INSANE Atari 2600 Game Prices at Recent Auction

[@PatTheNESpunk]

What do you think of the Atari 2600 games selling for huge amounts? Is it a good investment or a big gamble? You can view the results here: comics.ha.com/c/search-results.zx?Nty=1&Ntk=SI_Titles&Ns=Time%7C1%7C%7CLot+No%7C0&N=790+231+52&Ntt=wata&ic4=SortBy-071515

[@stoves5877]

this is insane. I remember just a few months ago going to a game store in Austin here and seeing sealed Atari 2600 games sealed for $5 each. I guess it's time for me to buy them and head over to Heritage auctions

[@joshua.snyder]

Shipping and fees should be accounted for, but NOT reflected in the value appraisal of an item itself.

[@joshua.snyder]

@@Bluehawks206 Multi-millions for the popular titles. 12 million Pac Man carts were made by Atari for instance.

[@bigceelos]

Is it really wrong to prey on the financially irresponsible? If they're stupid enough to buy it then fuck 'em. My answer to all the bullshit.... Everdrive. I don't need boxed games. Leave that to the egomaniacs

[@johnr.1592]

Wow. Dumb waste of money. 2400 for adventure is nuts. Ps: A house sells for 100k, 95k to the owner, and 5k goes to the realtors. The price is 100k. The house is "worth" 100k Imagine buying a house for just 100k. Lol.

[@joshua.snyder]

This is nuts. I bought a sealed Dig Dug for 2600 for maybe $10 last year, and that was only because loose was $5 and in worn condition. Heritage has been a cancer to gaming. WATA is right there with them.

[@reploid2953]

Maybe a cancer to collecting. You don’t need these old ass carts to play the games, Gaming is unaffected.

[@DrBizz]

Same here, I got Joust and Ms. Pac Man at the flea market a few months ago for $10 each, and they go for around maybe $15 each on Ebay when I looked them up. Something is up, doesn't make sense.

[@purrpocalypse]

@@reploid2953 Emulators aren't the same.

[@mikel6989]

I just got a cib 7800 dig dug and it was 12 bucks shipped, not sealed tho

[@JonGee420]

I used to work for namco......go to one of their auctions

[@megacide84]

I'm beginning to think some of those insanely high markups and sales of retro games in the last few years is part of some money-laundering scheme. Similar to the art world.

[@animalhouse8849]

You were spot on

[@salvagemonster3612]

That has been said. Don’t think it’s the case.

[@JohnKelly2]

This whole thing is an exercise in creating perceived value. Someone could write a really nice dissertation for an economics degree on Heritage Auctions as they manufacture a market.

[@KB-ep6gy]

But muh free market

[@ParallelUniversity]

Yeah, this is clearly just Heritage trying to create demand for something. The buyers are fake, no doubt, financed by Heritage. It's market creation, market manipulation. Heritage are bunch of scumbags for engaging in this practice.

[@crowbb5141]

Very true. A lot of interesting stuff has been written on how collector's markets have been manipulated dating as far back as the baseball card crash of the late 80s. You'll see a lot of the same names show up in these various grading and auction companies for good reason. It's a niche enough market they have escaped too much scrutiny. So far.

[@pass_]

who the hell pays that much for atari pacman?

[@nightisright1873]

It’s not even the good Atari Pac Man the best Atari Pac Man is Ms PAC Man

[@ParallelUniversity]

A fake buyer does

[@matthewlister3755]

People who have never played it. It's not as bad a port as some people say, but it's not good. Not by a long shot, and certainly not for that kind of cash.

[@oppyh]

An entire case of sealed Krull 2600 games, sells for $20 on E-Bay a few years ago. Loose complete copy hovers around $100 currently. Crazy world we live in, especially since that game is about as common as wheels on a car.

[@CaptainRufus]

I'm proud to say I've mocked people spending this kind of money on Facebook and watching them have a meltdown.

[@Aragorn7884]

Spending 100's or 1,000's of dollars for Adventure for the Atari 2600 is f'ing insane. G'luck getting your money back in *The Great Depression* circa 2020.

[@christophersoper]

Atari games are shit but fun. I wouldn't spend more then $200 for atari

[@Aragorn7884]

I'd buy _THAT_ for a dollar!

[@theghostofdemonratspast9580]

Problem child ?

[@Aragorn7884]

@@theghostofdemonratspast9580 Robocop

[@theghostofdemonratspast9580]

@@Aragorn7884 yes its been a long time lol

[@trillclinton5786]

Ian looks like a middle school girl who joined the wrestling team to show the world girls are strong too

[@ninnymuggins5159]

Ian is right. Those certain games are going that high because they are cross collectible. People that collect everything G.I.Joe might not collect video games or know anything at all about the hobby but because it says G.I.Joe they will pay up for it. LOL at Pat's look at Ian at 5:50

[@nedleynedsworth7877]

There's a shop in town that has a ton of SEALED atari 2600 games. Not expensive, like 15-20 bucks. I didn't think it mattered that much anymore.

[@devilmikey00]

If they were smart they'd get that shit graded and sell it at one of these auctions. Apparently their is a group or rich dudes out there willing to spend thousands of dollars on common junk because it's in a plastic box with a number on it.

[@nedleynedsworth7877]

@@devilmikey00 I hope they don't, because before everything shut down, dude offered me buy one get one free on all hit atari stuff because it never moves.

[@achroous2]

all those "investors" gonna get their financial cheeks busted!

[@pinfarmer]

And in the meantime ruin the collecting hobby further in the process.

[@bayouboyentertainment2106]

@@pinfarmer it's rich people they don't care about the hobby lol, this is what they do now cuz it's cheaper and easier than the stock market and they've got plenty of extra cash sitting around while everyone else is counting pennies right now.

[@atrocity3010]

I have to agree with Pat on the upcharge from Heritage not being part of the item's value. Whenever you buy off eBay, it's accepted that you'll be paying more than what the item is worth vs paying for it in person, since eBay/Paypal takes a cut of every sale. And yet, people still buy off eBay all the time (I know I do) because of the ease, convenience and much wider net you cast when searching for something, especially if it's a rare item. So that upcharge you're paying is for the value of service that eBay offers, not the actual value of the item. The same argument can be said for Heritage.

[@zoroarkissueregion]

Money Laundering?

[@unstoppableExodia]

Oh wait no, heritage is different to eBay they keep more records and the IRS has access to that info. So I would say eBay would be better for money laundering where Skank hunt 42 can sell something using not their real details but heritage requires a person's real details to prevent against troll bids from ruining their prestige

[@hatednyc]

I take it from your comment you dont know how money laundering works or perhaps even what it is

[@LoganHunter82]

Nope. Just neckbeards pumping up prizes

[@jasonscalling8714]

Heads up, NS means No Seal. These are not opened examples, not the same as CIB. Some of these atari games never came with shrink so they don't get a seal rating. But they are still considered to be unopened examples. I agree that these prices are absolutely nuts. Most of these Atari 2600 games are common as dirt sealed. With literal hundreds of sealed case packs known to exist. Spider-man has been an $80 to $200 game sealed for years and is one of the most common games out there. So totally crazy.

[@MrJandi1]

I saw this being a major problem 3 years ago with retro gaming collecting. What was once a nice nostalgic hobby becomes a cesspool of an overpriced, overvalued price gougers. one of the best parts of game collecting was going to the flea market, yard/garage sales and thrift shops and finding this stuff. It was a fun and inexpensive hobby. It all jumped the shark when classic gaming stores and individual sellers started using ebay as a price guide. This lead to games that people were just wanting to get rid of making people believe that it's somehow a goldmine. It's ruining the hobby and the point of the hobby. When it comes to nostalgia, it's about the experiences we had and gaining new experiences that we've missed out on. It was never about being a major business opportunity.

[@pinfarmer]

Yes a 1000 times over. Lots of other collecting hobbies have gone the same way.

[@DrBizz]

I'm with you 100%. It's so lame to see this happening. It's an artificial inflation and distortion of the market by some assholes who don't care about the hobby to profit and real fans and collectors get priced out or fed up with it. Not to mention the scalping involved with new games systems and general number of people that resell for profit who care nothing about the love of gaming or appreciating the hobby. Pisses me off.

[@joshua.snyder]

To the people giving Ian a hard time: He has a shoulder injury, and hasn't been sleeping well. #dontbeadick

[@xflarearcadia1766]

5:55 Pat looks puzzling over to Ian, awesome. Take it easy Ian!

[@WaysideWade]

Quite the argument there.

[@aynrand7030]

Atari 2600 box art is hands down the greatest of any game system, but that doesn't justify plunking down that kind of cash.

[@TJ_Actual1]

NS means "No Seal". Either the game never came plastic wrapped or the wrap was not from factory but a second party wrap. WATA does not consider second party sealed as factory so they will remove it and label it as a NS. Meaning it's never been opened from factory.

[@efreeteater2270]

I agree with Ian's assessment about fees and such. This really depends if you are looking at what the seller was willing to take vs what the buyer was willing to pay ultimately.

[@GamingHistorySource]

During the video game crash in the 80's I could literally go to my local Revco & buy atari games for 25 cents each. I feel so stupid for not buying up a bunch, boxing them up & saving them for times like now.

[@gffagames]

I 100% agree with Ian - the price it went for is whatever the buyer paid, not what the seller received after all other costs were deducted.

[@TheGreyBaron]

Gotta be honest, this has been one of the hardest eps to sit through- you guys have been practically at each others' throat segment after segment. Take a fuckin break. Smoke some weed with Frank. Anything but the CU Podcast for a while. You're way passed (past?) contentious.

[@gffagames]

While I don’t collect Atari games, I do have a full set of Star Wars 2600 games boxed, one of which (Arcade) I paid over £100 for. None of them are sealed. I collected them because they’re Star Wars. I can absolutely see why a GI Joe, Spider-Man or other licensed games would be more desirable - perhaps not to 2600 collectors but to collectors of that particular property, and not necessarily for the game itself, but for the box art, the information in the manual, etc.

[@juannunez5767]

A case could be made that eventually Atari era games should be that expensive because they become antiques, rare and valuable just because they're very old. But realistically speaking, we're like 15-20 years away from that. There are too many easy to find cheap nice condition Atari games in the wild. It's not a Victrola yet.

[@Clay3613]

Atari games are like the most common system to find sealed games for, whole warehouses got ligated during the video game crash of 1983.

[@defaultgenCQ]

NS just means the box is glued shut instead of shrinkwrapped. These prices are still dumb because most of the games were the one stacked to the ceiling as NOS in warehouses. Literally available for $10, these investors just don’t know where to buy them.

[@lanceringquist815]

i have been selling atari games since 1983, this is the third time i have watched prices go through the roof for atari games. and every time prices have gone up, next time they go up even higher. if i live long enough, i bet i will see a forth price boom, that is even higher than today.

[@ItsToXley]

Whatever happened to paying $1 for a atari games? 😂

[@johnholliday7042]

ToxicSunshine the retro game store near my town charges 50 cents for each one haha

[@ItsToXley]

@@johnholliday7042 Now that's a more reasonable price I won't argue with lol

[@elmagnificodep]

My uncle had a neighbor who worked in distribution, and he got me an Atari system and a bunch of games and some games I had 10+ copies.

[@thejunkman]

I used to buy them for under $1 all through the late 80's- 90's. I even have IN BOX items with mark down price tags on Atari items for $1. Notable is Star Raiders WITH TouchPad controller.. $1 back in 1988. Not a great or rare game www.thejunkmanadv.com/the-junk-mans-blog/atari-2600-video-game-collection

[@ericg614]

Still can at swap meets lol

[@johnnypea5447]

Pat your friend needs to watch the Goonies and learn how hoodies are worn.

[@jasonleman1396]

I wonder if you will see some of those super rare atari games show up at auction at some point (the birthday game, red sea crossing, pepsi invaders etc)

[@TimmiiGamingChannel]

I buy those games just to play it not to look at it. I careless about complete in box for games. I just play the games here and there and possibly maybe sit there for hours and maybe beat that game.

[@mytigger1957]

Two years ago I bought a bunch (20-30) Atari 2600 games and a console for 100 bucks at an estate sale. Console surprisingly still working well, with some of the boxes included. These prices are beyond insane Pat, it’s like watching someone flush their money down the toilet.

[@5roundsrapid263]

I remember buying 2600s, N64s, original Game Boys, etc. for $3-5 at flea markets and thrift stores. Of course, that was almost 15 years ago.

[@xflarearcadia1766]

Pitfall was the breakout title for Activision the breakout organization that left Atari, I can see why that is collectible.

[@WaysideWade]

Totally agree.

[@WaysideWade]

I love the music for the Activision collection too on PSP, it comes with a message.

[@achesontrading427]

MILLIONS of Atari carts & manuals but who grew up 40 years ago and kept boxes sealed? I collected 1,000 games on floppies for my Atari 400 after upgrading the cassette tape drive to Indus drive, but never remember seeing a sealed copy of any 2600s in someone's house...we opened and played EVERYthing :)

[@salvagemonster3612]

Ian is correct the potential for Crossover collecting wanting certain games. Ie Gi Joe, COMIC characters etc etc. we call them completist that need everything associated with that thing, person, character whatever. All that we are seeing is that Nintendo stuff has gotten priced to high so folks move to the next cheaper thing.

[@mickobrien3156]

Not all Atari 2600 games were ever 'sealed'. That is, they never shipped with any shrinkwrap. They just sold in the box. No plastic wrap.

[@emmettturner9452]

Encouraging. I was just about to list my NICE CIB SwordQuest WaterWorld with a starting bid of $0.01 but I might get it graded first. BOLO!

[@StusGameReviews]

There are tons of sealed 2600 games out there. These people are completely out of their minds. Insane is right.

[@TheCreepypro]

the more I hear about these auctions the more I am flabbergasted at what these common ass games go for

[@Anthonyelmio2]

I collect mostly disc based games and some cartridge games too but im not spending 70$ + for any game and all I get are going to be played and I try to get CIB if possible

[@TechWithSean]

They must have never played an Atari 2600 game loool

[@jonnymmac]

That happens sadly with people who don't grow up with the system.

[@Schush]

Have you?

[@umbrellacorporationwuhanfa3731]

@ Pat You have a copy in your garage you say.....hmmm🤔

[@c.m.1660]

I bought 2x seeeeeeled mario bros on 2600 in Dec 2018 for 60 and 90 usd, I sold them recently for 750 each. Last year there were literally sealed cases of spider man on 2600. Money is much safer in other assets that are truly established and truly rare. It's strange that the demand on ebay is no where near the same of the demand on Heritage. You should buy items that are rare in any state, not only in perfect sealed condition.

[@zangardo3937]

you guys should check how crazy the Atari jaguar prices are

[@leecroft1983]

The only interesting aspect I find on these old Atari games are the box art.

[@bulletpoint728]

Lee Croft yes, someone gets it

[@NOMED2gamers1podcast]

They had glue seals instead of plastic wrap on some games back then

[@salvagemonster3612]

I gave away all my original Nintendo 12 years ago to you fellow who was into it. The business side me kicks myself. But the other side says who cares it was just sitting in the basement doing nothing except rotting. Kid was excited and happy so good for him

[@ByGeorge846]

Ian is right that shipping and administrative fees SHOULD be included in the price. Buyers factor these into what they are paying. All things being equal, do you want the $200 game with free shipping, or the $195 game +$20 shipping? The costs are not equal.

[@jasonscalling8714]

BTW - the buyer's premium has to be included when its that expensive. When you look on price charting sites for comics or when they advertise record prices they always include the BP in the price being advertised. So it has to be counted as the price sold. I agree with Ian on that point.

[@squidracerX]

100% agree I said this above to someone arguing for Pat -- I mean would you say in some way the price is cheaper on a $35 game with $16 shipping, verses a $50 game with free shipping for same item? No you wouldn't as a buyer, to you one is $50, one is $51. And its the same identical profit to the seller (because they are paying shipping either way, there is no such thing as "free shipping"). If it costs $10 to mail that game, we both made $40. In fact the guy charging $51 because of shipping makes more. So shipping can be pure profit. And we don't knock down those prices once ebay takes their cut. i don't sell a $50 game and say "no it really sold for $45, ebay took a $5 fee". How is that any different from the auction house? Its such a weak argument. Semantics of how you perceive something verses what you paid because of it being on a certain platform. Ebay doesn't care which you did as a seller now, they charge you a % based on what you got from buyer, they lump shipping and item price together, and take a % of that.

[@MightySquirrel]

I wish I still had my boxed Atari games. This is insane. I have a flash cart that I use now, so I wouldn't have an issue cashing in.

[@achesontrading427]

carts and manuals are everywhere BUT how many 2600 clean boxes are left?

[@Dudewheresmyspider]

I bought a sealed Yars revenge (box was crushed however) and a sealed Xenophobe. But under £20. I opened those games the second they arrived

[@DizGoneWild916]

Love my intellivision boxed stuff... Wouldnt spend more than like 10 bucks on 'em tho

[@matthewmidigi4903]

I got their (beautiful) catalogues. I knew from watching the last auction that these would go for hundreds at least.

[@TrollbotTB]

Ok who wants to buy my ms pac-man for 1000? No lowballing I know what I have!

[@fuzer909]

Will you take Stanley Nickels or Schrute Bucks?

[@joshuamongan2934]

what's the conversion rate of Stanley nickles to Schrute bucks

[@amirdejesus7077]

Same as the rate of unicorns to leprechauns

[@Jellycakelap]

My collection is near complete. All the games I wanted as a kid.

[@StusGameReviews]

This is complete BS. Spiderman for 2600 sealed was a $50 game last year. Now all the copies on Ebay want thousands of dollars. These people are completely messing up the market.

[@Benobot99]

Well, I have Missile Command sealed. It's apparently only worth $28 CAD though, according to price-charting.

[@devilmikey00]

Get it graded at wata and put it up for auction and you'll get a whole hell of a lot more then $28 apparently. The people buying this aren't you or me. They are in the business of trading and selling collectibles for profit. I think in the case of video games they are desperate to create a value that isn't there with grading and ludicrous auction sale prices and it's going to ultimately be a wash for a lot of these buyers.

[@bulletpoint728]

I didn't catch how much the sealed Pac-Man went for?

[@Dumbledork_Prime]

Any chance that my old Odyssey 2 games will sell for an insane amount of money in the future?

[@Anthonyelmio2]

These are people who have money and want something to spend it on

[@IanSane]

It's insane that people are paying these prices but it will only become a problem if lots of people pay this. These are too high. A game jumping in price from $20 to $50 is still affordable for most people so the price sticks but very few people can afford to pay $1000 for a game. That kind of price can stick with a truly rare game but it can't with common titles. I don't like games selling for prices like this but if it has an effect on prices it will be a bubble that will burst after a short period of time. Rare games are expensive because the amount of people willing to pay a lot for it exceeds the supply of copies for sale. That's the simple concept of supply and demand and that's why "collectible" comics from the early 90's that have millions of copies in existence are worth squat.

[@ericconnor708]

How do you know it's legit ? All anyone has to do is put an item up for auction and then have a friend or yourself under a different account to bid and "buy" at a high price, therefore hiking up the sell-price and people going, 'Oh wow, it's worth so much, so I'm gonna pay that much as well.'. It's all a lie. It's all bullshit. Don't fall for it.

[@theswapmeetflea]

Atari is something that doesn't have an nostalgic impact on me , because its before my time but nonetheless, when at the swapmeet, if the price is right, sure , why not.

[@austinpatton96]

Ns usually means new sealed

[@beaniiman]

I was only 4 but I loved Spiderman on the Atari. Ill take yours Pat for $5 plus shipping :)

[@StusGameReviews]

NS = Need Sucker. How can it be "Never Sealed"? Every Atari game was sealed in some fashion. Maybe they weren't shrinkwrapped but they were still sealed.

[@Spartacus547]

How much is this is GameStop putting their inventory online and selling it as collector items because they owned the largest store of retro games on the planet and they know that the stuff is not rare

[@Windsail7]

People are buying these for the artwork and not so much the games. The box art has become pretty popular

[@joshua.snyder]

And men bought Playboy for the articles...

[@hatednyc]

Oooooh, do I sense some trouble in paradise? Lots of bickering

[@Foulowe59]

some people get pac man for atari sealed at Alamogordo in New Mexico buried for free. and some people get pac man for atari sealed at comics.ha.com for some millions of dollars...

[@Mr06261984]

although i leave mean reviews i still watch this, so something is right and above my head. you have well thought out opinions.

[@achesontrading427]

Pat, does your Adventure box have 8 sharp corners?

[@PatTheNESpunk]

If mine doesn't, there are hundreds out there that are pristine sitting in shipping boxes.

[@tech.noire.]

New Stock?

[@BIGGIEDEVIL]

A game is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it, these games are getting more rare to find mint and unopened so I can consider this purchase and investment it will make money in the future, how long? Who knows

[@opaljk4835]

I don’t know anyone who actually collects these...they are like mythical creatures

[@Zazzaro703]

I cannot even imagine spending 10k on an unopened Spider-Man Atari 2600 game just to sit on my shelf. To put into perspective, my steam account according to SteamDB calculator is worth 10k with 700 games on it. Which would you rather have 🤔. I mean a Stadium events is one thing because it’s actually a ultra rare collectors item, but an Atari game that has tons of them in the wild?

[@funkyfoe12]

Geez...Ian's a real party.

[@bluesmokegamer272]

Did Pat's mushroom eat a super mushroom?

[@prophismusic]

i think i have a sealed joust

[@zangardo3937]

Pat can you make a nice book for the neo geo?

[@spartanracer]

zangardo that would be a small book tho

[@squidracerX]

Why wouldn't the auction adding 20% on an auction be counted as final price Pat? You know that 20% is there going in as a buyer and it DIRECTLY affects your bid. If I have $600 in my pocket, i know, even though i will pay $600, my max bid can only be $500 (+$100 fee). I am still 100% willing to pay $600 for this game, and do. i don't give a shit how its split between the owner and his auction house. I paid $600. I wouldn't turn around an put it on my store for $500 -- Id say "I spent $600 on this". Otherwise every single item ever bought at auction is immediately worth 20% less than the rich people paid for it! Think of what you are saying!!! That would be madness and a complete economic fallacy!!!! "My Andy Warhol is worth $1 Million", "No its not ma'am, its only worth $800k." "But I literally just paid $1million, its already worth less?". "No you didn't ma'am, not according to Pat, you only paid $800k and a 20% service fee, its separate, you're down a lot of money". -- You don't think another collector immediately insures his Warhol for $1mil?? Please. its worth $1mil now. Sold for $1mil. -- Just like if some insane auction house had a 50% fee- would you say the game now only sold for $300? That's crazy logic - I still spent $600! Why would you care how money is split? Its what you shelled out. What if 3 guys claimed a game together, and they'd only sell if you gave them $200 each. Is that selling for $200?? No its $600, you are $600 down, no one without $600 could buy it - you don't care how they split it. Proof of this false logic is that if a game sold for $600 with free shipping on ebay Pat would say its worth $600. But what about $550 with $50 shipping? The difference between a game being $600 free shipping, or $550 with $50 shipping is all in your head. You paid the same. The seller made the same. Ebay took the same. If it still costs $26 bucks to mail you that game, regardless of how they made the charges look, they both spent that $26. There is no such thing as FREE SHIPPING. its to fool you, to entice you, its perception. its you saying $9.99 is not $10, especially when you know there is tax. Its a stupid claim. And proof is in the pudding - we don't knock down those prices once ebay takes their cut. We don't sell a $50 game and say "no it really sold for $45, ebay took a $5 fee" do we? So how is the auction different than Ebay? Ian's right, it all counts to end price. Whats it worth, fees and all. Pat's wrong. I get how you perceive it that way, but that's not logical.

[@squidracerX]

Id say the end of the video proves this point -- Pat brings up that the auction site has a built in "make the buyer a new offer on the game he just bought". (That is weird, agreed on that!). So i buy Spider-man for $9,500 - (fees included!) - no one is going to hop on the offer and say "hey ill give you $7,800 because you just paid $7,600 for it". They'd just respond, "no i just bought this for $9,500!". And you'd have to offer them $9,501 or more because at least to THEM, that game is theoretically worth $9,500 bucks now.

[@11colavec]

i disagre with ian -- i don't think shipping should be included in the item's price when you record what it sold for. if i pay $50 for a game on ebay, $35 was for the game, and $15 was a service the seller provided to ship it to me so i don't have to get up

[@devilmikey00]

Including shipping is how some big box stores get around having to honor their price matching policies. I know best buy for instance includes shipping in price matches which means that they have to discount less or suddenly their stock becomes "cheaper". Also, if it's an amazon item you're trying to match and you tell them you have prime they get real pedantic. They will start claiming you are still paying shipping by paying for the prime subscription and they just add a completely made up arbitrary shipping fee to the price match.

[@squidracerX]

Whhhhhaaaaat!!? That's beyond wrong! Ian is right here, factually. The amount you handed out is what you paid, and Pat tries to say "well you wouldn't do that with a cash trade", yeah because there is no fee - no duh! But if you found that same buyer, (which is why the auction is appealing because you hit a bigger audience even if you have to pay that fee), I also guarantee that this same guy - who knows he has $600 to spend at an auction, so he only bids $500 because he knows of the 20% fee and can only spend his $600 - he would be willing to go up to $600 to you in person since he has $600 and is actually shelling out $600. So at auction you only see that as a $500 item where the same guy would pay $600 cash? Thats the dumbest argument Ive ever heard. He's willing to pay $600 either way. Its really stupid to say buyers don't factor in shipping, or buyers costs - just like sellers factor in tax , shipping, and ebay fees etc when deciding what and how to sell; (FREE shipping has enticed so many people but THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FREE SHIPPING - its the seller taking a hit on the shipping but obviously using those same profits to still pay for shipping, likely charging more for the item to subsidize that but look like a deal). If two of us have the same item for the same price, but one has higher shipping, the buyer decides that the shipping cost adds to his purchase price and will go to lower shipping. Shipping 100% factors in to their purchase decision up front! Its why sometimes people wont buy things online (i just did this with Ikea yesterday - its cheaper to wait until the store opens and i can go buy the item I want in person, because the shipping is part of the cost, and their shipping is super expensive). The case is worth $80 to me, not $130 with the shipping. So yeah, that take is just factually that's wrong. I have personally bought ebay items for like $1 but then paid a ton on shipping, (it was a way to try to get around ebay fees), knowing i wasnt paying $1 but $40... And I have seen people inflate shipping fees to try to get some extra profit. And I have also sold stuff where the person wanted my item at $300, they didn't care what that $300 would go towards (my pocket or shipping), but to them they said $300 - i could do $250 + $50 shipping, or $300 free shipping - it the same price to them. This would be like you not counting all the extra fees doubling your cell phone bill as the actual price. or the Ticketmaster shit doubling the cost of your concert ticket. if you go see billy Joel with your buddy, tix say $100, but after fees its $170, and your buddy hands you $100 for that ticket - you are going to say "no way dude, the ticket was $170". And this is going to go 200% more for auctions where you know you have to pay an extra fee on top of the final "bid", you know that going in. Like tip on a restaurant bill. Its not a surprise. And i love that in other countries lots of times tip (if there is one) and tax are included in actual displayed prices. i 100% wish America did that, because just because a cost is hidden or added on after doesn't mean its not in the final price. i hand that expense report for dinner in to my boss, hes not going to be like "oh your daily spending limit is $40, i see you got a $39 meal, but then paid $4 in tax and left $8 for tip so you are handing me a bill for $51, that's fine because only the food price counts." no my boss knows my meal was $51, and he will yell at me. Brakes on your car might only cost $50 physically. But you choose to not do it yourself and go to a mechanic (or auction house), the brakes are in the bill,still $50 (like that video game), but they add in labor, (just like the buyers fee at auction). Again, no one in their right mind would argue that those brakes were still only $50. it was $50 + whatever the service fee is. And thats what you tell your wife the brakes cost. WHAT LEAVES YOUR BANK ACCOUNT IS WHAT YOU PAID.

[@squidracerX]

I mean would you say in some way the price is cheaper on a $35 game with $16 shipping, verses a $50 game with free shipping? Same item. No, one is $50, one is $51. Same identical profit to the seller. in fact the guy charging $51 because of shipping makes more. Its such a weak argument. Semantics of how you perceive something verses what you paid because of it being on a certain platform.

[@11colavec]

@@squidracerX i appreciate what you're saying but that doesn't justify including shipping in the recorded price of the item. all you've done is explain why you shouldn't take websites like PriceCharting at face value. Shipping is a service you pay a premium for. if i asked you "how much are car brakes" and you told me the price including the cost for someone to install them for you that's not what i asked

[@MrDrokkul]

As a long time ebay seller I can tell you that $15 for shipping is big-time overkill unless you live outside the country the game is coming from. If you live in the US and ship it anywhere within the US or US territories it should cost no more than $5.26 to ship a video game and that is the highest end of the spectrum. Even if upgraded to Priority Mail it can go in a Priority Mail flat rate padded envelope for under $8 and that includes up to$100 value coverage insurance. But I do agree that nearly nothing that shows "free shipping" on ebay is free shipping. The price you're paying has shipping calculated in already.

[@helloSanders]

Were they trying to bait rich people outside of the collector space? The type that doesn't know enough to recognize that a game is rare or unique, but lured in by w/e grading and sold at a high price? Or just buyers who don't see these games in the context of video games, but another IP. Like maybe the spiderman cart was a lot because of the license, not the video game. Rich Collector: "Oh man, it's just the atari game, but it's in the most perfect condition. Spiderman stuff is so hot right now. Blah."

[@mikehivner8043]

New sealed maybe

[@Kranekick1985]

That hair is getting wild.

[@jone7428]

Sad whats happening to the hobby...

[@jone7428]

@@GabrielAlcala956 Dont be a hater bro.

[@snowpanth]

Next up is coleco and Intellivision I love it!!

[@opaljk4835]

People are going to start losing their minds and buying up all this shit. I’ve been priced out of so many consoles and games. I think my days of adding to my collection are very much numbered

[@shinyhaunter6019]

Guys. Relax a little geeze. And even if it is ridiculous. This is what it is turning into i guess.. So just say your opinions and don't freak out about it

[@TerminallyNerdy]

oh lawd auction nonsense lol (not you Pat, but this is just getting wild lol)

[@jimmorti2153]

Time to go to that landfill and dig up a goldmine..

[@nondescriptstraightwhitema6138]

... old dude talking here... atari being worth more than $5 max in box? ($5 is because some of the box art is cool) what are these people smoking?

[@Mr06261984]

i do my pissy internet complaints, but you guys shouldhost a video game convention. i'd go to it.

[@ed41129]

Great topic, but the sour mood between you two ruined this particular podcast.

[@retrogamerfan123]

All I have to say there is a sucker for anything these days

[@zombee38]

I have two loose copies of combat ..selling cheap $100 each. Who's buying? ?? Lol