vs game only.

[RH | 4,903]

I never considered buying things when they were released, new at retail and then buying them again at a bargain.  Lol...

I don't think I've done that.  I am missing a copy of Mario Galaxy.  Well, the case but the game is in a CD wallet.  I need a case but this game is so reasonable, I'm thinking of just picking up another copy.  That should be cheaper than retail if I do it in the next year or so.

[TDIRunner | 2,740]

Even from my childhood playing Atari 2600 games, I've almost never sold any games that I've ever owned, so I've rarely even had the chance to buy back anything that I sold off in the past.  Obviously, I've sold duplicates that I've acquired over the years but that's different.  The only major sell off that I've ever gone through was with my Saturn games about 5 years ago.  I needed a little extra money at the time, but I've never tried to rebuy a single game since then.  I've decided to stick with burned discs for that system.  I doubt I would be able to buy any of those games back for less than what I sold them for.  I also tried to sell off my Lynx set at the time, but I couldn't give those games away.  I'm kind of glad I didn't have any takers, because I regret getting rid of the Saturn stuff.  

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

Pock & Rocky CIB... sold it for a good price and then a nicer copy BIN popped up on eBay for about $100 less a few weeks later, so figured why not?. Not very common for me to re-buy a game though.

[T-Pac | 7,544]

I don't think anyone here actually read the original prompt from @LostLevel83 haha.
I think he's talking about rereleases or ports of older games that were cheaper than the original - not "I paid MSRP for this game in 1998, then I paid a dollar for it on eBay in 2005."

-CasualCart

On 9/24/2022 at 7:19 AM, LostLevel83 said:

I’m not taking about yard sale finds. More like games that were republished or rereleased on a modern system, ect.

[BortLicensePlate | 652]

I got Resident Evil 4 from the e shop for like 12 bucks

[Tanooki | 4,933]

Well if we're playing the re-published racket then yeah I guess so.  I'd have to look back a lot of years I figure to when some SNES and NES stuff got re-released by Nintendo on Gameboy/Color and Advance.  Things like Zelda on SNES was $50 and I got it on GBA which came out at $40.  I think old Super Mario BRos my parents got in 1985 for Christmas was a $30 game, pretty sure I paid the same or a little($5~) less on the GBC Deluxe release but even if that's  sketchy the Classic NES series titles were all $20 when they came out.  I had paid more for Super Mario Bros, Zelda, Zelda 2, Dr Mario, Metroid, Castlevania, you get the idea.  Also those other SNES games too from Super Mario.  Allstars was $50 but SMB1+2+3 cost far more individually, and World was a pack-in but sold at $50 and Yoshi's Island was $50 and both those were $40 or less on GBA too.

 

That fits, since we're talking re-publish/remastered rereleases that cost less than the original purchased title.

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,013]

I think it just happened to me for the first time since selling my Saturn collection in 2014-15.

I was able to get Road Rash CIB for $30 shipped and I think I actually sold my copy for $40, however my copy was in better shape as this one had water damage on the manual. Still counts though lol