What Did You Pay?

[Elder]

Hey all,

First off, this isn't a thread asking why games are so expensive, but something else ;)

I searched around and couldn't find a post exactly like this, but knowing my luck I'm sure the first or second person who replies will point me in the right direction lol.  Anyways, one of the best posts on the Neo boards is dedicated to what games are currently selling for.  Think of it like a current price guide, except instead of just listing a bunch of games and prices, you say what you actually paid for game X this year, month, etc.  It acts almost like a database because when you look at the prices of games over one or two years it's pretty incredible to see how much prices fluctuate.

It's also extremely useful for people who have either been out of the scene or simply new collectors for the system.  It helps these people know a baseline for offers.  This is mainly where I'm coming from.

I'm curious if anyone is game for something like that here.  There are a bunch of games I'm curious to know how much people actually paid for recently so that if the opportunity presents itself I'll know whether to offer in the ten, hundreds, or thousands.  For example, what's a fair price for Magical Chase, Super Air Zonk, Neutopia II, and Beyond Shadowgate?

Edit:

Changed the title to be a better representation of what I'm looking for.  Thanks for the suggestion Lost Monkey.

[CrackTiger]

Brace yourself.





It's coming...

[TheClash603]

Brace yourself.





It's coming...

Elder, you seem like a good guy, but you may get ripped to shreds.

[Elder]

Brace yourself.





It's coming...

At least the first reply didn't point me to a million other threads.  ;)

I'm actually curious to see how Turbo games and systems compare to the Neo scene.  For those that don't know, purchasing anything for the Neo-Geo AES is extremely expensive.  The indie releases alone usually go for $800 or more, so I'm used to high prices, but at the same time I would like to know realistic and fair prices so if I make offers I'm not insulting people.

[Elder]

Elder, you seem like a good guy, but you may get ripped to shreds.

Well hopefully not because this is an honest topic.  I'm not asking why games are worth something, but rather what fair prices are for offer purposes.  I haven't found clear info on certain games and eBay isn't a good guide.  If people want to rip into me, that's fine, so long as they get where I'm coming from.

[pc_kwajalein]

With regards to Magical Chase, a proper offer to make would be about--

(gets hit over the head with an iron pipe, collapses to floor and is slowly dragged away)

[Elder]

With regards to Magical Chase, a proper offer to make would be about--

(gets hit over the head with an iron pipe, collapses to floor and is slowly dragged away)

Lol, it's an insider secret.  A buddy if mine offered $400, and was turned down immediately, but that was through feebay.   Whenever dealing with retro consoles I try to stay away from eBay as often as possible.  That said, I also really don't want to insult someone by offering them $200 for say Neutopia II if the regular going rate amongst the community is $500 for example.

[esteban]

Comrade, that land mine you just stepped on....yeah, well, nice knowing you.

[ifkz]

I doubt there is anything that serves as a guide with current prices.

Some general pricing and other advice:

From my short time looking at recent auctions, I can say that finding anything local will be preferred over online auctions as far as price for the US TG16 games.  PCE games seem much less expensive and are a good way to go if you can find a converter card or a modded system.

I also noticed some sellers on ebay are posting joke prices that waste everyone's time.  There are a lot of recent posts that are good warnings about specific instances where prices have gotten out of hand.

I say check the completed listings for a specific title you are looking for on the 'bay for some guidance.  Set your own pricing rules and go from there.

Buy what you like, and don't get games just to collect them.  I say play all of your games and enjoy them individually.  For me, getting any new game is cause for a mini celebration.  Make a want list and read some reviews.   Save up your money and determine if you want to focus on loose cards, games in the jewel case with manual, or the elusive boxed games.  Don't be a flipper, those people suck and are parasites on any enjoyable hobby.

A few good games to start with that are worth what you will be paying (good at just about any price):  Ninja Spirit, Bonk's Adventure, Bonk's Revenge, Military Madness, SideArms, Alien Crush, and many more.

And in the spirit of the forum, OBEY!

[HailingTheThings]

Mister Elder, games are worth whatever one is willing to pay for them. Sometimes prices get out of hand because assholes try to buy up rares and hoard them only to sell later. So... there ya go. Shit sucks.

[cabbage]

Loose $3
Complete $5

[geise]

Loose $3
Complete $5

Yeah, but on the high end it can be around:
Loose $565
Complete $834.43

[seieienbu]

That said, I also really don't want to insult someone by offering them $200 for say Neutopia II if the regular going rate amongst the community is $500 for example.

Don't worry about "insulting" somebody, worry about what a game is worth to you.  You can try out every game in the system's library through emulators or on an everdrive and through burning CDs.  Find the games that you like, decide for yourself what the games are worth to YOU, and then try to buy them at prices that you find reasonable.

[Ratix]

the average price at a local game store usually asks about 15 to 45 bucks depending on the game. imports go for 70-130 bucks.

im not willing to pay those prices for a game.
hailingthethings is spot on.

i just picked up an import game for 5 bucks loose and i wasn't disappointed in the purchase. he even let me use his pcengine to make sure the game worked.

[Elder]

Thanks for being civilized guys.  Considering I run a gaming channel on YouTube with a heavy retro twist, I've been getting a ton of requests lately for Turbo/PC Engine games.  Having owned a Turbo since launch, but got out of the scene many, many years ago, I don't want to either get shafted myself or do the same to others.

The same thing happened with the Neo Geo.  Upon searching through all the various consoles and games it was a bit perplexing on what realistic offers were given the rarity/scarcity of the games and hardware so what I deemed was worth it just wasn't a realistic answer in the market.  Every single game was selling for multiple hundreds in most cases.  The same is true for arcade boards, which was another heavily requested item people wanted to see. 

When I joined these board I figured I'd check and see if there was indeed a baseline.  These are rare games so it's natural the prices would be higher and that perfectly fine, it's just I wasn't exactly sure where to start.  Just for those curious, I never use EverDrives or burnt discs for the videos I make because I like to show the original game on original hardware as it was originally intended.  I know the EverDrive and burnt CDs are essentially the same thing, but it's the ethics behind it.

So once again, thanks for being civil.  I'll just have to establish my own baseline based on the scarcity of the game and go from there.  At least I finally got someone interested in selling me a copy of Mysterious Song.

[LostFlunky]

Maybe the problem is the word "worth". 

Maybe a "what did you pay?" thread would work...

I'll start:

Magical Chase - $10
Beyond Shadowgate - $25
Might and Magic III - $39.95
Bonk III - $29.95
Bonk III CD - $20
Legend of Hero Tonma - $10
Lords of Thunder - $5
New Adventure Island - $29.99
Ys I & II - $29.99
Ys III - $15

...hmmm... I guess "time" is a factor in this as well....  All of those prices were back in the mid 90's...

[ToyMachine78]

^^Ethics^^??? BAHAHAHAHA!!!

[Elder]

Maybe the problem is the word "worth". 

Maybe a "what did you pay?" thread would work...

I'll start:

Magical Chase - $10
Beyond Shadowgate - $25
Might and Magic III - $39.95
Bonk III - $29.95
Bonk III CD - $20
Legend of Hero Tonma - $10
Lords of Thunder - $5
New Adventure Island - $29.99
Ys I & II - $29.99
Ys III - $15

...hmmm... I guess "time" is a factor in this as well....  All of those prices were back in the mid 90's...

Thanks for the suggestion.  I think I'll edit the thread just to prevent people from going in the wrong direction.  As you said, time most certainly plays a factor in these prices.

[Elder]

Watch ebay "sold" auction history for prices on games you are interested in and you'll get a feel for the ebay average... then shop around.  Deals can be found on a few shopping sites, Amazon being one of the better places (though there are also some real turds there, too).

The best place, of course, is right here in these forums.

Thanks for the info

The ethics?   How about just using them for the games you want to play without making a video?  To each their own, but I guess I won't be seeing you in hell.  Just so you know, that's where the party's at and just about everyone here will be attending (due to everdrive/cd-r use) so you probably don't want to bother making too many friends. ( ;

I do that for journalistic integrity.  ;) 

[DeshDildo]

I'm new to this scene but I usually look at Price charting for the flee bay/amazon average and if I really want the game figure to pay 10% less than that.  I have been very lucky to have made trades and purchased with quite a few members on this forum for VERY reasonable prices.  In the short time I've been here my TG/PCE collection has double in size and out of the 12 games I've completed this year 8 of them are Turbo games. 

P.S. what is your YouTube channel?

[Elder]

I'm new to this seen but I usually look at Price charting for the flee bay/amazon average and if I really want the game figure to pay 10% less than that.  I have been very lucky to have made trades and purchased with quite a few members on this forum for VERY reasonable prices.  In the short time I've been here my TG/PCE collection has double in size and out of the 12 games I've completed this year 8 of them are Turbo games. 

P.S. what is your YouTube channel?

Yeah I've made some great deals here myself, and have been loving the community. 

Here's my channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ProjectCOE

[CrackTiger]

Bottom line: if you have to ask, then don't buy unless it's <$20.

If you really want a game for legitimate reasons, take your time following ads on forums and sold/unsold eBay listings until you get a feel for what you think you could get it for in the short or long term. Appreciate each new game as you get them and you will be in no rush to buy the next one and being patient will always net the most "fair" price.

[wildfruit]

£10 for a bundle that had 8 hu cards including parasol stars and legendary axe 2. A good day

[VestCunt]

Bottom line: if you have to ask, then don't buy unless it's <$20.

Amen.

if the opportunity presents itself I'll know whether to offer in the ten, hundreds, or thousands. 

If you haven't placed a personal value on something, don't know what others pay, and don't even know how many zeros to put after your offers, you obviously have no idea what you're buying. You're not a collector, you're not even a hobbyist. You're a fool with a hole in your pocket.

[Elder]

Like I said before, you're talking about someone who actively looks for Neo-Geo games and Arcade boards, these are items that you can't guess a price with.  Your personal 'value' of the game in question is irrelevant if there were only 200 copies made.  Whether or not you want to spend the money is follow-up question you ask.  That's where you determine if it's 'worth' it to you.  What I'm trying to do is learn what the scarcity is of a game so that if I have a chance to to purchase said game I can make a realistic offer in the event I'm even interested in the game.  I don't just buy whatever for the sake of spending money.  I'll be playing the game, enjoying it, typically reviewing it, and then moving on to the next.

[Elder]

OK, Elder... we've toyed with you enough.  Sometimes the veteran forum members like to mess around with newbies by pulling shenanigans like they did in this thread (i.e. keeping the price guide away from you.)

I went ahead and uploaded a copy of the current prices to my image host.  Please note that this data is much more accurate than pricecharting.com as that stupid site doesn't know the difference between a loose HuCARD and a sealed box.  Seriously.

Anyway, here you go:

Lol, perfect!

[jelloslug]

Some of the more memorable ones:

Bomberman '93 $29.95 at Babbage's in 1993
Cadash $34.99 at Babbage's in 1993
Turbo CD system $299.99 from J&R Music World in 1990
Turbografx-16 system for $149.99 from Brendel's in 1989 (I think)
Turboexpress for $249.99 from Brendel's in 1990

[CrackTiger]

Like I said before, you're talking about someone who actively looks for Neo-Geo games and Arcade boards, these are items that you can't guess a price with.  Your personal 'value' of the game in question is irrelevant if there were only 200 copies made.  Whether or not you want to spend the money is follow-up question you ask.  That's where you determine if it's 'worth' it to you.  What I'm trying to do is learn what the scarcity is of a game so that if I have a chance to to purchase said game I can make a realistic offer in the event I'm even interested in the game.  I don't just buy whatever for the sake of spending money.  I'll be playing the game, enjoying it, typically reviewing it, and then moving on to the next.   

Games like that are literally priceless and what any one person ever chose to pay is all the more irrelevant.

Back in the 90's when organized collecting for the sake of collecting perverted the meaning of the the term, price guides became very popular among people who lacked a genuine interest in the subject being "collected" (these self-labeled "collectors" are actually market/profit enthusiasts). But even those price guides featured common sense disclaimers for their obvlivious subscribers. They explained how it was literally just a "guide", there is no true monetary value for used objects and all they did was poll a few select stores to find out what their local markets were selling items for on average. Some pointed out the obvious: what is popular in another city in another state or even a different country won't be exactly as in demand everywhere else and even when it is, what people choose to pay or trade (the typical currency of olden collecting) will still be radically different.

Price "guides" are for people who require a guide on the subject being collected in general. Price guides are for those people who want to skip the whole 'becoming familiar with the subject' beforehand and jump straight to the commerce.

[jelloslug]

Like I said before, you're talking about someone who actively looks for Neo-Geo games and Arcade boards, these are items that you can't guess a price with.  Your personal 'value' of the game in question is irrelevant if there were only 200 copies made.  Whether or not you want to spend the money is follow-up question you ask.  That's where you determine if it's 'worth' it to you.  What I'm trying to do is learn what the scarcity is of a game so that if I have a chance to to purchase said game I can make a realistic offer in the event I'm even interested in the game.  I don't just buy whatever for the sake of spending money.  I'll be playing the game, enjoying it, typically reviewing it, and then moving on to the next.   

Games like that are literally priceless and what any one person ever chose to pay is all the more irrelevant.

Back in the 90's when organized collecting for the sake of collecting perverted the meaning of the the term, price guides became very popular among people who lacked a genuine interest in the subject being "collected" (these self-labeled "collectors" are actually market/profit enthusiasts). But even those price guides featured common sense disclaimers for their obvlivious subscribers. They explained how it was literally just a "guide", there is no true monetary value for used objects and all they did was poll a few select stores to find out what their local markets were selling items for on average. Some pointed out the obvious: what is popular in another city in another state or even a different country won't be exactly as in demand everywhere else and even when it is, what people choose to pay or trade (the typical currency of olden collecting) will still be radically different.

Price "guides" are for people who require a guide on the subject being collected in general. Price guides are for those people who want to skip the whole 'becoming familiar with the subject' beforehand and jump straight to the commerce.

A better thing to have would be a "rarity guide" that could give you hard facts like when it was produced, what it included, and how many were made.  From there a person could derive if something was truly rare in the scope of the collection.

[BigusSchmuck]

There:
http://www.gamedude.com/turbog.html
Thats the prices you should pay for your turbo goodness.

[Elder]

Games like that are literally priceless and what any one person ever chose to pay is all the more irrelevant.

Back in the 90's when organized collecting for the sake of collecting perverted the meaning of the the term, price guides became very popular among people who lacked a genuine interest in the subject being "collected" (these self-labeled "collectors" are actually market/profit enthusiasts). But even those price guides featured common sense disclaimers for their obvlivious subscribers. They explained how it was literally just a "guide", there is no true monetary value for used objects and all they did was poll a few select stores to find out what their local markets were selling items for on average. Some pointed out the obvious: what is popular in another city in another state or even a different country won't be exactly as in demand everywhere else and even when it is, what people choose to pay or trade (the typical currency of olden collecting) will still be radically different.

Price "guides" are for people who require a guide on the subject being collected in general. Price guides are for those people who want to skip the whole 'becoming familiar with the subject' beforehand and jump straight to the commerce.

Yeah that's perfectly fair.  I am interested in becoming familiar with the subject, which is why I joined these very boards.

[Elder]

A better thing to have would be a "rarity guide" that could give you hard facts like when it was produced, what it included, and how many were made.  From there a person could derive if something was truly rare in the scope of the collection.

Yeah that would be perfect actually.  For right now I'm good in terms of the games I've just purchased from some people here, but there were a few others that were offered, however the person/people said "make an offer" and I honestly had no clue where to start.  If I knew game X was of particular rarity then it would give me a better idea.

[NecroPhile]

There's no price guide here because many don't like them, and when someone did start one, it was outdated and lost to the sands of time in a matter of a couple months.  I like your idea of a "what did you pay" thread a bit more, though I don't think you'll get a lot of responses on higher priced items (some peeps care what others think and don't want to be mocked for "paying too much").

A better thing to have would be a "rarity guide" that could give you hard facts like when it was produced, what it included, and how many were made.  From there a person could derive if something was truly rare in the scope of the collection.

You can get release dates for PCE games easily enough, and Roy has (had?) pictures of all the US games showing all the extras they came with, but we'll likely never get hard and fast numbers for US release dates or quantities produced. 

[Elder]

There's no price guide here because many don't like them, and when someone did start one, it was outdated and lost to the sands of time in a matter of a couple months.  I like your idea of a "what did you pay" thread a bit more, though I don't think you'll get a lot of responses on higher priced items (some peeps care what others think and don't want to be mocked for "paying too much").

A better thing to have would be a "rarity guide" that could give you hard facts like when it was produced, what it included, and how many were made.  From there a person could derive if something was truly rare in the scope of the collection.

You can get release dates for PCE games easily enough, and Roy has (had?) pictures of all the US games showing all the extras they came with, but we'll likely never get hard and fast numbers for US release dates or quantities produced. 

Thanks NecroPhile.  I think this thread has pretty much run its course.  I appreciate the assistance

[Ratix]

imports go for 70-130 bucks.

On which planet do you do your vidja game shopping?   Some imports go for that much, but most can be had for waaaay less than that.

http://global.rakuten.com/en/category/200590/

Watch ebay "sold" auction history for prices on games you are interested in and you'll get a feel for the ebay average... then shop around.  Deals can be found on a few shopping sites, Amazon being one of the better places (though there are also some real turds there, too).

The best place, of course, is right here in these forums.

well the imported games were the games everyone wanted. this place is called "people play games" very nice place but its been a while since i looked into their tg-16 stuff for sale since it was always expensive. darcula x, last time i was in, was going for a ridiculous price. its also the place where i had bought my duo. you are absolutely right on about getting games here in the forums. i haven't traded anything or bought anything from anyone here via mail but i did get the chopsudo way back from chop5 so i can use the tennokoe bank card to keep my saves once i ran out of room.

[geise]

There:
http://www.gamedude.com/turbog.html
Thats the prices you should pay for your turbo goodness.

I will always love gamedude.  I ordered so much stuff from them in the early to mid 90's for turbo.  Up till about a year ago their prices were awesome.  Quite a few of their turbo games are still reasonably priced.  However, it seems they have really jacked up a few of their games.  I feel they also fall on the "use ebay as a price guide".  I still laugh at Beyond Shadowgate being a $200 game.  No way is Dead Moon a $60 game.  Also, $89 for an Arcade Card Duo?  Really?

[BigusSchmuck]

There:
http://www.gamedude.com/turbog.html
Thats the prices you should pay for your turbo goodness.

I will always love gamedude.  I ordered so much stuff from them in the early to mid 90's for turbo.  Up till about a year ago their prices were awesome.  Quite a few of their turbo games are still reasonably priced.  However, it seems they have really jacked up a few of their games.  I feel they also fall on the "use ebay as a price guide".  I still laugh at Beyond Shadowgate being a $200 game.  No way is Dead Moon a $60 game.  Also, $89 for an Arcade Card Duo?  Really?

You and me both. I used to get stuff from them back in the 90s as well. Hell I remember paying like $7 for Ys books 1 and 2. Good times. Hence the reason why if someone wants a price guide that's about as reasonable you can get unless you know people on these very forums.

[geise]

Oh, and back in 2009 they sold me a US Soldier Blade loose for $19.

[HailingTheThings]

Bought the following loose from a "comic" store that dabbles:

TV Sports Football
World Class Baseball
Battle Royale
Dungeon Explorer
CD System Card

$7... yay :3

Were sitting behind the counter for 5+ years. lol

[Elder]

Bought the following loose from a "comic" store that dabbles:

TV Sports Football
World Class Baseball
Battle Royale
Dungeon Explorer
CD System Card

$7... yay :3

Were sitting behind the counter for 5+ years. lol

Lol, awesome!  A buddy of mine just got a really nice score, managed to pick up a working TG-16/CD combo unit, with the CD card, Fighting Street, Splatterhouse, and Keith Courage for $30.  That's one hell of a steal.  Good deals are still out there, they're just few and far between apparently.

[HailingTheThings]

Lol, awesome!  A buddy of mine just got a really nice score, managed to pick up a working TG-16/CD combo unit, with the CD card, Fighting Street, Splatterhouse, and Keith Courage for $30.  That's one hell of a steal.  Good deals are still out there, they're just few and far between apparently.

Well, damn.

[technozombie]

Recently my friend sold me a boxed tg15 with KC, legendary Axe 2,  and new adventure island. The system box isn't perfect but I'm happy. Anyways I paid $50 for all of it.

[Elder]

Recently my friend sold me a boxed tg15 with KC, legendary Axe 2,  and new adventure island. The system box isn't perfect but I'm happy. Anyways I paid $50 for all of it.

That's awesome.  Personally I've been lucky with some forum posters right here and have been able to snag a few gems for really great deals

[jtucci31]

Recently my friend sold me a boxed tg15

The elusive tg15?!


Lol but nice though

[technozombie]

Recently my friend sold me a boxed tg15

The elusive tg15?!


Lol but nice though

haha my phone typing skills suck and my proof reading even more so.

[BlueBMW]

Ive sold a few games recently to forum peeps.  Though my prices were probably too low.  If I remember right this is what I sold and how much I sold em for.

Cotton (US) $150
Beyond Shadowgate $150
Godzilla (US) $80

[MrFulci]

This thread reminds me...

What was the story again, about that guy who sold his Magical Chase to someone on this forum, for a cheaper than ebay price, and that person then months later sold it on ebay for profit?

I recall a lot of mess about that. and laughter.

I forgot about that... This was years ago, before 2010, I'm pretty sure.

[Elder]

Ive sold a few games recently to forum peeps.  Though my prices were probably too low.  If I remember right this is what I sold and how much I sold em for.

Cotton (US) $150
Beyond Shadowgate $150
Godzilla (US) $80

Those are great prices, and honestly if it's to forum peeps that all good as long as people don't resell them on ebay.  I hate when that happens and have seen it A LOT on the Neo boards.

[BlueBMW]

Im pretty certain the Beyond Shadowgate wont be resold.  I cant remember who I sold the other two to... So who knows on them.  Ive got the pc engine versions of the other two and usually if I want to play Cotton Ill play it on the x68000 (though it is a little different)  I think the PC engine version of Godzilla is more playable.  US version seemed to have difficulty balance issues.

[esteban]

Im pretty certain the Beyond Shadowgate wont be resold.  I cant remember who I sold the other two to... So who knows on them.  Ive got the pc engine versions of the other two and usually if I want to play Cotton Ill play it on the x68000 (though it is a little different)  I think the PC engine version of Godzilla is more playable.  US version seemed to have difficulty balance issues.

I don't have this game, but I recall NecroPhile mentioning something about a trivia game (in-between rounds)? that was broken/missing in the North American version....or something like that.

It's all very vague...