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Will Coronavirus cause increase in sales/prices. Decrease, or not affect games?


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2 hours ago, DorkOverlord said:

This may sound weird and ultra paranoid, but my first thought was that the virus can apparently live on surfaces for several days. So, if you buy a used game and the seller was infected and contagious, you have a chance of getting infected via game. 

 

What a strange time to be alive. 

The timeframe I've read is 2-3 days it can live on surfaces.  Most deliveries take at least that long anyway, so I wouldn't think it'd be a huge concern as far as the actual item inside goes and you could even leave the box kinda quarantined somewhere for 3 days if you wanted to be extra cautious. That said, the outer boxes are handled up until the time they're delivered to your door.  That said, I handled my AC Switch outer shipping box with gloves and threw it outside.

From a health.com article: 

"That's not to say, however, that the coronavirus can't be found on packages ever: One March 11 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the coronavirus can live up to 24 hours on cardboard, and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel. But, according to Joseph Vinetz, MD, a Yale Medicine infectious disease specialist, that doesn't mean it will infect you. "Detection does not mean transmissible," he says. "

 

Edited by JERedmond
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Actually and I've talked this over with my wife, I honestly don't feel right buying anything "fun" while this coronavirus thing is going on (such as the PSIO Playstation that's now in stock again at Stone Age Gamer) because there are so many people out there who are having trouble just getting essentials...and I don't mean in the sense of affording them, I mean just finding them at all.

I mean I got more than enough games and books and baseball card albums and my local newspaper archive and such to tide me over for now.  Does this at all make sense or do you guys just think I'm being nuts?

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32 minutes ago, Estil said:

Actually and I've talked this over with my wife, I honestly don't feel right buying anything "fun" while this coronavirus thing is going on (such as the PSIO Playstation that's now in stock again at Stone Age Gamer) because there are so many people out there who are having trouble just getting essentials...and I don't mean in the sense of affording them, I mean just finding them at all.

I mean I got more than enough games and books and baseball card albums and my local newspaper archive and such to tide me over for now.  Does this at all make sense or do you guys just think I'm being nuts?

By buying things you are helping those businesses. Your logic makes no sense. If you have the money and want something , buy it. Businesses are struggling just as much as people, well more actually. There are people suffering all the time somewhere. That doesnt stop you from buying something fun. Why now?

Edited by Quest4Nes
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People need to be spending right now or the business you enjoy will not be open next month. Last night my girlfriend and I went to our favourite sushi restaurant and took it home to eat. It's our favourite restaurant in the city and it's owned by just one guy so I really, really want to make sure they stay open through this.

If you have a business you want to support, go there and buy something, or buy something from them online, even if it's just a gift card to use later. They need the money to pay their bills.

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1 hour ago, Code Monkey said:

People need to be spending right now or the business you enjoy will not be open next month. Last night my girlfriend and I went to our favourite sushi restaurant and took it home to eat. It's our favourite restaurant in the city and it's owned by just one guy so I really, really want to make sure they stay open through this.

If you have a business you want to support, go there and buy something, or buy something from them online, even if it's just a gift card to use later. They need the money to pay their bills.

This is definitely the most extreme possible scenario of "paradox of thrift" that we will see in our lifetimes.

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20 hours ago, RH said:

This exactly explains my point.  If people think they will be staying in their homes for 2-3 weeks, then they will likely buy games.  It'll be a small bump, but if this drags on, it's not going to look pretty.

Depends on which group of people staying in their homes for 2-3 weeks. In my opinion, the ones with plenty of spare cash and secure income will likely to spend as before. Ones with spare time who have just lost their jobs or will likely be impacted in income in the foreseeable future, will likely to either:

- spend less on hobbies

- maintain their hobby but divert their attention on the less expensive items (relative to their previous spending)

 

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18 hours ago, stephbm6 said:

I've noticed that the Nintendo Switch is sold out everywhere around here. People are selling used Switches for about the same price as a new one.

I've been trying to predict how this will play out. Admittedly, I bought a huge lot of games a week ago knowing I was getting them at a good price (and picking up some items in my wantlist) but that I might regret it if I have a hard time selling all the games I don't want. There's still buying going on but I am afraid it won't last when people start seeing their spending money dry up. It always takes people a while to realize this. I have heard from people in flipping that sales are down in most categories. Games do benefit from the fact that many people stuck at home for an extended period of time are willing to buy games to beat the boredom. But like I said,  I don't know how long this will last. 

I'd love to see prices come down across the board but admittedly I'm a little scared to be buying anything right now!

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I think at first we'll see a spike in people buying some games to help them through the "two week quarantine" that so many people think is the cure all for this virus. But past that...yeah I think we might see some people selling more games to make money when they get laid off. Sucks but that's a given...sell the stuff that isn't important first.

I don't think it's going to be a drastic price drop though. But who knows. I didn't think I'd ever see a pandemic in my lifetime but there you go. Crazy shit.

One thing I've noticed is everywhere is sold out of Ring Fit Adventure. At first I thought it was just people grabbing it because of New Years Resolutions but I did some digging...I think it's because China shut down all the factories so there's no NEW products being made...so what was a $70 game is now well over $100 for a new copy. Shame really...I wanted to grab it.

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The news out now of the CDC, NIH, UCLA and Princeton is the following on lifespan of the virus.

30min-3hrs = air

24hrs = cardboard

2 days = Stainless Steel

3 days = Plastic.

 

That should answer the fears over buying used goods online from others.  Let it arrive, have it sit for 2 days to be safe, and the rest should have died off already combined with shipping time.

 

My job is safe, health insurance industry analyst position I've worked at home for 10 1/2 years now with.  Wife though, out of work, already wasn't bringing it in anyway due to an incurable illness so we already got help, sickeningly the help will increase which sucks.  Looking at the newest out of the US congress, looks like you can now get unemployment for those either actually just temporarily laid off to outright let go and better than the usual piddly amount and don't have to prove looking for new work as it's not safe.  Then there's the push for a couple paychecks of which it appears could be at least 1200-2400 depending on single or family and +500 per kid.  That would help for a couple months or so, but after that...

 

Also the last I did see a store too a few days back, same here Switch was cannibalized to death far more than any other system, picked off a lot.  The portability, diversity, and game range seems to really suck people in when they're trapped I guess.

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I tried to send a package to the US today from Australia, but due to border restrictions I was told that the parcel will be held in customs for the foreseeable future. The buyer decided to still keep the sale but agreed to review in a couple of weeks before I send it out.
If more countries close their borders I can definitely see prices dropping as the pool of buyers decreases. Could even see some panic sells as people lose their job and just need any extra money.

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8 hours ago, Shmup said:

Could even see some panic sells as people lose their job and just need any extra money.

I think the panic sales will come more so when the Mrs. sees that the losses on the families investments and retirement funds aren't coming back anytime soon. If the losses from the market are sustained, people will be out 10s or 100s of thousands. 

 

From the last recession, people were selling off their collectables after the dust settled because the value of cash had risen. People saw how having liquidity in uncertain times could be more help than a bunch of $$$ tied up in old tender tapes. 

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Just bought Dead Rising today for PS4 on eBay, sealed copy. Will be wiping down the cellophane though! Luckily this won't affect my job/income. Many others are not so fortunate....definitely see lots of price drops. They will bounce back eventually I think. How long that takes is anyone's guess.

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I've been purchasing some things for my PAL N64 set over the last week or so, I'm seeing SIGNIFICANT discounts on the prices of auctions and other items on eBay.

Picked up a cart of Rush2049, previous sale was over 100 quid, got my copy for just over 60. Got a CIB copy of UKV shadowgate for 220, those are normally minimum 300 and can go as high as 5 or 6 depending.

Very good time for buying imo, look to the heavy hitters you still need for the biggest discounts.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just noticed that Wii stuff has flown up in price since the coronavirus lockdown.

Wii Sports was 10-14, is now 27-30. Any Wii system with two controllers and a game goes for about 100, more if that game is Mario Kart and you have Wii wheels.

Basically it looks like everything Wii is up 20-100%

I'm guessing everyone's kids are home and Wii is a great starter system for all ages.

Has anything else gone up drastically?

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3 minutes ago, DK said:

I just noticed that Wii stuff has flown up in price since the coronavirus lockdown.

Wii Sports was 10-14, is now 27-30. Any Wii system with two controllers and a game goes for about 100, more if that game is Mario Kart and you have Wii wheels.

Basically it looks like everything Wii is up 20-100%

I'm guessing everyone's kids are home and Wii is a great starter system for all ages.

Has anything else gone up drastically?

all of it has gone up

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