Wow, more like D-...

Well, you've never heard of it happening because these things are rare as hell, so that really stacks the odds against it

But I would definitely see the value in donating all the proceeds if a person snagged something like this at goodwill or the salvation army.


You're right though..."ripping off" was kind of harsh. 

Let me rephrase as saying, I don't think it's "the most honest" thing you could possibly do in that given situation.  It's very murky.

Wow. I just read this ENTIRE thread. Congratulations to the buyer and seller, because you both got what you wanted, or better yet, you both got a much better deal than you ever imagined.

Who won it anyway?

Wow, epic thread. Amazing. I have no idea who won though.
I would absolutely love to go through your 3 buildings of stuff Angel.

I realize that Stadium Events is an extreme example, but what's wrong with buying something at a yard sale for the asking price?  Up until this year I'd never paid more than $15 for any NES game, not because I was out to rip off or screw any seller, but because I typically didn't have much more to spend on whatever.  If I found a CIB Stadium Events at a yard sale, I'd buy it in a heartbeat (granted I'd probably keep it, being that I'm a collector).  Should I feel bad about every game I've picked up over the years that was "under market value?" 

^ When I was younger and not so jaded, I did this with Magic cards. There was a little store locally that was part deli, part corner store and part card shop. Weird but cool.

Anyways they had a ton of singles, and I was collecting. I saw certain cards that they were severely underselling, and tried to tell the shopkeep, who was thoroughly uninterested. I went in subsequent times and they still hadn't adjusted them. Eventually, of course, they sold for pennies on the dollar to someone else who was happy to pay the offered price.

Ever since the day I walked in and realized, some people are perfectly happy getting what they think something's worth for the convenience of not having to research or resticker an item, I've never volunteered information at the point of sale again.

I do however try to educate everyone who is interested and who cares, which is why I make my guide. If you care, I'll help you to my limit.

You have no problem with it because you benefit from it, and that's fine to me. But to go one step further and think ethics and fairness is a "bunch of hooey" to others just because that's not how you operate? Huh? To pretend that at the end of the day that all people care about is money is disingenuous. 

For real.

LOL, lots of funny comments here. I think some are taking this too seriously You have to keep in mind that the only reason this game is so valueable is that people think it is. There is little play value in it. You never here about how much people love this game, and how much they've played it and it's there fav game. I bet in a few decades, it won't sell anywhere near this price, though still lots more than the average title. Not that I think there is anything wrong with paying lot's of money for this game, it is worth it to some, especially those going after a complete set. Another thing to keep in mind, is paying a really low amount for something that's worth a lot more is quite normal, there is nothing wrong with it. It's kind of your reward for finding it and being in the "know". I am in to collectible cars. There are some cars that look like beaters, that someone might pay 2 to 5k for, that turn out to be worth 200k+ because only a few hundred were made with those options or engine code, this happens all the time. I've known some regretful sellers who had these cars, and sold them because they were broke at the time, and in the last few years values of these cars have went up sharply and are just now declining.

And DreamTR made a really good point, nobody really owns anything when you get down to it

And he's right about hype driving the price. Wipe all of your knowledge of this game, put it in a game store, you walk in, it's the last game you'd buy and walk out with, unless it was the only nintedo game in the store, or it was filled with Total Recall, Karnov, Deadly Towers and other crappy games, which many game stores are, LOL.

Crap I'm at 100 now, so I'll make you look at my ugly face once more! 

Still just a little mac?  When do I become a Big Mac?

I don't think there's anything wrong with finding decent deals on games at yard sales.  People price the stuff for what they're willing to accept.

But in an extreme example like this, where there is a 5-figure price discrepancy...I would figure out some way for the person to get a fairer share of what the thing was worth, or donate a large portion of the proceeds to charity, if I was going to turn around and flip it.


All of this is beside of the point of what prompted the original debate on side deals, though.  There is a big difference between a person setting a price they're happy with at a yard sale, and something being available for open auction and getting yanked.

Yes, but if you have some poor lady on the side of the road selling her last belongings and you buy her CIB Stadium Events for $20 and you go off and sell it for $15K, wouldn't you feel a LITTLE bad?

I mean to me it's still black and white, deals or no deals, people tend to hype things when they are not going to be a part of the buying frenzy and it costs the other collectors. It's the same thing if you are in that very store or flea market, some guy has CIB Earthbound for $20 and have it in your hands, and some random dude comes in and tells the guy WTF ARE YOU DOING IT SELLS FOR $300 ON eBay, and he's like, "really?" He keeps it and you go home upset, no game.

Everyone misconstrued what I said earlier and made me out to be evil, but if that happened to ANYONE in this room about to get that deal, they'd be a bit peeved. That was the point I was trying to get across because if people aren't going to bid on something they have no intention of getting, I really don't see the point of trying to fuel the fire and ruin it for other collectors/resellers/whatever with the overhype.

Fact is, we all want deals, but when high dollar stuff comes in to play, people just don't realize it will end up costing more to people that plan on trying to obtain said item(s).

Hopefully no one reads the above and decides what I wrote means I want to eat everyone's children or something this time.

I don't know what you said earlier, but I still don't understand what you're trying to say.  If what happened to anyone in this room?  Who was about to get what deal?

Not trying to be confrontational, I really don't know what you're trying to say.

It's fine, I was referring to as if "that" happened to anyone in this room i.e. the example I referred to with Earthbound at the flea market happened to anyone in this room, they'd be upset.

Ok, I get you. But in this situation, are you more concerned that people made the seller aware that it was a high ticket item, or that people that are uneducated on the value were putting in their 2 cents (or both perhaps)?

As I see it, the only thing it prevented was a side deal as the price was likely to end where it did if it ran full course and the seller was not contacted. Was someone in talks to close a side deal and got upset that it didn't go as planned?

Not really either one of those.

Again, people who are not planning on bidding on high ticket items put their 2 cents in and overhype, which causes collectors to possibly lose out a little because of cause and effect.

This thread, overhype on price, creates Yahoo front page and everyone and their mother going bananas thinking the NES is possibly worth $1934829382983...

Same example happens with the flea market person that I mentioned.

These same people would be upset if that happened to them where they would lose out on a deal.

This has nothing to do with me or even this auction at all, this is just how I feel when people overeducate someone, you end up losing out on possible deals, which is why I think it is funny that something like this is defended but the sealed SE thing where it was bought for $3500 recently and sold for 5x that is ok because information was "withheld" about the item.

I personally think there is nothing wrong with that because he made money off the item and that's because he got a deal and did not overeducate the person like what happened with this auction. It's hard to know what would or would not have happened, but I guarantee this may have been sold for a few thousand less instead (and no, this does not have anything to do with me, it is just a perception I have about said item..

I mean, I'll be frank about this, if I would have posted how much I sold my box and manual for and stated in this thread the seller should not expect anything less the price would probably have been different as well, but I stayed out of it...

I just read through the entire thread, and  DreamTR, I understood what you were saying all along. You write very clearly and anyone who can't wrap their brain around your meaning must be the same sort of people who did poorly on the language portions of standardized tests.

And, MrMark0673, he is very obviously making a parallel of the two situations of which he is speaking:

Situation 1) When people who don't intend to buy an item at auction feel obligated to step up and "overhype" the item by telling the seller it's worth "tons." Therefore making the seller possibly reconsider the original auction and set a much higher asking price for it, making the TRUE collectors pay even more for it simply because some random person with no bearing on the auction whatsoever felt they needed to educate the seller. And for what?

Situation 2)
He's making a parallel to make the situation more relate-able to the rest of us who may not be in the market for a $13K game. Since a $300 Earthbound may be more realistic for many of us, he was hoping we could more easily relate to his opinions with said example. Which he should not have to do in the first place since he made it clear from the beginning that he wasn't specifically referring to this SE auction anyway. But since most people couldn't read that part of his posts, the parallel was probably needed.


Do I agree that "overhyping" and educating the seller is bad? Not fully, but I don't disagree either. I totally understand how sometimes it feels bad to "take advantage" of a seller that doesn't realize what they have. But I also understand how it also sucks to make other collectors pay higher prices and prohibit them from getting a good deal on a game if they can.

It's totally different when you find a deal yourself. Would you pay the $20 for the CIB Earthbound in that situation, or would you feel you needed to educate the seller and say, "Hold on. I want to buy this game from you but it's actually worth $300 dollars. So here, I'll give you $280 more. Nice doing business with you." Or would you take it for $20 and brag about your good deal. Most of us would do the latter. So it's kinda crummy that some of us feel we should ruin those good deals for others by randomly stepping in and telling the seller the "real" value even if we don't intend on giving them that amount for it.

Once again, I think each situation is unique and whether this "educating of the seller" is right or wrong varies each time and is all a matter of opinion.

Your term "overeducate" is amusing, and probably not what you mean to say.

I get that you value information asymmetry, though.

Ok enough of this back and forth posting.

Please Keep this thing on topic

Yay! That is what I was saying all along =) You and BuyAtari are the only people that understood what point I was trying to get across, everyone else was trying to stretch for alternative information and possible ulterior motives in the auction and stating things that I did not say at all.

It really is not about the auction at all, it was really just a point I was trying to make but apparently everyone felt I was insulting people or something because it sure came across to others like that.

ANyway, the thread probably should be closed anyway, the game is not on eBay anymore and all this should be for another topic...

Archangel: No, I did mean to write "overeducate" and place it in quotes because that's precisely what I mean. You can tell someone a game is very rare and worth money, but sometimes you don't tell said person that it sold privately for double what you just offered. That is what I mean about "overeducating" not allowing yourself or someone else to possibly lose out on saving some money unless you guys were friends, of course, and that's a different story. = P

That being said, I think this particular auction was exciting to see. It was so nice to actually have the seller come here, and to witness her genuine shock, happiness, and interest when she realized what she had made this a unique situation that was a lot of fun. Even if only one person walks away with the game, they paid no more than what they were willing and many more got the pleasure of observing this impactful auction to the end.

But... she didn't reconsider the terms of the auction, so your point is moot.  Of course you aren't referring to this specific auction...

Who are these true collectors that you speak of?  Are you a true collector?


Odd that you say "pay higher prices" when this sold for less than the last CIB and last box only copy that came up for sale.  Again, you're not specifically talking about this auction, just some theoretical situation where someone educates a store owner that their fixed price item is marked too low.  How this relates to an open auction where the seller did not change any terms of the sale is where you've lost me.

Not me man, I never even said that I disagreed with you.  I just asked a few questions to see what you were trying to say.

By "true collectors" I am referring to anyone who is realistically considering buying the item for a decent price. Not some random person who has no plans on buying it or can't afford it, but still jumps in and tells the seller what they should price it at. It helps that specific individual in now way, and only hurts other collectors who might be willing to buy it or were in the process of buying it/making a deal.

That's what i meant by "True" collectors. Someone who "Truly" intended to purchase it/ bid for it.

Of course one could argue that everyone could have "Truly" intended to buy this specific auction for the $9.99 starting bid, but come on, let's be realistic.




It doesn't. DreamTR stated that it has nothing to do with this specific auction, and that's why he stated that he should've started a new thread for this topic.

Once again I don't fully agree with what he's saying, I'm just trying clarify his writing for all those who seem to be having trouble understanding his opinion. I'm trying my hardest to present his side of the "argument" since so many people who don't even understand his meaning are jumping down his throat for things he never said. If I'm way off base, I'm sorry. I'm just trying to help out.

FINAL WARNING!

If it isn't in regards to this particular auction then start another thread. I will delete any posts after this one that are not about the CIB SE!