Ever just get stuck from being able to finish a set, even when money isn't the issue? (Game Gear)

[goldenpp72 | 1,234]

So we all collect in a variety of ways, full set, partials, things we like, whatever. One thing I wonder if others can relate on is just not being able to find existing stock of something. In my case, I've had 3 game gear games on my list (boxed with manual) that I simply never see listed. They aren't particularly high desired items and I think that's part of the problem, they are scarce but not high value and no one is looking to 'cash in' on them. Those games being Krusty's fun house, James Pond and Speedy Gonzales in my case. I've come close to simply removing them from my list so I can say I'm done, but you never know what can pop up. Another oddball for me is Rampage on the 7800, it just never pops up these days and is the last one I wanted, I put my 'finished' sets in the back of my spreadsheet to keep narrowing it down, and these little jerks just drive me nuts.

How about you? Any weird hurdles you just can't overcome?

Edited August 7, 2020 by goldenpp72

[Braveheart69 | 124]

Wow those 3 aren’t that hard to find.  I was waiting for Urban Strike, Super Off Road, CJ Elephant, etc... don’t give up you’ll find them dude.  Congrats on being so close.  I’ve had multiple multiple copies of those 3 over the years.  Here are my 3 Mint new sealed copies for motivation!  Stay the course... 

[goldenpp72 | 1,234]

7 minutes ago, Braveheart69 said:

Wow those 3 aren’t that hard to find.  I was waiting for Urban Strike, Super Off Road, CJ Elephant, etc... don’t give up you’ll find them dude.  Congrats on being so close.  I’ve had multiple multiple copies of those 3 over the years.  Here are my 3 Mint new sealed copies for motivation!  Stay the course... 

Supremely jealous, actually I don't think i've ever even seen the box for Speedy lol. Least I know it's real for sure

In my case, my set for Game Gear ends at 140 games so, not a full set, but the set i'd find interesting. Krusty made it due to my attempt to get the Simpsons badge on Nintendoage but yeah, I guess I got committed. I'm glad to see someone else buys for the system though, I feel it's overly ignored in the collecting world.

Edited August 7, 2020 by goldenpp72

[Braveheart69 | 124]

Ah ok, so not a full set, then that makes sense, I was like wow this guy did it right and knocked out the super toughies first.   

[goldenpp72 | 1,234]

Just now, Braveheart69 said:

Ah ok, so not a full set, then that makes sense, I was like wow this guy did it right and knocked out the super toughies first.   

I'm actually not sure what the hardest ones to find actually are, since I don't really value hunt. I do have stuff like Urban Strike and Mega Man so I know a couple of them, but again I found those are easier to find, just price prohibitive. I remember actually struggling to find decent shape copies of the original releases of titles that got the Majesco reprints as well, everyone just sells the Majesco reprint as if it's something that matters but the actual original releases are much harder to find with their boxes (though, not extremely hard thankfully)

 

[ThePhleo | 2,184]

I’m at the point in my CIB NES set that I have all the commons, almost all the rares, most of the uncommons...but those “almost rares” I’m missing are about 250+ titles. In all I’m missing about 350 titles for a complete US set.

Getting them all 100% CIB would be a monumental task of buying them one at a time because they don’t ever show up in bulk lots and I just don’t want to do it.

[RH | 4,903]

51 minutes ago, ThePhleo said:

I’m at the point in my CIB NES set that I have all the commons, almost all the rares, most of the uncommons...but those “almost rares” I’m missing are about 250+ titles. In all I’m missing about 350 titles for a complete US set.

Getting them all 100% CIB would be a monumental task of buying them one at a time because they don’t ever show up in bulk lots and I just don’t want to do it.

I'm gonna guess that the people on here that have done this must have started at least in the mid-90s.  So, does anyone have a complete sealed set?  I know Stadium Events would be a tough one but considering that at least one case has been found, maybe not.  Anyone even close to that goal?  My gosh, I can't even imagine the pain a set like that would be to acquire.  That's like a 25-30 year goal, and probably an impossibility today, unless you hunt down BIG lots of old collectors getting out of the market.

[Soma | 73]

I'm one away from a complete Action Max set - somehow can't ever forget or stop looking for it.

[Code Monkey | 2,006]

This is the difference in uncommon and rare. Little Samson isn't rare if I can find 10 copies on eBay but some of these games that you just cannot find even with money to buy, those are rare.

[Braveheart69 | 124]

21 minutes ago, Code Monkey said:

This is the difference in uncommon and rare. Little Samson isn't rare if I can find 10 copies on eBay but some of these games that you just cannot find even with money to buy, those are rare.

Exactly!  Some of these GG titles (same could be true for any system) have less than 5 known boxes.  No matter how much cash you have good luck... 

[goldenpp72 | 1,234]

33 minutes ago, Braveheart69 said:

Exactly!  Some of these GG titles (same could be true for any system) have less than 5 known boxes.  No matter how much cash you have good luck... 

This is really when the gap of interest vs rarity comes in. A lot of people think any and all old games will become pricey someday, but in reality, some of the rarest titles are ones no one cares about, or knows about. GG has always been kind of a reject here but it has caught on some over years. I still remember buying Mega Man for it for like 150 bucks because I REALLY wanted it since I owned the rest of the whole series, heh.

[RH | 4,903]

1 hour ago, Soma said:

I'm one away from a complete Action Max set - somehow can't ever forget or stop looking for it.

Crap... me too.  Which one?

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

I can't finish the set of IBM PC games because my brain is unable to comprehend the magnitude of the collection.

Also, yeah, I don't have Blue Thunder on Action Max, lol. Every time it comes up it sells for $200+ and I'm so unwilling to pay that.

[RH | 4,903]

20 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

I can't finish the set of IBM PC games because my brain is unable to comprehend the magnitude of the collection.

Also, yeah, I don't have Blue Thunder on Action Max, lol. Every time it comes up it sells for $200+ and I'm so unwilling to pay that.

I just started looking about 6 months ago.  How often do they show up, and have you found a sealed one?  I have all other sealed.

[Soma | 73]

1 hour ago, RH said:

Crap... me too.  Which one?

You already know the answer is frickin Blue Thunder!

[acidjaguar | 258]

This was the exact feeling I had while pursuing the CHN Gameboy subset.  It is really just a matter of time, patience and a little bit of luck....    

 

I'd also say this really applies to people that are after truly rare paper items as well.  You can have all the money in the world, but until one comes up for sale (if ever).... you will just be waiting until the end of time.  

[koifish | 555]

This is me with some of my game and watch wants. I don't even want them for the CIB, just the play model would be fine. I don't see Crystal Screen Balloon Fight go on sale much, and the most recent sale was a CIB for 1660 USD! I wish I had had a job 10 years ago when I swear I was seeing them sell all the time for 500 or so. Same on the mickey mouse panorama, though I just started watching for that one. And speaking of, there's a Mario the Juggler for sale on eBay right now, and I can't wait to see how high that auction goes for. It's the only time I've seen that game go on sale.

[Tanooki | 4,933]

I'd be lying saying it's not at all a money issue, as usually it would be, but I'm slightly short of a complete in box virtual boy US set, have all the games, but lack 3 boxes and 1 manual.  Price isn't so bad on most, just one, but the others never come up with the missing box alone, let alone at a fair price at all this year with the virus pricing.  I'm just too tight fisted and stubborn not to buy a CIB and flip the rest to get the deed done.

[fcgamer | 4,723]

Definitely understand the frustrations here, it's the story of my life. It comes with the territory when collecting truly rare items.

When collecting bootleg and unlicensed Famicom carts, there are some that just never show up, anywhere around the globe. This has led, in some cases, to wild speculation about the games in question, whether they were actually released or not, etc.

Then there's machines like the Super A'Can, after I receive a parcel next week I'll be missing two games from the set. As rare and pricey as these games are, I feel confident that at some point over the next decade I'll be able to find one of the two I'm missing, but the other is basically impossible.

Then there's Gamate. I've got about 2/5 or 1/2 the set, iirc, CIB. I could easily grab another fifth or so, on eBay (well the language on the outter packaging wouldn't match the rest of my set, which is original Chinese packaging, but I've long ago accepted this as the only realistic way to have a chance at getting a set of these, CIB or even loose). But the rest of the cards never show up at all, anywhere, for stupid prices or for cheap.

Finally, iirc, I'm missing about one or two OG Game King carts for a complete set. OG Game King carts tend not to be worth a lot, it's definitely not an issue of money, rather they just never show up, anywhere.

[Splain | 2,569]

53 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

Then there's Gamate. I've got about 2/5 or 1/2 the set, iirc, CIB. I could easily grab another fifth or so, on eBay (well the language on the outter packaging wouldn't match the rest of my set, which is original Chinese packaging, but I've long ago accepted this as the only realistic way to have a chance at getting a set of these, CIB or even loose). But the rest of the cards never show up at all, anywhere, for stupid prices or for cheap.

Finally, iirc, I'm missing about one or two OG Game King carts for a complete set. OG Game King carts tend not to be worth a lot, it's definitely not an issue of money, rather they just never show up, anywhere.

Rats. I was thinking about going after systems like Gamate and Game King, but if you struggle to find them in Taiwan then I'm most likely pooched.

[fcgamer | 4,723]

4 minutes ago, Splain said:

Rats. I was thinking about going after systems like Gamate and Game King, but if you struggle to find them in Taiwan then I'm most likely pooched.

I don't think Game King was ever really popular here, it was primarily marketed the way Tiger handhelds were marketed in the states, only once did I see it show up in a game shop.

For machines like this, the issue is they are just so obscure. I'm not sure if you are actually being serious nor not about possibly getting into these machines, but if you are, please do let me know, as it's a situation where it definitely benefits all the collectors of the group to work with each other and help each other.

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

12 hours ago, RH said:

I just started looking about 6 months ago.  How often do they show up, and have you found a sealed one?  I have all other sealed.

Not very often, although I’ve seen them sealed. Maybe 1-2 a year on Ebay? I deleted my saved search early this year to focus on things that matter more!

[Splain | 2,569]

On 8/7/2020 at 10:18 PM, fcgamer said:

I'm not sure if you are actually being serious nor not about possibly getting into these machines, but if you are, please do let me know, as it's a situation where it definitely benefits all the collectors of the group to work with each other and help each other.

I was being serious, but I guess it depends on how steep the average game goes for. I was sort of assuming it was like Tiger Game.com or R-Zone, where nobody cares about them, so when the games pop up, they're cheap. With exceptions of course, since every single fullset has its doozies. But I'm still sort of finding out what I can expect to pay, and if it's pricey to even dip my toes, then I'm a couple years (and completed fullsets) away from being able to drop a lot of scratch on them.

[Gloves | 11,776]

Yeah there are a couple very specific games that I've had trouble finding CIB in the condition I want. Just on the SNESS though, and not anything I'm like dying to have. If a nice copy appears I'd nab it, but otherwise I'm not out here dropping heavy bounties or whatever. 

[O.G. CIB | 415]

On 8/7/2020 at 10:15 AM, goldenpp72 said:

Supremely jealous, actually I don't think i've ever even seen the box for Speedy lol. Least I know it's real for sure

In my case, my set for Game Gear ends at 140 games so, not a full set, but the set i'd find interesting. Krusty made it due to my attempt to get the Simpsons badge on Nintendoage but yeah, I guess I got committed. I'm glad to see someone else buys for the system though, I feel it's overly ignored in the collecting world.

If it’s not for a full set I wouldn’t let it bother me much. When you’re going for a curated set you can determine adjust as you choose BUT you know the minute you delete the alert is when it pops up! So I would leave it in place. 
 

Now when full set collecting that’s when it becomes an extreme drag. after looking For some time (6-12 months) I start to reduce my standards and then condition goes out the window. I just want to find one to get it over with and would circle back later.  There are some rare games out there in all sets that’s just a nightmare to find and I would assume over time it gets harder and harder.