Valuing and selling Design Document

[Dreamer 2]

Hi,

I have in my possession an original Game Design Document for the N64 version of Eternal Darkness. It was nearly completed, but never released, as it was ported to the GC. 

The GDD has a bunch of extra (unused, cut, changed) content, technical specs for N64, and a ton of original concept art. It's in very good condition, and the paper is high quality and textured, to give it a bit of a "grimoire" feeling.

I know there is a small but keen fanbase for ED stuff, it was suggested to me it might fetch quite a high price -- but would require getting it to the right market.
Looking for advice and recommendations for how/where to sell. 
I'm new here, so maybe "here" is a good place, I don't know.

Thanks,

Edited September 9, 2021 by Dreamer

[phart010 1,676]

Pricing for Unique Oddities like this are all over the charts. The problem is that there’s typically nothing to reference for pricing. Whenever a buyer considers buying something, the first thing they do is reference recent sales of identical items.

When you have something one-of-a-kind, there are typically no recent sales to reference. So then buyers will want to know if your specific item was sold in the past and if so how much did you acquire it for?

Often times for unique items, the price can go up each time it’s sold because you are using the previous sale as the baseline. But that’s assuming there’s people that actually desire to own the item. Rarity does not always equal desirability.

 

You’ll definitely want to get in touch with the person you acquired it from and document as much factual information about the items history as you can. Like who created it, who did they give it to or sell it to. Who’s hands did it pass through before you ultimately received it. Often times knowing the history of unique items (especially verifiable facts) will add significant value to the item.

Edited September 9, 2021 by phart010

[Dreamer 2]

I definitely know the owner-history, so that's no problem. Very short list (me)

[Driftwood 209]

With an extremely esoteric item,

I have always had luck listing on ebay with an obscene price at bin. And expect to be contacted by interested buyers, willing to make a more reasonable offer.

[a3quit4s 3,806]

7 day auction starting at $0.99 - let the market decide! Muhahaha

[Jaden 141]

Um... are you gonna scan these and put them online?

[Gloves 11,188]

On 9/9/2021 at 5:00 PM, Dreamer said:

I definitely know the owner-history, so that's no problem. Very short list (me)

Are you the person who made it? 

[Dreamer 2]

On 9/12/2021 at 4:33 PM, Jaden said:

Um... are you gonna scan these and put them online?

no, I am not

[Jaden 141]

Then it has no value.

[Dreamer 2]

17 hours ago, Jaden said:

Then it has no value

I don't understand.
Do you mean like post some pics for proof, or like digitizing the whole thing for posting?

[Gloves 11,188]

10 minutes ago, Dreamer said:

I don't understand.
Do you mean like post some pics for proof, or like digitizing the whole thing for posting?

I also don't understand the statement. It doesn't lose value just cuz you're not the one who made it, I was just curious if that was the case, since the history would be a bit more interesting to me in that case. 

[spacepup 2,303]

I believe it was a statement related to the desire to have the document shared publicly for all.

I would love to see the document scanned and/or preserved in some form - and would be willing to assist with this if ever needed - but I understand that not everyone wants to do so, and many don't want to "release" that info because they believe it devalues the item - sometimes that is true, sometimes it isn't.

Either way, it is a very interesting item.  I LOVE game design documents and find them a fascinating part of the development process, and they often provide a lot of insight or new / interesting information about the early stages of a game's design or development.  

Valuing them is extremely difficult - it really does just sort of depend on what someone is willing to pay for the item - the more popular the game, the more valuable.

If you are ever willing to work with someone to get the document digitized [whether to be shared publicly or evenly just privately preserved], please let me know as I definitely would want to assist there or support it being saved even if it is kept in the hands of the owner of the physical item. 

[Jaden 141]

Yes, I was talking about value in the metaphorical sense, not monetary value. I 100% support the preservation of stuff like this, and to see people willingly say they won't do that breaks my heart.

Edited September 16, 2021 by Jaden

[jonasrosland 0]

Just wanted to add to what @spacepupwas saying, I'd be happy to help you preserve the documents before selling them. I'm the Executive Director at Hit Save!, and would be more than happy to help with scanning and preserving the history (sounds like you were involved with the development?) of the document and the game.

[phart010 1,676]

20 hours ago, jonasrosland said:

Just wanted to add to what @spacepupwas saying, I'd be happy to help you preserve the documents before selling them. I'm the Executive Director at Hit Save!, and would be more than happy to help with scanning and preserving the history (sounds like you were involved with the development?) of the document and the game.

Just keep in mind that some buyers will be more reluctant to buy an esoteric item if it’s contents are freely available to the public. Some people are only interested in having something that nobody else has.

I know this comment won’t be popular with preservationists, but it’s the truth. You choose the light side or the dark side.

[spacepup 2,303]

No one said it "has" to be freely available to the public.  While I love to see unique items available publicly, we also care about just seeing unique and rare items properly preserved and scanned for posterity.  There are many reasons why someone may not want something completely public - whether it is personal preference, value concerns, legal concerns, etc.  So it doesn't have to be one extreme or the other. 

Our offers to preserve extend with an opening for dialogue with the contributor about their wishes regarding the item.

[OptOut 8,629]