Question about Removing Original Price Tag/Hang Tab

[Chongbone 1]

I have a sealed Super Mario Bros NES that I have owned since I was 9. My mother purchased it for me as a gift not knowing that I already had the game. We were in the middle of a move so it was placed with the original bag and receipt with my toys and never returned. I recently was going through some things at my parents house and came across it in my old elementary school lunch box. The price tag, hang tab, original receipt and original plastic bag from AAFES where it was purchased. So now the question is should I send it into WATA to be graded? Does the original price tag on the plastic seal make it worth less therefore it needs to be removed or should I skip the grading process entirely? Would the original receipt, price tag and bag make it more valuable to a potential collector should I decide to sell it in the future? Help please!!

Edited December 4, 2019 by Chongbone
Uploaded pics!!

[Tanooki 4,557]

To the right person the original receipt and the rest may add just a little, because it's history and a story, but that's about it.  Where it lies is leaving that original game intact as it sits right now as it was pulled off the rack at the store, you don't remove things, especially hang tabs.

[Chongbone 1]

20 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

To the right person the original receipt and the rest may add just a little, because it's history and a story, but that's about it.  Where it lies is leaving that original game intact as it sits right now as it was pulled off the rack at the store, you don't remove things, especially hang tabs.

So I shouldn’t pay the extra to have them remove the Original price tag from the plastic seal? 

[snk2d4ever 95]

It depends how intrusive they are. Most people seem to get them removed, but some like to keep them on. It doesn't affect value that much and is up to the individual.

[RH 4,053]

I'm honest enough to say that I've not paid enough attention to how many SMB variants there were, but I know there were at least 5.  Did one come sealed with a hang tab from the factory?  If so, you certainly want to leave the hang tab because it's original.  Again, I don't know about this specific title, but some did have plastic hang tabs so people want them. Regarding price tags, I'm personally conflicted.  I think they are hideous but I always get a kick out of seeing a now +$500 game wit ha $9.99 markdown sticker on it.

Personally, I'd leave it if you're looking to sell, but if you want to get it graded or something and want to remove it, I wouldn't recommend doing it yourself.  I mean, many of us have good experience by now removing these things, but since this could be worth a pretty penny, I'd probably contact WATA and make sure they can remove the sticker without affecting the grade.

[Code Monkey 1,674]

There are 12 different Super Mario Bros. NES (USA specific) variants and the first 6 had hangtab boxes. I'm guessing you're talking about the plastic hangtab on the shrink wrap, this should definitely be removed but I would leave that up to WATA to remove as they will use proper chemicals that won't damage the wrap. I've taken off a few but plastic is porous so the chemical can go through the wrap and get on the cardboard easily.

If you're talking about the cardboard hangtab, then the only way you'd be able to access that is if you have a sticker sealed variant without shrinkwrap. In this case I would suggest not ruining a $100,000 item.

Otherwise, congratulations on 9 year old you putting a house down payment in a lunchbox for future you.

[austin532 457]

I think having the hangtab adds more value IMO. Removing it is like removing the hangtabs off of Genesis cases. I don't mind having the original price tag. It's part of history but if it looks bad and is half torn up, then yeah I would remove it.

[Bronty 187]

19 hours ago, Chongbone said:

I have a sealed Super Mario Bros NES that I have owned since I was 9. My mother purchased it for me as a gift not knowing that I already had the game. We were in the middle of a move so it was placed with the original bag and receipt with my toys and never returned. I recently was going through some things at my parents house and came across it in my old elementary school lunch box. The price tag, hang tab, original receipt and original plastic bag from AAFES where it was purchased. So now the question is should I send it into WATA to be graded? Does the original price tag on the plastic seal make it worth less therefore it needs to be removed or should I skip the grading process entirely? Would the original receipt, price tag and bag make it more valuable to a potential collector should I decide to sell it in the future? Help please!!

send it in.

[Dkaps82 3]

Add pics to this thread

[Nes Freak 562]

no leave it.  if you try to remove it you could damage the shrink wrap.  personally if i got a sealed game that had an original price tag doesnt devalue it if its the one from the store it came from.

Edited December 4, 2019 by Nes Freak

[Chongbone 1]

Edited OP to add pics for reference. Thanks for the replies everyone!!

[austin532 457]

What would that even grade I wonder? Dented corners, light creases, dirty shrinkwrap. I'm guessing a 7.5?

[DefaultGen 4,415]

I'd keep the price tag on since it matches the bag and receipt so it completes the story. I don't like them otherwise.

[Jfreakofkorn 206]

I would keep it as is, touching not a thing on it 

[jonebone 1,252]

The plastic hangtabs pop right off with finger pressure, not hard to do. Receipt and such add negligible value. I'd send it in to max the value and you should expect at least a few thousand for it. Plenty of upside if it grades well.

[Bronty 187]

On 12/3/2019 at 11:23 PM, Chongbone said:

So I shouldn’t pay the extra to have them remove the Original price tag from the plastic seal? 

Since you have the receipt I'd say don't bother.   Nice to be able to tie the receipt price to the price tag.

Doesn't add value really, but kinda neat and the price tag is small anyways.

The good news is its legit and has value.   The bad news is that its not the highest graded specimen given the scuffing and damaged corner, but still.  Great find.

[Bronty 187]

14 hours ago, austin532 said:

What would that even grade I wonder? Dented corners, light creases, dirty shrinkwrap. I'm guessing a 7.5?

Eh, the dust will come off the wrap.   I don't see any creasing, I think those are scratches in the wrap.

At vga probably an 80+ and at wata probably a 8.5-9.0 B?

Guessing, obviously.

[RH 4,053]

Unrelated to this, but I just want to say as a kid I loved going with my Grandmother to shop at AAFES.  For those of you who have never heard of this department store, sizable USA mainland or international military bases, had these stores on them so that people could pick up American items.  The biggest benefit is that since it was operated by the US Military, items were not taxed at check out.

I think most AAFES are located internationally, but in our case Fort Jackson is a HUGE training base on the edge of Columbia, SC.  My Grandmother would take me there and I'd buy all of my comics and SEGA related games because, though it wasn't much, for a kid spending his allowance saving the extra 5% helped and I as a young kid could walk in knowing exactly how much something would cost without having to do the math of adding $.05 for every dollar I might want to spend. 

Seeing that bag and receipt brings back good memories. I probably saw a similar SMB hanging in our AAFES around the same time too.

Edited December 5, 2019 by RH

[Croz of Vinheim 4]

Very cool story - and I would definitely hang on to the bag and receipt so you can include that with the game whenever you sell it.   I agree with others that it doesn't add a lot of value to the game itself, but I think having that proof of provenance never hurts and could give it an edge over comparable examples imo.   I hope you do well with it at WATA. 

RH - this reminds me of my Leonardo TMNT figure I have.  My Grandmother bought it for me for my birthday and (knowing that I already had one opened to play with) bought me a second one unopened.  Stapled the receipt to the bag, put a handwritten note on the top and sealed it Hills Department store bag.  That's a prized possession for me. 

[DorkOverlord 617]

I always leave the price tags on my sealed games. I think they're kind of a cool little piece of history and add to the unique character/"story" of the game.

[oops 75]

if you open it you will have somewhere to keep the receipt, of course the value will be dropped but thats the price of convenience

[ExplodedHamster 394]

On 12/5/2019 at 8:16 PM, DorkOverlord said:

I always leave the price tags on my sealed games. I think they're kind of a cool little piece of history and add to the unique character/"story" of the game.

Depends for me. If it’s a cool original KayBee or Mars sticker, I leave it on, but if it’s an orange 9.99 bargain bin sticker, I take if off.

[RasAlGhul007 5]

All depends on the buyer. I personally dont like price tags on my sealed because I enjoy the cover art. The SMB VGA75 I sold for $4500 had a price tag on the front and the buyer told me he would have payed 5500 if there was no sticker. Other fellow collectors have told me they dont care either way and some prefer it. All depends on the collector, owner, buyer.