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SNES Game Collecting (Tips, discussion, and info for like minded collectors)
- Thread starter DidntKnowJack
- Start date
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
^
Ha. If your ebay username also happens to end with 666, I did indeed buy your Secret of Mana 2.
EDIT: Oh, I didn't see your profile also says you're from Colorado. Yep, I definitely bought your SoM2. Crazy.
Ha. If your ebay username also happens to end with 666, I did indeed buy your Secret of Mana 2.
EDIT: Oh, I didn't see your profile also says you're from Colorado. Yep, I definitely bought your SoM2. Crazy.
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
I've already beaten it in English. I had a repro of it, but I sold all my repros to get an SD2SNES and start collecting the actual Famicom Carts. It's pretty good, but as someone who played both 1 & 2 for the first time back to back, I definetly enjoyed part 1 more (outside of those fucking Joch missions that clearly had cut content).
IrishNinja
Member
damn, Hero...well ebay's been so pro-buyer i wouldn't expect too much trouble, hopefully? looking at dude's feedback the only other "NOT WORKING" stuff i spotted was JAMMA boards.
Sorry to hear that Hero. eBay will most likely side with you since you're the buyer. I went and checked my games to make sure I don't have any repos.
How are prices of SNES games now? I haven't been following them for the past 9 months so I'm out of the loop. Have they gone up, back down, a little bit of both?
How are prices of SNES games now? I haven't been following them for the past 9 months so I'm out of the loop. Have they gone up, back down, a little bit of both?
I haven't been following them either, but on the last page of this thread people are saying that it seems that SNES prices are on a downtrend right now. As someone who rarely sells my retro games I fucking hope so lol.
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
Dude claims he didn't know and accused me of replacing the insides with a fake because I was disappointed I couldn't get the game working. I put together a nice little picture using his original listing photos to show it was fake when he listed it and sent along this message. Also, kind of annoying that ebay limits your response messages. I like to be thorough.
Message to seller:
Image:
I would hope that image would be enough proof for eBay if he makes me escalate this.
Message to seller:
Image:
I would hope that image would be enough proof for eBay if he makes me escalate this.
You're on ebay man. For better or worse, if you put in a dispute then ebay/paypal ALWAYS sides with the buyer. Always.
Just put in a dispute, fuck talking to the guy. If he was willing to help, he would have already without arguing. He'll have the money instantly taken out of his paypal account and it will be frozen until either he gives in or his money is forcibly taken and given to you as a refund.
You've not got a chance in hell of ever losing this. Put in a dispute NOW before he has a chance to withdraw his bank details and addresses from paypal because if he does, then you will be shit out of luck.
Just put in a dispute, fuck talking to the guy. If he was willing to help, he would have already without arguing. He'll have the money instantly taken out of his paypal account and it will be frozen until either he gives in or his money is forcibly taken and given to you as a refund.
You've not got a chance in hell of ever losing this. Put in a dispute NOW before he has a chance to withdraw his bank details and addresses from paypal because if he does, then you will be shit out of luck.
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
I've already opened a case, I don't see any way to take this any further now that I've responded to his response. I think I have to wait until he responds again before I can escalate. Right now ebay makes you just talk it out. Which, again, is pretty weird since my claim is that it's fake. You'd think ebay steps right in there.
LOL. When has there not been fake shit on ebay?
Don't buy shit without decent photos. Open the cart as soon as you get it. If it looks anything like mine:
It's fake.
But, you really want good photos so you can do what I just did. There is enough proof in his own photos that he shouldn't be able to claim I am scamming him in some way.
Also, have I mentioned that I find it funny it has a battery in it? It's Castlevania, it uses passwords. What a waste.
Can I also apply the knowledge I learned after figuring out that all my GBA carts are fake? I don't think I really want to open up my SNES carts.
Rebuilding my awesome GBA library, that will take a long time, and cost a pretty penny.
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
Well, he issued me a refund more than an hour ago. No response message from him or anything. So, either he really didn't know and my picture convinced him, or he knew and saw I knew how to prove it and caved.
Going to look through his previous sales and see if I see anything suspicious. If not I feel I should give him the benefit of the doubt and not leave him negative feedback.
EDIT: He has sold a good amount of higher value SNES games. Mega Man X2 & 3, Earthbound, Demons Crest. They all look 100% legit to me. He may very well have honestly not known. I just don't know what to think. Think I'll just not leave feedback for now and watch his listings for a while.
Wait, you accidently grew a fake GBA collection? Did you buy a huge lot from someone or something?
Going to look through his previous sales and see if I see anything suspicious. If not I feel I should give him the benefit of the doubt and not leave him negative feedback.
EDIT: He has sold a good amount of higher value SNES games. Mega Man X2 & 3, Earthbound, Demons Crest. They all look 100% legit to me. He may very well have honestly not known. I just don't know what to think. Think I'll just not leave feedback for now and watch his listings for a while.
Wait, you accidently grew a fake GBA collection? Did you buy a huge lot from someone or something?
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
My Super Metroid came with an electric taped in Battery. Ain't no thing to just solder in a new one.
If you're really concerned, just send them a message and ask. The thing about testing it though is that a dead battery will hold a save for a bit (I don't know how long). So you can't just simply save, turn it off, turn it on. You have to let it sit for a little bit and then check. So it's understandable if someone tells you it works, and then it arrives not working.
These batteries are the greatest thing ever. They fit the exact same way the originals did, so you just take the old one out, solder in the new one, done. Literally takes like 1 minute.
Also, random funny story. When I put a new one in my Super Metroid, the game glitched and had all save files at the start of the game with zero health. So, I had to sit through the opening, and then as Samus is coming down the elevator, she would instantly die. I thought I'd broken the game some how before I realized what had happened and deleted all the zero health saves.
Amusing.
Seven Force
Banned
Any time I buy a SNES game, I replace the battery before even playing it. Even if the battery had still worked, it likely wouldn't last as long as a newly installed battery would. When I got Earthbound and Breath of Fire some time ago, the batteries had worked, until I got about halfway through both games, and both save batteries died on me. Had to replace 'em and work my way back.
Awesome work on the evidence collection, but yeah, I guess it is possible he didnt know.
Then again, its kinda strange he listed as not working, yet the cart worked right off the bat when you booted it up.
I've actually never thought to check batteries either...
Btw has anyone ever come across any fake Chrono Trigger carts, or is that not high enough value range to be worth trying to fake?
Then again, its kinda strange he listed as not working, yet the cart worked right off the bat when you booted it up.
I've actually never thought to check batteries either...
Btw has anyone ever come across any fake Chrono Trigger carts, or is that not high enough value range to be worth trying to fake?
Good to hear that things worked out for you.
$1 a piece for batteries with tabs looks like a good deal. I am hoping to get a soldering iron and security bits for Christmas, or I'll just pick them up afterwards. Either way, I'll be replacing my Secret of Mana battery after the holidays.
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
Boom:
First time using a dremel ever. I made it happen, though. Not the easiest thing getting it to fit in a US cart.
Exactly. I just can't decide. Everything else he has ever sold looks legit. But, yeah, saying it didn't work for him is pretty iffy.
99% of batteries will be fine. Out of my few hundred NES/SNES games, I've only had like three or four. It's not a major concern at all.
I'm sure there are fakes out there. Chrono Trigger goes for more than you can get repros for, and they're made the exact same way (out of 99 cent sports games). So, there's potentially more profit in a fake CT than a "legit" repro.
First time using a dremel ever. I made it happen, though. Not the easiest thing getting it to fit in a US cart.
Exactly. I just can't decide. Everything else he has ever sold looks legit. But, yeah, saying it didn't work for him is pretty iffy.
99% of batteries will be fine. Out of my few hundred NES/SNES games, I've only had like three or four. It's not a major concern at all.
I'm sure there are fakes out there. Chrono Trigger goes for more than you can get repros for, and they're made the exact same way (out of 99 cent sports games). So, there's potentially more profit in a fake CT than a "legit" repro.
Checked it, no wires or other odd things.
Sega Genesis side have to worry about stuff like this with Centy or PS IV? Kinda wondering now since i've got a PSIV cartridge that came in the original box (no manual though, but had inserts/ads). Cart is in like new shape but has a kinda matte feel to it, instead of the smooth feel of my other carts.
Then again, its in extremely good shape, so maybe i'm just being paranoid.
Sega Genesis side have to worry about stuff like this with Centy or PS IV? Kinda wondering now since i've got a PSIV cartridge that came in the original box (no manual though, but had inserts/ads). Cart is in like new shape but has a kinda matte feel to it, instead of the smooth feel of my other carts.
Then again, its in extremely good shape, so maybe i'm just being paranoid.
Nope. Built it back in 2002 and it started growing up until 2005. Where I lived, they sold the fake games everywhere. The originals were also there, but not in the place that I used to buy my games from.
I know there are several Champaign collectors in here.
Just letting you know there is a new retro game store in Rantoul.
It is called "We Play Games"
115 N Garrard.
Rantoul, IL
I went there this afternoon. They still haven't put everything out apparently.
They have decent (less than ebay) prices.
Had to pay with cash, because no CC machine yet.
Just letting you know there is a new retro game store in Rantoul.
It is called "We Play Games"
115 N Garrard.
Rantoul, IL
I went there this afternoon. They still haven't put everything out apparently.
They have decent (less than ebay) prices.
Had to pay with cash, because no CC machine yet.
My copy of Lufia had the battery removed without any replacement whatsoever which was why I asked. Looks like they tried to pry the battery out or something?
Rygar 8 Bit
Jaguar 64-bit
Lame mode 7 collection is complete.
IrishNinja
Member
just had to re-post: interesting garage sale today, i swear the Orange Lantern of resellers was there since 6AM buying everything; i come to the table and he's like "just so you know guy i'm trying to buy all of this" "good luck with that, reselling must be tricky!" "Well I'm a collector too..." "Oh? you've got 5 copies of Paper Mario there, haha". ugh.
relevant bit for this thread:
Donkey Kong Country 2 & 3
Secret of Mana (?)
Illusion of Gaia
Yoshi's Island
Mega Man X
Aladdin
(i wanna say Link to the Past)
...were all in pristine boxes, like they looked like you just pulled them out of TRU in '94 or something. he was getting them for $20 each and complaining about the high price. holy crap, this guy.
even had his buddy come to comb through stuff, i wanted to call my buddies but had to preserve what meager haul i'd siphoned away, and also the seller had boxes of more stuff (sega too!) in his house but hadn't had the chance to unload with Larfleeze breathing down his neck; i helped unload a few boxes & caught dude on his phone looking up some cart prices on ebay. he even had a business card for fucksake.
oh! and another gaffer who went over there mentioned that after this ad went up last night (i'd emailed asking when it started), he'd sent him an email too asking to not even open up, he'd just buy him out. i knew these dudes were out there, i just never saw one up close..he must've had nearly a grand in cash on him, bought just over $400 of stuff and would not stop complaining the whole time about the high prices (new 3DS XL for $70, etc). TL;DR if you ever see a garage sale that says SNES on craigslist you need to be there yesterday apparently
relevant bit for this thread:
Donkey Kong Country 2 & 3
Secret of Mana (?)
Illusion of Gaia
Yoshi's Island
Mega Man X
Aladdin
(i wanna say Link to the Past)
...were all in pristine boxes, like they looked like you just pulled them out of TRU in '94 or something. he was getting them for $20 each and complaining about the high price. holy crap, this guy.
even had his buddy come to comb through stuff, i wanted to call my buddies but had to preserve what meager haul i'd siphoned away, and also the seller had boxes of more stuff (sega too!) in his house but hadn't had the chance to unload with Larfleeze breathing down his neck; i helped unload a few boxes & caught dude on his phone looking up some cart prices on ebay. he even had a business card for fucksake.
oh! and another gaffer who went over there mentioned that after this ad went up last night (i'd emailed asking when it started), he'd sent him an email too asking to not even open up, he'd just buy him out. i knew these dudes were out there, i just never saw one up close..he must've had nearly a grand in cash on him, bought just over $400 of stuff and would not stop complaining the whole time about the high prices (new 3DS XL for $70, etc). TL;DR if you ever see a garage sale that says SNES on craigslist you need to be there yesterday apparently
Super R-Type. Nice! Grats on getting it at that price too!
I don't care if Super R-type has some crazy bad slowdown. It's still a very fun game with catchy music...and a great alternative to playing R-Type without the crazy SNES ebay tax/price (I am looking at you, R-Type III: The Third Lightening)
Thanks for the heads up! (I bet you posted on craigslist too?)
yup.
IrishNinja
Member
^that's the point though...we can't, cause guys like that rent storage spaces, clean out these places & just resell, further inflating the market. there was enough for everyone but this dude wants that markup, and to complain on top of it...i really wanted to grab a few because i honestly have those games but thought they'd make some badass holiday gifts. I think Mzo's right though, if this listing had just said Sega/etc and not SNES i bet me & those that came after would've had a shot at stuff!
i got some good deals so i don't mean to bitch, just that i actually saw it happening, and everytime i grabbed a game dude was like "oh is that one good?" likie he's a collecotr & not just on a side-hustle...when he asked about Castlevania 64 i was like "YEAH THIS IS WIDELY REGARDED AS THE BEST IN THE SERIES, REALLY RARE TOO"
i got some good deals so i don't mean to bitch, just that i actually saw it happening, and everytime i grabbed a game dude was like "oh is that one good?" likie he's a collecotr & not just on a side-hustle...when he asked about Castlevania 64 i was like "YEAH THIS IS WIDELY REGARDED AS THE BEST IN THE SERIES, REALLY RARE TOO"
theSlacker
Member
I hope so. There's only a handful of games I want but I'm not willing to drop bills for the last few I want.
It isn't just games either. When we held a garage sale before we moved we had people just wandering onto our property like 3 days beforehand. We had to close our gate because they were just waltzing in and banging our door down as soon as we advertised.
My Dad got accosted by some lady so he just made up some BS high prices on all our stuff to make her go away. None of them turned up on the actual day, funnily enough. Still got a lot of weirdoes though. Some lady tried to haggle me down 50c on a swingball set, I couldn't stop laughing.
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
Yep. I've only bothered with something I saw on Craigslist once, and I was just going to look not actually spend money. It was this old guy with the biggest collection of games I've ever seen. He and his wife had been collecting their whole lives and had a house/garage/basement literally filled. Wife died, so he's been clearing some of it out.
Any way. Started at noon, listing said no early sales. I got there five 'til and there was a massive crowd already. For the most part it really was collectors. But, there was one dude who flat out admitted to the guy he was from a business. He was just filling up boxes of shit to take back and sell at a higher price.
I'm just thankful I have a local chain with a few stores within an hour of me that sells things at good prices or I would only have a tiny fraction of my collection.
I was at that sale. Dave is not just a collector, but a reseller himself.
He has garage sales like that at least once a year.
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
^
Yeah, someone else said that too.
I'm kind of hypocritical, I'll admit. I don't think there's anything wrong with a little flipping. I've certainly flipped some shit to help pay for my collection. But, I think people showing up to shit for the sole purpose of buying everything they can just to sell are kind of dicks. There are people there who genuinely want the shit you don't give a fuck about.
It wouldn't bother me as much now that Disc Replay is here to bless us with decent prices. But, all of the places around here before charge well above eBay prices. So, fuck those people.
Yeah, someone else said that too.
I'm kind of hypocritical, I'll admit. I don't think there's anything wrong with a little flipping. I've certainly flipped some shit to help pay for my collection. But, I think people showing up to shit for the sole purpose of buying everything they can just to sell are kind of dicks. There are people there who genuinely want the shit you don't give a fuck about.
It wouldn't bother me as much now that Disc Replay is here to bless us with decent prices. But, all of the places around here before charge well above eBay prices. So, fuck those people.
theSlacker
Member
They really have to charge right around the same price or higher. If lower then other dickass resellers will just buy and sell on ebay. There is no winning, just getting lucky with something before a reseller hits it.
IrishNinja
Member
^they absolutely do, but i wouldn't fuck with em. sure you save on shipping, but...i was just on another forum where a guy was saying his local retro shop literally checks ebay for current market value when you go to the register. for real? i mean, what's the point there, like we all don't have ebay either?
i totally get not wanting the dudes from game hunters to hose you on a NES copy of GI Joe just to brag on YT (and never play it). likewise, i like supporting local businesses...but i don't spend time trying to do so just to have me told Yoshi's Island is now $30 because this guy thought it was worth that
i totally get not wanting the dudes from game hunters to hose you on a NES copy of GI Joe just to brag on YT (and never play it). likewise, i like supporting local businesses...but i don't spend time trying to do so just to have me told Yoshi's Island is now $30 because this guy thought it was worth that
theSlacker
Member
Save on shipping and get to inspect the item beforehand are the reasons to pay ebay prices at a real store. Too bad place near me (estarland) seals up just about all the things they are selling so you don't get to take a close look at stuff, kinda defeating the purpose. They do have a market place thing once a month where other sellers come in and set up tables with stuff to sell, but its basically just buying directly from the dickbags that got to other things before you could. Like I said, there is no winning.
IrishNinja
Member
you live near estarland? that's pretty cool, ive seen some nice hauls there...but yeah if they just seal it, no good.
and i get your point on inspecting but since paypal so heavily (overly) favors buyers i dont really worry about anything looking different than pics/description, personally.
there's more problems with locals going off ebay prices though:
a) buy it nows are typically higher/not a good metric for people who were in a hurry
b) very often i make offers/haggle with sellers & get better deals
c) sniping auctions that start at 99 cents often ends up far cheaper, especially if they end when no one's looking
if i feel a local spot is gonna price something like 5-10% lower than the most recent high ending buy-it-now, there's nothing for me there. i can likely only haggle a figure in my neighborhood if i agree to buy a bunch've stuff at or around those rates, kinda defeating the purpose. it's okay if i'm impulse buying a loose cart on the cheap, but never anything large.
and to play devil's advocate in your favor: this makes sense for the shops too since there's little reason for them to come down to $200 or so on say Panzer Dragoon Saga just for me when they know they can get north of $300 on ebay, but since i'm not in a hurry, i can wait on other copies & grab the one i like at that price.
and i get your point on inspecting but since paypal so heavily (overly) favors buyers i dont really worry about anything looking different than pics/description, personally.
there's more problems with locals going off ebay prices though:
a) buy it nows are typically higher/not a good metric for people who were in a hurry
b) very often i make offers/haggle with sellers & get better deals
c) sniping auctions that start at 99 cents often ends up far cheaper, especially if they end when no one's looking
if i feel a local spot is gonna price something like 5-10% lower than the most recent high ending buy-it-now, there's nothing for me there. i can likely only haggle a figure in my neighborhood if i agree to buy a bunch've stuff at or around those rates, kinda defeating the purpose. it's okay if i'm impulse buying a loose cart on the cheap, but never anything large.
and to play devil's advocate in your favor: this makes sense for the shops too since there's little reason for them to come down to $200 or so on say Panzer Dragoon Saga just for me when they know they can get north of $300 on ebay, but since i'm not in a hurry, i can wait on other copies & grab the one i like at that price.
theSlacker
Member
I'm not saying that I like it that shops and sellers pricing right around ebay prices, just that there is little else they can do without resellers just clearing them out. Could be worse. Could instead go off amazon prices for old games. (estarland, for example, does a mix of amazon prices and ebay prices and a few things like that to make their price. They also change around their prices often so none of the stuff in their physical store has a price on it, just a bar code that you can use a computer to check the current price of)
And yeah, it's nice to have a place like that really close, and is good for accessories and what not, can make sure a controller is official and all the buttons work before buying as well as doing easier exchanges of things that are busted (every system I've bought from them has had to have something about it returned because of not working right). But they do seal everything in plastic so can't really inspect the manuals of games or what not before buying. Makes it hard to see scratches on consoles as well since they coat them with some sort of polishing/cleaning stuff before sealing them.
IrishNinja
Member
damn, that pretty much sounds like how it was when i worked at a pawn shop...makes sense i guess, and to the bolded bit: after my recent encounter, i think i get your point here...i happily support (when i can) this local-ish shop that goes below said prices & haggles, but absolutely respect their desire to not have dudes like that just fleece them & make a killing. i imagine it's tough for shops to manage inventory & walk that middle line, perhaps i was wrong about some stuff here.
blast processed
Member
Why isn't there a Nintendo 64 collecting thread yet? I've been collecting for that after being away from it since 1999. It's nice to introduce my kids to it & show them what gaming was like in the 90's.
IrishNinja
Member
there totally is, the OP here just hasn't been updated is all