Tips for a new Atari 2600 Collector

[masschamber]

Buy the cheap and popular games, they are that way because they're the good games

unless you like the curiosity of them most rare and expensive games are terrible so don't really bother with them

ignore that guy on ebay with carts pictured against a huge collection of homebrew stuff, he is a jerk.

the atariage store has some great games, buy them if you want new experiences on 40 year old hardware.

the supercharger is awesome and worth the money

[bpatte02]

Best played in a wood paneled room with shag carpet. Drinking tab is optional. Other than that, have fun and enjoy what you pick up. Maybe hunt by company, or label type. But in the end as long as you're having fun and not going above your means, there isn't really any rhyme or reason.

[RamrodHare]

...I protest, I never said anyone here said any such a thing. If you feel it was implied I apologize, as it was not my intention. I am sure we all have stories of pushy salespeople or articles that push some random service for "collectors". That is what I was referring to. What did you think I meant?

I apologize. Your post on not having a Harmony Cart and never buying anything from Best Electronics followed mine. I listed the Harmony Cart and rebuilding joysticks using the new parts from Best Electronics. I felt your post was directed at me for mentioning those things, as if I were somehow pressuring him into buying them.. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding.

[Good_Times]

Best played in a wood paneled room with shag carpet. Drinking tab is optional. Other than that, have fun and enjoy what you pick up. Maybe hunt by company, or label type. But in the end as long as you're having fun and not going above your means, there isn't really any rhyme or reason.

 

Wood paneling, you say? Behold: The closet/small creepy room of mystery and power!

 

 

[+Atari_Warlord]

1. read the manual

2. play the games

3. have fun

[Mephitblue]

Great topic! I recently started collecting myself and some of the responses have made me how I collect and what I discovered over the past couple of months since I picked up a 7800. A A few things that I've learned that have been touched upon already are:

 

• Check multiple places for the game you want as prices can vary widely. my local retro gaming store is often the cheapest source for Atari games as they aren't the hottest thing in the collectors market. eBay often has the worst prices, but every once in awhile you can snag a deal. Occasionally you can find a game cheaper on Amazon.
• Try before you buy. I have a Retropie setup and will test drive a game that looks interesting on there that costs more than a few bucks before spending cash on it.
• If you want to get a good deal, you often need to be patient and hold off on buying a game you want until it is in your price range
• Have a list of the top games you want to get. It is so easy to blow your budget and then not be able to purchase a game you really want because you spent your money on games that didn't mean that much to you.
• Don't forget to check out homebrews! The new Scramble 2600 game is spending a lot of time in my Atari.

One thing I've learned about myself as a collector is that there are certain games that I want complete in a box and others I don't care about. For instance, I love the box art for Imagic games and since there aren't too many of them I decided that I only want them complete in box. However, I'm fine with loose carts for most Atari, CBS, and Parker Brother games.

 

The best pieces of advice I've seen in the thread is have fun and there is no right way to collect. It's a hobby, just enjoy!