Hey all. I've recently graduated university and I am starting to get strapped for cash. However, Is till have some post-graduate certifications to take, before I can start looking for jobs. While I have picked up a part time job delivering food, I was thinking about flipping old video games and systems on eBay. There's one problem though.
I have no idea what to look for.
As of now, I don't have a ton of start-up capital, so I can't just buy in bulk. I need to be selective and find some gems to start with to flip quickly. Does anyone know of any valuable games (not thousands but between 50-100) that one would be more likely to find at a tag sale? I know that there are some N64 games and SNES games that have gone up in value over time. Any leads?
Not sure about specific games, but the original packaging is key for this type of stuff. Box, instruction manual, and working cartridge will almost always fetch more than a cartridge alone. This is a lot like dealing in antiques or rare books, you really have to know what you are looking for, do your research and haggle the price down as low as possible when buying. IT can be pretty time and labor intensive to make a profit at this type of thing.
I know that the packaging is key, but there ares still some games that will fetch a non-insignificant sum of money with just the cartridge. I don't need to flip the stuff for $300 a game, $20 a game will do just fine if I can find the right games!
Might not be very helpful but my first thought is that if you don't know what to look for to begin with selling games might not be the best source of income for you. You will probably end up spending loads of time for little profit.
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Might not be very helpful but my first thought is that if you don't know what to look for to begin with selling games might not be the best source of income for you. You will probably end up spending loads of time for little profit.
I have to agree with this. BUT, if you want to go through with this, here are some tips:
Second, you need to remember that digital distribution and emulation have pretty much killed this side of things. If they can download it for cheap, why would they pay for a cartridge? That's why packaging is so key at this point, it turns it into a collector's item rather than just a pricey game. A lot of the games on the above list have been re-released, or are getting re-releases in the future.
In general, the two best options for rare games are Fighting Genre and RPGs, as they both tend to have small runs but huge popularity (for instance, Marvel vs Capcom).
I really wouldn't recommend this though. Even my most bargain hunting friends usually don't pull anything very rare while going to tons of flea markets. You're looking at a low profit margin.
Jay13x has the right of things. RPGs are very collectible, as when the genre was first starting, they weren't as popular as normal action games, so they sold less, and were made in lower quantities. Some games do have a cult following as well, so even when they get ported into the digital realm, the cartridge is still worth a lot. The obvious example is Earthbound. The chances of finding a wild copy new in box is pretty much non-existant, as collectors gobble those up. Even lose carts are hard to find of it. I know I still prefer it over a rom or Wii store version of it.
RPGs do seem to hold value a lot better, mostly because the gameplay is still quite excellent. Something like Ogre Battle 64 is still very enjoyable to play, and all of the different sequels and prequels are like $40, which is also due to the fact that the print runs are in the low tens of thousands.
Franchises are a decent bet as well, though you do have to be careful. Most Megaman games are surprisingly valuable, as are the early final fantasies. I'd stay away from most mario games (unless they're NIB), except for mario rpg, which is actually surprisingly common in the wild (I've found 3). That being said, some of the newer ones are still valuable, not dropping that much below retail. You do have to be careful, since mario and zelda aren't exactly obscure, and people know this and will try to fleece you on common games like Super Mario 3.
Another thing to look for is for rare versions of normal games. I'm not talking about finding a NWC cart, which is probably less likely to find in the wild than an Alpha Black Lotus (which has a 10x higher print run compared to grey nwc). I'm talking about items like the star fox competition cart - they do randomly pop up. There's also stuff like Clay Fighter 64 which is surprisingly hard to find, because it was an exclusive.
Lastly, don't be afraid to diversify. I personally am a huge fan of TurboGrafx16, and try to pick up stuff for that whenever I find it. And when I do find stuff, it's almost always dirt cheap, when in reality, most games are worth a fair bit. Dreamcast, Neo Geo, sego cd, jaguar stuff... it's rare, but people are into it.
Even further lastly, avoid all sports games. Sure, there are a few exceptions like stadium events and NBA elite 11, but by and large, just avoid them.
"Flipping" anything became much harder with the invention of smartphones. Most sellers know their stock--the only time you might find something good as at your random garage sale...and that means you'll be wanting to brush up on antiques in general; not just video games.
Jay13x has the right of things. RPGs are very collectible, as when the genre was first starting, they weren't as popular as normal action games, so they sold less, and were made in lower quantities. Some games do have a cult following as well, so even when they get ported into the digital realm, the cartridge is still worth a lot. The obvious example is Earthbound. The chances of finding a wild copy new in box is pretty much non-existant, as collectors gobble those up. Even lose carts are hard to find of it. I know I still prefer it over a rom or Wii store version of it.
RPGs do seem to hold value a lot better, mostly because the gameplay is still quite excellent. Something like Ogre Battle 64 is still very enjoyable to play, and all of the different sequels and prequels are like $40, which is also due to the fact that the print runs are in the low tens of thousands.
Franchises are a decent bet as well, though you do have to be careful. Most Megaman games are surprisingly valuable, as are the early final fantasies. I'd stay away from most mario games (unless they're NIB), except for mario rpg, which is actually surprisingly common in the wild (I've found 3). That being said, some of the newer ones are still valuable, not dropping that much below retail. You do have to be careful, since mario and zelda aren't exactly obscure, and people know this and will try to fleece you on common games like Super Mario 3.
Another thing to look for is for rare versions of normal games. I'm not talking about finding a NWC cart, which is probably less likely to find in the wild than an Alpha Black Lotus (which has a 10x higher print run compared to grey nwc). I'm talking about items like the star fox competition cart - they do randomly pop up. There's also stuff like Clay Fighter 64 which is surprisingly hard to find, because it was an exclusive.
Lastly, don't be afraid to diversify. I personally am a huge fan of TurboGrafx16, and try to pick up stuff for that whenever I find it. And when I do find stuff, it's almost always dirt cheap, when in reality, most games are worth a fair bit. Dreamcast, Neo Geo, sego cd, jaguar stuff... it's rare, but people are into it.
Even further lastly, avoid all sports games. Sure, there are a few exceptions like stadium events and NBA elite 11, but by and large, just avoid them.
I would tweak this advice a bit; even common Zelda games like A Link to the Past are solid $30-40 sellers on eBay. The real gems in the Mario/Zelda/iconic Nintendo genres are Super Mario RPG and the first N64 Smash Bros game; those are $50s on a BAD day.
There are good repros of the Star Fox and DKC competition carts out there; you'll need to keep an eye out for them. Same for Earthbound Uncut; the repro with the unmodified ROM makes it obvious that there's probably someone out there making fake Earthbounds, so get really good at telling the difference between fake & real labels & get a set of security bit screwdrivers so you can check the board & be absolutely certain the high end games are real.
& some of the early sports games do have some small amount of value as donors to have their boards reused to make repros & ROM hacks on cartridges. When I get my website up and running, those'll be on the buylist as quarters just so that I can use them to get things like Super Mario World: Second Reality Project Reloaded running on a real SNES.
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I have no idea what to look for.
As of now, I don't have a ton of start-up capital, so I can't just buy in bulk. I need to be selective and find some gems to start with to flip quickly. Does anyone know of any valuable games (not thousands but between 50-100) that one would be more likely to find at a tag sale? I know that there are some N64 games and SNES games that have gone up in value over time. Any leads?
Did I write something useful? Leave a like.
Any new cool Daretti cards printed in the latest set? Tell me about it!
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I have to agree with this. BUT, if you want to go through with this, here are some tips:
First, take a look through here (which was easy to find with a quick google search):
http://www.racketboy.com/guide/the-rarest-and-most-valuable-video-games
Second, you need to remember that digital distribution and emulation have pretty much killed this side of things. If they can download it for cheap, why would they pay for a cartridge? That's why packaging is so key at this point, it turns it into a collector's item rather than just a pricey game. A lot of the games on the above list have been re-released, or are getting re-releases in the future.
In general, the two best options for rare games are Fighting Genre and RPGs, as they both tend to have small runs but huge popularity (for instance, Marvel vs Capcom).
I really wouldn't recommend this though. Even my most bargain hunting friends usually don't pull anything very rare while going to tons of flea markets. You're looking at a low profit margin.
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Jay13x has the right of things. RPGs are very collectible, as when the genre was first starting, they weren't as popular as normal action games, so they sold less, and were made in lower quantities. Some games do have a cult following as well, so even when they get ported into the digital realm, the cartridge is still worth a lot. The obvious example is Earthbound. The chances of finding a wild copy new in box is pretty much non-existant, as collectors gobble those up. Even lose carts are hard to find of it. I know I still prefer it over a rom or Wii store version of it.
RPGs do seem to hold value a lot better, mostly because the gameplay is still quite excellent. Something like Ogre Battle 64 is still very enjoyable to play, and all of the different sequels and prequels are like $40, which is also due to the fact that the print runs are in the low tens of thousands.
Franchises are a decent bet as well, though you do have to be careful. Most Megaman games are surprisingly valuable, as are the early final fantasies. I'd stay away from most mario games (unless they're NIB), except for mario rpg, which is actually surprisingly common in the wild (I've found 3). That being said, some of the newer ones are still valuable, not dropping that much below retail. You do have to be careful, since mario and zelda aren't exactly obscure, and people know this and will try to fleece you on common games like Super Mario 3.
Another thing to look for is for rare versions of normal games. I'm not talking about finding a NWC cart, which is probably less likely to find in the wild than an Alpha Black Lotus (which has a 10x higher print run compared to grey nwc). I'm talking about items like the star fox competition cart - they do randomly pop up. There's also stuff like Clay Fighter 64 which is surprisingly hard to find, because it was an exclusive.
Lastly, don't be afraid to diversify. I personally am a huge fan of TurboGrafx16, and try to pick up stuff for that whenever I find it. And when I do find stuff, it's almost always dirt cheap, when in reality, most games are worth a fair bit. Dreamcast, Neo Geo, sego cd, jaguar stuff... it's rare, but people are into it.
Even further lastly, avoid all sports games. Sure, there are a few exceptions like stadium events and NBA elite 11, but by and large, just avoid them.
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I would tweak this advice a bit; even common Zelda games like A Link to the Past are solid $30-40 sellers on eBay. The real gems in the Mario/Zelda/iconic Nintendo genres are Super Mario RPG and the first N64 Smash Bros game; those are $50s on a BAD day.
There are good repros of the Star Fox and DKC competition carts out there; you'll need to keep an eye out for them. Same for Earthbound Uncut; the repro with the unmodified ROM makes it obvious that there's probably someone out there making fake Earthbounds, so get really good at telling the difference between fake & real labels & get a set of security bit screwdrivers so you can check the board & be absolutely certain the high end games are real.
& some of the early sports games do have some small amount of value as donors to have their boards reused to make repros & ROM hacks on cartridges. When I get my website up and running, those'll be on the buylist as quarters just so that I can use them to get things like Super Mario World: Second Reality Project Reloaded running on a real SNES.
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