Okay, since there's no law against necrobumping...
My rules are simple:
- Quality over quantity, always
- Any sealed game stays sealed until I decide to play it (unless it's a disc-based game and it happens to be loose inside the case)
- Any and all dupes get sold ASAP (I'm almost always buying lots, so this is a recurring thing)
- Every single game I buy gets thoroughly cleaned, especially used ones, most especially now during this pandemic
- Since I stopped buying cartridge-based games, all games I buy must be complete
- Using eBay as a metric for condition, the least I'll accept is "very good" (I've broken this rule a few times in the past due to specific reasons)
- I'm a cheapskate, so I won't pay $60+ for a game, unless it happens to be one that I will play on-the-spot (Final Fantasy VII Remake being a recent example, which actually didn't cost me $60)
- Physical media always (whenever possible, of course)
- And most importantly, it always must be a game that I know I will play
I also don't buy, or at least try my hardest to avoid getting "Greatest Hits" versions, mainly for PS2 and PS3, although I still have some that I either got in lots or happen to be GOTYEs. My PS1 collection has at least 5 green-labeled games, and for the PS4 I ended up getting some red-labeled ones, too since they were cheap (which is almost always the case).