5 replies to this topic

[Jess Ragan]

Hey, does anyone know the value of the Mattel Burgertime handheld that was released in the early 1980s? I just won one of these in an eBay auction for $17.50. I thought it was supposed to be valuable, but given the rather flaccid bidding war for the item, I'm not so sure. Here's the item in question in case you're not familiar with it (although if you're not, you obviously wouldn't know how much it's worth):

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160405038728

Also, is there some sort of price guide for these old handhelds? I couldn't find anything online.

[tremoloman2006]

Jess Ragan, on Tue Feb 23, 2010 4:26 AM, said:

Hey, does anyone know the value of the Mattel Burgertime handheld that was released in the early 1980s? I just won one of these in an eBay auction for $17.50. I thought it was supposed to be valuable, but given the rather flaccid bidding war for the item, I'm not so sure. Here's the item in question in case you're not familiar with it (although if you're not, you obviously wouldn't know how much it's worth):

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160405038728

Also, is there some sort of price guide for these old handhelds? I couldn't find anything online.

LCD games don't hold much value as they aren't as flashy and arcade-like as the VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display) style games.

Compare a LCD to this:





Which looks more pleasing to the eye?

Nothing against LCDs tho... that's a nice score.

[Jess Ragan]

I've got one (maybe both!) of those two LCD games you've got pictured there. The top one, I believe, is Super Cobra, while the bottom one is Firefox. Firefox is pretty cool because it's so ambitious, with six different stages and stereo sound. Definitely a Cadillac among VFD games.

[the-topdog]

Loose Burgertime handhelds fetch between $15-$25 regularly, though there are some eBay sellers trying to artificially pump up that price to $90-$125 with over-inflated BIN prices.

If that Burgertime was still in it's blister-pack card package then it could easily fetch between $100-$175

There are 3 variations of that particular handheld game and that one is the most common. The Bandai and Tandy branded versions came in a box, this one came in a blister-pack. You can see more info on these at these two sites...

http://www.geekvinta...-burgertime.php
and
http://www.handheldm...m/Mattel/BT.htm

[Jess Ragan]

Thanks for the information! I didn't know that this was sold by Bandai as well! I'm a little disappointed that this wasn't the preemo score I thought it was, but if the game is fun, I'll learn to live with it.

I almost got a Greenhouse yesterday, but was outbid at the last minute. I think the handheld went for $25, which I think is a pretty sweet price for one of these units. I really have no way of judging aside from the prices on eBay since no price list seems to exist for these devices.

[the-topdog]

Jess Ragan, on Fri Feb 26, 2010 4:50 PM, said:

I really have no way of judging aside from the prices on eBay since no price list seems to exist for these devices.

The best thing to do is to post a price-check on the forums over on http://www.handheldmuseum.com there are a lot of friendly electronic handheld collectors over there that can give you a good ballpark figure on most games. I believe that the owner of the site, Rik, is an AA member too.