Ensign Nemo wrote on 2023-09-04, 11:02:
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I can see how someone would buy up games to preserve them for collectors and sell them at a price that deters people who aren't that interested in them and only buy it because it's cheap. There's a guy who buys vintage computers and repairs them locally. He sells his excess hardware at cost and won't sell them to people looking to flip them for a few bucks. I actually really appreciate that. However, I'm not sure if that's the motivation with the guy trying to sell games locally for really inflated prices. He's literally been listing the same ads for years now. I think he probably sees eBay prices and thinks he'll get those amounts locally. Otherwise, I would expect him to sell them at a price that a collector would likely think is reasonable.
I've had a discussion with a local seller who has an almost mint Microsoft Trackball Explorer. "Almost" as he says he opened the box to check if everything was in there and it worked. It was and it did - but it's not sealed anymore. Now that knocks a lot off its collectors' value, but is perfect for me as I buy up every one of these things that I spot for a price I'm prepared to pay as I use them and they deteriorate with use (after a decade or so, the plastic is just gone), so one I know works but otherwise in perfect condition is ideal.
He puts the thing up on a local auction site. People bid on it. I am inevitably highest bidder, usually around EUR 100-125. He doesn't consider that enough, having seen them go on eBay for three times that, but I'm not prepared to pay over the odds either. First time I wished him luck with finding someone prepared to pay that. He said he was patient and wouldn't accept a 'lowball bid'. Fine. Couple of months later and he re-lists it. The same people bid on it with the same outcome. Rinse repeat, it came round a third time. He actually started getting annoyed with me for bidding but never going higher...