2600 prices are not going down!

[ATARIPITBULL]

I don't remember who said that because of the market being so bad, that the prices of Atari 2600 games are coming down, LIKE HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!. Just today on ebay I had a chance at two supercharger games, Rabbit Transit & Frogger and at a $120.00 bid I placed on each one you would think I had a chance on getting at least one of them, but NO!!!!!! Rabbit went for about $150.00 and Frogger sold for over $200.00 and of course these bids came from nut less, punk ass snipers with 10 seconds to go on the auction, now call me crazy, but I think that was a lot of money to spend on these two games, but thats just me. All I know is that it is getting more and more expensive to get boxed games that I don't already have and I don't know how much longer I can keep up this collecting pace.

 

[Mr.FoodMonster]

a boxed rabit transit, what are the average prices on them?

[+Random Terrain]

Don't worry, many Atari 2600 fans are getting older (over 40) and will be kicking the bucket soon, so if you can avoid death for a while, I'm sure you'll be able to get some good deals. You could always scan the obituaries.

[Mr.FoodMonster]

yay you will all die and i get your stuff!! HOORAY!! the name to put in your will is....

[christianscott]

i've used the hunt and trade method to keep my collection growing, steady growth has never been a problem.

 

a few things i've noticed about game collectors-

 

most tend to work in the high tech sector so i figure a lot of them have lost their jobs over the past 3 years, meaning they would have less $ to spend on hobbies.

 

on the other hand most game collectors tend to live with their parents, more or less rent free, meaning they would have larger disposable incomes to spend on hobbies.

 

go figure?

[Cassidy Nolen]

That reminds me....

 

Some of you larger collectors, what do you have in your will for your collection? My family and wife are very well aware of my wishes for the collection, and where it is to be donated.

 

Do any others of you out there have "plans" for your collection after you can no longer care for it?

 

(How morbid is this for a Monday?) BTW, I think those prices were nutty too. Did not know they were THAT rare....

Cassidy

[maximebeauvais]

My wife said that she will put all my atari stuff in the garbage

 

She is so sick about atari

[figgler]

Yo,

You're right, atari is certainly not get any less popular. Alot of collectors are in on the scene beacasue of this. Purely speculating and buying up stuff to sell it off and make $ later.

It makes a rather expensive, sorry state for all us "real" collectors

[Dolt]

Wow--I'm probably the one person happy to read that about those ebay auctions. Last friday, I got in one lot

 

--All TWELVE Supercharger games and their manuals (no packaging boxes though, just cassette boxes and cassette packaging)

--14 of those off-brand game holders that hold 14 games with a slot in the middle for manuals (well, I got 4; i have to pick up the other 10 today, as I couldn't carry it all on my train at once).

--All three issues of Atarian

--A boxed, sealed Mindscape Powerplayers joystick (the one I posted about that day)

--A dozen common games (realsports football anyone?)

--A bootleg of CTCW.

 

...all for $50.

 

The best part of the Supercharger aspect was that I actually already owned the packaging for Frogger--I had all of it except the cassette and the cassette box. Now that's complete.

[robsbucs]

I have been getting confused with 2600 prices as well.....for instance....Robing hood/sir lancelot just sold for 20.00 dollars. Ok its a rarity 8. Then turn around and a Chase the Chuckwagon LOOSE sells for 149!!!! I have a CTCW MINT like the one in the auction and i got mine for 70!!!! its been very confusing with prices on certain games here lately. so i mixed on prices. I guess certain buyers dont care just as long as they get the game???? WHO KNOWS!!!

 

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=3038075625

[+Marc Oberhäuser]

That reminds me....

Do any others of you out there have "plans" for your collection after you can no longer care for it?

Cassidy

 

My graveside will be called Tut Ench MaO. And beware, tomb raiders, to reach my sarcoph you will have to beat several PAL games in a row, starting with Pharao's Curse:)

 

Marc.

[madblownaway]

My atari and games and controllers are all going to my bud. He's the only one I trust. My one sister I know would sell it my other sister would lose it. My parents would throw it out. My boyfriend wouldn't remember where he'd put it. My bud would keep it clean intact and working. Wouldn't sell the games if his life depended on it.

[Trade-N-Games]

I keep telling my wife that she could sell my collection when I die and have enough money to bury me and have some left over to party that the house is all cleaned up. I think in the last year common atari stuff has gone down in price but more uncommon and very popular stuff has gone up alot.

[Frostbite Z]

I hear you and know exactly the bids to which you refer; I was sniped in the last 10 seconds on the Dragonstomper game, but at a price far less than the ones you mention.

 

My theory is that if people want the games badly enough to part with that sort of change, they need them far more than I.

[Zeus]

I'll probably give my atari & coleco stuff to one of my sons. Or maybe give it to a museum! . Anyhow, as for collecting values, I have a coin that is probably worth more than my whole video game collection ever will be worth! Speculation rarely pays off in collectables. I still stand by my theory that Atari prices will go down in the future. If you want to speculate, try land, you'll get a better payoff

[Sanriostar]

That reminds me....

 

Some of you larger collectors, what do you have in your will for your collection?  My family and wife are very well aware of my wishes for the collection, and where it is to be donated.  

 

Do any others of you out there have "plans" for your collection after you can no longer care for it?

 

Right now, I'd parse it up amoung Classic Gaming freinds and my brother. I'll let them hash it out as to who gets what. If they want to Ebay it, they can. If they keep it, so be it.

[Elllleeott!]

I think once you consider scanning the obituaries as a means of furthering your Atari collecting exploits, you may need to start seeking immediate psychological conseling.

[llabnip]

I still stand by my theory that Atari prices will go down in the future.

Not just go down, but with inflation even if they go UP they go DOWN

 

Given inflation correlations... US$1 in 1977 (at the birth of Atari) is now worth US$2.97 (actually, I'm using data from 2002, I'm sure 2003 would be similiar as inflation over the past year has been slow). Said another way, $3 today has the same buying power as $1 in 1977. Said yet another way, it takes almost $3 to buy something today that would have cost $1 in 1977. Said a final way, a dime isn't worth a dime anymore

 

Factoring in inflation over 25 years, most of the Atari carts are incredibly cheap nowadays. What would have cost you nearly $30 in 1977 now costs $4 (at MOST on ebay - though most people can find them cheaper). That $4 is really only $1.35 in terms of what it would have cost you in 1977. An average $30 item has now dropped to an equivilent of $1.35 (and still dropping - both due to inflation and the rate at which carts are appearing on ebay and elsewhere).

 

It benefits someone to wait to build up thier collection as the prices tend to stay the same, (dip or rise a little) but with inflation it's almost always worth waiting to pick up your carts - they WILL be cheaper (though the price may creep up slightly) in years to come (at least as long as the supply of carts outweighs the demand).

 

100 carts in 1997 might have cost me $2500 (figuring $25 average new price - some carts were more, some less). Nowadays, even at maximum ebay prices of an average of $4 per cart (I've only got like 3 carts I've paid more than $4 for and many others that I paid less so it probably averages out to even less) that would only be $400 when, after factoring in 25 years of heavy inflation is really only equivilant to about $134 to get the same 100 carts that someone paid almost 20 times as much for in 1977.

[Turn2]

Don't forget to figure in the $5+ cost of shipping on most of those $4 games. That makes it a $9 game in my book, and SH gouging seems to be rising at a faster and faster rate. Dont you just love it when a game arrives in a bubble envelope with a $1.05 postage sticker on it after paying 5 SH and 2 for insurance.

[BeerGnome]

common carts going down? HA! I lost a 1 cent auction by .5 the other day..

 

allright.. one cent auction.. no bidders.. an hour left.. so I threw down for 50 cents.. pretty saticfied I had it, turns out the next day I was out bid by 5 cents at the last second..

 

but.. I had to have this really damn common game so I was still able to snag it for 1.99, with shipping. $4.75.. me and the buyer agreed on a round $5 for all the trouble..

 

 

so.. I'm out thrifting today.. I find the exact cart I had just got on Ebay for the round $5 for $4.75

 

lord.. I was upset..

 

the game in question is warlords by the way.. so now.. i have two copies..

 

but just so you people know..atari carts are basicly the highest traded item on Ebay in that catagory.. no wonder prices are soaring.. how many of y'all check out the other auction sites.. like say..yahoo?

ebay has the best selection.. but.. y'know..theres something about going to the dirt mall

[Brad2600]

Well I am going to start cutting back on my collection for a while. I just can't seem to juggle the rent, bills and my video game collection all at once.

 

Hell, I bought a metal shelf and couldn't even get it together..got it together wrong so will have to find someone with mechanical aptitude to put it together for me. The instructions suck. With that shelf, I will have more room for games so I can free up clutter.

 

I've got a possible date this weekend and I don't know how she'll react to my game collection..LOL.

 

I won a copy of White Water for the INTV and that is to be my last game bought for a while. I will be buying some games from AtariPitBull as soon as finances become available and then I'm calling it quits for a while. Still holding onto my stuff but just cutting back on buying. I'm still open to trading or buying if the games are cheap enough.

 

It's a nice hobby but it costs money.

 

As for who to give the games to?

 

I'll probably end up looking for another collector to take them in case something should pop up. I might end up selling them later on but I am really hopeful that won't be the case. It's a hobby I don't want to give up on.

[EricDeLee]

God...

 

I could have gave you a WarLords! lol

 

[llabnip]

Don't forget to figure in the $5+ cost of shipping on most of those $4 games. That makes it a $9 game in my book, and SH gouging seems to be rising at a faster and faster rate. Dont you just love it when a game arrives in a bubble envelope with a $1.05 postage sticker on it after paying 5 SH and 2 for insurance.

Who the heck is paying $5 shipping for a $4 game!?! The better ebay sellers are $2 for shipping and $0.50 per game (some give free shipping on every game after 4 or 5). Find a seller that is selling a 2 or 3 games you want, and usually you get the game very cheaply (and $4 is probably a bit high, many end with prices of $1.99 without bids). A big chunk of my 2600 collection came from ebay - at an average of $2.75 per game (including all shipping costs). I think a few extra minutes looking at the better sellers (though this may be the minority - but they account for hundreds of different good common carts) on ebay will show just how cheaply most carts can be had (with near perfect labels, too).

[Dolt]

That's great if you're looking for Galaxian or Pac Man, but typically, the more unusual an item is, the more likely the postage is crap. I needed BMX and won it for $4.50 but the shipping was another $4. It's all a matter of degrees--there's an accessory going for about a buck right now, and I'd buy it, but with $4 shipping, it's not worth $5 to me. It's worth a buck.

[Brian R.]

Don't worry, many Atari 2600 fans are getting older (over 40) and will be kicking the bucket soon, so if you can avoid death for a while, I'm sure you'll be able to get some good deals. You could always scan the obituaries.

 

This isn't the middle ages. People are living well past that.