Not a bad deal but...
So picked this up from some guy who ran a yard sale. Originally he was asking 50, but when I looked at it, couldn't figure out how to turn it on. May be broken internally, but at least it's a nice display piece. I wound up paying 5 bucks for it. Not sure what they really go for, but hopefully more than 5 bucks. If anybody knows how to repair this I'd be grateful if you could fill me in! Brand new batteries, so that wasn't the issue. Sometimes it turns on, but lately it just shows a blank screen.
the instruction manual is pretty decent, though a little bent. No rip pages and I was told it was never used. Thanks for looking!
the instruction manual is pretty decent, though a little bent. No rip pages and I was told it was never used. Thanks for looking!
Comments
btw, If you have the battery lid and an unbroken clasp, that helps the value.
Originally posted by: coffeewithmrsaturn
Absolutely a good deal for $5. Working, without manual, they are $50 to $90. The manual alone is worth more than what you paid though, so that's awesome. Wasn't this actually the very first Zelda game ever?
btw, If you have the battery lid and an unbroken clasp, that helps the value.
I think the back has some minor scuffs that I may be able to clean off. Clasp is firm, and the battery lid is tight, so it's in great shape for the most part...just hoping to figure out how to get it working. For all I know I'm just tired from a 12 hour work day and can't think straight.
I'm curious how the negotiation went...anything like this?
him: I want 50!
you: I will pay you 10% of your asking price, and you'll f*@!ing like it.
him: Yes sir.
you: Kiss my hand.
I think since it can turn on at times you can fix it and it perhaps is a dirtiness, looseness, or detached wire / ribbon issue.
If you feel gutsy I'd unscrew, clean, and reseat everything in there including the ribbon cable, and then clean the connector to the battery compartment well. At the worst it's dead meat but that's not a loss. If you're not adverse to selling it as broken, and better yet, parting it out, you could make some good money. You could probably net $20-30+ for the battery cover to someone who is lacking one and doesn't want a $10 repro white one (like I have) on mine, and the shell looks very nice as do the buttons and screen, so that could go as is or even further parted out. Then you got a manual so that has some real value too as there's far fewer of those around than the unit itself.
I used to buy G&W games quite a bit but I decided it was getting expensive and backed away and got rid of all but SMB and Zelda (along with keeping Club Nintendo Ball and a Nelsonic black Zelda watch.) I often would use ebay (easiest) and for a long stretch watched the completed/sold values on stuff and it's crazy what some will pay just for a clean clamshell, clean metal backing art(where it says zelda), for the battery cover in particular, and even just the glass screen or the buttons/rubbers as the stuff just rots with age and lots of use.
Originally posted by: coffeewithmrsaturn
Yeah, easy 50. That looks to be in great shape.
I'm curious how the negotiation went...anything like this?
him: I want 50!
you: I will pay you 10% of your asking price, and you'll f*@!ing like it.
him: Yes sir.
you: Kiss my hand.
Funny how it went. I was still gonna pay the 50. His wife was standing there and i asked, hey, so how do you turn it on. He couldnt figure it out, said he tested it yesterday and it worked. Maybe he broke it I dunno, but he said what do you want to pay, and I said well whats fair to you at this point. He said 5$ and i played it cool...i was like hmm...well ok. His wife was pissed, but he told her to shut TFU and i was like woah...well maybe i should be going now...he says, well if u still want it, how bout 1dollar. His wife left the room and i threw him a 5 and left quietly.
Oh, and agreed with Tanooki that $50 is low. I just meant it's an easy $50. I bet you could get a BIN of 90 on eBay, especially with the holidays coming up.
Originally posted by: Tanooki
I think $50 is a little low on this especially since it's clean and has the battery cover, I'd think closer to $70 and with the manual not sure but definitely over the $5 into it.
I think since it can turn on at times you can fix it and it perhaps is a dirtiness, looseness, or detached wire / ribbon issue.
If you feel gutsy I'd unscrew, clean, and reseat everything in there including the ribbon cable, and then clean the connector to the battery compartment well. At the worst it's dead meat but that's not a loss. If you're not adverse to selling it as broken, and better yet, parting it out, you could make some good money. You could probably net $20-30+ for the battery cover to someone who is lacking one and doesn't want a $10 repro white one (like I have) on mine, and the shell looks very nice as do the buttons and screen, so that could go as is or even further parted out. Then you got a manual so that has some real value too as there's far fewer of those around than the unit itself.
I used to buy G&W games quite a bit but I decided it was getting expensive and backed away and got rid of all but SMB and Zelda (along with keeping Club Nintendo Ball and a Nelsonic black Zelda watch.) I often would use ebay (easiest) and for a long stretch watched the completed/sold values on stuff and it's crazy what some will pay just for a clean clamshell, clean metal backing art(where it says zelda), for the battery cover in particular, and even just the glass screen or the buttons/rubbers as the stuff just rots with age and lots of use.
Great tips, thanks very much for the input. I will likely try to salvage it. Wish i could find the box and styrofoam inserts, but thats next to impossible i am sure. If anything it looks nice with the rest of my zelda collection
Originally posted by: dbtmellis
So that's where the Nintendo DS got its design from?
It'd be a good guess, cuz it sure looks like a mini DS lite