jonebone

Yes. But let's say the internet bidder is really at $1M, just the bid is showing as $280k because no one bid against him. Then during the live session his bid will automatically beat any bid placed below $1M. In other words, you don't have to be active in the live session to win an item. But yes you'd probably have to have a significant max bid already placed.

85+ is not really a great grade on PS1. I agree you need to look at 90 and better to really find stuff that looks pristine slabbed. Having said that, on this particular game I do think it is more 85 than 85+. One last thing that I stress to people, you CANNOT ACCURATE ASSESS A GAME'S GRADE ONCE IT IS SLABBED. The graders aren't grading slabbed games, they are grading raw games and holding them in hand. Slabbed games mask corner wear, stress creases that are not whitened (cardboard), wrap scuffing, etc. That case has a way of making things like nicer than they are. I guarantee you none of your 85+ games are as pristine as you think or they'd be 90s. There is something wrong with each one of them.

So I went ahead and bought the Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu bundle with Pokeball brand new, we'll see how it goes. Of course the used game without Pokeball was much cheaper but I'm sure the extra controller will be the coolest thing in the world to a 5 year old. Also, packaging does say 3+, indicating Nintendo really thinks a 3 year old could handle it (though with supervision I imagine). We'll see how it goes, thanks for the comments everyone.

So my 5 year old has gotten into Pokemon pretty significantly since entering the public school system. But I am a complete Pokemon noob, never played one. She likes Pikachu (of course) so I assume the Switch game of Let's Go Pikachu would be pretty good for her. But that's a year older than Sword & Shield which got higher reviews. Any recommendations as to which way to go for her? Ideally I would like it to be pretty easy to where she could maybe even play on her own. Of course I would be there to play with her if needed. Also, are any of these games multiplayer if her younger sibling wanted to play (she's almost 4). Any parent of multiple children will know they fight over everything...

They call it pressing in the comic book scene. And some comic book collectors have already shown before / after photos of pressing with pretty amazing results. Bottom line, if a crease is whitened already (color cracked) on the box or manual, pressing will look better but not fix issue. If the bend is very slight without the color break (think more of a waviness or a bowing rather than a full-fledged crease) then the issue can be remedied 100% by someone who knows what they are doing. To the point you would never know the damage was there even if you looked at that area with magnification.

85+ on PS1 is going to have a visible flaw or two. You should be targeting 90 and up for practically no visible flaws or 95 and up for perfect to the naked eye. Your zoom is probably making it look worse than it appears. 85 and 85+ have so much play in the grades though. You'll see nice 85s that could beat bad 85+ and that is what happens when you've graded hundreds of thousands of games.

The retro store concept I posted is in a small square footage store. Gamestop average lease length is also only about 18 months right now so they should be able to close a lot of stores that aren't able to adjust to this concept. It also would make sense from a cost perspective too as remodeling a store takes time and money.

All speculation at this point but article said something like free to play 15 minutes (think demo) then you can buy the game or purchase by the hour / etc.

Some screens have finally leaked of the new Gamestop store concepts that are being demoed in Oklahoma with promising results. I'd expect to see more Gamestop sales as they blow out old inventory, close under performing stores and slowly transition to this concept. Article: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-02-24-gamestops-concept-stores-a-laboratory-not-a-hail-mary Screens: The Social Concept Store. Fortnight / online competitive gaming / e-tournaments / etc. Tabletop / Retro store concept Collectibles concept (Think ThinkGeek) Time will tell about the turnaround, but I like them going towards the "Apple Store" concept for games instead of spinning off into other electronics like they tried with phones.

A good news update! If there's one thing I can't stand it's a thief.

6 pounds is normal weight fluctuation. I'm +/- 6 pounds every week from Friday to Monday weigh in. Carbs and sodium retain a lot of water weight and when you eat "dirty" for a whole weekend it takes an extra day or two to blow off the bloat. If you care about your weight I highly recommend weighing yourself every AM on a digital scale after your morning piss, before consuming any food or water. Track that as your baseline and you learn a lot about your body.

Wow you did make it after all, welcome

It's been known that white spacer came in this game too. Though I thought it wasnt confirmed as 100% 1 to 1, meaning some Mc Kids may have came with a normal styro block too.

Well I just follow IIFYM philosophy (if it fits your macros). I make sure to hit my protein requirements each day and then do whatever to hit the carbs / fats. If it's a cheeseburger and ice cream so be it. I've gone through phases of calorie counting and food weighing but once you've learned your body enough you can just wing it. I do recommend a multivitamin everyday at least though. Some people that do IIFYM really miss out on nutrients by neglecting food groups. But if you take a multi then you've at least gotten a well balance of vitamins and minerals for the day regardless.

Congrats! Haven't beat this one since I was a kid but it was a huge sense of accomplishment no doubt. You knew it was going to be a big game when it came with the map!

You get used to it, I've done this for about 4 years or so at this point. My recommendation to anyone who struggles is to do a 12-12 first before working up to the 16-8 version. My eating window is 11AM to 7PM, though I usually slip up and snack at 8 or even 9 sometimes. Weight loss isn't my goal though, just maintaining a healthy weight. If you are actively targeting weight loss then you have to be more strict. I typically have coffee at 6 or 7am ish and drink lots of water otherwise. I skip breakfast and eat a light lunch but absolutely obliterate dinner and snacks all evening. I've tried eating breakfast or big lunch and I still wind up snacking heavily in the evenings after dinner. No urge for sweets all day but anytime after dinner, especially on a gym day, I always snack on something. So eating really light otherwise allows me to keep my total calories more or less in check. Diet is only one part of the equation though, make sure you get some exercise too.

Welcome back, you've been MIA from IG for awhile too!

Blackout curtains work pretty good. I intentionally had my game room built in the basement without windows when designing my house. The builder said "It could get kinda dark in there, you sure" but I confirmed. I have enough lighted signs in there that it isn't a problem... and I also don't want any UV sunlight potentially fading any of the games.

Sorry for the delay, opened this from a sealed case of 6 over the weekend. Was the worst conditioned copy so don't feel too bad! Flight of the Intruder - Cartridge (NES-4F-USA) - Box (NES-4F-USA) - Manual (NES-4F-USA) - Mindscape Powerfull!!! Poster (MIN-NES-US) - Epilepsy Warning Sheet (NES-DOC-USA) - Danger Do Not Open! Insert (PMG-USA-1) - Textured Black Dust Sleeve

Theres been public rumors about HA selling promos signs and such since PRGE at least. Everyone's known about it but I wasnt believing it until i saw it firsthand. Sort of like the Wata matrix, the Go Collect price guide, the VGA population database, etc. I believe some things only when I see them!

Time for a security party!

Great buyer very easy to work with. Recommended!

Well yeah, agreed. On the other hand, it went infinitely higher than a CIB of that version would have sold for. The comparison would be that sale to a C wrap hangtab, though I imagine we wont get many C data points to compare to.

Is there any data to back this up or just speculation? I personally wouldn't want either but I also don't think their prices would be that different either. NS sales have done better than I've expected. Thought I don't understand how one would have a "Sealed Game" with "No Seal". The whole tier may as well just be called "Brand New" at that point.

I would assume Wata would make anything right if there were an error but stuff like this is disappointing to say the least. I'm of the opinion that just because you *can* certify something doesn't mean you *should*. The inherent problem is that absolutely no one can be an expert in everything. Yet a grading authority is expected to be just that, experts in everything. The only way that is evenly remotely possible to have a network of experts in various areas that you rely on. Everyone knows NES but what about Genesis? Okay most know that, what about more obscure like Neo Geo? Etc. Or what about PAL? What about Sachen? What about protos? Test carts? Etc, etc. The list goes on. Either way I wish them the best but I'm also happy to see that some diehard collectors are looking at things with a fine tooth comb. The community does a great job at policing itself.