Collection Downsizing/Consolidation

[Fool's Requiem]

While I have been steadily growing my collection, searching for unique and fun games that I've missed out over the years, I'm in the need of reducing my collection, and I'm looking for ideas/tips that don't include "do you like the game?"

I have a few easy ones.

Since I have a PS3 that is fully backwards compatible, I don't need my PS2 or PS1. I had to buy analog stick replacements so I could replace the bad one on my one OEM PS2 controller, but I can't find the power cable to go with it. The Dreamcast has the same one, but I can't find a second one and I'm not getting rid of a DC power cable. I also kinda don't really want to get rid of the PS1 as I kinda want the LCD monitor at somepoint. The PS1 is small, so I'm not worried about it taking space. If my "new" PS3 ends up dying, too, I can just get the PS2 and PS3 slims when the time comes.

I've got a second N64 (sans Expansion Pack) more or less ready to go. Verified that it works, and I got the power adapter that I was missing.

I have a second Xbox 360, but it's got the red ring of death and the power adapter also doesn't work. I'm debating just selling it for parts. Need to make sure the hard drive is formatted, though. I moved all the stuff over ages ago using one of those transfer packs. I've also got far too many 360 controllers. Probably because of stick drift.

I have two OG Xboxs. The one with the broken disc drive is in pieces. I replaced the little rubber thing that should fix the disc drive. But I really want to remove the clock capacitor, and clean it up before I put it back together. Don't necessarily need to empty the hard drive as I never used Xbox Live on it.

I have two SNES' along with the SNES Mini (not getting rid of that). Only reason I even got a second one was because the power port broke. I found that you can buy a replacement part, and that requires soldering to replace. It is also in pieces with my Xbox.

Debating which of my Gameboys to get rid of. I don't want to get rid of the OG one, regardless of how much I do not intend to us it (without doing a screen mod). I got the GBP for nostalgic reasons, and won't be getting rid of that. Thinking about swapping out the GBASP that REALLY dislike and replacing it with a OG GBA with a backlight mod. Or I just get rid of the GBA, play GBA games on the DS Lite, and keep the GBC games on the GBC that I have a power cable with (would have to get a light mod on that too).

I'm definitely planning on getting rid of my Wii. I recently ordered the EON MK2 HDMI adapter for the Gamecube so I can play GC games in progressive without a Wii. I DESPISE the motion control requirement even for the menus to get to the GC and it's a MASSIVE deterrant for me playing GC games. I can play Wii games on the Wii U which is MUCH easier to navigate in the menu. Homebrewing is a consideration for keeping the Wii, but I only ever used that to mess with Smash Bros Brawl.

Likely just going to trash some crummy third party GC and Xbox controllers.

The issue is the games. Luckily, my game library is MUCH easier to deal with than my movie collection. And I can typically just take it to any number of video game retailer and trade the games in, albeit for not a whole lot. There are lots of easy games I can just get rid of, though some are disc only no one is taking those unless they're expensive like my second copy of Mark of the Wolves, but I anticipate getting only 25% of the market value for that.

I've been wanting to specifically decrease my Xbox, Xbox 360, and PS2 libaries down. I need to play some games just to make sure I definitely don't want them. I had 0 problem gifting my brother my copy of Red Dead Revolver, I didn't play much, but I played enough to know that I'm probably never going to attempt to play through it. The biggest problem with my PS2 library is the Dynasty Warriors games. If the damn Xtreme Legends games didn't require having save data from the original, it would be SUPER easy to trade those in (even if I'd get squat for them). I generally dislike the PS2 and it's library and the only reason I got it was because of DW. I already have collections for God of War, Jak and Daxter, Devil May Cry, and Ico/Shadow of Colossus. I can't clear out the entire library as there are SOME games I like. I even got NFS Hot Pursuit 2 for it and traded it my long owned Xbox version because the PS2 is generally considered to be better as it was developed by the team who went on to do the Underground games. I think I can get rid of Tony Hawk 1+2 on the Xbox, as I have the DC versions of those games, and I don't like playing TH1 maps without TH1 music. Probably going to get rid of American Wasteland.

DKC for the GBC is going to be gone. No reason to have it when I have the SNES and GBA versions. DKLand games stay.

The Jaguar and it's libary isn't going anywhere, neither is the Saturn, most GC and DC games (actually looking to replace Xbox versions of games for GC versions).

I dislike the OG NES. It remains a constant pain in the ass to play the games. It also only has composite and RF out, as opposed to RGB or S-Video, which is a problem on modern displays, even with line doublers. Thinking of getting RetroUSB's NESAVS which is an FPGA version of the system that also plays Famicom games and has an HDMI out. FPGA is hardware emulation, as opposed to software emulation, like most third party systems out there.

Here is my collection on Price Charting. It does not include everything (like guides) but I have the vast majority of everything. I kinda don't want to get rid of games just because there are digital versions on new consoles. I have 2 versions of Viruta Racing, even though I also have it on the Switch. If I had a 32x, you could be damn sure I'd have the 32x version of Virtua Racing, too. I have multiple versions of Daytona USA, and their all slightly different games. I don't really want to get rid of the Genesis 6-Pak just because most of those games are on another collection. I kinda like having that little cart as I think it's a pretty cool piece of history.

Thoughts, suggestions?

Also, what's the best course of action for selling stuff on eBay? Has anyone done it? I feel like shipping is a massive hassle and a big reason for why people sell stuff higher than market rate. Also, I imagine not having any ratings will make it hard for people to be willing to buy stuff from me, so I'll likely have to sell stuff cheap just to give people a reasont to buy.

 

[Crystal]

Selling on ebay's a pain because you lose a decent chunk in shipping and fees, so keep that in mind, but it is one of the better options right now. It's definitely why people are selling higher. Selling a $5 item is just...it makes no sense, basically because you'll pay more in shipping, so sell expensive things.

I also kinda don't really want to get rid of the PS1 as I kinda want the LCD monitor at somepoint.

I don't know if this interests you or not but I have an in box PSOne with LCD monitor. Unfortunately it's only recently come out of storage again, so it's untested, but if you're ever in the market, I'm not exactly looking to sell it for the going rates, lol

 

[Fool's Requiem]

I don't know if this interests you or not but I have an in box PSOne with LCD monitor. Unfortunately it's only recently come out of storage again, so it's untested, but if you're ever in the market, I'm not exactly looking to sell it for the going rates, lol

This is one big issue I've had with searching for the LCD monitor on eBay. Known working ones are almost consistently being sold with a PSone.

In box is intriguing, though.

Selling a $5 item is just...it makes no sense, basically because you'll pay more in shipping, so sell expensive things.

Yeah, I'm not intending to sell cheap items on eBay, unless it's bundled with something, which I might do with the PS2. I considered bundling it with Gran Turismo 3, but it looks like I've already traded it in, so it'll have to be something like God of War or SOCOM, along with the disc only copy of Midnight Club.

 

[Crystal]

This is one big issue I've had with searching for the LCD monitor on eBay. Known working ones are almost consistently being sold with a PSone.

In box is intriguing, though.

I'll break it out ASAP and check to make sure it's working and let you know, I'm certainly open to moving it if you're interested. We'll start with square one and do the testing first, lol, then I'll get back to you.

Yeah, I'm not intending to sell cheap items on eBay, unless it's bundled with something, which I might do with the PS2. I considered bundling it with Gran Turismo 3, but it looks like I've already traded it in, so it'll have to be something like God of War or SOCOM, along with the disc only copy of Midnight Club.

Yeah, makes the most sense, I was going to do exactly that with three sealed Wii games I have that I want to move. Two are decent titles, one is one I would never be able to move solo (SSB Brawl, Skyward Sword and then a Rock Band...track pack I think?). Have to do what you have to do, lol.

 

[Smacktard]

I don't have any strategies on how to decide what to sell (especially since I'm in the accumulation phase), but

Also, what's the best course of action for selling stuff on eBay? Has anyone done it? I feel like shipping is a massive hassle and a big reason for why people sell stuff higher than market rate. Also, I imagine not having any ratings will make it hard for people to be willing to buy stuff from me, so I'll likely have to sell stuff cheap just to give people a reasont to buy.

It's usually better to sell on Facebook groups or Facebook marketplace. Take a pic of everything you want to put up for sale, and offer it as a lot, and individually. You'll get better prices there than almost anywhere. Shipping can be annoying, so try to find a way to incentivize lot-selling. Payment goes through Paypal

 

[Fool's Requiem]

ugh, trying to play through my NES to see what is worth keeping is proving to be a pain in the ass. Even with seemingly clean contacts, the NES can't seem to decide if it wants to start the game. This damn VHS looking box is the most frustrating console I've ever had the displeasure of using.

I had a BRAND NEW repro cart of Little Samson and it still didn't start on the first try.

 

[Smacktard]

ugh, trying to play through my NES to see what is worth keeping is proving to be a pain in the ass. Even with seemingly clean contacts, the NES can't seem to decide if it wants to start the game. This damn VHS looking box is the most frustrating console I've ever had the displeasure of using.

I had a BRAND NEW repro cart of Little Samson and it still didn't start on the first try.

US NES sucks ass. It needs a LOT of work to be serviceable. You're better off with a modern equivalent or an AV or Toploader

 

[Fool's Requiem]

US NES sucks ass. It needs a LOT of work to be serviceable. You're better off with a modern equivalent or an AV or Toploader

I have a retron 3 but I'm not getting any color out of it, only black and white. Really should just cave and get the RetroUSB NESAVS.

Edit: Got Rad Racer 2 to finally work. Brasso does wonders. It really shouldn't have needed it, though. It looked mostly fine. The NES is just trash.

 

[TD]

I've been meaning to look to sell my games from older consoles as I'm in need of money and don't use them, already sold all my PS4 games when I bought my PS5 so all of this has been valuable. I didn't even know about the pricecharting site.

Valuable info and context in here. Thanks y'all.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

Also, what's the best course of action for selling stuff on eBay? Has anyone done it? I feel like shipping is a massive hassle and a big reason for why people sell stuff higher than market rate. Also, I imagine not having any ratings will make it hard for people to be willing to buy stuff from me, so I'll likely have to sell stuff cheap just to give people a reasont to buy.

I am most certainly not the person you want to ask for advice on downsizing your collection. I sold about 300 games over the past year prior to moving house, but that was due to two massive local pickups that I had, which made me reflect on what I was actually doing. So that was less of a deliberate downsize and more of something to avoid an intervention. I've now moved house, I am a games room, and I am properly reflecting on what I should keep and not. The games room is not going to be a room solely for me playing games, not least because I don't want it to be. I have an arcade machine in there now with 8,000 games (Pi with a custom OS), and my kids love playing on it. I want it to be a room that we all use for games and watching tv. That means there isn't going to be nearly as much room for games as I wanted initially. I'm absolutely ok with that, but I have no idea where to start with what to sell.

However, I have sold a lot on Ebay over the years, and Facebook. First of all, packaging and shipping isn't difficult. Get some jiffy bags for individual games, small boxes and bubble wrap for smaller bundles. Look up sold listings for the games you have, and list your games with a mid-high asking price on a Buy It Now listing with offers. You'll sell some quickly, others will take longer. You can always come back and reduce the price afterwards. Ebay in the UK is now completely free to sell on with no fees. If it's the same in the US then that's the way to go to maximise return.

However, maximising return isn't always what you want, because selling on Ebay takes time. Facebook is your next best alternative. For Facebook I'd sell in bulk, and be prepared to take the higher end Ebay valuations and slice at least 33% off, but possibly up to 50%. The reason is that bulk Facebook listings will attract resellers rather than collectors. Those are the people who are looking to make profit and will do all of the hard yards selling individually that you don't want to do. Naturally, there's a cost to that. That's how I sold the 300 games, albeit I still made a massive profit, as you will too.

Just depends on how you want to balance your time and money really.

 

[Smacktard]

Ebay in the UK is now completely free to sell on with no fees

Dafuq? How do they make money?

For Facebook I'd sell in bulk, and be prepared to take the higher end Ebay valuations and slice at least 33% off, but possibly up to 50%

For higher value items, you can get eBay prices for your sales, or eBay buy it now prices -10%. eBay US takes a 10% cut, so buyers expect that to be removed from the final price. I sold 3 high value items for eBay prices or better very recently, and I'm (temporarily) in the US, shipping to the US.

For bulk sales, yeah, you can knock a chunk off and sell that way, but there are plenty of people selling loose and listing prices for each individual game.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

Dafuq? How do they make money?

For the moment, business sellers. But they're introducing a premium next month that buyers pay on top of the selling price. They say it's give buyers more protection, when in reality, they're just changing their model to match Vinted. I don't know how big Vinted is in the US, but it's been an absolute game changer over here, partly because postage and fees and all incorporated in the price that buyers pay. Sellers get what they ask for as a bottom line price, which means that people are happy to sell things for really small amounts of money. It's been a big enough impact to make Ebay take note. They started by removing fees on clothing (which is Vinted's main market) but have now removed them from all categories.

The other big change from next month is that the money for sales doesn't get released to sellers until the item has been confirmed as delivered. Which is a huge change that is absolutely ripe for abuse, and one that may well put me off selling on Ebay entirely. It happens a lot on Vinted (my wife has been quite active on there in the last year or two) but when you're only selling items for £1 or £2 it doesn't really matter. Different game if I'm selling something expensive. But we'll see if it's as bad as a lot of people are concerned it may be.

For higher value items, you can get eBay prices for your sales, or eBay buy it now prices -10%. eBay US takes a 10% cut, so buyers expect that to be removed from the final price. I sold 3 high value items for eBay prices or better very recently, and I'm (temporarily) in the US, shipping to the US.

For bulk sales, yeah, you can knock a chunk off and sell that way, but there are plenty of people selling loose and listing prices for each individual game.

Yes, for the more valuable individual items you can get much better prices even on Facebook. It was more the bulk sales I was talking about.

 

[Kat]

Also, what's the best course of action for selling stuff on eBay? Has anyone done it? I feel like shipping is a massive hassle and a big reason for why people sell stuff higher than market rate.

I haven't seen it mentioned here, but if you sell on Craigslist, you don't have to deal with shipping or fees. It's a different kind of pain in the ass, but if you live in a populated area, I bet you could sell a bunch of stuff that way and make more than you would off eBay.

ugh, trying to play through my NES to see what is worth keeping is proving to be a pain in the ass. Even with seemingly clean contacts, the NES can't seem to decide if it wants to start the game. This damn VHS looking box is the most frustrating console I've ever had the displeasure of using.

I had a BRAND NEW repro cart of Little Samson and it still didn't start on the first try.

Haha, there's a store near me with an NES for sale and it has a big sign saying not to buy it because they're terrible.

 

[Fool's Requiem]

I haven't seen it mentioned here, but if you sell on Craigslist, you don't have to deal with shipping or fees. It's a different kind of pain in the ass, but if you live in a populated area, I bet you could sell a bunch of stuff that way and make more than you would off eBay.

St Louis is not a place I want to test the Craigslist waters in, TBH.

Haha, there's a store near me with an NES for sale and it has a big sign saying not to buy it because they're terrible.

A lady came into a local game store I was shooping in sometime last year asking if they could fix an NES so it could actually read the carts. They said no for two reasons, 1) Because they don't do that there, 2) Because it's literally not worth the time and money. Suggested she get one of the Retron things because at least those will "work" without buying a replacement NES that will likely have the same issue. I mentioned the top loader version is better, but more expensive because of the fact (it also doesn't have composite out like the VHS one).

I did watch a video a while back showing how they modded the VHS system to actually play games without specifically replacing the contacts (because third party replacements are garbo and hold a death grip on your games). I might see if that's worth trying. I do have some solid NES games. I was half joking when I mentioned Mach Rider being a joke answer to favorite game on the system. Mach Rider > Hang-On all day.

 

[shortkut]

St Louis is not a place I want to test the Craigslist waters in, TBH.

A lady came into a local game store I was shooping in sometime last year asking if they could fix an NES so it could actually read the carts. They said no for two reasons, 1) Because they don't do that there, 2) Because it's literally not worth the time and money. Suggested she get one of the Retron things because at least those will "work" without buying a replacement NES that will likely have the same issue. I mentioned the top loader version is better, but more expensive because of the fact (it also doesn't have composite out like the VHS one).

I did watch a video a while back showing how they modded the VHS system to actually play games without specifically replacing the contacts (because third party replacements are garbo and hold a death grip on your games). I might see if that's worth trying. I do have some solid NES games. I was half joking when I mentioned Mach Rider being a joke answer to favorite game on the system. Mach Rider > Hang-On all day.

For my NES I used to have to put something in the machine with the cartridge to press it down further. Just connecting it to game genie usually did the trick

 

[Fool's Requiem]

For my NES I used to have to put something in the machine with the cartridge to press it down further. Just connecting it to game genie usually did the trick

I do need a Game Genie at some point. These NES games are hard, yo.

 

[shortkut]

I do need a Game Genie at some point. These NES games are hard, yo.

I lived off game genie. Some games I didn’t even attempt without it. It’s possible somewhere I have 2 game genies, but probably not

 

[Fool's Requiem]

I lived off game genie. Some games I didn’t even attempt without it. It’s possible somewhere I have 2 game genies, but probably not

nbd, they're cheap on ebay.

 

[Fool's Requiem]

BTW, this is a mod I mentioned for the NES. It's 60 bucks on the official site.

 

[shortkut]

BTW, this is a mod I mentioned for the NES. It's 60 bucks on the official site.

It doesn’t work with game genie. That’s dumb

 

[Smacktard]

BTW, this is a mod I mentioned for the NES. It's 60 bucks on the official site.

For that price mays'll get the Toploader or AVfam