Cannon Man should be at least an 8

[gulcjeremy]

I've seen this game on ebay once in the last 6 months, while I've encountered nearly every other 8 (and most 9's) several times. I know it's been said before, but the same could be said for many sears picture labels.

 

My guess it that those who created the rarity guide discounted the rarity of rare text labels and sears picture labels because they look so similar to their atari counterparts and it probably seemed as though they had seen or owned the sears versions more than they actually had. Likewise, text labels all look a lot alike (i.e. cannon man looks similar to canyon bomber). It is much easier to "remember" seeing a few copies sears basketball or night driver becuase they tend to blend with all of the copies of the atari version that one has encountered. In contrast, if you come across a copy of Boing or Glib, it stands out since it looks much different than other games.

 

With that said, if anyone has a Cannon Man or Gunslinger picture label that they'd like to sell I'm offering $40 each.

[Trade-N-Games]

I dont think Cannon man came in a sears picture label?

[sku_u]

I dont think Cannon man came in a sears picture label?

 

AFAIK it didn't.

 

Everyone seems to have their one Achilles Heel when it comes to Sears titles. Mine's been Basketball picture label (mainly because I don't want to spend the time looking at every mixed auction out there, I know there have been quite a few that have passed through this year).

[Christophero Sly]

Everyone seems to have their one Achilles Heel when it comes to Sears titles.  Mine's been Basketball picture label...

 

Darn... you almost had it.

[sku_u]

It's not worth $72.00 to me. I'll eventually find one for less. :wink:

[Christophero Sly]

It's not worth $72.00 to me.  I'll eventually find one for less.  :wink:

 

Yeah, I bailed on that one at around $30.

[MattG/Snyper2099]

Well, keeping with the thread, I'd say cannon man is more of a 6 or 7. Certainly not an 8. I've owned two loose copies over the years and both were around $10 plus shipping.

[gulcjeremy]

I didn't mean to suggest that cannon man was available as a picture label. What I intended to say is that Cannon Man is probably much more rare than people realize, because there are other cartridges, which look similar to cannon man. For instance, it would be very easy to say, "yeah, I think I have a few of those", only to check and realized you have three copies of Sears Canyon Bomber text labels. This isn't likely to happen with unique looking cart's.

 

As for Cannon Man not being an 8, my question is why not? Most 8's (and many9's) are relatively easy to find on ebay, atari2600.com, or the forum marketplace, at any given moment. For instance, Chase the Chuckwagon, Waterworld, RH/SL, Qbert's Qubes, Rubik's Cube, Gravitar silver, and many others are all available at almost any given moment, so long as your willing to spend $50-$100. In contrast Cannon Man is typically not available from these sources at all. It seems to me that the frequency with which a cart shows up on ebay is a pretty reliable indicator of its scarcity. Once again if anyone has cannon man and/or gunslinger for sale/trade, I'm willing to part with any of the following Qbert's Qubes, Spikes Peak, RH/SL boxed, Rubik's Cube boxed.

 

On a side not, has anyone else noticed that many "rare" cartridges, notably Spectravision and Xonox titles, are amazingly easy to find in Canadian Auctions.

[sku_u]

 

As for Cannon Man not being an 8, my question is why not?  Most 8's (and many9's) are relatively easy to find on ebay, atari2600.com, or the forum marketplace, at any given moment.  For instance, Chase the Chuckwagon, Waterworld, RH/SL, Qbert's Qubes, Rubik's Cube, Gravitar silver, and many others are all available at almost any given moment, so long as your willing to spend $50-$100.  In contrast Cannon Man is typically not available from these sources at all.  It seems to me that the frequency with which a cart shows up on ebay is a pretty reliable indicator of its scarcity.  Once again if anyone has cannon man and/or gunslinger for sale/trade, I'm willing to part with any of the following Qbert's Qubes, Spikes Peak, RH/SL boxed, Rubik's Cube boxed.  

 

That's because if something is listed as an 8 or 9 in a rarity guide, people tend to pay closer attention as to whether or not they have one. When you're talking about a 6 or 7, which will usually fetch between $20 and $40 a piece, people do not notice as much and don't get as excited when they do see one selling becuase it doesn't sell for enough to cause people to check and see if they have that title. I had a much harder time finishing off my 7s then I did in finishing off my 8s for that very reason.

 

On a side not, has anyone else noticed that many "rare" cartridges, notably Spectravision and Xonox titles, are amazingly easy to find in Canadian Auctions.

Many games from Spectravision were released in Canada under the name Spectravideo. Some Like Bumper Bash and Mangia were only available in Canada. The same holds true for some Xonox titles. The Double ender Tomarc/Motorcross was only sold in Canada.

[gulcjeremy]

While there is no doubt that collectors are more likely to notice known 8's and 9's, I think this idea fails to explain the appearant difficulty in find this game for two reasons.

 

First, sites like Atari2600.com list hundreds of games for sale, including many commons a label variations. They don't limit themselves to 8's and 9's. Strangely, while they have plenty of 8's, 9', and everything in between for sale, none of them have either cannon man or the tough sears picture labels.

 

Second, many atari lots sold on ebay are not sold by collectors, or persons who are aware of cart scarcity. Instead they're just groups of random unsorted games. Nonetheless, Qbert's Qubes, Tooth Protectors, and many other "rare" carts show up in these lots with suprising frequency, yet cannon man does not.

 

Another point that should be made is that scarcity is not the same thing as market price and/or demand. Accordingly, purchasing a game at a low price in the past says nothing in terms of that game's rarity. If the seller doesn't realize that a game is rare, or there simply isn't a great deal of demand for the game, you may be able to purchase it cheaply, however, this has nothing to do with its scarcity.

[Christophero Sly]

Availability doesn't necessarily reflect rarity. 8s and 9s are seen regularly on ebay because the demand for these carts is high. The demand for Cannon Man and the Sears picture labels is relatively low and, thus, they remain obscure. However, the Sears picture labels can readily be found on ebay within various sized lots. If one invests the necessary time to search them out, it should take only about a month to acquire all of the Sears picture label carts... except 'Superman'.