Hello!!
Hey folks,
I went to elementary school with member "dangevin" back in the early 80s. He sadly moved away when I was about 10 and I lost touch with him. (no internet in those days XD ) Ironically, I found him on here. I'm a game animator by day, game player at night and game collector on the weekend. I can safely say video games are pretty much in every facet of my life. My collecting slowed down significantly over the past several years, but I'm looking to get back into it. I'm just over the halfway mark of NES titles. You can view my current list here if you're interested. The difference between collecting now versus collecting then (1997ish) is I now have a family to support so I'm looking for tricks or tips you guys may have about collecting without breaking the bank. Thanks!!
I went to elementary school with member "dangevin" back in the early 80s. He sadly moved away when I was about 10 and I lost touch with him. (no internet in those days XD ) Ironically, I found him on here. I'm a game animator by day, game player at night and game collector on the weekend. I can safely say video games are pretty much in every facet of my life. My collecting slowed down significantly over the past several years, but I'm looking to get back into it. I'm just over the halfway mark of NES titles. You can view my current list here if you're interested. The difference between collecting now versus collecting then (1997ish) is I now have a family to support so I'm looking for tricks or tips you guys may have about collecting without breaking the bank. Thanks!!
Comments
Pete's one of the reasons I actually started accumulating games! I spoke with him in the late 1990's, when I was in college and he was in art school. He told me about this crazy idea he had to get ALL of the NES games! Back then there were only very modest resources - Etler's list was in its earlier revisions, eBay was a fledgling startup trying to pull market share, and everyone was pretty well on their own with the hobby.
He told me he was looking for new games, and asked if I still had any of mine. I remember to this day, he told me the only one of my games he had never heard of was "Mystery Quest" and I thought, wow, that's pretty awesome that I have a Nintendo game that Pete hasn't heard of! We didn't make a "love connection" for any sort of big trade, as the rest of mine were common, but it got me to thinking! Then as I started to move away from comics and CCG's (collectible card games), I needed to get my fix. It was only natural to start to accumulate.
So Pete, thanks for all the thousands of dollars I spent based on a harebrained idea you put in my head fifteen years ago!
Tips to collect: Shop locally if you can. Make a name for yourself. 5-10 years ago, it was possible to cheaply assemble a collection by buying lots on eBay and selling the extras. I don't know if that is possible anymore, there's a bubble forming that resellers are creating by driving these lots up through the roof. It's a dangerous time for that sort of accumulation. The prices are more static when you buy local, and if you do it right (basic advertising 101) you'll have people coming to YOU with a minimum of effort.
Of course, you're in the northeast now which is the toughest place competition-wise to shop. So Tip #2 would be to move out west!
Originally posted by: PeteyP
Bus 3 - enough said. You're welcome dangevin!! I tried a bunch of different hobbies over the years and I can safely say this one is by far the best. Thanks for the info, old friend. Since posting, I've filled out a bunch of ones that I previously didn't have by going to local gaming stores and flea markets. One of the most interesting finds was Peek-A-Boo Poker. The owner let me take a look at it, but there was no way I could bring myself to spending that kind of money on a porn game when I have kids to feed. (I think he was asking 9 bills) Do you have an online store, dangevin??
Why yes, PeteyP! Although I am currently based almost entirely on eBay:
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?type=1&campid=5335818420&toolid=10001&mpre=http://stores.ebay.com/Head-Games
And you won't find much NES there. I've moved onto 6th gen games (ps2, xbox, gamecube) since they're dirt cheap, easy to refurb and still in demand. So if you want to round out your PS2 collection, holla
I say almost-entirely, because I had to move my card games off-site. Remember our Garbage Pail Kids collections? I still have some of those, but I moved onto opening packs of Magic cards and other cardboard crack. It's also rewarded me well, that stuff has appreciated as quickly as these video games have.
Don't blame you on passing on the Panesian porn. I never bothered with those, my main goal was 100% of licensed NTSC + all licensed PAL-exclusives. If/when you decide to move onto your next fix as you complete the NTSC set, may I recommend the PAL games? There are a bunch that have a unique play experience and that are really worth chasing after. Just a little hard to find, since importing can be a pain and expensive. Don't buy them on USA eBay, they're marked up.
I hear you with the family/vs/collection thing, I owned an NWC 1990 for nine months, and then had to flip it in favor of saving my marriage You know when they say in movies "You spent the down payment for the house?" Well, this was the closing costs on a refinance that we decided to back out of. Oops! She seemed like she was okay with it at the time! Marie's a sweetheart though, she just wanted to let me do what I thought made me happy, so it's all good.