Video Game Collecting Tips: Track, Clean, & Maintain Your Collection
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ส.ค. 2024
- In this episode, we share our panel that we recently did at the 2023 Midwest Gaming Classic where we discussed how to collect video games, track your collection, find the values of your games, identify fakes, and some tools you could use to clean and maintain your collection.
One of the great things about video game conventions is you get people who reenter the hobby for the first time and perhaps decades. Sometimes, however, their enthusiasm can overwhelm And they can overpay for items, purchase items that aren't worth what someone is asking, or worse they buy a fake. Other times if they've been back in the hobby for a while they may purchase a game multiple times because they don't remember what they have. I've been guilty of this myself! As such, I threw together this panel to talk through all of those issues and more.
PriceCharting & GamEye App
One of the best tools that you can have at your fingertips Is something that allows you to see the real value of games and systems and also allows you to track what's in your collection. PriceCharting and Gameye are two tools that I use regularly for both of these things. Both provide comprehensive data regarding the value of games, loose, complete in box, and sealed. I know sometimes people will try to do their due diligence and look on websites like eBay to get appropriate pricing, but what they often look at is the listing price, not the sold price. Both of these tools give you sold prices, that way you know what the market is doing regarding a specific item. They both also allow you to track your collection, so this way you don't purchase the same game multiple times.
Game-bit Screwdrivers
Many video game cases, and systems as well, utilize a very specialized screw head called a game bit. Think of it like a reverse Allen head screw. This is important to be able to get inside games to open them up, especially if you are buying expensive games to verify their authenticity. Yes, people have put reproduction boards inside cartridges that are very expensive to try to get extra money for them. Any reputable seller should be okay with you opening a game in front of them just to inspect yet before plopping down several hundred dollars.
Authentic Versus Reproductions or Rakes
Reproduction cartridges are not uncommon, and most people do something to the outside of the case to call out the fact it's not authentic. As long as someone is transparent, I have no issue with it. It's when they try to pass along a repro as authentic that it bugs me. One other concern about reproduction cartridges is sometimes they aren't built the best. By that I mean some games do not operate at the correct voltage, and some do not have the edges of the boards chamfered where they would go into a system, which could potentially cause damage to your pins. I highly recommend steering away from reproductions unless it's from a known publisher such as Retro-bit.
Cleaning and maintenance
Anytime you get a new video game cartridge, I cannot state more emphatically, CLEAN IT! Many of these cartridges are approaching 40 years old, and that means you have 40 years of gunk, dirt, carbon deposits, and more that you need to remove from the pins. Isopropyl alcohol and a 1Up Cleaning Card will take care of most games. Some of them, however, will require separate TLC. I like to use a metal polish called Brite Boy, other people have used Brasso. Brasso is much less expensive, but it's a lot more harsh and abrasive. Brite Boy is not an abrasive at all, and it tends to clean up more easily when you are done. We have many videos on the channel talking about bright boy, and how to clean your games and systems. I'll have that linked in a playlist for you to check out.
I want to thank the team from Midwest Gaming Classic for having me at the show yet again. As someone from the area, it is a pleasure and an honor to support my hometown convention. I've been to many across the country, and they're truly is no place like home.
#MidwestGamingClassic #Panel #VideoGames - เกม
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Thanks for coming to the bonus stage and sharing your knowledge and tips in the ever changing landscape of game collecting! Some wonderful tips for others to follow when organizing collections and getting into collecting.
Technically I was in the 80s, born in late 89’ but I guess you can call me a baybay 👶🏻😅
Great meeting you! Go BrewCrew.
Thanks for putting everything together in for having me, sorry I pretty much just ran my mouth throughout the whole thing and didn't give you a whole lot of chances. But we had a deadline to hit, man! Your previous guest went over so someone had to make up for the time, lol And make it up we did
That Dkoldies, and "were you in the 80's?" comment, had me dying laughing!! Child of 83 here btw! Representing lol 🤜🤛
Yea, he looked like he was a bay-bay. Just a youngin, lol. And child of 83? You're not a Gen-Xer, sorry, cutoff is 12/31/79. LOL
@@RoXolid lol 😂
Great panel. listened live and loved the knowledge/tips. Plus the DK-oldies quick knock was a funny interjection.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I'm just getting back into collecting games, so this is a great presentation regarding all the new digital and physical tools to get into the hobby. The new database and pricing resources are a wallet saver. I can't tell you how many times I've been at a used game store or at a flea market/ garage sale and either bought something I already had or lost out on purchasing something, because I didn't know what I already owned. And the 1Up cards look like a great modern version of cleaning kits I had in the late 80's/ early 90's. I will also have to pick up the Pink Gorilla Bootleg Buddy kit. I haven't owned any of the hex bit tools previous to now and I was thinking of picking some up off eBay. The Pink Gorilla ones have nicely package all those together in a travel case, so that makes it a no-brainer purchase for a person like me who is looking to get a set of these Gamebit screw drivers. Once again, fantastic presentation, incredibly informative. Thanks so much, Gary. 🤘🙂🤘
You are most welcome!
Great video, I remember seeing ya in 2021 at MGC!
I've been there each event since 2019. MKE is HOME so I will be there anytime I can! I'll be at a Brewers game in May!
Wish I could be there
It's one to go to for sure!
Thank u for the recommendation on game eye i was looking for something to track my collection when can i start bidding on the silkowski edition of Mario 3 gotta feeling its gonna be rare in the future lol
That's hilarious! I'm actually going to try to see if I can't pull the sticker off without damaging the label. Stay tuned, it'll be a future video
@@RoXolid There is a product called "Un-Du" that allows the adhesive to become loosened, but not get rid of the tackiness of the sticker. Un-du is meant for scrapbooking, in the situation if you want to remove a sticker and re-use it... or to remove a sticker off a photograph. I used to use that to get stickers off of cartridges I bought from used game stores that were originally rentals from video stores. You have to use a bit more of it to lift the heavier duty stickers, but I was able to carefully remove stickers from game labels and boxes without damaging the print underneath. NOTE: your mileage may very and proceed with caution using Un-Du. But it worked for me a few times. Un-Du is less harsh than isopropyl or Goo-Gone. Good luck.
Best thing I do is track in spread sheets. everything goes on my desk till I put it in the sheet (day or 2) then to the shelve. Still occasionally buy the same game twice.
Another thing I learned is just have a list of 10-20 games you want specifically. then you know what you really want and don't buy random games you end up hating. now some systems like GameCube I want a complete library of one day so I don't bother making a list of those, but ps3, wii, snes, gba, all got their list.
Before I started using game I that's what I did, I just had a Google sheet for everything. And I also agree with having a list when you go to a show or into a store of things you're looking for. It helps you with your budget control as well. If I know I'm looking for two or three things and I don't see those things then I don't spend the money
@@RoXolid I'm actually pretty well with sheets so I have it auto populating certain charts, like how much I have of a systems full library, what present of my collection is a certain system. Total I spent. Really happy with it tbh, I don't know why some people really don't like it but it works great.
I also don't know what I would do without my list.
Do you think it’s worth upgrading to a 5x for wii games if you already have the mclassic with the wii u?
Yes, 100%. The Wii U doesn't look as good for Wii games as a Wii with component video cables IMO
How u can talk so much damn
Well that's my job