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Any ideas on who to get a collection insurance estimate from? I have a complete game collection. All 125 and all post 2000's releases and home-brews. All either Shrink-wrapped, NIB or Mint! Including CBS Shrink-wrapped and US NIB Mint and White Mattel European. Complete Sears (About 1/2 shrink-wrapped) the rest mint. Then about 200 variations all new or mint.

 

I don't so much care about the hardware...it would be replacing EVERY GAME in New or Mint that would kill me.

 

Thoughts?

 

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Any ideas on who to get a collection insurance estimate from? I have a complete game collection. All 125 and all post 2000's releases and home-brews. All either Shrink-wrapped, NIB or Mint! Including CBS Shrink-wrapped and US NIB Mint and White Mattel European. Complete Sears (About 1/2 shrink-wrapped) the rest mint. Then about 200 variations all new or mint.

 

I don't so much care about the hardware...it would be replacing EVERY GAME in New or Mint that would kill me.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

I can give you some information. Just tell me where you live. Leave the front door open so that I may go in and check out and inventory your collection if you are away or busy. :grin:

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https://www.iii.org/article/how-much-homeowners-insurance-do-you-need

 

Conduct a home inventory of your personal possessions

In order to accurately assess the value of what you own, it's highly advisable to conduct a home inventory. A detailed list of your belongings will not only help you figure out how much insurance you need, but it will also serve as a convenient record. In the event any or all of your stuff is stolen or damaged by a disaster an inventory will make filing a claim much easier.

There are several apps available to help you take a home inventory, and our article on how to create a home inventory can help, as well.

While you're reviewing your possessions, think about whether you want to insure them for actual cash value (where the policy would pay less money for older items than you paid for them new) or for replacement cost (which would cover to replace the items). The price of replacement cost coverage for homeowners is about 10 percent more but is generally a worthwhile investment in the long run. (Note that flood insurance for belongings is only available on an actual cash value basis.)

If you think you need more coverage, contact your insurance professional and ask about higher limits for your personal possessions.

 

https://www.iii.org/article/how-create-home-inventory

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I'd suggest looking into a personal articles policy. These are often used for things like wedding rings. They can have reasonable deductibles and coverage beyond a homeowners policy. Contact your insurance agent and discuss. This may work for your music gear as well. Either way keep an accurate inventory of your games, preferably as BOTH a detailed spreadsheet and detailed pictures. The more specific information you have the better. If you claim "200 retro games" they might value them at $200. If you list specific titles and have pictures, you can claim more value since specific rare games harder/pricier to replace. Hopefully you can find a balance between upfront costs and peace of mind coverage.

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I have a extra rider on my homeowners policy for my collection. I used the price guides that were available at the time to determine valuation (largely Digital Press, JerryG's guide, with a little bit of Video Game Collector magazine thrown in to fill blanks). I did this exercise almost 10 years ago so there may be more contemporary publications available for some of the post-'84 bits. They're never going to be perfect and are super subjective, but they have the advantage of being published, which is what the insurer cares most about.

 

You can also ask how they handle things like comic books or star wars figures; that would give you an idea if the insurer handles collectibles and has some experience in valuation.

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This gives me great anxiety just to think about it. Thank goodness for cloud computing and digital "collections." I don't want to worry about the sanctity of my cardboard and plastic, and certainly don't want to pay some insurance shark!

 

No judgment intended, just my opinion. Insuring high value items separately, as others have stated, makes a ton of sense.

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I am scared at the thought of valuing my collection. ? The sheer lunancy of the dollar value that would produce and the shame I would feel once I realized just how much I have spent on this hobby over the years.... ????

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I am scared at the thought of valuing my collection. The sheer lunancy of the dollar value that would produce and the shame I would feel once I realized just how much I have spent on this hobby over the years....

 

The collection's value is not how much you've spent throughout the years; it's how much a sucker idiot collector is willing to spend if you re-sell it. :grin: :lol:

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I am scared at the thought of valuing my collection. ? The sheer lunancy of the dollar value that would produce and the shame I would feel once I realized just how much I have spent on this hobby over the years.... ????

Or.... if you were to lose it all, and realize that the cost to insure was ridiculously low. I have a $5000 personal article policy that costs me about $10 a year. Granted, its with deductions and specials since I have so many other policies, but still....

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I have looked into this somewhat but to make a long story short...I guesstimate my collection at about 50k. the app I do use, uses pricecharting and ebay sold/completed listings to give average values. Since it doesn't have a good way of providing this for more obscure stuff that hasn't sold in a long time...and things like my arcade cabinets or my DC Kiosk aren't in there it is tough. But basically it comes to about $39k for what it does have the ability to track. I just upped it to include other stuff to make sure.

 

But the pricing on it to be added to my personal property insurance combined with my home was....not good....I will just say. It basically doubled my home owners policy which is crazy because my home owners policy covers 320k on my home alone as the cost to rebuild it as it is. So...yeah...it wasn't cheap and I would have a hard time finding a way to make that happen in my case.

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With the collection, proving the value is part of the issue. I insure my guitars and music stuff separately.

 

This could be of help for all the non-homebrew games: https://www.pricecharting.com/console/intellivision

 

They track eBay sold listings and offer up to date pricing information on what loose, complete in box, and new sealed games are currently selling for. :)

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I am scared at the thought of valuing my collection. The sheer lunancy of the dollar value that would produce and the shame I would feel once I realized just how much I have spent on this hobby over the years....

 

Right? LOL

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OK, I'm foolish with investments so I can only give you 10 times what you think it is worth. I might be able to go 12 times. That's $942.72. Are you talking American Dollars or Canadian Dollars?

 

 

I have done some rough math and I believe my collection is worth $78.56. I am not 100% certain that is correct though.

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When we die our kids will just throw them out. LOL Like we did our parents Hummel's and Spoon collections.

 

That won't happen with me. My 22 year old son appreciates my collection and is very familiar with classic gaming. He collects too, but mostly from the PS1 / N64 era and up. He has promised to take good care of my collection when I'm gone.

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That won't happen with me. My 22 year old son appreciates my collection and is very familiar with classic gaming. He collects too, but mostly from the PS1 / N64 era and up. He has promised to take good care of my collection when I'm gone.

 

He's just saying that so that you bequeath it to him in your will. He'll put it up on eBay before the sheets on your death-bed get cold. He's probably trolling eBay right now pricing it out. :lol:

 

(just kidding!)

Edited by DZ-Jay
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OK, I'm foolish with investments so I can only give you 10 times what you think it is worth. I might be able to go 12 times. That's $942.72. Are you talking American Dollars or Canadian Dollars?

 

 

I shall ponder your very generous offer ??

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