Overpriced games

[Ze_ro]

Has anyone else noticed the number of games that seem to sell on eBay for more than they're really worth? For example, I was looking through someone's auctioned games, and I ended up bidding $3.50 on Star Wars: TESB, and still wasn't enough to beat someone's maximum bid. I mean, the game is pretty good, but it's not exactly rare or anything... $4 is a little much to pay for something that I can probably end up finding in the wild. All the Star Wars games seem to do this, as well as Pitfall 2 (It usually seems to get up to around $10 pretty often). Anyone else get annoyed by this?

 

--Zero

[ATARIPITBULL]

You got that right!!. Some guy in California was asking for a first bid of $40.00, for a boxed copy of Alien. Alien is a little hard to find complete with the box, but it is not rare enough for $40.00.

[woodyi76]

Yes Pitfall 2 is overpriced that's why I don't have a copy of it. I'm just not willing to spend 15 bucks on a game that's very common. Also Chase the Chuck Wagon is a bit overpriced. I see this game on ebay quite a bit and it usually sells for 150$ wtf. There is a K-Razy shootout game for the 5200 that's 49.99 first bid. That game is only a 4 on the rare scale.

[ubersaurus]

well, pitfall 2 is really popular, since it's really good. course people will pay good.

[Ze_ro]

quote:

---

Originally posted by woodyi76:

There is a K-Razy shootout game for the 5200 that's 49.99 first bid. That game is only a 4 on the rare scale.

---

 

Yeah, I saw that too... It's funny how many laughs I get when I look through eBay auction

 

I was more referring to games that end up at high price because of people bidding on them though. Pitfall 2 usually sells for $10 even if it starts at a penny.

 

--Zero

[King Asmo]

I totally agree with ya on this one, Ben.

 

"Worth" is an incredibly subjective thing, and is only somewhat related to what something generally sells for. If you think about it, a gallon of drinking water is "worth" more than a diamond ring in the sense that without drinking water, you'll quickly perish, whereas a diamond ring is pretty useless as far as survival goes. Of course, you won't find too many people trading their diamond jewlery for a bottle of Evian.

 

Of course, if you're interested in that trade, I'm sure my girlfriend would love a new ring.

[atari70s]

QBERT $9.99 first bid cart only

 

PITFALL1 $5.99 first bid

 

 

NEED I SAY MORE?

[videotwit]

But there within lies one of the not-so-unattractive parts of the whole eBay phenomenon -- if you think a price is too high, you don't have to bid on it!

 

There are bargains to be found everywhere (both on ond off eBay) -- you just have to decide to what lengths you are willing to go to find one.

[atari70s]

twit spoken like a real smart one.

 

this is why ive been in secluded non buyin mode.

 

but i got a steal on video chess pic for 1.95

 

and another great deal to speak of in the future

[beattheindierock]

I have been buying off a fella on E-bay who starts his games off at a dollar. He usually has about 50-60 auctions up at once. He also combines shipping on multiple auctions.I have been able to fill in some commons gaps. So, the deals are there on E-bay if you look hard enough and bid wisely. But on the other hand I am still partial to markets and yard sales.

[AtariDude]

Ebay is not the best choice to obtain cartridges inexpensively. Yard Sales and Thrifts stores are. But for some of us (like me), Ebay is the only way to obtain any Atari items since there are no thrift stores or goodwill stores that carry Atari stuff.

 

And I too look at games that start at $1 and hope to snag a few before the bidding gets out of hand.

[Ze_ro]

quote:

---

Originally posted by King_Asmo:

Of course, you won't find too many people trading their diamond jewlery for a bottle of Evian.

---

 

I don't know about that... the place where I work recently started changing $3 for a bottle of water, and for some reason people keep buying it! There's water fountains in the building for crying out loud! People's obsession with water that they think is more pure is something that I will probably never understand.

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pitfall Harry

If a game consistently sells for more than you believe it is worth, that may be an indication that your belief is in need adjustment.

---

 

Of course, you're completely right. Price is all in the opinion of the buyer. I just hate knowing that I'll probably end up having to spend $5 to get this game, when it's not terribly rare, and not even all that good (TESB is a fun game, but for $5, I could probably find five games with at least as much fun in them). Call me a cheapskate if you want, but I still plan on complaining

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by twit

you don't have to bid on it!

---

 

Well, of course ... but other than eBay, there's almost nowhere I'm going to be able to find some games. I've never ran into any Sears games in the wild, so I'm starting to believe Sears didn't sell them in Canada... where else am I going to find Steeplechase other than eBay, or some other online method?

 

--Zero

[jhd]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ze_ro:

I've never ran into any Sears games in the wild, so I'm starting to believe Sears didn't sell them in Canada... where else am I going to find Steeplechase other than eBay, or some other online method?

 

--Zero

---

 

I agree; I have only ever found 1 Sears cart (Air-Sea Battle, I think) here in Canada. That came with a box of games I found at a school rummage sale/flea market.

 

I refuse to buy on eBay, so I have accepted the fact that there are some games I will only ever play via an emulator.

 

I have never paid more than about C$5 for a game and I never would (except maybe C$10 for Quadrun... )

 

[ 11-23-2001: Message edited by: Jonathan H. Davidson ]

[Albert]

quote:

---

Originally posted by ATARIPITBULL:

You got that right!!. Some guy in California was asking for a first bid of $40.00, for a boxed copy of Alien. Alien is a little hard to find complete with the box, but it is not rare enough for $40.00.

---

 

I auctioned a loose Alien cartridge on eBay once and it sold for a little higher than I was expecting. Turns out it was won not by a 2600 collector, but by someone who collected ALIEN merchandise!! So I can certainly see someone who isn't hooked into the whole Atari collecting scene paying considerably more than we might only because there's a tiny bit of overlap into their hobby.

 

..Al

[videotwit]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ze_ro:

Well, of course ... but other than eBay, there's almost nowhere I'm going to be able to find some games. I've never ran into any Sears games in the wild, so I'm starting to believe Sears didn't sell them in Canada... where else am I going to find Steeplechase other than eBay, or some other online method?

---

 

I wasn't talking about online methods in general, just eBay specifically. I find I've been having the best luck lately finding duplicates of games I already have in the wild, and then trading them to other online collectors for items I don't yet have, or even for other items I know I can trade to someone else. Its much more work, but it can be quite inexpensive in the long run, plus you get to meet other cool Atari-enthusiasts.

[tomyou]

Hi there Mr. Marcinhowsky, If I am not mistaken I believe am the guy you buy from on e-bay that starts off the games at one dollar and combines the shipping. Actuallly I am certain of it. Glad to see ya . Been selling these game for 3 years like that and you guys are right there is a WIDE variety of prices that even the most common games go for. Heck I solad a pac man for $16 once and actually got paid for it. I have a pretty good idea about the price range that most any game will go for but sometimes you get those two people that must have that one game at that exact time and they don't want to look anymore. Thats when it gets fun. ( except the alligator people I am trying to research)

[Ze_ro]

Yeah, bidding wars get kinda funny sometimes. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people just think "Well, I'm not going to be around when this Space Invaders auction ends, so I'll just set my max bid at $20, that way no one will outbid me", and then some jerk finds that he keeps getting outbid, so he sees how high he can go

 

I recently got into a bidding war over a copy of Dark Chambers, and probably ended up paying too much... but oh well, it's probably my favorite Atari game, so it was worth it in the long run.

 

--Zero (1 more...)

[sway3]

I'm new to this message board... but not new to eBay. There are 3 very effective ways to get the best possible price:

• Buy at non-peak hours - and avoid 9pm-11pm est - you will notice a strong increase in bids/prices during peak hours.
• Use a bid Sniper* - auctionstealer.com is free - this will avoid a bidding war.
• Check recently listed auctions for good "buy it now" prices. You'll be AMAZED!

 

Of course, these techniques work on all auctions, but mine.

 

Anyway, I'm sure this is old-hat to most of you and many of you can probably add much to this list, but to anyone new... this will save you alot of money and frustration (bidding wars).

 

*An auction runs until a certain time and ANY bid before that end time is perfectly valid. Some will say that sniping is not fair, but they are clearly wrong. I figure they just get outbid by me so often that they are bitter.

 

[ 11-25-2001: Message edited by: sway3 ]

[Ze_ro]

I try to avoid sniping myself... I've always hated when other people do it, so I try not to be a hypocrite (Don't start preaching to me why sniping is okay... I've heard it all before). However, when I have a bid on something, I usually watch it to the last second in an effort to out-snipe anyone who's trying to do it to me (I may not like sniping, but turn-about is fair play). I remember beating someone out with about 13 seconds to go... "Take that, jerk!"

 

--Zero

[Saqqqq]

At the end of the day, a game is only worth as much as it is demanded. If theres a game thats really rare but theirs only one rare games collector out there, its not going to go for much, but a game with as much nostalgia and fame as Star Wars, everyone wants a copy! Me included, although I dont have any star wars games

[King Atari]

I hate it when within the last hour or so of an auction, everybody tries to get in on it. I mean, it's great people want the game, but driving a 1 or 2 up to $11 seems crazy to me. I suppose if you really want the game though, it's worth it. Anyways, my thrift shops are notorious for overpricing things. Although they usually will take the price down, it's still pretty annoying. There's NO way I'm paying $3 for "Combat" that's in terrible condition. To add insult, they slap price stickers on the front that leave terrible residue once you peel them off (my poor "Street Racer").

[Albert]

quote:

---

Originally posted by King Atari:

There's NO way I'm paying $3 for "Combat" that's in terrible condition.

---

 

There's no way I'd pay $3 for a Combat in MINT condition!

 

..Al

[sway3]

Okay, okay, I can see how high the demand is...

 

I will unleash all my spare mint Combat carts for the cost of shipping alone (~0.80$ or so). First come, first serve.

 

I believe I can only accomodate the first 300 people or so - so act now!

 

heh

[beattheindierock]

I don't bother with sniping. If I type in the maximum I am willing to pay and someone beats me, that's life. More money for me to go out weekend morns.

[beattheindierock]

Hey Tom, also noticed you got 30+ bucks for an Alpha Beam!! I nearly split my gut. I have never seen that go for more than 8. I started bidding on it and gave up after like 6. I picked up a Buy It Now the next day for both Cookie Monster and Alpha Beam for 5. Thing is, I don't have the kids controllers. That's life I guess.