What is your biggest collecting regret?

[gf78]

Between the two I'm feeling a lot happier with my collection and have also got rid of something that was at the back of my mind, so thanks for the topic GF78! 

No problem!  I think that many collectors end up with things in our collections "just because" or for intentions that deep down somewhere, we know are unrealistic. I too have bought things with thoughts of sharing the experience with someone, ended up having games that I had no intention of ever playing, etc. My dad has never been a gamer,  but reading your post has made me think about  things like how our time together will end, sooner than I want because of the inevitable march of time. So I'm going to make an effort to spend more time with my pops, and keep focused on only collecting games & merchandise that's actually important to me & I'll enjoy. Thank YOU shfan.

[mrnikon]

Not buying TG16 stuff when it was cheaper.

[shfan]

I appreciate that and will do the same gf78

[betelgeuse]

Mine is probably jumping to the next system too quickly over the years and missing a bunch of the late releases.

[azotam]

Well, that would probably be selling my physical copy of Duke Nukem 3D and expansions and refunding Megaton Edition from Steam (back when it was available on the storefront). The base game can still be bought on ebay or as part of the 20th anniversary edition, that was recently released, but the expansions are extremely rare to find nowadays.

[wartoy]

My regret is waiting years before building my gameroom. I love being able to look at and appreciate the artwork on the games themselves.Now my hole collection is displayed in glass display cases or on shelves instead of in boxes. I have 4 widescreens to play the modern consoles and 3 retro tvs with the retro consoles ready to play at anytime. It's great for gaming parties or just sitback relax have a drink at the bar and soak it all in should of done it years ago! (yep my mancave has a bar)

[mastodon]

I wish I had never traded in consoles and games for the next gen consoles/games. I traded in NES for SNES, SNES for ps1, ect
I had that crazy expensive xbox mech game with HUGE cockpit controller. Traded it in for whatever flavor of the month game.

[oldgamerz]

Well, that would probably be selling my physical copy of Duke Nukem 3D and expansions and refunding Megaton Edition from Steam (back when it was available on the storefront). The base game can still be bought on ebay or as part of the 20th anniversary edition, that was recently released, but the expansions are extremely rare to find nowadays.

Ouch, those expansions are hard to find, but note it is also a bitch to get those expansions to work on a modern PC. You used to need to hack or download hacks in order to get them to work with Eduke32 at least on windows 10 app but with steam I think all you need to do is buy Duke Nukem 3D off steam and

I am not sure but I think Steam sells all the primary 4 expansions included with the purchase of Duke Nukem 3D, that is how I got my digital copy, I own the real things too but without steam doing the hacks for it is kinda difficult to get them to work on any modern windows OS computer

[azotam]

Well, that would probably be selling my physical copy of Duke Nukem 3D and expansions and refunding Megaton Edition from Steam (back when it was available on the storefront). The base game can still be bought on ebay or as part of the 20th anniversary edition, that was recently released, but the expansions are extremely rare to find nowadays.

Ouch, those expansions are hard to find, but note it is also a bitch to get those expansions to work on a modern PC. You used to need to hack or download hacks in order to get them to work with Eduke32 at least on windows 10 app but with steam I think all you need to do is buy Duke Nukem 3D off steam and

I am not sure but I think Steam sells all the primary 4 expansions included with the purchase of Duke Nukem 3D, that is how I got my digital copy, I own the real things too but without steam doing the hacks for it is kinda difficult to get them to work on any modern windows OS computer

The 20th Anniversary Edition, which I got recently, only has the original four episodes from Duke3D Atomic and an additional 5th episode. The "Duke it out in DC", "Duke in the Caribbean" and Nuclear Winter" expansions are not included in that version (due to some legal difficulties). The Megatom Edition, did have the base game and those three expansions and also supported modern systems. I did not think they would have removed it from the storefront when I refunded it originally but they did.

On the positive side, I was able to found the physical version of the game "Severance: Blade of Darkness" (without the manual and original cover), a game which flopped both financially and sale's wise and was removed from GOG in 2013, the only storefront that had it available (due to some copyrighted music)

I still don't know why I refunded the Megaton Edition in the first place.

[gusseven]

What I most regret are my actions as a Kid.

When I was a kid  and got new NES and SNES games, I immediately open them,  read manuals once , and then throw boxes and manuals away

And of course trade them, sometimes for very bad games (In mexico there weren't so much VG magazines) .

I wish I still kept all this games boxed, as I almost collect complete games.

[seether]

Not buying everything up when retro games were all over the place for pennies at car boot sales years ago.

[olly88]

Not getting back into buying games sooner. Not buying Demon's Crest/Chrono Trigger/Earthbound etc in 2010 when I started looking and assuming the prices would go down 

[jirachiswishes]

I regret selling off about every game I've ever owned during my childhood years. I had a lot of CIB games. I had many Pokemon games CIB and now I'm looking to get them again because I miss owning them. I had a lot of good Gamecube games as well. I managed to find a few of the GC games at yard sales so I'm not AS regretful for that.

I also had a good amount of PS2 stuff but thankfully most of that is still cheap to get back.

[pzeke]

Well, fristly, I effing regret throwing away the boxes for all my Game Boy/Color and N64 games. Thing is I held them for a long time, and one day I just threw them away just because. Stupid things you do when you're a kid/teenager.

Secondly, I regret not buying Tomba!, The Misadventures of Tron Bonne, Ninja Five-O, and Ninja Gaiden Trilogy when I had the chance. This is quite possibly one of the single most stupendously and absurdly idiotic things I have ever done (as far as video game collecting goes). I still beat myself over this.

Another regret would be trading my NES at a local video game store for a Nuby Game Boy Amplifier and a Nuby Game Boy Magnifier . In my defense, I was a wee lad back then and didn’t know any better – clearly I was taken advantage of. And I also regret selling my SNES with all the games I had at the time simply because I didn’t have [enough] money for my monthly comicbook pull-list.

Lastly, when I bought the strategy guide for Kingdom Hearts II to complement the game, the whole thing crumbled on me when I flipped through the pages at home – literally, every time I flipped a page, it came off. So, instead of going to the store to exchange the guide for another one, as any sane individual would, I decided to buy a binder with a bunch of protector sheets and Frankenstein a “new” one. I even recall my mother telling me, in a motherly tone, how stupid the idea was, yet I still followed through, effectively spending more than I should have on this guide. Suffice to say, I very much regret this. Every time I remember, I want to punch my face.

Oh well, life is full of regrets after all.

PS: While I was writing this post, I remembered during my early days using eBay coming across a listing for all six Mega Man NES games, where the seller was asking a mere $150 plus shipping. I was so simple-minded that I decided against buying the wondrous sextet because, at the time, I didn’t own an NES. Even though that may be a sound reason, nowadays I find it to be the most obtuse one there is, especially considering this was during 2006-07, back when the retro scene was pretty much in its embryonic state. So yeah, I regret this tenfold, especially considering I had the money and, for all intents and purposes, the inkling of buying the lot.

But hey, like the saying goes, good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions.

[pzeke]

Just remembered another regretful thing I did!

Back when Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne was a hot commodity, even though it wasn't exactly a rare game, I went to a GameStop and bought 5 copies with some leftover money from my scholarship – I decided one was going to be for me, the rest to flip. This was during my initial foray with eBay; I remember thinking I would make a good buck and be able to buy me some games. The funny thing is this was during 2008, when the reprint was about to be released, but unfortunately at the time I didn't know about it. I listed the games at a price that was probably $5-$10 less than what everyone else was asking for – I managed to sell one after about a week and some change, but the buyer contacted me asking to cancel the transaction because yadda-yadda; I knew it was buyer's remorse (probably knew or learned about the reprint). I wasn't going to waste my time. That situation deterred me a bit, and I ended up waiting too long before listing the games again, which was a big mistake. I list them again, but this time none sold. As I am about to re-list them, I stumble with a link to another listing for the same game—and take into account this is the 1st printing—selling it for $29.99 or better offer with more than 10 available. At that moment I knew I was done, so I swallowed my pride and, with the exception of one that was in pristine condition, I listed the rest for $25.

That was a hard lesson, but a lesson nonetheless.