GPX

I think that was the overall intention - a broad overview. It’s good for the general public to know a bit more than just articles on “game A is worth X, then 10X, then 100X.” It’s an article where you can build on an informed opinion.

Depends on the angle. Not important for the human race to advance. Important in that these numerical representations can be a big difference in whether you can go on a trip around the world OR go starving for a month or two. In previous years, I can remember buying a sealed game and just soak up on all the nostalgia, the history and the art on the game. Now things aren’t as simple/innocent as it once was.

My tip is: if you are highly specific in your condition criteria of your collection, ask to see photos of all surfaces and use your own eyes to judge for yourself. Both companies have different criteria in their rating of box and seal so the overall score would not correlate 100%.

It just occurred to me, with all these numerical discussions on grades and VGA to WATA conversions, the collecting scene is starting to seem like complex algebra! VGA85+ = WATA (x)A++ Solve for x.

For the time being, it’s worthy to be cautious rather than going into global hysteria. If the virus is lurking within the country then it’s not a current serious threat to us, outside of China. I’d be much more of concern if there was a handful of infected popping up all over the world and affecting each continent. Also the numbers can be misleading not only of the government agendas, but in China, the health resources are relatively lacking and the average person may also be delaying in seeking for treatment or even too poor to get the proper treatment. Thus the death rates would likely be more higher compared with the incidence of infected in the poorer countries compared with the first world countries.

What were the seal grades given by WATA of the 3 VGA90 items? It could still make some sense for example: - 9.8 A - 9.4 A + - 9.2 A ++ I’m also thinking because there’s so many high 9.6/9.8 games already, they might be marking things a tad more harsh to make it a more even distribution?

At least he’s a happy looking doofus.

This thread topic is similar to posing the question “are CIB collectors screwed over compared with loose cart collectors?” After all, you’re getting the same game experience right? Well actually, there is a bit of false logic in the above. Yes, you’re getting exactly the same gaming experience at a fraction of the cost. However, with the extra manual and box you have a better display showcase as well as more things to fondle with. You’d have to pay more cash for the CIBs but there are subtle bonuses that you can’t do with a loose cart. So going back to the topic of early console adopting. Yes, you’re gonna have to pay more, but you feed your gaming addiction for the newer gen games earlier rather than having to starve and go in withdrawal for 1-2 years. Obviously if you don’t feel the need to spend the big bucks then there’s always the option of...waiting. No one is really better off buying early or buying late, it’s really all a matter of perspective and circumstances.

The original intention was to see what the main problems were and what was more frequent. Over time, we might get to see more which is the worse of the evils. The poll was never intended to conclude that transactions are mostly bad experiences. For what it’s worth, I think bad experiences from my end (talking about wanting to leave negative feedback) is roughly 2-3%. I also feel it’s happening more frequently with each passing year.

Customs is actually a main reason that is often undermentioned. Speaking of which I have some brand new Megadrive games that have been kept at the overseas airport for nearly a month. I’m guessing customs would have something to do with this awful delay. Added to the poll!

I’m curious to know how many of us here have had bad deals with online purchase(s)? I have a hunch it’s a lot of us. Also curious to know what are the commonest deals that have turned bad/nasty. Poll is added and any other comments welcome.

Phase 1: see above. Phase 2: sniff testing.

@fcgamer, I’m curious to know.. is there some genuine way you can tell a retro bootleg versus a modern repro of the retro bootleg?

I think keeping things raw and getting things graded will eventually strike a right balance. I feel there is still much more to learn and the market is still undergoing maturation. I’m overall excited to see that the collecting scene has blossomed to where it is now. Though I have reservations in that too many are jumping in blindly with a profiteering motive (money incentive) rather than the ones doing it for passion of the hobby. We’re seeing some value gains, but what will be the collateral damage?

Moral of the story is that there are people who receive and give, and there are those who receive and take more (your friend’s mom). The fact that she keeps asking you for help and not her son should have been a hint already.

Here’s some N64 categories from a few minutes of brainstorming: - Mario games - Rare games (Conkers, Goldeneye, Killer Instinct etc) - Platformers - RPGs - 3D action - FPS - futuristic racers - racetrack racers - mixed racers - sports using feet - sports using hands - miscellaneous

Yep, best part of OG Xbox is the cheapness and not many over the top pricey games! But then, less risk, less reward and vice versa.

I dropped some decently priced games on several occasions. Causes me to turn beast and cuss modes for a short while whenever it happens. The recent episode of game damage was when I tried taking a disc out of an XBox original case. The disc was latching tightly on the spindles and when I tried yanking it out, thumb and middle finger on either side of the disc, it broke in half! That’s right, snapped in two pieces! Thankfully, it’s a lowly priced game. I’d hate to see myself in the mirror if I caused damage to a rare costly box/disc.

I’m pretty sure I played a ton of obscure games on the C64. The problem is that they’re so obscure I forgot most of the names! The ones I do remember and having decent fun are: - Mystical Ninja (Snes) - Mystical Fighter (Genesis) Mystical Ninja in particular, is one of my all-time favorite Snes games.

Fantastic collection! Huge amount of passion and dedication to put them all up on display! Congrats on the collaboration with the boys from PGS. The video was very well put together and a fitting tribute to your late wife. Thanks for sharing!

One bored day, I decided to copy a picture from a gaming mag of Kiddy Kong. The only gaming character I’ve ever drawn thus far. The barrel with an up sign was my own little twist. The picture represents 2 things: - age of innocence (being a kid). - the early 90s era where I loved every bit of it, growing up with all the Megadrive/SNES gaming goodness.

That’s the claim. That doesn’t really mean much though unless we see the official contracts between the exchange. For example, $150K as an immediate payment versus $150K payment in 3 monthly instalments over 10 years. Both give the same claim as being sold for $150K, but the full details if disclosed would make it much more meaningful.

It's also probable that there were additional side-deals within the main deal, and that the trade could have been misleading or not the full representation of what was the actual entire deal. For instance, there could be other smaller trades involved. Or perhaps doing extra favors that aren't easily quantified in money terms?

Thanks for the tips. Great work getting rid of those ugly store stickers!

Some poetry for fun: Once you go loose, you’d have spare cash for booze. Once you go CIB, you’d go crazy with obsessive insanity. Once you go sealed, you’d look at the asking price and squeal like a seal. You no longer have sex appeal. Once you go graded, you’re wallet will look faded, your face will look jaded and your wife looks at you with hatred.