Selling my collection, lots of 2600 stuff up now

[mattkain]

Hi all!  After holding onto my collection for over 25 years, I'm finally letting it all go.  I cut my collection in half over a decade ago, but now I'm unloading the rest as I prepare for another life change.  I have lots of 2600/VCS content up on eBay now (stuff like Gremlins, Shuttle Orbiter, H.E.R.O., Double Dragon, Pitfall II, Miner 2049er, Scuba Diver, Track & Field, River Raid II, Cannon Man, CIB games, Xonox, Fox, US Games, Mythicon game lots, etc. just to name a few) with more coming in the next few months.  Feel free to look:
https://www.ebay.com/usr/mlewandowski00

 

I also have a lot of 5200, 7800, and Intellivision that will be coming soon as well.  I'm curious, do people think I might have any success selling stuff on AtariAge?  Or does anyone here have interest in larger game lots?  Unloading games one at a time is taking forever!  And, for anyone who remembers me from years ago, no, I don't have any prototypes anymore.    They've all made it safely into the hands of other collectors!

 

best,

Matt

 

Edited January 31, 2023 by mattkain

[+sramirez2008]

37 minutes ago, mattkain said:

Feel free to look:

Looking.👍🏼

[Keatah]

1 hour ago, mattkain said:

I'm curious, do people think I might have any success selling stuff on AtariAge?  Or does anyone here have interest in larger game lots?

I guess.. I only sold a few items here over the decades but it all went smoothly. Post around and see what happens. I'm certainly not in the market, but bundles/lots should be appealing to new collectors or veteran collectors wishing to add a new system to their existing collection.

 

1 hour ago, mattkain said:

Unloading games one at a time is taking forever!

Yes that can take time. It's just how it rolls.

 

My only advice is be sure you're selling what you really want to sell. If any of it is original from childhood there's likely sentimentality attached to it. So maybe keep your 1st and 2nd system? Or convert to a digital collection - which would involve a bit of learning curve and ramp-up time. That's how I see it anyways. Everyone's different of course.

Edited January 31, 2023 by Keatah

[mattkain]

59 minutes ago, Keatah said:

My only advice is be sure you're selling what you really want to sell. If any of it is original from childhood there's likely sentimentality attached to it. So maybe keep your 1st and 2nd system? Or convert to a digital collection - which would involve a bit of learning curve and ramp-up time. That's how I see it anyways. Everyone's different of course.

This is good advice.  I've been mulling this over for years and had talked myself into getting rid of everything, but, similar to what you're suggesting, my partner convinced me to keep my first 5 Atari games that I got when I was a kid (E.T., Defender, Pitfall!, Star Raiders, and Yar's Revenge).  Otherwise, I'm moving to digital and emulation as I'll be living more minimally the next few years.  It's a little sad to see stuff go, but I'm honestly excited to pass games on to other collectors.  I would rather have someone playing or displaying the games I spent years collecting rather than having them sitting in bins and crates!

[Keatah]

There's no shortage of 2600 games. I would suggest keeping the ones you had the most fun with and played the most often, as a kid. That could be more than 5. But defo get rid of anything non-sentimental and any later ebay purchases you never developed nostalgia for.

 

I only collect for 4 systems:

1- TRS-80 Pocket Computers 1, 2, and 4.

2- Ti-59

3- Apple II

4- PC

 

1 and 2 are rather complete. 3 and 4 are open-ended.

 

But it wasn't always those four platforms. It was tons and tons more. All the 8/16 bit rigs and every goddamned thing on the market. The more I got the more my enjoyment went down. All that changed with the advent of emulators however. All the 70's and 80's and 90's systems, computers, arcades, consoles, handhelds, I do through emulation. Very easy to get spoiled by the reliability, convenience, and versatility. Got in on the ground floor in 1995-1997 and have followed the scene ever since.

 

Once the drag of the physical stuff was gone I could easy segue from system to system on a whim. Spending as much time as I wanted in each ecosphere. Not wasting time on cleaning and maintaining and organizing stuff. Stuff I may only play with once a year. Emulators are still being refined today and are better than ever. Especially with the extras they bring to the hobby. I think I did right.

 

Emulators aren't for everyone looking (to use them) to replace a physical collection. They require a complete shift in perspective and goals even. You have to understand and come to terms with how you'll transcend the gulf between real classic hardware and something that's ethereal and non-existent. You'll be working hard at developing a mind-map for organization of your new collection. You'll try many things and go through many revisions. You'll be learning how to configure things and simplify corner cases. You'll learn how to make many pieces of software work together as well as learn all kinds of file-management tools. Over time you'll learn data migration and how to virtualize older operating systems. Sometimes for fun. Sometimes for continuing to use an older emulator that no longer works under the newest version of Windows.

 

For those that do make a successful jump - the rewards are quite remarkable. Your whole collection is easily transported in a duffel bag if so desired. It can be taken anywhere. It's destruction proof (because you made backups). It's rather hardware independent, with replacements/parts readily available. It's reliable. If you address one hardware issue, you've addressed it for all systems. You'll gain savestates, turbo-speed, pause, instant access to millions of cart/disk/tape images, and their ensuing electronic documentation. Space savings are enormous.

 

It's a whole new level of elegance bestowed on a vintage pastime. Emulators will fit into any decor no matter what the them is. Rustic. Nuvo Modern. Country. Victorian. Contemporary 50's through present. Steampunk. You name it. You can style the necessary hardware to match.

 

Now.. Regarding the four platforms I did keep - I use sentimentality/nostalgia as a guide. It covers most all of my childhood through early 20's. Plus a few modern purchases here and there. I've found books and manuals and magazines to be near-perfect time capsules and first-hand accounts of what the early days were like. So printed and pdf documents are extraordinarily important. They're bits of unalterable recollections of history, of what it was like to actually have been there. Impossible for youtubers to argue against them. Revisionist history begone!

 

I'm in "maintenance mode" these days. Only picking up bits and pieces, odds'n'ends, spare parts, or the occasional manual that can be found nowhere else. Stuff more or less has to come my way since I don't like spending time hunting it down or chasing all over town for something. In due time I may eventually downsize and narrow my focus more.

 

Sorry to hijack your thread. But it is a bump and put it at the top for the moment.

[mattkain]

Many new auctions are now live on my eBay account.  A lot of 4 game 2600 bundles (many with instructions), some solo 2600 games, a big Sears Tele-Games lot, some Activision patches, an NES lot with manuals, and more.  Check it out:

 

https://www.ebay.com/usr/mlewandowski00

 

[mattkain]

Hi!  Lots of new auctions are live.  Some small 2600 lots, some rare 5200 game lots, an Atari 2600 Jr., a Sears Video Arcade II, manuals/catalogs/documentation, CIB and sealed 7800 games.  More here:

https://www.ebay.com/usr/mlewandowski00

 

I have about 11 very rare 5200 games left that are NOT on eBay that I'm thinking of selling as a lot (Meteorites, K-razy Shootout, Frogger II, etc.).  Are there any 5200 collectors who might be interested in buying a lot of rare games?

[mattkain]

I posted a bunch of Intellivision games for sale including titles like Turbo, Diner, Sewer Sam, Hover Force, Pac-Man, Worm Whomper, Truckin', Commando, and more.  Some small lots and some individual games.  Thanks for looking:
https://www.ebay.com/usr/mlewandowski00

[0078265317]

Yes there is a lot of sentimental value in some of these.  Or sometimes as I like to call it Santa-mental value.

[mattkain]

Speaking of sentimental, one of the best moments I had recently was firing up an Atari 2600 Jr. (my FIRST game system!) and playing Yars' Revenge (one of my first games and still my all-time favorite VCS game).  Selling my collection has let me reconnect to a lot of these games that I honestly have had in boxes for the last half decade.  Testing carts, cleaning labels, looking through manuals and catalogs, researching the current collector market - it's all been a great way to engage with a collection that I spent years building.
 

[mattkain]

More new stuff up including rare Intellivision games (Turbo CIB, Truckin' CIB, Sewer Sam CIB, etc.), rare 5200 games (Zone Ranger, K-Razy Shootout, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Death Star Battle, etc.) and sealed and CIB 7800 games (Scrapyard Dog, Ballblazer, Touchdown Football, etc.).

https://www.ebay.com/usr/mlewandowski00

 

Thanks for looking!