Selling Games - Yes or No?

[Eenuh]

So I have been looking at clearing out and selling some of our older games (mostly DS games) as there is just so many of them and I don't think they'll ever get played again. Plus we can use the space for other things! 
However @Fierce_LiNk is not a fan of this idea and wants to hold onto our old games, even though he hasn't even played half of them as he doesn't like handheld games. 

I was wondering if there were more people on here who can never sell a game, even if they won't play it again or didn't even like it to begin with? Do you hold onto every game you own, or are there certain games you don't mind getting rid of?

Or are you someone who has no issues with selling things on once you are finished playing them?
 

Also, in regards to Nintendo games specifically, I noticed that some games are going for fairly high prices. Most DS games are about £4-£10, but I've already found 3 games in my collection that seem to be going for a lot more:
- Last Window: The Secret of Cape West (seems to go for around £38-£40 pre-owned)
- Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (goes for about £28)
- Kirby Super Star Ultra (found one pre-owned with box for £57... was this game ever released in Europe?)

There might be more but I've only checked a few. Does anyone know if there are other DS games out there that have a high value for whatever reason? Would you ever be tempted to sell your game if it had a reasonably high value?
I'm tempted to put some of mine on eBay to earn a bit of money, but am always wary about using it cause I'm worried people will claim they didn't receive the game and ask for a refund. 

[Dcubed]

Hi there.  Most Nintendo first party titles hold onto their value very well; often still selling at their original RRP, or even higher.

 

As for DS games in particular? One thing to note is that the market is absolutely littered with bootlegs, meaning that potential buyers on eBay will want to see lots of images that clearly shows that your copies are legitimate (showing the front and back of the cart, clearly showing the contacts of the PCB, is usually a good idea - Here is a good guide to follow in spotting fakes and what you might want to show in a listing).  It also means that legitimate copies of DS games are generally worth a lot, as they are rare on eBay now (almost all listings now are bootlegs).

 

With eBay, they do generally favour the buyer, so there is a bit of risk involved, but if you generally stick with UK buyers, you should be ok.  You're much more likely to encounter scammers if you allow for international shipping, but you should be alright if you stick with UK buyers; or only sell to international buyers who have good feedback and only allow payment via Paypal (never listen to requests to finish auctions early and sell outside of the eBay/Paypal system - they are always trying to scam you).  Another good tip? Always use Signed For shipping, be it domestic or international; don't be tempted to use cheaper shipping where you can't track and guarantee that the buyer has recieved the item.

 

I personally wouldn't sell my games, because I generally always go back and play them again eventually, but with games that have been re-released on later platforms? I don't see much of a point in holding onto doubles, where there isn't really any advantage in doing so.  I'd only keep one physical version of a game, unless there were significant differences that warrented doing so.

 

I'm not really a collector though, I just keep the games that I really like and cherish.  Like a good book or movie, I'll always go back to them eventually  

 

Also...

 

Quote

 Kirby Super Star Ultra (found one pre-owned with box for £57... was this game ever released in Europe?

... it was indeed released in Europe.  It was just very heavily delayed, coming out a whole year after the US release.  As such, a lot of people just imported the game; so you'll probably find a lot of US copies floating around EU/UK auction sites as a result.

Edited May 20, 2019 by Dcubed

[Eenuh]

18 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Hi there.  Most Nintendo first party titles hold onto their value very well; often still selling at their original RRP, or even higher.

That's the thing, most pre-owned games seem to be going for not much at all, usually about £5, maybe £15 for games like Mario Kart. But then those three I listed seem to have a lot higher value for some reason. I'm assuming they are just more rare. 

18 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Also...

 

... it was indeed released in Europe.  It was just very heavily delayed, coming out a whole year after the US release.  As such, a lot of people just imported the game; so you'll probably find a lot of US copies floating around EU/UK auction sites as a result.

There's not that many around actually, most of the ones I found were either without a case, or were shipping from Canada. There's one European version for sale on ebay going for £65 though! I have the US version because I did import it at the time, and got hit with an importing fee, ouch! 

Still not sure if I can be bothered to sell on ebay though, especially as we have no post office near us so selling games with tracking information is almost impossible. 

[S.C.G]

An excellent idea for a topic @Eenuh as it is deifnitely a tricky one, especially in today's market for videogames, especially retro titles.

But I would say that @Fierce_LiNk is right to want to hold onto certain titles, as there are plenty which will likely hold their value if not increase over time.

I don't like the idea of selling games if I think that I might play them in the future but even I admit that there are some titles I've sold because I likely don't have the time to play them.

One such game was Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse which I finally decided to sell recently because while I did originally purchase it with the intention of playing, that didn't happen... and it's an Atlus title, as a publisher they are notorious for only doing very low print runs so subsequently the value did go up and even though I still maybe didn't want to sell it, I did anyway and I'm glad that I did for various reasons.

Firstly, I made my money back and a little bit on top even if that wasn't my main reason for buying it, secondly I did take lower than the buy it now price and I'm glad that I did because I ended up selling to a guy on eBay who I won't name in case he didn't want to be named but he's one of the nicest chaps I could have hoped to have sold to and again while I won't go into all the details, we did get talking about various games and I said that he'd be more than welcome to join up here which he said he may do in the future, so that's cool... also he's now really enjoying the game so I couldn't have hoped for a better outcome.

It's nice when things play out that way because I can't tell you how many other times I've had difficult sales, or sales where you don't feel like the person buying the game was really that bothered... but then I suppose you have to separate those feelings most of the time as you're just selling a game and they are paying you for it and for you to post it to them but it is nice when you put the extra effort in and it's then appreciated.

41 minutes ago, Eenuh said:

Also, in regards to Nintendo games specifically, I noticed that some games are going for fairly high prices. Most DS games are about £4-£10, but I've already found 3 games in my collection that seem to be going for a lot more:

- Last Window: The Secret of Cape West (seems to go for around £38-£40 pre-owned)
- Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (goes for about £28)
- Kirby Super Star Ultra (found one pre-owned with box for £57... was this game ever released in Europe?)
 

I had no idea that those three DS games had gone up in value so much... as it happens I am in the process of going through my own collection because while there are plenty of games I do want to keep, I will be selling some to make a bit of room, I did actually pick up Ghost Trick a year or so back for a few quid which I was glad to add to my collection, as for Kirby Super Star Ultra... I have the US version (black box) if yours is the UK Pal clear box version then that seems to be worth more, I had no idea that it was so collectable now but I suppose with Kirby, the prices will go up with the characters enduring popularity.

Last Window... that's a game I've been aware of and I was going to pick up at some point, let me know if you did want to sell it and I would gladly pay you what it's worth but... equally, if you want to keep it then by all means do that as it will surely keep its value, plus if you think you might want to play it in the future... anyway that's a nice game to have.

All of what @Dcubed said in his above post is very good sound advice, there are plenty of fake DS games on eBay but there's no reason to think that yours are anything but genuine, if you want help identifying them then you can always post pictures of the games in here and we'd be happy to help I'm sure.

In general though, it's not so easy deciding which games to keep and which to sell, the only titles I'm selling at the moment are doubles of certain titles but they are pretty niche... one is a sought after Neo Geo Pocket Color game, then there's an aftermarket NES game, a Genesis title and a couple of sealed GameCube games.

I will be going through my collection with a more critical eye soon though as I need to get rid of some stuff and if it comes down to it... some I could sell if I really need the money.

Generally I try to be a lot more selective these days though, but one things for sure... it's always good to have great games in your collection to play and enjoy.

[Hero-of-Time]

I keep most of the games I purchase. I love collecting them but I also enjoy dipping into older games from time to time. It's nice just being able to go to your shelf and pick up a game from your childhood and get a nice dose of nostalgia.  

Saying that, I do question whether it's worth keeping games for the more modern consoles. Ever since the dawn of patching games on consoles and the stupid amount of updates that happens to games, you have to wonder if half the games that are released these days will ever be playable in the future. 

Honestly, if you aren't strapped for cash then I would keep them all, even if you need to put them in storage. A lot of games from earlier consoles are constantly going up in price and most of them will continue to go up in value.

In terms of selling games on eBay, I'll echo what others have said-keep the listings as UK only bidders and always send packages as recorded delivery. Doing both of these should help you avoid any trouble.

[Glen-i]

Yep, I keep pretty much all my games, mostly because I tend to replay games on a whim. It's the main reason why I mostly buy digital these days.

[bob]

I have never sold any of the games that I've played. I keep them in boxes in the attic, even though I know I'll never play any of them again (don't tell my wife). Even if I did get them down and start them up, I know I'd be disappointed because they all look like arse now.

[Sméagol]

No.

[Jonnas]

I sold some games a couple of time. Ended up regretting it, as I'd really like to revisit Mystical Ninja or Tetrisphere these days. I was lucky enough to find Wave Race at a good price, so at least I re-bought that one.

And upon retrospect, it's a good thing I never managed to sell Super Mario Sunshine or Baten Kaitos (the former kept getting rejected due to a small scratch, and for the latter I was offered... 8€. I shit you not). I guess I suck at finding buyers

But for games I never played before? That would make more sense, especially if I wasn't planning to go through them. And if I disliked them from day 1, it would also make sense.

Speaking of which, I have a repeat copy of Mario Party 4 (long story) that I never got around to selling. Also, a copy of Disagea DS, a game I ended up disliking a lot. I guess my distaste for selling games is so entrenched, I'm having a hard time selling what I should be selling

[Ike]

I've trimmed my collection a bit, games I've either never played or won't ever be likely to play again - there's far too many games and I don't have the time (or energy) to play them all. They're just sitting on my shelf taking up space and the thought of having to transport my game collection scares me. I'd never sell games I've enjoyed or have attachment to though. I could do with trimming my collection some more, but not sure what to do with certain games that don't have much value (Tetris on the 3DS for example).

Selling on eBay is pretty stressful though.

Last Window was a CING (RIP) game so probably got a low print run, also it never got released in America. The fact CING are defunct probably also pushed the price up, maybe.

Surprised about Ghost Trick, but probably also had a small print run. And the terrible mobile port probably made the DS version worth more.

[BowserBasher]

Just adding my name to those that don’t sell. 

I have SNES and N64 games still in original boxes and in good shape. I have all my GC, Wii and WiiU games too. Handheld too. I just like to keep them as they are part of my childhood and growing up. I hear a lot of times that games like Conkers Bad Fur Day fetch quite a nice sum for good copies and I know mine is in very good condition but I would just never want to sell them. 

[Hero-of-Time]

5 hours ago, BowserBasher said:

I hear a lot of times that games like Conkers Bad Fur Day fetch quite a nice sum for good copies and I know mine is in very good condition but I would just never want to sell them. 

There are a lot of N64 games that go for quite a high price. Stuff like Conker, Banjo-Tooie, Mario Party 1-3, Pokemon Stadium 2, Mystical Ninja 2 and Paper Mario all go for around £80-£150. The prices of certain N64 games has been steadily rising over the past few years.

[bob]

I'd like to change my answer.


Starting with my N64 games.

[Aperson]

I think these should answer that question

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, I like to keep a collection as opposed to selling games but I am not opposed to selling them. I tend to keep beaten games even if I thought they were rubbish but I have sold a few games before and even in the present if I started them but never finished them or had no plans to ever finish because I didn't enjoy the game enough. I recently have been selling a few games like this. I also sold Pokken Tournament on Wii U but only becuase I wanted to buy the far superior Switch version of the game, though I also like to keep hold of the "first" games for that console in certain situations.

 

Though, I have lost some of my game cartridges over time or given them away unintentionally but I think it takes a few years of being a gamer to decide whether you want to be someone who keeps a collection or sells the games to keep themselves going. Then again, the extreme approach is to sell every game no matter how good it is and only ever keep the "best games of all time" so I suppose it depends on what your standards of quality are.

[DuD]

I still have my Mega Drive, N64, PS1 and all their games, and I re-bought a SNES (my bro sold his) and some choice games. I haven't considered selling them.

I sold my PS3 and all games, I sold all my Wii games and sold everything I have completed on Wii U (I still have the consoles).

I've started selling GC games too. I sold Paper Mario for £100 recently as figured we'll get to the point where I can pick it up digitally for peanuts in the not too distant future.

I used to be dead against selling my gaming stuff, I'm not sure what changed?

[Kaepora_Gaebora]

I always thought I was a no clutter gamer fairly recently when I went all digital with my Wii U; but actually I've always traded in/sold games on, and always to fund the next console or big game I want.

I remember selling my N64, games I had left and some old WWF VHS' to fund my GameCube, and I've done that up until trading in my Wii U for the Switch.

My biggest and only regret is trading my original DS in for the Lite; it was the limited edition one through the Nintendo Club at the time, probably should have kept that...

I enjoy a re release of a classic every now and then, and sometimes I'll wish I could have another blast on GoldenEye, but usually I'll scratch that itch for 10 minutes then I won't bother again, so the only thing I've really missed is potentially having a collector's value on some of them (I have a mint boxed conkers bad fur day N64 and my Shigeru Miyamoto signed Sunshine locked away, though)