This is the most underrated channel I know of, should be a solid 3 mil just based on all the other retro channels I watch who don't have near the quality and quantity of videos
I started using eBay for the first time only 3 years ago and I’ve been blown away at how reliable buying from there has been. I used to be nervous buying any used items especially online but eBay makes it so easy with the review rating and usually lots of pictures and great descriptions. It’s clear these sellers care about their business. I’ve had better luck with eBay than regular shops and better luck than amazon as well
@@richardsisle my local brick and mortar store will price match when I show him eBay prices, even beating it after shipping. If I want a game now and he's got it, it's usually the best price I'll get.
Most of my PS2 library consists of games that i bought from eBay, and they are in great conditions, mostly they include manuals. I also was nervous when i bought first game from eBay and it was Burnout 3
I regularly bought games from a few local shops over the years that have reasonable prices, but over the past few years have started ordering from Ebay. Knowing what to look for has meant I've had no issues & even asked a few sellers to provide additional information & screenshots with positive success. I always check on price charting before buying online as well as the local shops since they've got listing for all their games. Recently I've noticed on the N64 subreddit there's been a ton of posts asking if a game is real & I joined the subreddit to talk about awesome games & memories, which lead me to post a question asking for favorite memories which had close to a hundred responses. This really warmed my heart & gave me positive vibes, us retro gamers love the games & we're not verification machines for those who're less informed.
I’ve had an eBay account since 1999 - as a seller, I always went out of my way to make sure that what I was selling was packed properly. I don’t want to deal with negative feedback. As a buyer, I try to give grace to the seller to make it right. I have never been properly “ripped off” - but I have had numerous packages damaged in shipping. Which has pretty much always been the seller’s fault- like, you sold me a $150 item, but couldn’t spend $4 on proper packing materials? The most frustrating part is, the seller always sent me exactly what I wanted - and in most cases, it was rare and hard to find. But they skimped $1 in packaging, and destroyed the item in the process. In some cases they sent me a replacement, which had even worse shipping damage. That’s when I get mad! I will stress this is rare- I had some car parts destroyed twice by the same seller (due to poor packaging), when I finally gave up and asked for a refund. I am willing to forgive mistakes, but not pure incompetence..
My local store is nice in this way. He actually determines the price at sale time based on the average on pricecharting. The copy of Secret of Mana I bought he sold at a discount because he had repaired some traces, and I thought it was really honest of him to volunteer that information.
Pricecharting is my go-to! I won’t buy unless it’s within $5 of what the CIB or NEW avg is going for on there. It has also saved me from overpaying in a retail environment. If a game is still being sold for $59.99 or $69.99 in stores and Pricecharting shows something like a $10-$15 dollar difference, I’m not buying in store.
This was simple, and yes, mostly common sense, but I never felt like he was talking down to me. Just a concise list of tips for a beginner or a solid refresher for the rest of us. Making sure sellers have a good return policy is one of the best tips imho.
I think I only ever made one buyer's remorse choice. I wanted a Genesis controller with turbo function. My choices were the regular 6 button shaped one with turbo switches or the hulking arcade stick. I went with the arcade stick. It looks awesome but more than 5 minutes with the thing and my hands were cramping up. I choose poorly that day.
All Retro buyers need to watch this video! I've been a victim of all three Fake Game, Broken Games & more than once on broken games. I believe were all subject to over priced games. But I think that is just one of them things you just have to live with. I can say this, all my over priced games have come to me real & working. So there is that. Also everything is being shipped now a days, so I suggest a good way to stop receiving broken games is to buy games in original box as it adds an extra protection during shipment.
I always get every game for less than what it is worth and it’s been like this for me since the 1980s to Now I’m truly blessed thanks for all your work Retro Bird
@@charleybarley7148 I always try to save money on ps1 games by buying broken case games and swapping the pieces out. And you know with cracked case games they probably aren't fakes, just old
I think with that last bonus point, it's a case of just to do your research. Watch YT videos of the game or peripheral being played, or check a number of reviews. That way you'll get a good idea if the game or thing is for you.
When Saturn was a currant console I chose the MadCatz wheel over the official one, big mistake. I sold that after about a year and just recently picked up the official Sega wheel. So much better, I love it!!!
Great advice! Very helpful. I don't know how people who rip people off can live with themselves. I've recently started using eBay and just received a PS2 and some PS2 games. They look fine and smell fine but I have to test them. I didn't know about checking sold listings but I did know to check out the sellers as well as Price Charting.
I honestly don't think many of them care about video games. They just want money. There are plenty of people (too many) who ONLY care about money and nothing else in this world. It's beyond pathetic and aggravating that the rest of us have to put up with them from people on ebay to Government lobbyist. Should be deemed illegal or a mental disorder requiring heavy anti-psychotic medication.
Solid tips! I've been ripped off before through many different gaming venues. Honestly, one of the best ways I used to buy games was through Craig's List as you would physically meet the seller and usually could test the item before forking over your dough. Online game shopping can be a bit dicey. In fact, I recently purchased a copy of Pokémon Scarlet from Amazon. When I finally received it, there was just something off about it. It looked brand new but just wouldn't load at all. I tried dozens and dozens of times to get it recognized on two different Switches with no luck! There are a lot of fake Pokémon games floating around. Years ago I unfortunately bought a fake copy of Leaf Green from GameStop that didn't even save properly!
Once you’ve checked a few cartridge circuit boards for a particular system, you can tell if a board is fake or not without having to find a genuine board picture online. You just get to know what real ones look like, and the fake ones are very different in comparison.
There is one more rip off that's been going on lately (especially in social media groups) People advertising about games they have to sell but they end up just stealing your money and you get nothing. These scam artists have been a plague on Facebook lately. Remember to have seller post pictures with a name and date with item and ALWAYS pay with Paypal goods and services if seller wont agree to this DO NOT BUY.
Ask questions, request pictures, gauge response time & tone, check feedback reviews & be fair! I’ve bought stuff from 97%-98% sellers & have been impressed with the service
As far as overpaying, that's kinda like ripping yourself off. Not really on the seller to price everything according to Price Charting. Buying fakes/broken items, now that's on the seller.
I really love these types of videos. You are more serious in them. Those jokes were really funny. The one about the Diarrhea about a Taco Restaurant. Which is funny you mentioned that, cuz I am going to a Taco Restaurant with my female Supervisor whenever she decides to go with me on that. Yeah I got ripped off sometimes buy buying games I felt that I didn't like after I bought them. I am always careful to buy on E-bay or somebody from face book market. If I meet up with somebody I bring my friend along always for security reasons. I have had no problems though meeting up with people. I just go with Ever drives now or roms on a pc or clone systems. So I have plenty of games to play with now & I don't buy physically copies of games anymore.
If they don’t have REAL pictures. Stock pictures is an automatic 50% chance of being lied to. I got hyped on Amazon getting a 3D Terminator 2 on Blu Ray the stock photo said region free or A. It was region B. Had to buy it again from Korea on Ebay. The Region A version I bought had better artwork anyway. Otherwise I think I overpaid for Mario Bros and Duck Hunt a little but I wanted games for the then newly acquired NES I just bought. There’s also buying junk accessories/adapters that don’t work right but you learn to avoid that in time.
That WATA graded Rondo of Blood reprint saga has a lot of learning moments throughout - do your research was the key point. Quick story for ya. I was looking at a NEO GEO MVS cabinet a couple months ago in Vancouver BC and was told it was in mint shape aside from the monitor. When I got to the back (I don't think the owner realized how easy it is to look at the PCB) there were roach carcasses and corrosion everywhere and I quickly backed out of the deal. That's when I re-checked to advert and noticed that the cabinet they were showing was completely different than the one I was looking at.
I find that it's the people who are just getting into buying, whether for a collection or just some nostalgia; who are likely to overpay. Some local sellers think they are sitting on a goldmine when all they have is some commons. They sometimes get pricing from amazon, which is usually way out to lunch for retro stuff
Honestly, I think this is just a load of crap. When I go to conventions, I see thousands of collectors (long-time collectors too) overpaying for shit. Collecting becomes an addiction, and addicts are not always so disciplined.
I have seen people rip gamers off in stores and game stores. Many times retro game stores and owners look at eBay prices to see what to sell the game and the best response to sellers like that is " Thanks for letting me know I'll buy it right now. But usually after good conversation sellers in stores do give good deals for a couple of games. It's always great to get a great deal. Cool video. ^_^
At one point I had two copies of Transformers Beast Wars Transmetals in my collection..so yeah I had buyers remorse so much the first time I bought it that I bought it a second time
Absolutely. It's written and everything. My friend who sings has just been on tour a lot and because his band is doing so well, he's had a lot of obligations for it. It's all good. I'm happy to see him having success and the extended outro video will happen at some point :)
All those eBay listings with no pictures and huge blocks of text in the description that don't include information about it being complete or not drive me nuts.
I had a copy of conkers bad fur day for years and thought it was authentic. Eventually i started really collecting seriously and just pulled it out one night, immediately noticed the difference lol. 64 games are very often counterfeit and some people will not even know or just try to pass it off as real. Always look at the nintendo logo on the back, the circle stamp looks weird and the dot over the “i” is always a square in authentic ones but fake ones are circular.
eBay can certainly be the wild west. I bought a fat PS2 that claimed was in full working condition from a seller that was rated at like 4.5 stars or something like that with hundreds of reviews and I had even reached out to ask if everything was working on the console before purchasing. Got it home and SURPRISE! the disc drive didn't read any of those PS1 games or PS2 games that used standard CD format. Fortunately, I was installing a HDD where I was planning on loading all of my games from there anyway, but it still felt like I got ripped off. Sometimes you can do everything right and it still doesn't matter.
I regret buying a genesis 3 button arcade stick. It's pretty well built but I guess my expectations for the joystick feel were much higher. Maybe I'll open it up and see if there's anything I can clean up inside. 👍
Back in the early days of eBay. I didn't have a camera. So, I'd steal photos from other auctions to use if I was selling something similar. Also, people would list "From a smoke free home". Though they don't really do that anymore I guess because people don't smoke as much. But I'd always ask the seller if it's from a smoke free home as I hate getting something that stinks of smoke. Luckily, that's only happened a couple of times. I just recently picked up up MacGyver on Blu-ray box set. The good one from the 80's. The seller only used a stock photo. But I took a gamble as it was half price. And luckily I got it and it was in good shape. It just depends on how much of a risk you are willing to take in order to get a good deal.
In all seriousness, I came across a copy of Conker’s Bad Fur Day at a pawn shop the other day. Asked what they wanted for it, they immediately started to check eBay and they quote me an insane price. I very casually explained that the game was most likely fake - label was way too pristine, cart plastic seams were uneven, the back sticker didn’t have any sort of numbers indented into it… It was an obvious fake cart. I basically told them that people can make fake N64 carts like crazy for pennies on the dollar today, so they should be careful about what they trade in because a fake is a fake, regardless of how old the game is…
If you're lucky enough to live near dedicated retro game retailers, you can often inspect the games without issue. A lot of those places are run by genuine enthusiasts, and they'll understand the concerns of likeminded people (Just have a little empathy. Asking them to unpack old console boxes when you're not earnestly interested in buying is giving them too much hassle). I've been ripped off buying fake GBA games that were held in glass display cases before, and each time they load with save corruption messages, I'm a little less sad about them having to sell their store over the pandemic.
I bought a JP boxed copy of Kirby and the Amazing mirror. The game boots, you can see the menu, and load the mini games, but if you got to the main game, it crashes every time. It's not because it was dirty either, I'm pretty sure the the extended ram chip was faulty, only thing to make sense of it. Considering the game boots just fine but only fails at the point it calls for the ram, the seller probably sold it in good faith and tested and assumed it worked. I would be mad but I got it in a bundle with Nightmare in Dreamland also boxed and it was all overall in decent shape at a reasonable price, I just went and searched for a cheap cart only version. This was the first time a cart game tricked me into think it was working, a disc can have scratches and work up to a certain part of the game. I opened it up and all that, possible char marks, might have taken a shock. I could have tried to demand a refund or w/e but it wasn't really worth it for the price and hassle for an international sale when I could just replace for a lose cart for 15 bucks.
My big pet peeve in all of this is people that misrepresent the condition of the item. I got a WiiU bundle off eBay and the guy was obviously a chain smoker. Now I have a list of questions for items before I buy them online.
I have occasionally gotten "ripped off" while fully aware of that happening. For fake cartridges, I have intentionally bought them because its cheaper than the authentic thing and I just kinda wanted to play the game (I eventually splurged on flashcarts for that type of thing though). As for paying more than the game is worth ive done this because I pay for the experience of going into a pawn shop and grabbing a game. I just figure the slightly higher price tag (which I of course also barter down to something a little more reasonable) is worth it because I could buy it online for cheaper, but where's the fun in that?
Everdrives are your best friend. I do have several og carts for my systems my Everdrives make sure I never overpay. It helps me to be way more strategic with my purchases. I even have a few very nice repros that are very hard to tell the difference between it and the original. I always add a sticker inside the cartridge for my repros just to keep them identified properly. My Earthbound repro is almost perfect, but I would never try to claim it is not a repro.
Ebay's 'sold items' search filter is good for seeing what price a game has been recently selling for. I would say this shouldn't be your guide though. With any buying scenario, before looking at prices, have your own 'very top price' in mind. If prices are more than that, don't buy. You'll usually thank yourself later. For all the times you aren't thanking yourself, it's because you've reconsidered your top price but never do that immediately in fear of missing out.
I recently spent $20 on a PS1 off of eBay and it arrived barley working. Disc drive clicks and stops reading and it can't even read most of my games. The seller was willing to accept refund but I had to pay shipping. Didn't end up doing it because it was $12 to ship didn't think it was worth $8. Last time I buy a disc drive based console off eBay.
I've been lucky the last 2 retro purchases ive made with getting 30-40% below market value but i definitely got ripped off when I bought mario sunshine a few years ago, it was right before the 3d all stars announcement and without manual... 85 smackeroons. I've made my purchasing habits much better since then
The 1-2 years before Super Mario 3D All Stars announcement in september 2020 I was honestly so close to try to buy Super Mario 64 DS and Super Mario Sunshine since I got a 3DS and Wii. But also Wii U and Super Mario 3D World. I felt the risk to get ripped off and during spring 2020 we got the rumors that it's very very likely that Nintendo will re-release classic 3D Mario games on Switch. So I waited month by month and started to almost lose the hope and thought about these rumors: everything was fake? But in early september 2020 Nintendo gave us that Mario 35 Direct and showed 3D All Stars and 3D World plus some more stuff. And yes, I also wanted to see Galaxy 2 re-released on Switch! So happy that they re-released all these games so I could buy them and not get ripped off. I don't get it why so many people thought 60 dollar for 3D All Stars was expensive. That was 20 dollar per game! Just compare that with buying Super Mario 64 for N64 or DS plus Sunshine for GC plus Galaxy 1 for Wii - big risk to get ripped off! I bought 3D All Stars on release day (I pre-ordered it). And at summer of 2021 I bought a 2nd copy for a good discount, also in a store. I bought 3D World for Switch in february 2021 on release day. So I'm really happy! The only thing I'm not happy about is that they never re-released Galaxy 2 on Switch. I got a Wii and Galaxy 1 and 2 (Selects for both) but I wanna have Galaxy 2 also in HD and no need to use my Wii. So that is a way to avoid getting ripped-off: buy re-released games on modern consoles. But some re-released games/compilations can be expensive. Just look at Castlevania Anniversary Collection by Limited Run Games and compare it with the Digital Download version. The physical copy is a little bit ripped-off (maybe a bit too pricy). The Digital Download is very cheap on sale, so my advice is to buy it as a Digital Download on that great sale and they do that on these classic sales windows. If you're a huge Castlevania fan then the physical copy (standard edition) is a must-have. Maybe this comment was a bit long but I like to be detailed. But this route to avoid getting ripped-off works only for all of us that can accept the older games on a modern console. There's these gamers that only can accept the original consoles for these classic games. We're all a bit different! I would love to play the classic games on original consoles but I see it as a bit too expensive to buy everything I need, and maybe the stuff are in bad condition and so on. Plus a bit complicated to connect to a modern TV. I don't know if I have space for an old CRT TV at home. So yeah, I prefer modern consoles and re-releases. This means that I require a good remaster/remake of each classic game, or a great emulation.
I've sometimes bought stuff for higher than average, but in most cases they weren't egregiously high. I did try to buy a PS5 off of Ebay and got ripped off. But I got a refund so that's cool.
I just don't buy a game if it's valued beyond my limit, and definitely below absurd (and skewed) PriceCharting numbers. Some people, sellers and buyers, are completely out of their minds.
Some of these things are also the reason why buying retro games these days sucks... Everyone pulls up pricecharting or eBay sold listings, then just spits out the highest price. That would be fine in most circumstances, but often times it's just a random game that's been sitting there for months or years, and someone now expects to get the highest possible return because they pulled up some listing on their phone. I stopped looking for retro games these days, but occasionally I'll see something interesting in a thrift shop or a bulk lot of games, ask the price on it, only to watch the person take 5 minutes scrolling through their phone to tell me $100+ on something that's more like $40 tops.
NES has cheap games like Bionic Commando, Batman, Ninja Gaiden (i do see it cheap every so often), Gauntlet (Tengen), Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt (DO NOT OVERPAY FOR IT) plus there's special light guns now that are made for flatscreen TVs so you can play Duck Hunt. And even if you don't have that special light gun, Super Mario Bros. is great on it's own. Don't pay 30 bucks for it though. I had a copy that went for 30 cents and I got it for free.
Very good advice! I go to one of local game store and they charge the CIB price for let’s say a PS1 game where there is no manual and the cover art is made on color printer. I have a question, should I point it out and make a lower offer on the game or don’t say anything and walk away?
You should ask so you can determine if that place is a good place for you to shop or not. There's no harm in asking, especially politely, and then letting the shop lose a customer or be reasonable.
Game prices are so high. Its just best to just emulate or mod a system. Theres no way im paying over $300 for Kuon on the PS2. Glad im able to play it on the fat Ps2 mod.
With ebay nowadays, it comes down to sheer luck. If there is only few bad feedback to a seller (2 to 100 let's say), I still buy. Especially if the complains are about anything but the condition of the game. I can work with anything, if the game arrives and is like discribed. I had many sellers with perfect score and still got an item that was far from "very good". To me, "like new" means that there are no marks on the game. Not a few, not light, NONE. With "very good", you can count the scratches. Marks beyond that are whatever is left. But it's astounding how many games are listed as new there. 😅
Glad I don't have to collect anymore, it's a scammers paradise even if the item you want is legit. The prices now are insane. Good luck to those still trying tho.. 👀
The only time I’ve ever been truly ripped off (other than ripping myself off by knowingly overpaying because I was impatient, don’t do this) is when I received a fake GBA cart from eBay. I alerted the seller and he apologized and refunded me right away. He also removed all the other gba games that he had listed until he could verify their authenticity. So, kind of an honest ripoff I guess…? 🤔 But it was partially my fault for not looking at the sticker label close enough. It was clearly incorrect. So my advice is to always do your research before you buy and make sure you know exactly what you should be getting and what questions to ask sellers before you buy. Oh and know your prices and hold out for the best deal. Don’t overpay like an idiot (me).
A tip I would give people, particularly with eBay purchases is… really read the descriptions, look at the pictures and know what you are buying. A way people like to rip you off is to be dishonest without actually lying… more drawing a picture YOU are going to misinterpret in an excited moment to lure you to buy something you didn’t sign up for. You will see language that protects the seller and not the buyer and thrown in auctions that casually make you the person who’s taking the risk by being overly optimistic. Stuff like “untested but worked last time I tried it”… that kinda verbiage is a red flag… they “last time I tried it” might have been before their basement flooded… Another red flag are “pretty good deals”. If you are looking for a game you typically see for say… $100 and this one you are looking st is $70, you might buy it hastily and miss the description that says the condition is “new” but also doesn’t mention its “authentic”. What you are usually doing is buying an overpriced replica made to make you THINK you are getting a great deal… and the description has JUST enough “CYA” verbiage so that the seller can say “look, didn’t you read the description? I never said it was authentic. Lastly, I’ve seen people piece a very expensive US NES or Gameboy “CIB” game… and what you are getting Is a US cart and all box/manual of a PAL edition which might not be what you want or expected… I’ve gotten burned by this little trick once or twice when hastily purchasing what I thought was a great deal.
Just read a best buy review of someone hating the PS5 console, says he has to replace controllers yearly because they break on him...Yet the guy in the review bought 5 PS5's lol.
Yeah those people on ebay who write the game is broken missing a manual, & they keep buying from that seller, yeah I think stop buying from them. I hate best buy reviews when you read about a PS5, you get that comment from a wife buying it for her husband. It's really annoying when you read them cuz it'll be like,I bought this for my his husband, he loves it, I love the color & how small it is to fit in a dining room table or something. My 1st reaction is, nobody cares that you have a husband or kids, so get off the reviews & let that said person who bought the console do the review of his or her said product.
for Sega Genesis there's Street Fighter II Special Champion Edition, NBA Jam Tournament Edition (T.E.), and most games found in Sega Genesis collections on modern consoles that people tend to avoid due to already being able to play them. Primal Rage ain't bad either for what it is. Mortal Kombat should be pretty cheap and if it's not, it's a ripoff. 2 is better, but 1 is alright. Sonic games should be cheap since it's one of the highest selling franchises on the system. Aladdin too. Aladdin is AWESOME!!!!
These days it's virtually impossible with most consoles to NOT get ripped off with the insane pricing of retro gaming! Saturn isn't too bad I've found as Japanese imports are alot cheaper and most 360/PS3 era games aren't too insane yet, but the market in general seems to be going up and up as more people are profiteering off the increases popularity of retro game collecting it seems :(
Real GBA games will have a two digit number engraved into the label on the right side. Doesn't matter which numbers are there, if you see them you're probably good to go.
I admit it, there's been expensive games on eBay that I purposely bought even though I knew I was being ripped off. I just had to have it! Dang you depression!
This guy is literally the Mister Rogers of retro gaming.
Calms my soul
Lol That’s actually a great analogy. I used to love Mr. Rogers. 😊
Nah, he's the Denis Leary of retro gaming.
ABSOLUTELY
You are the Mr Rogers of commenting this on every video
This is the most underrated channel I know of, should be a solid 3 mil just based on all the other retro channels I watch who don't have near the quality and quantity of videos
Very kind of you to say :)
@@RetroBirdGamingIs this a direct attack towards the DK Oldies scam fiasco?
Agreed ❤
I started using eBay for the first time only 3 years ago and I’ve been blown away at how reliable buying from there has been. I used to be nervous buying any used items especially online but eBay makes it so easy with the review rating and usually lots of pictures and great descriptions. It’s clear these sellers care about their business. I’ve had better luck with eBay than regular shops and better luck than amazon as well
I agree! A majority of my collection has been through eBay, a lot of times eBay is cheaper than certain game stores
@@richardsisle my local brick and mortar store will price match when I show him eBay prices, even beating it after shipping. If I want a game now and he's got it, it's usually the best price I'll get.
Most of my PS2 library consists of games that i bought from eBay, and they are in great conditions, mostly they include manuals. I also was nervous when i bought first game from eBay and it was Burnout 3
I thoroughly enjoy the simple, but correct advice here.
I don't even collect retro stuff but the videos are just so funny and passionate that I cant help but watch lol
I regularly bought games from a few local shops over the years that have reasonable prices, but over the past few years have started ordering from Ebay. Knowing what to look for has meant I've had no issues & even asked a few sellers to provide additional information & screenshots with positive success. I always check on price charting before buying online as well as the local shops since they've got listing for all their games.
Recently I've noticed on the N64 subreddit there's been a ton of posts asking if a game is real & I joined the subreddit to talk about awesome games & memories, which lead me to post a question asking for favorite memories which had close to a hundred responses. This really warmed my heart & gave me positive vibes, us retro gamers love the games & we're not verification machines for those who're less informed.
Love Fridays not only because its Friday but because it's Retro Bird upload day!
I’ve had an eBay account since 1999 - as a seller, I always went out of my way to make sure that what I was selling was packed properly. I don’t want to deal with negative feedback. As a buyer, I try to give grace to the seller to make it right.
I have never been properly “ripped off” - but I have had numerous packages damaged in shipping. Which has pretty much always been the seller’s fault- like, you sold me a $150 item, but couldn’t spend $4 on proper packing materials?
The most frustrating part is, the seller always sent me exactly what I wanted - and in most cases, it was rare and hard to find. But they skimped $1 in packaging, and destroyed the item in the process.
In some cases they sent me a replacement,
which had even worse shipping damage. That’s when I get mad!
I will stress this is rare- I had some car parts destroyed twice by the same seller (due to poor packaging), when I finally gave up and asked for a refund. I am willing to forgive mistakes, but not pure incompetence..
My local store is nice in this way. He actually determines the price at sale time based on the average on pricecharting. The copy of Secret of Mana I bought he sold at a discount because he had repaired some traces, and I thought it was really honest of him to volunteer that information.
Pricecharting is my go-to! I won’t buy unless it’s within $5 of what the CIB or NEW avg is going for on there.
It has also saved me from overpaying in a retail environment. If a game is still being sold for $59.99 or $69.99 in stores and Pricecharting shows something like a $10-$15 dollar difference, I’m not buying in store.
This was simple, and yes, mostly common sense, but I never felt like he was talking down to me. Just a concise list of tips for a beginner or a solid refresher for the rest of us. Making sure sellers have a good return policy is one of the best tips imho.
Glad to hear it came across that way. Exactly what I intended :)
I think I only ever made one buyer's remorse choice. I wanted a Genesis controller with turbo function. My choices were the regular 6 button shaped one with turbo switches or the hulking arcade stick. I went with the arcade stick. It looks awesome but more than 5 minutes with the thing and my hands were cramping up. I choose poorly that day.
All Retro buyers need to watch this video! I've been a victim of all three Fake Game, Broken Games & more than once on broken games. I believe were all subject to over priced games.
But I think that is just one of them things you just have to live with. I can say this, all my over priced games have come to me real & working. So there is that. Also everything is being shipped now a days, so I suggest a good way to stop receiving broken games is to buy games in original box as it adds an extra protection during shipment.
I always get every game for less than what it is worth and it’s been like this for me since the 1980s to Now I’m truly blessed thanks for all your work Retro Bird
Lmao, I hear this all the time from collectors, and each and every time, it's a lie.
@@charleybarley7148 I always try to save money on ps1 games by buying broken case games and swapping the pieces out. And you know with cracked case games they probably aren't fakes, just old
I'm so trusting and eager. I've been bamboozled several times, but never for an amount I wasn't willing to lose.
That's the key. If you do take a risk, you have to think about if you're okay losing whatever amount you pay (should things not work out).
You, gaming off the grid and megadan29 are my favorite TH-camrs. Keep on keeping it real retrobird
Thank you John!
I think with that last bonus point, it's a case of just to do your research. Watch YT videos of the game or peripheral being played, or check a number of reviews. That way you'll get a good idea if the game or thing is for you.
When Saturn was a currant console I chose the MadCatz wheel over the official one, big mistake. I sold that after about a year and just recently picked up the official Sega wheel. So much better, I love it!!!
WE ALWAYS LOVE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY.
Great advice! Very helpful. I don't know how people who rip people off can live with themselves. I've recently started using eBay and just received a PS2 and some PS2 games. They look fine and smell fine but I have to test them. I didn't know about checking sold listings but I did know to check out the sellers as well as Price Charting.
I honestly don't think many of them care about video games. They just want money. There are plenty of people (too many) who ONLY care about money and nothing else in this world. It's beyond pathetic and aggravating that the rest of us have to put up with them from people on ebay to Government lobbyist. Should be deemed illegal or a mental disorder requiring heavy anti-psychotic medication.
Solid tips! I've been ripped off before through many different gaming venues. Honestly, one of the best ways I used to buy games was through Craig's List as you would physically meet the seller and usually could test the item before forking over your dough.
Online game shopping can be a bit dicey. In fact, I recently purchased a copy of Pokémon Scarlet from Amazon. When I finally received it, there was just something off about it. It looked brand new but just wouldn't load at all. I tried dozens and dozens of times to get it recognized on two different Switches with no luck! There are a lot of fake Pokémon games floating around. Years ago I unfortunately bought a fake copy of Leaf Green from GameStop that didn't even save properly!
Once you’ve checked a few cartridge circuit boards for a particular system, you can tell if a board is fake or not without having to find a genuine board picture online. You just get to know what real ones look like, and the fake ones are very different in comparison.
Absolutely. The more familiar you become with them, the better you get at it.
There is one more rip off that's been going on lately (especially in social media groups) People advertising about games they have to sell but they end up just stealing your money and you get nothing. These scam artists have been a plague on Facebook lately. Remember to have seller post pictures with a name and date with item and ALWAYS pay with Paypal goods and services if seller wont agree to this DO NOT BUY.
Ask questions, request pictures, gauge response time & tone, check feedback reviews & be fair! I’ve bought stuff from 97%-98% sellers & have been impressed with the service
As far as overpaying, that's kinda like ripping yourself off. Not really on the seller to price everything according to Price Charting. Buying fakes/broken items, now that's on the seller.
You are talking about DKOldies without saying it.😆
I really love these types of videos. You are more serious in them. Those jokes were really funny. The one about the Diarrhea about a Taco Restaurant. Which is funny you mentioned that, cuz I am going to a Taco Restaurant with my female Supervisor whenever she decides to go with me on that.
Yeah I got ripped off sometimes buy buying games I felt that I didn't like after I bought them. I am always careful to buy on E-bay or somebody from face book market. If I meet up with somebody I bring my friend along always for security reasons. I have had no problems though meeting up with people.
I just go with Ever drives now or roms on a pc or clone systems. So I have plenty of games to play with now & I don't buy physically copies of games anymore.
Glad you liked it :)
I have never related to the intro of a video more than this.
If they don’t have REAL pictures. Stock pictures is an automatic 50% chance of being lied to. I got hyped on Amazon getting a 3D Terminator 2 on Blu Ray the stock photo said region free or A. It was region B. Had to buy it again from Korea on Ebay.
The Region A version I bought had better artwork anyway.
Otherwise I think I overpaid for Mario Bros and Duck Hunt a little but I wanted games for the then newly acquired NES I just bought.
There’s also buying junk accessories/adapters that don’t work right but you learn to avoid that in time.
Speaking of silly accessories I feel the light guns take up a lot of room for how little I play them
Man, some consoles are just out of my reach so I use emulation. But I'm thankful the Game Boy line will always be cheap.
That WATA graded Rondo of Blood reprint saga has a lot of learning moments throughout - do your research was the key point.
Quick story for ya. I was looking at a NEO GEO MVS cabinet a couple months ago in Vancouver BC and was told it was in mint shape aside from the monitor. When I got to the back (I don't think the owner realized how easy it is to look at the PCB) there were roach carcasses and corrosion everywhere and I quickly backed out of the deal. That's when I re-checked to advert and noticed that the cabinet they were showing was completely different than the one I was looking at.
Patience and observation is the key to building a great game library. Save that money. I think he nailed it.
I find that it's the people who are just getting into buying, whether for a collection or just some nostalgia; who are likely to overpay. Some local sellers think they are sitting on a goldmine when all they have is some commons. They sometimes get pricing from amazon, which is usually way out to lunch for retro stuff
Honestly, I think this is just a load of crap. When I go to conventions, I see thousands of collectors (long-time collectors too) overpaying for shit. Collecting becomes an addiction, and addicts are not always so disciplined.
Another great video! We want to feature you in the magazine and on the show!
I have seen people rip gamers off in stores and game stores. Many times retro game stores and owners look at eBay prices to see what to sell the game and the best response to sellers like that is " Thanks for letting me know I'll buy it right now. But usually after good conversation sellers in stores do give good deals for a couple of games. It's always great to get a great deal. Cool video. ^_^
At one point I had two copies of Transformers Beast Wars Transmetals in my collection..so yeah I had buyers remorse so much the first time I bought it that I bought it a second time
Oof...just "oof."
It would be cool to see a video of your gameroom at some point. Like the content, keep it up.
Solid sound advice 👌 💯 👍
I have been selling some of my collection but I am being fair with my prices.
Also I always take pictures of the inside of the cartridges that I sell.
It's not often people will include pictures of the inside by default, so that's really nice of you.
Been waiting so long for this lol
I was spoiled with your entire back catalog and now I have to wait for new videos like everyone else sad😢lol😂
Hey retro bird. Love your work. Are you still planning to release the extended outro song at some point?
Absolutely. It's written and everything. My friend who sings has just been on tour a lot and because his band is doing so well, he's had a lot of obligations for it. It's all good. I'm happy to see him having success and the extended outro video will happen at some point :)
@@RetroBirdGaming good deal man. I can’t wait. And congrats to your friend on his bands success. 😀
All those eBay listings with no pictures and huge blocks of text in the description that don't include information about it being complete or not drive me nuts.
Haha :)
I had a copy of conkers bad fur day for years and thought it was authentic. Eventually i started really collecting seriously and just pulled it out one night, immediately noticed the difference lol. 64 games are very often counterfeit and some people will not even know or just try to pass it off as real. Always look at the nintendo logo on the back, the circle stamp looks weird and the dot over the “i” is always a square in authentic ones but fake ones are circular.
eBay can certainly be the wild west. I bought a fat PS2 that claimed was in full working condition from a seller that was rated at like 4.5 stars or something like that with hundreds of reviews and I had even reached out to ask if everything was working on the console before purchasing. Got it home and SURPRISE! the disc drive didn't read any of those PS1 games or PS2 games that used standard CD format. Fortunately, I was installing a HDD where I was planning on loading all of my games from there anyway, but it still felt like I got ripped off. Sometimes you can do everything right and it still doesn't matter.
I regret buying a genesis 3 button arcade stick. It's pretty well built but I guess my expectations for the joystick feel were much higher. Maybe I'll open it up and see if there's anything I can clean up inside. 👍
Back in the early days of eBay. I didn't have a camera. So, I'd steal photos from other auctions to use if I was selling something similar. Also, people would list "From a smoke free home". Though they don't really do that anymore I guess because people don't smoke as much. But I'd always ask the seller if it's from a smoke free home as I hate getting something that stinks of smoke. Luckily, that's only happened a couple of times.
I just recently picked up up MacGyver on Blu-ray box set. The good one from the 80's. The seller only used a stock photo. But I took a gamble as it was half price. And luckily I got it and it was in good shape. It just depends on how much of a risk you are willing to take in order to get a good deal.
You remind me of shoenice lmao!! I love your content and opinions though! I subscribed, keep killin it my man :)
Glad to have you on the channel!
In all seriousness, I came across a copy of Conker’s Bad Fur Day at a pawn shop the other day. Asked what they wanted for it, they immediately started to check eBay and they quote me an insane price. I very casually explained that the game was most likely fake - label was way too pristine, cart plastic seams were uneven, the back sticker didn’t have any sort of numbers indented into it… It was an obvious fake cart. I basically told them that people can make fake N64 carts like crazy for pennies on the dollar today, so they should be careful about what they trade in because a fake is a fake, regardless of how old the game is…
Holy fuck, just stumbled across this channel and haven't laughed this hard in a while.
If you're lucky enough to live near dedicated retro game retailers, you can often inspect the games without issue. A lot of those places are run by genuine enthusiasts, and they'll understand the concerns of likeminded people (Just have a little empathy. Asking them to unpack old console boxes when you're not earnestly interested in buying is giving them too much hassle). I've been ripped off buying fake GBA games that were held in glass display cases before, and each time they load with save corruption messages, I'm a little less sad about them having to sell their store over the pandemic.
I bought a JP boxed copy of Kirby and the Amazing mirror. The game boots, you can see the menu, and load the mini games, but if you got to the main game, it crashes every time. It's not because it was dirty either, I'm pretty sure the the extended ram chip was faulty, only thing to make sense of it. Considering the game boots just fine but only fails at the point it calls for the ram, the seller probably sold it in good faith and tested and assumed it worked. I would be mad but I got it in a bundle with Nightmare in Dreamland also boxed and it was all overall in decent shape at a reasonable price, I just went and searched for a cheap cart only version.
This was the first time a cart game tricked me into think it was working, a disc can have scratches and work up to a certain part of the game. I opened it up and all that, possible char marks, might have taken a shock. I could have tried to demand a refund or w/e but it wasn't really worth it for the price and hassle for an international sale when I could just replace for a lose cart for 15 bucks.
My big pet peeve in all of this is people that misrepresent the condition of the item. I got a WiiU bundle off eBay and the guy was obviously a chain smoker. Now I have a list of questions for items before I buy them online.
I have occasionally gotten "ripped off" while fully aware of that happening. For fake cartridges, I have intentionally bought them because its cheaper than the authentic thing and I just kinda wanted to play the game (I eventually splurged on flashcarts for that type of thing though). As for paying more than the game is worth ive done this because I pay for the experience of going into a pawn shop and grabbing a game. I just figure the slightly higher price tag (which I of course also barter down to something a little more reasonable) is worth it because I could buy it online for cheaper, but where's the fun in that?
Same here. The adventure is all part of it. I've never bought online.
Everdrives are your best friend. I do have several og carts for my systems my Everdrives make sure I never overpay. It helps me to be way more strategic with my purchases. I even have a few very nice repros that are very hard to tell the difference between it and the original. I always add a sticker inside the cartridge for my repros just to keep them identified properly. My Earthbound repro is almost perfect, but I would never try to claim it is not a repro.
@@alfredl3831 Similar here, I have a retro box that will do 8 and 16 bit systems. I can add any game I want via SD Card.
Ebay's 'sold items' search filter is good for seeing what price a game has been recently selling for. I would say this shouldn't be your guide though. With any buying scenario, before looking at prices, have your own 'very top price' in mind. If prices are more than that, don't buy. You'll usually thank yourself later. For all the times you aren't thanking yourself, it's because you've reconsidered your top price but never do that immediately in fear of missing out.
I recently spent $20 on a PS1 off of eBay and it arrived barley working. Disc drive clicks and stops reading and it can't even read most of my games. The seller was willing to accept refund but I had to pay shipping. Didn't end up doing it because it was $12 to ship didn't think it was worth $8. Last time I buy a disc drive based console off eBay.
I've been lucky the last 2 retro purchases ive made with getting 30-40% below market value but i definitely got ripped off when I bought mario sunshine a few years ago, it was right before the 3d all stars announcement and without manual... 85 smackeroons. I've made my purchasing habits much better since then
Gamecube collecting can be expensive overall. But for 85 bucks, it should be complete.
The 1-2 years before Super Mario 3D All Stars announcement in september 2020 I was honestly so close to try to buy Super Mario 64 DS and Super Mario Sunshine since I got a 3DS and Wii. But also Wii U and Super Mario 3D World. I felt the risk to get ripped off and during spring 2020 we got the rumors that it's very very likely that Nintendo will re-release classic 3D Mario games on Switch. So I waited month by month and started to almost lose the hope and thought about these rumors: everything was fake? But in early september 2020 Nintendo gave us that Mario 35 Direct and showed 3D All Stars and 3D World plus some more stuff.
And yes, I also wanted to see Galaxy 2 re-released on Switch!
So happy that they re-released all these games so I could buy them and not get ripped off.
I don't get it why so many people thought 60 dollar for 3D All Stars was expensive. That was 20 dollar per game! Just compare that with buying Super Mario 64 for N64 or DS plus Sunshine for GC plus Galaxy 1 for Wii - big risk to get ripped off!
I bought 3D All Stars on release day (I pre-ordered it). And at summer of 2021 I bought a 2nd copy for a good discount, also in a store. I bought 3D World for Switch in february 2021 on release day. So I'm really happy!
The only thing I'm not happy about is that they never re-released Galaxy 2 on Switch. I got a Wii and Galaxy 1 and 2 (Selects for both) but I wanna have Galaxy 2 also in HD and no need to use my Wii.
So that is a way to avoid getting ripped-off: buy re-released games on modern consoles.
But some re-released games/compilations can be expensive. Just look at Castlevania Anniversary Collection by Limited Run Games and compare it with the Digital Download version. The physical copy is a little bit ripped-off (maybe a bit too pricy). The Digital Download is very cheap on sale, so my advice is to buy it as a Digital Download on that great sale and they do that on these classic sales windows. If you're a huge Castlevania fan then the physical copy (standard edition) is a must-have.
Maybe this comment was a bit long but I like to be detailed.
But this route to avoid getting ripped-off works only for all of us that can accept the older games on a modern console. There's these gamers that only can accept the original consoles for these classic games. We're all a bit different!
I would love to play the classic games on original consoles but I see it as a bit too expensive to buy everything I need, and maybe the stuff are in bad condition and so on. Plus a bit complicated to connect to a modern TV. I don't know if I have space for an old CRT TV at home. So yeah, I prefer modern consoles and re-releases. This means that I require a good remaster/remake of each classic game, or a great emulation.
I've sometimes bought stuff for higher than average, but in most cases they weren't egregiously high.
I did try to buy a PS5 off of Ebay and got ripped off. But I got a refund so that's cool.
Very fitting time for the topic hahs
I just don't buy a game if it's valued beyond my limit, and definitely below absurd (and skewed) PriceCharting numbers. Some people, sellers and buyers, are completely out of their minds.
Will you do a video on Dkoldies? That is what I thought of when I saw the video title of your video.
Great video as always, even for a non collector!
0:08 I am watching this at 4am because my brain decided that I should wake up so great timing!
Lol
Some of these things are also the reason why buying retro games these days sucks... Everyone pulls up pricecharting or eBay sold listings, then just spits out the highest price.
That would be fine in most circumstances, but often times it's just a random game that's been sitting there for months or years, and someone now expects to get the highest possible return because they pulled up some listing on their phone.
I stopped looking for retro games these days, but occasionally I'll see something interesting in a thrift shop or a bulk lot of games, ask the price on it, only to watch the person take 5 minutes scrolling through their phone to tell me $100+ on something that's more like $40 tops.
NES has cheap games like Bionic Commando, Batman, Ninja Gaiden (i do see it cheap every so often), Gauntlet (Tengen), Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt (DO NOT OVERPAY FOR IT) plus there's special light guns now that are made for flatscreen TVs so you can play Duck Hunt. And even if you don't have that special light gun, Super Mario Bros. is great on it's own. Don't pay 30 bucks for it though. I had a copy that went for 30 cents and I got it for free.
Lol, I smell a Retro Bird response to the DK Oldies drama.
The bird is word, thanks retro bird
It bothers me that the game manual for PS1 games are also the front cover. Once that gets soggy, so too will the cover haha
I bought a bag of fruit flavored marshmallows to eat during your video . Not long enough to eat during one video. Longer video needed. I’d watch em
If you have the patience for it, bidding instead of buying on eBay has been successful for me. :)
Do you buy modified games? Just curious...😅
Very good advice! I go to one of local game store and they charge the CIB price for let’s say a PS1 game where there is no manual and the cover art is made on color printer. I have a question, should I point it out and make a lower offer on the game or don’t say anything and walk away?
You should ask so you can determine if that place is a good place for you to shop or not. There's no harm in asking, especially politely, and then letting the shop lose a customer or be reasonable.
Great tips, and great video!
GameTraders in Oregon in the 90’s was like DK oldies on hyper steroids
I got some Tengen stuff at a really good price. Those games are fun!
Game prices are so high. Its just best to just emulate or mod a system. Theres no way im paying over $300 for Kuon on the PS2. Glad im able to play it on the fat Ps2 mod.
awesome video!
A little nod to DKoldies perhaps👌🏿
With ebay nowadays, it comes down to sheer luck. If there is only few bad feedback to a seller (2 to 100 let's say), I still buy. Especially if the complains are about anything but the condition of the game. I can work with anything, if the game arrives and is like discribed. I had many sellers with perfect score and still got an item that was far from "very good". To me, "like new" means that there are no marks on the game. Not a few, not light, NONE. With "very good", you can count the scratches. Marks beyond that are whatever is left. But it's astounding how many games are listed as new there. 😅
I refuse to open up my amazing condition cart only Chrono Trigger. I prefer to live by the old Shrodingers Snes PCB way of thinking.
I liked what he had to say. 🤔😅
What Taqueria hurt you?
If it is fake but runs, hey game on.
i am pretty sure all taxi drivers/tuktuk in undeveloped countries (they dont use meters) wake up and think i am gonna rip off a tourist today
Glad I don't have to collect anymore, it's a scammers paradise even if the item you want is legit. The prices now are insane. Good luck to those still trying tho.. 👀
The only time I’ve ever been truly ripped off (other than ripping myself off by knowingly overpaying because I was impatient, don’t do this) is when I received a fake GBA cart from eBay. I alerted the seller and he apologized and refunded me right away. He also removed all the other gba games that he had listed until he could verify their authenticity. So, kind of an honest ripoff I guess…? 🤔
But it was partially my fault for not looking at the sticker label close enough. It was clearly incorrect. So my advice is to always do your research before you buy and make sure you know exactly what you should be getting and what questions to ask sellers before you buy.
Oh and know your prices and hold out for the best deal. Don’t overpay like an idiot (me).
weird places 4 example el tianguis at leat here in my land
How to avoid getting ripped off? Patience + listing alerts.
Good tips indeed!
@@RetroBirdGaming This was a good topic and I enjoyed watching it 👍
I’ve been in the game long enough to know about all this stuff
A tip I would give people, particularly with eBay purchases is… really read the descriptions, look at the pictures and know what you are buying.
A way people like to rip you off is to be dishonest without actually lying… more drawing a picture YOU are going to misinterpret in an excited moment to lure you to buy something you didn’t sign up for.
You will see language that protects the seller and not the buyer and thrown in auctions that casually make you the person who’s taking the risk by being overly optimistic.
Stuff like “untested but worked last time I tried it”… that kinda verbiage is a red flag… they “last time I tried it” might have been before their basement flooded…
Another red flag are “pretty good deals”. If you are looking for a game you typically see for say… $100 and this one you are looking st is $70, you might buy it hastily and miss the description that says the condition is “new” but also doesn’t mention its “authentic”. What you are usually doing is buying an overpriced replica made to make you THINK you are getting a great deal… and the description has JUST enough “CYA” verbiage so that the seller can say “look, didn’t you read the description? I never said it was authentic.
Lastly, I’ve seen people piece a very expensive US NES or Gameboy “CIB” game… and what you are getting Is a US cart and all box/manual of a PAL edition which might not be what you want or expected… I’ve gotten burned by this little trick once or twice when hastily purchasing what I thought was a great deal.
Just read a best buy review of someone hating the PS5 console, says he has to replace controllers yearly because they break on him...Yet the guy in the review bought 5 PS5's lol.
just download the roms and rip off some corperation 30 years ago
9:22 Aha! You said you've never been ripped off but here you are victim of case #4 at the hands of yourself
I thought about that afterwards haha.
Yeah those people on ebay who write the game is broken missing a manual, & they keep buying from that seller, yeah I think stop buying from them.
I hate best buy reviews when you read about a PS5, you get that comment from a wife buying it for her husband. It's really annoying when you read them cuz it'll be like,I bought this for my his husband, he loves it, I love the color & how small it is to fit in a dining room table or something. My 1st reaction is, nobody cares that you have a husband or kids, so get off the reviews & let that said person who bought the console do the review of his or her said product.
for Sega Genesis there's Street Fighter II Special Champion Edition, NBA Jam Tournament Edition (T.E.), and most games found in Sega Genesis collections on modern consoles that people tend to avoid due to already being able to play them. Primal Rage ain't bad either for what it is. Mortal Kombat should be pretty cheap and if it's not, it's a ripoff. 2 is better, but 1 is alright. Sonic games should be cheap since it's one of the highest selling franchises on the system. Aladdin too. Aladdin is AWESOME!!!!
Is the secret ingredient in your grilled cheese sandwich nanners?
These days it's virtually impossible with most consoles to NOT get ripped off with the insane pricing of retro gaming! Saturn isn't too bad I've found as Japanese imports are alot cheaper and most 360/PS3 era games aren't too insane yet, but the market in general seems to be going up and up as more people are profiteering off the increases popularity of retro game collecting it seems :(
I really regret not getting the Nights Into Dreams and 3D controller bundle when I should've. At least I got the Japanese disc cheap.
If you've bought from DK oldies - then you've been ripped off!! 😅
Always go OG.
If you buy any game for over two times original MSRP, you’ve been ripped off.
Real GBA games will have a two digit number engraved into the label on the right side. Doesn't matter which numbers are there, if you see them you're probably good to go.
I admit it, there's been expensive games on eBay that I purposely bought even though I knew I was being ripped off. I just had to have it! Dang you depression!
I feel your pain I got batman and robin for the SNES
@tanigarcia100 dude I just bought mario rpg to relive my childhood. I got screwed with my pants on
@@theoswetpets4191 lmao
Now looking for sparkster my wallet is gonna hurt
Man I just bought mario rpg to relive my childhood. The screwing was real