GAME Collecting Pet Peeves - So Annoying!

[7800fan]

Missing price tag at Goodwill and Salvation Army. Say I found something I wanted, like a nice shiny transculent green XBox with matching controller that looks to be in great shape but no price tag. Maybe it fell off? Maybe someone took it off and applied it to something that was originally more expensive to cheat? Or whatever and when I ask, they say they can't sell it, takes it in the back and you never see it again.

 

It would royally suck if you found a mint in box Air Raid and they took it away because of missing price tag. And no amount of begging (ie I will pay $100 for this) will let them slap a price on it right there and sell it to you.

[gamegalaxy]

STICKERS - There is a store in the Los Angeles area called GAME DUDE - I bought from them and they have "GAME DUDE" stickers on there - when you peel it off it like IMPRINTS some silver text that reads GAME DUDE on the case and is practically IMPOSSIBLE to get off - Never buying from them again!

[Games Retrospect]

STICKERS - There is a store in the Los Angeles area called GAME DUDE - I bought from them and they have "GAME DUDE" stickers on there - when you peel it off it like IMPRINTS some silver text that reads GAME DUDE on the case and is practically IMPOSSIBLE to get off - Never buying from them again!

I've been to that place and I have dozens of PS2 games with that sticker. Luckily, they put the stickers inside the cases which is not a problem for me personally, but I definitely see your point. I know they are trying to promote their business because they have to compete with other big retailers (primarily GameStop,) but by doing so, they angry their main audience.

[Lendorien]

Stickers are probably the worst, but I also hate games that are missing something. A few years ago, I remember going to a GameStop and finding a copy of Mega Man: Anniversary Collection and I didn't buy it because it didn't have the manual. I actually never played that game and I doubt I'll find a copy of that in the near future. Also, I bought Bully for the PlayStation 2 and it was just the disc in a yellow sleeve. So no case, manual or cover. I know that's not a rare game or anything like that, but it still drives me insane.

 

 

I have never cared so much about manuals. With CD/DVD games though, I sort of do require a case. And PS1 or DC games won't be bought without the manual. For ps2 or later, I don't care nearly as much.

[Osgeld]

Another Goodwill irritation is finding a really desirable item on the shelf, but some jackwagon has stolen the CD out of the case or the wrong game is in it

 

with the sheer amount of absolute garbage that is in good will I doubt the CD was in there when it arrived, and no one there ever cares about anything they do so on the shelf it goes

 

saw an empty cardboard box for 3.99 yesterday, no labels or anything just a empty cardboard box with a price tag

[7800fan]

Speaking of stickers, what about idiots who places stickers on CD and DVD games? Stickers that are impossible to cleanly remove, and stickers that makes the disc off balance and make your console buzz or hum loudly. Since some CD and DVD games are often sold without original case, the only place is on the label side of the disc.

[icemanxp300]

My local goodwill will price stuff right there for you. Some don't, but this one will. As far as cd/dvd's go w/out the disk in them. I seen He-Man Vol. 1 for $3.99 so I nabbed it. I checked before hand and it had vol1 disk 1 and 2 but it also had vol. 2 disk 1. I figured bonus lol

 

Went back a week later and found He-man Vol.2 it "was missing" disk 1 lol. I figure someone purchased it and returned it as it was missing the cd. It is possible I somehow did not see it the first time, but I bought it as I had the missing disk already.

[homerhomer]

My biggest one has got to be the prices on Shmups and RPGs. Whenever I'm trying to collect for pretty much any out of production console and go looking for good games to play on it I see the same thing over and over again. Most good games are $5 to $10, but if it's a Shmup or RPG? Oh no, that price is going up a good 10x for no other reason than the genre of the game.

I agree. And I thought M.U.S.H.A. was overpriced at $100. [emoji10]

 

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[+save2600]

Speaking of stickers, what about idiots who places stickers on CD and DVD games? Stickers that are impossible to cleanly remove, and stickers that makes the disc off balance and make your console buzz or hum loudly. Since some CD and DVD games are often sold without original case, the only place is on the label side of the disc.

 

Castrate them all!

[Andromeda Stardust]

LOL on the stickers that left foil VOID remains. Sometimes I just left them as a novelty "my game is void" LOL, but they were no harder to clean normally than the original sticker. And yes, GameXChange still puts retail stickers on the cart labels occasionally. I have about a 75% success rate removing them without label damage. Made in Mexico matte labels on SNES/N64 carts are much more easily damaged than the glossy Made in Japan ones. Fortunately the adhesive is weak, but IMO there's plenty of plastic real estate on the cart to put this sticker. Game store employees should no better. Most of them are gamers themselves.

 

Also vintage mystery markers with alcohol resistant ink. Sharpies I can remove easily and completely with isopropanol. But occasionally I buy a game cartridge with ink on it, thinking "i can get this off easily" only to find the 25 year old permanent marker really is permanent. Nothing gets it off. Not isoprpanol, not mineral spirits. And more powerful solvents like acetone are nono because they will melt cart plastics. I have a theory that they changed permanent marker formulation sometime back in the 90s to less toxic propanol. The propanol based ink in Sharpie comes off effortlessly with isopropanol with similar chemical structure. When I was a kid, I remember those jumbo sized Marks-A-Lot markers which stuck up the entire room the instant you pulled the caps off. Newer markers still smell but markedly less, and definitely don't stink from across the room. But the 80s vintage markers with the "old" formulation, I have no clue how to remove. About one third of NES carts with writing on them are the impossible kind.

 

Another thing that might be worrisome. Most used game retailers remove the disc from the case before putting it on the shelf. The disc goes in a sleeve inside a drawer behind the counter. Well some games have bonus disc, or multiple editions. The disc may or may not be the same. What if I get the Game of the Year case and the clerk sticks a standard edition disc in there? I may not catch this until I get home to install it. If I come back to return it, how do they know I didn't swap it out myself for a free upgrade? Buyer is always right but some employees get snarky about it.

 

Worse with movies / DVDs. Many editions of the same movie. User buys a movie. How do I know I'm getting the correct edition to match the case without looking up pictures of what the disc should look like? Worse when DVDs or games come with bonus disc.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Also vintage mystery markers with alcohol resistant ink. Sharpies I can remove easily and completely with isopropanol. But occasionally I buy a game cartridge with ink on it, thinking "i can get this off easily" only to find the 25 year old permanent marker really is permanent. Nothing gets it off. Not isoprpanol, not mineral spirits. And more powerful solvents like acetone are nono because they will melt cart plastics. I have a theory that they changed permanent marker formulation sometime back in the 90s to less toxic propanol. The propanol based ink in Sharpie comes off effortlessly with isopropanol with similar chemical structure. When I was a kid, I remember those jumbo sized Marks-A-Lot markers which stuck up the entire room the instant you pulled the caps off. Newer markers still smell but markedly less, and definitely don't stink from across the room. But the 80s vintage markers with the "old" formulation, I have no clue how to remove. About one third of NES carts with writing on them are the impossible kind.

I did a bit of Googling and as it turns out, many vintage permanent markers were Xylene/Toluene based rather than alcohol. So the old school, vintage "stinky" markers require a bit more powerful solvent. I wonder if Xylene or Toluene attacks ABS cart plastics?

 

The classic glass bottle-bodied Magic Marker was first marketed in 1952, and until the early 1990s, the ink formula included a mixture of Toluene and Xylene, two solvents which not only had a distinctive and not unpleasant odor, but which also contained intoxicating properties when inhaled. Today’s permanent markers get their color from less fragrant alcohol-based inks.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/58291/11-smells-are-slowly-disappearing

[high voltage]

we have this in the VCS section at the moment, how about no proper packing for shipping:

 

[Andromeda Stardust]

Using the retail box of a CIB system as a shipping container is so dumb words cannot describe.

[Rick Dangerous]

Okay here are mine, from both a retail and online standpoint

 

-Stickers

 

-Dirt and grime

 

-scuffs and abuse, general poor condition (IE finding a game i've been looking for for a while but can't buy because of the crap condition)

 

-Overly high prices set by ignorant amateurs who looked up the top BIN on ebay

 

-Marker on labels or carts

 

-Console yellowing. I avoid like the plague.

 

-Trying to find art for universal game cases (sometimes a click away, sometimes takes months to coax an artist to hook me up)

 

-Finding space in my house for my collection that my family won't touch/molest

 

-Finding money at the right time when a rare game or homebrew becomes available.

[7800fan]

For markers, have you tried Goof Off? Smells horrible so do em outside but it usually gets some of the more stubborn marks off. No idea if it works on older stinky permanent markers.

 

PS anyone makes air refresher that smells like those old markers? For old times sake? Plug em in an old supply closet or in craft room.

[Osgeld]

I melted a gameboy with goof off, so it attacks plastics and should only be used sparingly and very quickly (IE no hard scrubbing like I did to the gameboy)

[icemanxp300]

Yes goof-off does work but it will melt the plastic. I have found you yield the best results by spraying directly on the marker and waiting 5-10 seconds MAX. Then wiping with a folded paper towel hard and fast. Then immediately using a wet sponge "you already had ready" to wipe off the goof-off. It will take all marker off but it will melt plastic as well.

[Andromeda Stardust]

For markers, have you tried Goof Off? Smells horrible so do em outside but it usually gets some of the more stubborn marks off. No idea if it works on older stinky permanent markers.

 

PS anyone makes air refresher that smells like those old markers? For old times sake? Plug em in an old supply closet or in craft room.

Since those old markers were Xylene/Toluene based, I might try the solvent section of Lowes to see if they have any. It would most assuredly remove oily vintage alcohol resistant magic marker residue, but the question is do they attack ABS cart plastics? Cotton ball + a couple drops Xylene might do it, though I've heard the stuff is noxious and I would need to use it outside and avoid fumes or skin contact. What's a really shitty game to spot test on?

[Osgeld]

inside the cart :0

[Schizophretard]

It would royally suck if you found a mint in box Air Raid and they took it away because of missing price tag. And no amount of begging (ie I will pay $100 for this) will let them slap a price on it right there and sell it to you.

 

I think in that situation I would find me a price tag. I would just do the reverse of shoplifters by finding the highest priced tag in the store so that I would know that I would likely be paying more than the price of the lost tag. That way my conscience would only convict me of a lie and not theft. It might even count as a white lie since I would not be causing any harm and be paying more than they would ask for it. I would be lying if I said that I never lied before and I think that could be another lie my conscience could live with. I mean, it is a mint in box Air Raid. I may have morals and try to be a good person but not to such an extent that I'm trying to eventually get hospitals named after me.

[icemanxp300]

I may have morals and try to be a good person but not to such an extent that I'm trying to eventually get hospitals named after me.

 

That takes money not morals lol.

[high voltage]

Pisses me off when ebay sellers use stock fotos of boxes and only selling the cart/CD/game. Why is that allowed?

[Schizophretard]

That takes money not morals lol.

I meant hospitals that would refer to me as Saint Schiz.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Pisses me off when ebay sellers use stock fotos of boxes and only selling the cart/CD/game. Why is that allowed?

Read the fine print.

[thadsilverfox]

Bonus annoyance points when you buy a game off Ebay and there's still old store stickers on it- as though the seller is trying to flaunt their blatant profiteering.

Unfortunately I sell brand new sealed games that have old stickers on them, and sometimes I choose not to remove them because I know for a fact that the factory seal around the jewel case will and do tear. I would hope that the buyer is smart enough to understand that and choose to use their brain (common sense) to ignore the original price sticker when purchasing the item or just browsing the listing.