Fair FORUM price for Last Alert CIC

[Lochlan]

Well, we tend to sell under eBay here, and even on eBay, 30 is a little high for that one.  It isn't a matter of opinion actually, but a matter of fact.

Sometimes I'm wrong, I am totally willing to acknowledge when I make a mistake.  Since eBay completed auctions (at least what's provided through eBay search) shows that $30 was the third-to-cheapest price, can you explain how you determined that $30 shipped is too high?  I'm not trying to antagonize you (please don't take this as "nyah nyah, prove it!") but I have to admit that I'm confused.  The information I have from eBay seems to indicate that my price is OK.

If you go to ridiculous video game price-charting sites like this: http://videogames.pricecharting.com/game/turbografx-16/last-alert-%5Bsuper-cd%5D
They indicate that only "loose" copies go for the lower prices quoted in this thread.  But that site is way overpriced anyway.

I researched a little deeper and found that I may have priced ~$5 too high as Galam suggested.

It looks like I missed the cheapest copy on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000F6R2VE/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=1392582639&sr=8-5
That one is $23.71 and definitely quite a bit cheaper than what I was offering.  Every price higher than that is in the $40 range, though, so that particular copy seems like an outlier.  But I concede that there is a cheaper one available here.

eStarland as well seems to have a copy for $3.64 less: http://www.estarland.com/TurboGrafx.product.16473.html
I don't think this means $30 was way out there or an absolutely terrible price, but OK maybe I was a few bucks too high.

Can you, Bernie, or somebody else please share some other resources that have led to a lower valuation than $30 shipped?  Thank you.

[bob]

Is that your Jackie chan on eBay right now for $80 BIN?
User name is Lochlanpm

Yeah.  Does that seem too high? [/QUOTE]

Yes.

Galam, from the character judgments you seem to be implying.  I don't think I'm the type you're suggesting.

I'm not implying anything, I was just curious because it's a game I am on the look out for.  I was looking for the "Make Offer" button in the listing.
My offer would have been, keep the manual and I'll give you $50.  I didn't think it would go for $80, but alas, now there is another "sold" listing for an astronomical price which will further impede my hunt.  (I'm just being selfish here)

I don't know if $30 shipped for Last Alert was too high, but it felt like a reasonable price to me and seems in-line with what eBay sales are. 

Exactly the problem, and why this thread was started by TM.  Our corner of the internet tries very hard to insulate the inflation and make sure our fellow members can secure the games at reasonable prices.

Galam, I'm not seeing it here although obviously you linked it), the cheapest non-disc only copies are (shipped prices) $26.44, $28.95, 29.99, $34.95, $37.32, and they go up from there.  Maybe you guys can share with me how you're getting your pricing information, since completed auctions seem to indicate that $30 shipped is an OK price for Last Alert.

I was just looking at "Sold Listings" in eBay.  I didn't do anything special.  Maybe you are searching for BIN's only?  I know sold results can be tricky, Black Tiger always seems to find sold listings that I miss too.  It's a strange thing.
Generally, a good rule of thumb, if you have a game to sell, find the ebay midpoint of what sold, cut it in half and ship it for free.  It's only a CD case.

If you go to ridiculous video game price-charting sites like this: http://videogames.pricecharting.com/game/turbografx-16/last-alert-%5Bsuper-cd%5D
They indicate that only "loose" copies go for the lower prices quoted in this thread.

Ok, then don't go there.



Listen, I'm not trying to cut you up here.  You have every right to ask whatever you want for your games.  And if the deal doesn't work out for both parties, then fine, move on.  There is no crime here.  You're not a bad guy by any means.  Obviously, you value your reputation here.

[PunkicCyborg]

I don't think Lochlan is trying to rip anyone off and nobody is obligated to sell a game here.... Not every deal is going to work out since we all have different values in our heads for what games are worth. Also who knows what the said person bought it for to begin with. 
Calling people out over low amounts of money is pretty tacky and to be honest when I see that most the time it makes me not want to deal with the person who makes threads like this because if anything doesn't go their way you worry about them blowing things out of proportion.

[Bernie]

Oh, don't get me wrong.  It's not a gouge price by a long shot.    I just remember getting that one off eBay for around 16 complete, without box of course. 

Well, we tend to sell under eBay here, and even on eBay, 30 is a little high for that one.  It isn't a matter of opinion actually, but a matter of fact.

Sometimes I'm wrong, I am totally willing to acknowledge when I make a mistake.  Since eBay completed auctions (at least what's provided through eBay search) shows that $30 was the third-to-cheapest price, can you explain how you determined that $30 shipped is too high?  I'm not trying to antagonize you (please don't take this as "nyah nyah, prove it!") but I have to admit that I'm confused.  The information I have from eBay seems to indicate that my price is OK.

If you go to ridiculous video game price-charting sites like this: http://videogames.pricecharting.com/game/turbografx-16/last-alert-%5Bsuper-cd%5D
They indicate that only "loose" copies go for the lower prices quoted in this thread.  But that site is way overpriced anyway.

I researched a little deeper and found that I may have priced ~$5 too high as Galam suggested.

It looks like I missed the cheapest copy on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000F6R2VE/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=1392582639&sr=8-5
That one is $23.71 and definitely quite a bit cheaper than what I was offering.  Every price higher than that is in the $40 range, though, so that particular copy seems like an outlier.  But I concede that there is a cheaper one available here.

eStarland as well seems to have a copy for $3.64 less: http://www.estarland.com/TurboGrafx.product.16473.html
I don't think this means $30 was way out there or an absolutely terrible price, but OK maybe I was a few bucks too high.

Can you, Bernie, or somebody else please share some other resources that have led to a lower valuation than $30 shipped?  Thank you.

[Black Tiger]

Well, we tend to sell under eBay here, and even on eBay, 30 is a little high for that one.  It isn't a matter of opinion actually, but a matter of fact.

Sometimes I'm wrong, I am totally willing to acknowledge when I make a mistake.  Since eBay completed auctions (at least what's provided through eBay search) shows that $30 was the third-to-cheapest price, can you explain how you determined that $30 shipped is too high?  I'm not trying to antagonize you (please don't take this as "nyah nyah, prove it!") but I have to admit that I'm confused.  The information I have from eBay seems to indicate that my price is OK.

If you go to ridiculous video game price-charting sites like this: http://videogames.pricecharting.com/game/turbografx-16/last-alert-%5Bsuper-cd%5D
They indicate that only "loose" copies go for the lower prices quoted in this thread.  But that site is way overpriced anyway.

I researched a little deeper and found that I may have priced ~$5 too high as Galam suggested.

It looks like I missed the cheapest copy on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000F6R2VE/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=1392582639&sr=8-5
That one is $23.71 and definitely quite a bit cheaper than what I was offering.  Every price higher than that is in the $40 range, though, so that particular copy seems like an outlier.  But I concede that there is a cheaper one available here.

eStarland as well seems to have a copy for $3.64 less: http://www.estarland.com/TurboGrafx.product.16473.html
I don't think this means $30 was way out there or an absolutely terrible price, but OK maybe I was a few bucks too high.

Can you, Bernie, or somebody else please share some other resources that have led to a lower valuation than $30 shipped?  Thank you.

It depends on which perspective you're coming from: buyer or seller, and what kind of motivation you have.

If you're only out to get the absolute highest return on your investment, no matter how long it takes, then all that matters is how high you believe a person making an uninformed impulse purchase might click a Buy-It-Now button at. In which case, you may see that a game regularly selling for $20 once went for $200 and then list your copy at $250.

If you are a game appreciator, someone who has reasons to own an original copy, but aren't simply out to piece together an insta-set asap, then all that matters to you is that a particular game regularly sells for $20. If it often sells for as much as $30 and rarely sells (or only once sold) for $200, that shouldn't concern you as far as what you should pay if you don't need to have it immediately and would rather spend that extra $10 on another fun game to play.

[toymachine78]

Well since I started this, I'll just say that I based my offer on what the lower sales were going for on eBay, and what price charting had. You can say that price charting Is inflated, which it is because it is based on the average of the gouge prices offered on eBay and amazon. However, if you look at a the loose prices for last alert on price charting, you will see that most go for 16-25 bucks. Even though it says loose, if you click on the listing link, you will see that most are CIC.

That being said, everyone has to look out for themselves. If I buy a game on eBay, I'm prob gonna sale it on eBay to recoup my money. However if I sale a game bought from here, which Galam has sold me several at very good prices, I will offer those here first at the same price.

[PunkicCyborg]

was this all really worth it over $5-10 disagreement over a price? If someone lists something and it's too high, shoot them a counter offer, if they dont want to sell then move on. There's a ton of copies out there, if you want it for a certain price then just wait and you'll get it for that price. If you really were so thrifty you'd just get Red Alert which is a $10 pce game anyways.

[toymachine78]

was this all really worth it over $5-10 disagreement over a price? If someone lists something and it's too high, shoot them a counter offer, if they dont want to sell then move on. There's a ton of copies out there, if you want it for a certain price then just wait and you'll get it for that price. If you really were so thrifty you'd just get Red Alert which is a $10 pce game anyways.

Thanks for the advice.... but what this really was about was Lochlan telling me... Who are you to school me on forum prices, I've been here for years, blah blah blah.

There has been a lot more drama on this forum over much more trivial matters. Some of which you probably took part in. So if it doesn't suit your fancy move on and don't comment.

[PunkicCyborg]

Stfu, punk. Geez...

[Lochlan]

Thanks for the advice.... but what this really was about was Lochlan telling me... Who are you to school me on forum prices, I've been here for years, blah blah blah.

Hi,

When I replied to your PM saying that your offer was too low, you replied with this:

That's OK. It consistently sales on eBay between 16-25, and here on the forum we usually try to sell things a little less than eBay.

Now maybe I should have responded with more patience, but I was a little annoyed.  It came off as kind of preachy, "here on the forum we usually try to..." implies that I'm some kind of outsider who doesn't know what I'm doing.  Furthermore I was a little annoyed that somebody with a join date many years after mine would say what "we" usually try to do.  So that's why I replied like that.  I'm not saying I've been a super active member over the years, but since you're going to dredge up the specifics of our conversation in this thread I might as well address them.

Edit: I didn't save the exact message I sent to you but I don't think I said "who are you trying to school me on prices," I think it was something like "I'm not sure why you're trying to school me on prices."  I wish I'd saved it (no idea you were going to create a thread about this afterwards).  Please feel free to post what I actually said, I'd prefer that over paraphrasing me the way you did.

[toymachine78]

This is when we need Xak to interject with some random bullshit for humor lol

[MotherGunner]

Here is some schooling:

The longer the paragraphs (what you people type), the more you will come off butt-hurt and defensive or as if you are trying to do some real "damage control" on how you (perceivably) "f*cked up."   Now in the 80's, we had cards to describe this exact situation and thread:

[roflmao]

In Lochlan's defense, he did sell me a copy of Macross 2036 for a VERY GOOD price. $15-ish shipped. No ill will toward him was meant in my  previous response.  I merely meant to state that if you keep an eye out for a bit, good deals can still be found on the bay. 

Sadly it seems "teh obey" is rapidly rising in popularity and people continue to spend absurd amounts of money for games that shouldn't be worth that much. Hopefully this bubble will pop soon. 

What I find funny about all this is that there are a couple of great flashcards available these days, which you'd think would lower prices...

[Black Tiger]

Well since I started this, I'll just say that I based my offer on what the lower sales were going for on eBay, and what price charting had. You can say that price charting Is inflated, which it is because it is based on the average of the gouge prices offered on eBay and amazon. However, if you look at a the loose prices for last alert on price charting, you will see that most go for 16-25 bucks. Even though it says loose, if you click on the listing link, you will see that most are CIC.

That being said, everyone has to look out for themselves. If I buy a game on eBay, I'm prob gonna sale it on eBay to recoup my money. However if I sale a game bought from here, which Galam has sold me several at very good prices, I will offer those here first at the same price.

The thing to keep in mind with price charting, is that the robot or person collecting completed sales doesn't group them by complete-ness very well. Any time I've looked at the descriptions of their eBay listings, I found that multiple "loose" ssles were actually complete games and some of "complete" listings were actually sealed games.

Separate from that, there's often many stages between a loose game and n absolutely complete copy.

The other thing which I don't think that those eBay sale sites show is unsold listings, which in today's collector-heavy market, gives at least as much of an indication of a game's value than sold listings.

[Mzo]

Lochlan is one of the many people on this forum who have cut me what are, from my point of view, incredibly good deals.

I'm a pretty darn new member but I feel like the vast majority here have been very inviting and generous.  That makes me twice as happy to have crawled down the TG16/PCE rabbit hole =]