In the past several months I've become kind of a games market analyst of sorts. There are still a lot of resources not open to me, and I haven't had a whole lot of financial success with my predictions yet. (Maybe posting them here throws the balance off... heh.) What I've been most interested in is finding what games are going to become rare and expensive - but it seems there are already a few that have slipped under my radar, and most others'. Even though the bottom seems to have dropped out of the collectors' market, I think it's probably a temporary thing because a lot of people need money for Christmas.. heating bills, new gifts, cost of travel, etc.
Monster Rancher 4 (PS2) - Goes up and down, but I did manage to sell a sealed copy for $50 this week. Surprisingly hard to find in stores - I found it recently at a Gamecrazy that is within walking distance of a CC, Best Buy, TRU, two Gamestops and an EB, so it doesn't get a whole lot of business.
Grandia Xtreme (PS2) - I haven't had any luck finding a new copy in a store in the past month, and I have been to dozens.. You can, however, buy it from Amazon for $55, GQD for $60 or on Ebay for $100... I bought it and traded it back in the week it launched.
F1 2002 (PS2) - This one stunned me. The only new copies I can find are $80+ on Amazon. Used copies are more reasonable, but still exceed $30 easily. I'm playing the GC version (which is not quite as valuable) thanks to Gamefly - the framerate and texture work suck, but it's good arcadey fun, so if you're a racing fan and you see it, you should buy it.
Gradius III & IV (PS2) - Doesn't seem to have the collectors' attention yet and isn't commanding high prices, but in terms of the number of Ebay auctions out there, this game is clearly scarce. There is one sealed copy on Ebay right now and I'll be watching it with interest. There haven't been any new copies for sale on Amazon in the past week. If you want it, Gamebuzz.ca has it in stock for roughly $30 shipped, and they can be bought used on Gamestop.com for a similar price.
Monster Rancher 4 (PS2) - Goes up and down, but I did manage to sell a sealed copy for $50 this week. Surprisingly hard to find in stores - I found it recently at a Gamecrazy that is within walking distance of a CC, Best Buy, TRU, two Gamestops and an EB, so it doesn't get a whole lot of business.
Grandia Xtreme (PS2) - I haven't had any luck finding a new copy in a store in the past month, and I have been to dozens.. You can, however, buy it from Amazon for $55, GQD for $60 or on Ebay for $100... I bought it and traded it back in the week it launched.
F1 2002 (PS2) - This one stunned me. The only new copies I can find are $80+ on Amazon. Used copies are more reasonable, but still exceed $30 easily. I'm playing the GC version (which is not quite as valuable) thanks to Gamefly - the framerate and texture work suck, but it's good arcadey fun, so if you're a racing fan and you see it, you should buy it.
Gradius III & IV (PS2) - Doesn't seem to have the collectors' attention yet and isn't commanding high prices, but in terms of the number of Ebay auctions out there, this game is clearly scarce. There is one sealed copy on Ebay right now and I'll be watching it with interest. There haven't been any new copies for sale on Amazon in the past week. If you want it, Gamebuzz.ca has it in stock for roughly $30 shipped, and they can be bought used on Gamestop.com for a similar price.
