Tons of collectible stuff has gotten ridiculous the past several years. I get around it by simply not giving into the ridiculous prices. You can't be taken advantage of if you don't pay the asking prices. I'm not so much into retro games these days, but I've been into action figure collecting for a while. I don't buy vintage stuff, I don't pay over retail...and if I miss out at regular prices, I don't get it. As for retro games, I'm really only interested in NES and SNES. There's nothing like playing on vintage hardware, but, I'll go the emulator route before I pay crazy prices for 30+ year old electronics. I think the last retro games I bought were Mega Man II and a handful of Atari 2600 games about 7 years ago. Mega Man was around $30, and the Atari games were $5 or less each. These days, they can keep them. And, the need to have a "complete" collection of anything is a bunch of unnecessary stress. You end up buying shit you really don't even want...and at crazy prices. Recognizing all of the stuff you DON'T need is liberating.
No its same in montana.. difference is.. we have no mom and pop stores.. I've been collecting for 20 plus years.. covid ruined alot of it. Its rare and hard to find retro games. Goodwill sells online.. pawn shops are hit and miss. And personal sales are even worse because everyone thinks it's the next get rich quick scheme. I collect for what I want to play.. what I want to enjoy with my kids and its really hard. Now days
I wouldn't say retro collecting is dying necessarily, but it has absolutely become more of a luxury hobby than it used to be, which has made it less fun. I still enjoy window shopping, though. Sometimes I'll trade games to take the edge off the prices, and I do stumble upon good deals every once in a while. So there are ways to still enjoy it without breaking the bank! It's just not the free-for-all it used to be.
its not even worth it anymore to trade in/or flip your way to buying a game. If your paying several hundred for a game its getting into the "you should be asking yourself why" are you spending this much on a video game when it can be emulated. Theres like zero reason anyone should be paying $500 for a single game, ZERO! If you can convince yourself that oh $500 itll be worth $1000 by the time i sell it, it wont, thats what these reseller channels try to push because reselling is their game, you buy a $500 game and when you go to sell it cause you need money ull only get like $200 for it, cause it makes them money, and does crap for you in the long run.
I had to see why Bucky O'Hare was so expensive so I fired up the rom on my NES Emulator app. After suffering through dozens of text screens and selecting a planet, its just another Super Mario knock-off. I feel sorry for anyone that pays more than $1 for the physical cart. LOL.
I would agree with you. Nothing special about it. But they didn’t make as many because it came at the end of the life of the nes. Same with little Samson. Mario rip off but not many were made.
Hi there. Scumbag reseller here. 😂 As a reseller I'd like to thank the youtubers like yourself and retro gaming channels for making retro gaming cool and increasing demand. If you would like to discuss on a podcast I'm game. But yes for the most part the deals are a thing of the past. Everyone thinks there's gold in retro gaming.
Sigh… cards… I sold my childhood football, baseball, basketball, hockey cards for $150 and I had thousands because they were mostly 90s cards that were worthless because of over printing. Terrible.
I’m in the UK, collecting since around 2005. I see the same things as you. I know all my local charity shops are wise to video game values and use eBay. You can get lucky on occasion but it’s rare. I think what has changed is the hobby has become much more popular and almost mainstream over the past 20 years. Smartphones have made it easy for everyone to access obscure data in seconds, back in 2005 most people couldn’t search up values while stood in a store - I walked round with a paper tick list! In the UK we have a store called CEX that buys and sells media and related hardware, most towns have one. They have an app where you can scan a barcode and instantly see their buy and sell prices. I more frequently see games in charity shops priced inline with CEX, even DVD box sets too. It’s still possible to get good deals but it’s difficult now. I have branched out to other things now but still love my video game collection.
Finite resource + increasing popularity = scarcity = high prices. Much as I hate to say it, we're our own worst enemy by promoting this stuff on youtube and elsewhere.
Yea but honestly I enjoy this. This is my release. I have another brand for the outdoors that many people don’t know about. This is all fun for me. noboundariesoutdoors.com but honestly some times this stuff can really just get you down.
I collect on a budget so I see your point. However I think this is what collecting is. It's a sport of buyers and sellers. The value of these games is good so being invested takes more strategy when building a collection. I personally have a cap on what I want to build too and I'm comfortable with the pace and enjoying every moment!
@@aaronjackson4797 no I agree. But It’s frustrating. I could have the whole set of the nes if I bought online. But like you said enjoy the journey. I too am trying. I know sometimes it’s hard to convey in a video. Next video will be more upbeat!
Hello, a random guy from Finland here. I feel your pain. I live in a small country that has a little bit of retro scene. Basically every kid had a NES in the late 80's, early 90's. You can still find some games, come consoles and maybe some nick nacks as well like the gun, the carpet controller you put on floor and so on. That being said.. Anything beyond "normal" is mega hard to find and they're asking an arm and leg out of them. It's basically the same everywhere in Europe. You can definitely find stuff from time to time, but the price they're asking is just beyond any normal person is willing to pay. You can't really find anything on physical stores or thrift shops etc. because people are buying them and re-selling them online for profit. It's gotten so popular they've started producing "new" physical game copies for NES and SNES. Hell can freeze over before I touch those things, they're just imitations of the real thing. You really gotta pay a lot of attention to what you're buying these days, if you even can buy anything.
Great topic and worth discussing. I'm in agreement as a whole. Collecting is becoming more and more difficult, unless someone has deep pockets. And finding things in the wild is getting much harder. You have to get extremely lucky to find the golden grail. I'm retired, so I do have a budget of what I can spend. At this point, I'm concentrating on buying homebrew games, although I still buy for certain systems. Thank you for sharing this!😎
An important question, and a great video to get people to think about retro games and collecting - what is the next phase of collecting going to be like? What will collecting be like for the next generation? I'm happy to lean in on conventions and make collecting more of a memorable experience that way!
I live in Ohio. I often say how thankful I am that I got my games when I did. It is impossible for new people to join the hobby. Everything is just way too expensive now. So we will just watch our hobby die much faster than we should have.
i just quit and scaled way back cause everyone is copying off each other, and every youtube "video with my game shelves behind me" is starting to get really memey as well. Prices are skyrocketing cause thats what the hobby has become, about the money and $ signs, period. The 2nd most popular thing in the hobby is the clout/rank collecting by trying to complete full set collecting for a system, thats why every youtuber and their brother is doing that now.
Yeah, I mean, there are only so many backgrounds you can do. Since I talk retro games, I think it's better to have that than the arcades behind me. But there is a difference. I actually play my games!
@@thetechbuzz bro i hear yea i had a few new ideas with a fellow creator ( i dont do many videos myself) to use gameplay footage on a crt behind them while having the intro of each video demonstrating or briefly playing some random retro game before getting into the topic of the video. OR continuing to play while talking about the topic of the video
Yup, scared me for a second lol. But 100% agree. Where I am there are very few stores that have retro games (There's a gaming specialty store and a "vintage collectibles" but they have a small selection as it's not their main product). The goodwill stores never have anything and even gamestops "retro" section is tiny with very little of interest. There are a handful of retro gaming stores in Manhattan, but they are ridiculously over priced.
as time passes, the circle of people who are willing to put up with this circus will shrink, unfortunately the people who got elbowed out by big spenders a little over a decade ago aren't gonna come back when the values crater, we'll be 50 and 60, well past the novelty of nostalgia and the grandads with their "wall of valuable games" arent going to be so hip anymore, like being a vinyl record enthusiast in a time where I can download multiple artist's discography in a couple minutes for free
@@redroversk yea, I thought about if I’ll have all this stuff in 20 years displayed. I know I’m giving it to my kids, but will it mean the same to them? Will they get them same enjoyment? Probably not.
It's the same thing here in NY to my dude. They make more 💰 🤑 selling it on-line when it comes to game's that they know are worth madd money 💰 and yeah, they are big-time gaming collectors that will pay that money 💰 for it online then in person. It's a tough business, my G . #TheBuzzGaming 🕹😊
If I hadn’t gotten into collecting when I did, I wouldn’t be starting now that’s for sure. I’m starting to let go of some things that I never dreamed I would. A lot of the fun has been sucked out by the market. But something fun happened…when I started moving away from collecting, I started to appreciate the things I have. I think giving myself some space is important after going so hard for 7 years.
Yup its the same issue here in North Texas. Mom and pop stores overprice games and then there is also one store I go to that sales their retro games for cheap OR decent price. I get lucky with my game hunting as I only really collect for one system. PS1 alough I do collect for PS3, PS4 being my second system I focus on too, PSP , PS5 and switch. I do see its a extremely expensive hobby to collect retro games these days. PS1 is so expensive to collect for.
@@forest_gamingredux8156 a lot of what I see is stores marking up games 25% over value. To me that is absurd. Because you lose your shirt before you even own the product!
How do you feel about repros? I have started getting these with high quality vendors online for a fraction of the cost and it still functions as a physical game. I am not a collector. I just focus on the games I like.
I just wait for good deals online. I have like one or two retro stores there prices aren't too bad. If you get to know the owner of the shops most likely cut you some deals. I hate when retro stores use eBay prices. I have been going out and checking various retro or game stores. Usually find stuff overpriced for no good reason. A few dollars on a rare game but 20 or more. Skip and never go back to those certain stores. But I'm sure they have a local fan base. Some folks have money and want to relive their childhood. I luckily got most the games I want.
The gravy train is over. It is no one's fault that video game collecting is where it is at today. This is inevitable. Initially video game collectors were accumulating collections of items that had no value to anyone but them and a few others. As time progressed and the community of collectors grew so did demand for retro games to the point where a market formed. Naturally if a market exist... Businesses will emerge to serve it, for a profit, of coarse. This is the way it was always going to be, sorry to hear you are stepping away from collecting.
Nope not stepping away from collecting. Stepping away from trying to hunt games locally. Now I need to drive to big cities or buy online. I have to risk getting fake games by purchasing online because local stores are doing this. It’s a shame.
@@thetechbuzz Oh, I misunderstood your intentions. The truly messed up part of all of this today is the counterfeit games scam. That is why I keep a tri wing screwdriver handy! Good to hear you are keeping with it!
@ yeah I just thought this would be a good conversation get her and grab people’s attention to watch the video and weigh in whether I agreed or disagree whether they thought that I was dead wrong or I was dead, right
It’s the entire world and every hobby when said hobby is “hot”. Video game guys are just now feeling it because it hasn’t happened before like this. Try being into old vehicles it’s the same way. Tbh I’m tired of hearing 80 year olds tell me they looked it up online when I’m at the flea market 😂 then they follow it up and tell me how people don’t buy at the flea market anymore. Well I wonder why 🤔
im collecting switch games now while they are still available and decently priced. soon they will become retri and im going to have the largest retro switch collection
I’m still collecting, just got into turbografx games and it’s been fun hunting games down and trying to get deals. I’m gonna start collecting GBC now with Game Boy, and I just got into PS2 this summer. I’m enjoying the hunts my friend! Good vid though!
@ I get that, but they’re out there. My radius and time are prob a bit more than yours given I’m a bum who doesn’t work. I will say also having something new to collect for is rejuvenating my want to go to expos again 🤷🏼♂️
Here is the question I have for you. How often do you play all the games in your collection? Your NES games. I am willing to bet you have a handful you'd play but often they sit and collect dust. They are expensive home displays for clout. Why do I say that? Because I had a nes collection at roughly 600 games..a full NA Sega cd collection, full dreamcast and saturn NA library...I sold the MAJORITY. Why? I never played them often enough (except those few nostalgic gems) I was turned off of the hobby by phony youtubers and the cost to continue was too damn high. I got rid of all the filler and kept the games I was actually going to play. TH-camrs, and trend collectors have RUINED a hobby of collecting these games for those who actually love and have a desire to collect. There is nothing wrong with a hobby but I will bet my bottom dollar that if tomorrow you go into a game store and they say "I'm going to give you a deal on this Panic Restaurant because I saw your video and saw how much you love the NES so you can have it for $25." You would rush to your social media to tout that you can't believe you landed such a rare game for so cheap doing a 10 minute video showcasing the sale and THAT is why it is too expensive to collect. I can't count how many times I went into a store to see a bunch of mouth breathers drooling over the counter at games saying "I saw Pat the NES punk say this is RARE, and Metal Jesus too" the one word they say more than anything now is RARE. It's turned into a dick measuring contest and to be honest, the youtubers and trend collectors that have their giant expensive wall of games thinking it will make them a millionaire is what turned me off and pushed me to keep the games I love and get rid of the filler. NO ONE needs a full set of anything. Resellers have shown actual collectors what happens when a bunch of trend wannabes invade a space for profit. I feel for those that genuinely love the actual hobby and just play their games. Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it and if complete IDIOTS would stop paying high prices for games and just move on, the prices will come down. Supply and Demand. The problem is, when everyone is willing to pay whatever it takes to say "I got a full set of games I'll only play 10% of." this is what you're left with.
Allot of assumptions in this comment. But I’m not going to mud sling as you’re entitled to your opinion. As long as you realize, that’s all it is, an opinion. Yes I do play allot of the game’s on my shelf. The NES games for your most part sit there a as I’m going for the complete North American collection. Not for clout, but because I want it. Now I have a multi cart in the nes so people can play, but some games may not be on it. Like some from limited run games and others. So we play the original. As far as doing a 10 minute video on a panic restraunt, that’s a reach saying I would run to social media and do a 10 minute video. I have little Sampson complete in box and I have stadium events lose. See any videos on my channel about it? Nope you won’t. Not all TH-camrs ruin the space some of us truly enjoy the hobby. Which is why videos like this are made. Thanks for taking time to comment.
@thetechbuzz Your video spelled it out already. You didn't bother to pull off a random game and say "this is an overpriced game I really enjoyed and had to pay more than warranted because of the direction of the hobby." You look at the shelf and say "look at Bucky O'Hare and here's what it's worth (doesn't mean that's what you paid for it) and then mention it's rarity, then proceeding to Darkwing Duck again saying it's expensive and "rare" which it isn't...pricey yes but again that's because people pay for it. You then go on the complain that you can't get deals on games that have been artificially inflated which again was caused largely in part by youtubers doing what you just did. "Look at this rare game, but it's so good you need it in your collection" I'm not suggesting you don't like gaming or collecting as a hobby. Im suggesting that your video and the way you showcase it is in itself part of the problem as to why you're facing your issues. There is a LARGE percentage of so called collectors that buy for the sake of adding to their shelf...I was guilty of it too at one point just to say "it was cheap so I jumped on it while the getting was good" and they aren't buying for the sake of actually PLAYING. So many people are collecting because they put a falsely inflated monetary value on their collection. You've even highlighted that in your reply mentioning stadium events and little Samson. You're mentioning large titles because those are the ones people associate with "collecting" when it comes to a library as robust as the NES. I'll even do you one better. If you think a game like Action52 warrants a $300 proce tag and is rare...it is NOT. That game did not go up in price until AVGN showcased it. How do I know? I started collecting in the late 90s when no one cared about NES. I got my stadium events for $4 because at that time the demand was low for NES and that was its value (not a flex but to prove my point. The owner of the store (who still mentions that game sale when i walk in) didnt say "Oh that shouldnt be $4 its a rare game" They just wanted to get rid of inventory like any other business. Action52 I've seen a handful of times in the wild and you see multiples at any gaming convention. It isn't rare. Uncommon maybe , but the price jump was caused by youtubers placing a high value on rare games and the wanna be collectors willing to pay anything for it just to say it's in their set. Supply and Demand, the 2 fundamentals to any business. If people stop paying, the price drops that simple
@@UnacceptableFringewell again it’s your opinion and everyone collects how they want. I also have an action 52. If you watch some of my other videos, you’ll see the games that are nostalgic and I was excited to get back to play in the game room. But again it’s hard to see that through one video. I understand how it can be taken I was whining, but I think frustrated is more of a fair statement. The deals I’m talking about, is instead of the pawn shops and good will sending these games to corporate, put the value on the game and leave it in the store where people have a chance to buy it and see its condition. Know that it’s real. Sometimes that’s hard to convey.
@thetechbuzz Stores in my area do both..they put them put at ebay prices and if they don't sell, move to the platform. The largest problem here again is social media. Ebay gives retailers the ability to reach a massive audience and when social media outlets like TH-cam and I'm not pointing you out but people that create FOMO like Metal Jesus for example it sends people who call themselves collectors onto the internet in droves to places like ebay to purchase at any price. A good example is AVGN. Back when he used to do James and Mike Mondays, they played Sky Kid. The day before the video, Sky Kid was an average price NES game sitting about $7-10 . The day after their video, you couldn't find it on sites like ebay for less than $60. The problem is people continue to go "hunt" while morons boost prices. Metal Jesus even admitted that's why he does his "hidden gem" videos to boost his collection value. If real collectors took a back seat and refused to pay the high prices , the wanna be "investors" would drop out and prices would return for the most part to normal. Comic books and sports cards show the same history and pattern before social media days. Again supply and Demand
@UnacceptableFringe love this comment, there was a pal ps2 game, Michigan, it was $20 to $40 used for about 15 years, then the usual suspects glorified it and now it's $150-$200 and it's RARE, it's funny because it was featured on xplay back in the day and that didn't spike anything, it's only when it's a long out of print game do these weasels start singing it's praises, right after they "got theirs"
Tons of collectible stuff has gotten ridiculous the past several years. I get around it by simply not giving into the ridiculous prices. You can't be taken advantage of if you don't pay the asking prices. I'm not so much into retro games these days, but I've been into action figure collecting for a while. I don't buy vintage stuff, I don't pay over retail...and if I miss out at regular prices, I don't get it. As for retro games, I'm really only interested in NES and SNES. There's nothing like playing on vintage hardware, but, I'll go the emulator route before I pay crazy prices for 30+ year old electronics. I think the last retro games I bought were Mega Man II and a handful of Atari 2600 games about 7 years ago. Mega Man was around $30, and the Atari games were $5 or less each. These days, they can keep them. And, the need to have a "complete" collection of anything is a bunch of unnecessary stress. You end up buying shit you really don't even want...and at crazy prices. Recognizing all of the stuff you DON'T need is liberating.
Great insight!
No its same in montana.. difference is.. we have no mom and pop stores.. I've been collecting for 20 plus years.. covid ruined alot of it. Its rare and hard to find retro games. Goodwill sells online.. pawn shops are hit and miss. And personal sales are even worse because everyone thinks it's the next get rich quick scheme. I collect for what I want to play.. what I want to enjoy with my kids and its really hard. Now days
Yea it’s painful!
I wouldn't say retro collecting is dying necessarily, but it has absolutely become more of a luxury hobby than it used to be, which has made it less fun. I still enjoy window shopping, though. Sometimes I'll trade games to take the edge off the prices, and I do stumble upon good deals every once in a while. So there are ways to still enjoy it without breaking the bank! It's just not the free-for-all it used to be.
Indeed!
its not even worth it anymore to trade in/or flip your way to buying a game. If your paying several hundred for a game its getting into the "you should be asking yourself why" are you spending this much on a video game when it can be emulated. Theres like zero reason anyone should be paying $500 for a single game, ZERO! If you can convince yourself that oh $500 itll be worth $1000 by the time i sell it, it wont, thats what these reseller channels try to push because reselling is their game, you buy a $500 game and when you go to sell it cause you need money ull only get like $200 for it, cause it makes them money, and does crap for you in the long run.
I had to see why Bucky O'Hare was so expensive so I fired up the rom on my NES Emulator app. After suffering through dozens of text screens and selecting a planet, its just another Super Mario knock-off. I feel sorry for anyone that pays more than $1 for the physical cart. LOL.
I would agree with you. Nothing special about it. But they didn’t make as many because it came at the end of the life of the nes. Same with little Samson. Mario rip off but not many were made.
This is why i just emulate.. YES i'm THAT guy lol. Collecting is a B word...
lol
Hi there. Scumbag reseller here. 😂 As a reseller I'd like to thank the youtubers like yourself and retro gaming channels for making retro gaming cool and increasing demand. If you would like to discuss on a podcast I'm game. But yes for the most part the deals are a thing of the past. Everyone thinks there's gold in retro gaming.
HA HA your not a scumbag. You are one of the good guys, but honestly, you know there are a "few" out there.
Resellers always destroy the markets. Happened with comics, happened with cards and it's been happening now for the past decade or so with games.
Sigh… cards… I sold my childhood football, baseball, basketball, hockey cards for $150 and I had thousands because they were mostly 90s cards that were worthless because of over printing. Terrible.
I’m in the UK, collecting since around 2005.
I see the same things as you. I know all my local charity shops are wise to video game values and use eBay. You can get lucky on occasion but it’s rare.
I think what has changed is the hobby has become much more popular and almost mainstream over the past 20 years. Smartphones have made it easy for everyone to access obscure data in seconds, back in 2005 most people couldn’t search up values while stood in a store - I walked round with a paper tick list!
In the UK we have a store called CEX that buys and sells media and related hardware, most towns have one. They have an app where you can scan a barcode and instantly see their buy and sell prices. I more frequently see games in charity shops priced inline with CEX, even DVD box sets too.
It’s still possible to get good deals but it’s difficult now. I have branched out to other things now but still love my video game collection.
@@segacollect yea it’s tough, I guess you just have to keep searching.
Finite resource + increasing popularity = scarcity = high prices. Much as I hate to say it, we're our own worst enemy by promoting this stuff on youtube and elsewhere.
Yea but honestly I enjoy this. This is my release. I have another brand for the outdoors that many people don’t know about. This is all fun for me. noboundariesoutdoors.com but honestly some times this stuff can really just get you down.
Bro, this is normal lol, this is just a dry spell. It will never die as a collector we go though a dry spell. That just how it is.
I hope that's the case, I don't want to buy all these online!
I think you and I are going hunting this spring. But we’re not going to the usual stores, etc. You’re 100% right though.
Yeah just wish it wasn't as bad as it appears to be.
I collect on a budget so I see your point. However I think this is what collecting is. It's a sport of buyers and sellers. The value of these games is good so being invested takes more strategy when building a collection. I personally have a cap on what I want to build too and I'm comfortable with the pace and enjoying every moment!
@@aaronjackson4797 no I agree. But It’s frustrating. I could have the whole set of the nes if I bought online. But like you said enjoy the journey. I too am trying. I know sometimes it’s hard to convey in a video. Next video will be more upbeat!
Hello, a random guy from Finland here. I feel your pain. I live in a small country that has a little bit of retro scene. Basically every kid had a NES in the late 80's, early 90's. You can still find some games, come consoles and maybe some nick nacks as well like the gun, the carpet controller you put on floor and so on. That being said.. Anything beyond "normal" is mega hard to find and they're asking an arm and leg out of them. It's basically the same everywhere in Europe. You can definitely find stuff from time to time, but the price they're asking is just beyond any normal person is willing to pay. You can't really find anything on physical stores or thrift shops etc. because people are buying them and re-selling them online for profit. It's gotten so popular they've started producing "new" physical game copies for NES and SNES. Hell can freeze over before I touch those things, they're just imitations of the real thing. You really gotta pay a lot of attention to what you're buying these days, if you even can buy anything.
Yep takes the fun out.
Great topic and worth discussing. I'm in agreement as a whole. Collecting is becoming more and more difficult, unless someone has deep pockets. And finding things in the wild is getting much harder. You have to get extremely lucky to find the golden grail. I'm retired, so I do have a budget of what I can spend. At this point, I'm concentrating on buying homebrew games, although I still buy for certain systems. Thank you for sharing this!😎
Well said!
I'm experiencing that with vintage toys also.
It's a pretty sad situation.
Everyone thinks they have gold right?
An important question, and a great video to get people to think about retro games and collecting - what is the next phase of collecting going to be like? What will collecting be like for the next generation? I'm happy to lean in on conventions and make collecting more of a memorable experience that way!
That's a great question, that unfortunately I don't have the answer. I guess time will tell.
I live in Ohio. I often say how thankful I am that I got my games when I did. It is impossible for new people to join the hobby. Everything is just way too expensive now. So we will just watch our hobby die much faster than we should have.
@@PhysicalMediaMan1469 see you know!
i just quit and scaled way back cause everyone is copying off each other, and every youtube "video with my game shelves behind me" is starting to get really memey as well.
Prices are skyrocketing cause thats what the hobby has become, about the money and $ signs, period. The 2nd most popular thing in the hobby is the clout/rank collecting by trying to complete full set collecting for a system, thats why every youtuber and their brother is doing that now.
Yeah, I mean, there are only so many backgrounds you can do. Since I talk retro games, I think it's better to have that than the arcades behind me. But there is a difference. I actually play my games!
@@thetechbuzz bro i hear yea i had a few new ideas with a fellow creator ( i dont do many videos myself) to use gameplay footage on a crt behind them while having the intro of each video demonstrating or briefly playing some random retro game before getting into the topic of the video. OR continuing to play while talking about the topic of the video
Yup, scared me for a second lol. But 100% agree. Where I am there are very few stores that have retro games (There's a gaming specialty store and a "vintage collectibles" but they have a small selection as it's not their main product). The goodwill stores never have anything and even gamestops "retro" section is tiny with very little of interest. There are a handful of retro gaming stores in Manhattan, but they are ridiculously over priced.
Yeah it's sad!
as time passes, the circle of people who are willing to put up with this circus will shrink, unfortunately the people who got elbowed out by big spenders a little over a decade ago aren't gonna come back when the values crater, we'll be 50 and 60, well past the novelty of nostalgia and the grandads with their "wall of valuable games" arent going to be so hip anymore, like being a vinyl record enthusiast in a time where I can download multiple artist's discography in a couple minutes for free
@@redroversk yea, I thought about if I’ll have all this stuff in 20 years displayed. I know I’m giving it to my kids, but will it mean the same to them? Will they get them same enjoyment? Probably not.
It's the same thing here in NY to my dude. They make more 💰 🤑 selling it on-line when it comes to game's that they know are worth madd money 💰 and yeah, they are big-time gaming collectors that will pay that money 💰 for it online then in person. It's a tough business, my G . #TheBuzzGaming 🕹😊
It's terrible!
If I hadn’t gotten into collecting when I did, I wouldn’t be starting now that’s for sure. I’m starting to let go of some things that I never dreamed I would. A lot of the fun has been sucked out by the market. But something fun happened…when I started moving away from collecting, I started to appreciate the things I have. I think giving myself some space is important after going so hard for 7 years.
Yeah, it's interesting to see a lot of people with big collections slimming them down. I'm not sure I'm ready to do that lol
@ great to see you at CGC and TORG man. Keep it up!
Finding rare games out in the wild has been gone for many years. The rare games can only be found online.
A few years ago, I found some rare games in the wild, even post covid, but now, impossible.
Yup its the same issue here in North Texas. Mom and pop stores overprice games and then there is also one store I go to that sales their retro games for cheap OR decent price. I get lucky with my game hunting as I only really collect for one system. PS1 alough I do collect for PS3, PS4 being my second system I focus on too, PSP , PS5 and switch. I do see its a extremely expensive hobby to collect retro games these days. PS1 is so expensive to collect for.
@@forest_gamingredux8156 a lot of what I see is stores marking up games 25% over value. To me that is absurd. Because you lose your shirt before you even own the product!
How do you feel about repros? I have started getting these with high quality vendors online for a fraction of the cost and it still functions as a physical game. I am not a collector. I just focus on the games I like.
Funny you say that, I've been doing that with Neo Geo CD just to have fun and play the games.
I just wait for good deals online. I have like one or two retro stores there prices aren't too bad. If you get to know the owner of the shops most likely cut you some deals. I hate when retro stores use eBay prices. I have been going out and checking various retro or game stores. Usually find stuff overpriced for no good reason. A few dollars on a rare game but 20 or more. Skip and never go back to those certain stores. But I'm sure they have a local fan base. Some folks have money and want to relive their childhood. I luckily got most the games I want.
@@RetroLionCraig I agree. I try to do the same.
The gravy train is over. It is no one's fault that video game collecting is where it is at today. This is inevitable. Initially video game collectors were accumulating collections of items that had no value to anyone but them and a few others. As time progressed and the community of collectors grew so did demand for retro games to the point where a market formed. Naturally if a market exist... Businesses will emerge to serve it, for a profit, of coarse. This is the way it was always going to be, sorry to hear you are stepping away from collecting.
Nope not stepping away from collecting. Stepping away from trying to hunt games locally. Now I need to drive to big cities or buy online. I have to risk getting fake games by purchasing online because local stores are doing this. It’s a shame.
@@thetechbuzz Oh, I misunderstood your intentions. The truly messed up part of all of this today is the counterfeit games scam. That is why I keep a tri wing screwdriver handy! Good to hear you are keeping with it!
@ yeah I just thought this would be a good conversation get her and grab people’s attention to watch the video and weigh in whether I agreed or disagree whether they thought that I was dead wrong or I was dead, right
It’s the entire world and every hobby when said hobby is “hot”. Video game guys are just now feeling it because it hasn’t happened before like this. Try being into old vehicles it’s the same way.
Tbh I’m tired of hearing 80 year olds tell me they looked it up online when I’m at the flea market 😂 then they follow it up and tell me how people don’t buy at the flea market anymore. Well I wonder why 🤔
@@SidVintageToys ha ha true. Sometimes videos like this are venting sessions. I’m sure every hobby suffers like this.
im collecting switch games now while they are still available and decently priced. soon they will become retri and im going to have the largest retro switch collection
@@JaneTheDoe-id2vx that’s not a bad idea. There are a lot of titles so good luck!
I’m still collecting, just got into turbografx games and it’s been fun hunting games down and trying to get deals. I’m gonna start collecting GBC now with Game Boy, and I just got into PS2 this summer. I’m enjoying the hunts my friend! Good vid though!
Yea I need to get more turbo games. I too have been collecting GB games. Just need to find more than bloatware in shops.
@ I get that, but they’re out there. My radius and time are prob a bit more than yours given I’m a bum who doesn’t work. I will say also having something new to collect for is rejuvenating my want to go to expos again 🤷🏼♂️
yea you can’t just stay on 1 console. You have to collect everything that interests you. Conventions are going to be my go-to for games now.
whoa the salt and pepper asmongold... bwahahah
I was worried for a bit. Haha
HA HA
Or be me who has all connections to get the deals .lol😅
Share the wealth! LOL
Here is the question I have for you. How often do you play all the games in your collection? Your NES games. I am willing to bet you have a handful you'd play but often they sit and collect dust. They are expensive home displays for clout. Why do I say that? Because I had a nes collection at roughly 600 games..a full NA Sega cd collection, full dreamcast and saturn NA library...I sold the MAJORITY. Why? I never played them often enough (except those few nostalgic gems) I was turned off of the hobby by phony youtubers and the cost to continue was too damn high.
I got rid of all the filler and kept the games I was actually going to play. TH-camrs, and trend collectors have RUINED a hobby of collecting these games for those who actually love and have a desire to collect.
There is nothing wrong with a hobby but I will bet my bottom dollar that if tomorrow you go into a game store and they say "I'm going to give you a deal on this Panic Restaurant because I saw your video and saw how much you love the NES so you can have it for $25." You would rush to your social media to tout that you can't believe you landed such a rare game for so cheap doing a 10 minute video showcasing the sale and THAT is why it is too expensive to collect.
I can't count how many times I went into a store to see a bunch of mouth breathers drooling over the counter at games saying "I saw Pat the NES punk say this is RARE, and Metal Jesus too" the one word they say more than anything now is RARE. It's turned into a dick measuring contest and to be honest, the youtubers and trend collectors that have their giant expensive wall of games thinking it will make them a millionaire is what turned me off and pushed me to keep the games I love and get rid of the filler. NO ONE needs a full set of anything.
Resellers have shown actual collectors what happens when a bunch of trend wannabes invade a space for profit. I feel for those that genuinely love the actual hobby and just play their games. Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it and if complete IDIOTS would stop paying high prices for games and just move on, the prices will come down. Supply and Demand. The problem is, when everyone is willing to pay whatever it takes to say "I got a full set of games I'll only play 10% of." this is what you're left with.
Allot of assumptions in this comment. But I’m not going to mud sling as you’re entitled to your opinion. As long as you realize, that’s all it is, an opinion. Yes I do play allot of the game’s on my shelf. The NES games for your most part sit there a as I’m going for the complete North American collection. Not for clout, but because I want it. Now I have a multi cart in the nes so people can play, but some games may not be on it. Like some from limited run games and others. So we play the original. As far as doing a 10 minute video on a panic restraunt, that’s a reach saying I would run to social media and do a 10 minute video. I have little Sampson complete in box and I have stadium events lose. See any videos on my channel about it? Nope you won’t. Not all TH-camrs ruin the space some of us truly enjoy the hobby. Which is why videos like this are made. Thanks for taking time to comment.
@thetechbuzz Your video spelled it out already. You didn't bother to pull off a random game and say "this is an overpriced game I really enjoyed and had to pay more than warranted because of the direction of the hobby."
You look at the shelf and say "look at Bucky O'Hare and here's what it's worth (doesn't mean that's what you paid for it) and then mention it's rarity, then proceeding to Darkwing Duck again saying it's expensive and "rare" which it isn't...pricey yes but again that's because people pay for it. You then go on the complain that you can't get deals on games that have been artificially inflated which again was caused largely in part by youtubers doing what you just did. "Look at this rare game, but it's so good you need it in your collection"
I'm not suggesting you don't like gaming or collecting as a hobby. Im suggesting that your video and the way you showcase it is in itself part of the problem as to why you're facing your issues.
There is a LARGE percentage of so called collectors that buy for the sake of adding to their shelf...I was guilty of it too at one point just to say "it was cheap so I jumped on it while the getting was good" and they aren't buying for the sake of actually PLAYING.
So many people are collecting because they put a falsely inflated monetary value on their collection. You've even highlighted that in your reply mentioning stadium events and little Samson. You're mentioning large titles because those are the ones people associate with "collecting" when it comes to a library as robust as the NES.
I'll even do you one better. If you think a game like Action52 warrants a $300 proce tag and is rare...it is NOT. That game did not go up in price until AVGN showcased it. How do I know? I started collecting in the late 90s when no one cared about NES. I got my stadium events for $4 because at that time the demand was low for NES and that was its value (not a flex but to prove my point. The owner of the store (who still mentions that game sale when i walk in) didnt say "Oh that shouldnt be $4 its a rare game" They just wanted to get rid of inventory like any other business. Action52 I've seen a handful of times in the wild and you see multiples at any gaming convention. It isn't rare. Uncommon maybe , but the price jump was caused by youtubers placing a high value on rare games and the wanna be collectors willing to pay anything for it just to say it's in their set. Supply and Demand, the 2 fundamentals to any business. If people stop paying, the price drops that simple
@@UnacceptableFringewell again it’s your opinion and everyone collects how they want. I also have an action 52. If you watch some of my other videos, you’ll see the games that are nostalgic and I was excited to get back to play in the game room. But again it’s hard to see that through one video. I understand how it can be taken I was whining, but I think frustrated is more of a fair statement. The deals I’m talking about, is instead of the pawn shops and good will sending these games to corporate, put the value on the game and leave it in the store where people have a chance to buy it and see its condition. Know that it’s real. Sometimes that’s hard to convey.
@thetechbuzz Stores in my area do both..they put them put at ebay prices and if they don't sell, move to the platform. The largest problem here again is social media. Ebay gives retailers the ability to reach a massive audience and when social media outlets like TH-cam and I'm not pointing you out but people that create FOMO like Metal Jesus for example it sends people who call themselves collectors onto the internet in droves to places like ebay to purchase at any price.
A good example is AVGN. Back when he used to do James and Mike Mondays, they played Sky Kid. The day before the video, Sky Kid was an average price NES game sitting about $7-10 . The day after their video, you couldn't find it on sites like ebay for less than $60.
The problem is people continue to go "hunt" while morons boost prices. Metal Jesus even admitted that's why he does his "hidden gem" videos to boost his collection value.
If real collectors took a back seat and refused to pay the high prices , the wanna be "investors" would drop out and prices would return for the most part to normal.
Comic books and sports cards show the same history and pattern before social media days. Again supply and Demand
@UnacceptableFringe
love this comment, there was a pal ps2 game, Michigan, it was $20 to $40 used for about 15 years, then the usual suspects glorified it and now it's $150-$200 and it's RARE, it's funny because it was featured on xplay back in the day and that didn't spike anything, it's only when it's a long out of print game do these weasels start singing it's praises, right after they "got theirs"
I enjoyed this video and the serious music in the background
Thanks, man! Gotta grab people's attention, right?