Parting out a collection - CIB vs C + IB

rdoolsrdools
in Collector's Corner
I don’t think I have seen this discussed, so I’m curious what you guys think. And if you have anything to back up your opinions.



Traditional wisdom says that in order to maximize your returns with a large lot, you need to sell the items either in small lots or one at a time. Yes it involves more work all around, but strictly speaking someone has to do the work, and the value someone is willing to spend on a lot for resale, somewhat correlates to the amount of work they have to do to get the return.



Does this also extend to parting out a CIB, and selling and listing it as cartridge only and IB only?



My thoughts are a bit skewed, but I am leaning towards it being driven on demand for the components. And in general, it is my opinion that there is higher demand / larger pool of buyers for a CIB, than finding buyers for cartridge only and IB only.



Happy to hear any input, and general discussions / first hand experience, etc.

Comments

  • m308gunnerm308gunner
    I've seen box only auctions go for much more than I thought possible for some games, just cause people are trying to piece together a CIB. Hell, that's how I got my Mega Man 5 CIB (before I had to sell off). Guess it depends on condition, game, and time you're willing to put in.
  • doner24doner24
    Nearly every time, the answer is to keep it as a CIB to sell for more. There are exceptions.
  • rdoolsrdools
    Originally posted by: doner24



    Nearly every time, the answer is to keep it as a CIB to sell for more. There are exceptions.



    Why do you think that is? Higher demand for a CIB over an IB, or something else?

     
  • rdoolsrdools
    Originally posted by: m308gunner



    I've seen box only auctions go for much more than I thought possible for some games, just cause people are trying to piece together a CIB. Hell, that's how I got my Mega Man 5 CIB (before I had to sell off). Guess it depends on condition, game, and time you're willing to put in.



    Very interesting, I bet there is an element of rarity on certain games that plays into it.
  • zfleming54zfleming54
    I have never had luck getting any money out of manuals. I personally understand, though, because I can't justify paying $10 for a manual even though thats essentially what I'm paying for it with a $30-40 CIB
  • 14u2ponder14u2ponder
    Actually I've seen box only auctions sell a lot faster than complete in box, only because people see it as getting a discount the second go around. But honestly, selling will be slow for many of your games if they are expensive and you are trying to get top dollar for them, no matter what you do. I think the sweet spot for games are around $100 to $150, beyond that, expect to wait a while as most people aren't dropping two bat wings for complete in box games. I've seen avenging spirit complete in box and there are about 4 of them on ebay and they haven't sold in like 6 months. Of course the price is super high for those games.Some games will sell quickly. but a lot of the games expect a wait. Ebay is slow selling for truly rare and expensive things.

    You can always go the auction root and it will sell, but most times it will be at a discount. So if you have great games the cheaper you sell them the faster they will sell.
  • WoobieWoobie
    Ya I think it depends, I guess CIB is probably best route to maximize $$$. which sucks for me to say because I am looking for just IB mostly ha ha
  • DefaultGenDefaultGen
    I assume more people the market for IB will buy CIB, probably fewer the other way around. I don't even mind buying CIB games to upgrade since it might be a cart upgrade too.



    Even if there is a price benefit to separating it, it wouldn't be worth dealing with twice as many listings to me.
  • coffeewithmrsaturncoffeewithmrsaturn
    For auctions, definitely CIB. For a BIN listing, there may be some interesting wiggle room.
  • quest4nesquest4nes
    This is a case by case issue. You would have to do the math with each title.



    I do know that CB sucks to sell. Especially genesis.
  • KrunchKrunch
    I think it depends on the title and time and place. I've been doing the slow burn sell off for half the decade now. An example was Intl Track and Field for N64, I sold the manual first to a friend then the box on eBay. Don't remember where the cart went. For the time I think I netted more than a CIB would have. Another example would be something I have for sale right now, a complete snes Ogre Battle - comparing to fmv for a cib I honestly think I could make more selling everything piecemeal and that probably applies to many snes games where you have cibs with parts in varying condition. I think still most of the time you're better off just selling a CIB.
  • Jim JimmerJim Jimmer
    I sold all my snes cib collection in 2016, mostly on this forum. i gave priority to people wanting IB only and was amazed at the amount of interest i got, so much that i decided to sell ib only. Most were popular titles with very good condition boxes/manny though and snes was hot at the time.



    I think a lot of cart only collectors would upgrade to cib if given the chance and IBs dont come up for sale that often. However i did all this to keep the carts (that i still own today) so it wasnt to max out the sale price. I dont think i wouldve netted more than just selling cib on my games. Maybe just on the super rare/desirable titles.
  • TheBiRDTheBiRD
    Don't know if splitting worth your time to double or triple the auction for the same item.. Only time I splited a CIB game was because of the box was really mint compare to the cart and manual, So I sold the box separately. Maybe if the box is in bad shape and you have a very good cart with manual you might split.. But beside that, I would do CIB all the time.
  • Nes GangstaNes Gangsta
    Better off selling cib, its much more appealing to your average eBay buyer. Takes a lot more time to sell separate parts of games, and no one ever wants to just buy instruction manuals. From my experience unless its a very desirable game, it sits up there for a while cartridge only. A lot of times, turn them into cib and they sell in a few weeks where that same cartridge only just gets lost in the shuffle.
  • The CountThe Count
    Originally posted by: quest4nes



    This is a case by case issue. You would have to do the math with each title.



    I do know that CB sucks to sell. Especially genesis.



    No doubt. I piece together Genesis stuff, but I pay more on purchasing stuff than I tend to receive on auctioning components.
  • GPXGPX
    I think splitting up a CIB would only make sense if you have a truly mint C/I/B, and the other component(s) aren't in the same league.



    But then the main question one needs to ask:

    Is it worth the hassle of splitting up the components? In the majority of cases, the answer is likely to be a "no".
  • 85collector85collector
    Originally posted by: doner24



    Nearly every time, the answer is to keep it as a CIB to sell for more. There are exceptions.





    I've sold lots of boxes and manuals over the years as well as carts and CIBs. Agree CIB is usually worth more (even if the total price is a little less, splitting a CIB into three sales means three base commissions and three postage expenses. Not usually worth it.)



    An instance where it is worth splitting is when, for example, you have a near-mint game and box, but a tattered manual. In those cases I've parted out the poor item (or if reversed, the mint item). I can't say for sure but I feel like the CIB would end up selling a bit below its "real" value due to one part of it being in poorer condition relatively speaking.
Sign In or Register to comment.