>> Stephen Emond stated: > >All these factors can make creating such a rarity / price guide > >difficult - but not impossible. I'd say the best way to create such a > >guide is to start with a database. Since everyone here has their own > >particular interests (Ultima, Sierra, Infocom, etc.) we could all > >contribute based on those interests. Useful fields could include: > > > >- Game Title > >- Platform / Format (5.25" / 3.5" / CD / etc) > >- Version / Printing > >- Completeness > > This could be hard to arbitrarily and succinctly note.
Yes and no. For my personal inventory I have the following columns (with separate lists per system): Title / Origin / Version / G / B / M / * "Origin" is important since a lot of games have localized releases around the world. "Version" is only used when I know different versions exist (packaging, format, etc). The last four deal with completeness: (G)ame, (B)ox, (M)anual, (*)Special (ie: maps, coins, etc). Obviously different games have different contents but all contents could be simplified into these four main categories. When making entries in the database the appropriate fields could be either checked or "X"ed. When comparing prices the "completeness" could be determined from this. Like I said this will be one of the harder factors to overcome when determining price. Some games may have a low value (*) like a Fruit Roll-Up (ToeJam & Earl 2 on Genesis actually came with one...), while others like early Ultimas have very high value items like maps & trinkets that affect the overall price greatly. > >- Overall Condition (to be useful this shouldn't be too obsessive - I > > suggest a simplistic "Good / Fair / Poor" system with perhaps a > > separate option for shrinkwrap) > > I suggest using the abbreviated MobyScale form (e.g. Good/Fine). The reason I suggest only using 3 grades is to help compensate for the many other factors. I forget how many grades the MobyScale uses, but there is no reason it couldn't be used. However until sufficient data is available I'd still break the scale into three levels when estimating values. Besides, have you seen a beat up copy sell for triple the price of a sparkly new one? I know I have. > >- Auction # (reference only - to avoid information duplication) > >- Auction Date (to see how many copies turn up monthly / yearly) > >- Final Bid (obviously for determining value) > >- # of *Unique* Bidders (not counting multiple bids by same bidder - to > > help measure desirability) > > This is a good idea. For a time, I created my own spreadsheets of > prices for Pac-Man Fever items and Rom action figures. You can find > the summary of my findings at > http://home.hiwaay.net/~lkseitz/cvg/PacmanFever/ and > http://home.hiwaay.net/~lkseitz/comics/Rom/actionfig/where.shtml, > respectively. > > The most difficult thing to determine from an eBay auction is > condition, particularly if there's no photo. And given that not all > sellers are collectors, determining version, completeness, or sometimes > even platform might be difficult, especially if they don't answer > e-mail. Keeping these lists up took a fair chunk of time, though, > which is why I eventually gave it up. I completely agree with you there... Some of the information has to be taken on faith but on the up side that's what the bidders are doing anyway. Without pictures seller condition evaluations can be followed since that's what bidders go for. The main problem is knowing exactly what version of the game to class it as for comparative purposes. That's the main reason I recommend teamwork - since everyone here has their own expertise they'd know best what to look for. > >If there are any suggestions please add them. If there are volunteers to > >actually manage such a database, good luck :) I'd actually consider > >starting a project like this but I'm already in the middle of two > >massive collector's guides. A third would likely kill me. > > Mind if I ask what kind of guides? > > -- > Lee K. Seitz > [EMAIL PROTECTED] Ultima and Sega - my two biggest passions. Because they obviously vary in scope the Sega guide will be on somewhat of a macro scale with detailed checklists of all the games per system, etc. The Ultima guide is more of a micro scale and each item has VERY detailed descriptions, stats, pictures, etc. I think my most recent totals were 1,662 Ultima items and 9,495 Sega items... If anyone here would like to contribute to either guide in any way, or have any advice I'd love to hear it. You can find out more here: http://www.falcondesigns.ca/ Steve ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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]/
