Jump to content
IGNORED

Atari's Landfill Adventures, I now have the proof it's true.


Spud

Recommended Posts

Why would you throw away the instructions? And the box which keeps the cart neat and protected?

We always kept most of our boxes, because mom always wanted to be prepared in case we had to return anything, but we kept them in the attic. I doubt they would have done much of anything to keep the carts protected, they would have just been destroyed.

 

Hard cases like Genesis and disc games, though, that's a different story.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I never understand why so many VCS and NES games on ebay are without box and instructions. Why would you throw away the instructions? And the box which keeps the cart neat and protected?

It's like buying a vinyl record and throwing away the sleeve.

 

Why did so many people who used computers throw their floppy disks all over the place without putting them back in their protective thingies and without sticking them in one of those cases with the lid that flips open?

 

They'd toss them in the dust, set sloshing coffee cups on them and touch them with unclean hands covered in potato chip grease, earwax, boogers, and dingleberries.

 

I remember being naive in early 1983 and letting a kid borrow a couple of Atari 2600 cartridges with manuals, assuming that everyone treated video games and computer items like sacred, holy objects that should never be defiled. When I got them back, the manuals looked like they'd been through a war (a very sticky, greasy war). One manual even had a circular coffee stain in the middle of it. That's when I learned that most people were scummy, icky, sticky barbarians.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kids trash the boxes. Ever seen the way children rip open their presents Christmas morning? Paper doesn't hold up very well. Manuals get used and read, but they eventually get dirty, fall apart, or get shoved in a drawer or lost and separated from the game. Even responsible gamers who kept the game in the box would wear out the flaps through repeated opening and closing. Some people even cut the flaps off for this reason. Carts on the other hand, are practically indestructable.

 

The vinyl record analogy is completely different. Most record collections were owned by adults who cared for their stuff. Teen collectors who spent their hard-earned cash or allowance money knew how to care for their records as well.

 

The situation is even worse with modern CD games. so many discs became scuffed and unplayable. We had a garage sale once where we sold a ton of VHS tapes. You won't believe how many parents buy old VHS not because they're cheaper but because their kids "destroy" the DVDs. :P

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

I remember being naive in early 1983 and letting a kid borrow a couple of Atari 2600 cartridges with manuals, assuming that everyone treated video games and computer items like sacred, holy objects that should never be defiled. When I got them back, the manuals looked like they'd been through a war (a very sticky, greasy war). One manual even had a circular coffee stain in the middle of it. That's when I learned that most people were scummy, icky, sticky barbarians.

 

 

The same thing happened to me -- I loaned my Bezerk cartridge to a classmate (we frequently exchanged games). He wanted the manual, too. He returned the game, but I had a hard time getting back the manual. When I did, it had suffered water damage and the staples were all rusty!?!?

 

Like RT, I kept all of my games in their original boxes. I was 11 or 12 at the time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I never understand why so many VCS and NES games on ebay are without box and instructions. Why would you throw away the instructions? And the box which keeps the cart neat and protected?

It's like buying a vinyl record and throwing away the sleeve.

I think it's a guy thing .... mess with something if you have some success with it (say putting it togeather) THEN read the instructions .... if no success say "it's dumb" & throw it all out togeather

 

I got it as a kid , prolly tore box in half opening it ( I don't remember ) I would mebbe look at color matrix on back of other manuals for game selection .... when I didn't have much luck at playing ET ... good chance I just stuck in another cart.

 

I as a kid was kinda spoiled with the stuff , I didn't take care of them well .... I do still have my original console though & only within past year have replaced the switches & AV cable

 

My nephews leave loose xbox 360 games around to be destroyed and only now am I anal about putting games away

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm very much looking forward to see the documentary on "the Dig" saw a bit of the teaser that was on my nephews xbone

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like RT, I kept all of my games in their original boxes. I was 11 or 12 at the time.

I never kept them in the boxes. I put my boxes in a box (up in my closet to protect them). I originally kept my cartridges and manuals in a small rolltop desk. Later, I 'made' my own version of the modular cartridge library using a sturdy cardboard display from a department store that had a bunch of separated sections in a big grid. Each section of the grid fit 5 or 6 carts on their sides. The carts had just enough space above them in their sections so you could reach in and grab one. I eventually filled the whole grid with carts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still hate boxes. What kid saves the box from any toy he gets?? I just wanted the carts. Ever single game box I had went in the trash. I never thought anything of it. The game and manual were kept. In fact I never seen a 2600 box or any console from any of my friends back in the day. I would be like what the hell are you gonna open and throw away the packaging and play your game or look at it.

I only buy carts and dont like it when games are sold with boxes. I usually keep them now but they get thrown where ever.

Like boulderdash I have the game on the console right now. The box is in a cardboard box with a bunch of joysticks. I think I have that and 3 others that are collectable so I should not throw away. But I want to! Take up space.. the artwork is great I usually look at it for 25 seconds then trash and game on. The carts are treated with respect and never dropped or scratched.

Edited by Jinks
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually end up collecting a complete game then buy a spare cart for play. I do enjoy the artwork and contents of boxed games...even though as some have said as a kid I never kept the box. Today is a different story, however, space is always an issue so I keep my boxed collection low.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a few discontinued homebrews and Repros from RetroUSB that I upgraded to boxed. Generally though, I collect cart only because that's easiest to collect. My crowning collector's piece, however, is my sealed Princess Rescue that I've lovingly placed in a CGA case for safe keeping. I also still have the box and all the paperwork/packaging for my NES. The CIB system was just sitting in my garage for years and we discovered it in 2002 after my dad passed away, thus kindling my passion for retro gaming, so it's special to me.

 

Boxes were never meant to be permanent, I'm afraid. Disc systems, on the other hand, I demand CIB.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

1377 games (including 171 ETs). Cost $50,000. Recovery cost $36.31 each.

 

Only 12% were ET. The other 88% were different games.

 

I wonder if the IRS can disallow any of that tax deduction. If not, can I bury a bunch of my stuff and take a tax deduction, then dig it up in 30 years and sell it for a profit?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like the City is moving forward with trying to profit from the games recovered.

 

http://www.alamogordonews.com/alamogordo-news/ci_25862460/city-still-deciding-what-do-atari-games

 

They don't know what the games are worth? They need to check eBay. They say the price is always right on eBay. The games are always classic and they're RARE.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1377 games (including 171 ETs). Cost $50,000. Recovery cost $36.31 each.

 

Only 12% were ET. The other 88% were different games.

 

I wonder if the IRS can disallow any of that tax deduction. If not, can I bury a bunch of my stuff and take a tax deduction, then dig it up in 30 years and sell it for a profit?

Except you would be realizing the profit in that case. It is still a loss for Atari. Atari does not have any financial interest in the games that were dug up. Any profits from the sale of those products will be going to Almagardo, not Atari.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1377 games (including 171 ETs). Cost $50,000. Recovery cost $36.31 each.

 

Only 12% were ET. The other 88% were different games.

 

I wonder if the IRS can disallow any of that tax deduction. If not, can I bury a bunch of my stuff and take a tax deduction, then dig it up in 30 years and sell it for a profit?

1377 games. That's almost 1337 (LEET). Well, sort of... :rolling:

 

Glad they are doing this right with the bulk of it going to museums. I'm a little sad they didn't excavate more, but I can understand why...

 

 

"If we run out, there are 790,000 more in that hole out there now that we know where they are at," he said. "But they are worth more. The less there is — that is why we didn't keep going."
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

So, does anyone know the result of the meeting the city was supposed to have had on the 10th concerning how they were gonna go about selling the remainder of the games?

 

It's been 3 weeks since then. I'm surprised we haven't seen anything on this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, does anyone know the result of the meeting the city was supposed to have had on the 10th concerning how they were gonna go about selling the remainder of the games?

 

It's been 3 weeks since then. I'm surprised we haven't seen anything on this.

 

I would be interested in knowing more also as I really want one of the ET's for my collection. It's a found grail of the video game world IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

1377 games (including 171 ETs). Cost $50,000. Recovery cost $36.31 each.

 

Only 12% were ET. The other 88% were different games.

 

I wonder if the IRS can disallow any of that tax deduction. If not, can I bury a bunch of my stuff and take a tax deduction, then dig it up in 30 years and sell it for a profit?

The games weren't buried for a tax deduction. They were buried to avoid paying taxes on them. When you own a business, you have to pay taxes on the value of your inventory every 3 months. That's why modern manufacturing has adopted "Just In Time" business practices so inventories don't linger and cost you money. Bear in mind, Atari themselves set the value of the carts at $50 bucks a piece on average, so with a glut of nearly 800,000 carts times $50 bucks per cart works out to a nearly $4,000,000 tax bill every 3 months. If you sell the carts, you don't have them, hence you don't pay any taxes on them (although you pay taxes on the money you received for them). If you throw them out, then you don't have them, hence you don't have to pay the taxes on them. Therefore, no, you can't bury your stuff and dig it up 30 years later for a tax deduction.

 

This is also why you see seasonal sales, spring summer, fall and winter. Companies are trying to deplete inventories as much as possible and devalue the inventory they have remaining, so if they sell a widget at retail for $10 bucks, and it's not moving, just prior to inventory they'll drop the price to $8 bucks, saving them the taxes on the $2.00 per widget at tax time, plus, the lower price causes inventory to move quicker, thus reducing the tax hit by even more. A good way to spot a discontinued, devalued item is the price. Full price items typically end in $x.99, i.e. $3.99, $4.99, $199.99, etc. first round devaluing drops to $x.98, 2nd round, $0.97, etc. So if you're in the store, and you see something priced at $19.97, it's probably discontinued and the price has been reduced twice. Once for each inventory it's had to pass through.

 

It's not uncommon for items that have passed though 2 inventories to be devalued to nothing. At that point ,the retailer is free to sell the item at any price, typically a low one to move the item. I've seen some stuff sit so long the manager will just try to give it away to a staff member, or if no one wanted it, just throw it out.

Edited by John_L
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The games weren't buried for a tax deduction. They were buried to avoid paying taxes on them. When you own a business, you have to pay taxes on the value of your inventory every 3 months. That's why modern manufacturing has adopted "Just In Time" business practices so inventories don't linger and cost you money. Bear in mind, Atari themselves set the value of the carts at $50 bucks a piece on average, so with a glut of nearly 800,000 carts times $50 bucks per cart works out to a nearly $4,000,000 tax bill every 3 months. If you sell the carts, you don't have them, hence you don't pay any taxes on them (although you pay taxes on the money you received for them). If you throw them out, then you don't have them, hence you don't have to pay the taxes on them. Therefore, no, you can't bury your stuff and dig it up 30 years later for a tax deduction.

 

This is also why you see seasonal sales, spring summer, fall and winter. Companies are trying to deplete inventories as much as possible and devalue the inventory they have remaining, so if they sell a widget at retail for $10 bucks, and it's not moving, just prior to inventory they'll drop the price to $8 bucks, saving them the taxes on the $2.00 per widget at tax time, plus, the lower price causes inventory to move quicker, thus reducing the tax hit by even more. A good way to spot a discontinued, devalued item is the price. Full price items typically end in $x.99, i.e. $3.99, $4.99, $199.99, etc. first round devaluing drops to $x.98, 2nd round, $0.97, etc. So if you're in the store, and you see something priced at $19.97, it's probably discontinued and the price has been reduced twice. Once for each inventory it's had to pass through.

 

It's not uncommon for items that have passed though 2 inventories to be devalued to nothing. At that point ,the retailer is free to sell the item at any price, typically a low one to move the item. I've seen some stuff sit so long the manager will just try to give it away to a staff member, or if no one wanted it, just throw it out.

Makes sense. Also explains the car sales dealers have every December. Last month I recently picked up some long sleeve shirts from a department store, but at like Goodwill prices. Some of them were slashed down as low as $2. Sadly the pickings were slim in my size but I made out like a bandit with about half a dozen or so shirts for next to nothing. Will save them for fall.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The games weren't buried for a tax deduction. They were buried to avoid paying taxes on them. When you own a business, you have to pay taxes on the value of your inventory every 3 months. That's why modern manufacturing has adopted "Just In Time" business practices so inventories don't linger and cost you money. Bear in mind, Atari themselves set the value of the carts at $50 bucks a piece on average, so with a glut of nearly 800,000 carts times $50 bucks per cart works out to a nearly $4,000,000 tax bill every 3 months. If you sell the carts, you don't have them, hence you don't pay any taxes on them (although you pay taxes on the money you received for them). If you throw them out, then you don't have them, hence you don't have to pay the taxes on them. Therefore, no, you can't bury your stuff and dig it up 30 years later for a tax deduction.

 

This is also why you see seasonal sales, spring summer, fall and winter. Companies are trying to deplete inventories as much as possible and devalue the inventory they have remaining, so if they sell a widget at retail for $10 bucks, and it's not moving, just prior to inventory they'll drop the price to $8 bucks, saving them the taxes on the $2.00 per widget at tax time, plus, the lower price causes inventory to move quicker, thus reducing the tax hit by even more. A good way to spot a discontinued, devalued item is the price. Full price items typically end in $x.99, i.e. $3.99, $4.99, $199.99, etc. first round devaluing drops to $x.98, 2nd round, $0.97, etc. So if you're in the store, and you see something priced at $19.97, it's probably discontinued and the price has been reduced twice. Once for each inventory it's had to pass through.

 

It's not uncommon for items that have passed though 2 inventories to be devalued to nothing. At that point ,the retailer is free to sell the item at any price, typically a low one to move the item. I've seen some stuff sit so long the manager will just try to give it away to a staff member, or if no one wanted it, just throw it out.

Please provide a citation for this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...