Well I do believe that if a sealed copy is worth up to ten grand, my copy of Pokemon Yellow without the packaging and in very good working condition should at least fetch me $1000. Right? ...Right?
It’s almost as if the price point was arbitrary and propped up by speculation as opposed to any inherent form of value. Now, I don’t have anything against the market deciding how much something’s worth - things are worth exactly what people are willing to pay for them. Problems arise when unscrupulous and self-professed “experts” sell the same item to each other back and forth to artificially inflate its value by simulating market activity that’s completely false and fraudulent… but that would never happen in the game grading business, surely.
I can't honestly complain being that I basically finished my retro collection before the pandemic hit, and the flood of new collectors since then has driven up the base price of almost all my games by two to three times what I bought them for. I didn't buy them as an "investment" either though, they're just the games I enjoy and value most personally. I'd be pleasantly surprised if any of them become rare enough to sell for a thousand plus before I kick the bucket, but I guess Valkyrie Profile is about a fifth of the way there already.It’s almost as if the price point was arbitrary and propped up by speculation as opposed to any inherent form of value. Now, I don’t have anything against the market deciding how much something’s worth - things are worth exactly what people are willing to pay for them. Problems arise when unscrupulous and self-professed “experts” sell the same item to each other back and forth to artificially inflate its value by simulating market activity that’s completely false and fraudulent… but that would never happen in the game grading business, surely.
The only thing that bothers me about the current collector market is that the notion of a flea market bargain went down the toilet - everybody and their dog drag out hardware in very poor condition from their attics/basements and think they hit a gold vein when realistically they have something worth $20 because it’ll take another $100 in parts/labour to recondition. My collection doesn’t have an end point and it’s always growing, but it’s contingent on finding a good deal. Thankfully I’m lucky enough to have many gamer friends who often offload their hardware to me not because they’re after a quick buck, but because with me it’s “going to a good home” - they know it’ll get the TLC it deserves.
Lucky you, all my gamer friends are also collectors, so they don't give me jack shit.
One hand washes the other in many cases. You’d be surprised by what you can come across when you’re good with a soldering iron and willing to work. They know that if any of their stuff starts misbehaving, I’ll have a look free of charge. On the flip side, if they have a little something-something they’re trying to get rid of… first dibs.Lucky you, all my gamer friends are also collectors, so they don't give me jack shit.
A good example of this is robots, like Sphero's Droids, for example BB-8. That battery will only live for so long, and that shell? Well.. better get the dremel.
Honestly this applies to anything with a li-ion or li-po cell. Once they go below the safe voltage threshold (which on most cells is 2.6V) they begin off-gassing, growing dendrites and puffing up. It’s a plague with old PSP’s, I noticed - those batteries turn into balloons and tear the lids clean off. Thankfully without any charge stored left they don’t pose a fire hazard, but it’s hard to justify calling a product that committed seppuku “mint”. Realistically those things need to be charged every 6 months or so to remain in peak condition.
People think getting games and whatever graded gives the product a boost in value. Anyone who does that deserves whatever they get.
I understand the allure behind it, but it would be difficult for me to invest in a liability such as physical video games carts/disks when they already have a shelf life and will eventually become defective at some point due to 'wear and tear' or 'old age'. I just prefer to download ROMs to add to 'my digital collection' (lol) while having a good time playing them.
