Heritage Auctions Thread

[ExplodedHamster | 404]

2 minutes ago, WalterWhiteJr. said:

I am just trying to understand the logic here. What benefit does inflated prices of sealed and mint CIB games bring to the hobby of game collecting and engaging with the community? I get that you made god knows how much money off slinging them Wata slabs, which is GREAT for you, but help me to understand. 

I am trying to understand why it would matter to people who never bought or cared about sealed games to begin with (I am talking well before WATA and this surge). I have seen people rail on this for a decade, well before I ever bought a sealed game, and I have never understood it. Why do people who love games so much spend so much time crapping on people who do something different with their time instead of playing the games they love? We are mortal, time is finite. There’s just always been a lot of what I would consider unnecessary negativity.

[Tanooki | 4,934]

I've been trying to keep up with this for the last day with little to no luck how fast this goes.

- Happy to no end seeing Kotaku pick this up, gives a fair chance given their meta operations to have this spread over a few major search engines/news aggregate sites to where it may spread more which is most welcome and deserved.

- Fascinating seeing the rats in the situation now trying to claim innocence by omission, claiming they weren't made aware, and other bs, yet with double handed comments on correcting him to other choice gems.  -- Smell like bs.

- Plenty of word play going on, including here by some individuals, yet the evidence is quite clear in cases, while others surely while circumstantial with all high probability is just as right as it connect the dots from A - B - C

- Don't really want to see more NA bullshit brought up, really?  We can do better, they didn't, that's why it was bleeding out anywhere before twatwaffle pulled the rug out, killed the site after scooping it, and purging what didn't work as far as members go.

- I know the dramatic burn baby burn seems biased, but...that seems to be where this is going in multiple ways from seeing them twist in the wind, to some of the self inflicting crying in this thread, to the chumps who have been feeding this pretty clear racket of deceit hoping to make it big

- NA used to hand people walking papers if the bubble came up too much, and well look here, while that did get old, this probably won't so much because it's less speculative and more on point because this shit can't be sustained, and the fall out from it will nail a lot of stupid deep pocketed individuals down to the scum who think their loose title, by relation of the high sale of a new one, must be a gold bar too.  Hah.

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

Just now, WalterWhiteJr. said:

I collect mint CIB games and used to pick up sealed titles of favorites when the price was right. I have ZERO desire to sell games for a profit or look at this as investing. I am an attorney by trade and that is my 9-5 (much later than 5 unfortunately...). I collect because it brings me joy and a sense of escapism from my real life responsibilities. Now I am priced out completely. I can no longer collect what I used to enjoy because people that literally had no idea about retro game collecting came into the scene with deep pockets and orchestrated this artificial environment. So now me, and people like me, can no longer afford items that bring us joy. Backdooring has never been as prevalent as it is these days. All anyone talks about is "how much is this worth?" Jealousy and envy, and cliques have formed and alienated people. Just look at this thread as a clear-cut example. So I ask you, how is any of the foregoing GOOD for the hobby of retro collecting? 

Holy shit, you sound like me circa 2009...

Seriously, this has been happening for well over a decade now.  Someone with deep pockets comes in and buys a bunch of shit, and then sends everything into a orbit.  Thing is, this is the first time I can think of where there was active market manipulation solely to make a profit...usually it's just a couple new collectors showing up and paying above market prices just to acquire it, and the market eventually settles, albeit higher than normal.  This WATA bubble is very much unsustainable, just gotta wait and ride the wave.

 

[Jeevan | 8,911]

1 minute ago, ExplodedHamster said:

I am trying to understand why it would matter to people who never bought or cared about sealed games to begin with (I am talking well before WATA and this surge). I have seen people rail on this for a decade, well before I ever bought a sealed game, and I have never understood it. Why do people who love games so much spend so much time crapping on people who do something different with their time instead of playing the games they love? We are mortal, time is finite. There’s just always been a lot of what I would consider unnecessary negativity.

I don't personally care what you wanna collect   More power to ya, but I hate that every tom dick and harry wants $90 for a shitty copy of chip n dale cib.  When it was a $40 game.......not sealed either, just trying to get money for something that they are "speculating" will sell for much higher because it will get graded by wata and they can now charge a premium.  That is my only real complaint.  More power to you, and not gonna lie, jealous you got paid .  I only kid by the way, happy you did, but still, you can't tell me that it isn't trickling into other parts of the hobby and that people who want to collect for it as a hobby can't get what they want for a fair price because of the fact that this has pumped up the market and inflated prices!

[Rhapsody98 | 1,535]

11 minutes ago, ExplodedHamster said:

I am trying to understand why it would matter to people who never bought or cared about sealed games to begin with (I am talking well before WATA and this surge). I have seen people rail on this for a decade, well before I ever bought a sealed game, and I have never understood it. Why do people who love games so much spend so much time crapping on people who do something different with their time instead of playing the games they love? We are mortal, time is finite. There’s just always been a lot of what I would consider unnecessary negativity.

Oh.  Okay.  These people have been caught in the act of being shady and unethical at best, misleading people out of money, and stealing and lieing at worst...

 

But we're being unnecessarily negative.

 

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

5 minutes ago, Rhapsody98 said:

Just pointing out that since the the shill bidding accusation is in the air, the "higher offer" could've been someone else associated with HA/WATA.  

That doesn't hold up, though, as he went with the HA/WATA offer specifically for the exposure.  If someone else at the same company/companies had made a higher offer, I'm sure he'd have taken them up on it.  He hasn't been around forever to say anything, so I'm not going to speak for him in regard to his motivation for selling HA/WATA for potentially much less + exposure versus a potentially much better payday.  The only reason I can see for the "exposure" angle, though, is if he was looking to get into the racket or just looking to get out of the hobby and unload what he had for much higher prices than was currently being borne by the market.

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

1 minute ago, darkchylde28 said:

That doesn't hold up, though, as he went with the HA/WATA offer specifically for the exposure.  If someone else at the same company/companies had made a higher offer, I'm sure he'd have taken them up on it.  He hasn't been around forever to say anything, so I'm not going to speak for him in regard to his motivation for selling HA/WATA for potentially much less + exposure versus a potentially much better payday.  The only reason I can see for the "exposure" angle, though, is if he was looking to get into the racket or just looking to get out of the hobby and unload what he had for much higher prices than was currently being borne by the market.

I've known Bronty a LONG time.  He's given me some bro deals in the past, mostly for the NES Sealed Contents List, so I know he's not afraid to take less now for long term gains.  I wouldn't be surprised if he's decided now's the time to cash out, in which case exposure is in his best interest.  That said, what I don't see him doing is intentional market manipulation to essentially rip people off.

Speaking of the contents list though...I'm kinda wanting to get hold of one of the "Carolina Collection" slabs just so I can film myself busting it open and posting it on YouTube.  The VGA Gun*Nac was the last one I did that with, and that was ages ago...I still had fucking hair ffs   Maybe I should start a GoFundMe

[BriGuy82 | 768]

1 minute ago, the_wizard_666 said:

I've known Bronty a LONG time.  He's given me some bro deals in the past, mostly for the NES Sealed Contents List, so I know he's not afraid to take less now for long term gains.  I wouldn't be surprised if he's decided now's the time to cash out, in which case exposure is in his best interest.  That said, what I don't see him doing is intentional market manipulation to essentially rip people off.

Speaking of the contents list though...I'm kinda wanting to get hold of one of the "Carolina Collection" slabs just so I can film myself busting it open and posting it on YouTube.  The VGA Gun*Nac was the last one I did that with, and that was ages ago...I still had fucking hair ffs   Maybe I should start a GoFundMe

I saw that video. You sniffed the game when you opened the box.

[Jeevan | 8,911]

2 minutes ago, the_wizard_666 said:

I've known Bronty a LONG time.  He's given me some bro deals in the past, mostly for the NES Sealed Contents List, so I know he's not afraid to take less now for long term gains.  I wouldn't be surprised if he's decided now's the time to cash out, in which case exposure is in his best interest.  That said, what I don't see him doing is intentional market manipulation to essentially rip people off.

Speaking of the contents list though...I'm kinda wanting to get hold of one of the "Carolina Collection" slabs just so I can film myself busting it open and posting it on YouTube.  The VGA Gun*Nac was the last one I did that with, and that was ages ago...I still had fucking hair ffs   Maybe I should start a GoFundMe

do you have a link to this video?  Opening slabbed shit is my dream

[AdamW | 713]

1 hour ago, JeremiahJT said:

Can the main defenders of WATA here (vb337, ExplodedHamster, Gulag Joe, B.A. etc.) answer if they think Deniz valuing games is ethical? I think that is the question I would most like answered from the other side. The answer to this question would probably help me see where exactly our biggest divide is.

It seems to me like it would only be a big problem if he was hiding who he was, or what WATA does. Which, AFAIK, he didn't.

If you ask the CEO of IBM what IBM's stock price should be, and they say "I am an independent expert with no ties to IBM and it should be one billion dollars!", that's a problem. But if they say "I'm the CEO of IBM and it should be one billion dollars!", is that really a problem? It doesn't mean the stock price should be one billion dollars, of course. But you have been provided with the information you need to decide how much faith you should place in that person's valuation.

Something like this (not quite as silly, but still) happens a lot. Perfectly reputable newspapers ask people with obvious interests in a sector for their opinion of it. Plenty of newspaper financial columnists own the assets they write about; heck, "our stock guy owns X, here's why!" is a stock article in the financial papers. This is all fine so long as they disclose their interest.

[Tanooki | 4,934]

14 minutes ago, WalterWhiteJr. said:

I collect mint CIB games and used to pick up sealed titles of favorites when the price was right. I have ZERO desire to sell games for a profit or look at this as investing. I am an attorney by trade and that is my 9-5 (much later than 5 unfortunately...). I collect because it brings me joy and a sense of escapism from my real life responsibilities. Now I am priced out completely. I can no longer collect what I used to enjoy because people that literally had no idea about retro game collecting came into the scene with deep pockets and orchestrated this artificial environment. So now me, and people like me, can no longer afford items that bring us joy. Backdooring has never been as prevalent as it is these days. All anyone talks about is "how much is this worth?" Jealousy and envy, and cliques have formed and alienated people. Just look at this thread as a clear-cut example. So I ask you, how is any of the foregoing GOOD for the hobby of retro collecting? 

I know you already got quoted once on this, but you know what...respect.  *Sigh* (too)  Up through 2005 I collected, never sold or traded a damn thing, had thousands of pieces and a large amount were CIB (a fair many original gift/purchases too.)  I had been able mostly box aside been able to get a decent amount before things turned a decade ago and escalated since.  And why did it I do it, what you do it now... it used to make me happy.  It used to really help me escape from awful things/places(kid to adult), and like you when the shit hit the fan I got largely priced out.

The fun slowly died, forced into a world of crap prices having to buy lots to keep a few pieces to turn the blow around on someone else to evade it, and it became work, an unofficial second JOB ...fuck that racket.  I hate it, I hate it with a passion and still do it to date because our finances have been in ruin for nearly a decade now(unrelated, illness issue.)  When the NES went to shit I dumped what didn't matter most to ride the SNES wave until it crested, then the N64, then... you get the idea, and the turn and burn time got faster and faster.  Gameboy was my last bastion of pleasure, sanctity, and sanity and those bastards burned that to the ground starting this year in Jan/Feb if you check price trackers.  You nailed it across the board all the issues.  I even went as far as buying kits for almost every system I keep just to middle finger the sharks, but you know what?  In the end, it did no good, I have a mental break on them because the games are just asinine warezy roms, no value, and no investment means no cares to really try much.  I'd put more value over a 1:1 ripoff copy than a flash kit because I'd have to buy it, or buy the parts/tools to make it.

How is any of this foregoing the good hobby of retro collecting?  It's not, it basically is a burning pyre of shit in a bag on one huge doorstep.  At this rate I'm waiting for the bastard to ring the doorbell and have some old lady get a roasted and stanked out slipper from it.  When this turd get squashed it will be magnificent as this is no NA style bubble, this is a real bubble, a beanie baby, tickle me elmo, pogs, sport cards, comics, etc dumpster fire that won't last.

I just hope once things calm, I can find the will to still be motivated to play and have real fun again, because these days I mostly have to force myself to start anymore.  When I do I'm fine, but getting over that hump is a bitch.

[Tanooki | 4,934]

Funny thing is, we have Walter White in here, maybe it's time to start us a nice WATA/HA smoothie?  Oh wait, I think Jobst already did that.

[AdamW | 713]

1 hour ago, ThePhleo said:

This is one of two of my only real criticism's I have with Deniz, and Wata.

I wholeheartedly believe that they should have an unbiased third party providing them with pricing data. If they are actually connected to Jeff (GoCollect, NintendoAge, and GameValueNow owner), then there is only one company on the planet that they should be able to use for their data, which is Video Game Price Charting.

My second biggest criticism is the way Pawn Stars portrayed him. I'm more than sure he disclosed that he was the founder of Wata, but was probably edited out. That is something that was likely not within his power to change though.

The clip is at

 When Deniz shows up, he is captioned "Founder, WATA Games", and almost the first words out of his mouth are "...our grading company". That seems like fairly clear disclosure?

[ThePhleo | 2,185]

Just now, AdamW said:

The clip is at

 When Deniz shows up, he is captioned "Founder, WATA Games", and almost the first words out of his mouth are "...our grading company". That seems like fairly clear disclosure?

There you go then. I remember it differently.

I guess that's one out of two I can scratch off the list.

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

3 minutes ago, BriGuy82 said:

I saw that video. You sniffed the game when you opened the box.

I always do that.  You know the "new car" smell?  It's the gaming version of that.  Once that seal's broke, the smell disappears, so you gotta enjoy it for the small time it's there.

5 minutes ago, Jeevan said:

do you have a link to this video?  Opening slabbed shit is my dream

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psZN6GHtZ0c

I hate the editing job my buddy did (he put music over my talking because "nobody cares"...fucker forgot the target audience...and he wouldn't give me the raw footage)...and my shitty attempt at being funny.  But it's a VGA graded Gun*Nac all the same.

[WalterWhiteJr. | 1,162]

6 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

I know you already got quoted once on this, but you know what...respect.  *Sigh* (too)  Up through 2005 I collected, never sold or traded a damn thing, had thousands of pieces and a large amount were CIB (a fair many original gift/purchases too.)  I had been able mostly box aside been able to get a decent amount before things turned a decade ago and escalated since.  And why did it I do it, what you do it now... it used to make me happy.  It used to really help me escape from awful things/places(kid to adult), and like you when the shit hit the fan I got largely priced out.

The fun slowly died, forced into a world of crap prices having to buy lots to keep a few pieces to turn the blow around on someone else to evade it, and it became work, an unofficial second JOB ...fuck that racket.  I hate it, I hate it with a passion and still do it to date because our finances have been in ruin for nearly a decade now(unrelated, illness issue.)  When the NES went to shit I dumped what didn't matter most to ride the SNES wave until it crested, then the N64, then... you get the idea, and the turn and burn time got faster and faster.  Gameboy was my last bastion of pleasure, sanctity, and sanity and those bastards burned that to the ground starting this year in Jan/Feb if you check price trackers.  You nailed it across the board all the issues.  I even went as far as buying kits for almost every system I keep just to middle finger the sharks, but you know what?  In the end, it did no good, I have a mental break on them because the games are just asinine warezy roms, no value, and no investment means no cares to really try much.  I'd put more value over a 1:1 ripoff copy than a flash kit because I'd have to buy it, or buy the parts/tools to make it.

How is any of this foregoing the good hobby of retro collecting?  It's not, it basically is a burning pyre of shit in a bag on one huge doorstep.  At this rate I'm waiting for the bastard to ring the doorbell and have some old lady get a roasted and stanked out slipper from it.  When this turd get squashed it will be magnificent as this is no NA style bubble, this is a real bubble, a beanie baby, tickle me elmo, pogs, sport cards, comics, etc dumpster fire that won't last.

I just hope once things calm, I can find the will to still be motivated to play and have real fun again, because these days I mostly have to force myself to start anymore.  When I do I'm fine, but getting over that hump is a bitch.

I want to give you a hug. Sincerely. Thank you for your honesty. 

[AdamW | 713]

2 minutes ago, ThePhleo said:

There you go then. I remember it differently.

I guess that's one out of two I can scratch off the list.

He also never actually gives a value. He says a bunch of caveats, like you should, then he makes a clear claim of fact: that he knows an offer of $300,000 has been turned down. If that were false, that'd be a problem, but AFAIK nobody has claimed that was false?

He then just says "it goes up from there" and "there's no ceiling", which are extremely vague subjective statements you couldn't really get anywhere arguing with. Then he leaves, and whoever it was was "selling" the game (I forget) says he wants a million dollars. Deniz never says it's worth a million dollars or any other number.

[Rhapsody98 | 1,535]

I'm not thinking of @darkchylde28here.  He has enough games and such sitting around, oh poor him, priced out of buying new ones.

I'm thinking of people like my grandfather.  He was a Navy vet, a carpenter, and he was a child of the Great Depression, always trying to squeak a little more out, even though he was doing quite well for himself.  So, like a bunch of people, he found out that he could invest his money in....  Beanie Babies.  He even had the Princess Di bear.  Spent at least $200 on her.  Intended to hold on to her for a couple years, and sell her for far more.  

And then the bubble burst.  His whole investment was probably now worth about $15, instead of the $1500 he'd spent.  

People like Jim Halperin are scum.  They are deliberately inflating a bubble that is going to pop, and they don't care who's still inside when it does, they will already have made all the money they can, and people may end up far worse than my grandfather did.  

[Jeevan | 8,911]

7 minutes ago, the_wizard_666 said:

I always do that.  You know the "new car" smell?  It's the gaming version of that.  Once that seal's broke, the smell disappears, so you gotta enjoy it for the small time it's there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psZN6GHtZ0c

I hate the editing job my buddy did (he put music over my talking because "nobody cares"...fucker forgot the target audience...and he wouldn't give me the raw footage)...and my shitty attempt at being funny.  But it's a VGA graded Gun*Nac all the same.

unavailable   Set to Private   

WATA Strikes again

haha, jk, but i can't watch it......

[guillavoie | 1,210]

2 hours ago, Zach said:

Remember when that guy found Stadium Events at a yard sale and the pillars of the community all made fun of him for being excited because it wasn't rare enough to their standards?

 

 

Oh man, this brings back memories, this video was so funny, lol!

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

2 minutes ago, Jeevan said:

unavailable   Set to Private   

WATA Strikes again

haha, jk, but i can't watch it......

Seems they changed the way that shit works and I missed the opt-out for the switch.  Put it back to "unlisted" where it should've always been.  You should be able to watch now.

[Jeevan | 8,911]

1 minute ago, the_wizard_666 said:

Seems they changed the way that shit works and I missed the opt-out for the switch.  Put it back to "unlisted" where it should've always been.  You should be able to watch now.

oof, no dice, ill wait, but maybe copy the link as it got a new addy?  IDK

[AdamW | 713]

7 minutes ago, Rhapsody98 said:

I'm not thinking of @darkchylde28here.  He has enough games and such sitting around, oh poor him, priced out of buying new ones.

I'm thinking of people like my grandfather.  He was a Navy vet, a carpenter, and he was a child of the Great Depression, always trying to squeak a little more out, even though he was doing quite well for himself.  So, like a bunch of people, he found out that he could invest his money in....  Beanie Babies.  He even had the Princess Di bear.  Spent at least $200 on her.  Intended to hold on to her for a couple years, and sell her for far more.  

And then the bubble burst.  His whole investment was probably now worth about $15, instead of the $1500 he'd spent.  

People like Jim Halperin are scum.  They are deliberately inflating a bubble that is going to pop, and they don't care who's still inside when it does, they will already have made all the money they can, and people may end up far worse than my grandfather did.  

I mean, so he was doing well for himself but he wanted to squeeze more out, so he tried to cash in on a bubble? Why does that mean we should feel sorry for him? He wanted to sell a beanie baby for much more than $1500. A beanie baby. My sympathy is limited. Just as it will be for the $22k pokepark person when they try to cash in their investment.

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

1 minute ago, Jeevan said:

oof, no dice, ill wait, but maybe copy the link as it got a new addy?  IDK

Their UI is shitty...didn't notice the "Save" button hiding stupidly far from where the edit was.  Try now.

[Tanooki | 4,934]

8 minutes ago, WalterWhiteJr. said:

I want to give you a hug. Sincerely. Thank you for your honesty. 

No problem, I'm typically not that direct or open about some stuff, that being one of them.  It needed to be said given all the abuses that have been escalating in the last decade which are really being now magnified and compounded thanks to this latest pile of abusive clowns.  People say sealed doesn't affect the rest, bs... we know better, we what... 1%?  The rubes, they just see X and then see and want them dollar signs and the people who want to play, better yet, care and play, we suffer the worst for it.

I know people will be happy to step on me for this comment but here it goes.  I've been accused of enough not so much here, but years back on NA for being a grumpy bastard but equally so nice and helpful when people needed it, and of being a posting whore because my counts were into the 10K+ range before parting ways.  That last post, it may, no will, shine damn good sense why I operate the way I do.  It may also shed a clue on those who have ever traded or bought off me why I'll quietly and with the intent of keeping quietly why I'll bundle off good deals, give away a game or two with a few others, whatever.  A mix of wanting some fun still, sharing some fun still, and sloughing off some of the depressed disgust of it all.

Ideally, quite simple, ideally if someone could erase people from existence who caused the problems to start then, the real ones causing hell now, and it reset the clock to natural progression 2010-2011 last saw things would be different.  I'd be more happy, I'd still be of the 'fuck flash kits' mentality.  I'd enjoy playing games every single day once I was free, and I'd be happily able to still random buy wherever much like whenever and explore, learn, discover something new that is great or blows, wouldn't matter.  Can't do that anymore.  I wouldn't be mentally drained from it, sitting here typing, reading this or any other page, watching youtube stuff (good or crap), passing out in my chair often.  I'll leave it at that, don't want someone think I'm crazy or suicidal...I'm not.  I just want to get things where I can maybe enjoy it again, so purge away.