Price Increase in Atari 8-Bit Games?

[Illtiger1]

I have been following Atari 8-Bit games on Ebay the last year or so since I was planning on buying an Atari XEGS. I finally landed one and I've noticed that there seems to be quite an increase in prices and decreased availability for a lot of the Atari 8-Bit games (both the old brown labels and the XEGS labels). Is this true or is my increasing lack of sleep catching up to me? Also, if so, is there a reason? Thank you.

[atarian63]

could just be supply and demand, not making any new ones eh?

[myklejay]

Give a multi-cart a try, that way you can play all your favorites while looking for good deals on carts. Also Ive found that purchasing lots instead of single carts is usually a better way to get better prices.

 

http://www.atarimax.com/myide/documentation/

[Atari8guy]

I kinda think Ebay by adding Buy it Now and classified listings is the driver. You're seeing higher prices, but stuff that is listed as a true auction, actually goes for much more reasonable costs.

 

I often wonder if someone with deep pockets opened up a competitor to Ebay and went back to the original auction model, if they couldn't steal lots of market share.

[Illtiger1]

Thanks for the responses. I've found that games like Donkey Kong (cart only) which were at a reasonable price a year ago are now going for double the price.

[Paul Westphal]

Yes. 8 bit has been going up and up over the last year. If you want to start collecting start looking at garage sales, local retro game shops and lots on Ebay. The blue box XE games ( good ones ) are disappearing fast. Try also 4jay's for used, Best Electronics, Video61 and B & C Computervisions for new ones. Hunting for them is the fun part! It's like a box of chocolates... Looking for 8 bitters, I found a very rare 2600 guardian for $3 and sold for $80.00 ( then of course I spent the money at Best Electronics )

[adamchevy]

I think eBay sellers are becoming more savvy with the retro scene and are artificially creating demand by buying and selling between each other and collectors. Of course 8bit popularity continues to increase ,but eBay sellers looking to cash in on it are raising there prices 10-20% every time a game changes hands to continue to make a profit. Nes seems to be most affected.

[AtariLeaf]

I've noticed the same thing with dirt common C64 carts. The asking price for loose individual carts seems to start at $10. As mentioned, buying lots is the best advice.

 

Who knows, maybe after all these years the common stuff really is starting to become rare. I can't even find a C64 Gorf cart on ebay right now.

[Retro-Z]

I kinda think Ebay by adding Buy it Now and classified listings is the driver. You're seeing higher prices, but stuff that is listed as a true auction, actually goes for much more reasonable costs.

 

I often wonder if someone with deep pockets opened up a competitor to Ebay and went back to the original auction model, if they couldn't steal lots of market share.

Interesting point. You'll notice that about 80-90% of the items on the Ebay "auction" site are actually fixed price listings. This leaves a tiny majority of items that are actually being auctioned in the traditional sense. The current Ebay is more like Amazon.com with an auction feature.

 

With some patience, it is still possible to find Atari 8-bit items at garage sales and flea markets. Buying in lots as mentioned earlier is also good advice.

[Chug]

I've noticed Infocom games going for more than £100. Don't get me wrong, I like their stuff but that's a bit steep.

[_The Doctor__]

It's artificial, it's being done by the get rich ebay book twits, just like in wargames the only way to win is not to play.

 

Try to do private sales and auctions, buy from actual Atari vendors... There are about 8 atari people causing this mess on ebay. but its spreading fast to all the other markets If you let em starve for a couple years they will give up.... they spent a couple years working towards this it will take that long to break em.....

 

http://www.ebay.com/gds/DO-NOT-SELL-TO-ZERO-FEEDBACK-BIDDERS-/10000000010301786/g.html

 

I was in a local store that also sells on ebay and watched a his computer scan for and automatically bid on competitors products up to a preset amount and then stop... he saw me watching and said pretty cool huh... I have a list of everything and it looks for it and bids on it up to my price... I either get it for next to nothing or someone is going to pay more than my price... I win either way.

 

I was pissed but held my temper and decided to act in awe of it and played stupid to see if he would 'wow' me like a show off would and he did... he has several differrent scripts running on automatic sniping sites and stand alone software on his machine as well... jbidder gixen auctionsnipe etc etc etc. these machines are set up and have the purpose to screw the competition and the public period... if he doesn't want to pay and get nailed under one false acount he just sets up another... makes a few phony sales for next to nothing to give the name credibility and does it again.. I notified ebay... but since they make money off of the fees and prices you guess what will happen.. ebay says they are working on a way to mess up the sniping software... I will believe it when I see it... Simple use picture answer question to verify human bidder is making bid. I don't see it yet.

Edited January 20, 2014 by _The Doctor__

[Illtiger1]

Interesting post and confirms what I have suspected. I've had very little luck with thrift stores and Craigslist in my area so ebay is my only option for 8-bit games. As I stated earlier, I just bought a XEGS and love it. Unfortunately, I'll just have to wait and scour ebay until I find some reasonable listings to play the better games.

[DesertJets]

You'll often notice that it is the same sellers and the same product that keeps coming up all the time. Patience is key for collecting A8 carts. Often enough something worthwhile will pop up with a low starting bid that you can get on the cheap.