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Grand Prix Upsidedown

 

So I just found this Grand Prix blue label. It looked odd to me but I couldn't put my finger on why, then it hit me, its on wrong! I bought it, and now can't help but wonder how rare/uncommon this is. I'm also curious how hard it would be to remove a label from an Atari cartridge, as I've never attempted it before.

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Somebody please tell me how to feel about this dude "digitalfilmguy" selling sheets of reproduction cartridge labels. Is it:

 

a. Amazing that someone is willing to provide this funny niche service to people who want it?

or

b. Disgusting that he charges this much, especially since he appears unwilling to sell one-offs, and this isn't his art anyway?

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Somebody please tell me how to feel about this dude "digitalfilmguy" selling sheets of reproduction cartridge labels. Is it:

 

a. Amazing that someone is willing to provide this funny niche service to people who want it?

or

b. Disgusting that he charges this much, especially since he appears unwilling to sell one-offs, and this isn't his art anyway?

I personally do have a problem if there is no indication that it is a repro. If it is a 1-1 copy it is knocking off the original artwork and can be used to con collectors when they re-enter the market as higher quality originals.

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Somebody please tell me how to feel about this dude "digitalfilmguy" selling sheets of reproduction cartridge labels. Is it:

 

a. Amazing that someone is willing to provide this funny niche service to people who want it?

or

b. Disgusting that he charges this much, especially since he appears unwilling to sell one-offs, and this isn't his art anyway?

I say A because stickers aren't cheap.

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Somebody please tell me how to feel about this dude "digitalfilmguy" selling sheets of reproduction cartridge labels. Is it:

 

a. Amazing that someone is willing to provide this funny niche service to people who want it?

or

b. Disgusting that he charges this much, especially since he appears unwilling to sell one-offs, and this isn't his art anyway?

 

Love 'em. And they average to roughly a buck a label (or a buck 'o five for some of the snazzier ones like the Sears pic labels). Not that bad. You'd pay that difference and then some for a cart with a good label vs. one with a crap label anyway.

 

I intend to load up on some of these and go to town fixing up my trashier-looking carts. Looking at you, Activision and Epyx...

 

re: Reproduction marks/notices: I can understand why people want them, but I don't want them--I want my stuff to look as original as possible. These would be for my own collection and my own game shelf, so the aftermarket representation question is of no concern to me. In the extreeeeeemely unlikely event I were to sell any of my personal carts with repro labels, I would represent them as such. My standing and reputation in this community require nothing less.

 

And yes, there really need to be Parker Bros. ones. :P And Atari text and Sears text label ones (originals are always washed-out looking).

Edited by BassGuitari
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re: Reproduction marks/notices: I can understand why people want them, but I don't want them--I want my stuff to look as original as possible. These would be for my own collection and my own game shelf, so the aftermarket representation question is of no concern to me. In the extreeeeeemely unlikely event I were to sell any of my personal carts with repro labels, I would represent them as such. My standing and reputation in this community require nothing less.

You may be fine with everything but things happen, not to want to get morbid but being mortal you can die like anyone else at any time suddenly and unexpeced. Would people selling the collection in an estate sale know? Do any loved ones / will executors know? Furthermore while you may be honorable others may not or simply may not care or forget. Speaking of which you also may unknowingly forget due to medical conditions or common brain farts we all get.

 

When I say difference it could be subtle like a R in fine print or a registered sign ® in the lower left or right which can be overlooked unless someone knows what to look for so it feels and looks mostly original. Having a small difference can make a world of difference for appraisers, collectors and resellers long after it trades hands for any reason.

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You may be fine with everything but things happen, not to want to get morbid but being mortal you can die like anyone else at any time suddenly and unexpeced. Would people selling the collection in an estate sale know? Do any loved ones / will executors know? Furthermore while you may be honorable others may not or simply may not care or forget. Speaking of which you also may unknowingly forget due to medical conditions or common brain farts we all get.

 

Not my problem.

 

If the people selling my stuff can't distinguish original from reproduction, they have no business making any claims to their authenticity either way. As-Is. And if my mental health deteriorates to the point I not only start forgetting what my own stuff is, but also randomly start selling it, then a couple dozen old video game cartridges with reproduction labels probably aren't going to be very high on the list of things I and/or my family/executors give a shit about. :roll:

 

My collection is so large that if it were to go in an estate sale, it would go for pennies on the dollar anyway. Furthermore, any 2600 carts with repro labels would represent only a very, VERY small portion of the lot. Small enough that they would be inconsequential to whoever buys it. Nobody who would buy my entire collection at an estate sale is going to feel ripped off because my Texas Chainsaw Massacre cart is a Hozer repro. And if they decided to flip it all and somebody bought my Sears Submarine Commander cart with a clean repro label for $15 instead of a typical original for $13 thinking it's original, then I guess that sucks for them. I can't help what sellers do, or what buyers don't know about stuff I never intended to sell in the first place. They'd live. Meanwhile, I'd still be dead.

 

But it's moot anyway, because in the event of my death--timely or otherwise--my collection will go to my wife, my siblings, and specific collector friends of mine, who can differentiate repros from originals (even without markings, trained eyes can tell). I could even explicitly state which carts have repro labels in my will. It will be in good hands.

 

And who says I'm mortal? ;)

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I'm being to regret posting this topic at all...

You mean beginning. hahahah Btw: welcome to AtariAge!

 

First off, sorry you're in possession of a late 80's blue labeled Activision cart. And one that's upside-down no less. A double entendre of worthlessness if ever there was one. :rolling:

 

As a former collectard, I jest. Still... probably a certain special collector out there may be interested in it. Don't throw it away! lol

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You mean beginning. hahahah Btw: welcome to AtariAge!

 

First off, sorry you're in possession of a late 80's blue labeled Activision cart. And one that's upside-down no less. A double entendre of worthlessness if ever there was one. :rolling:

 

As a former collectard, I jest. Still... probably a certain special collector out there may be interested in it. Don't throw it away! lol

And now I totally regret it.

 

Plus side, I remember why I hate forums. Almost never anything nice being said.

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And now I totally regret it.

 

Plus side, I remember why I hate forums. Almost never anything nice being said.

 

:lol: Okay.

 

I don't know what to tell you, friend. If this thread is too mean, the internet might not be the place for you. :ahoy:

 

Anyway, getting back to the original topic, FWIW I actually like the blue Activision reissue labels. :) An upside down one is interesting (Factory error or sloppiness as a side effect of late-production cost-cutting?), but as others have said, probably not especially desirable or sought-after except to the increasingly few gotta-have-every-variation-of-every-cart-ever 2600 collectors out there (I actually used to be one of those, myself, but that train is a one-way trip to Crazy Town, and when I eventually realized I had, like, 12 different microvariations of Combat, I jumped off :P :-D ).

 

Still, I'd be surprised if you weren't able to find a buyer for it. :)

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I say A because stickers aren't cheap.

 

If you are interested, I offer reproductions labels (I do not sell on eBay). If you are interested just shoot me a PM.

I have a large catalog of titles so I will not list them here (including foil based labels). All labels are cut to correct size and shape (just peel and stick).

Here's an image of just my Activision titles:

 

post-9874-0-88899900-1524942769_thumb.jpg

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And now I totally regret it.

 

Plus side, I remember why I hate forums. Almost never anything nice being said.

That's a nice collection of carts in your avitar picture. I love Imagic carts; such an unusual shape, & those silver lebels look fantastic.

 

About your original post; apparently, Activision mis-placed a few labels on their newer carts. As someone else pointed out, others like these havebeen found: http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-grand-prix_13990.htmlKinda interesting. Don't know what it's worth; most game collectors like pristine picture lebale. I think a few other hobbies might consider mis-prints & mistakes more valuable. That's just how it goes.

 

I do like Activision's blue labels; blue's my favorite color, so condradulations! You found something unusual, & Grande Prix is a pretty good game.

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If you are interested, I offer reproductions labels (I do not sell on eBay). If you are interested just shoot me a PM.

I have a large catalog of titles so I will not list them here (including foil based labels). All labels are cut to correct size and shape (just peel and stick).

I can happily vouch for pboland's labels. I have recently been very busy cleaning, scrubbing, and re-labeling all of my Activision, Atari, Imagic, and Parker Brothers cartridges. We all know that Activision's cartridge labels in particular age very poorly; even cartridges from sealed boxes look as if their labels were rubbed with dirty motor oil. But with pboland's labels, my cartridges are now looking better than new: the new labels are printed on heavier stock and have a nice glossy finish, both of which will help them hold up better over time. It's also been a pleasure upgrading my Atari text label and Activision blue label cartridges to fresh picture-style labels—even games that did not originally ship with picture labels, like Miniature Golf, thanks to pboland's custom label designs. Highly recommended!

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As for the reproduction label controversy: to an extent, I can see the collectors' point of view (fear of reproductions being sold as originals), but as I've thought about it some more, I no longer think it's necessary to put a watermark or other identifier on reproduction labels, especially for games that will never be especially rare. Newly printed labels will necessarily be produced using a different process than the originals because the volumes are so much smaller, so there will always be subtle differences—in label texture and finishing, colors, typography, artwork, size, the way the corners are rounded, and so forth—that will be detectable even by looking at a picture of the label.

 

In my opinion, collectors who are concerned about label authenticity would do better to document the characteristics of the originals so that other collectors can recognize them, instead of demanding that alterations are added to the reproductions. Banks and currency collectors have operated this way for years; they spot counterfeits by learning exactly what the originals look and feel like, and by training their attention to notice deviations or differences. But the group of collectors who just want their cartridges to look nice is much larger, so I think there's clearly a need for high-quality reproduction labels like the ones pboland offers.

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As for the reproduction label controversy: to an extent, I can see the collectors' point of view (fear of reproductions being sold as originals), but as I've thought about it some more, I no longer think it's necessary to put a watermark or other identifier on reproduction labels, especially for games that will never be especially rare. Newly printed labels will necessarily be produced using a different process than the originals because the volumes are so much smaller, so there will always be subtle differences—in label texture and finishing, colors, typography, artwork, size, the way the corners are rounded, and so forth—that will be detectable even by looking at a picture of the label.

 

In my opinion, collectors who are concerned about label authenticity would do better to document the characteristics of the originals so that other collectors can recognize them, instead of demanding that alterations are added to the reproductions. Banks and currency collectors have operated this way for years; they spot counterfeits by learning exactly what the originals look and feel like, and by training their attention to notice deviations or differences. But the group of collectors who just want their cartridges to look nice is much larger, so I think there's clearly a need for high-quality reproduction labels like the ones pboland offers.

 

A tiny little R in the corner would be a better idea IMO.

 

I'm not fond of reproductions, especially the good looking ones.

 

I thank God I started archiving 15 years ago.

 

8)

 

 

 

 

Edited by Rom Hunter
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:lol: Okay.

 

I don't know what to tell you, friend. If this thread is too mean, the internet might not be the place for you. :ahoy:

 

Anyway, getting back to the original topic, FWIW I actually like the blue Activision reissue labels. :) An upside down one is interesting (Factory error or sloppiness as a side effect of late-production cost-cutting?), but as others have said, probably not especially desirable or sought-after except to the increasingly few gotta-have-every-variation-of-every-cart-ever 2600 collectors out there (I actually used to be one of those, myself, but that train is a one-way trip to Crazy Town, and when I eventually realized I had, like, 12 different microvariations of Combat, I jumped off :P :-D ).

 

Still, I'd be surprised if you weren't able to find a buyer for it. :)

 

I just really didn't mean to cause an argument, and can't believe all the hate being thrown around because of a picture of a game cartridge. Seriously people, this is supposed to fun, remember? Calm down.

 

Anyway, now that so many people are around, I've been curious as to when they started the blue label thing here. Thoughts anyone? ....no hurt up2...

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That's a nice collection of carts in your avitar picture. I love Imagic carts; such an unusual shape, & those silver lebels look fantastic.

 

About your original post; apparently, Activision mis-placed a few labels on their newer carts. As someone else pointed out, others like these havebeen found: http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-grand-prix_13990.htmlKinda interesting. Don't know what it's worth; most game collectors like pristine picture lebale. I think a few other hobbies might consider mis-prints & mistakes more valuable. That's just how it goes.

 

I do like Activision's blue labels; blue's my favorite color, so condradulations! You found something unusual, & Grande Prix is a pretty good game.

 

Oh, thank you. Its an old picture of the games I had that I knew sold a million or more cartridges. Should probably see if I can update it.

 

Yeah, the oddballs are fun, and considered 'rare' and are thus valued more.

 

And thank you! I like it when I find things like this in the wild, I don't see to many blue labels outside the Internet you know?

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As for the reproduction label controversy: to an extent, I can see the collectors' point of view (fear of reproductions being sold as originals), but as I've thought about it some more, I no longer think it's necessary to put a watermark or other identifier on reproduction labels, especially for games that will never be especially rare. Newly printed labels will necessarily be produced using a different process than the originals because the volumes are so much smaller, so there will always be subtle differences—in label texture and finishing, colors, typography, artwork, size, the way the corners are rounded, and so forth—that will be detectable even by looking at a picture of the label.

 

In my opinion, collectors who are concerned about label authenticity would do better to document the characteristics of the originals so that other collectors can recognize them, instead of demanding that alterations are added to the reproductions. Banks and currency collectors have operated this way for years; they spot counterfeits by learning exactly what the originals look and feel like, and by training their attention to notice deviations or differences. But the group of collectors who just want their cartridges to look nice is much larger, so I think there's clearly a need for high-quality reproduction labels like the ones pboland offers.

 

Agreed, but in other arenas, portraying a reproduction as an original is illegal, and in the case of currency, Federally illegal to boot. Best to just put something like 'reproduction' on it somewhere just to be safe.

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