need help! sealed atari 2600 games ~factory vs. personally~

[atariaction]

hi there

i just got a ton of atari 2600 sealed games in the boxes. they are not factory sealed though, they were sealed by my friend at his work. i have frogger 2 for eg and i want to list it on ebay and i am not sure if i should open it and take a pic of the contents or keep it sealed.

 

so would you like to see inside the box before you were to buy it or is it cool to have the game sealed even though it is not factory sealed?

 

need your opinions on what to do with these games.

 

thanks, mike

[Xot]

If it's not factory sealed, the seal is worthless, IMO. Unseal them.

[Dolt]

Personally, I open all the games I get that are sealed (which is heresy around here), but that said, I am pretty sure that among those who prize such things, a re-sealed game is worth no more than an open box game, because the contents have been opened and messed with.

 

If you have a good feedback rating, you probably don't have to break those seals to sell them. You do, however, have to note that they are resealed and are not original seals.

[sku_u]

If they're not factory sealed, unseal them and photograph the contents before reselling. If you're planning on being honest about the shrinkwrap in the auction listing, it's better to just open them up to show people their contents.

 

I'd want to see them before bidding if it were me bidding on any of them and it'll prevent any from being resold as NIB down the road.

[Xot]

I suppose I should add that *I* wouldn't bid on re-sealed merchandise. I have no way of knowing how you acquired the game and if the contents are what they should be.

 

Nothing personal, of course, but you see my point.

[atariaction]

thanks for your insight. i am unsealing boxes as we speak.

[Max-T]

As a buyer, I'd definitely want to know if the boxes were still in factory seal or if they were re-wrapped at home. But if the box has been unsealed before, why not include scans of the cart itself and the manual for the buyers to look at? Lot of times, they look as cool as the the box itesel.

[Philflound]

The only purpose of resealing a game is if you are a retail store and want the contents to remain intact while the game is in a bin or sitting on a shelf. There is no advantage to selling a resealed game. It brings on problems, especially if you aren't the one who resealed it. I can imagine someone buying the Frogger 2, just to open it and find a regular Frogger. That's printing a negative.

 

In fact, I made the mistake of leaving a fb for someone recently whom I bought Atari games from. I won't mention his name, though I've seen him here as a discussion. I bought several games from him on ebay, and paid about $11.00 shipping which included insurance. The package came slightly damaged and he sent it for about $2.50 total with no insurance. I was upset, and he was a little surprised that he did that. I did get refunded some money, which I thought was fair.

 

I bought these games for the boxes mainly, and instructions if I needed them. I didn't need any of the games themselves. So I left positive fb for this person since my original problem had been rectified. What I didn't realize is that I had bought an Asteroids Sears. I never opened the box. The other day I decided to check contents, just to discover I had acquired the very common Atari version. I thought it wasn't too much of a big deal, but now I'm wary on dealing with this person in the future.

 

I can't say whether or not he knew about the contents. Maybe he didn't check either, though I think he should have. The photo only showed boxes, so I couldn't prove that there was a Sears version in there. But if I'm selling a game, I usually will show the entire contents in the photo so the buyer knows exactly what they are getting.

 

If you check out my auctions ending today, I have a rare computer expansion game for the Intellivision, the World Series Major League Baseball. I have all contents including the catalog, and if you view my photo, you can see that I show all contents, not just the box.

 

So if you are selling re-shrinkwrapped games, I would suggest opening them before selling them. It will save you hassles.

 

Phil

[highinfidelity]

thanks for your insight. i am unsealing boxes as we speak.

Amusing!

 

You're doing the right thing. Well, just think at this: someone buying a game because he recognized some specific feature, and then finding inside a mix & match of manual, cart and things of different editions and in different wear conditions - just bearing the same title. That would piss off 99% of the fellows here.

[Dolt]

I can imagine someone buying the Frogger 2, just to open it and find a regular Frogger.

 

I'd love to have that happen in reverse, though--say, buy a Q*Bert and get Q*bert's Qubes in there by mistakes.