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Prices on new games?
Post Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 2:28 am
Hi there. What would you say is a fair price for a new game judging by say its rarity on Sega8bit.coms rarity scale 1-10?

Thankful for any help.
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Post Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 12:25 pm
It all depends on what game it is..

(In any case it probably worth less than what you expect to sell for, and more than what you may expect to buy for.)
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Post Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 2:37 pm
Last edited by FreddDredd on Sat Nov 10, 2007 3:04 pm; edited 1 time in total
Bock wrote
It all depends on what game it is..

(In any case it probably worth less than what you expect to sell for, and more than what you may expect to buy for.)

Heheh yeah, but if we are talking about a game like for example Alex Kidd in Shinobi World with a rarity number of 2 on Sega8bit.coms rarity list, or say Phantasy Star rated a 4, or Micro Machines rated a 6? It must be possible to put an aproximate figure on it. Of course i am aware that the quality of the game of course also plays a part i its value. The reason that i ask is partly becouse i am a sportcard collector wich is a sircuit very well structured after recent sells of a certain item and partly becouse i just dont feel like paying over the book for like a whole collection. :)

Thanks.
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Post Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 3:04 pm
The rarity list is only a rough guide, you can't base what you should pay on the scarcity of a game.

Using your examples, Micro Machines has a higher rarity number, but it usually fetches around a quater of the price Phantasy Star does.

The best advice is to just keep your eye on ebay, watch what games sell for, don't rush into buying things as apart from a few titles most appear often.
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Post Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 3:05 pm
playgeneration wrote
The rarity list is only a rough guide, you can't base what you should pay on the scarcity of a game.

Using your examples, Micro Machines has a higher rarity number, but it usually fetches around a quater of the price Phantasy Star does.

The best advice is to just keep your eye on ebay, watch what games sell for, don't rush into buying things as apart from a few titles most appear often.

Yeah, i hear you. I just edited my last post while you were answering to it though. Of course the rarity list should be able to be used as a base for deciding the value of the games, deciding the value of poor games and then certain games will be collecting a premium becouse of its quality.
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Post Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 9:38 pm
Thing is, Micro Machines is not a poor game, it's just not as "collected" as Phantasy Star and it's much less well-known. I guess every SMS collector or RPG fan "needs" PS, but Micro Machines is not an essential purchase for racing, Micro Machines or SMS fans.
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 12:54 am
Maxim wrote
Thing is, Micro Machines is not a poor game, it's just not as "collected" as Phantasy Star and it's much less well-known. I guess every SMS collector or RPG fan "needs" PS, but Micro Machines is not an essential purchase for racing, Micro Machines or SMS fans.

Who's called Micro Machines a poor game? The reason that i in this situation use the term poor about any SMS game is becouse Playgeneration in this thread obviously is of the opinion that the rarity of a game normally does not matter. I needed to point out that i am aware of the phenomenon that better games is more expensive than poor games not counting scarsity.
That was'nt my question though, i asked if anyone could guide me in any way how to judge a games value based on its scarsity. The way to do that is to know the value of a poor game, or say a general game, in any of the ten steps of Sega8bit.coms rarity scale. I'm talking about the general situation here, not the the exceptions.
Unfortunately i put examples in my second post next to the numbers due to the fact that i maybe a bit naive believed that somehow Bock in that case did not understand what i meant with the rarity list. That was a mistake obviously.
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 1:22 am
(I never ever even opened the rarity list of Sega8bit.com as far as I remember.
IHMO, rarity lists are bullshit, misleading, dangerous for games prices.)

As other suggested, it's better taking the time and observing how much things are getting sold on eBay. Unless you want to hunt for the extremely rare items you should be able to get everything under $20, Phantasy Star included (there's so many of them on eBay you can always stumble on good deals).
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 1:23 am
I think that the only games that can be truely considered rare or of universal value are prototypes. All the others are simply in the eye of the beholder and depending on the demand at the time. I still laugh everytime I see the number of games on ebay for example that are tagged as 'rare', when clearly they are not.
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 1:46 am
Bock wrote
(I never ever even opened the rarity list of Sega8bit.com as far as I remember.
IHMO, rarity lists are bullshit, misleading, dangerous for games prices.)

Unless you want to hunt for the extremely rare items you should be able to get everything under $20, Phantasy Star included (there's so many of them on eBay you can always stumble on good deals).

How can a rarity list be dangerous? If its not accurate sure, but if it is then you can weigh in what this does to an items value.
This is how it works with different rarities, regardless of just how rare or not rare they are: A number of collectors/gamers/dreamers is sitting by say eBay. There are at the beginning one hundred of them. There are amongst others two games that they all want. One of them is coming on eBay one each day, the other one every two days. It hence takes one hundred days for all of the collectors to get the first game, whilst it takes two hundred days for them all to get the other one. This leads to that the price is likely to rise more on the second game then the first, if not becouse of the total copies simply becouse time is a factor.

djbass wrote
I think that the only games that can be truely considered rare or of universal value are prototypes. All the others are simply in the eye of the beholder and depending on the demand at the time. I still laugh everytime I see the number of games on ebay for example that are tagged as 'rare', when clearly they are not.

Sure, mislabeled auctions is irritating and crazy but it does not take away the fact that things are in fact differently rare even if its not that rare.
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 2:04 am
FreddDredd wrote
Bock wrote
(I never ever even opened the rarity list of Sega8bit.com as far as I remember.
IHMO, rarity lists are bullshit, misleading, dangerous for games prices.)

Unless you want to hunt for the extremely rare items you should be able to get everything under $20, Phantasy Star included (there's so many of them on eBay you can always stumble on good deals).

How can a rarity list be dangerous? If its not accurate sure, but if it is then you know what you at leist should expect to pay for an item of a certain rarity.

This is how it works with different rarities, regardless of just how rare or not rare they are: A number of collectors/gamers/dreamers is sitting by say eBay. There are at the beginning one hundred of them. There are amongst others two games that they all want. One of them is coming on eBay one each day, the other one every two days. It hence takes one hundred days for all of the collectors to get the first game, whilst it takes two hundred days for them all to get the other one. This leads to that the price is likely to rise more on the second game then the first, if not becouse of the total copies simply becouse time is a factor.


Reality is more subtle than that. For one things, many people are seriously purchasing games of a given system for a limited amount of time (eg: 6 months or less). It's an emotional process, and most people don't want to wait to get their games, nor they are watching eBay everyday. So a game that appear only once every two week (not counting, say, in big lots, because they are less watched by casual buyers who don't want to purchase 2 systems) may appear as pretty scarce to some people.

What I think is a reality is that the less knowledgeable person may spend too much on a game that is in the upper parts of a rarity list. I remember that my first purchase ever on eBay (97-ish?) was a high impulse bid on a game because I just had read from a FAQ that it was "rare".

There is also a problem of scale, rarity list scales are usually not linear, meaning that a 10-rated item may be ten times more rare than a 9-rated item itself ten times more rare than a 8-rated item. So for example between 1 and 8 everything is common, but people get the wrong impression that scales are linear and may bid linearly.

If you are an "experienced" sportcards collector, or an experienced collector in any field, you're already into this in a much better analyzing position than the regular guy who is first collecting something.

I haven't checked but with advanced knowledge of 2007, I suspect that 1/ rarity lists are getting better and 2/ people tend to include strong disclaimer and exclamation to avoid less knowledgable people to over bid in haste. However probably 5 or 10 years old documents are probably still referred to by many people (Google has a bad habit to over-rank old sites, sometimes dead sites) and are still hurting a bit.
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 2:27 am
Bock wrote

So a game that appear only once every two week (not counting, say, in big lots, because they are less watched by casual buyers who don't want to purchase 2 systems) may appear as pretty scarce to some people.

That's why they need a rarity list.

Quote
What I think is a reality is that the less knowledgeable person may spend too much on a game that is in the upper parts of a rarity list. I remember that my first purchase ever on eBay (97-ish?) was a high impulse bid on a game because I just had read from a FAQ that it was "rare".

I think you should question the sourse that called the game rare. Besides, i asked for pure numbers of what to expect to pay for a certain rarity. If the rarity is in question, that would make a great answer too although not being to finicky about it.

Quote
There is also a problem of scale, rarity list scales are usually not linear, meaning that a 10-rated item may be ten times more rare than a 9-rated item itself ten times more rare than a 8-rated item. So for example between 1 and 8 everything is common, but people get the wrong impression that scales are linear and may bid linearly.

That is a matter of the creator of the list pointing out if the list is in fact not linear. Anyhow the raririty list is best accompanied with a number that you at leist could expect to pay for a certain scarsity.

Quote
If you are an "experienced" sportcards collector, or an experienced collector in any field, you're already into this in a much better analyzing position than the regular guy who is first collecting something.

I sure am, i'm just sorry that noone here could share their experience in this matter so i could spare a little time. Again, i'm not asking about the exceptions to the rule but the general situation. The worst that could happen to me is that i bid to low for an item.

One game i could need some help about is a brand new copy of Bart vs Space Mutants. I have gotten an offer about this game but how much should i give as most for it? Im not desperate for it but i want it.

Good night.
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 9:19 am
Some things to consider:

- Bart vs the Space Mutants is a terrible game.
- I think it's also fairly common. I'm not a collector though.
- Master System games almost never came sealed. A few exist sealed in clear plastic packaging (I forget the name, the sort you get cheap electronics in that is a nightmare to open), but shrinkwrap is always fake. The sticker on the box edge was not a seal. So be wary of how new it can be. Manual condition is about all you have to go on.

I wouldn't pay over £10 for it.
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 11:50 am
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I asked for pure numbers of what to expect to pay for a certain rarity. If the rarity is in question, that would make a great answer too although not being to finicky about it.


You seem determined to believe the rarity list is correct, but your not really listening to people who have bought all these games already.

Most of the games can be bought for between £1 and £3 easily, so the rarity numbers for the majority of games is meaningless really. A game rated 1 and a game rated 6 will often fetch the same price.

A game might be rare but that does not make it valuable as there won't neccessarily be many people that want to buy it.

The rarity list is JUST a rough guide, and its not intended to be total fact. If you can't be bothered to play the waiting game, and just want to bid according to what some list tells you, then you will end up paying more than you have to. Don't rush into buying games, and you'll eventually see for yourself what they are all worth. Anyone who has a big collection of master system games will tell you the same thing.

As for sealed Space Mutants, I'm guessing thats going to be the Tectoy ones that the likes of Dojar sell, no need to pay anything over £10 for that as Maxim said. If its a solid plastic Blister packaged one originating from France, then between £10 and £20 is more likely as several people are now after them - Rupert set off a trend for them. But if you actually want to play it, don't bother with a sealed one, since sms games came in proper plastic boxes, you can get them in excellent condition 'used' for £1 or £2.
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 12:47 pm
If you want a good example.

I would consider the SMS mark 1 to be rare, because as far as I know they were never released at least on the retail side in Aus (at least not locally, so I'm happy to be wrong on that point). Whereas the SMS 2 is about as common as dirt.

On the flip-side from what I have read the mark 1 was common in the US yet the SMS 2 never saw the light of day there.

It is all going to depend on region, quality of the game and a whole host of outside factors as to whether a game has any true value or is indeed rare.
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 4:13 pm
djbass wrote

It is all going to depend on region, quality of the game and a whole host of outside factors as to whether a game has any true value or is indeed rare.

Thanks for the feeder.
When it comes to the regions Sega8bit.coms rarity list is to some degree specified after regions, although it obviously needs more work on that.

playgeneration wrote

The rarity list is JUST a rough guide, and its not intended to be total fact. If you can't be bothered to play the waiting game, and just want to bid according to what some list tells you, then you will end up paying more than you have to.

First, thanks for the feeders.
Then on to your quote above. There is no risk here since the rarity list is currently not accompanied with any pure figures monetary speaking. Perhaps that would be nice by the creator of that list to point out though.

But then again, this is what the creator of that quality SMS-site said about the different rarities as late as in 2004:

10 Reserved for unique items.

9 The rarest commercial SMS titles, any games rated 9 saw a very brief distribution in very limited areas. Unless you have the most extrordinary luck, you'll be shelling out big-time for these. And bragging about them afterwards.

8 Generally the rarest games that had a "proper" release, you'll find quite a few of the very late releases amongst the 8's. They often pull in big money on eBay, but occasional bargains can still be had. You can feel rightly chuffed if you find any of these in the wild.

7 Although "rare" is a horribly subjective word, you would probably be justified in applying it to any game rated 7 or above.

6 You won't see these every day, but you can be sure they'll turn up eventually. Still a nice find when they do!

5 Not rare enough to be "rare", but a lot less common than the "commons". In a move of startling originality, let's call these "uncommon".

4 Getting a little harder to find, possibly more so in certain areas than in others, these are still never really out of reach.

3 If you don't find these locally, you won't have to look far online - there's never a shortage on eBay.

2 You'll never need to look hard for these. They're probably clogging up the shelves of your local games emporium. Because the Master System sold much more poorly in the US than in Europe, '2' is the lowest rating for US releases.

1 You can't leave your house without tripping over a pile of these.



This means that a game rated a one on that list, if the list is correct, should be given out to you. If anyone wants you to pay $3 for it, leave it if you like becouse there will probably come someone around to promply give it to you.
A game rated a 6 though, expect to pay more than the postage for it.
The postage it self is also a factor. Perhaps in those cases when postage is more than the games value then all these games regardless of rarity should command the same price, although i'm not totally sure about this becuose then all collectors/gamers could actually adjust to that fact. In local sells the postage of course is not as much a factor, if any.
In an unstructured hobby like this you of course can find any of the games for like five cent in some yardsale but since i am not a fan of scamming unknowing people without them even having a proper chance to value their items right i really would prefer to se some standardisation coming into place.
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