FOR SALE: [RARE] US Hagane Cartridge (complete)

[larrygooseman]

UPDATE: Added pics of the chip. It's legit.

Hello. I am user larrygooseman on the retrocollect forums. I made a topic over there but haven't gotten many responses so I'm trying here.
Link to topic there; everything below is a repost: http://www.retrocollect.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=9413

I recently discovered that I own the rare SNES game Hagane. I did some research on it and found that there were only a few thousand copies sold in the US because of a deal worked out between Blockbuster Video and HudsonSoft. Blockbuster had exclusive rights to this game over all other retailers, so the vast majority of these were used as rentals only. There are a few stories of places like EB Games and Funcoland getting hold of a few carts and selling them in their own stores when this game was new, but those copies are exceedingly rare among the ones in circulation and have sold for large sums of money.

The story behind my copy of the game is as follows:
It was originally owned by Blockbuster video, and purchased from one of their lower performing stores in the mid-90's by the owner of (at the time) my local video rental store. The local video rental store went out of business and liquidated their inventory. I purchased the game from there in the late 90's during this liquidation. It is the COMPLETE game. It has the original instruction booklet, box, cartridge, and dust cover. I verified that the cartridge still works in my SNES today: 2015 May 28.

The box has the usual amount of wear one would expect from being owned by Blockbuster and making its way down the chain through a small business and then to me. One corner of the box has considerable wear, but the other corners are in good shape. The back of the box also has a torn retail sticker on it, unfortunately. It does not appear to have damaged the underlying print of the box too badly, but the glue on this sticker is the obnoxious kind that doesn't rub off easily without damaging the underlying surface.

The cartridge is in fantastic shape. There is no plastic fade on the back-plate, as is common among older SNES titles. It has some sticker goo on it from the labels placed onto it by both blockbuster and the local VR store, but none of the stickers were ever placed on the front or rear cartridge labels; They are 100% intact with no fading or blemishes. The sticker goo can be removed with a gentle solvent and some elbow grease if it bothers you. The only real blemish on the cartridge is on the backplate, where the small letters "FRV" have been carved into it with what appears to be a soldering iron. This was the local video store's method of proving that they owned the game if theft ever came into question.

The instruction booklet has some minor wear, but overall is in good condition for a game that was rented out. My local video store used to include the instruction booklets in the plastic rental cases when sending games home with customers, so I'm surprised it's in as good of shape as it is.

PICS!

Box with proof I own it -
http://i.imgur.com/Xxz6PRI.jpg?1

The complete package -
http://i.imgur.com/x32o87b.jpg

Corner on the box is dinged up a bit -
http://i.imgur.com/gyxoJix.jpg?1

Back of the box with the obnoxious sticker -
http://i.imgur.com/tOgRFdC.jpg

Cover of the instruction booklet -
http://i.imgur.com/GLJLbZF.jpg

Inside cover of the booklet -
http://i.imgur.com/9jYo5iU.jpg?1

Back inside cover of the booklet (with cool artwork!) -
http://i.imgur.com/TyZGJUf.jpg?1

Front of the cartridge with unmolested label -
http://i.imgur.com/XokQ8xI.jpg

Backside of the cartridge with unmolested safety label and FRV initials on bottom-right -
http://i.imgur.com/4MUWZYb.jpg?1

Verification that it plays on a SNES -
http://i.imgur.com/MaTJjA6.jpg

Backside of the chip with cart label:
http://i.imgur.com/s0GtbL2.jpg

Front of the chip:
http://i.imgur.com/Ev4G3U7.jpg

I see copies of this game in far worse condition than this going for $499 to $599 without the box or booklet. I've seen several confirmed ebay auctions where it has sold for ~$900 with just the game and the box. I have never seen a copy for sale that has the original instruction manual.

Since my copy is complete, my asking price is $1000 USD. Please PM me if you are interested! I will try to check on this once a day but I can't make any guarantees as my day-job has a hectic schedule. I can also provide additional pics if requested, but it may take me a while to take them and upload them. I also don't own a SNES security screw bit for my screwdriver set, but may order one if an interested buyer requires proof that the chip in the cart is an original.

[matimo]

With a game this valuable your should be showing a picture of the motherboard as well, there a lot of fakes when it comes to pricey games like this.

[foxhack]

You'll probably have much better luck offering this at NintendoAge.

That said, signing up just to advertise this sale feels kind of... well, not good.

[davifus]

You'll probably have much better luck offering this at NintendoAge.

That said, signing up just to advertise this sale feels kind of... well, not good.

There has been quite of few people signing up for 1 sale post the last few months dont you think?

Is there a way for Matt to restrict Marketplace post until a certain req. like # of post, Time spent on the forum, and ETC?

No offence to OP but you know. It great and all you're giving us an opportunity to purchase a rare game.

[stethebubble]

You'll probably have much better luck offering this at NintendoAge.

That said, signing up just to advertise this sale feels kind of... well, not good.

There has been quite of few people signing up for 1 sale post the last few months dont you think?

Is there a way for Matt to restrict Marketplace post until a certain req. like # of post, Time spent on the forum, and ETC?

No offence to OP but you know. It great and all you're giving us an opportunity to purchase a rare game.

i would like to see that

[rayne315]

For me to even be remotely interested id need to see the insides.

[larrygooseman]

You'll probably have much better luck offering this at NintendoAge.

That said, signing up just to advertise this sale feels kind of... well, not good.

To that effect, why have a marketplace at all? This is a community of people that collect retro games, including rare ones. I have a rare one I want to sell. Isn't that a win/win for the community and the people signing up? I mean, I get that you want to deter behavior like pawn shops and small businesses using your community as a means to hock their wares but I assure you I am just an individual who enjoyed SNES as a youngster and still does to this day. I'd rather give a community like this the opportunity to buy the game because a) You guys will probably appreciate the opportunity more and treasure the game and b) I don't want to risk getting mugged on craigslist 

For me to even be remotely interested id need to see the insides.

I recently just got an amazon gift card, so I'll use $5 of it to get a SNES security screwdriver. Sit tight for a few days until it arrives and I'll open up the cart. To the best of my knowledge it's legit.

[ffxik]

You'll probably have much better luck offering this at NintendoAge.

That said, signing up just to advertise this sale feels kind of... well, not good.

To that effect, why have a marketplace at all? This is a community of people that collect retro games, including rare ones. I have a rare one I want to sell. Isn't that a win/win for the community and the people signing up? I mean, I get that you want to deter behavior like pawn shops and small businesses using your community as a means to hock their wares but I assure you I am just an individual who enjoyed SNES as a youngster and still does to this day. I'd rather give a community like this the opportunity to buy the game because a) You guys will probably appreciate the opportunity more and treasure the game and b) I don't want to risk getting mugged on craigslist 

Questions like the one above aren't really necessary since our marketplace here is for the same reason that most sites have one.  It's great to have more people on the site, but.  When you join a site for the sole purpose of selling and trading back and forth.  It's a good idea to scope it out and check out the community first and foremost rather than just go, pardon the expression "balls deep". 

VGCollect isn't near the size of sites like Atari Age and Nintendo Age.  Very few of us could actually plunk down $1000 for a single game and those that could would probably have a hard time justifying doing so.  This is just my experience with the regular members here over the years.  Also people on these sites also do favors and not price their wares with Ebay but tend to undercut that site.  Now I understand a game like Hagane is hard to pin down price wise. 

To be honest you would have better luck putting this up on Ebay or the like rather than on sites like this one.  People come here looking to find deals and maybe trades not to find that one uber rare game that could be had just as easily and wallet crucifyingly on ebay.

This is just my two cents on the matter.  If you want to sell more things here you'd probably be more than welcome to.  As you get to know the community you'll get the feel for what people can afford.  On that note I do hope you manage to find a buyer, I wish you the best of luck.  Just for things like this, stick to higher traffic sites.   


Upon re-reading this I sound like a douchebag.  I'm not trying to be. I just lack tact for lack of a better word.   


Edit:  I hit your link and spent some time cruising RetroCollects' marketplace.  Looks to be mostly PAL.  That maybe the reason your having a hard time trying to sell a NTSC game.

[desocietas]

Another perk about dealing with a site like eBay rather than a transaction done over email, private messages, or forum posts is the liability issue.  With eBay, there are checks in place to help protect both the buyer and the seller (though most may argue that it leans heavily in favor of the buyer).  Another reason that people might give someone who joined for the express purpose of selling (though we don't really know that about you because you may choose to stay and use the lovely site we have here ) is because a lot of the selling and trading that goes on here is done between folks who have gotten to know each other over time.  That's why we have the guidelines in place about how to go about posting a sale thread.

At the end of the day, any of us, no matter how long we've been in the forums or with the site, are taking a risk by engaging in a transaction with someone else here.  We do it because we have developed faith and interest in each other and are willing to take the risk to brighten someone else's day and to avoid some extra fees and worry about dealing with a complete stranger.  Also, since we all share a love of collecting, we can have some assurances that the person selling is truthful about their product and has and will continue to take care of that product from the moment they acquired it to the moment they package it up and send it off.

ffxik, you didn't sound like a douchebag in your post, at least not to me   If anything, I sound totally sappy in my reply!

larrygooseman, you did a great job of offering pictures and such right off the bat, so I appreciate that you took your time to supply as much information as you can.  $1000 is a lot for anyone to part with, even if we were buying from the founders of this site.

[gartcat]

Another perk about dealing with a site like eBay rather than a transaction done over email, private messages, or forum posts is the liability issue.  With eBay, there are checks in place to help protect both the buyer and the seller (though most may argue that it leans heavily in favor of the seller).

I have to disagree, eBay leans heavily in favor of the buyer these days.  OP, if you do sell this there, you have to require signature confirmation, or you won't be protected for an item that sells for more than $250.  You also have to buy insurance for it, because you won't be reimbursed if it gets lost in the mail, again if it's over $250.

[desocietas]

Another perk about dealing with a site like eBay rather than a transaction done over email, private messages, or forum posts is the liability issue.  With eBay, there are checks in place to help protect both the buyer and the seller (though most may argue that it leans heavily in favor of the seller).

I have to disagree, eBay leans heavily in favor of the buyer these days.  OP, if you do sell this there, you have to require signature confirmation, or you won't be protected for an item that sells for more than $250.  You also have to buy insurance for it, because you won't be reimbursed if it gets lost in the mail, again if it's over $250.

I totally meant to say buyer in my response! Thanks for catching that!

[Warmsignal]

I personally wouldn't spend over $200 on any video game in existence. Loose, complete, with a cherry and whipped cream on top, etc. But I'm not a true collector. I get the felling that nobody here is really this hardcore, but maybe I'm wrong. 

[kashell]

I personally wouldn't spend over $200 on any video game in existence. Loose, complete, with a cherry and whipped cream on top, etc. But I'm not a true collector. I get the felling that nobody here is really this hardcore, but maybe I'm wrong. 

Hmm. I don't think there is such a thing as a true collector. People should collect their games (and anything else such as cars, watches, comics, etc.) in their own way that makes them feel satisfied. If you like collecting your way, then that's all there is to it. If someone gives you flack for not being a "true" collector, then I wouldn't want anything to do with them.

As for the game, I never even heard of it. It doesn't seem like my type of game, so I wish the OP the best of luck in finding a home for it.

[argyle]

If there IS such a thing as a "true collector", I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have to shell out for a $1,000 game to be one.

[urameshi7]

People are currently bidding $200+ on the box alone....this is getting so ridiculous!

When a post begins with "I recently discovered...", I know I'm not dealing with someone who has a passion for the hobby, but purely an opportunist or hoarder.

I bought a legit copy of Hagane for $14 from a dealer not but 5 years ago and was just excited to just see it. I was unaware of its supposed "rarity" or "worth" and was just pleased that I could own and play the game. It's fantastic but in my opinion fails in comparison to some of the Shinobi titles. The power ups and weapons are cooler though haha!

If I did ever decide to sell it, I will find a seller who truly wants it and sell it for $14 as well or whatever the buyer deems fair. While I do use ebay on occasion, I know with certainty that I ever put it on there, it would not be going to someone who truly wanted it and I'd probably see it on there the next day with a huge mark up.

The most I've ever spent on a used game was around $65 on a copy of Suikoden 2 about 3 years ago and personally I did not care for it. I saw that most people were selling it for double that price, and while it still may not be "worth" $65, I sold it for the price I bought it for.

Looking through the comments, I'm glad to see this forum is filled with honest collectors and people who are legitimately interested in keeping the hobby alive!