eBay Prices 2006 vs 2021 - Had a laugh at this!

[JPEC83]

I happened to read this old article and it had an image of an eBay posting for Eliminate Down from the time. This was an outrageous price back then but it looks like a bargain now. This isn't a secret but it is interesting to see directly how much prices have inflated.

Eliminate-Down-auction.jpgedmd.jpg

[Bloodreign]

The greedy only get greedier as time goes on. No reason for this game to ever have been as high as it's been, ever. Sure it's a fantastic game, but no piece of plastic is worth that price at all, no matter the game.

[crazyteknohed]

I sold the USA version of Sengoku 3 for AES for £150 back in 2006. Brings me to tears seeing what it goes for now. And yes I also sold Metal Slug 3 and MotW for £180 and £280 respectively. What can I say? I needed the cash.

[Spendle]

It's interesting reading that article 15 years later. Whilst prices have increased way above inflation, the thoughts and comments in the article are still relevant today. I know some in the community hope that sky high prices are a passing phase but I see this as further evidence that it's been like that for a while and I can't see why it would change.

Are today's prices bargain basement compared to prices in 10 years time???

[axel]

I think the prices will go back down. Electronics are not a good long term investment because they get worse with age. I give it another decade for components to start wearing out and nostalgia to wane. (With exceptions for items that truly belong in a museum, like that unopened copy of SMB that just went for $600k).

[dark]

Things have technically already changed for the better. If, like the person in the 2006 article, you just want to play the game on real hardware, its very affordable to either get a flash cart to play the games, or buy a $5 or $10 bootleg.

I think the prices will go back down. Electronics are not a good long term investment because they get worse with age. I give it another decade for components to start wearing out and nostalgia to wane. (With exceptions for items that truly belong in a museum, like that unopened copy of SMB that just went for $600k).

I agree, game prices will soften over time (I don't think there will be a sudden crash). Though I don't think we'll ever see the games that are considered rare and expensive to go back to bargain prices.

[IrishNinja]

yeah, doing this with saturn or tubograx games would make anyone weep - at this point, i don't expect the bubble to completely burst, but at least more common stuff should go back down. i don't know that i expect the rare/in demand ones to drastically drop, though.

[xelement5x]

I mean with games like this it's always a supply and demand thing. I think enough people that wanted the game got copies and are just holding them because they are either Sega diehards, collectors in general, or just enjoy the game.

Less available copies (and the increased ease of use for importing from Japan) has made a lot of JP stuff increase in price to catch up with US prices. There's also the halo effect for something like Magical Chase which is like thousands of dollars for the US copy, so people are "happy" to pay $500 for JP copy instead to scratch the itch of having the game.

I don't expect prices to truly crash for another 20 years, or unless if hardware really starts to fail/video games fall off the pop culture radar. You can read Action Comics 1 anywhere, but as long as the original is still strong in pop culture it'll be worth a crazy amount of money.

[Orchid87]

Twenty years ago $1300 could get you a AES Metal Slug cart. Today you are expected to pay 10 times as much if you are lucky to find one for sale.

[profholt82]

From about 2015 through 2019, values had plateaued or even dropped on most 8-bit and 16-bit games at least. It wasn't until corona that prices started going back up again. Even still, there are a number of high profile rare games that are still currently below their highest market values.

[Gentlegamer]

I have long since moved to flash carts and in the process to converting to full emulation (RetroArch, etc). Collectards have ruined the market.

[Raijin Z]

There is never an incentive for prices of out-of-production media to decrease, outside of some sort of sanctioned re-release scenario, like when Sega re-printed some of the Yakuza games for PS2, angering the collectards mightily.

[Hairlesswookiee]

I have long since moved to flash carts and in the process to converting to full emulation (RetroArch, etc). Collectards have ruined the market.

This is what I've been doing for the last 2 years. I still prefer playing on the original hardware, but I'll jump on a flashcard and ODE in a heartbeat.

[Baloo]

There is never an incentive for prices of out-of-production media to decrease, outside of some sort of sanctioned re-release scenario.

Agreed. This is not just a collector thing either I think. This is high demand for playing video games period during a pandemic and a time where video games have become more than just a fad for teenagers.

[DarkKobold]

I mean with games like this it's always a supply and demand thing. I think enough people that wanted the game got copies and are just holding them because they are either Sega diehards, collectors in general, or just enjoy the game.

This. People LOVE to blame sellers, but at the end of the day, it's the buyers who make the determination on whether or not they are willing to pay the price. Things like this are rare, but copies will build up if the market won't bear the prices.

If a game sells for $1000, there is no incentive for sellers to lower their prices, unless, of course it doesn't sell. Then someone lists the price for below another seller's price, and then someone else comes along and lowers the price further. Original seller sees his game isn't selling, and then sets it to the new low.