04-06-2012, 07:21 PM
Some of those prices are slightly insane, but Neo Geo collecting was always somewhat of an elite sport. At least as far as full MVS kits and complete AES boxes go.
If you're a collector, you can't help but have a love / hate relationship with the internet. Especially now. eBay prices are getting crazy, especially if something is considered somewhat rare. Japanese Yahoo auctions aren't as good as they used to be, either. You can still get great deals there, but the stuff that's really expensive on eBay will most likely have a similar price over there.
Many of my MVS games, and other arcade PCBs, I got from Eastern Europe. When the arcade market collapsed, games were being sold on local auction websites for a small fraction of the usual internet price. It didn't take long for others to spot a business opportunity and so the games were quickly bought and sold elsewhere. This is something I really dislike. People, who make it their business to snatch up anything of potential value and sell it for a higher price. This drives the prices up all the time. Someone gets their hands on a relatively cheap copy of Radiant Silvergun, they sure don't keep it, but put it on eBay as extra mint super ultra rare for $400. Another person comes along, sees this, thinks "Hey ... $400? I have this game, I sure love it, but I too would like to make $400. Let's see if I can get more". And so on.
Sorry for the rant! I just wish I could afford EVERYTHING before it gets super-expensive and "rare". Damn you internet. Why can't I quit you?
If you're a collector, you can't help but have a love / hate relationship with the internet. Especially now. eBay prices are getting crazy, especially if something is considered somewhat rare. Japanese Yahoo auctions aren't as good as they used to be, either. You can still get great deals there, but the stuff that's really expensive on eBay will most likely have a similar price over there.
Many of my MVS games, and other arcade PCBs, I got from Eastern Europe. When the arcade market collapsed, games were being sold on local auction websites for a small fraction of the usual internet price. It didn't take long for others to spot a business opportunity and so the games were quickly bought and sold elsewhere. This is something I really dislike. People, who make it their business to snatch up anything of potential value and sell it for a higher price. This drives the prices up all the time. Someone gets their hands on a relatively cheap copy of Radiant Silvergun, they sure don't keep it, but put it on eBay as extra mint super ultra rare for $400. Another person comes along, sees this, thinks "Hey ... $400? I have this game, I sure love it, but I too would like to make $400. Let's see if I can get more". And so on.
Sorry for the rant! I just wish I could afford EVERYTHING before it gets super-expensive and "rare". Damn you internet. Why can't I quit you?