Re: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business
What I'd like to know is how people (the same people all the time)are finding the rare items. Granted, I'm aware of a few sellers putting a ton of stuff up, so people watch their auctions. Everyone searches on Infocom, Drash, etc. But I've also seen some really obscure stuff by an atypical seller go for a lot, stuff I didn't think anybody else would have found, especially since eBay has screwed around with the categories to the point where everything is essentially buried. It's pretty much public knowledge that I wrote my own automated eBay search tool, but if a few of you don't mind sharing how you find your stuff, I'd be interested to hear it. Do you rely on eBay's saved searches and automatic notifies? Do you save the URLs for the results of a bunch of your own searches? Do you spy on other known collectors and see what they've come across? About how many searches do you do, and how often? C'mon, don't be shy. - Original Message - From: Stephane Racle To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2004 5:39 PM Subject: Re: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business I was actually thinking along the same lines, and I'm sure I wasn't the only other one. Some of the prices make it seem like $100 for a game is nothing... I don't know, but to me, $100 is a lot of cash! The other thing I've noticed too is that there's at least a couple of bidders who seem to be doing more than just collecting. I think Bryron, for one, would still be ready to pay big bucks for a game even if he already had ten copies of it - perhaps an investment? I believe C.E. made a similar statement not too long ago regarding Starcross saucers and Suspended masks. I found this one particularly interesting since I got a copy off eBay only three or four months ago and I was the only bidder. Now all of a sudden, there's 10 bids:http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemcategory=4315item=3091242158rd=1ssPageName=WDVWI think the fact that knowing people are bidding high is driving more people to bid even higher.While I'm glad my collection is worth more, I wouldn't be overly thrilled if this hobby became a business. I'm not exactly sure it would be a good thing if every game sold for $100+. On the other hand, I'm almost tempted to sell some of my stuff at these prices. :-)StephaneHugh Falk wrote: I was waiting for things to die down a bit before bringing this topic up, but the last few weeks have brought an extraordinary amount of activity on eBay both in the number of good, old PC games for sale and the prices being paid. My watch list has never been so full. In fact, Id say my watch list over the last few weeks was as long as the previous six months (maybe a year). At least 3 individual sellers had lots to offer: Hopey Rbgamehunter Carol!yahoo Combined with lots of one-off sellers. But what really struck me was that even with all the supply, the ending prices were just so much higher than Ive ever seen before. I would have expected prices to drop with so much stuff on the market, but it didnt happen. Things Ive seen go recently in the $10 - $30 range were going for over $100. Many of the usual suspects were bidding, but the most noticeable was Peter (sorry to call you out Peter), who by my rough calculations has dropped AT LEAST 10 grand in the last 2 months. In some ways it is really great to see games appreciating in value so much. Maybe well remember March and April 2004 as the months that Retro PC game collecting officially became big business. Hugh
RE: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business
Im obviously not doing anything special because every time I find something I am interested in I can guarantee 15 other people have also found it -josh -Original Message- From: C.E. Forman [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, April 26, 2004 10:21 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business What I'd like to know is how people (the same people all the time)are finding the rare items. Granted, I'm aware of a few sellers putting a ton of stuff up, so people watch their auctions. Everyone searches on Infocom, Drash, etc. But I've also seen some really obscure stuff by an atypical seller go for a lot, stuff I didn't think anybody else would have found, especially since eBay has screwed around with the categories to the point where everything is essentially buried. It's pretty much public knowledge that I wrote my own automated eBay search tool, but if a few of you don't mind sharing how you find your stuff, I'd be interested to hear it. Do you rely on eBay's saved searches and automatic notifies? Do you save the URLs for the results of a bunch of your own searches? Do you spy on other known collectors and see what they've come across? About how many searches do you do, and how often? C'mon, don't be shy. - Original Message - From: Stephane Racle To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2004 5:39 PM Subject: Re: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business I was actually thinking along the same lines, and I'm sure I wasn't the only other one. Some of the prices make it seem like $100 for a game is nothing... I don't know, but to me, $100 is a lot of cash! The other thing I've noticed too is that there's at least a couple of bidders who seem to be doing more than just collecting. I think Bryron, for one, would still be ready to pay big bucks for a game even if he already had ten copies of it - perhaps an investment? I believe C.E. made a similar statement not too long ago regarding Starcross saucers and Suspended masks. I found this one particularly interesting since I got a copy off eBay only three or four months ago and I was the only bidder. Now all of a sudden, there's 10 bids: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemcategory=4315item=3091242158rd=1ssPageName=WDVW I think the fact that knowing people are bidding high is driving more people to bid even higher. While I'm glad my collection is worth more, I wouldn't be overly thrilled if this hobby became a business. I'm not exactly sure it would be a good thing if every game sold for $100+. On the other hand, I'm almost tempted to sell some of my stuff at these prices. :-) Stephane Hugh Falk wrote: I was waiting for things to die down a bit before bringing this topic up, but the last few weeks have brought an extraordinary amount of activity on eBayboth in the number of good, old PC games for sale and the prices being paid. My watch list has never been so full. In fact, Id say my watch list over the last few weeks was as long as the previous six months (maybe a year). At least 3 individual sellers had lots to offer: Hopey Rbgamehunter Carol!yahoo Combined with lots of one-off sellers. But what really struck me was that even with all the supply, the ending prices were just so much higher than Ive ever seen before. I would have expected prices to drop with so much stuff on the market, but it didnt happen. Things Ive seen go recently in the $10 - $30 range were going for over $100. Many of the usual suspects were bidding, but the most noticeable was Peter (sorry to call you out Peter), who by my rough calculations has dropped AT LEAST 10 grand in the last 2 months. In some ways it is really great to see games appreciating in value so much. Maybe well remember March and April 2004 as the months that Retro PC game collecting officially became big business. Hugh
Re: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business
Well, I do several hours of clever manual searches, once a week. I can't tell you what I search for of course :) It has managed to find me some good bargains that other people miss (especially when people misspell things..). Lately though everyone seems to be finding all the good stuff I find too. Since everyone pretty much snipes these days, I dont bother 'spying' on what other collectors are bidding on (one of the many advantages of sniping). I also don't generally check particular users regularly, however sometimes if I find one good item, I will View Sellers Other Items and sometimes find something good that I wouldnt have found otherwise (see note about misspelling...). My best finds are usually large lots of games, sometimes mixed in with hardware - people tend to avoid these kinds of auction with lots of 'stuff' and occasionally there is a good rare game in there that the seller doesnt usually know about. I ask lots of questions in these cases. That's about all my secrets.. C.E. Forman wrote: What I'd like to know is how people (the same people all the time) are finding the rare items. Granted, I'm aware of a few sellers putting a ton of stuff up, so people watch their auctions. Everyone searches on Infocom, Drash, etc. But I've also seen some really obscure stuff by an atypical seller go for a lot, stuff I didn't think anybody else would have found, especially since eBay has screwed around with the categories to the point where everything is essentially buried. It's pretty much public knowledge that I wrote my own automated eBay search tool, but if a few of you don't mind sharing how you find your stuff, I'd be interested to hear it. Do you rely on eBay's saved searches and automatic notifies? Do you save the URLs for the results of a bunch of your own searches? Do you spy on other known collectors and see what they've come across? About how many searches do you do, and how often? C'mon, don't be shy. -- Howard Feldman Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute Author of the Search for Freedom Computer Role-Playing Game Visit its homepage at: http://home.golden.net/~feldman/SearchForFreedom/ Visit the Computer RPG/Book Museum at http://vgmuseum.chaoticmonkey.com/ -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
Re: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business
When I started collecting a few years back, I had an entire 8.5 x 11 sheet of titles, search terms, publishers, etc. You name it. It would take me an hour a day to dig. I found some pretty interesting stuff. I also had more cash to buy goodies with. But I relied purely on ebay's search tool. Now-a-days I rely on a few saved searches on ebay, and rarely I will look at someone's purchase history (only to marvel at the sheer number of things that have passed me by). I deliberately don't search intensely, because I'm trying to cut back. I pretty much bottom feed these days. If I see something cool I'll low-ball it. If I win, great. If not, great. Seems when I think I have it all, I find something that I A) don't have and B) is either very rare or unique. (Ok, I'm ranting, you get the idea.) For the more obsessive who have custom search bots, perhaps they can add social engineering to their techniques, borrowing strategies from fellow collectors to augment their mighty arsenal of discovery tools :) Anyway, these days, 2 searches, 5 minutes a day to pour over the lists. I'll add stuff to my watch list just to let it go by. I also rely on the generosity of others who toss URL's and drop names of people who have gems to sell. Other than that, zilch. On Apr 26, 2004, at 11:20 AM, C.E. Forman wrote: What I'd like to know is how people (the same people all the time)are finding the rare items. Granted, I'm aware of a few sellers putting a ton of stuff up, so people watch their auctions. Everyone searches on Infocom, Drash, etc. But I've also seen some really obscure stuff by an atypical seller go for a lot, stuff I didn't think anybody else would have found, especially since eBay has screwed around with the categories to the point where everything is essentially buried. It's pretty much public knowledge that I wrote my own automated eBay search tool, but if a few of you don't mind sharing how you find your stuff, I'd be interested to hear it. Do you rely on eBay's saved searches and automatic notifies? Do you save the URLs for the results of a bunch of your own searches? Do you spy on other known collectors and see what they've come across? About how many searches do you do, and how often? C'mon, don't be shy. x-tad-bigger- Original Message -/x-tad-bigger x-tad-bigger /x-tad-biggerx-tad-biggerFrom:/x-tad-biggerx-tad-bigger /x-tad-biggerx-tad-biggerStephane Racle/x-tad-biggerx-tad-bigger /x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerTo:/x-tad-biggerx-tad-bigger /x-tad-biggerx-tad-bigger[EMAIL PROTECTED]/x-tad-biggerx-tad-bigger /x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerSent:/x-tad-biggerx-tad-bigger Sunday, April 25, 2004 5:39 PM/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerSubject:/x-tad-biggerx-tad-bigger Re: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business/x-tad-bigger I was actually thinking along the same lines, and I'm sure I wasn't the only other one. Some of the prices make it seem like $100 for a game is nothing... I don't know, but to me, $100 is a lot of cash! The other thing I've noticed too is that there's at least a couple of bidders who seem to be doing more than just collecting. I think Bryron, for one, would still be ready to pay big bucks for a game even if he already had ten copies of it - perhaps an investment? I believe C.E. made a similar statement not too long ago regarding Starcross saucers and Suspended masks. I found this one particularly interesting since I got a copy off eBay only three or four months ago and I was the only bidder. Now all of a sudden, there's 10 bids: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemcategory=4315item=3091242158rd=1ssPageName=WDVW I think the fact that knowing people are bidding high is driving more people to bid even higher. While I'm glad my collection is worth more, I wouldn't be overly thrilled if this hobby became a business. I'm not exactly sure it would be a good thing if every game sold for $100+. On the other hand, I'm almost tempted to sell some of my stuff at these prices. :-) Stephane Hugh Falk wrote: x-tad-biggerI was waiting for things to die down a bit before bringing this topic up, but the last few weeks have brought an extraordinary amount of activity on eBayboth in the number of good, old PC games for sale and the prices being paid. My watch list has never been so full. In fact, Id say my watch list over the last few weeks was as long as the previous six months (maybe a year). At least 3 individual sellers had lots to offer:/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerHopey/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerRbgamehunter/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerCarol!yahoo/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerCombined with lots of one-off sellers./x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerBut what really struck me was that even with all the supply, the ending prices were just so much higher than Ive ever seen before. I would have expected prices to drop with so much stuff on the market, but it didnt happen. Things Ive seen go recently in the $10 - $30 range were going for over $100. Many of the usual
RE: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business
Bah We all know what idiot was responsible for that growl :( -josh -Original Message- From: Hugh Falk [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2004 4:32 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business Sorry to call out another person (not sure if he/she is on this list), but one auction in particular that amazed me was: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemcategory=4315item=8100294021rd=1ssPageName=WDVW Hugh -Original Message- From: Hugh Falk [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2004 2:28 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business I was waiting for things to die down a bit before bringing this topic up, but the last few weeks have brought an extraordinary amount of activity on eBayboth in the number of good, old PC games for sale and the prices being paid. My watch list has never been so full. In fact, Id say my watch list over the last few weeks was as long as the previous six months (maybe a year). At least 3 individual sellers had lots to offer: Hopey Rbgamehunter Carol!yahoo Combined with lots of one-off sellers. But what really struck me was that even with all the supply, the ending prices were just so much higher than Ive ever seen before. I would have expected prices to drop with so much stuff on the market, but it didnt happen. Things Ive seen go recently in the $10 - $30 range were going for over $100. Many of the usual suspects were bidding, but the most noticeable was Peter (sorry to call you out Peter), who by my rough calculations has dropped AT LEAST 10 grand in the last 2 months. In some ways it is really great to see games appreciating in value so much. Maybe well remember March and April 2004 as the months that Retro PC game collecting officially became big business. Hugh
Re: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business
The economy has been picking up. I am trying to find a new IT position and things aren't so bleak any more, so I would imagine this translates to software collecting bidding/selling. Hugh Falk wrote: I was waiting for things to die down a bit before bringing this topic up, but the last few weeks have brought an extraordinary amount of activity on eBayboth in the number of good, old PC games for sale and the prices being paid. My watch list has never been so full. In fact, Id say my watch list over the last few weeks was as long as the previous six months (maybe a year). At least 3 individual sellers had lots to offer: -- Jim Leonard ([EMAIL PROTECTED])http://www.oldskool.org/ Want to help an ambitious games project? http://www.mobygames.com/ Or check out some trippy MindCandy at http://www.mindcandydvd.com/ -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
Re: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business
I was waiting for things to die down a bit before bringing this topic up, but the last few weeks have brought an extraordinary amount of activity on eBay both in the number of good, old PC games for sale and the prices being paid. My watch list has never been so full. In fact, Id say my watch list over the last few weeks was as long as the previous six months (maybe a year). At least 3 individual sellers had lots to offer: I noticed there's a lot more sniping than usual too.. could this be partially responsible for the higher prices? People sniping crazy amounts? I know Im guilty of that at least a few times. -- -- Howard Feldman, Author of The Search for Freedom A Computer Fantasy Role-Playing Game Visit its Homepage at http://home.golden.net/~feldman/SearchForFreedom/ Visit the Computer and Book RPG Museum at http://vgmuseum.chaoticmonkey.com/ Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
Re: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business
I was actually thinking along the same lines, and I'm sure I wasn't the only other one. Some of the prices make it seem like $100 for a game is nothing... I don't know, but to me, $100 is a lot of cash! The other thing I've noticed too is that there's at least a couple of bidders who seem to be doing more than just collecting. I think Bryron, for one, would still be ready to pay big bucks for a game even if he already had ten copies of it - perhaps an investment? I believe C.E. made a similar statement not too long ago regarding Starcross saucers and Suspended masks. I found this one particularly interesting since I got a copy off eBay only three or four months ago and I was the only bidder. Now all of a sudden, there's 10 bids: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemcategory=4315item=3091242158rd=1ssPageName=WDVW I think the fact that knowing people are bidding high is driving more people to bid even higher. While I'm glad my collection is worth more, I wouldn't be overly thrilled if this hobby became a business. I'm not exactly sure it would be a good thing if every game sold for $100+. On the other hand, I'm almost tempted to sell some of my stuff at these prices. :-) Stephane Hugh Falk wrote: I was waiting for things to die down a bit before bringing this topic up, but the last few weeks have brought an extraordinary amount of activity on eBayboth in the number of good, old PC games for sale and the prices being paid. My watch list has never been so full. In fact, Id say my watch list over the last few weeks was as long as the previous six months (maybe a year). At least 3 individual sellers had lots to offer: Hopey Rbgamehunter Carol!yahoo Combined with lots of one-off sellers. But what really struck me was that even with all the supply, the ending prices were just so much higher than Ive ever seen before. I would have expected prices to drop with so much stuff on the market, but it didnt happen. Things Ive seen go recently in the $10 - $30 range were going for over $100. Many of the usual suspects were bidding, but the most noticeable was Peter (sorry to call you out Peter), who by my rough calculations has dropped AT LEAST 10 grand in the last 2 months. In some ways it is really great to see games appreciating in value so much. Maybe well remember March and April 2004 as the months that Retro PC game collecting officially became big business. Hugh
Re: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business
I should offer him my copy of Muse BLACKJACK. At $450.00 its a steal (I think it cost me $15-20. Not sure. I was on a MUSE kick back then. Then I realized that they had more titles than I previously knew about and calmed down shortly thereafter.) On Apr 25, 2004, at 5:32 PM, Hugh Falk wrote: x-tad-biggerSorry to call out another person (not sure if he/she is on this list), but one auction in particular that amazed me was:/x-tad-bigger x-tad-bigger/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerhttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemcategory=4315item=8100294021rd=1ssPageName=WDVW/x-tad-bigger x-tad-bigger/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerHugh/x-tad-bigger x-tad-bigger/x-tad-bigger x-tad-bigger/x-tad-bigger x-tad-bigger/x-tad-bigger x-tad-bigger-Original Message-/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerFrom:/x-tad-biggerx-tad-bigger Hugh Falk [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/x-tad-bigger x-tad-bigger /x-tad-biggerx-tad-biggerSent:/x-tad-biggerx-tad-bigger Sunday, April 25, 2004 2:28 PM/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerTo:/x-tad-biggerx-tad-bigger [EMAIL PROTECTED]/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerSubject:/x-tad-biggerx-tad-bigger [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerI was waiting for things to die down a bit before bringing this topic up, but the last few weeks have brought an extraordinary amount of activity on eBayboth in the number of good, old PC games for sale and the prices being paid. My watch list has never been so full. In fact, Id say my watch list over the last few weeks was as long as the previous six months (maybe a year). At least 3 individual sellers had lots to offer:/x-tad-bigger x-tad-bigger/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerHopey/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerRbgamehunter/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerCarol!yahoo/x-tad-bigger x-tad-bigger/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerCombined with lots of one-off sellers./x-tad-bigger x-tad-bigger/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerBut what really struck me was that even with all the supply, the ending prices were just so much higher than Ive ever seen before. I would have expected prices to drop with so much stuff on the market, but it didnt happen. Things Ive seen go recently in the $10 - $30 range were going for over $100. Many of the usual suspects were bidding, but the most noticeable was Peter (sorry to call you out Peter), who by my rough calculations has dropped AT LEAST 10 grand in the last 2 months./x-tad-bigger x-tad-bigger/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerIn some ways it is really great to see games appreciating in value so much. Maybe well remember March and April 2004 as the months that Retro PC game collecting officially became big business./x-tad-bigger x-tad-bigger/x-tad-bigger x-tad-biggerHugh/x-tad-bigger x-tad-bigger/x-tad-bigger
Re: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business
I think it's great, although some of the prices do seem out of whack. Then again, they're worth what they're worth I guess. After all, they'll never be another "beginning of computer/video gaming" in the history of our world. I don't even think we can begin to understand not only the value but the significancetechnologically of the classic computer games we collect now will be regarded as far into the future. I think more and more people are realizing that owning these pieces of history are are extremely valid and desirable, especially in a society that is becoming more and more into gaming, computers and technology in general. I predict a new generation of collectors, those people who didn't grow up WITH the roots of gaming, but are now wondering and would like to hold a piece of them. Myself being someone who only collects games still in shrinkwrap mint/near mint, I'm willing to pay a lot more if I see one I've had on my watch list for a year or two and it finally comes up. And I steam like crazy when I get sniped too, and it only makes the next one that comes up (if and when) even more valuable. Brad - Original Message - From: Hugh Falk To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2004 5:27 PM Subject: [SWCollect] Retro PC game collecting officially became big business I was waiting for things to die down a bit before bringing this topic up, but the last few weeks have brought an extraordinary amount of activity on eBay both in the number of good, old PC games for sale and the prices being paid. My watch list has never been so full. In fact, Id say my watch list over the last few weeks was as long as the previous six months (maybe a year). At least 3 individual sellers had lots to offer: Hopey Rbgamehunter Carol!yahoo Combined with lots of one-off sellers. But what really struck me was that even with all the supply, the ending prices were just so much higher than Ive ever seen before. I would have expected prices to drop with so much stuff on the market, but it didnt happen. Things Ive seen go recently in the $10 - $30 range were going for over $100. Many of the usual suspects were bidding, but the most noticeable was Peter (sorry to call you out Peter), who by my rough calculations has dropped AT LEAST 10 grand in the last 2 months. In some ways it is really great to see games appreciating in value so much. Maybe well remember March and April 2004 as the months that Retro PC game collecting officially became big business. Hugh
