Prices 5 years ago are why I stopped collection, and prices now have me tempted to sell my collection.

[Leathco | 3]

I know....sell the collection?  Sacrilege!  Hear me out......

 

My favorite SNES game is likely Chrono Trigger.  Back when I bought it, I paid around 30 dollars.  It now goes for 150 to 200.  And I don't even play it on my SNES!  The past few times I replayed it, it was the Steam version, just because I liked the idea of cloud saves.  I also played it on my modified SNES classic.  That's just one game out of over a thousand.  And I find this with most games I wanna play, I usually don't prefer to play on original hardware these days because other ways are more convenient.  And I have tons of games just taking up space in storage now.  A part of me wants to sell it all now for a large payday, another part of me wants to wait and see if the prices are more insane 25 years from now when I am approaching my retirement age.  Does any one else have this conundrum or is it just me?

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

All im going to say is dont plan on games as a retirement fund. 

[Leathco | 3]

5 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

All im going to say is dont plan on games as a retirement fund. 

Oh no of course not, it's bonus money if anything. 

[B.A. | 1,139]

If you aren't getting any enjoyment out of holding on to stuff then you should let it go. Trying to time the peak value is impossible, especially 25 years from now.

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

17 minutes ago, Leathco said:

Oh no of course not, it's bonus money if anything. 

Sell. 

[Brickman | 3,990]

Not much point in holding onto it if you don't get any enjoyment out of it. Prices could be higher in the future or they could be lower but it's what you do with the money that matters.

[Code Monkey | 2,011]

The way I look at it, if it cost me so little to obtain, there's no real loss to holding onto it. My bills are paid from my job so what motivation do I have to sell? It's illogical to sell stuff just to get different stuff, that doesn't make any logical sense.

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

1 hour ago, Brickman said:

Not much point in holding onto it if you don't get any enjoyment out of it. Prices could be higher in the future or they could be lower but it's what you do with the money that matters.

Thats a great point, you could always put it in real estate, precious metals or a high interest yield account. 
 

and the final thing that I will add, is people that want to keep games, know they want to keep them.  I know my collection could be sold for a significant amount, and definitely don’t want to sell (but that may change later)

Edited July 27, 2023 by MrWunderful

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

2 hours ago, Leathco said:

I know....sell the collection?  Sacrilege!  Hear me out......

 

My favorite SNES game is likely Chrono Trigger.  Back when I bought it, I paid around 30 dollars.  It now goes for 150 to 200.  And I don't even play it on my SNES!  The past few times I replayed it, it was the Steam version, just because I liked the idea of cloud saves.  I also played it on my modified SNES classic.  That's just one game out of over a thousand.  And I find this with most games I wanna play, I usually don't prefer to play on original hardware these days because other ways are more convenient.  And I have tons of games just taking up space in storage now.  A part of me wants to sell it all now for a large payday, another part of me wants to wait and see if the prices are more insane 25 years from now when I am approaching my retirement age.  Does any one else have this conundrum or is it just me?

Here's the way I look at it- would I rather have the game, or would I rather spend that 200 dollars on something else?  

That's been the tipping point of my entire collection.   The first time prices went batshit I sold off some stuff and picked up other things I'd rather have.

I haven't touched my M.A.S.K. stuff since I moved, but I can't think think of something I'd rather have with the money I'd get from it.   I did sell some Silverhawks stuff last year and got some really cool NASCAR race used stuff for my office.

[Gloves | 11,790]

I sold two piles of stuff I really didn't care at all about after I moved, random mostly what I'd consider "junk" that I'd just sorta accumulated. 

$3500 in two quick easy sales and I was like damn... Kinda feeling the "sell all my shit" bug. 

I'm not gonna sell all my stuff, in fact most of what I have now is forever collection for me, but knowing that if I choose to pair down a bit I'll walk away with huge chunks of change... It's pretty tempting to do some "spring cleaning". 

Maybe do some pairing down. No need to commit to selling everything. Dip your toes, sell some lots. Then see how you feel. 

[FireHazard51 | 2,044]

Man good advice all around.  I too like the advice of if it doesn't give you joy to own it then sell it now.  Don't try time shit.  Take the cash and buy something you really want or use it to make an investment if you want that retirement play money.  Also think it's a real good idea to so small batch sells to see if you have sellers remorse or if you actually like the exchange.

I have junk that I like or junk that don't want and pretty much no one wants so likely going to end up in a GoodWill donation box to go back where it was either destine to go and I stopped from happening at a garage sale or where I originally got it.  I've gotten better when focusing my buying or just over focusing on buying what I enjoy and don't think about what it could be worth down the road.  I sure as shit not buying to then sell down the road for a profit.  If anything I'd buy to then gift to a VGS member 

[docile tapeworm | 4,200]

When I sell stuff I do it in small batches. I also will pull off the shelf and put it into a tote for some time before I list it. To see if I miss it or not.

[dogbowl | 150]

Maybe I've got the collecting bug ingrained in me but I can say that I've regretted everything I've sold.  Think along the lines of "Surely DKJR Math is topping out at $200" and "If someone will pay me $100 for Zombie Nation, I'll take it.  Its not opened so you can't even play it!?".

 

So sell .. but be aware that prices will go up and you my not be able to acquire it again....

 

 

[CMR | 520]

I think we're currently in a buyers market.  Unless you need the money I would just hold on to stuff for now.

[doner24 | 1,196]

I’m in a very similar situation. After moving last summer I don’t have a good spot to display the collection so it’s in storage. Since I can’t even look at it, I want to sell it, but I really think it’s a buyers market right now so I haven’t entertained splitting it up and getting serious about selling it. 

[a3quit4s | 4,102]

I think I hit the point of no return like 1,000 games ago where it would just be to much of a pain in the ass to sell my games. I’d have to sell them all in one shot at like 50-60% of market value to some reseller or game store that even has that much liquid cash. 

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

1 hour ago, doner24 said:

I’m in a very similar situation. After moving last summer I don’t have a good spot to display the collection so it’s in storage. Since I can’t even look at it, I want to sell it, but I really think it’s a buyers market right now so I haven’t entertained splitting it up and getting serious about selling it. 

When it comes to CIB, it's always a seller's market if you're not in a hurry.

[Hammerfestus | 3,852]

I usually “trim” in the summers for whatever reason.  Admittedly I did spend most of the proceeds on buying different games .  I find that through the process of collecting you tend to get a bunch of fluff along with the good stuff.  I actually have come to enjoy the process of sorting through my collection and picking that stuff out and getting it posted and sold. It feels like progress as far as cultivating the collection I want chilling in my storage room.  

[Leathco | 3]

I've already phased a little out, mostly the gamecube stuff since now most of the games I enjoy on it are available elsewhere.  One part that slows me down is that its a hassle to list the stuff, and I also remember the hassle of collecting it all, part of me thinks its throwing that work away, the other part of me thinks it does me no good sitting here when someone else can enjoy it.

[Tanooki | 4,934]

I did the same and still am doing it with phasing out.

Sold Cubivore locally for $500 a few weeks back, no regrets for such an overpriced average game.   Bought my wifes bird off her as she wanted to sell it, only since it turned on her and always liked me, now she's mine.

Dumped a sealed pokemon red last year locally too for around 2.5x that or so.  I felt it was a liability, like with Cubivore.

Offloading what I don't use, offloading which I think is too valuable to just rot on a shelf.  No harm in it, less about, less distraction from using the good stuff.  Super tempted to just middle finger the gamecube entirely with the toxic prices and the fact optical drives are flaky, and GC games are starting to fail more perhaps by design more susceptible to disc(bit) rot.

[The Count | 527]

Marie Kondo has entered the chat.

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

24 minutes ago, The Count said:

Marie Kondo has entered the chat.

Didn't she update her stance since she had kids and has shit laying everywhere just like the rest of us now?

 

[The Count | 527]

2 hours ago, captmorgandrinker said:

Didn't she update her stance since she had kids and has shit laying everywhere just like the rest of us now?

 

Haha, I don't know, buddy. If you love something, set it free, something, something.

[Tanooki | 4,934]

On 7/28/2023 at 12:38 PM, captmorgandrinker said:

Didn't she update her stance since she had kids and has shit laying everywhere just like the rest of us now?

 

Yes she did.  Not sure how I came across that maybe a year ago I guess.  She isn't hoarding, but there is stuff about, kid stuff, other stuff due to kids letting other practices fall off.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

I love my collection, but every time I have to move or organize my stuff, I seriously consider selling it. Maintaining a collection is a lot of work and it is actually reasonable and healthy to consider downsizing or getting out if it's not bringing you joy. In the end, it's just a pile of stuff that you can't take with you. So do what feels right.

Depending on what systems make up the majority of your collection, we may have already hit peak prices. I feel like NES/SNES/Genesis are about as high as they may ever get. PS1/Saturn/N64 probably still have a bit more room to grow (outside of those crazy suspicious Wata/HA pandemic sales) and everything after that has plenty of potential value. The difference with newer stuff is that people realized in the disc era that videogames were not going away and it would make sense to start collecting them. Now we've got multiple users just on this site chasing full sets for current systems, so I feel like values are already high and won't have as much room to rise. over the next 10-20 years.

Edited July 31, 2023 by DoctorEncore