NES_Rules' Collection BlogNES_Rules' Collection Blog

Posted on Dec 9th 2008 at 11:01:49 PM by (NES_Rules)
Posted under Collecting, Buying, Selling, Trading, Opinions

For my entire collecting "career" I've only bought stuff locally. I've never purchased anything from the internet, including eBay. I've always been very proud of this fact, because there are so few collectors out there that do it the "old school" way.

But, as my collection has grown, I've not only been having a harder time finding games I don't have, but I've accumulated hundreds of duplicate games. Now, for the past few months I've been trying my hardest to sell those duplicates. But, I've been having trouble doing that, which brings me to the point of this post. I've been considering becoming open to trading. In the past I was against trading over the internet as much as buying over the internet, but I'm not so sure anymore. Trading would essentially mean turning duplicates into new games, but I can't help but feel as though I would be going against my principles.

So, now I'm turning to you my fellow collectors, what do you guys think? Should I be open to trading or should I stick to my local roots only?


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Comments
 
I don't think there is anything wrong with that at all. If you have stuff that you don't need, why should you force yourself to keep it based on some silly rule that you created for yourself years ago?
 
I say go for it and trade away.  It is a good source of getting games you might never be able to find.
 
@BadEnoughDude:I agree.

Unless you really want to be able to say "I got all of this without any trading whatsoever."
 
Or you could donate it to charity. When I get duplicates or I replace games with better copies, I usually donate them to a thrift store like Salvation Army or Value Village which help various charities and the local community.

It all depends on if your out to make a buck, or merely want these extras to find good uses. I've never sold anything on the 'net, only made 2 transactions with one fellow collector and have used eBay very rarely. But I can say that everything I've donated has both benefited me in the space I save as well as raise money to help others. Win-win.
 
Expand your trading/acquiring options.

If there's something I want that I know I will play, and there are games I'm willing to trade in to get it (and won't miss), I've got no problem doing that.

So, why hold onto duplicates if you're not going to get any value out of them. Like Tan said, you might as well donate them. Or, trade them towards something you feel you'd get a lot of enjoyment out of.

Why limit yourself?
 
Get what you want how you want. It doesn't matter. Cheesy
 
!!WARNING!!!


Trading online can become addictive. I use to just trade for what i want, but now it has become a drug to me. I can't find alot of stuff in my location so i resort to this practice. It is a great thing to do and plus it helps you find those games that you can not find where you are.
 
I would say trade since it's not really going against your policy of having bought everything locally since you are still buying games locally but trading those to get other ones. It's a gray area.
 
If you only had a few duplicates, it would not matter, but you say you have "hundreds". What do you do with all those duplicates? They just sit there, right? I say trade/sell them; I am sure there are people who are looking forward to owning some of your duplicates, and in a way, you would be helping out fellow collectors.

Of course, it also depends on the area you live in. Over here, we got nothing. Almost no stores, and very few collectors that I know of. Leaves me little choice.
Btw, does anyone know a way to find collectors in your area?
 
i am pretty serious about keeping my collection old school no internet buying no ebay its all about the hunt. dont break your own standards only trade local not online. to me pride is more important.
 
I feel I need to clarify something, I have no problem selling online or locally and I have no problem trading locally, what I never plan to do is buy online. I'm just trying to decide if I can trade online without breaking my standard of not buying online.

@c3573:
I really, really don't want to donate them to a place like Goodwill, I've seen what they do with games that don't sell within a month, and most of the stuff I have, I don't think it would sell quickly. Usually, the stuff gets beat up in the store, and then if it doesn't sell it goes to the dumpster. If anything I would sell them really cheap and then donate the money to my favorite place, RFG.

@Nik the Russian: Right now, all my duplicates are in boxes in my bedroom taking up a ton of space, and yes there are hundreds, I think 4-500 games actually, plus dozens of systems.

The only way I've found other local collectors is through Craigslist or the flea market, none have been very close though. And they've always just resulted in a 5 minute conversation. I also know of at least 2 members here that are local, but if I remember right they're only 14/15 so it would seem kind of pedophillic to befriend them.
 
What exactly do you have against buying online?  Are you worried about getting junk and having to fight for a settlement?
 
@charedrive:
Not really, I just find it more fun and satisfying searching through thrifts, garage sales, and flea markets to find my stuff. Like SchnattAttack said, it's all about the hunt. Plus, anyone can go to eBay and find a copy of even the rarest of games to buy, but finding those rare games in a random box of junk is much more rewarding.
 
@NES_Rules:

If local thrifts are that bad maybe you should sell bulk lots of 50-100 at a time on ebay/GameGavel/ChaseTheChuckWagon/RF Generation. Then it's only 5-10 transactions "as-is" for whatever price your willing to let them go for. Bulk lots draw attention from collectors wanting to amass big numbers quickly as well as re-sellers and even casual buyers if the price is right.
 
@c3591:
I hadn't thought about selling in large lots before, I just assumed most collectors wouldn't be interested in that. I figured I'd just let them pick out a large lot of whatever they wanted. But it can't hurt to try that.



And since nearly all of you seem to be in agreement, I've decided to start trading online. My for sale/trade folder is here; http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/collection.pl?name=NES_Rules&action=&results=&findimages=&folder=For+Sale%2FTrade&console=&type= , I had some problems with it recently and the hardware may not be completely up to date yet (should be by tonight though), the games should all be updated and correct. So make me some offers, if anyone has a copy of Claymates for the SNES, preferably CIB or just boxed, I'll trade just about anything for it. Otherwise, I'm open to anything I don't own.
 
I dont think Id have half the games I really wanted without the net.
It was nearly Impossible for me to find Neo Geo games after Childrens Palace Closed.
It was the store I bought my system from, and the ONLY place I EVER saw NEO game at.
Then came the net.
 
Now, that I've begun trading online, I have to say, I don't like it much yet. Maybe when I start getting some stuff, I may change my tune, but so far, the shipping costs are what really bugs me, it's fine if I'm trading $20+ worth of stuff, but for a game or two, it costs more to ship them than I what I would normally pay for the games I'm receiving.

I also signed up for GameTZ.com and listed some 350 available games and a couple hundred wanted games. I've had several offers and have made a few. The first offer I received was for a box for Marko and the Player's choice version Goldeneye, This is the Goldeneye he wanted to send to me: http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k249/Suicidecommand0/101_0619.jpg. As you can see the game is in horrible shape, but it's not even the Player's Choice version I asked for!

The vast majority of my wanted list is CIB games only, but I keep getting offers that consist of games that don't have the box or manual. Other times, I'm just asking for the box/manual so I can complete a game I already have, and people still send me offers for loose games that I already own, they're even on my available list half the time.

I think the site has great potential, but it's full of people who can't read the descriptions of what you want. Your only hope of getting something you want, is to skim through the pages of "matches" you receive and even then, they're usually looking for something pricey and only have crap t give for it.

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