MIB or SHRINKWRAPPED yesterday????

[surfnmadness]

After getting back into collecting again and browsing the ebay forums I never realised so many guys in the 80's spend $30+ on a cartridge just to never play it. But instead leave it in a box unopenned with the hopes of making $5+ on it 20+ years later on something called the internet which was not around yet for the public, let alone Ebay.

 

I am betting a major part of these carts are really sealled by one of these quick little units. http://www.stevensonind.com/ShrinkSys.htm

 

comments?

 

surfnmadness

[sku_u]

A large portion of the NIB carts sold on Ebay are store surpluses that never made it to market, but yes, there are plenty of games that are reshrinkwrapped. I look for the original price sticker still on the shrinkwrapping or a factory seal on the packaging itself if looking for NIB games although sometimes I'll take the risk if I am looking for the box itself (like in the Xenophobe and Radar Lock auctions I recently won). It would really stink to buy an expensive game NIB and open it up only to find out there is a combat cart inside.

[rpmxxipt]

A large portion of the NIB carts sold on Ebay are store surpluses that never made it to market, but yes, there are plenty of games that are reshrinkwrapped.  I look for the original price sticker still on the shrinkwrapping or a factory seal on the packaging itself if looking for NIB games although sometimes I'll take the risk if I am looking for the box itself (like in the Xenophobe and Radar Lock auctions I recently won).  It would really stink to buy an expensive game NIB and open it up only to find out there is a combat cart inside.

 

Ditto.. when I do venture onto eBay to sell, I will NOT list something as "new sealed" unless there is overwhelming evidence to support that - usually some obvious factory sticker on the outside of the wrap. Having worked for a fairly unscrupulous video store owner in the early 90's, a shrinkwrap machine really did = instant bucks. I picked up five "sealed" C-64 AD&D games recently from a local pawn, only to find out that just one of them had the codewheel needed to get the game to work.

 

You try arguing with a pawnshop owner

 

I assume nothing is truly new unless the seller is trustworthy and has a fairly decent description of the product.

 

-rpm-

[video game addict]

I picked up five "sealed" C-64 AD&D games recently from a local pawn, only to find out that just one of them had the codewheel needed to get the game to work.

 

Not all of them require codewheels.

[rpmxxipt]

These were all C-64 Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance games.. I thought they all had codewheels.

 

Perhaps I shouldn't take the name of my local pawn in vain?

 

-rpm-

[video game addict]

I think most do, but I was selling some recently, and I know at least one didn't use a codewheel. It tells whether or not it's included in the manual/rule book. I think the one I had that didn't was Secret of the Silver Blades. It uses a word query from the two manuals on a periodic basis instead.

 

And I doubt the pawn shop guys would have known any better anyways. They probably took them in that way. I've never been in a pawn shop that actually shrinkwraps anything.

[rpmxxipt]

The main one here in Milwaukee does.. they have their shrinkwrapper on proud public display in the back of the store! It almost seems like it has its own courtesy counter!

 

-rpm-

[rpmxxipt]

Codewheels or no, I just want to take a second to say that these were some of the greatest computer games EVER IMHO.. I could still probably lose myself for a week in these if I had the time.

 

-rpm-

[surfnmadness]

I do have to say,

 

It would be nice to seal up my own games that are in the box (very few that I do have, most are loose). I also would not mind it if a few of the sellers would fess up to "I shrink wrapped this after verifiying all game contents are in the box." Then I would not mind paying a few more $$$.

 

sURFN

[Mayhem]

Codewheels or no, I just want to take a second to say that these were some of the greatest computer games EVER IMHO.. I could still probably lose myself for a week in these if I had the time.

 

-rpm-

 

Only Pools of Radiance, Hillsfar and Curse of the Azure Bonds use codewheels to my knowledge (must go back and check my collection). The rest use words from the manuals instead...