The “why the hell did I not buy this?!” thread

[bluejay]

Let me clarify; this is a thread for items that you thought you would never need/want but looking back, you think you should have gotten it. 
 

2 items come to mind. One is a virtual boy box that sat in my local video game store for ages. The owner probably would’ve taken $50 for it as that’s what he sells all his empty console boxes for. I thought I would never want an empty box but looking back I think it would look awesome in a glass display case or something. 
 

the other is a CRT TV I ran across at goodwill many months ago. It was around 30 inches, a silver Samsung one. It had just about every form of video input including VGA, S video,  and even HDMI, but I didn’t get it because I didn’t like how it looked back then. Doh! 

Edited March 28, 2021 by bluejay

[+jgkspsx]

I wish I had bought a lot more stuff on clearance from 1996-1999. I remember the piles of Sega CDs, Virtual Boys, and more at my Toys’r’us for $10 to $20 each. I have no idea why I didn’t buy a Virtual Boy then.

[+Gemintronic]

Bought a 386sx instead of an Amiga.  Would have been much farther along in game development and multimedia skills.

[Steven Pendleton]

Sega Saturn 20 years ago. Also Dreamcast 20 years ago. Also Neo Geo 10 years ago when I was in the Marines and could afford to spend $8000 or more on individual games. That was around the time that I started hearing how unbelievably awesome the Neo Geo is and how expensive it had become... too bad I waited until April 26 last year to get into Neo Geo.

[DragonGrafx-16]

I almost hated myself for not grabbing that cheap PC Engine Duo when I could have but I'm glad I didn't because I just got a PC Engine Duo RX which is a lot better. So it was good I passed on the regular Duo and it's bad capacitors. 

[Tanooki]

The only thing so far that stands out to me in the last 10 years of price ramping abuses was my disgust a decade ago with SNES Aerofighters with the papers too (not box) around $200-250.  Look what the cart goes for now...hell no. ?

 

To be clear, it's the last of my big losses from a sell off around 15 years back.  I had originally got it locally at a second hand shop in the late 90s for $10-20 range with the same stuff so at 10x the price that ticked me off, now it's like a $1000 thing.  I also don't have an earthbound box either, but that I'm fine with.

Edited March 28, 2021 by Tanooki

[+jgkspsx]

I’ll tell you what, I have kicked myself over the years for not buying some backup game.coms.

[DragonGrafx-16]

Shmups can get crazy expensive. Though there are some good ones that are still pretty cheap. Like Blazing Lazers/Gunhed (though Gunhed is usually cheaper it seems). 

 

One game I really want on PC Engine is Terra Cresta II but the copy I saw recently was $300. I draw the line at paying $140 for Soldier Blade.

Edited March 28, 2021 by DragonGrafx-16

[Reaperman]

I remember seeing panzer dragoon saga at my favorite used game store with a $100 price tag on it back in the very late 90's.  "ha, there's no way it'll hold that price and I'll be buying it for $30 in a couple years."  I bought most of my saturn games at that store, for $3-10 each, so why would this one be any different?  Heck, my sonic jam still has the $9.99 price tag from them.

 

Then there was a $25 CDI I saw in a thrift store about 15 years ago. "nah, it might not even work, and even if it does, it'll just sit around."  While my logic there still holds, I've regretted not getting it, even though there were no games or controllers to be found.

 

When walmart clearanced game boy micros for $25, I let the wife talk me down to buying two of them vs more of the ~10 that they had.  She has since acknowledged that I should have held firm on that one.

Edited March 28, 2021 by Reaperman

[teh_lurv]

Back in 2013 I stopped at my local Building #19 to browse one last time as the company was on it's last legs. As I was getting ready to leave, I noticed near the cash registers a large bin filled with new old stock Gameboy Color games. Dumped into the bin were dozens of copies of two games:

 

Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets

Yu Gi Oh: Dark Duel Stories

 

all priced $17.99. I dismissed Harry Potter out of hand, but I briefly considered grabbing a few copies of Yu Gi Oh to sit on in case they grew in value. I ultimately decided not to bother, as if they were in a Building #19, they were probably excess stock no one could move. Since then I've checked the prices for new copies of that game and kicked myself as I watched the price climb to ~$300 a copy. But the real shock is the prices new copies now command since the pandemic started; the CCG collecting craze has made prices for new copies of this game go nuts:

 

https://www.pricecharting.com/game/gameboy-color/yu-gi-oh-dark-duel-stories

[Hwlngmad]

Not getting an Atari Jaguar, and then not getting a Sony Playstation when I decided to not get an Atari Jaguar.  That lead me to not really play video games too much from 1995 to 2017.

[Reaperman]

3 hours ago, Hwlngmad said:

Not getting an Atari Jaguar, and then not getting a Sony Playstation when I decided to not get an Atari Jaguar.  That lead me to not really play video games too much from 1995 to 2017.

Oh gosh, there's another one for my regret list.

 

So I'm a teenager at one of those "computer expos" they used to have, this was about 1996-1998, in madison, WI, and some guy has a pallet of brand new jaguar systems with cybermorph--plus he's bundling in boxed copies of kasumi ninja and checkered flag. ...all for $30-35, can't exactly remember the price but very low. 

 

Being a teenager, funds were limited but I got one.  I couldn't get more because why would I need more than one?  Also, I needed a sound card--and instead spent a comparative lot of money on the worst "expertcolor" sound card anybody ever saw.  I still remember the thing, it was ugly and red, and probably cost me 2-3 jaguar bundles, which adjusting for todays money is a 'buttload and a half.' 

 

I'm sure that buying an unplanned jaguar probably pushed my sound card budget into the toilet, so I shouldn't entirely blame expertcolor for selling me something I could still afford.

Edited March 29, 2021 by Reaperman

[Shawn]

Grey Nintendo NWC about 20 years ago for $1,000. 

Edited March 29, 2021 by Shawn

[Atariman]

CIB copy of Earthbound and strategy guide about 20 years ago... $50... Still kicking myself for that one. 

 

Also, I should have kept bidding on the LaserActive at MWGC that was being auctioned off 10+ years ago. I don't know what it went for, but it was relatively cheap and I had the extra money back then! 

[bluejay]

6 hours ago, Shawn said:

Grey Nintendo NWC about 20 years ago for $1,000. 

Nintendo NWC... Nintendo Nintendo World Championships? ?

[Shawn]

32 minutes ago, bluejay said:

Nintendo NWC... Nintendo Nintendo World Championships? ?

 

Many people wouldn't have a clue what NWC meant without the context of saying it was a Nintendo game. I mentioned it was a grey one cause even back then I think I would have forked over a grand if it had been a gold one.

[Tanooki]

And the funny thing about the NWC, the gray one is the interesting cart.  The stupid gold one people get wood about was just a NP giveaway copy cat run they did for subscribers who got REALLY lucky.  There may be more gray carts, but they're the ones with true value, true historical game played, game contest won value.  Those should be the big ones, especially given that those that went out, some went to those who won various regional, age, etc groups up to the finale.  If you could target a # back to a winner, that's far better provenance than some wanker kid who got mommy to give them a sub and a stamp to get lucky.

[+GoldLeader]

Unless I am misremembering,  About 4-5 years ago(?), when I was at a game vendor's booth (at the Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown in Denver),  they had a copy of Magical Chase for Turbografx for $499.99.  I wasn't familiar with it back then and had no idea of its astronomic value.  Someone asked if maybe I saw a price of $4999.99 instead, but I think that would have made a huge impact on me...Unless it was a typo.  Also it was kind of just out on the table, with a bunch of other games,  not exactly being guarded or carefully watched, and not under glass or behind them or anything...At any rate, I was meeting my friend, and then another group of friends, in a few minutes, and didn't have too much time so I only saw it briefly.

[Trinity]

I wish I had put about $30,000 into Bitcoin when it first started.

Edited March 30, 2021 by Trinity

[+GoldenWheels]

I threw out MANY a video game kiosk 97-99 when I worked at Toys R Us. N64, Playstation, I believe Saturn as well (I was the electronics ticket booth guy). Definitely handheld ones too. The systems often came OUT first, but the kiosks/controllers and even monitors rarely got returned.

 

My boss probably would have been ok with me taking some home, as I was able to run off with certain display pieces (mostly Star Wars action figure cardboard promo pieces and banners) for doing some after hours work (17 years olds not supposed to be working past I think 9 back then, but I did anyway).

 

Now, I didn't have room for any of that stuff then. Nor did I really want it (stupid). But I threw out at least 5 digits (today's value) of kiosks.

[Shawn]

I had a chance to buy one of those big original gameboy kiosks many years ago. I think the guy wanted $900 CDN for it and it was within reasonable driving distance but I just didn't have the space for it.

[+jgkspsx]

I think this thread needs a “why the hell did I sell that?” corollary. I recently found an IM log bragging to my wife about selling my beautiful, pristine, complete copy of Car Battler Joe for $70 in 2005 after getting it for $15. Whoops.

[DavidD]

In my final year of college, I wandered into the local Best Buy -- where they had a pallet of Earthbound games for $10 each.

 

I only bought two.

 

...

 

If I had just purchase 10-20...

[zetastrike]

I had at least 2 opportunities to get a CIB copy of Popful Mail for Sega CD for no money out of pocket.  My local game shop in college had it for ~$90 a decade ago and I had the store credit to cover it.

[+TwentySixHundred]

Nintendo Game and Watch handhelds that were in a bargain bin at the local thrift store. There was like 10 of them in there along with others like Tiger ect. It was about 15 years ago, when i was one of many few still into 'retro' gaming, and i was contemplating whether to buy them or not. They were basically giving them away, sitting there like obsolete junk and my thoughts were, i would buy them and they would just sit in a draw... Nearly brings a tear to my eye whenever i think about it these days.

 

I wanted them because i had two (Turtle Bridge & Donkey Kong) as a young lad growing up and lost them over the years so they held a certain nostalgia. There is many other regrets of missing out on things but those definitely are the icing on the cake.