Prices on eBay

[Saldo]

Sorry if this has been discussed before (I'm sure it has) but is it just me or are price on eBay getting ridiculous? Case in point, there is an auction out there for 3 sealed Parker Bros games: G.I. Joe, Spiderman, and Star Wars ESB with a buy it now of $550 plus $22 to ship (to my zip code). These are rarity 2, 3, & 4 games and I understand that sealed games are harder and harder to come by but am I off base here? I contacted the seller (who might very well be a member on this site) and they were very honest about why the price was set as it was. They stated that supply and demand rule and that video game collecting has becopme more main stream in the last few years so the prices on sealed games has been driven up. I'm all for sellers being able to get as much for their products as possible, but if they truly believe in the supply and demand model than why not set the price at $1 to start and let the buyers drive the price to where they see fit? That seems to be true supply and demand to me, not setting a sky high buy it now price. Anybody else feel the same way? Am I off base with the true value of these games? Oh and BTW I already own these games sealed so I'm not complaining because I want to buy them!!

[Benzman66]

Agreed!

I sell on Ebay daily, and for sure, the prices have been going up more and more.

It is unreal what some people are getting for them anymore.

[atari181]

Sealed games are definately at a premium, but have all three of these sealed and I am pretty sure I paid less than $40.00 each for them. Probably within the last year. I am on Ebay Daily and that price is no where near "The Norm" In an auction any of these are 35.00 to 50.00 usually around 50.00 for a Buy It Now

[Saldo]

Sealed games are definately at a premium, but have all three of these sealed and I am pretty sure I paid less than $40.00 each for them. Probably within the last year. I am on Ebay Daily and that price is no where near "The Norm" In an auction any of these are 35.00 to 50.00 usually around 50.00 for a Buy It Now

 

Thats the value I was putting them at in my mind.

[Dragonstomper]

I've been buying and selling on eBay for years. When selling, if I don't know how to price an item, or how much I can reasonably expect it to end at (if it's not a BIN), I do some simple research (recently closed auctions, online storefronts, etc.), and set the opening bid/price accordingly. I just don't understand these sellers that set exorbitant prices when such data is so close at hand. If they're not trying to pull the proverbial wool over the uneducated collector's eyes, then they're just lazy.

 

For the record, atari2600.com has brand new, shrinkwrapped copies of G.I. Joe and Spiderman for $24.95 each. And with a little patience, it shouldn't be too difficult to find a sealed copy of SW:ESB for $30-40.

Edited February 22, 2011 by Dragonstomper

[Rex Dart]

There's a Defender cart up with a buy-it-now of $1,000. It's just the cart.

[DickNixonArisen]

The real question is... is this a bubble, or will prices actually consistently rise on this stuff? Depends on the economy and % of people willing to pay out for non-essentials, attrition rate of game failure (low, low low) and cultural exposure. The retro-love will eventually swing away from Atari and NES when the 64 and GCN are what people remember from their childhoods.

[opeygon]

Indeed you can get all of these games sealed for way less.There are plenty of sealed games out there. It just takes patience. Even I have Empire Strikes Back sealed and I don't go after too many sealed games.

 

I don't worry about those crazy prices on ebay though. Who cares if those idiots want to sell sealed games for $500? You would have to be a big idiot yourself to pay that much!

[Tr3vor]

I'm glad I got my atari for like 30$ with about 13 games when I did. Now, it would probably be up in the $70's. Its rediculous.

[Philflound]

Some people are idiots on Ebay. I have about 100 boxed complete or sealed games up for sale. For the most part, I try and be the lowest but not always. I put store fixed prices, never auction anything except on the rarest occasion. My buy prices have been going up per boxed game, so my average price is probably $10-12 for complete boxed games. I do have some at $5-7 though. I've been selling like crazy for the past few months, and have risen prices slightly. I also base my prices on condition. Beat up boxes, manuals, and/or carts will be priced much lower than if one looks brand new. I think the guy with the 3 sealed PB hopes to get an overenthusiastic collector to pay his price. With a 5 cent per month cost if he has an Ebay store, it doesn't matter if he actually sells it. He gets talked about by people on here and gets some type of attention, even if it isn't a positive one.

 

Phil

 

BTW, I have sealed games in my store, many for $7-15.

Edited February 26, 2011 by Philflound