Today someone tried to sell me...

[Radio F Software]

COMBAT.

 

FOR EIGHT DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS

 

I was looking around a flea market and came across a vender of all sorts of cool new games which he had up front. He was sitting in the front of his booth, PS2, XBOX and everything right there. he saw me walk right pastt EVERYTHING not even glancing at the Gamecube and stuff and look at the 2600 games in back. Yes, a seemingly gullible teenager showing interest in the games of yesterday. Something he wanted to cash in on.

 

He had a wooden shelf with games like Combat (duh), Pac Man, ET, Centipede, Target Fun, Indy 500 and several other very common games I already had (most of which I have dupes of). He had a copy of Towering Inferno (a game I dont have) so I asked how much it was. He said all 2600 games were 8.50. I asked if he would take 5 for it.

 

"Oh no, those are REALLY hard to come across nowadays. I wont take anyless. However, I'm selling this collection of 8 (points to a cheap plastic case with Pitfall, Centipede, Pac Man, Combat (again) and 4 other commons) for 25." he says. "Have you played Combat yet? That was one of my favorites when i was your age. That game isn't easy to find today. I highly recommend that one rather than the one you have in your hand (Towering Inferno)"

 

"ISNT EASY TO FIND TODAY" Emphasis on this statement. I looked at the dude for a second and laughed. I told him, "Listen Mac, I have so many copies of that game it is not even funny. I cant even GIVE them away. Dont BS me with rarities you dont know about. I have nearly every label veraition of this game made. Did you even know that Combat was released in different labels? Probably not."

 

I was VERY upset at the fact that since I was 16 he assumed I knew NOTHING of this game system and thought I would fall for buying Combat because he suggested it was his fav when he was 'my age'. It made me so angry he assumed I was just spending money to buy games that were 'before my time' to see what they were like. I said a quick 'thanks but no thanks' and left his booth.

 

I think I'm gonna come back next weekend and play that lowlife ass at his own game (pun intended). I'm gonna bring him a copy of Asteroids and say "Man, check out this too good to be true arcade port of Asteroids! I'm sure you might be able to sell this for some serious cash like maybe even 10 to 20 dollars! Do you think maybe I can look at your inventory and see if we can do a trade?"

 

Of course I'll be wearing something different, along with my cool looking sunglasses which block out view of 1/2 my face. He won't know its me. There's so many shoppers at that flea market anyways. (And I hihgly doubt it would sell at that price anyways so Im in no rush)

 

For now I'm happy with my purchase of the book "Dragonology".

[Mindfield]

That's when you try and pawn a few dirt commons off on him in exchange for some Cube or Xbox games. :-)

[Radio F Software]

Hmm.... Now Im upset I sold my friend nearly ALL of my dupes!

[Mindfield]

Hmm.... Now Im upset I sold my friend nearly ALL of my dupes!

 

Just spend a week or two buying a few lots here and there, you'll accumulate a few common dupes in no time. Then you waltz in there and hand him his own schpeil back, say you'd be willing to sacrifice them for a few measly 'box games. :-)

[christianscott27]

i had some flea market bozo try that on me once with some SMS games, the ol "these fly of the shelf, i wouldnt take less that $10 each for them". he really annoyed me since he had a few of the games i needed to complete my collection. so i was like "really, maybe you're right let me check the guide", i had my old DP guide in my backpack and opened it up right on his games counter. i read along and announced "well most of your games are worth about $4 but that one is worth $75". he begged me to see the guide and i just brushed him off, told him i'd have to pass on his prices. none of the games he had were worth over $10 but i loved the idea of him going nuts trying to find the really rare one.

[Stella'sGhost]

True story: I'm at a flea market, this stall has everything retro you could want, atari, coleco vision, intellevision, atari 8 bit, everything, tons of stuff, nes too. I see a box of 2600 carts and Im looking thru it. THe games are too pricey, very common ones for 10-60 dollars, I have them all anyways, so I ask the lady, what's with these prices? She goes: These games are very old and rare. I go, yeah they are old, but they aren't that rare, I mean half of these games you've got I've seen at a local thrift store for 2 dollars each. She doesn't care. So I look some more and I find another cart, it's Master Builder, mint. How much does she want for it? 15 bucks. Sold.

 

I mean, shes got pitfall for 20 bucks and lets me have the Master Builder for$ 15 Canadian.... I dunno, some people don't understand what rare means.

[Mindfield]

True story: I'm at a flea market, this stall has everything retro you could want, atari, coleco vision, intellevision, atari 8 bit, everything, tons of stuff, nes too. I see a box of 2600 carts and Im looking thru it. THe games are too pricey, very common ones for 10-60 dollars, I have them all anyways, so I ask the lady, what's with these prices? She goes: These games are very old and rare. I go, yeah they are old, but they aren't that rare, I mean half of these games you've got I've seen at a local thrift store for 2 dollars each. She doesn't care. So I look some more and I find another cart, it's Master Builder, mint. How much does she want for it? 15 bucks. Sold.

 

I mean, shes got pitfall for 20 bucks and lets me have the Master Builder for$ 15 Canadian.... I dunno, some people don't understand what rare means.

 

To most of them, old == rare == collectible. They don't feel the need to do any more research than the copyright date on the cart or system. But every time I see vendors like this who have outrageous prices, I always feel like asking them, "So ... when's the last time you sold one of these?" Except I know he'd spit out some bogus line like, "Sold twelve of them a few minutes before you got here."

 

Generally speaking, most of these vendors' business is predicated on compelte and total BS.

[Stella'sGhost]

 

I always feel like asking them, "So ... when's the last time you sold one of these?"  Except I know he'd spit out some bogus line like, "Sold twelve of them a few minutes before you got here."

 

 

True, I've seen the same atari carts sitting in a box there for about 4 years now. Eventually I talked them down to reasonable prices for games I didn't have, we're talking 50% off.

 

I think that if you're a novice, you can get screwed, but I'm not and they know it, so they had to drop their prices or I was walking and they would lose a sale...

[shep]

Didn't have to freak out on the guy.

[Atari Charles]

RadioFSoftware did exactly the right thing as did a lot of you. I love christianscott27's story. That seller probably did a lot of thinking a research that day for a non-existant cart. Funny.

[shadowdoggie]

Normally, I will pay $.50 for loose Atari R4 and below and no more than around $2.00 for boxed games R4 and below. Although, I did pay $3.00 for a loose Title Match Pro Wrestling because I hadn't seen it before and was caught at a flea market without a printout of the rarity guide and thought it might be more than a R4. It isn't always easy to get these prices, but if you wait long enough YOU WILL get your price. Everyone sets different limits and this is what I find to be acceptable. It's also dependent on how much Atari traffic there is in your area.

[Philflound]

When someone puts a price of $8.50 on common carts, I would just ask them if they would purchase games from me for $2.00 each. Then you can bring a ton of your doubles. That is, if you have them. Or if you need a certain game this dealer has, offer him 3 or 4 common carts for one.

 

I do like the DP Guide thing. Definite torture. I wouldn't have mentioned that none of them were the $75. I would have kept him guessing.

 

Phil

[Cootster]

And then come back the next week and find this sign . . .

 

"ALF for Sega Master System, based on the classic TV show! RARE!!! 80.00$ LOOK!!!"

 

Because a true huckster would take the most common one and jack up the price on your recommendation.

[jhd]

i had my old DP guide in my backpack and opened it up right on his games counter. i read along and announced "well most of your games are worth about $4 but that one is worth $75". he begged me to see the guide and i just brushed him off,

 

Is there not a danger that the vendor will price EVERYTHING higher then?

 

It's not like the majority of their customers come armed with the DP guide (or even a modicum of knowledge about prices). The vendors will charge whatever the market will bear.

[GrandviewCoin]

It happened here in Milwaukee. We have a place called record Head and they along time ago had almost all carts 3.99.. the they got ahold of a old Atari Rarity Guide, and then it was all 7.99 to 29.99..

 

Really really sad nowadays.. I akso have had experiance in the flea market jerks with SMS stuff as well. Sports games 9.99. Jeez.

 

Daniel

 

Oh and buying ANYTHING from Record Head makes you feel slimey.. kinda like dealing with the devil..

[Atariman]

I dunno. Generally when I'm looking through someone's carts, I wouldn't want to have a rarity list right in front of me. Sure, it is helpful to thumb through it to make sure you're not getting screwed, but it just seems like they would be a little insulted or less likely to deal. That's just how it seems to me anyway.

 

Generally, when I'm looking at Atari games I just try to act like someone who knows enough to know that "they aren't worth anything," but not so much to know if something is rare. If I find something that I really want, I'll pick it up, look it over a bit, and make some small talk over it. I might say something like, "I think I've heard of this game, but I don't really know if it's any good..." -- which is true since the game I am holding I've probably never played, nor do I know if it is a good game or not.

 

I usually have a pretty decent grip on things that are above the R4 level, but I doubt I'd be able to easily pick out a R7 or above out of a box of games I don't own. I guess that's the downside to my system, but I've found that by acting that I really don't care about what they have for sale, I have generally gotten some decent deals.

[Trade-N-Games]

Well from all the sellers i know with the booths they sell everything high and almost always come down on price when you ask.

Also most of the time if you see it one weekend and dont take it by the next weekend the label is all wet or messed up from being outside.

Its sad but since i have been going to a few places for 5 years a bunch of them still have the same stuff they have always had but now they are all faded and dirty but still have the same price.

[dogbowl]

Not to change the subject (but I guess I will anyway)

 

Do most people bring rarity guides with them when they go out hunting? I've never had the need, but then again I think I'm pretty familier with the rarity of 2600 carts. (Back when I had the need, rarity guides didn't exists!)

 

I would be afriad of pulling the price guide out and tipping off a clueless seller that these "old games" actualy might have some value.

[Stella'sGhost]

I have used a rareity guide in the past but the thing is, I don't care if its rated a 3, if I've never seen one, its rare to me, so I may pay more for it if its in mint shape.

 

I don't collect games for their money value, they are only worth what the collector market is willing to pay for them, I collect them cause its fun and when I was a kid I couldn't afford these games, now I can, also I had never heard or seen hundreds of these games until I discovered the internet.

 

I have mixed feelings about the internet, it's helped me find things I always wanted, as a musician its a good way to get vintage gear, but it also drives the prices up and gives a alot of information to people who don't really know what to do with this information...

[Bruce Tomlin]

I've got no problem with 2600 games. If there's a bunch, I ask how much first, and then I can decide which ones I want. If they say "various prices" about 2600 games, that's a tip-off right there.

 

But there's so damn many NES games, and I'm at over 300 now, that I have to have a list just so I can know what I already have. If someone mentions my list, that's what I tell them, because it's true. At a buck a piece, I might consider getting dupes, but at $3-$5 each, I'm going for a proper collection. Something's gotta be real rare and/or cheap for me to get a dupe. Not that I don't use the rarity to determine how much I'm willing to pay (which is why I still don't have a lot of NES commons).

 

Sometimes we all screw up. Mine was some 5200 games at a Savers which all had $8 prices slapped on them. Most of them I recognized as common and uncommon, but there was a copy of Berzerk there, and not seeing 5200 stuff very often, I thought it was rare. I mean, it's no Super Breakout, but I guess I just confused it with Robotron or something. The last time I checked, the other carts were still there, and it's been at least four or five months now.

[Philflound]

The list thing is the way to go. Though a little time consuming, all you need to do is grab a DP Guide and go through. I'm assuming if you're like me, you checked off all the games you own. So then you can make a list of ones you don't. I can't afford to buy dupes at any price other than rock bottom. And if you are put in that situation, then you'll have to either rely on that ol' noggin of yours or not buy the game.

 

Since I put my list in word format, and also list it on my website, I know what I own at all times. I print out the list, hole-punch it, and throw it in a small binder. This is only one of many lists, which include books, comic books, trading cards, stamps, etc. If you're going out "shopping", you should be carrying this with you at all times. Since I keep my lists current on my computer, if anything happens to the list, or if many of the games get scratched off, then I just print a new, updated version.

 

I recommend memorizing the rarest games for the 2600. It's not that hard. There are probably 25-30 of them, and you already know half but don't realize it.

 

Phil

[candiru]

Not to change the subject (but I guess I will anyway)

 

Do most people bring rarity guides with them when they go out hunting?  I've never had the need, but then again I think I'm pretty familier with the rarity of 2600 carts.  (Back when I had the need, rarity guides didn't exists!)

 

I would be afriad of pulling the price guide out and tipping off a clueless seller that these "old games" actualy might have some value.

 

I have 2 small sheets that are about 8.5" x 5.5" printed on both sides in something like 4 or 5 point type. I fold them up to about the size of a business card and carry them in my wallet. I listed all the R5s and up. One sheet contains all the Atari systems, the other has Odyssey 2, TI-99, Colecovision, Intellivision, NES, SNES, N64, Virtual Boy, SMS, Genesis, 32X, Sega CD, and Dreamcast.

 

If it's on my list I have the rarity handy, if it's not then it's fairly common. I'm already pretty familiar with the 2600, 5200, and 7800 rarities but after that a list is really handy. It's helped me single out some rarities and leave behind some more common things that I thought might be rare that I waited for a better price on.

[Radio F Software]

I've memorized most Atai 2600 rares by heart by now. I read the rarity guide a few times every now and then. I know if I see something like, oh let's go with Air Raid to keep with the current hype and conspiracy, I know how to play the guy.

 

I'll look at the game, put it down, "look" at some other things, then go back to Air Raid, put it back, "look" at something else, then finally inquire how much the game is. Now, of course if he said 20 or something Id buy anyways... but for now let's just see this as an example. Id say, really? You wouldnt be willing to take any lower?

 

Then I'd strike up a conversation or sommat ta usually ends with me getting a better deal.

[AtariDude]

This kind of story is becoming more and more common. People thinking that they can charge high prices for common cartridges in the hopes that someone who is not informed purchases them at that high price.

 

I love the fact that you drove him up the wall with the DP guide. Serves him right!

[sidcrowe]

Either scan in your rarities or get the covers and labels off the net. Print them off and glue them to a big cardboard box filled with plastic explosives. Leave the box and tell him to check out your giant box of rare games when he gets a chance, and you'll come back later. Walk away and then detonate via remote control