The collecting community are vultures

I'm surprised that people who just want to play the games don't just move to flashcarts, you're not even dealing with emulation pitfalls.

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Originally Posted by needler420

There is a episode of pat the NES punk where someone buys the same game on eBay for over a year buying up all the supply and is able to manipulate the pricing and artificially create a demand.

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You don't artificially create demand. All he controls is the price (not the market). He can have it all, but if people don't buy it for being too high then there's no demand. If he wants to sell, he'll have to lower it. If people buy it, then it's because the (true) demand is there.

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Originally Posted by Gogogadget

I'm surprised that people who just want to play the games don't just move to flashcarts, you're not even dealing with emulation pitfalls.

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This is the route I'm going to be taking pretty soon.

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Originally Posted by Tower of Power

Are you on a videogame forum judging strangers collecting habits? You're probably a collectard.

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Yes, please come at tomaitheous, this will end well.

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Originally Posted by Alexrd

The rules are the same. They can hoard as many copies as they want. If the price is too high that makes the demand low, they are forced to lower it.

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Collectards are not rational, that's the point.

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Originally Posted by The Jackal

I'm not a "collectard", I just find the name used for it to be absolutely childish. Sorry if I'm in the minority for wanting to discuss something without playground terms being thrown around.

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How about Butter Monster?

http://atworkandbored.com/jokes-inc/...tter-4680.jpeg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhwdkvfxlCY

Supply and demand to it's extreme, last trees on earth burned. Well they did pay for them, they can do whatever they like with them.:roll:

If you're going to just destroy something or lock it away in a vault, just give it to somebody else. What do you call people who buy prototype games and don't dump the rom off it or even reproduce it for sales, super hoarders, ultra hoarders idk? A-hole seems to always fit. :lol:

I'm surprised by how many more people here are offended by "collectard" than "Jap" or "fag". I guess those are adultish terms.

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Originally Posted by The Jackal

Yes, because seeing something as childish is the same as being offended by it. Oh well, you think what you want.

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Posting this again incase you missed it. Making an off-handed comment seems to have riled a few of you up, please allow me to apologize for that. I'll make sure not to do that again, honest.

EDIT: That's sarcasm by the way. Just pointing that out, as I know a few will prob misinterpret that too.

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Originally Posted by Gentlegamer

Yes, please come at tomaitheous, this will end well.

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Lol, are you even real? Is he your idol or something? That's soooooooo cute.

I mean, I get it, some people do stupid things with their collections that you don't agree with. But getting sooooo worked up about it is just immature at best. I'm sure people would look at us retro gamers/collectors and think we're "tards" for spending time/money on this stuff.

And yes, if you are on an Internet forum calling people "collectards," you are probably the "tard." The insecurity is all too real. I don't know if it's about being priced out, or about being jealous, but it is so obvious it hurts. I mean, it's not just about the principle of paying too much for something, it's clearly about something deeper, people pay stupid amounts of money for all sorts of collectibes.

What people do with their money when it comes to luxury collectibles is their business. And if it bugs you that much, you need to take a long hard look at yourself.

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Originally Posted by Gogogadget

I'm surprised that people who just want to play the games don't just move to flashcarts, you're not even dealing with emulation pitfalls.

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I don't have anything against flash carts (don't own one yet but plan to), but definitely prefer owning the real thing. Having the manuals and the boxes and the carts is part of the experience. I mean, part of the reason for this is a nostalgia, right? And the physical trappings are part of that nostalgia. Also, it's pretty convenient to have the manual there in case you need it (of course you can go online, but more convenient to have the real thing right there).

Flash carts I think are an amazing invention, but picking a game from a menu is not really how I like to play. I like to go and pick a game or stack of games off the shelf, and have a little stack in front of me to play through. Picking from a menu is not the same thing, especially when you have pages of games (I don't own a flash cart, butt that's my main problem with ROMs).

All that being said, I do plan to get a flash cart once the budget allows, and who knows, maybe I'll love it so much that I'll put everything else in storage XD.

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Originally Posted by Alexrd

The rules are the same. They can hoard as many copies as they want. If the price is too high that makes the demand low, they are forced to lower it.

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again though, i think you're oversimplifying with supply/demand and moreso with the notion of "true", in terms of value.

let's use Snatcher here: cult classic, legit great game, low print run. there's been high demand for it forever now, i wanna say it's been $100+ for well over a decade at this point, right? and let's further say that at any point, there's ten or fewer copies on sale on ebay. so i take it upon myself to have alters up, buy up all those that show instantly, and do the same on amazon/etc.

i now list one for $400...and some asshole buys it, because he's got it like that. you'd then argue the "true demand' is okay, that's what the game's worth now. hungry resellers, collectors and just people who always wanted to own (or own again) a copy are now motivated by a false fear (scarcity) to act irrationally - after all, what if this game becomes the next Dynastic Hero? Little Samson, etc (climbing to 1k)?

you'd not be wrong to say this happens in all manner of hobbies (it does) and that supply/demand is in full effect here (no doubt), but i think it's disingenuous to say the market has fairly found the game's "value", when sellers are creating the illusion of scarcity and irrational buyers are begrudgingly driving the price up out of fear of the game being twice that soon. it strikes me as a misuse of the term.

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Originally Posted by evilevoix

This is a legit business tactic BTW.

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eh, i really have no use for the word "legit" here. i guess it's fine? lots of things are okay by whatever rules, but still scummy all the same

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Originally Posted by Gogogadget

I'm surprised that people who just want to play the games don't just move to flashcarts, you're not even dealing with emulation pitfalls.

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i did just this, and wish id've done so sooner. modded my disc based systems to read CD-R's, got everdrives for nearly all my carat systems - now, when Game Sack/etc points out an interesting looking game, i can experience it! if i like it, it goes on my list, and if it's astronomically high, i've a section for "FELL OFF A TRUCK" type deals, should the opportunity ever arise. if they don't? that's okay, too.

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Originally Posted by Gentlegamer

Collectards are not rational, that's the point.

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exactly.

This thread is all kinds of interesting.

I'm a collector but I play them all (some more than others). I decided to collect (for Sega only) because from 1989 when I got my first Sega Genesis until now I'd amassed several hundred games from garage sales, game stores, church sales, birthdays, Christmas, trading, etc. So when it finally came down to it I said I might as well finish it. So I've been working on the collection for the last several years at a slightly accelerated pace. Many of you have contributed to it and I appreciate that a great deal. I only need 59 more titles to complete the collection (less if you don't count the Wisdom tree games or things like Legend of Wukong for example). But when I complete it I'll feel some degree of accomplishment but I'll also be excited that I can literally play the entire Genesis library (US) at any time ((complete with the box art and manuals.))

Judge me how you will but I work hard and spend my money on these games - some might call it a waste but I definitely take care of all my other obligations first and foremost. I do hate re-sellers though and they have made getting certain games a real pain in the ass but with enough patience and ingenuity you can get anything for a deal that you're okay with.

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Originally Posted by Raja

This thread is all kinds of interesting.

I'm a collector but I play them all (some more than others). I decided to collect (for Sega only) because from 1989 when I got my first Sega Genesis until now I'd amassed several hundred games from garage sales, game stores, church sales, birthdays, Christmas, trading, etc. So when it finally came down to it I said I might as well finish it. So I've been working on the collection for the last several years at a slightly accelerated pace. Many of you have contributed to it and I appreciate that a great deal. I only need 59 more titles to complete the collection (less if you don't count the Wisdom tree games or things like Legend of Wukong for example). But when I complete it I'll feel some degree of accomplishment but I'll also be excited that I can literally play the entire Genesis library (US) at any time ((complete with the box art and manuals.))

Judge me how you will but I work hard and spend my money on these games - some might call it a waste but I definitely take care of all my other obligations first and foremost. I do hate re-sellers though and they have made getting certain games a real pain in the ass but with enough patience and ingenuity you can get anything for a deal that you're okay with.

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PM a list of what you're missing and I'll keep an eye out. I have a specific list of games that I intend to pick up, so sometimes I'll pass up buying games I don't have interest in.

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Originally Posted by IrishNinja

again though, i think you're oversimplifying with supply/demand and moreso with the notion of "true", in terms of value.

let's use Snatcher here: cult classic, legit great game, low print run. there's been high demand for it forever now, i wanna say it's been $100+ for well over a decade at this point, right? and let's further say that at any point, there's ten or fewer copies on sale on ebay. so i take it upon myself to have alters up, buy up all those that show instantly, and do the same on amazon/etc.

i now list one for $400...and some asshole buys it, because he's got it like that. you'd then argue the "true demand' is okay, that's what the game's worth now. hungry resellers, collectors and just people who always wanted to own (or own again) a copy are now motivated by a false fear (scarcity) to act irrationally

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But the scarcity is real. The guy who bought them all created it. And if the price is so high that he can only sell to an handful of people, then he'll be at a loss. What a game is worth is not a static value. It depends on what people are willing to give.