jonebone

N64 is my favorite console but I finished my collecting goals on it long ago. I do admit it hasn't particularly aged that well though. I think it can be played, and some adult friends ask to play it when I have people over, but it would not be my first choice if picking up a retro system to play. I will say that N64 did one thing especially well that they don't get credit for, the best wrestling games of all time. Those are definitely still playable and take you back one of the best eras in wrestling too.

I also consider myself a primarily CIB collector and will admit that I didn't really like the concept of CIB grading at first. It's grown on me a bit but I can definitely relate to this mentality. For me, the whole allure and concept of CIB collecting is to collect the game complete as it came from factory yet still be opened and playable. Granted I don't play much retro at all these days, but that's what got me into the hobby. Collect CIBs in as nice of condition as possible yet still be able to play anything I owned. Win-win. So, the concept of slabbing / grading a CIB that would render it no longer playable made no sense to me. In these cases I would buy a Sealed copy for collecting and then keep the CIB playable copy... even though once again, I have a NES classic / a Playchoice and really don't play original NES hardware much at all anymore. There's plenty of ways to play besides opening the CIB. Yet a sealed version of the game either may not exist, be incredibly rare or be insanely expensive depending on title. In those cases, I understand grading the CIB as it is the next best thing at a fraction of the cost. I also like CIB grading on something that is extremely Mint. If you collect CIB then you know what I mean. The ones where you try to open the box flap and it almost feels as if you are damaging the box because the hinge is so tight and probably was opened once or twice. Or one when all of the insides are pristine and nicely packed, clearly barely played if at all. You can describe that as "Mint" to someone, but that would be an injustice since that word is so abused and watered down. I don't mind grading a CIB in that condition. Cliffs: CIB grading is an acquired taste and makes the most sense in key instances. It has a spot in the hobby but fully understand it isn't for everyone.

Eh... too early to tell. The 5 CIBS I've graded all had the full assortment of inserts though I know I'm one of the more picky types. Though yes, if you are looking at 5.0 - 7.0 games I bet they're missing inserts. High end grades are probably more likely to be fully complete, but pure speculation either way. Wata does send you the front / back pre grading photos that you can save to your personal files. If I were selling a graded CIB I include the pre grading photos for that exact reason, so buyer can see what they are buying. Supposedly the matrix will fix a lot of these issues but the TBD date on it is still up in the air of course. I'm sure it is coming at some point, but the date is unconfirmed. Last but not least, game specific posters are noted on the label so you can figure that out from viewing photos. That was directly in line with my comment about the Aero Fighters SNES CIB in the Certified Link auction going low... it was noted to have the GSI poster on the back of the label. Sure you didn't know about dust sleeves / generic inserts but you knew about the one that mattered.

The moves wouldn't be that drastic. If the game was a 6.5 Sealed game (with likely a C to B wrap if someone really were truly considering removing it), then you know the box is already 6.5 by default. That's 50% of the CIB weighing. I find that 9.4 internals is about the most you should realistically expect. Same way if you buy a "MINT!" sealed game on eBay you don't expect VGA 100 or Wata 10.0 / A++. Sure, you may get lucky and get 9.6 or 9.8 internals but those would be quite rare and insides of a game aren't guaranteed perfect. 6.5 * 50% + 9.4 * 30% + 9.4 * 20% = 7.95 or 8.0. So 6.5 Sealed to 8.0 CIB. Even if you did assume perfect 10.0 internals (which wouldn't happen), the math changes to 8.25 weighted which would barely bump to 8.5. So I get the point, just the swings wouldn't be that wild.

That Contra was a VGA 90. You aren't settling, likely the same or very similar grade. 90 and up is noticeably nice.

Pay off the house then dabble in a lot more collectibles or be a little more aggressive in some purchases. I'd be living a same or similar life just expand my focuses a bit.

To be fair, as someone with absolutely no stake in that game, I'd say it "feels like" $250k+ just based on current hype / speculation / rarity / new money in the scene, etc. I understand some people not liking how it was portrayed, but I don't think the estimate was egregiously high or biased. My main contention would be that word of mouth offers aren't worth much. For one, you don't know if it was real. We saw this on a FB thread not even two days ago. A buyer claiming Mega Man would go at least $90k and that he and someone else were already going to drop $100k+ bids. Then his "cc didn't go through" or whatever BS and that item closed at $60k with a buyer premium of $75k. End of day I don't believe anything second hand as anything more than gossip. Other point, you don't know terms. Was it a payment plan? Was it 10 guys going in together? Was it someone trading a comic "worth" $300k? The details absolutely matter. People are a lot more loose with trades than with cold hard cash. And when you get to trades of that magnitude, the values are practically made up as the sales data is either so sparse or so infrequent that it is more based on buyer / seller "feel" than data.

@wrk is big into it.

Saw this one and had a laugh.

Streets of Rage 2 is awesome. I bought the Genesis mini just to play thru SOR2 using save states to ensure I beat it. 3 is a letdown though, 2 is definitely the pinnacle of the series.

Nice thread idea and very cool mag to have! Reminds me of @Bearcat-Doug who's favorite group is 311 and had a 311 numbered NWC. That was a unique item for him. Heres mine. Only confirmed sealed copy and likely the only one we'll ever see. I'm pretty confident about that after searching these and following them a decade. Bought directly from a former Walmart employee who bought this on day of release, and it was a Walmart exclusive.

That Renegade I sold was probably a 9.6 A to A+ too. All of the games I've had from that batch have been 9.4 to 9.6 A to A+. I had interest in the Rockin Kats too, but basically I had interest in everything just to make sure nothing went too cheap. I'd say that one closed fair, and it was a former VGA 90. @Velvet_the_Elf My personal pick for cheapest game was Excitebike at 3k or 3600 BP. You can't get round seal black box games that cheap in that condition other than Pinball these days. Maybe Golf or Hogan but everything else is a tier up.

Well I won one game at least, that was fun to watch. First time I watched a Live thing.

$62.5k or $75 with buyer premium.

Thanks for the response. But haven't you guys been grading Sealed games that are New with No Seal as Sealed with a NS rating? That Wario holder says CIB on the front. If it wasn't opened and graded as CIB, then it shouldn't have a CIB holder I would think... Edit: @DefaultGen beat me to it. That picture is the point we were making.

So far the best deal IMO has been Excitebike 9.4 / A+ at $3k ($3600) with BP. True story, I graded that one raw as 85+ and traded Dain for his 85 and cash at the time. If I didn't already own that title I would have tried to win that one myself. Very good price on that condition.

Mega Man hammer 62.5k or 75k with bid premium. Once again, talk is cheap on the internet. Those 100k bidders sure showed up, lol. Edit: @Jedisam2013 I called $75k as my point estimate, wouldn't you believe that? Your 75k-90k was pretty close.

Myriad Live auction is entertaining, 2 bidders back and forth.

The prices aren't final that's internet bidding. Live auction beginning now...

Yeah that is a very bizarre game. It should be graded as a 9.8 NS Sealed game if it is "Sealed" New. Showing up as a 9.8 CIB without grading the inner contents seems like a label error.

Believe nothing you hear and only one half of what you see - Edgar Allen Poe. I don't put a lot of faith in he said / she said comments unless I know the person first hand. It will end up where it ends up. And call me crazy, but if I really wanted a game, I sure wouldn't be revealing my price publicly. Hence why a lot of people are quiet on speculating where games may end... they may have interest in bidding on some themselves.

Notionally, you sell in tax season (Feb - April) and buy in summer when people are generally busy in other aspects of their life. That's a fine theory, but in reality, none of that matters. You buy and sell whenever and market fluctuations aren't tied to specific times of year.

The classic, sure has had some appreciation over the last year!

Congrats! You have a while to go before you have to worry about moving games up. But yes, when they start crawling and then walking watch out. Fatherhood is awesome though!

Not really. Take a PSA slab for example from cards, the slab has changed numerous times over the years. Holograms added, etc. You can date a piece by the holder and most holders change over time.