atari market ?

[maximebeauvais]

4 years ago when I started collection atari, everything was cheap or almost everything . I heard that in the beginning of the 90' trade market was very fun and inexpensive for atari collector.

 

now, price are ridiculous.

 

samething with NES and SNES...price are going up, up, up....

 

the same thing in the store.....price are up....

 

so do you think that in 5 years, game like kaboom, air sea battle, bank heist....will be very expensive (I'm not saying 50$ but price like 10.00 for kaboom when you can have it for 1.99 rigth now)

 

what do you think?

[AtariLeaf]

The internet and ebay have opened a can of worms when it comes to collecting Atari or anything else for that matter. Its all a matter of supply and demand. Demand is much higher for Atari now then it was in the nineties and everybody want to relive their youth and play the games they played when they were kids. It will top off though. There are still so many copies of the games in the 1-3 rarity range that I don't think you'll ever find $20 combats or $25 pacmans but certainly the rarity 5's and up are going to continue to climb as collectors buy up everything.

[atari art]

Are you collecting nes games? If so, NOW is the time to buy. Rarity 5s, 6s, and 7s turn up quite regularly at the game stores, most priced reasonably. A few more years and the nes market should parallel the atari 2600 market with possibly much higher prices. Some collectors think certain nes carts are underpriced now. I'm building my nes collection. Anyone else care to add their nes 2 cents?

[Paralistalon]

I was wondering if Atari stuff will decrease in value over the years.

 

I hope not.

 

I don't have enough money to invest in an NES collection, but I agree that the NES will grow in value over the years.

[Brad2600]

I often scope out Gamestop for rare NES games. So far I have found 3 unlicensed NES carts that are considered rare along with a few other rarities. I'm hitting Gamestop again sometime this week.

[MegaManFan]

I often scope out Gamestop for rare NES games. So far I have found 3 unlicensed NES carts that are considered rare along with a few other rarities. I'm hitting Gamestop again sometime this week.

 

Best things I've gotten so far at GameStop/Funco are an Ice Climber and three or four unlicensed Tengen games (including Afterburner, Pac-Mania, and RBI Baseball 2). They tend to charge slightly less than what they go for on eBay, and if you have a members card you get a 10% discount on all used games. You pay for the membership, but they give you 10 months of Game Informer with it - one of the few video game magazines of late I found is worth a crap to read.

[bluevoodu]

the fine line that it comes down to is demand.

 

Yes, there is a good supply, but GOOD carts are running short on the older games. You have floods that destroy then, they wear out from natural usage...etc.... and this takes the supply down a little.

 

There is a demand for games and people will pay for it.

 

ALSO, when people are selling their games.. they won't sell a game for $0.50 so a reseller can sell them for $2-3. They want $1-2 per game which drives resellers to $4-6. Well... then the people who bought those decide to sell them... they want $2-3 per game and the resellers (retailers) will have to sell them for $5-7. You see the trend?

 

Its not that prices are inflating. If the demand wasn't there... the prices wouldn't be either.

 

Plus, people will not let their games go cheap.. to keep prices cheap.

 

so its a never ending cycle.

Besides.. most jag games are still dirt cheap.

I remember when Alien Vs Predator complete would drag in $70+ dollars. Now, they fetch about $30.00.

 

 

Heck, I am selling new Super Cross 3D for $7.50 + shipping on Ebay... (starting price). Lots of other jag games are that low. I have been noticing that the prices are coming down....especially on the more rare items.

 

one other explanation is a burst of nostolgia. People want to play those old gems that got them started in playing games in the 1st place. That is happening a lot right now.

 

 

†B†V†

[Paralistalon]

One factor that I believe is influeincing the Atari market is the constant re-release of the old favorites on modern consoles.

 

Namco Museum, Midways Greatest Hits, Activision Collection...

 

Do you think that these re-releases are helping or hurting the Atari market?

[CatsEye]

Alot of people think Atari is more rare than it actually is. This goes for both the buyers and the sellers on eBay. Someone hears something about Atari, and remembers all the fun times they had as a kid playing theirs and suddenly want one again. They find one on eBay from a seller who knows nothing of Atari, just happened to find some old Atari stuff, thinks because it's so old it must be worth money and it must be rare. BOOM! You have a high $$ transaction.

 

Meanwhile, those of us that know the value of this stuff just sit back and laugh or roll our eyes.

[bluevoodu]

One factor that I believe is influeincing the Atari market is the constant re-release of the old favorites on modern consoles.  

 

Namco Museum, Midways Greatest Hits, Activision Collection...

 

Do you think that these re-releases are helping or hurting the Atari market?

 

I guess the re-releases would help a bit... but... the MAJORITY of people who play next-gen consoles..... do not buy older systems. Really, there is a small majority thatdo. yes, there is a market for old systems and games, but the majority of next gen gamers stay in the next gen only... unless these older games are released for new consoles.

 

as for what Catseye said...... that may happen once in awhile... but Ebay is a savy market. they know when they aregetting ripped...etc.

 

If you look.. most people won't pay over $10.00 for Jag items... regardless of what they are.

 

†B†V†