Missed oppurtunities: Clearance games you regret not buying then and there

[wolff242]

I already posted about one missed opportunity in this thread, but of course I have many more and no doubt others do too. Let's hear about them.


I guess I lucked out by getting a single copy for myself at all, but I'm still haunted by the memory of the giant bin of pristine, shrink-wrapped copies of Drill Dozer for the GBA going for FIVE (5) dollars each at a Target in 2007 or 2008. Indeed I grabbed one for myself, fun game, good game, but I should have bought EVERY SINGLE ONE in there, there were at least a dozen copies arghhhhhhsjkngksldfnglkf.

I too shared a couple of my regrets in the previous thread, but luckily I've picked up most of the games I've wanted shortly after they've come out.  And since I've been collecting steadily since the '80s, I don't deal with trying to track down a rarity very often. It happens, of course, but not very often overall since I've usually bought what I've wanted when it was readily available. Plus I buy to play, not for collectibility or future value so I'm frequently surprised by some of the current collector prices of games in my collection.  Once I own it, I don't follow prices much, you know? I had no idea Drill Dozer was going for that much!

But another regret I have isn't actually my own regret, technically. You've heard of the US video game crash? As a youngster during the time I had no concept of a crash. I still played our ColecoVision all the time and constantly wished we had new games to play.  One day my parents come home from a shopping trip with a brand new one. It was a Cabbage Patch Kid cartridge for the Colecovision and was meant mostly for my little sister.  Ok, that's fine. She deserves games just for her too. But they described how they got it from the mall.  "They had a big bin filled with brand new games for only a dollar each!" they exclaimed. 

"And this was the only one you bought?!" I cried back! Moments like buying brand new video games for $1 are nearly once in a lifetime, and they didn't think to get as many as they could!

Even if the other titles were lackluster, and who knows what other games they had, I really regret that they didn't buy more of them.

When I was a kid, I would walk down to Revco (A drug store) and they had an entire table on Atari 2600 games (all brand new) for $1 each. I got $2 for my allowance, so after scraping together a little change, I would go and buy 2 a week. IDK how long that table was there, maybe a year...but it was always full.

[kazumn]

Panzer dragoon saga in one of those sealed blister pack for about 15 euros they had atleast 5 of them sitting in a cabinet alongside a bunch of other saturn games on clearance, i only could buy one game and bought manx tt instead.
My friend at the time had panzer dragoon saga so diden't really feel the need to buy one myself as i could borrow it from him whenever i wanted. Pretty sure we were the only 2 people at school who had a saturn.

[undertakerprime]

Of course there’s a lot of hindsight involved, but here’s the 2 instances I regret the most.

I bought Clay Fighter Sculptor’s Cut from my local Blockbuster when they were clearancing their old stock in the early 2000s. It turns out I made the right choice, since it’s the most valuable game I own, but I also had the chance to buy Transformers Beast Wars Transmetals for N64 at the same time, another BB exclusive. I’m pretty sure at some point I saw Final Fight Guy being clearanced too, but I don’t know if it was at the same time (probably not).

I worked in the video game department at Toys R Us back between 2003-04, and they had literal piles of unsold N64 games on clearance, including a ton of Bad Fur Day. If I knew then what I know now, I would have bought up a bunch of that stuff.

[bikingjahuty]

Not me, but here's a cool story a collector told me that relates to this topic.


A local collector lived on the same street as one of the kids who won an NWC cartridge during the 1990 NWC event; he told me his name a long time ago and I verified it, but I can't remember for the life of me what it was now. But anyhow, the collector also competed with him, but didn't get very far. After winning the NWC event in his league, the collector's neighbor had his NWC displayed like a trophy in his room and had some concept of its specialness since he never wanted to play it when the collector asked him if they could.


The collector and him had somewhat grown apart in middle school and high school despite living on the same street, so they rarely talked. However, one afternoon they started talking and eventually the collector asked if he still had the NWC cartridge. The guy laughed and said he did, but it was packed away with some of his childhood toys in his basement. He then told the collector he could have it if he wanted it, which the collector said he'd pass since he didn't have an NES anymore, and also didn't think anyone would want it since it was just short bits of three common NES games in a single, boring looking cartridge.


Years later after the collector had moved out and moved halfway across the country he'd started getting nostalgic about growing up with the NES and SNES and started out like many by just picking up games he used to own s a kid. Shortly after this started he discovered how insanely valuable the NWC cartridge was and pretty much dropped everything to find his old neighbor. This was in the early 2010s so social media wasn't as insane as it is now, but still he tried hunting him down online, and the best he was able to do was find out that he lived in a different city and was married. He also found out the guy's parents still lived in the same house. He decided to drive like 900 miles back to his old neighborhood where his parent's no longer lived, but he'd make up some lie that they still lived in town and was visiting. He arrived at his old neighborhood and rang the doorbell of his old friend's house. The friend's mom let him in and they caught up on things before the collector asked about getting in touch with the friend. This whole time he just wanted to go in the basement and find the NWC cartridge assuming it was still there, but he wasn't going to steal from or deceive his old friend's mom to get it.


He called his old friend and they chatted for a while and reminisced about old time. The whole time the collector just wanted to ask about the NWC cartridge, but tried to play it cool and bring it up naturally in the conversation. Eventually he did bring it up, and the response he got made his heart sink. The collector's old friend said that his parent's had a garage sale while he was in college and assumed he didn't want any of his old stuff since he was then in his early 20s. They sold all his childhood toys including lots of HeMan and GI Joe stuff, but also his old NES and all of his games. The collector's friend then asked him, "you want to know what happened to the NWC right?" which somewhat surprised the collector since he didn't think his friend had been into video games in a long time. Apparently he wasn't, but his name was known as one of the people that won the NWC contest and received a cartridge. He said that collectors have been contacting him for years wanting to buy it off him, but pretty much told them the same story. I guess his mom sold his NES and about a dozen games including the NWC for like $20 thinking no one would want it anymore and it was essentially worthless. The friend said it haunts him everyday.

[sworddude]

Not me, but here's a cool story a collector told me that relates to this topic.


A local collector lived on the same street as one of the kids who won an NWC cartridge during the 1990 NWC event; he told me his name a long time ago and I verified it, but I can't remember for the life of me what it was now. But anyhow, the collector also competed with him, but didn't get very far. After winning the NWC event in his league, the collector's neighbor had his NWC displayed like a trophy in his room and had some concept of its specialness since he never wanted to play it when the collector asked him if they could.


The collector and him had somewhat grown apart in middle school and high school despite living on the same street, so they rarely talked. However, one afternoon they started talking and eventually the collector asked if he still had the NWC cartridge. The guy laughed and said he did, but it was packed away with some of his childhood toys in his basement. He then told the collector he could have it if he wanted it, which the collector said he'd pass since he didn't have an NES anymore, and also didn't think anyone would want it since it was just short bits of three common NES games in a single, boring looking cartridge.


Years later after the collector had moved out and moved halfway across the country he'd started getting nostalgic about growing up with the NES and SNES and started out like many by just picking up games he used to own s a kid. Shortly after this started he discovered how insanely valuable the NWC cartridge was and pretty much dropped everything to find his old neighbor. This was in the early 2010s so social media wasn't as insane as it is now, but still he tried hunting him down online, and the best he was able to do was find out that he lived in a different city and was married. He also found out the guy's parents still lived in the same house. He decided to drive like 900 miles back to his old neighborhood where his parent's no longer lived, but he'd make up some lie that they still lived in town and was visiting. He arrived at his old neighborhood and rang the doorbell of his old friend's house. The friend's mom let him in and they caught up on things before the collector asked about getting in touch with the friend. This whole time he just wanted to go in the basement and find the NWC cartridge assuming it was still there, but he wasn't going to steal from or deceive his old friend's mom to get it.


He called his old friend and they chatted for a while and reminisced about old time. The whole time the collector just wanted to ask about the NWC cartridge, but tried to play it cool and bring it up naturally in the conversation. Eventually he did bring it up, and the response he got made his heart sink. The collector's old friend said that his parent's had a garage sale while he was in college and assumed he didn't want any of his old stuff since he was then in his early 20s. They sold all his childhood toys including lots of HeMan and GI Joe stuff, but also his old NES and all of his games. The collector's friend then asked him, "you want to know what happened to the NWC right?" which somewhat surprised the collector since he didn't think his friend had been into video games in a long time. Apparently he wasn't, but his name was known as one of the people that won the NWC contest and received a cartridge. He said that collectors have been contacting him for years wanting to buy it off him, but pretty much told them the same story. I guess his mom sold his NES and about a dozen games including the NWC for like $20 thinking no one would want it anymore and it was essentially worthless. The friend said it haunts him everyday.

That story is pure greed.

It's a cool story but damm that's an interesting reason to visit a friend that you haven't seen for years.

I personally always leave friends and family out of deals. I couldn't do that. number 1 rule for me.

[Warmsignal]

Basically, everything Dreamcast. I got my second Dreamcast when KB Toys was clearing out everything SEGA. I had little knowledge of what was on the system because my interests had moved on to PS2 by then as my brother had taken over the Dreamcast to feed his Fantasy Star Online addiction. All the games were dirt cheap in the clearance blowout, so did I pick up anything? Spirit of Speed 1937, LJN's craptacular swansong. It sucked. But I didn't care at the time, because I knew I could have all the games I wanted burned to a CDR. So I just thought, screw all these games, I just need the system... 

For all I know, they probably had like Canon Spike and Gunbird 2 and all of those for $11.99 each. The beauty of hindsight.

[bikingjahuty]

@sworddude


The collector that told me the story said he wanted it for his collection since at the time he found out about NWC's worth he'd decided he wanted to go for a full set (and since has almost completed that goal, minus NWC of course and like two or three other games). He probably figured his friend would maintain his offer of just giving it to him, or at least sell it too him for dirt cheap. If it's any consolation he said he also just wanted his other NES stuff too since he played a lot of those games with his friend as a kid. But yeah, he didn't count on it being public knowledge that his old friend won an NWC cart, but obviously that didn't matter in the end since his mom sold it. I see it as more of a collector wanting something very special and rare rather than someone trying to get rich off it.

[bikingjahuty]

Basically, everything Dreamcast. I got my second Dreamcast when KB Toys was clearing out everything SEGA. I had little knowledge of what was on the system because my interests had moved on to PS2 by then as my brother had taken over the Dreamcast to feed his Fantasy Star Online addiction. All the games were dirt cheap in the clearance blowout, so did I pick up anything? Spirit of Speed 1937, LJN's craptacular swansong. It sucked. But I didn't care at the time, because I knew I could have all the games I wanted burned to a CDR. So I just thought, screw all these games, I just need the system... 

For all I know, they probably had like Canon Spike and Gunbird 2 and all of those for $11.99 each. The beauty of hindsight.

lol another local collector story related to this.


There's a collector in our area whose been collecting video games, arcade and pinball machines, and all kinds of other crazy stuff since the early 90s. Pretty much he became wealthy at a fairly young age (I don't know the full story, but i believe he founded some record label and sold it to a much bigger record company for a shit ton of money). But this guy pretty much retired in his late 20s and has just been buying, selling, and trading arcade and pinball machines to make money even though I don't think he needs it, but anyhow. He used to go to all Toys R' Us, EB GAMES, Funcoland, Walmart, Best Buy, Ultimate Electronics, and pretty much any place that sold games that were being clearanced out and just stashing them away. This guy posts some INSANE stuff he has in a Facebook collectors group I belong to. He has a ton of sealed Virtual Boy games he got from Toys R' Us. Sealed SNES and N64 games from Toys R' Us, and a bunch of other jaw dropping stuff, most of it still new. But yeah, he has a ton of sealed late release Dreamcast games like Project Justice, Giga Wing 2, Cannon Spike, and other games that easily sell for hundreds in used condition. He has them sealed still. I envy the guys foresight and also him buying these games when they were super cheap and no one wanted them.

[sworddude]

@sworddude


The collector that told me the story said he wanted it for his collection since at the time he found out about NWC's worth he'd decided he wanted to go for a full set (and since has almost completed that goal, minus NWC of course and like two or three other games). He probably figured his friend would maintain his offer of just giving it to him, or at least sell it too him for dirt cheap. If it's any consolation he said he also just wanted his other NES stuff too since he played a lot of those games with his friend as a kid. But yeah, he didn't count on it being public knowledge that his old friend won an NWC cart, but obviously that didn't matter in the end since his mom sold it. I see it as more of a collector wanting something very special and rare rather than someone trying to get rich off it.

Fair enough

[astralsoul]

Virtual Boy was being clearanced out at Sears in the mid-to-late 90s for like $30 or something ridiculously cheap. I remember trying the system out at Toys R Us when it first came out and was super intrigued by it. I don't know what the original price was but $30 was an absolute steal. It was less of a regret than it was just a missed opportunity because I was in my teens, not working yet, and my parents just refused to let me have it because "you already have a Nintendo" (SNES) Years later I still wish I had a Virtual Boy but at this point it's whatever because it's not worth forking out hundreds of dollars to play one or two good games and then storing the system in a drawer.