Well 4 months ago I completed my Sega CD collection, getting most of the variants and I was pretty much wipe out, I had been patrolling forums and eBay for almost a http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifyhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifear pushing hard to finish my set, I had shttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifpent a ton of money and I even had another goal ( To complete Sega Saturn US Library) but I didn't have the drive, couple that with some family stuff and viola, I disappeared. My eBay searches were still emailed to http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifme every night, and here and there I picked up a game or to, but I was absent from the forums, I wasn't hunting in the wild, I was just out of the game. I had not lost my love of games, I had in fact been playing through several, what I was lacking was that spark. So what finally engaged me and brought me back? Daytona USA CCE Netlink Edition.
(I realize that some people do not know what Daytona USA CCE Netlink Edition is, so if you click it it will take you to the wiki, but here is what the wiki says "It was also separately released for the Saturn as a Netlink-compatible title, entitled Daytona USA: CCE Netlink Edition. Although commonly thought to be Panzer Dragoon Saga, this NetLink version of Daytona USA: CCE is in fact the rarest North American Sega Saturn game. It was available only through Sega's online store, and making it even more rare is its almost total indistinguishability from the regular version of Daytona USA: CCE. The only notable differences found are a black & white NetLink booklet with the standard booklet and the disc has a small NetLink logo. It fetches up to US $1,100 (March 2010) on eBay, in the rare instances it does pop up.")
It was about a month ago when I was going through my favorite searches email, which I barley paid attention to, it was more I wanted to clear my inbox then find a game, when I saw that a copy of Daytona USA CCE Netlink Edition had popped up on eBay. Now I promised to talk about all the tactics I use to collect and here is one that might be a little more questionable, or at least not admitted to as frequently by other. Here is the auction link Daytona You can see in the auction that the seller wanted $500 for the game OBO. The game was without the insert, which admittedly hurts the value of the game, but for me and my mental checklist just having the game and the case was good enough. I checked very quickly my private price guides to see if $500 was a good deal, and it seemed okay, if I was lucky I might find a complete one for that, Racketboy's site said it about $300 complete but from what I had heard the last one complete went for more than $700 and sealed $1100ish. I knew I didn't want to pay $500 so I made an offer, but quickly saw that another offer was already out on the game.
Quick aside, when rare games that don't find eBay more than twice a year appear, sellers might mishandle the price because they cannot check completed auctions and the available price date from other sites is inaccurate and inconsistent. This knowledge sometimes allows people to offer low on a rare game and get it because the seller just doesn't have enough data, these are the good deals you hear about and rarely see because they dissolve so quickly.
Knowing I had one offer in front of me I decided to act quickly. The first thing I did was to check Amazon to see if the seller had it listed there, turns out that was a no, second thing I did was to Google the sellers eBay name. This Google search lead me to a phone number, that I promptly called. Why make the call? It's true if I wanted the game and was worried about the offer I could have just used the buy it now for $500 but I wanted a deal and thought that I could get it because when I looked through the sellers history he didn't sell many Saturn Games, I was hoping his lack of knowledge and the general lack of that game anywhere would benefit me. So I place the call and promptly I got a voice-mail box. I left a message stating I saw his auction and was interested and asked for a returned call. I was a bit disappointed and mulled over using the buy it now, but within 20 minutes I got a call back. I talked to the gentlemen selling the game, he was very nice, he explained he was just about to accept the 1st offer he had on the game being it was better than mine. I offered to match it, and complete the transaction via Paypal that instant and save him some cash on final value fees. He agreed, the transaction was made and I received the game 2 days later.
I got the game for well under $500 but more than $250, a price I was comfortable with. Was the way I handled this a little shady? Yes, I'd say so, I also think had I acted before the first offer went out I could have had the game at around $200. The quest for this game and the fact that I didn't think I'd ever own it (or at least anytime soon) really pushed me through the mire of burnout I had been trapped in. I believe that all collectors will experience burnout from time to time and in varying degrees, so before you sell your collection on eBay in one big lot, take a few months off recharge and come back when you are ready. I say this because I have seen several post on forums that state "I am starting my collection again", or "I wish I hadn't sold everything". Don't let this happen to you.
A few quick notes about this blog.
I want this blog to be an honest look at how I collect, so I am willing to admit when I do things a little drastically, or things that aren't quite on the level. I accept the critisims and judgments that come with such acts.
I also want this blog to be about more than just "hey look at the cool game I just bought". I really want to give out some tips, and talk about how I experience collecting.
As Always, Thank you for reading
~Johnny~
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Johnny. I think calling the seller was a good move.
ReplyDeleteKeep the posts coming.