Retro collecting is dying!

[atarileaf]

Well, common or rare, the average price of any game with the name "Nintendo" has really increased over the last 5 years. I started my current collection in 2008 and started with the NES in 2009 and I could find games like DD, Wrecking Crew, Ice Climber, Bubble bobble, etc, all for $3 or $4 each - in the game stores. Thrifts and Value Villages had them for 50 cents or a buck each.

Same with SNES and N64 and gamecube games were in the same price range as xbox and ps2 games. I think what Gamester81 is lamenting is the general price frenzy over the NES that is driving the average price several times what it was when people like he and I started collecting.

I've been collecting on and off for over 20 years. I can't even begin to describe the difference in collecting in the wild now and back in the early 90's. It's enough to make a collector weep.

[bikingjahuty]

Well, common or rare, the average price of any game with the name "Nintendo" has really increased over the last 5 years. I started my current collection in 2008 and started with the NES in 2009 and I could find games like DD, Wrecking Crew, Ice Climber, Bubble bobble, etc, all for $3 or $4 each - in the game stores. Thrifts and Value Villages had them for 50 cents or a buck each.

Same with SNES and N64 and gamecube games were in the same price range as xbox and ps2 games. I think what Gamester81 is lamenting is the general price frenzy over the NES that is driving the average price several times what it was when people like he and I started collecting.

I've been collecting on and off for over 20 years. I can't even begin to describe the difference in collecting in the wild now and back in the early 90's. It's enough to make a collector weep.

It is sad how expensive and sought after Nintendo stuff has become. I started collecting right before it got really big and I remember walking into Goodwill stores and seeing stacks of SNES games with titles like Secret of Mana and Final Fantasy for $2 a piece. And the flea market I go to had one video game reseller back in 2009 when I started going, now there are about 10. It has become insanely competitive and expensive over the past 2-years, so much so I have seen people drop out of the hobby months in because how how bad it is. I'm glad I own 95% of all the games I could ever want or else I might have joined them lol.

[sin2beta]

BTW - like your youtube channel. I had never checked it out, but I love SG1000 games!

Thanks man! I was a big fan of Chrontendo, and noticed that he started the SEGA portion at the master system. It just seemed odd to have that whole segment virtually left out. Thanks for watching!

[negatron1000]

I believe the opposite will happen simply because most of the newer stuff will start going digital. Older games (in good condition) will definitely be hard to find and for guys like myself who don't have a decent retro gaming library, it will be quite difficult and costly to build it. however, if we go completely digital then I can only focus on retro games. 

[atarileaf]

I'm glad I own 95% of all the games I could ever want or else I might have joined them lol.

Agreed. My main collection now is done and I'm branching out to other interests like retro computers or even newer gen stuff. If I had to start over I doubt I'd bother. I simply couldn't afford to start again the way prices are.

[Warmsignal]

@OP

I think the shriveling of forums is basically just due to Facebook soaking up all internet traffic. First there were Internets, now there is Facebook. Facebook Facebook Facebook, what's so great about it? Humbug.

[teck]

I'm going to call shenanigans on this retro is dying thing by simply citing my job as an example....  In 2010 the store I work at was opened on August 19 at 11:05 in the morning....  I started working for the owner in April of 2011....  I was the only employee for a period until February of 2012....  We now have 3 locations and we're worried that we can't stock fast enough....  We have consistently sold more games than we buy with November of 2013....  Every year since the first we have made significantly more money each month than the year before....  We're likely to go out of business only because our supply can't keep up with our demand....  Granted I'm hoping this is just a trading lull and that it'll pick back up, but around here there are more collectors than ever....

[bikingjahuty]

I'm going to call shenanigans on this retro is dying thing by simply citing my job as an example....  In 2010 the store I work at was opened on August 19 at 11:05 in the morning....  I started working for the owner in April of 2011....  I was the only employee for a period until February of 2012....  We now have 3 locations and we're worried that we can't stock fast enough....  We have consistently sold more games than we buy with November of 2013....  Every year since the first we have made significantly more money each month than the year before....  We're likely to go out of business only because our supply can't keep up with our demand....  Granted I'm hoping this is just a trading lull and that it'll pick back up, but around here there are more collectors than ever....

I am pretty close with some of the indi-game stores in my area and they've had similar problems, especially with more people buying then trading in, particularly with games prior to gen 5. Even with incentives like double trade in credit for SNES and NES games, nobody is trading them in. I think a lot of people are hoarding these games because they are either collecting or they are hoping the prices will go up more. I can't see this lasting forever, but retro collecting is definitely the most popular it has ever been.

[Warmsignal]

I'm going to call shenanigans on this retro is dying thing by simply citing my job as an example....  In 2010 the store I work at was opened on August 19 at 11:05 in the morning....  I started working for the owner in April of 2011....  I was the only employee for a period until February of 2012....  We now have 3 locations and we're worried that we can't stock fast enough....  We have consistently sold more games than we buy with November of 2013....  Every year since the first we have made significantly more money each month than the year before....  We're likely to go out of business only because our supply can't keep up with our demand....  Granted I'm hoping this is just a trading lull and that it'll pick back up, but around here there are more collectors than ever....

I hope you're not talking about Play N Trade. If you are, I wish you luck. As franchise stores, they have an unusually high failure rate and only typically last 3 - 5 years before shutting down with no help from overhead to keep games stocked or even have accesses to new releases.

[teck]

I'm going to call shenanigans on this retro is dying thing by simply citing my job as an example....  In 2010 the store I work at was opened on August 19 at 11:05 in the morning....  I started working for the owner in April of 2011....  I was the only employee for a period until February of 2012....  We now have 3 locations and we're worried that we can't stock fast enough....  We have consistently sold more games than we buy with November of 2013....  Every year since the first we have made significantly more money each month than the year before....  We're likely to go out of business only because our supply can't keep up with our demand....  Granted I'm hoping this is just a trading lull and that it'll pick back up, but around here there are more collectors than ever....

I hope you're not talking about Play N Trade. If you are, I wish you luck. As franchise stores, they have an unusually high failure rate and only typically last 3 - 5 years before shutting down with no help from overhead to keep games stocked or even have accesses to new releases.

Oh dear god no....  In my state, ALL of them have gone out of business except one as far as I know....  We're no franchise....  Play N Trade's biggest problem is that they are attempting to compete directly with Gamestop too much....  They invest quite a bit into stocking new games and end up taking big hits on unsold stock....  We don't really stock much new unless it is requested....  I actually hired an ex-PnT employee and from what I gathered it seems that the owner over there was a decent enough business man, but knew nothing about the gaming industry specifically....  I presume this to be a continuous issue....  I monitor all our costs and sales and compare them to our previous years and I can see no signs of danger right now other than drying up stock....  Judging from a handful of other game stores over the years, I can say that the ones that saw success all managed to get into the black by the end of their first operating year and kept stable sales....  Even if there were not "great" sales, stability seemed to be a common factor....

[disgaeniac]

If I ever start up/open a gaming store of my own (which, btw, isn't a pipe dream for me...just something that I'm giving A LOT of thought & time studying, researching, and - in general...just learning as much as I can about all of the facets that you don't become knowledgeable about by default - just from being a gamer & a collector); so far, I've thought of a few *Fun* ideas for some potential store names:

A.  GameStopped,

B.  GameStopper, and or

C.  GameStopping ==>

==>you all get the idea...something along those lines (unless those names would be illegal or some shit, due to their being so close to "Gamestop" 

Actually, a few weeks ago, a...*not* really a friend so much as...I guess, someone that I've had multiple profitable (for both of us (gaming-related)) business transactions with over the last 6 or 7 years, or so - make me a (what, to me, is a Blatantly obvious & very transparent) "Too-Good-To-Be-True" offer/proposal for terms and a price to buy & take over his current store + all of his current inventory.

This is, most likely, where the *serious* thought of me doing something gaming-related like that might be fun to run as a hobby kind of thing, and (hopefully) get tons of old & rare games brought to me!

The fact that I wouldn't be relying on the business/profits for my well-being & to support myself, I think, is what could make it fun.

I'd love to hear all of your thoughts/suggestions about something like this...

Oh.

And...No.

I'm not gonna be buying his store because:

- I don't like its location,

- it already has a reputation as being a pretty sleazily owned & operated "Pawn Shop" of everything electronic (spy cams, computers, etc + I don't *know* anything about these types of things), and

- well...like I said - In real life; "too good to be true" is *Always*...too good to be true.   

[bikingjahuty]

For a brief period I too thought of opening a game store and did my own research as well and picked the brains of several game store managers and owners I know. They expressed that while they all get a fair amount of traffic coming in and out of the store, much of their business is done online through Ebay or Amazon. The store's main purpose more than anything is to serve as a hub for people to take their games in and sell them to you so you can turn around and sell them for a profit. One game store I frequently go to does about 70% of their overall business on Ebay, while the rest comes from customers actually coming in and buying stuff. And when people do buy stuff in the store, 90% of the time it is very common, but sought after games like Zelda, Mario, Sonic, Final Fantasy, and those sort of games. Almost all the game store employees I know say that they get at least 10 people a day coming in asking for either Mario Kart, Mario Party, Super Smash Bros, or Zelda.

So overall I think it is a cool idea, but there is one major drawback of owning a game store besides having to pay for the space, employees, lights and all that other overhead. Especially with older games, which is a HUGE money maker right now for the local game stores, they are getting brought in less and less. It is getting so bad that many of these stores have to go on Ebay or offer crazy incentives to get people to sell their retro games. One store gets about 80% of their pre 6th gen merchandise online and barely makes money of it. It is more a tool to get people in the store rather than make money, which is pretty smart. Most of the stores I talk to say they are still getting a healthy amount of PS2 to current gen games/consoles brought in and haven't had to go the online route with these consoles yet. Still, you have to make money to keep the store open, and it's hard when you are only making about $5 off a copy of Super Smash Bros.

But it's a very hard business to survive in, especially when competing with other used game stores in the area. I have seen many stores go under since I have been gaming, and the most of the stores that are still around say they just get by most months. I have come to the conclusion that the best business model you can have as a game store is to not have a retail/warehouse location, but to somehow get people to bring the games to you without it. I have yet to find out what method would be just as good or better than having a store for people to bring their games in, but if you could figure it out and be an online only retailer you'd be in a very good spot to make a lot of money. But anyhow, that is what I have found out. Let me know if you have any other questions

[teck]

For a brief period I too thought of opening a game store and did my own research as well and picked the brains of several game store managers and owners I know. They expressed that while they all get a fair amount of traffic coming in and out of the store, much of their business is done online through Ebay or Amazon. The store's main purpose more than anything is to serve as a hub for people to take their games in and sell them to you so you can turn around and sell them for a profit. One game store I frequently go to does about 70% of their overall business on Ebay, while the rest comes from customers actually coming in and buying stuff. And when people do buy stuff in the store, 90% of the time it is very common, but sought after games like Zelda, Mario, Sonic, Final Fantasy, and those sort of games. Almost all the game store employees I know say that they get at least 10 people a day coming in asking for either Mario Kart, Mario Party, Super Smash Bros, or Zelda.

So overall I think it is a cool idea, but there is one major drawback of owning a game store besides having to pay for the space, employees, lights and all that other overhead. Especially with older games, which is a HUGE money maker right now for the local game stores, they are getting brought in less and less. It is getting so bad that many of these stores have to go on Ebay or offer crazy incentives to get people to sell their retro games. One store gets about 80% of their pre 6th gen merchandise online and barely makes money of it. It is more a tool to get people in the store rather than make money, which is pretty smart. Most of the stores I talk to say they are still getting a healthy amount of PS2 to current gen games/consoles brought in and haven't had to go the online route with these consoles yet. Still, you have to make money to keep the store open, and it's hard when you are only making about $5 off a copy of Super Smash Bros.

But it's a very hard business to survive in, especially when competing with other used game stores in the area. I have seen many stores go under since I have been gaming, and the most of the stores that are still around say they just get by most months. I have come to the conclusion that the best business model you can have as a game store is to not have a retail/warehouse location, but to somehow get people to bring the games to you without it. I have yet to find out what method would be just as good or better than having a store for people to bring their games in, but if you could figure it out and be an online only retailer you'd be in a very good spot to make a lot of money. But anyhow, that is what I have found out. Let me know if you have any other questions

Ah, I didn't mention this before, but my store is brick and mortar only....  We do not buy or sell online at all....  Despite this, we are still doing well....

[Warmsignal]

I think the best name for running your own store is GameSpot, lol. Just send spies in to check GS current prices and trade values, then try to beat them by a small measure. Problem is, as a small business, distributors won't cater to you. Some games you won't be able to get day one, you also won't make, but loose money on new games. Your model will rely entirely on used game and consoles. Everything is out of pocket and you're competing with an entity that has endless pockets and aggressive sales strategies that you likely don't know anything about and can only hope to copy. If you deal in classic games, that's a whole other ballpark. Clientele are fickle and jaded, not to mention stock is scarce and hard to find at resell-able prices.

[90snostalga]

How about Wii-R-Games for your retail store name?