They say there are no stupid questions...

[Kris Snyder]

Now, it should be said up front that I have no personal interest in selling my games. I've only ever sold two in my life - and only then because, even after extensive play-time with them, they were still too difficult for me to advance in - and then I turned right back around, and used the store credit I got in trade for other games... In fact, there was even a third game I just gave away to a friend outright, because it was too hard and I'd become entirely frustrated with it...

 

That said, I don't want to get totally ripped off and taken advantage of by other people, either. That said, are there any online listings for determining a fair median price range for classic games? If it helps, I am mainly interested in buying loose carts - although whenever the instructions, boxes etc. are offered for not much more than the cartridges alone, I consider that to be just a nice icing on the cake...

[+thegoldenband]

There are loads of rarity guides, with prices included, at places like Digital Press and RarityGuide.com. The prices in these guides almost invariably trend too high, but you can multiply them by a fixed percentage to get a "real world" estimate of what you should pay. The prices on Rarityguide.com, for instance, are typically between 2x and 3x what they should be.

 

Another trick is to look at recent completed auctions on Ebay; auctions of individual items tend towards inflation, but if you look at what a big lot goes for, you can get a good idea of which titles command money. Many titles are close to worthless, like most Genesis sports games -- there are just too many of them, and no one wants them. Similarly, many Atari commons are really worth no more than a dollar, though it can be hard to buy single carts at that rate.

 

Which systems are you planning to collect for? There are good guides available for individual consoles -- I frequently consult the Intellivision guide at Tomorrow's Heroes, for example.

[Kris Snyder]

Right now I am interested in picking up classic, functioning carts for the 7800 - and 2600 games that work on that system too. Although I might pick up the occasional cart for consoles from the 16-bit era as well (although I have to watch myself on that count - Koei's turn-based strategy games have consumed entire months of my life), right now I am mostly interested in games for the non- home computer Atari systems - particularly all the fun, exclusive titles which have never been ported over to any of the subsequent generations of consoles...

 

I just don't want to report on any future acquisitions I make, only for everyone to be like, "Dude, you paid (X amount of money) for (Y game)? Man, you totally got ripped off..."

[Mirage]

Well, at this point in the game, in 2010, you really have to ask yourself if you want to start collecting individual carts at all, if you have none or hardly any now (for any particular system). Maybe you do want to -- and there's nothing wrong with that! But if you're just looking to play the games, and not spend a ton of money, go for multicarts. The latest 2600 one, the Harmony, starts at around 50 bucks, and you can play almost every game made for the system. A 7800 cart will be a bit more pricey, so that one may be a tougher choice, but bang-for-the-buck in playing terms, you're always better off with a multicart.

 

Of course, if you want to collect too, you'll probably end up with piles and piles of carts, then eventually a pile of multicarts as well, like many of us!

[atari_envy]

Atari2600.com Price Guide to see recent eBay prices and trends.

[nofrills100]

Atari2600.com Price Guide to see recent eBay prices and trends.

Damn!!!

Never seen that site.... and all my purchases are there - on the top end of the price scale :!:

oops

[Trade-N-Games]

I have lots of Atari 2600 games for sale on my site trade-n-gameswww.tradengames.com . Actual pictures of the games so you can see the condition. Thanks for looking

Edited February 16, 2010 by Trade-N-Games

[atari_envy]

Atari2600.com Price Guide to see recent eBay prices and trends.

Damn!!!

Never seen that site.... and all my purchases are there - on the top end of the price scale :!:

oops

Yeah, it is a love-hate with the Atari2600 price guide. I generally find out that either a) I paid too much for my game or b) Missed an auction where a game I wanted went for dirt cheap.

 

However, it is a great resource when trying to decide how to much to pay for or price an item.

[albedos_shadow]

I usually go by Video Game Price Charts. They automatically pull averages from recent eBay, Amazon, and Half.com. Seems pretty accurate from the times I've used it.

[kevincal]

Check ebay completed listings and see what the least amount X game is selling for. Then you know what you WANT to pay for a game.