I'm still going but this entire year I've been picking at a local collection I discovered and not buying anything online. I was dropping $1000 a month on whatever NES boxes he had so I didn't really even look anywhere else this whole year.

I only buy CIB stuff that I like to look at, as of late the prices in cib stuff has risen a bit and I'm not willing to spend that much on it but I'm not really a CIB collector but I have some staples like LOZ, DW 1-4, Zelda 2, Castlevania and some black box games just because they look good. Although I am happy with the prices of cart only starting to come down even though I'll probably never have a complete set, I'm not paying 4k for a stadium events, who am I kidding I'm not spending 1k on it.

I buy CIB games I want when the price is right. The vast majority of games are under 100 bucks, so if there's a game you specifically want and you're not just bulking up or getting a full set, most games are attainable and I don't think prohibitively expensive.

I also basically exclusively use Ebay. I don't see the stuff I want on forums much anymore. Where are the people who can't give them away? Do they just have C-list titles and damaged boxes?

Well, I pretty much have every single one I ever wanted. Maybe if a Sunsoft Batman came along.. I hear it's good!

I'm still here too. I collect sealed and CIB, but some games are not possible for me sealed. $75k+ for a sealed hangtab Castlevania? Nooooopppe. I'm totally content with a mint CIB thanks. Heck the only way you can even tell a true first print in some games IS by going CIB over sealed. Castlevania and Top Gun immediately jump to mind. The carts are the only way to know if it's actually a first print as the boxes are identical.

Which is why I go CIB so often, I simply prefer earlier prints. I have 8 CIB sticker seal first prints that are either already graded 8.0 or higher, or will when I send them. If I were to buy them still sealed it would cost the same as my house. For my money I'd rather the first print mint CIB than a later print sealed. It just a personal thing.

But to the original point, I'm seeing a ton of people that are near the end of their want list so they don't purchase much of anything at all anymore.

I collect CIB and sealed. I don't feel the need to rush to finish the set anytime soon.

Top Gun will be missing REV-A from the front of the box.

Yeah but that doesn’t automatically make it a first print. There’s a difference on the cart. Same box for Castlevania first print as the second print too. The difference between print runs is on the carts. 
 

Contra, punch out, SMB go up
 

My guess is people just losing interest in that part of collecting. It's expensive and quite frankly it's impractical. Who wants to spend double the amount of money on any given game just for an added piece of paper and a cardboard box? I know I don't.

Time separated the men from the boys.

I don't follow Cib that much since I don't identify into one category but I feel that there's always gonna be a want for all types of video game collecting just there was a flood of money for first prints. I mean I swear I never seen first print mentioned once on this group before the last 6-8 months(I'm sure it was but not like now)

OP you can't give CIB NES games away? I'll take them!

But no seriously... I didn't know this was a thing. CIB games are still expensive as ever...which is what keeps me from collecting them unless I find a good deal locally. Which I have sometime. But I also try to collect everything locally, it's another challenge. You get better deals, it's funner to find stuff in person and sometimes the games have a history that you can learn from their original owners! That last bit is very valuable to me...I love learning the history about games. I have some fun stories I've collected over the years.

Anyways...some games I will probably have to buy online...rarer things. But I really try to limit my online buying. It's too easy to buy online, just a few clicks and done...no thrill or fun. At that point it's not even collecting for me...it's just buying.

Do you have a link to that thread? I know I've stumbled on it in the past. I use wizard'a cib guide when possible, but obviously it's missing quite a bit and doesn't account for multiple versions of stuff.
 

Prices are falling. The price of a complete Bubble Bobble Part 2 fell nearly $400.

https://gamevaluenow.com/nintendo...

A lot of people aren't collecting sets anymore, and are sticking more to popular, favorites, earlys, hangtabs. Have you seen the first run black boxes lately? The hobby is just changing. The price gap between what's a must have and what isn't is widening.

That one took a big hit. I don't think it will stay down for long though. Once people find out you can buy a CIB one for sub $500, people will jump on it which will create more demand for it.