Buying expensive games

[Anonymous No.2518505]

Well I've put off buying some of the more expensive games for too long and I'd like to buy them before they go any higher.

With spending this kind of money I really only want games that are in very nice condition. How do you avoid getting screwed on ebay? I know I can just return it but it's a hassle.

[Anonymous No.2518512]

>>2518505
don't buy off ebay

[Anonymous No.2518518]

>>2518512
Where do I buy then?

[Anonymous No.2518519]

>>2518518
not ebay.

[Anonymous No.2518523]

Don't waste your time with eBay. Resellers are assholes who will use every systematic means they can to screw you over. For example, one seller may price a game at something like $4.99, then ask for $10+ for shipping. If the game isn't in the condition specified in the listing, or just doesn't work, the seller will ask you to ship it back at your own expense, then he'll agree to reimburse you for the listing price minus the $10+ shipping. eBay will actually let them get away with shit like this, too.

To be honest, I'd rather just accept that certain titles are always going to be beyond my reach than give my money to reseller scum.

[Anonymous No.2518528]

>>2518519
Great tip
>>2518523
I can't find these games anywhere else. Which is the problem.
I'm not finding a game like Tron Bonne at a flea market. Well I may but it's incredbly unlikely and I haven't seen one show up in the past few years.

[Anonymous No.2518865]

I have good luck with Amazon. Message sellers to ask for a pic of the game. They usually provide.

[Anonymous No.2518870]

>>2518505

Just ask your wife for money.

[Anonymous No.2518875]

sometimes you have to resort to ebay because some mom and pop retro shops guage their prices off ebay and then hike up their shit to screw everyone over... i would buy off ebay but know how much you're willing to spend on a game and only buy from sellers who post pictures of the actual item so you know it's in good condition or not.

[Anonymous No.2518891]

>>2518870
I don't think the retron plays saturn games

[Anonymous No.2518901]

>>2518505
Here's the most important tip, wait around for a decent deal to pop up. I looked on ebay everyday for 5 months for a decent copy of umihara kawase to pop up for below average asking price and scored one CiB for half of wait reseller jews wanted. Patience is a virtue.

[Anonymous No.2518909]

>>2518901
No idea what the game is or what it costs.

Problem with a lot of these pricier games is it's just a group of asshole resellers relisting high BiNs. Understandable since a lot of these pricier games are pretty obscure and would surely go cheaper in an auction setting.

[Anonymous No.2518913]

>>2518901
This.
If you wait you can generally find a decent deal, especially with auction listings. However, if the game your looking for is high profile for being rare or collectable don't expect to get that much of a discount.

[Anonymous No.2518927]

>>2518901
>>2518909
>>2518913
You gotta find a deal or bite the bullet that you're going to pay a reseller.

Occasionally someone will be offloading the majority of their collection. A couple of months ago a guy was offloading his entire saturn, and sega-cd set which had a lot of rare games, Popful Mail, Lunar 1 and 2, Snatcher, Panzer Dragoon, you know, the works. All auctions, all starting at 99 cents.

Obviously you run into other problems with auctions, mainly that people get that gambling high from winning them. Which often means they will go far above some of the BiN prices just because they want to feel like they won something.

You gotta know when to let it go. Any kind of game thats over the 150 dollar mark you should probably be browsing for maybe once or twice a week for up to 6 months for a good deal.

Or you just bite the bullet and buy the best looking BiN AFTER asking the seller a bunch of questions and for pictures, how hes going to ship it, etc.

[Anonymous No.2518935]

>>2518927
I don't have a problem necessarily with paying a lot. I've had a lot of problems with ebay with sellers claiming the game is mint only to get it and it's close but has wear or light scratches on the CD. Not a big deal with a common games that cost less $50.

If I'm dropping over $400 for Panzer Dragoon Saga that is claimed to be mint and that shit happens I'd flip.

I just don't have experience with buying games that cost well over $200 on ebay.

I guess I'm looking for some reassurance that mislabeling of a games condition doesn't happen much with these pricy games. Obviously I know to look out for low feedback and other warning signs.

[Anonymous No.2519357]

I'm glad that I bought 2 copies of every game ever released on release day so I don't have to deal with this shit.

[Anonymous No.2520218]

>>2518935
I've bought higher priced Saturn games on Ebay (Burning Rangers, Magic Knights, Panzer Dragoon Saga, etc), so I can offer advice.

ALWAYS tell them to secure the disc WITHOUT taping the top directly, or transport it in a jewel case. 50% of the Saturn games I've bought got returned until I started telling them that because the US cases are garbage for transport, with the disc flopping around inside. I've had a few retards ship with the disc taped down, which can screw up the top surface.

It's fairly safe though, because they always work with me on a broken delivery or incorrect quality posting. Make sure to open a case for a return, and not just message the seller.

If a game is "like new", I'll return even with faint surface scratches on the disc.

[Anonymous No.2520246]

>>2520218
OP here. I bought a couple games last night. Panzer Dragoon Saga amount them. Added a message to make sure to ship in a box. Hopefully the condition of them was correctly labeled.
And a cheaper game I bought came in today.. Case was cracked and CD scratched to shit. Poorly packaged which is what caused the damaged. I really have bad luck with ebay it seems. This shit happens often.

[Anonymous No.2520307]

>>2518505

Every

fucking

time

I see that cover I see Claire Redfield and it takes me a few seconds to realize it's not her.

[Anonymous No.2520414]

>>2518505
wait a sec what the fuck, 6000 copies of this is still a lot, now it was released in 1998 and now its 2015 where the fuck are they hiding , and I would love to get a copy of the US version.

[Anonymous No.2520429]

>>2520414
I think the total number is 25k-30k. There was obviously 2 batches of Panzer Dragoon Saga.
That's a very low run for a game on a console that already didn't sell very well.

You got to factor in how many of those copies were actually sold too. And how many are around.

[Anonymous No.2520450]

>>2518865
Ive went as far as haggling with amazon dealers. works sometimes. Why not ask to lower the price? Cant hurt you

[Anonymous No.2520454]

>>2518875
This. It pisses me off
>at a garage sale
>somewhat savy owners
>find a rare game in a box of misc stuff
> casually ask hey how much for this? i used to play is as a kid etc etc
>Hmm I dont recognize that, I'm gonna go look on ebay and I'll let you know in a few minutes

[Anonymous No.2520473]

>>2520429

[Anonymous No.2520534]

>>2520454
I went to Goodwill last year in San Mateo, I found a bunch of Sega Saturn games US versions all sealed in original factory wrap, $5 each thank god they had no clue. I ended up only a buying two or three games and a dark grey Japanese saturn controller.

[Anonymous No.2520613]

>>2518518
>>2518519
>>2518512
Thrift stores, always check your local thrift stores first, but at least go through 10-15 of them, Salavation Army and Goodwill are charging like $5 for NES games(a bit much i think since they are crappy ones Ive never heard off), there's plenty of PS2, Xbox, PS1 , sometimes N64 games and the local thrift stores. In San Mateo and Sonoma County, California. One of the few pros of living in these no fun no guns state of Kali. (bans on high cap mags and possible tannerite ban)

[Anonymous No.2520740]

>pay $1 + $899 for shipping for limited edition NES
>get it
>it's just a toaster with a Nintendo sticker on it
>mfw

[Anonymous No.2520764]

>>2520534
The only Saturn games I've ever seen at Goodwill were Bust-a-move 2 and WWF In Your House. That was probably my most bizarre visit ever to a Goodwill. Please forgive the /v/ tier greentext story, but the format seems to work in this case.

>went in not expecting anything at all like usual
>I go over to the media section
>spot Operation Wolf and R.C. Pro-Am in Funcoland sleeves
>instant grab
>see two SNES games, wrestling and baseball
>meh, leave them
>see TWO FUCKING SATURN GAMES
>snag Bust-a-move, leave WWF because the case is busted to shit
>have to actually get a basket to hold my shit at this point
>see gameboy gamegenie, grab it
>see a FUCKING JAGUAR GAME
>Kasumi Ninja
>I only know about from AVGN
>I don't even own a fucking Jag
>I put it back because this is already adding up and I want to see if there is anything else
>dig through a bin of loose cables and power cords
>NES DOGBONE, grab it
>circle around to the other isle
>see weird old man in the media section
>he picks up WWF and puts it in his basket
>OH SHIT HE'S AFTER THE GAMES
>I spot more vidya shit out of place on a shelf near me
>grab it all because fuck that old man
>PS1 Gameshark (no disk), Dreamcast Gameshark (no disc), Zool 2 FOR FUCKING JAGUAR, a Saturn ST Key, and white Saturn memory card
>at this point, I am ecstatic from the sheer amount of shit I found
>still a little perturbed at the weird old man picking up my scraps
>circle back around after he's gone
>sure enough, all the games are gone
>check out and leave

I still kind of wish I'd have held on to that Kasumi Ninja despite still not owning a Jag, but I only paid $2 for each item,so I think I came out okay. Not my best Goodwill find but one of the better ones.

[Anonymous No.2520812]

>>2518505
>Well I've put off learning moon so I'm gonna get assraped by a reseller.
sucks to be you

[Anonymous No.2520831]

>>2520764
San Mateo, CA goodwill I kid you not I found Bomberman and Nights both sealed , I regret not buying them to resell or trade.

[Anonymous No.2520839]

>>2520812
I think it would take years for me to be proficient enough to decipher moon runes and do it quickly.

[Anonymous No.2520867]

>>2518528
>>2520613
>tfw got to a garage store last year
>got Wild Arms 3, FF9, Parasite Eve 2, BoF Dragon Quarter, and Maximo for $10 (might have had another game in that selection but I forget)
Honestly, thrift stores and garage sales are always a gamble
They might hold a sports game made to be a donor for a flashcart, or they could hold the holiest of Holy Grails.
I lucked out on mine, ended up selling PE2 for like $25 or so

[Anonymous No.2520872]

>tfw my friend managed to get a copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga along with the first two for $150 a few years back
>meanwhile I end up scoring Devil Summoner for PS2 for $45 without the manual the week before it got reprinted
I have some dumb fucking luck with auctions

[Anonymous No.2520886]

>>2520764
This reminds me of a time when I was hitting up garage sales for some games, and I see one of those fucking "WE BUY VIDEO GAMES" trucks that usually hunts garage sales.
Of course, I'm feeling pretty pissed that it's so obvious they're gonna flip the games instantly for profit.
So what I do is I go around trying to see what route they start from, and basically hit up the sales early and get to them first. This is pretty normal, basically beating them to the punch However, he comes the plan.
As I hit them up, I noticed that I'd see the usual shovelware a lot, but in large quantities. The best part is that some of this shovelware looks pretty vague/subtle and they don't know it's shovelware. So what do I do? I went to the sales that had the shovelware, bought some of those vague-looking games, and then went back to the ones that had some genuinely good stuff (like a PS1 and a few games as well as a PS2 with component cables instead of composite) and basically gave them sale fodder knowing those reselling fuckers would go and scavenge them.
tl;dr I basically gave them free money while wasting the resellers' time/resources

[Anonymous No.2520891]

>>2520886
>wasting resellers time
>wasting your own time

Yeah. Fuck off. Its one thing to not support resellers, its entirely another to go out of your way to fuck with them.

[Anonymous No.2520901]

>>2520891
Except they're the reason the retro market is fucked, especially with NES games. They're basically con-men.
It's not like I started a fist-fight with them. I basically played tricks like a smug fuck.
Also, I didn't buy the good stuff purely because they were looking for them. I bought what I wanted, and then left the rest + the aforementioned shovelware from before to them. I didn't resell any of the hauls. Otherwise, what's even the point when I'm doing the very thing I hate?

[Anonymous No.2520910]

>>2520891

You're wasting your sympathy, Anon. Resellers don't give a shit about anyone but themselves, and they're the entire reason the economics of retro gaming are fucked up in the first place. I don't frankly care if anyone fucks with them.

[Anonymous No.2520925]

>>2520910
I dont have sympathy.

I think the poster is a fucking moron for wasting his time. I don't really give a shit about resellers because I don't buy from them, and chances are they aren't even in my city or state.

[Anonymous No.2520935]

>>2520925
Whether or not you buy from them isn't the issue.
Resellers are responsible for a lot of the ridiculous prices nowadays, which makes it harder for all of us to find the games we want to play at a decent price.
You might not buy from them, but their negative influence on the market makes it harder for you to find the games at a decent price. It does affect you

[Anonymous No.2520970]

>>2518505
hey i got that game

fuckin edge
hell yeah

[Anonymous No.2521178]

>>2518518
Depending on where you are from try local free ad sites or pawnbrokers. Here in the UK people sell stuff for rather cheap and pawnbrokers most of the time don't know whats the best price for retro stuff.

[Anonymous No.2521196]

>spent the last few months or so walking around the surrounding suburbs every weekend hunting garage sales and markets
>only retro I could find was this stall for an antique shop that sold dirty, biro covered n64 carts for 99+
Any ausfags here that buy around? Hearing one of you pull a good deal or buy something nice off gumtree or some shit would be encouraging.

[Anonymous No.2521323]

Try going to gaming cons. At least you can work out a deal with the vendor, trade in stuff you don't want, and see what condition the game itself is in.

[Anonymous No.2521349]

I haven't seen any video games in Goodwill for the last two or three years. Don't they all go straight to auction now?

[Anonymous No.2522454]

>>2521349
Not always. The stuff I mainly come across is PS2 sports games, Wii shovelware, and PC games in jewel cases. I rarely ever see retro stuff. I did pick up a copy of U.N. Squardon wrapped in with a basketball SNES game maybe half a year ago.

[Anonymous No.2523139]

>>2520839
Could be. Some people aren't good with languages. It took me about 6 months to learn enough to play RPGs with Kanji.
Have you put off buying the games you want for more than 6 moths or however long it would take you?