Thoughts and Discussion on all of the Hoarding Behind the Scenes?

[jonebone | 1,307]

So this is nothing new to the hobby, there have always been people buying multiples of items.  Either due to thinking the item is currently undervalued, due to them just loving a franchise (1000 copies of Dragon Warrior anyone?) or even as just an experiment (Rampart on GB that got publicized).

But lately, with all of the new comic blood pouring in, I've noticed they are doing the same too. Apparently #multiplecomicmonday is a thing, and they hype up Mario 3 to be their Hulk 181 which is apparently a high demand but high supply yet still valuable item.  

Have you all noticed this or what's your thoughts?  I understand variant collecting (multiples of a same game, different versions) and also understand people who might own an extra (one CIB / one Sealed) or maybe 2 (2-3 sealed copies of a real favorite) but anything beyond that and I just can't relate.  I'd rather free up that money and buy other items I don't already own.

But yes, I have some buyers who just want anything of XXXX title no matter how many they already own.  I'll happily sell it to them when they pay well but it's definitely manipulating the market on high end stuff with only few copies in supply. 

 

[a3quit4s | 4,092]

I'm with you, value or no value I don't want to own 49 copies of X title no matter who is speculating that they may be worth X dollars in a few years. I want to grow my collection to new titles that I will hopefully get around to playing sometime. Mario 3 as in SMB 3 for NES? I mean if you can by them in bulk and sell them for like $5 or so profit each I guess that is good? Seems like not really worth it though like you'd need to use an online platform to sell them so fee's there and shipping and what not. PriceCharting doesn't really agree with them right now at a loose value of ~$9, shit I think I paid ~$20 for mine at the height of NES craziness. They must be in it for the very long speculative game of in a few years they are worth more? Do they also think that the valuable games now won't be in the future, that commons will somehow become the uncommon?

[jonebone | 1,307]

7 minutes ago, a3quit4s said:

I'm with you, value or no value I don't want to own 49 copies of X title no matter who is speculating that they may be worth X dollars in a few years. I want to grow my collection to new titles that I will hopefully get around to playing sometime. Mario 3 as in SMB 3 for NES? I mean if you can by them in bulk and sell them for like $5 or so profit each I guess that is good? Seems like not really worth it though like you'd need to use an online platform to sell them so fee's there and shipping and what not. PriceCharting doesn't really agree with them right now at a loose value of ~$9, shit I think I paid ~$20 for mine at the height of NES craziness. They must be in it for the very long speculative game of in a few years they are worth more? Do they also think that the valuable games now won't be in the future, that commons will somehow become the uncommon?

I meant SMB3 in Sealed form.  Agree the cart and CIB are way too common to move the needle much.  Sealed is fairly common as far as sealed games go, but if someone wants to buy 10, 15 or 20 it affects the Sealed market significantly while it wouldn't affect loose at all.

I believe that high condition games will always have value and the rares will hold up pretty well. Uncommon to common in average condition will be pretty stagnant though.

[a3quit4s | 4,092]

Ohhh ok - yeah the sealed and graded market a lot of people are taking a chance on. At least collecting comics and pricing has a pretty deep history with a sound grading scale. VGA and WATA are doing this for the game collecting market which is driving the trust for people to invest. Comparatively its no better or worse than gambling on other speculative things.

The other part about buying the 10-20 sealed games and that driving the market doesn't sit well. I mean of course you would want to drive the market up by cornering supply and creating a pump and dump scheme. We are gonna have to get some FINRA regulations around the game market lol 

[Ray Bot | 62]

Theres a few titles that i buy any time i see them in the wild but only because they're my favorites and i'm a filthy hoarder. 

And naturally i buy undervalued ones that i know will go up,  and save them to trade later. 

[Gloves | 11,761]

One thing I think the comics folks are going to be disappointed with is how free of them the casual market really is, for the most part. 

My comparison here being the difference in completeness. A casual comic collector who wants every Wolverine comic for instance needs to get every one of them, and the whole lot of em are the same - just a comic. But in video games you see people all the time sharing their "complete" sets of Franchise X on social media, and they have the cart games cart-only. There are tiers of options available, and I honestly can't see them buying up all the Mario 3 carts to try to game that specific bit of the market. 

CIB was already pretty niche comparatively, and sealed far moreso; specific rare variants most people don't even register as a thing that exists. So they can buy up all the CIB Mario 3 all they want, but it will really only impact those specifically into CIB collecting, and let's face it - the vast majority of us who collect CIB already have Mario 3, and probably in pretty decent condition due to the not-scarce nature of it.

I think there's going to be some interesting growing pains for the comic guys coming into this, and some potential surprises for them.

[a3quit4s | 4,092]

2 minutes ago, Gloves said:

One thing I think the comics folks are going to be disappointed with is how free of them the casual market really is, for the most part. 

My comparison here being the difference in completeness. A casual comic collector who wants every Wolverine comic for instance needs to get every one of them, and the whole lot of em are the same - just a comic. But in video games you see people all the time sharing their "complete" sets of Franchise X on social media, and they have the cart games cart-only. There are tiers of options available, and I honestly can't see them buying up all the Mario 3 carts to try to game that specific bit of the market. 

CIB was already pretty niche comparatively, and sealed far moreso; specific rare variants most people don't even register as a thing that exists. So they can buy up all the CIB Mario 3 all they want, but it will really only impact those specifically into CIB collecting, and let's face it - the vast majority of us who collect CIB already have Mario 3, and probably in pretty decent condition due to the not-scarce nature of it.

I think there's going to be some interesting growing pains for the comic guys coming into this, and some potential surprises for them.

Shit I have maybe 7-8 CIB games and SMB3 is one of them lol

[MrWunderful | 2,926]

@a3quit4s nice avatar!

[LastCat | 246]

Only reason why I might buy X amount of a game either is because I found it for dirt cheap or I love the game in some way or another.

[DefaultGen | 5,399]

It sucks for any greater fools coming into the hobby that are actually looking to spend $100s on Mario 3 or $1000 on TLOZ. I feel like in the short term they're going to target the most mainstream popular stuff I've already owned for years, not some set filler or import I'd actually have to hunt for. If they want to make random games in my collection "worth" 20x more in a year, have at it.

Why stop with Mario 3? It's not rare and it's not some historical first, it's just a game everyone loves. Hoard Super Mario Galaxy 2. It's one of the most critically acclaimed games ever and it's "just" $10. Now that's what I call an opportunity! How long until someone calls it "The Super Mario Bros. 3 of the Wii?" $100 by Christmas?

[ThePhleo | 2,184]

I’ve had about 10 Samson carts, and 4 CIBs go through my hands, And half as many Dino Peak carts and CIBs with the sole intention of them being trade fodder. This was over the course about 3 or 4 years. They’re the ultimate trade bait titles.

that was years ago though, but I’m ok with “hoarding” in that sense. I think the most I had at once of ANY title was 3...except for Skyward Sword Limited Editions. I bought them ALL 8 of them they had at target because they were on clearance and sold them to NA members who really wanted them and couldn’t find a copy locally. I can’t recall if I sold them at cost, or at MSRP BUT I don’t remember making a profit off them.

[OptOut | 8,881]

Not for collection purposes, per say, but for practical reasons I like to keep multiple spare systems around for the systems I most like. I have two NES systems, 4 OG Xboxes, and 5 N64's, for example! When it comes to multiple games, however, I tend only to keep one around of each, unless it's like a different region version or something like that.

Another question that I think is similar is this: What do you think of people hoarding knowledge and evidence of extremely rare items, without sharing the details with other collectors? I personally know a couple collectors with items that are entirely undocumented, and knowledge of rarities and items that could perhaps help and enlighten others, but they keep this information to themselves, for various reasons.

I personally am an open book, I gladly and willingly share all the knowledge and collecting experiences I have. I don't necessarily judge people for doing the opposite, and trust me I am keeping some secrets on the behalf of others that I'd LOVE to share! But personally, I would rather all available information be full public knowledge, so we can all benefit from it. Thoughts?

[Californication | 1,477]

I buy 2 of every LRG I pick up, but besides that I have only intentionslly bought multiple copies one time. A couple years back I bought 8 copies of Lone Ranger on the NES when they were selling between $20 -$25. I got rid of 6 of them and it is the only game I now intentionally keep a double of in my collection. It still baffels me that that game has never gotten very expensive. 

Edited October 26, 2019 by Californication

[fcgamer | 4,719]

@OptOut: I can understand those who keep information to themselves, I'd think that this would generally be more common until people find and obtain the item in question, who wants to create more competition for him or her self?

@Everyone: Taiwanese collectors and Thai collectors are this way. I have seen some pictures of friends' collections, where they have thirty or so of the same item. In their mindset, if they have a lot, it is proof they like the thing. 

I personally generally don't collect more than one, though there are a few exceptions, which sometimes relate to me feeling a product is undervalued.

 

[MrWunderful | 2,926]

Kids college Fund

 

[DefaultGen | 5,399]

5 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

Kids college Fund

 

 

Hoarding loose cards? Weak, how are they getting into an elite private school on that?

[Nintegageo | 582]

I actually don't even like the odd double that I own. They just take space, but I keep them because they are history.

[MrWunderful | 2,926]

9 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

Hoarding loose cards? Weak, how are they getting into an elite private school on that?

I suck at collecting games

[hyrulevyse | 151]

I guess I technically am hoarding cic Dungeon Explorers.  Not really on purpose, it's just my favorite hucard game and worth more to me than the $25 or whatever it's worth.  So whenever I grab one in a lot I just put it on the stack

[LastCat | 246]

23 minutes ago, hyrulevyse said:

I guess I technically am hoarding cic Dungeon Explorers.  Not really on purpose, it's just my favorite hucard game and worth more to me than the $25 or whatever it's worth.  So whenever I grab one in a lot I just put it on the stack

Soon you can make a dungeon out of Dungeon Explorers Hucards.

[snk2d4ever | 96]

I'm fine with it. It's a free market and people can do whatever they want.

I typically don't hoard stuff, but if an opportunity came up for me to make some money and "reinvest" it into my collection, I wouldn't hesitate.

 

[Pats1717 | 62]

2 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

Hoarding loose cards? Weak, how are they getting into an elite private school on that?

I had a full case of those pass through here. I sold them for like $4 each and made a buck a piece must have had 200+

[Alder | 243]

Ultimately people are free to do what they want, and I can't fault someone for doing it. I think overall it's not a huge problem. Depending on the situation though, I might feel like I was hurting the hobby. The important thing to me is that they eventually make it back into the hands of someone who will appreciate it a bit more. As long as they don't get destroyed I generally don't care a whole lot. I just want as much out there for newcomers to the hobby to be able to build their collections. I'd be happy to lose out on a few extra bucks on a dupe if it means a broke kid in high school gets to add a new game to his shelf. I think most of us were there at one point.

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

I have a ton of multiple CIBs thanks to buying eBay lots and my inability to resell due to my busy work schedule and family life. At some point I plan on combing through these to create a single best copy of each game then selling the extras. So I'm not really hoarding as much as I'm just waiting for an opportunity to sell. This will probably happen middle next year when I get out of the Army and have terminal leave.

In a related note, based on anecdotal evidence of what I find in lots, Bases Loaded, Silent Service, and Hoops sold a billion copies each.

[Strikezone1 | 154]

Obtaining multiple copies of games via large lots purchased or finding them underpriced is one thing. It makes sense to me, as it can be good for trade bait or just to flip and make a few bucks...

But buying multiple copies of the same game(s) at current market value just to simply own is something that I too cannot relate too.