Are R5+ 2600 games REALLY that expensive?

[+atari2600land]

After FINALLY buying a copy of Jawbreaker on eBay for less than $13, I was looking at the other R5 games I want including Bank Heist, I Want My Mommy, Crash Dive, etc. All (loose) were around $20. Are these people really that stupid or are they really worth that much? If so, it doesn't look like I'll be getting every R5 game any time in the near future...

[Vectorman0]

After FINALLY buying a copy of Jawbreaker on eBay for less than $13, I was looking at the other R5 games I want including Bank Heist, I Want My Mommy, Crash Dive, etc. All (loose) were around $20. Are these people really that stupid or are they really worth that much? If so, it doesn't look like I'll be getting every R5 game any time in the near future...

 

 

If you are patient, you can definitely get those that you mentioned for under $20.

[Philflound]

I put my Bank Heist for sale at $15. Click my link in my signature and maybe I'll work a deal with you if you need games.

 

Phil

[Cliff Friedel]

If you look hard, sometimes you can find them on ebay in lots for cheaper than that. You have to do some scrounging though and be willing to take a few doubles that you can resell. You can also find singles once in a while when vendors offload extra stuff and get them in the $6-$15 range.

[Lonely Mountain Hermit]

Jawbreaker's a great game btw.

[Atarian7]

I wouldn't pay that much for those R5 games. Now Universal Chaos I would spend $20 on. NTSC of course.

Edited March 3, 2010 by Atarian7

[cybercylon]

Probably can pay less if you wait. I got Spy Hunter (and R6) and Frankensteins Monster (R5) for $4 each at a local place recently.

[Philflound]

When it comes to buying, it has to do with your willingness to own it. What I mean to say is, are you the type of person who loves finding things in the wild? Are you a patient collector? Are you on a budget?

 

If you've been looking for a game for say 5 years, and see it for maybe $5 more than you think it should be, will you shell out the extra 5 beans or maybe try to hold out and wait possibly 5 more years to find it for the price you want.

 

I've bought games at "higher" prices just to find them cheaper later on. My last purchase for an Atari game was $10 for Tutankham complete in the box. That included shipping. I've been trying to get this box for a good 10 years. I felt it was a fair price. For all I know, I may get one next week for like $2 in a lot. It's the game we play.

 

Some people love the thrill of the hunt. If you have everything you want to collect, there is no more fun in things. That's when people usually expand into other things, mainly other video game systems.

 

About 12 years ago I started buying NES games because somewhere I got a decent deal on a system with games. Now I'm over 500 cartridges for the system. I don't pay any real money for NES games because I'm a patient person. I own 80-85% of all Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, Intellivision, Colecovision, and Master System games. Most of what I need is rarer and/or expensive. At least price to me it's expensive. I know there are collectors on here who can drop $500-5000 in a heartbeat and not think too much of it. I'm wary on dropping $10.

 

So I'm now expanding again. This time it's Dreamcast, which I bought a system and about 10 games 1 1/2 years ago for $10. I'm working on trying to acquire a ton of DC games for a buck a piece. Boom...instant collection. I'm also finding PS1 games can be had for $2 or less for the most part. That's the best time to buy stuff, when no one wants it. When I first started buying Atari games in 1995, it was thanks to a kid who was my customer and also worked in my store from time to time. He bought a 7800 with like 25 games for $25. He took 3 games out and let me have the rest for the price he paid. That was when my collecting began. It was at a time when no one wanted these old systems. I got some very nice items for relatively little money which included the majority of Astrocade games with a bunch load of Arcadian items and other paperwork with a boxed system. I picked up my Channel F, Studio II, Vectrex, and other smaller unknown systems at the time.

 

Now is the time for the "newer" old systems. Things like NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Dreamcast, SMS, Genesis, Sega CD, PS1, even PS2 older games, Lynx, and Jaguar. Original Xbox are also relatively cheap. Most people are concentrating on Xbox 360, Wii, DS, Gameboy Advance, new PS2 games, and PS3.

 

If I had more room, and a little bit more money, I'd probably be buying like a madman. Where I could get $1-2 boxed Atari games a few years ago, now they are at least $5-10 for the same boxed games. I expect it to happen to those newer systems I've mentioned in another 5-10 years.

 

Phil

Edited March 4, 2010 by Philflound

[shadow460]

whether or not I'd spent $20 on an R5 depends on the title. Is it a label variation? Is the game fun to play? Did I have it when I was a kid? Does that include shipping or taxes? Does it have the book? A box? Catalogs and warranty cards?

 

If it's truly complete, I'd spend $20. Here are some I've purchased:

 

The Official Frogger: CIB, R6, $30 plus shipping. (traded tape and instructions for a fistful of R4 ish titles I wanted)

Star Wars Arcade: Loose, R6, $1 plus tax. (did this twice and traded one for a loose Stargunner)

Wabbit: Loose, R4, $13 plus tax. (I wanted it and it was in decent shape, so I overspent)

Bank Heist: R5, $2 and tax.

Centipede: R2? $6 with instructions and comic book. (got it for the comic book alone)

Quest for Quintana Roo (Sunrise): Box, instructions, and book, R8, $1.67 plus tax. (you don't pass up a deal like this...ever)

 

Most of the time, though, I consider $5 to $10 to be a fair price for R5 titles. If I'm buying instructions, the box, and other goodies, sometimes I'll spend $5 to $10 on each piece. Up to R4, I am willing to spend $1 per rarity in most cases. For R6, I'll go up to $30.

[Frostbite Bailey]

Do not want to hijack this thread, but would love a The Official Frogger: CIB, R6, ( $30 plus shipping; would be nice ) I have lots to trade PM me. Cheers, FB

 

On another note, I pay $20.00 plus for a cool label variant, ex)Sega Thunderground B/W I paid $22.00.

[toiletunes]

What??

 

I can't even find Pacman for less than $2

[Frostbite Bailey]

What??

 

I can't even find Pacman for less than $2

 

Your not looking in the right places

[AtariLeaf]

A local store has a loose Crash Dive for $23 and a loose Stargunner for $50

Crazy prices IMO

[iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin]

If you are patient you can get those much cheaper!

[shadow460]

Do not want to hijack this thread, but would love a The Official Frogger: CIB, R6, ( $30 plus shipping; would be nice ) I have lots to trade PM me. Cheers, FB

 

On another note, I pay $20.00 plus for a cool label variant, ex)Sega Thunderground B/W I paid $22.00.

 

What's really weird is that a few months after I purchased this, my Dad turned up the entire set of Starpath tapes he had purchased for us when we were kids. All but Dragonstomper had their instructions, too. That game me an extra Frogger, which I knew would make good trade bait. I kept the outer box and advertised the tape with its plastic case and liner notes and the instructions.

 

Probably the reason I got it cheap is that the box shows a lot of wear. It sits empty on my shelf, and the tape+instructions I got from my Dad sits in a briefcase with all the rest of them.

Edited March 6, 2010 by shadow460

[Philflound]

What??

 

I can't even find Pacman for less than $2

 

I think I have them for 50 cents on my gpdgames website below. You should check out my sale list. I don't claim to have the cheapest, but I'm always willing to make deals, especially if you're buying alot.

 

Just looked, also ET, Combat, Missile Command are also 50 cents.

 

Asteroids, Berzerk, Defender are a buck. Also have many others for $2.

 

Phil

 

PS: I always send out my best labels first, so you'll get the best I have at all times.

Edited March 6, 2010 by Philflound

[2600Lives]

Guess it depends where you look. There's a local chain near me that sells 2600 games for a song (sometimes, other times they try to rape you, as in 15 bucks for a loose Pitfall!...

 

I've picked up Picnic, Harbor Escape, and Quick Step from them for 2 bucks. The Harbor Escape was an amazing find, actually.

[Philflound]

Guess it depends where you look. There's a local chain near me that sells 2600 games for a song (sometimes, other times they try to rape you, as in 15 bucks for a loose Pitfall!...

 

I've picked up Picnic, Harbor Escape, and Quick Step from them for 2 bucks. The Harbor Escape was an amazing find, actually.

 

Some of these thrift stores and flea markets have no idea what they're doing. I've seen commons priced at $5 while rarer games priced at a buck or two. This doesn't necessarily pertain to Atari either. I think they have the assumption of what they think is popular should be expensive. I don't know how many times I see a Super Mario Bros/ Duck Hunt priced at $5. I ask, "how many would you like?"

 

Phil

[AtariLeaf]

Guess it depends where you look. There's a local chain near me that sells 2600 games for a song (sometimes, other times they try to rape you, as in 15 bucks for a loose Pitfall!...

 

I've picked up Picnic, Harbor Escape, and Quick Step from them for 2 bucks. The Harbor Escape was an amazing find, actually.

 

Some of these thrift stores and flea markets have no idea what they're doing. I've seen commons priced at $5 while rarer games priced at a buck or two. This doesn't necessarily pertain to Atari either. I think they have the assumption of what they think is popular should be expensive. I don't know how many times I see a Super Mario Bros/ Duck Hunt priced at $5. I ask, "how many would you like?"

 

Phil

 

That's exactly what Value Village does. They had pacman and donkey kong for $5 each "because they're popular" but rarer games like Zellers titles for 99 cents.