anteater Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 My father was recently cleaning out the attic and asked me to either take or throw out some of my old stuff. Among the things that had to go was my old collection of 173 2600 games, many of which are quite rare. I also saved the instruction manuals for everything and the retail boxes for many things. Looking at eBay, I don't think that the games are worth selling. Even my rarest game, a rare 8, seems to be available to buy now with manual for $20--meaning that Atari equipment is such a niche market that it's not worth the time or effort in selling my games. I'd just as soon keep them all and play them with my wife when I'm feeling nostalgic until the day that they finally disintegrate (note for future divorce proceedings: she was cheering for the bear to eat me in Frostbite!) What I'm not sure about is whether the retail boxes are worth anything or whether I should throw them out. The one thing I don't have much of living in the city is space, and 2 boxes of flattened Atari retail boxes isn't something that I know that I need to be storing. Do you have an opinion on whether I should keep them or toss them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Don't toss them! Make a list of what you've got and post pics. I bet you'd be able to sell all of them here before long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetset Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 DEFINTELY don't toss them!!! If you're going to do that, put the whole lot up on ebay. You might be surprised. As far as the games I would say keep them to play, but it's likely you have very few (if any) games that aren't available on the flashback units. You could sell the carts and have the flashback for those nostalgic times.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari_Bill Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I'm not sure which list you are looking at but if you have a game with a rarity of 8 in box it's going to run for more than that. r8s usually would command hundreds. Boxes are sought after by many collectors. Don't throw them out. I guarantee you would be sorry. Another seller recently sold a very large lot of boxes he found in someone's trash for tens of thousands. That was extreme because they were pristine mint but it shows you how sought after they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anteater Posted March 26, 2015 Author Share Posted March 26, 2015 Oh, geez! Well, I'll post pictures of what I have when I get home and get your expert opinions. I'm pretty sure I don't have the box for the R8 (I vaguely remember buying Guardian from the inside of a school bus at a flea market, so I only have the original instruction manual for it), but I do have a whole lot of other retail boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari_Bill Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Yeah guardian with the box would see at least a few hundred dollars. Loose would still command maybe 75. Do yourself a favor and make the effort to sell. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyperboy Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Now that's an eye opener, nice re-find Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anteater Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 Here's the boxes I have. The condition isn't what I'd call pristine. They've all been flattened for storage, and some have store tags on them, et cetera. That said, some of them even still contain warranties / atari catalogs / contest descriptions. The fact that I have only a fragment of a Dark Chambers box leads me to believe that there may actually be another box of boxes in my dad's attic. Google Drive (publicly visible): https://drive.google.com/drive/#folders/0B67qmvk4E9Zzfl9pTHpYZGRxUERSZ0ZWaTBoX09oUktEX1Qtdk0yQXE5d0tfMklnUzhLejg 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anteater Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 Pictures of the manuals I have and the games proper are now uploaded to that same Google Drive link above. Again, some of the manuals are not in great condition from use. I actually have fewer of the manuals than I thought I did, and oddly enough there are some games for which I have the box and the manual but not the game proper. It appears that some games must have been traded to friends over the years. Remarkably, I even have the little button cover for Basic Programming! Several people have contacted me to express interest in my collection, and the truth is that I'm not quite sure how to sell it. It would make sense to sell the box, manual and game together for the games that I have, or at least to sell boxes separately and the game and manual together. I'm also concerned about any potential buyer being disappointed by the condition of things. The Private Eye manual, for instance, has disintegrated along the folds into four separate pieces. Other manuals are crinkled or missing their covers. Some of the games have the stickers peeling off from years of use and then more years of sitting in the hot attic. Surprisingly, every game I've tried still works except stupid Kool-Aid Man which was broken from day 1. What's more, I don't really care so much about maximizing profit here as much as I care about not having to store a bunch of stuff that should be in the hands of a collector of 80s art or someone who just wants to reconnect with a simpler time. If you were in my position, how would you handle it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBrazil Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Very cool lot! I'm not interested at the moment, but seems reasonable to sell it as a whole lot, specially considering you don't wanna have much trouble. (just a suggestion) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianoid Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Rename this thread: Atari Agers with boners. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.BAZ Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 nice lot dude! I'm drooling over Spiderdroid, Rampage, Cosmic Corridor, Sea Hunt & Dishaster, and of course Guardian. that's a very nice selection of games. I have about 400 games & rarely see a lot with that many I don't have. I would keep 'em if I were you. I doubt all those games are on the flashbacks & IMO the flashbacks don't hold up to the original Atari anyway. just don't seem to emulate exactly & the controllers kind of "suck". never played the Flashback 5 though. selling the boxes here is a nice thing to do for collectors. I would be trying to buy stuff from you if I had $ to spend but that ain't happnin' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zwackery Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Match up everything that you can (cart, box, manual / cart, manual / box, manual). Be very honest about the condition of everything (and err on the side of being overly nitpicky) and provide plenty of pics. Sell everything that is matched as an individual set (i.e., one game per sale). Yes, it would be more of a chore, but you will maximize selling. Group loose carts into lots and sell each lot individually. You have some decent games. And you have some desirable boxes (too bad about the quality of many of them, but you do have quite a few that are in reasonably decent shape). You should do pretty well with a sale. If you want more specifics, just PM me. I own everything you have, so I'm not out for anything myself, but I do think that your stuff will find many happy homes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Climber Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Frankensteins Monster, Cosmic Corridor, guardian and maybe Hero and Private eye I would expect a few PM's on, you have a few other decent mid range games too that you will probably get offers on but a LOT of common stuff and most of your boxes are pretty trashed (this matters a LOT). I would personally put the whole lot up on Ebay with a 99 cents starting bid (don't worry, people will find it and it will not sell for that, lol), get your $300-$400 or so and be done with it, but I'm lazy Or you could part out the rare stuff and keep the far less desirable common stuff for the nostalgiaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anteater Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 (edited) Hello friends! As an experiment, I took the advice of some posters here (and several who actually messaged me privately to urge me to sell on eBay) and decided to do an experimental run of selling 11 games from my collection individually. In particular, I chose 11 games that you expressed interest in. If I decide it's not worth my effort after this experiment, I'll try to sell the rest in bulk. Thanks again for your advice! Dishaster + Manual Spiderdroid + Manual Flag Capture + Manual + Retail Box Sea Hunt + Manual Frankenstein's Monster + Manual + Retail Box + Catalog + Insert H.E.R.O. + Manual + Retail Box + Catalog + Warranty Card Guardian + Manual Moonsweeper + Retail Box + Catalog Private Eye + Manual + Retail Box Cosmic Corridor + Manual + Retail Box Rampage + Manual Edited March 28, 2015 by anteater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 The Flag Capture is something to keep an eye on, not common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FND Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 I noticed your shipping cost is very good. Just a heads up you may run intoproblems if you mail in padded/bubble Mailers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anteater Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 I'm probably going to use the small "flat rate" boxes that USPS has rather than a padded mailer. I don't want to risk anything getting crushed. If I end up losing a couple of bucks on shipping, no big deal. I assume that people will bid higher knowing they're going to save on shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high voltage Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 no worldwide shipping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari181 Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 I'm probably going to use the small "flat rate" boxes that USPS has rather than a padded mailer. I don't want to risk anything getting crushed. If I end up losing a couple of bucks on shipping, no big deal. I assume that people will bid higher knowing they're going to save on shipping. atari games don't usually fit into the small Priority mail box very well. Your best bet is buying the correct size boxes and shipping in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Yes, those do not fit, you can order free Priority mail boxes that can handle a boxed game, wrapped in bubble wrap from the USPS website. They don't cost anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stupus Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 If the game boxes are already flattened I would ship them flat with the manuals, between 2 thick pieces of card board and wrap the cart in bubble wrap. And tape that to the center outside of one of the cardboard pieces. If you do this you could ship safely in a decent bubble mailer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anteater Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 Thanks for the advice regarding shipping! I ordered a bunch of small shipping boxes and will wrap everything carefully in bubble wrap, print shipping labels, and leave it in the mailroom at work where people are a bit gentler than the godzilla mailman that comes to my house. no worldwide shipping? Send me a PM. If you win, I'll figure out what the actual shipping costs are to where you are and send it to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianoid Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 I'm probably going to use the small "flat rate" boxes that USPS has rather than a padded mailer. I don't want to risk anything getting crushed. If I end up losing a couple of bucks on shipping, no big deal. I assume that people will bid higher knowing they're going to save on shipping. Buy small boxes at a box store, 25 cents apiece for a couple of dozen. Then ship First Class. Don't lose money on shipping for gamers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icemanxp300 Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Buy small boxes at a box store, 25 cents apiece for a couple of dozen. Then ship First Class. Don't lose money on shipping for gamers. Why buy? Just go to Wal-Mart at about 2:00 am and hit the personal care section and grab any size box you want when they are restocking for free. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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