VGC's Anonymous/"General" Topic:

[Cartagia]

All of the Castlevania titles are hovering around that range as well.  I'm kinda flabbergasted at the number of people who just tossed those boxes, considering they're hard plastic, etc.  But it also makes sense because the carts were so small it frees up so much room.

[burningdoom]

All of the Castlevania titles are hovering around that range as well.  I'm kinda flabbergasted at the number of people who just tossed those boxes, considering they're hard plastic, etc.  But it also makes sense because the carts were so small it frees up so much room.

The recent GBA Castlevania Collection probably renewed interest in those, as well.

[sworddude]

All of the Castlevania titles are hovering around that range as well.  I'm kinda flabbergasted at the number of people who just tossed those boxes, considering they're hard plastic, etc.  But it also makes sense because the carts were so small it frees up so much room.

The recent GBA Castlevania Collection probably renewed interest in those, as well.

Sure but those titles where never dirt cheap in the first place. They have always fetched a pretty penny even years ago. heck even in them early collecting days. maybe you mistook it for deals where easier to get years ago so you didn't really have to deal with them higher prices.

in wich I say yes it was quite easy to find in deals for cheap ye. even in my early collecting days I always got a pretty penny for them castlevania ds titles when I had duplicates, not hard to find but they had nice value compared to mario games etc.

Did increase in price though definitely but they where already among the most pricy titles in them earlier years aswell in comparison. also order of exclessia was legitmately a hard to find title even back than the other 2 are quite a bit cheaper. easier to find in deals mostly because there was less hype/hunt but to the right person the price difference wasn't to big compared to nowadays.

One example that I have in my collection is Chrono Trigger. Was about $40 CIB a few years back (and $20 when I bought it even earlier), and now it's up to $100.

USa version of chrono trigger ds was dirt cheap ye I'll give ye that one. only the pal release has always been a bit more pricy even years ago. stores had the usa version in stacks for 20$ each over here not that long ago.

[Warmsignal]

I remember picking up the Castlevanias all from GameStop, roughly $20 - $25 each. Those were always in stock, they were plentiful in the days of the DS. My Chrono DS is still in the shrink wrap, I bought it because I didn't want to pay for the SNES one. I think from Kmart at the time, on clearance because they couldn't sell it out. I'd hate to know what that supposedly makes is worth now. Whatever it is, I'm still gonna open it.

[sworddude]

I remember picking up the Castlevanias all from GameStop, roughly $20 - $25 each. Those were always in stock, they were plentiful in the days of the DS. My Chrono DS is still in the shrink wrap, I bought it because I didn't want to pay for the SNES one. I think from Kmart at the time, on clearance because they couldn't sell it out. I'd hate to know what that supposedly makes is worth now. Whatever it is, I'm still gonna open it.

Over here roughly 10 years ago them cheaper castlevania ds games cib where 25 - 30 $ each the pal versions if with poster could sometimes fetch 35 - 40 that was pretty pricy for a 2nd hand ds game. with some effort 20$ was doable. However those titles being around that price, did stop many collectors from getting them because they where pretty pricy for ds games at the time. and if you don't find them in deals multiple years in the future prices ain't to kind and many people still didn't have them. If they where cheap withouth any deals I think almost any collector would have them in the collection but they had a price barrier in wich most people think it's to much money for a ds game even way back.

Order of exclessia was just rare, you'd be hard pressed to find it for less than 40$ from someone who know what he had back than. 40$ for a 2nd hand ds game is crazy talk. old store stock for that title in particular was pretty nice considering it was valued as bargin bin 

still though nowadays those 2 cheaper castlevania titles are 60ish$ for roughly 10 years. while definitely a notable increase it ain't super extreme for that amount of time to have passed considering how much value they had to the right person back than. Main difference is just more people seeking for it. less deals to find it for cheap and most importantly it's usually just closer to the max value with more hype.

In my experience it's easier to find stuff for dirt cheap than it is to find a good price from someone who knows what he had. It's kina strange but that's how the cookie crumbled for me. It's either dirt cheap or relatively close to the actual value at the time. The exceptions are if said person needs money real quick or used pretty old prices.

[Warmsignal]

Another incoming rant - I need to learn to stay away from GameStop.com It's often tempting with B2G1 sales and holiday sales with good prices, but the quality and condition of the stuff they ship you will not be. Took the risk, and got a disc only used game that looks like someone spilled something on it, and that thing is going straight back. I also got a "new" copy of Outer Worlds, but unsurprisingly no shrink wrap and not even a sticker saying it was "NEW", disc was rolling around inside. For all I know, it could very well be a used copy since they have no standard of what constitutes as a new copy. Often they run out of new copies fast, because they don't invest in nearly half as much stock as their competitors.

I might give them a pass for not caring much about the condition of used games, but when new stock is treated in much the same manner to where you can't tell the difference, I have big problem with that. Have to remember to stay away if at all possible. eBay is the best place to pick up games online, new or used.

[Cartagia]

Yeah, that's a huge bugbear for me with GameStop.  They open pretty much everything, including the new titles that are on the floor.

[kashell]

Gamestop.com has been hit or miss. Every time involved purchasing used games. Sometimes the purchases were immediately returned, but there were times the stuff looked close to being fresh out the box.

[ignition365]

I've had dumb luck with GS this past few months.  New games arrived new, used games arrived complete like 98/100... like I ordered 100 games and only 2 games came loose.

[Warmsignal]

I found out something kinda interesting when I returned my disc only game. I went to pick something else since the store didn't have the same game, and it turns out sometimes they'll just convert "new" stock over to "pre-owned" if it doesn't move fast enough. I kinda always suspected they'd do that, like when you see a really shiny fresh pre-owned game, and you see it in every location you visit. It's actually new.

Guy went to give me my game and pulled a copy stickered as pre-owned, but it had an unbroken seal on it so it was actually new. He was kinda dumbfounded, but I knew what was going on. Probably marking the price UP to pre-owned when corporate wants to clearance the new ones out. Picked up Chronos Before The Ashes, looks really good, anyone played this?

[ignition365]

I found out something kinda interesting when I returned my disc only game. I went to pick something else since the store didn't have the same game, and it turns out sometimes they'll just convert "new" stock over to "pre-owned" if it doesn't move fast enough. I kinda always suspected they'd do that, like when you see a really shiny fresh pre-owned game, and you see it in every location you visit. It's actually new.

Guy went to give me my game and pulled a copy stickered as pre-owned, but it had an unbroken seal on it so it was actually new. He was kinda dumbfounded, but I knew what was going on. Probably marking the price UP to pre-owned when corporate wants to clearance the new ones out. Picked up Chronos Before The Ashes, looks really good, anyone played this?

Yeah, gamestop has done this for the longest time, it's called sku conversion.  I used to go in monthly and ask to see their sku conversion list.  There have been some situations sadly where I went to buy a game and employee insisted he must open the new game before he could give it to me, of which I said I'm not buying it then.

[kashell]

Somewhat related, I ordered something that was shipped via FedEx. I don't work in logistics but perhaps someone can help me understand how/why an order goes from Florida, to Georgia, to North Carolina, to Mississippi, and finally to my state of Tennessee?

I'm not in any hurry to get the item. I'm just baffled by what looks like a lack of efficiency.

[telly]

I think the mail system in general has been overwhelmed with so many people getting sick. We've only been getting in a trickle of mail and there have been several days with no mail at all.

[tpugmire]

Somewhat related, I ordered something that was shipped via FedEx. I don't work in logistics but perhaps someone can help me understand how/why an order goes from Florida, to Georgia, to North Carolina, to Mississippi, and finally to my state of Tennessee?

I'm not in any hurry to get the item. I'm just baffled by what looks like a lack of efficiency.

FedEx Express or FedEx Ground?
If it’s Express, it got lost. If it’s Ground, it’s likely where the hubs are, although this particular example seems extreme.

[Warmsignal]

I didn't realize FedEx or UPS had an "economy" route. UPS ground in my experience, is always very direct and quick, and I assumed so of FedEx as well. I thought their ground services were the equivalent of Priority Mail and given that their rates are higher, ought to be.

To me it sounds like a misplaced package that got carried around a while before being found. I have one more straggler from FedEx in my GameStop order, it's been stuck knocking around in Nevada since the 3rd, which can't be normal. Everything else is here. Must be misplaced in a truck somewhere.