{"id":566,"date":"2009-10-07T20:00:17","date_gmt":"2009-10-08T04:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mathpirate.net\/log\/?p=566"},"modified":"2010-02-18T07:40:58","modified_gmt":"2010-02-18T15:40:58","slug":"electronic-curiosities-the-value-of-plastic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mathpirate.net\/log\/2009\/10\/07\/electronic-curiosities-the-value-of-plastic\/","title":{"rendered":"Electric Curiosities: The Value of Plastic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, I wrote about the Aladdin Deck Enhancer.\u00c2\u00a0 I was prompted to write about it because I had recently acquired one from a popular on-line auction site that is a primary enabler of my addiction.\u00c2\u00a0 It was the complete set, the main unit and all six games that were released.\u00c2\u00a0 On top of that, it was sealed.\u00c2\u00a0 In\u00c2\u00a0a stroke of luck, I paid $70 for the lot.\u00c2\u00a0 However, since it was a complete set,\u00c2\u00a0in very good condition and sealed, it was probably worth about $200-300.\u00c2\u00a0 In fact, just the bare unit and all seven loose cartridges would potentially be worth $70 all by itself.<\/p>\n

In video game collecting, as in many other types of collecting, the sealed package demands a premium.\u00c2\u00a0 For instance, a complete copy of Super Metroid can run you $40-50, but if it’s still factory sealed, you’re looking at a minimum of $400.\u00c2\u00a0 A used copy of Sgt. Pepper on Vinyl\u00c2\u00a0might sell for $10, but with an unbroken covering of the original plastic, you might have to talk to Christie’s Auction House.<\/p>\n

Thing is, I don’t see the point.<\/p>\n

\"Well,<\/a>

Well, there goes the resale value...<\/p><\/div>\n

With a quick little slice, I “lost” at least $150 on that Aladdin Deck Enhancer, and it doesn’t really bother me. ((Although, I did consider trying to find someone who had an opened\u00c2\u00a0copy and would be willing to trade for a sealed copy.\u00c2\u00a0 After all, it might not be worth anything to be, but I know\u00c2\u00a0that someone out there might\u00c2\u00a0want it.))\u00c2\u00a0 In all honesty, what good is a bunch of games to me if I can’t play them?\u00c2\u00a0 If it’s sealed, it might as well be a pretty box with rocks inside.\u00c2\u00a0 While I like the container, it’s what’s contained that I really care about.\u00c2\u00a0 I have to wonder how many other collectors out there feel the same way.<\/p>\n

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not about to do something insane like break the seal on a copy of Chrono Trigger.\u00c2\u00a0 Instead, I just avoid buying anything that’s still wrapped in unbroken plastic, unless the price is such that I won’t lose any sleep over it.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s no great loss to the Video Game World that an Aladdin Deck Enhancer has been unwrapped.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s probably still worth more than I paid, even with the plastic opened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, I wrote about the Aladdin Deck Enhancer.\u00c2\u00a0 I was prompted to write about it because I had recently acquired one from a popular on-line auction site that is a primary enabler of my addiction.\u00c2\u00a0 It was the complete set, the main unit and all six games that were released.\u00c2\u00a0 On top of that, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[112,8],"tags":[61,238],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mathpirate.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mathpirate.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mathpirate.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mathpirate.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mathpirate.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=566"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mathpirate.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":967,"href":"https:\/\/mathpirate.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566\/revisions\/967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mathpirate.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mathpirate.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mathpirate.net\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}