Overpricing Wave

[LastCat | 246]

Corona taxes, that's all.

[Tanooki | 4,934]

Shame the corona tax doesn't come in a bottle with a wedge of fruit right?

It's harder to come by stuff now too compared to before as well since people are buying, not dumping in the usual second hand pits.  I've been doing like a sale/follow up once a month or two since this garbage started and either I start dipping out of games some into more vintage/retro toys or I'll just have to stop as I want a safety net, not an empty closet.

[T-Pac | 7,548]

I made a helpful diagram on collector behavior in 2020. It also works if you substitute 'Mario' for any well-known franchise and 'ebay' for Heritage Auctions...

-CasualCart

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

And I am partially thankful that I was given a non-overpricing reason to stop collecting comics again.

All I will say is that HA would not overprice a 9.8 graded copy of The Incredible Hulk #181 because "Disney plans to introduce Wolverine into the MCU." eBay sellers would. And if their asking price looks sane, it is because HA buyers want it for both the grade (even if it looks like a 9.6) and the idea "Disney plans to introduce Wolverine into the MCU." 

[Tanooki | 4,934]

That image gives me a plan.  We get a pile of mass marketed cheap tiny USB sticks that look like those 8bitdo mario bricks, and stuff a playable version of that 'Mario Twins' flash music video on there = PROFIT.  Have some factory seal a few, throw it up on HA and get them graded and we'll be millionaires.  No doubt.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvELT5aIo9A

[Aguy | 773]

5 hours ago, Tanooki said:

That image gives me a plan.  We get a pile of mass marketed cheap tiny USB sticks that look like those 8bitdo mario bricks, and stuff a playable version of that 'Mario Twins' flash music video on there = PROFIT.  Have some factory seal a few, throw it up on HA and get them graded and we'll be millionaires.  No doubt.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvELT5aIo9A

Shiggity Shiggity Shwa

[Super Nintendo Chalmers | 53]

There are a few factors and this is from an Australian Nintendo perspective,  the global pandemic has definitely had a hand in boosting demand and with that, prices and values. Animal Crossing, certain Wii titles, the Mini/Classic range, N64 for example, all of which are easily accessible for casual users, which widens the market. 

Another factor is that certain systems and their games have organically risen in value over the past year or two, eg. Gamecube. which also comes with the added layer of being a very multiplayer friendly library. Game Boy across the board is pretty hot at the moment as well plus N64 titles have bounced back sharply in recent years and again is a multiplayer beast.

Pokemon as a series has always held it's value, it's a household name and has a strong casual following. A friend of mine put his original, mint CIB Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow games eBay auction during Pokemon's 20th Anniversary and it wen't close to four figures, which was an anomaly. It was a legit. sale and the transaction was completed. Considering they'd be 150 each tops at the time it was unheard of. Sometimes you'll have those spikes and dips depending on other factors, but at the time that was something else.

The common stuff generally rises and falls and like some other cycles this will pass. But there will always be demand for certain items and prices/demand will reflect that. Whether they are truly mint examples of games,  legitimately uncommon/rare items or something that is consistently in demand. Lots of variables!

Edited August 10, 2020 by Super Nintendo Chalmers

[Aatos | 35]

You’d think worst global recession in a century would tank the prices, not inflate them but oh well. Maybe the effects will come later...

[Gloves | 11,779]

1 minute ago, Aatos said:

You’d think worst global recession in a century would tank the prices, not inflate them but oh well. Maybe the effects will come later...

The people who already had money have more now. Gotta spend it on something, may as well be on nostalgia.

[Aatos | 35]

Just now, Gloves said:

The people who already had money have more now. Gotta spend it on something, may as well be on nostalgia.

Are you saying all collectors eg. here are rich? I dunno, my image of average NA/VGS’er over the years is kind of average income middle class person, not in any particular way shielded from eg. the crazy job loss we’re seeing in the US. You’d think there’d be more people panic selling big collections now..

[Gloves | 11,779]

1 minute ago, Aatos said:

Are you saying all collectors eg. here are rich? I dunno, my image of average NA/VGS’er over the years is kind of average income middle class person, not in any particular way shielded from eg. the crazy job loss we’re seeing in the US. You’d think there’d be more people panic selling big collections now..

Maybe not rich per se (though some I know certainly seem to be), but I do think at least on here a lot of people do prioritize games, some even to the potential detriment of their livelihoods. 

What I'm saying is I think the high end of the hobby does have a "trickle down" effect on the rest of it. ALL video games going up in price isn't some random thing - certain things have happened in the hobby that has garnered interest from previously disinterested parties. More people want games now than ever, and more and more are getting into retro collecting.

We even have kids taking an interest, not that they're necessarily buying the games up themselves. I know on here we actually have a relatively decent amount of teens, even if they're not particularly active. Kids these days, despite being brought up largely in a digital only kinda world, seem oddly interested in preservation. It'll be interesting to see how the now-teens feel about NES games etc. in the years to come.

FRANKLY I'm surprised to not have seen more stories about people LOSING their massive collections due to wildfires in the States and the like, but there's still time (are they still going?), and perhaps a discussion for another time. 

[Californication | 1,477]

2 hours ago, Aatos said:

Are you saying all collectors eg. here are rich? I dunno, my image of average NA/VGS’er over the years is kind of average income middle class person, not in any particular way shielded from eg. the crazy job loss we’re seeing in the US. You’d think there’d be more people panic selling big collections now..

The lob losses have been largely segregated between classes in the U.S. I am a new professional and am making more money now. I am not losing 3 hours a day traveling to work, I am getting a full 40 hours a week where my hourly rate was set up to have have two 36 hour weeks a month, I don't have to get dry cleaning done, and l can eat at home now instead of at work. Some professionals are taking cuts and there were hiring freezes, but it hasn't been that bad for professionals. Businesses are still in a transitory phase right now because there are too many variables, as businesses close and the current job losses become permanent and the revenue stops working its way up from the bottom, professionals will start losing their jobs at the middle and upper levels. We haven't gotten there yet. 

Edit: Also, a majority of the permanent job losses so far are among women and people over 65 which aren't gamers.

Edited September 21, 2020 by Californication

[a_profile_name | 230]

I have a gamecube at my parents house but with very few games. I was actually looking forward to buying the stuff I missed out as a teenager like a couple of months from now when I'll have more space in my own apartments. But at current prices it will be impossible for me.

I've read that part of the reason is that the gamecube sold poorly. But it seems odd because it doesn't really matter how many consoles were sold but how many games were sold. I guess most people who had a gamecube during its lifespan had many games compared to, say, the wii. That's because the wii probably had a more casual audience. So it doesn't really make sense why prices are like triple that of wii games.

Do you think it will come down in the future? It's pretty discouraging for me to think I will not be able to own some titles I really wanted.

[Tanooki | 4,934]

On 9/21/2020 at 11:34 AM, Aatos said:

You’d think worst global recession in a century would tank the prices, not inflate them but oh well. Maybe the effects will come later...

I think it depends on the item that had money wasted on it.

Go back 1-2mo ago you'd find fools paying trolls since like April/May like $100+ over MSRP on Switch and Switch Lite.  Currently I'm seeing the things have to be bundled with games and still falling short of the original price.  In both cases I'm talking USED product (irregardless of it still having the box and junk, just a complete system alone.)  Maybe the vintage stuff is a bit more bulletproof since people were already accustomed to taking a bath on it in the last decade.  Yet the new stuff that got fraudulently inflated by people scalping stuff while out of work with free time and stimulus money on their hands seems to be bubble bursting crashing now.