Turbo Gouging on Ebay ( r.i.p. - gouging much )

[NecroPhile]

Might and Magic III for $294.99 and a Super System Card for $280. 

[Sparky]

<<shakes head>>

[jlued686]

Out of curiosity, what's the average price for M&M3 these days?

[BigusSchmuck]

Out of curiosity, what's the average price for M&M3 these days?

I have seen the U.S version go for $200-$300, but the PCE version goes for like $24. http://www.ebay.com/itm/PC-Engine-SCD-MIGHT-AND-MAGIC-3-Grafx-PCE-JAPAN-Video-Game-pe-/300599137258?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45fd1ad3ea
Pretty lame if you ask me.

[MotherGunner]

Look at this moronic prize of an Ebay moron.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samurai-Ghost-TurboGrafx-16-Turbo-Grafx-/160778714503?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item256f287d87

[Samurai Ghost]

Samurai Ghost is EASILY worth $250, so that's a bargain.

[Colossus1574]

Samurai Ghost is EASILY worth $250, so that's a bargain.

Hmm, obviously you wouldn't be biased towards this price for any reason  hahah

[Mathius]

Samurai Ghost is EASILY worth $250, so that's a bargain.

I hope you are being sarcastic.

[NecroPhile]

Look at this moronic prize of an Ebay moron.

$150 sleeve only copy of Samurai Ghost

Ha!  The underscore must be short for 'brain'.

[meka]

Someone actually bought that pc engine cd emulator games: http://www.ebay.com/itm/230763003488, its pretty easy to download an emulator and a rom set, why would you pay money for it, though playing pc engine games on the pc is nothing like playing it on the real thing.

[NecroPhile]

Someone actually bought that pc engine cd emulator games:

He probably bought it for the awesome packaging.

[gekioh]

heh heh lmao check this one out for shits and giggles http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Exile-TG16-Video-Game-/380420503092?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item5892d43634
not that long ago he had it listed at like $550 or so.

[NecroPhile]

"10 or more available".... for fuck's sake. 

[Bernie]

Most likely bought them cheap when TZD/Red Frog? was selling their shit.  I remember seeing a few CD games they had bunches of.  Cosmic Fantasy 2 and Exile were a couple of them.  Its a shame, but it is what it is I guess.  Hell, I can see wanting a profit, but DAMN..  Hopefully they wont sell at that price.

"10 or more available".... for fuck's sake. 

[CrackTiger]

"10 or more available".... for fuck's sake. 

Only ten? Must be pretty rare. No wonder it goes for so much. Better buy it before it's $1000 for one. That way your actually saving $500 on piecing together a set.

[Mathius]

I remember when you could get Exile or Cosmic Fantasy 2 for $7

[VestCunt]

Most likely bought them cheap when TZD/Red Frog? was selling their shit.  I remember seeing a few CD games they had bunches of.  Cosmic Fantasy 2 and Exile were a couple of them.  Its a shame, but it is what it is I guess.  Hell, I can see wanting a profit, but DAMN..  Hopefully they wont sell at that price.

Working Designs still had (a lot) of these two games in stock when they shut down.  Game Quest Direct bought most of it, but then a ton of cheap copies appeared on the market sometime around 2007... iirc, a European seller was listing them sealed on ebay for something like $2-10.  Sealed copies continued to appear on the cheap through 2010, when the resellers moved in.

[esteban]

I remember when you could get Exile or Cosmic Fantasy 2 for $7

I remember going to Toys R Us with a friend because he was buying something Saturn-related. I was in college and no longer actively buying games or playing much...when what do I see on the counter (merchandise pick-up?) but a brand new Vasteel for a few dollars ($8?).

HELL YES I BOUGHT IT IMMEDIATELY. I was shocked that Toys R Us still had any TG-16 stuff in stock (I asked if they had any other merchandise, they said they didn't).

Another friend of mine (Bless his Soul!), picked up Buster Bros and Splash Lake at Toys R Us for me for pennies on the dollar. He knew how much I had loved TG-16 years prior and bought them more as a nostalgic "Hey, remember when we were obsessed with video games?" sort of gift. He had always been grateful that I had sold him my old NES to him for nothing (he could only afford $20). In my defense, I was desperate for $$$. I also knew the NES was going to a good home.

[kamiboy]

Okay gents, let us put on our tinfoil top hats and let me retell a conspiracy theory of mine that I almost half believe in.

Now, I bet we all had ourselves a merry old laugh when the eBay cartel started putting up mint or NIB game items for prices a few hundred notches above absurd. But I bet we all got the old earl grey in the wrong pipe when, just for fun, we flicked that completed listing box and saw that among a sea of red unsold items there was the unmistakable occasional green proof of hell having frozen over.

No one expects a mint or new Duo to actually ever sell for over 1-3000, but the green proves that someone, some idiot out there did buy it, so maybe the price is not so absurd, maybe, just maybe that is what it is actually worth, correct?

No! No, no, no, no, and an additional thousand nos I say!

I refuse to believe it. Rather I choose to believe that those green anomalies are all part of the cartel's nefarious scheme. You see, these guys buy up every legitimate new or mint auction they can land their hands on in eBay land by making sure to bid for them way over market price. This way they are already half way towards creating an absurd monopoly. What then remains next is to raise the market price to ten times normal levels and reap their evil reward.

How do they do that? By every once in a while using a fake account to buy one of their own items, then quietly using the fake account to put in a cancellation request which they then accept themselves. That way they wont really lose any money and what they gain is slowly setting the precedence that mint or NIB stuff really are worth that much. If they do this long enough people will accept it as norm and before long they'll land some crazy collectors who pay up and the whole operation is a success.

[geise]

Nice idea and all but I really think it's dipshits not knowing any better and having money to throw around.  Haha or not, and charging it on the "free money" credit  card. 

[kamiboy]

I like my theory better, it helps me sleep at night and keeps the cartel baby punching to a bare minimum.

By the way, did you guys know that every game ever made in the history of electronics for any system is rare?

Its true!

[suikoman444]

I wish I knew about the Turbografx when it was still in its heydey, or even when TZD was still around. Can't seem to get any of the games I want for a decent price.

[esteban]

I wish I knew about the Turbografx when it was still in its heydey, or even when TZD was still around. Can't seem to get any of the games I want for a decent price.

Even us old folks have regrets (there are many, many titles I won't ever be able to afford). So, I say, don't worry about the titles you can't spend $$$$$$$ on. Get all the great cheap titles .

[suikoman444]

I guess that's what I'll have to do for a while. That or hope some of my local game stores get some in. When they do, the games are normally pretty cheap, but it's been a while since I've seen any.

[kamiboy]

I got into buying older generation games back in 2009 when I realised modern games had for four or so years been heading to a place that I did not care for.

Things were affordable back then and I was delighted to catch up on a lot of games that circumstance let pass me by in my bleak youngin' years.

I remember I bought a NIB SNES, N64 and Dreamcast for very fair prices, all around 100-120 and followed that up with a mint CDX and a slew of games I always wanted to play for all systems.

Alas since the cartel got their operation going full force prices have spiraled out of control. Everyone thinks their game is hot shit and asks too much for it. You really have to dig deep to find a decently priced item from 32bit era and back.

Now the cartel has me sweating over making sure to get everything on my want list before they are priced even further from the ideal.

One can always hope for some sort of bubble economy being in effect here that could burst and drown the cartel in a bloody demise but I dont see it happening.

I wish there was a older gen selling/buying site that was outside the reach of the cartel. Imagine something like the Buy/Sell sections of every older gen forum out there, only collected in one place and automated. So instead of making a WTB post and keep bumping it one could just go to this site, browse to different system sections and select all the games one is looking for and select the condition one is looking for them in. Then when a seller shows up with something to sell they could just browse to the same place and get a list of users wanting what they are offering, contact one of them and negotiate a price then and there.

Quick, clean and easy. Any cartel people finding their way there would of course be laughed out of the place and the site would be free to use for all.

Deuce, that would make things demmed easier for us all.

[BigusSchmuck]

Okay gents, let us put on our tinfoil top hats and let me retell a conspiracy theory of mine that I almost half believe in.

Now, I bet we all had ourselves a merry old laugh when the eBay cartel started putting up mint or NIB game items for prices a few hundred notches above absurd. But I bet we all got the old earl grey in the wrong pipe when, just for fun, we flicked that completed listing box and saw that among a sea of red unsold items there was the unmistakable occasional green proof of hell having frozen over.

No one expects a mint or new Duo to actually ever sell for over 1-3000, but the green proves that someone, some idiot out there did buy it, so maybe the price is not so absurd, maybe, just maybe that is what it is actually worth, correct?

No! No, no, no, no, and an additional thousand nos I say!

I refuse to believe it. Rather I choose to believe that those green anomalies are all part of the cartel's nefarious scheme. You see, these guys buy up every legitimate new or mint auction they can land their hands on in eBay land by making sure to bid for them way over market price. This way they are already half way towards creating an absurd monopoly. What then remains next is to raise the market price to ten times normal levels and reap their evil reward.

How do they do that? By every once in a while using a fake account to buy one of their own items, then quietly using the fake account to put in a cancellation request which they then accept themselves. That way they wont really lose any money and what they gain is slowly setting the precedence that mint or NIB stuff really are worth that much. If they do this long enough people will accept it as norm and before long they'll land some crazy collectors who pay up and the whole operation is a success.

I have often thought this was the case as well, but also those fools who create another account just to bid up the price or last minute bid just because they didn't like the price that the highest bidder was going to get.

[kamiboy]

Bid sniping has made self bidding a moot practice in my opinion. Why fret over low highest bidder when all the action is set to take place in the last 5 seconds of an auction?

[VestCunt]

cartel...cartel...cartel

OK. The cartel joke is getting old. There will always be a margin of price gougers and that sucks. Some of them will even use shady tactics... whatever.  Most people are honest and genuinely want to get rid of stuff/make money in a reasonable amount of time.  The problem is ebay is so ubiquitous that we have to compete with everyone else in the world whenever we want to buy something.  Even the most out-of-touch and inefficient sellers like Goodwill have caught on and that eliminates good deals in the wild. We're left with a global marketplace monopoly and there will always be well-heeled individuals willing to pay way more than a reasonable person would ever dream (how will your site block their offers?).  Finally, the 16-bit Wars are the video game equivalent to the Golden Age of comic books or vintage baseball cards.  There is no bubble and prices will never come down. In a sane world, emulation would lower the demand, but like retro gamer magazine and endless youtube reviews propels the commodity fetish to such an extent that even younger generations drool over this stuff.

[kamiboy]

It is not a joke, that is what they are.

By the way, it is a mad, mad world.

Guess which one I bought.

[esteban]

cartel...cartel...cartel

OK. The cartel joke is getting old. There will always be a margin of price gougers and that sucks. Some of them will even use shady tactics... whatever.  Most people are honest and genuinely want to get rid of stuff/make money in a reasonable amount of time.  The problem is ebay is so ubiquitous that we have to compete with everyone else in the world whenever we want to buy something.  Even the most out-of-touch and inefficient sellers like Goodwill have caught on and that eliminates good deals in the wild. We're left with a global marketplace monopoly and there will always be well-heeled individuals willing to pay way more than a reasonable person would ever dream (how will your site block their offers?).  Finally, the 16-bit Wars are the video game equivalent to the Golden Age of comic books or vintage baseball cards.  There is no bubble and prices will never come down. In a sane world, emulation would lower the demand, but like retro gamer magazine and endless youtube reviews propels the commodity fetish to such an extent that even younger generations drool over this stuff.

Dude, you had me at "commodity fetish". I've been re-reading Das Kapital, though I'm not sure if that is your specific reference point.

[MotherGunner]

Not so much gouging, but rather not bad of a deal!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bonk-3-Bonks-Big-Adventure-TurboGrafx-16-1993-/180855261667?_trksid=p4340.m1374&_trkparms=algo%3DUPI.GIROS%26its%3DI%252BC%252BS%26itu%3DUCI%252BUCC%26otn%3D15%26pmod%3D110857900736%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7671446952571096588

[esteban]

Not so much gouging, but rather not bad of a deal!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bonk-3-Bonks-Big-Adventure-TurboGrafx-16-1993-/180855261667?_trksid=p4340.m1374&_trkparms=algo%3DUPI.GIROS%26its%3DI%252BC%252BS%26itu%3DUCI%252BUCC%26otn%3D15%26pmod%3D110857900736%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7671446952571096588

At least the seller acknowledges that the manual is a copy, the jewel case is Keith Courage, and Bonk 3 HuCARD has scratches.

[MotherGunner]

Ah just saw that, in that case, $50-60 is more like it...

[kamiboy]

See, now, here is an interesting case.

A VGA rated version of a not so uncommon GBA game for sale, and it is an honest to gods auction. Given the paltry age of the title, and how common it is I doubt the cost of the VGA process will be worth what extra value, if any at all, it will add to the final sale price of that item.

Or is there really a weighty demand for VGA grated games out there? Are there really many a rich person out there seeking to amass a VGA GBA collection? Enough of them to compete for this and bring the price up?

I cannot believe so, but I am going to be watching this one unfold.

[NecroPhile]

Only a syphilitic retard would give a shit about VGA grading.

[Mathius]

Only a syphilitic retard would give a shit about VGA grading.

I sure as hell don't....not even a little bit. 

[kamiboy]

Do rich people contract syphilis though? I thought they stuck to classy, clean hookers only. Also, just to class it up even more, they call them escorts instead.

[Colossus1574]

Do rich people contract syphilis though? I thought they stuck to classy, clean hookers only. Also, just to class it up even more, they call them escorts instead.

HAhahaha!

Stupid VGA already got their damn mitts on comic books and sports cards....video games too now!?!?!? F' THAT!

[Samurai Ghost]

Well, I can KIND of understand it if you are talking about a NIB copy of Stadium Events or some game that can fetch $10,000+, but for a fairly common GBA game that came out less than 10 years ago? Seems silly to me. It would just be a pain to crack open that case and throw it away before opening the game and playing it.

[tggodfrey]

VGA......not nearly as good as SAB rated.  Notice how you dont see those often?

[BigusSchmuck]

All I have to say about rating video games is this....

[suikoman444]

Totally just got crazilly outbid on a boxed Neutopia II. Ended up at $207

[mrhaboobi]

Totally just got crazilly outbid on a boxed Neutopia II. Ended up at $207

i stopped bidding around $50 ish ;)

only wanted that box, was nice condition.

[VestCunt]

Parasite Timmonstalon bought this for $6.28
http://www.ebay.com/itm/360446914657?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1562.l2649

And sells it the next week for $29.99
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Turbo-Grafx-16-Falcon-US-Version-RARE-BOXED-TurboGrafx-/360450677541?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item53ec88db25

And he has the worst camera in the history of ebay.
And he pasted the wrong description into his listing.  What an idiot.

Of course, I'm the idiot who listed stuff on ebay in the first place.  Sparky was right.

[suikoman444]

Sucks that they would flip it like that. Hope it doesn't sell for what he wants.

[PunkCryborg]

Parasite Timmonstalon bought this for $6.28
http://www.ebay.com/itm/360446914657?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1562.l2649

And sells it the next week for $29.99
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Turbo-Grafx-16-Falcon-US-Version-RARE-BOXED-TurboGrafx-/360450677541?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item53ec88db25

And he has the worst camera in the history of ebay.
And he pasted the wrong description into his listing.  What an idiot.

Of course, I'm the idiot who listed stuff on ebay in the first place.  Sparky was right.

That's a pathetic way to make a profit. I guess flipping a obscure item for $20 is profitable enough for a loser though

[Bernie]

I offered him 6.28 for the Falcon...  haha

[roflmao]

I offered him 6.28 for the Falcon...  haha

Nice.

[Sparky]

I offered him 6.28 for the Falcon...  haha

Hahaha. If I remember my login I will do the same
Edit. Just did.. Heyoooo

[Bernie]

He declined 6.28, so I offered 6.29...  I hope he takes it!!