SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic

Posted: Nov 23 2010 12:02 pm

I remember finding a stash of old NES games from a garage that belonged to a guy who died (my dad's a super while I'm the porter and part of our job is to empty any place that's abandoned; we've found some cool stuff before) and I've kept them for a while now. Most of them are good games like Mega Man 2, Blaster Master, Super Mario Bros. 3, Clash at Demonhead, Castlevania 3, Zelda 2 (gold cart), Metal Gear, etc. But I've been thinking about how valuable they are these days. Are they collectible status enough to sell for a pretty penny? Or is it only the rare carts that matter?

Last I checked on ebay, most of these games were going for $15-20 but that was already a couple of years ago so I'm not sure if they gone any higher. I've been thinking of selling some of them along with one of my NES consoles (I have two of them anyway). I just have to get around to replacing the connector pins, which I can do without any problem. Honestly, I'm happy enough with emulation; ever since I started playing games on my laptop, my carts have been collecting dust so I don't mind parting with some of them.

Would it be better, though, if I waited a little longer?

Posted: Nov 23 2010 12:13 pm

The secondary market on most NES games is less than the original MSRP. Sealed games, and unsealed games that have the box and instruction manual in good condition go for a little bit more with collectors, but a cart by itself isn't worth that much. Emulation and the VC have ruined the secondary market on most games, except amongst hardcore collectors.

Posted: Nov 23 2010 12:20 pm

Erm, well, I suppose it doesn't hurt keeping them then. Still, if anyone here is interested, I'd be willing to sell some of my NES games. Would it be alright if I advertised my list of games here?

Posted: Nov 23 2010 12:24 pm

Yeah, it's been done in the past.

Posted: Nov 23 2010 12:28 pm

Well, if they are just collecting dust and you won't miss them, then sell them. Your stash would probably be worth around $80 with a console. The market has gone down hill, and the cart only market will never recover as far as I'm concerned. If your just looking for a one time sale, I'd recommend just posting on craigslist that way you save on fees and the hassle of setting up an ebay account if you don't have one already.

2010 SLF Tag Champ Joined: Jun 07 2006 Posts: 12294

Bout tree fiddy.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

I have a feeling that when people currently aged 25-35 start to have kids that approach 7-8 years old (another few years) there will be a wave of nostalgia and the games will be worth more. As games are slowly phased out from physical distribution the older cartridges will be valued more.

Joined: Oct 01 2009 Posts: 5316

I used to frequent used games stores a lot and if you were to trade in the games you have, you're looking at about $30. No offense, but most of those don't go for very much, in fact I think with the VC, they're actually going down in price. Zelda used to go for about $15, it's quite easy to get a good copy now for $10. Like Syd said, you're best bet is if it came with the instructions and/or the box, since a lot of people either threw them away or lost them. Just a rough estimate of what you can buy them for;

LOZ 2: $10
Megaman II: $15
Castlevania III: $15
Blaster Master: $7 or $8
Metal Gear: $7
Clash at Demonhead: $5
Super Mario Bros. 3: Honestly, they sell for about $10, but you're lucky to get $5 for it, since there is a huge amount readily available.

Again, that's what you'd likely to be buying them for. If you wanted to PM your entire list, you might actually have a few gems in there. Snow Bros. for example can fetch around $100 if it's in decent shape. But as Rydog said, if you're going to sell them, then your best bet is to go as lot price, unless you truly have a gem in your collection.

Posted: Nov 23 2010 04:47 pm

GPFontaine wrote:

I have a feeling that when people currently aged 25-35 start to have kids that approach 7-8 years old (another few years) there will be a wave of nostalgia and the games will be worth more. As games are slowly phased out from physical distribution the older cartridges will be valued more.

You think kids are going to care if they play Super Mario on a NES or at the computer? I say no. They got to grow up with computers while some of us didn't touch one until high school or later. As stated, emulation has killed this market, I see no chance for a rebound.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Rydog wrote:

GPFontaine wrote:

I have a feeling that when people currently aged 25-35 start to have kids that approach 7-8 years old (another few years) there will be a wave of nostalgia and the games will be worth more. As games are slowly phased out from physical distribution the older cartridges will be valued more.

You think kids are going to care if they play Super Mario on a NES or at the computer? I say no.

The kids won't give two shits. The adults will.

Posted: Nov 23 2010 05:10 pm

Emulation is too easy to cheat with, save states ruin the challenge.

Joined: Sep 25 2009 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 395

If you want to sell Castlevania 3 I know someone who would be interested (hint, me)!

Posted: Nov 23 2010 06:48 pm

Despite emulation i have more fun on my console. I played Super metroid on snesx9 and was completely bored, i then got it for my super nintendo, and i have it now almost beaten

But thats just me i guess

Posted: Nov 23 2010 07:22 pm

Blackout wrote:

Emulation is too easy to cheat with, save states ruin the challenge.

That's an excuse for the weakminded. Just don't use them.

Posted: Nov 23 2010 09:06 pm

Douche McCallister wrote:

Blackout wrote:

Emulation is too easy to cheat with, save states ruin the challenge.

That's an excuse for the weakminded. Just don't use them.

I find save states pretty useful, especially for a game that you can't save that may take several hours to play through. I'll be damned if I have more than 2 hours in a row to do nothing but play video games. I need them to finish old games dammit!

Now, if you are using them halfway through a boss or something, then you fail.

2011 SNES Champ Joined: Dec 04 2006 Posts: 1929

Save states are a trap, on some emulators loading a save state will ruin your normal save because it will be overwritten when you close the emulator.

And using save states is boring as fuck, play the damn game properly instead of constantly fiddling with the menu.
On some games I may use them to practice the last few stages or something to save time, but then I'll try to clear them normally.

Posted: Nov 24 2010 01:49 am

PSX games are worth more than most NES games.

I know. I sold 10 of them to a local game shop and got almost $300 in store credit.

Posted: Nov 24 2010 10:35 am

http://www.videogamepricecharts.com/console/nes

Posted: Nov 24 2010 10:49 am

Some of those prices are incorrect. It values Flinstones II: Surprise At Dino Peak at over $700, while the highest Buy It Now on eBay is currently $450.

Posted: Nov 24 2010 10:51 am

Pretty cool ash, nice find.

Posted: Nov 24 2010 11:36 am

Syd Lexia wrote:

Some of those prices are incorrect. It values Flinstones II: Surprise At Dino Peak at over $700, while the highest Buy It Now on eBay is currently $450.

Its not perfect, but its a pretty good gauge of most games. Of course, if you own something that rare it always helps to check EBay's completed listings. It does not take into account if the game is complete, or even sealed. So where Flintstones II might be 450 for a cart, a complete copy may have sold for 700. I use the guide just so I can remind myself of the rare, more valuable games when I'm out scavenging around.

Posted: Nov 24 2010 11:41 am

Yeah. It is at least a good guide of what to look for.

Posted: Nov 24 2010 03:26 pm

Good lord, I didn't know Castlevania: Dracula X was going for 80 bucks, I guess my friend gave me a hell of a deal by selling it to me along with Mega Man X for ten bucks.

I'd also like to make a comment on PSX/PC jewel cases, they are hard as fuck to keep in good condition. Hell, I remember getting Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds for PC and the jewel case that came with for the game ended up having one of it's hinges break off the very first time I opened it.

Posted: Nov 24 2010 03:47 pm

Yes, but they are also very easy to replace, and still look original.

Posted: Nov 24 2010 08:56 pm

I think he's talking about those early, humongous-sized PSX cases which aren't as easy to replace. I can't say if those broke very easily because I never had a PSX game with a case like that, but I did have some Saturn games which had similar cases and those definitely broke very easily.

...I also have some Saturn games I'd be willing to sell. Gotta dig 'em up. Stay tuned for list.