143 replies to this topic

[CincYnoTi]

updated 05/03/2004:
three months and over 60 new entries. uk womble added his name in a bunch of spots. glib and qberts qubes both added seven more entries.
the rest of the update notes are stuffed at the bottom of the lists now.

----------------------------



              may jan sep jul may mar  feb  ebay-2002

pzy spacetunnel 2  -2  -2  -2 -2  -0-

pzy seamonster  6  -5  -4  -4 -4  -0-

color bar gen   6  -6  -5  -5 -4  -3-

ikari ntsc      6  -6  -6  -6 -5  -4-  -3-

tomarc/motocros 7  -7  -5  -5 -5  -4-  -2-   3

great escape    7  -6  -4  -4 -2  -1-  -0-

assault         7  -6  -5  -4 -3  -1-  -0-

wall defender   8  -6  -5  -3 -1  -0-

out of control  8  -6  -6  -6 -5  -4-  -3-   2

vulture attack  8  -7  -7  -7 -7  -6-        4

spider maze     9  -8  -7  -6 -6  -5-

lochjaw         9  -8  -8  -8 -6  -5-        2

video jogger   10  -9  -9  -8 -7  -6-        3

video reflex   11 -10 -10  -9 -7  -6-        1

z-tack         11  -8  -6  -4 -3  -2-  -1-

x-man          12 -10 -10 -10 -9  -7-

condor attack  12 -12 -11 -10 -9  -8-        3

cakewalk       14 -13 -12 -12 -10 -8-  -7-

river patrol   16 -12  -9  -9 -9  -8-  -5-   4

spike's peak   17 -14 -14 -10 -5             3

stronghold     18 -15 -15 -15 -13 -11- -9-

malagai        18 -16 -14 -14 -13      -9-   5

berenstainbear 18 -16 -15 -13 -13 -11- -10-  7

rescue terra I 20 -18 -16 -16 -14 -12-      11

music machine  27 -26 -24 -22 -21           10

toothprotector 29 -24 -18 -18 -12 -11-       8

bumper bash    30 -26 -13 -13 -11 -10- -9-   5

glib           30 -23 -17 -17 -16 -12-       9

qbert's qubes  31 -24 -17 -17 -15 -14-      24

quadrun        34 -32 -31 -30 -28 -27- -24- 12

waterworld     42 -36 -28 -28 -20 -17- -16- 42



foot craz       4  -4  -4  -3

kidvid         15 -13 -11 -10 -10 -10- -8-



-------------------



BERENSTAIN BEARS

. cincynoti       (B)

. cpuwiz          (B)

. mattg

. waggie

. tempest         (B)

. marco           (B)

. esylvia         (B)

. rick weis       (B) [12]

. megamanfan          [12]

. marc oberhauser (B) [12]

. lee krueger     (B) [2]

. smile_walle     (B) [5]

. sku_u           (B) [5]

. robsbucs            [7]

. hhwolfman       (B) [8]

. trade-n-games       [12]

. bfstats         (B) [1-2004]

. uk womble       (B) [2-2004]



KIDVID

. cincynoti       (B)

. waggie          (B)

. tempest

. marco           (B)

. esylvia         (B)

. rick weis       (B) [12]

. kingpong        (B) [12]

. marc oberhauser (B) [12]

. cpuwiz          (B) [2]

. lee krueger     (B) [2]

. hhwolfman       (B) [8]

. atari-dj        (B) [11]

. mattg               [12]

. bfstats         (B) [1-2004]

. trade-n-games       [3]



ASSAULT

. cpuwiz        [3]

. boneman       [3]

. Ebay mrmicrocode sold to 7425e [4]

. marco     (B) [7]

. robsbucs      [7]

. sku_u         [12]

. uk womble     [2-2004]



GREAT ESCAPE

. esylvia

. boneman       [3]

. cpuwiz        [7]

. marco     (B) [7]

. stanjr        [10]

. sku_u         [12]

. uk womble     [2-2004]



WALL DEFENDER

. boneman       [3]

. cpuwiz    (B) [5]

. marco     (B) [7]

. stanjr        [7]

. robsbucs      [7]

. sku_u         [12]

. bfstats   (B) [1-2004]

. uk womble     [2-2004]



Z-TACK

. rick weis (B) [12]

. cpuwiz    (B) [3]

. boneman       [3]

. marco     (B) [7]

. stanjr        [7]

. robsbucs      [7]

. waggie        [10]

. sku_u         [12]

. bfstats   (B) [1-2004]

. dolt          [1]

. uk womble     [2-2004]



VIDEO JOGGER

. cincynoti

. cpuwiz

. esylvia

. marco           (B)

. rick weis       (B) [12]

. marc oberhauser (B) [12]

. boneman              [3]

. atarimania      (B)  [6]

. mattg                [8]

. uk womble            [2-2004]



VIDEO REFLEX

. cincynoti

. smada bez

. esylvia

. marco           (B)

. rick weis       (B) [12]

. marc oberhauser (B) [12]

. boneman              [3]

. atarimania      (B)  [6]

. cpuwiz

. mattg                [8]

. uk womble            [2-2004]



FOOT CRAZ

. marco           (B)

. rick weis       (B) [12]

. marc oberhauser (B) [12]

. atarimania      (B)  [6]



MALAGAI

. cpuwiz

. esylvia

. marco             (B)

. waggie

. buyatari

. buyatari

. rick weis         (B) [12]

. bfstats           (B) [2]

. atari rescue group    [3]

. fnd               (B) [3]  (with label)

. fnd                   [3]  (no label)

AA dansomething (from buyatari)

AA androvich (from buyatari)

AA landsmarra       (B) [5]

. mayhemuk              [12]

. xevious               [1-2004]

. uk womble             [2]

. cincynoti             [4]



RIVER PATROL

. cpuwiz

. rhindle the red

. esylvia   (B)

. marco     (B)

. rick weis (B) [12]

. bfstats   (B) [2]

. fnd           [3]

. tempest       [3]

. boneman       [3]

. atari-dj      [11]

. waggie        [12]

. neotokeo2001  [12]

. paul slocum   [1-2004]

. uk womble     [2-2004]

. firetiger     [2]

. trade-n-ga(B) [3]



OUT OF CONTROL

. esylvia   (B)

. marco     (B)

. rick weis (B) [12]

. bfstats   (B) [2]

. boneman       [3]

. cpuwiz    (B) [6]

. dolt          [1-2004]

. hhwolfman     [4]



COLOR BAR GENERATOR

. esylvia

. marco     (B)  what box/packaging did this come with?

. rick weis (B) [12]

. cvga          [2]

. cincynoti     [5]

. mattg         [12]



SPIKE'S PEAK

. cincynoti

. danielb

. esylvia   (B)

. marco     (B)

. rick weis (B)[12]

. megamanfan   [5]

. cpuwiz       [5]

. atari troll  [5]

. ed siegler   [5]

. atarimania(B)[5]

. Ebay $41 06/08 chessguy2002 from member78652341

. Ebay $48 06/10 beamslider from rick63

. Ebay $45 06/19 povlok1 from brvsfan71

. robsbucs     [7]

. trade-n-games[3-2004]

. adams_ale    [3]

. simontemplar [3]



TOMARC/MOTOCROSS

. esylvia      (B)

. marco (box only)

. cincynoti        [2]

. cpuwiz           [3]

. boneman          [3]

. simontemplar (B) [11]

xxx robsbucs       [1-2004]

. trade-n-games    [3] (from robsbucs)



LOCHJAW

. cincynoti

. esylvia

. marco     (B)

. nmatheys

. rick weis    [12]

. boneman      [3]

. cpuwiz       [5]

. hhwolfman    [7]

. xevious      [2-2004]



GLIB

. cincynoti

. cpuwiz          (B)

. mattyxb

. marc oberhauser (B)

. waggie

. marco           (B)

. esylvia         (B)

. esylvia         (B)

. nmatheys

. ed siegler          [12]

. rick weis       (B) [12]

. sku_u               [2]

. boneman             [3]

. mattg               [4]

. xot                 [4]

. megamanfan          [4]

. robsbucs            [7]

. atari-dj            [11]

. atari-dj            [11]

. spendtoomuchonatari [11]

. spirantho           [12]

. the 5th ghost       [12]

. trade-n-games       [12]

. bfstats         (B) [1-2004]

. dolt                [1]

. uk womble           [2]

. simontemplar        [2]

. legeek              [3]

. wrldstrman          [3]

. trade-n-games   (B) [4]



RESCUE TERRA I

. cincynoti  (B)

. cpuwiz     (B)

. mattyxb    (B)

. atarimania (B)

. marc oberhauser (B)

. marco      (B)

. esylvia    (B)

. nmatheys

. rick weis  (B) [12]

. kingpong       [12]

. ed sigeler     [12]

. douby76        [1]

. sku_u          [3]

. boneman        [3]

. ziggystar  (B) [5]

. atarinuts      [5]

. xevious        [10]

. atari-dj       [11]

. atari-dj       [11]

. trade-n-gam(B) [12]

. uk womble      [1-2004]

. bfstats    (B) [1-2004]

. uk womble      [2]



?? robotron (mentioned by ubersaurus) [12]



TOOTH PROTECTORS

. cincynoti

. cpuwiz     (complete)

. megamanfan

. atarimania (w/docs & bag)

. marc oberhauser

. marco      (w/docs & foam)

. esylvia    (w/docs)

. sku_u

. nmatheys

. ed siegler [12]

. rick weis  (complete)  [12]

. boneman                [3]

. goodwill hunter        [5]

. fsuinnc                [5]

. sku_u                  [5]

. atarinuts              [5]

. robsbucs               [7]

. hhwolfman  (complete)  [7]

. xevious                [10]

. atari-dj               [11]

. atari-dj               [11]

. uk womble              [2-2004]

. trade-n-games (w/docs) [3]

. mattg                  [3]

. madblownaway           [4]

. adams_ale              [4]



X-MAN

. cincynoti       (B)

. cpuwiz          (B)

. mattg

. marc oberhauser (B) NTSC??

. waggie          (B)

. esylvia         (B)

. rick weis       (B) [12]

. boneman             [3]

. numan               [4]

. marco           (B) [7]

. bfstats             [1-2004]

. trade-n-games   (B) [4]



CAKE WALK

. cincynoti

. cpuwiz       (B)

. waggie       (B)

. esylvia      (B)

. esylvia (with box)

. marc oberhauser

. rick weis    (B) [12]

. bfstats      (B) [2]

. boneman          [3]

. sku_u            [5]

. marco        (B) [7]

. hhwolfman        [7]

. xevious          [12]

. uk womble    (B) [2-2004]



STRONGHOLD

. cincynoti

. cpuwiz       (B)

. waggie       (B)

. esylvia      (B)

. esylvia

. nmatheys

. marc oberhauser

. rick weis    (B) [12]

. ed sigeler       [12]

. nathan strum (B) [2]

. bfstats      (B) [2]

. boneman          [3]

. sku_u            [5]

. marco        (B) [7]

. hhwolfman        [7]

. dolt         (B) [1-2004]

. uk womble    (B) [2-2004]

. mattg        (B) [3] (from pitfall harry)



IKARI WARRIORS NTSC

. esylvia         (B)

. marc oberhauser (B)

. rick weis       (B) [12]

xxx bfstats       (B) [2]  (still has the box)

. boneman             [3]

. cpuwiz          (B) [6]

xxx tempest           [8]  (from bfstats/Dan Cage at CGE)

. legeek          (B) [3-2004]  (from tempest)



CONDOR ATTACK

. cincynoti

. cpuwiz          (B)

. esylvia

. lemmi

. marco           (B)

. nmatheys

. marc oberhauser (B)

. rick weis       (B) [12]

. boneman             [3]

xxx robsbucs          [7]

. hhwolfman           [7]

. xevious         (B) [12]

. trade-n-games       [3-2004] (from robsbucs)



SPIDER MAZE

. cincynoti

. cpuwiz

. esylvia (B)

. marco (B)

. rick weis           [12]

. boneman             [3]

. lost monkey         [7]

. atari-dj            [11]

. trade-n-games       [3-2004] (from robsbucs)



VULTURE ATTACK

. cincynoti

. cpuwiz

. billaugustine

. esylvia   (B)

. marco     (B)

. rick weis     [12]

. boneman       [3]

. atari-dj      [3-2004]



BUMPER BASH

. cincynoti (B)

. cpuwiz

. waggie

. esylvia   (B)

. esylvia   (B)

. esylvia

. marc oberhauser (B)

. ed siegler           [12]

. rick weis (B)        [12]

. dwh                  [2]

. boneman              [3]

. sdamon               [5]

. hhwolfman            [6]

. wrldstrman           [9]

. robcatron            [9]

. sku_u                [10]

. megamanfan           [10]

. charlesaway          [10]

. povlok1              [11]

. atari-dj             [11]

xxx spendtoomuch       [11]

. mattg                [12]

. simontemplar         [1-2004]

. simontemplar         [1]

. uk womble            [1]

. robsbucs             [1]

. trade-n-games        [3] (from spendtoomuch)

. xevious              [2]

. simontemplar         [3]

. adams_ale            [3]

. minorleagueguy       [3]



QUADRUN

. marco        (B)

. rick weis    (B)

. tempest

. cpuwiz       (B)

. rolenta

. legeek

. bfstats      (B)

. fnd

. bloatedmonkey

. ianoid

. esylvia      (B)

. alex

. (big player's brother)

. ed siegler

. buyatari     (B) [12]

. buyatari         [12]

. sku_u [2]

. nathan strum (B) [2]

. cincynoti        [2]

. mattg            [4]

. scott.nieman     [5]

. hhwolfman        [7]

. spirantho        [8]

. wrldstrman       [12]

. dolt             [1-2004]

. megamanfan       [2]



. AA jcroniger

. AA cassidy nolen

. AA adrian

. AA smitty

. AA boneman

. AA mayhemuk  (B)

. AA thegreatone

. AA atari2600lives





. Ebay atarihunter $662 Nov 10 (B)

. Ebay vidgamerr $600 Nov 24 

. Ebay u_matter $143 Dec 4

. Ebay scott.nieman $284 Dec 5

. Ebay landsmarra $400 Dec 21





WATERWORLD

. cincynoti        (B)

. cpuwiz           (B)

. mattyxb

. smada bez

. waggie

. esylvia          (B)

. esylvia          (B)

. esylvia

. marco            (B)

. jobf

. marc oberhauser  (B)

. ed siegler           [12]

. megamanfan           [12]

. rick weis        (B) [12]

. kingpong             [12]

. dougy76              [1]

. tempest              [2]

. boneman              [3]

. christophero sly     [4]

. sku_u            (B) [5]

. ziggystar        (B) [5]

. sku_u                [5]   (sold to someone else)

. sku_u                [5]   (sold to someone else)

. smile_walle      (B) [5]

. hhwolfman        (B) [6]

. broncoman            [6]

. robsbucs             [7]

. mattg                [7]

. wrldstrman           [9]

. robcatron            [9]

. buchofish        (B) [10]

. bjk7382              [10]

. xevious              [10]

. povlok1              [11]

. spendtoomuch         [11]

. uk womble            [1-2004]

. bfstats          (B) [1-2004]

. spirantho            [1-2004]

. dolt             (B) [1]

. firetiger            [2]

. trade-n-games    (B) [3]

. atari-dj             [3]



QBERT'S QUBES

. cincynoti

. cpuwiz           (B) [5]

. waggie

. danielb

. mattg

. esylvia          (B)

. esylvia

. marco            (B)

. sku_u

. nmatheys

. moycon

. marc oberhauser  (B)

. rick weis        (B) [12]

. dougy76              [1]

. boneman              [3]

. hhwolfman            [6]

. ed siegler           [6]

. robcatron            [9]

. povlok1              [11]

. atari-dj             [11]

. atari-dj             [11]

. the 5th ghost        [12]

. xevious              [1-2004]

. robsbucs             [1]

. spirantho            [1]

. uk womble        (B) [2]

. uk womble            [2]

. legeek               [3]

. trade-n-games        [3]

. jc!                  [3]

. adams_ale            [3]

. minorleagueguy       [3]

. megamanfan           [4]



PUZZY SEAMONSTER (NTSC)

. cincynoti       [3]

. nmatheys        [3]

. sly/esylvia (B) [4]

. datafreq        [4]

. sku_u           [12]

. megamanfan      [2-2004]



PUZZY SPACE TUNNEL (NTSC)

. cincynoti   [3]

. smada bez   [3]

updated 01/29/2004:
four months and over 50 new entries. looks like people were busy over christmas! 13 more bumper bash added and still not as many as quadrun. however, 8 more waterworld now make it more "common" than quadrun.

updated 09/26/2003:
two months go by and about 16 new entries...5 more NTSC bomb games. there are still more quadrun than waterworld. it is also curious to see that there are 15 magicard over in the rarity=10 thread which would make it more represented than two-thirds of these rarity=9 titles.

updated 07/15/2003:
over forty more entries since last time, the most per title were eight waterworld and six tooth protector and five spikes peak (plus three more sold on ebay in the last month for about $45).

updated 05/06/2003:
forty new entries, over half from boneman listing what he owns. four glib and three waterworld added. i also added NTSC puzzy seamonster and space tunnel. these currently do not have a rarity rating in atariage, but as you can see from the numbers, they fit right in with the bomb games.

updated 03/20/2003:
about twenty more additions. most interesting is that two NTSC bomb games were found by cpuwiz. the second number between dashes is how many there were in the previous post.

updated 02/04/2003:
sorry for the long gap since the last posting. there have been over forty additions to this list. maybe i should add a column for how many had been reported in the first (and each successive) post.

it's still interesting that even waterworld has not caught up with quadrun yet (at least for how many atariage posters have a copy).

12/18/2002
quick summary after one week
first column is atariage owners. second was a quick count of how many i saw on ebay this year.

[sku_u]

Interesting results. A great deal of people own Waterworld and Q*Bert's Cubes.

[MattyXB]

7 Boxed Rescue Terra I.

And I am one from them.

[Ed Siegler]

9 - Bumper Bash
9 - Glib
9 - Great Escape
9 - Swordquest: Waterworld
9 - Quadrun
9 - Tooth Protectors
9 - Z-Tack

As the same with the 10's, this is my 9 list.

[MegaManFan]

You forgot to put me on the Waterworld list. I got my cart last week, along with Crazy Climber and Atari Video Cube from the same auction.

[Marco(2)]

CincYnoTi said:

COLOR BAR GENERATOR  
. esylvia  
. marco (B)  what box/packaging did this come with?

Cheers,
Marco

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[Marco(2)]

CincYnoTi said:

condor attack    7      3

berenstainbears  7      7

bumper bash      7      5

glib             9      9

rescue terra I   8     11

tooth protectors 9      8

waterworld      11     25

qbert's qubes   12     13

Hmm, I feel some rarity downgrading coming up!

Cheers,
Marco

[CPUWIZ]

If you are talking about Waterworld, I'd agree.

[MegaManFan]

CPUWIZ said:

If you are talking about Waterworld, I'd agree.  

Jeebus, no. Please not. I'm just getting over the fact I spent a ridiculous amount to get it, the last thing I need is a rarity downgrade to depress me even more.

I agreed with the Al's about the Quadrun eventually, but I don't think this is necessary for a 9. There SHOULD be twice as many people who own a 9 as a 10 if 10's are truly the mother of all holy grails. I hope they read this and take that into consideration.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

MegaManFan said:

There SHOULD be twice as many people who own a 9 as a 10...

Hm, if you continue this strictly mathematically, then rarity 1 carts will be only 512 times more common than rarity 10. I'm sure there are far more than just about 5000 Combat carts worldwide.

I think you'd need a higher ratio (e.g. 4) here. But I'm no collector...

[CincYnoTi]

i think it is easier to decide if something is or is not a 10 by comparing it to the rest of the 10s...is it as rare as the other 10s or not, just by looking at the numbers. whether any of the current 9s should be either a 10 or an 8 is a tougher decision. after a couple months of this poll, maybe you could make some judgement, but certainly not after just a week. also, you would have to decide what criteria you would use to determine if something is more an 8 than a 9.

also, i'd hate for someone that has a one of these carts NOT report it, because they fear that might cause it to have its rarity lowered.

[Marco(2)]

I feel it's time for Marco's thesis on rarity ™ again

As I explained on this board before, the number of carts produced compared to the number of collectors is so high that, in the end, 90% (or more) of all games turn out to be 'common'. In other words: almost any cart can be had, it's only matter of time (and some money). If you, like me, think this is correct, it's rather silly to use a 10-point rarity scale. A two or three-point rarity scale should then do the trick:

1. every collector will eventually get this
2. only a handful of collectors will own this game
3. prototypes and other weird stuff

Arguing about 9s and 10s, no matter how much fun it is, would be kinda senseless. I realize that most collectors will not like a system like this, but if this hobby continues to be as small as it is, this is what it all comes down to. I think

Cheers,
Marco

[MattG/Snyper2099]

I have always agreed with marco on this subject. I mean, there was a cubicolor on ebay this past week. And, if you had enough money, it could have been yours for the taking! There isn't anything rarer than a game there's only 60 of. Unless you're talking protos or the like (category # 3). But, it seems that cubicolor belongs in category #2. I would say that everything with a rarity of 1-9 falls into category #1.

Even though I believe in Marco's system, it doesn't help to determine the value ($) of games as much as the 1-10 system. So, that's why I choose to use, argue, and bicker about all systems of rarity and the like, reguardless of practicality.

MattG.

[CPUWIZ]

MattG/Snyper2099 said:

I have always agreed with marco on this subject.         I mean, there was a cubicolor on ebay this past week.  And, if you had enough money, it could have been yours for the taking!  There isn't anything rarer than a game there's only 60 of.  Unless you're talking protos or the like (category # 3).  But, it seems that cubicolor belongs in category #2.  I would say that everything with a rarity of 1-9 falls into category #1.

Even though I believe in Marco's system, it doesn't help to determine the value ($) of games as much as the 1-10 system.  So, that's why I choose to use, argue, and bicker about all systems of rarity and the like, reguardless of practicality.    

MattG.

Actually, there is carts that are more rare (and not protos) than Cubicolor. Can anyone say Video Life ?

[Marco(2)]

MattG/Snyper2099 said:

Even though I believe in Marco's system, it doesn't help to determine the value ($) of games as much as the 1-10 system.  So, that's why I choose to use, argue, and bicker about all systems of rarity and the like, reguardless of practicality.

That's a very good point. It looks like rarity and value are mixed up lots of times. There really is no set relation between the two. CtCW and WW will always be worth more than their rarity would suggest.

CPUWIZ said:

Actually, there is carts that are more rare (and not protos) than Cubicolor. Can anyone say Video Life ?

I'd put Video Life in the "quite impossible to get" category. Cubicolor could go in there as well. Perhaps the third category shouldn't be prototypes, but something like "odd ball stuff".

The above comments immediately shows that the system certainly is not flawless. It's, at the least, impractical, because it has so few categories. I do think though we could indeed agree upon the games that would go into the "God" category, and into the "other odd stuff" category. The polls here give quite a good idea on what's really rare, and what's not-so-rare after all.

And the rest, well, is the rest

Cheers,
Marco

[moycon]

Even if WaterWorld is downgraded what exactly does that mean? Will they suddenly become less valuable?? Also how are you figuring the rest of the available carts? Surely this poll is only a small sample of whats out there. I mean one guy could throw the whole rarity guide out of wack.

[Marco(2)]

Objectivily, it doesn't mean much indeed. But subjectivily, a lot of people care. Most collectors will at least see some kind of competition in this hobby, so ratings mean something to them.

Ergo the debates

Cheers,
Marco

[sku_u]

moycon said:

Even if WaterWorld is downgraded what exactly does that mean? Will they suddenly become less valuable?? Also how are you figuring the rest of the available carts? Surely this poll is only a small sample of whats out there. I mean one guy could throw the whole rarity guide out of wack.

Well...the price has been dropping a great deal on Ebay lately.

[sku_u]

Marco said:

Objectivily, it doesn't mean much indeed. But subjectivily, a lot of people care. Most collectors will at least see some kind of competition in this hobby, so ratings mean something to them.  

Ergo the debates  

Cheers,
Marco

Yes, ratings are important, but they do not necessarily determine price. Case in point: a Rarity 4 5200 game K-Razy Shoot-Out will sell on ebay for $56, but a Rarity 8 2600 game: Gas Hog can be snatched up for around $20. Demand and mystique certainly play a huge role in games collecting as well.

[Ed Siegler]

I like that three level rating system is actually a good idea. You are correct about the mystique thing as well. With EBay though, purchasing prioce can also be vastly affected by the listing time and ending time of an auction. "Sunday" auctions always seem to fetch the highest dollar, where one ending at 2am may not get the same exposure. Not everyone can paruse at all hours of the morning.

Agreed?

[Marco(2)]

Very much agreed! eBay prices really are a temporary indication of an item's current market value. But a badly worded description, a bidding war, or an inconvenient ending time can make easily up for a temporary high or low.

Cheers,
Marco

[sku_u]

Ed Siegler said:

I like that three level rating system is actually a good idea.  You are correct about the mystique thing as well.  With EBay though, purchasing prioce can also be vastly affected by the listing time and ending time of an auction.  "Sunday" auctions always seem to fetch the highest dollar, where one ending at 2am may not get the same exposure.  Not everyone can paruse at all hours of the morning.

Agreed?

Absolutely. I've made much more on games I've sold that end at 8 PM on a Sunday than I have with auctions ending at 2 or 3 in the morning on a weekday.

Vague descriptions and a seller's rating also definitely play a role.

As for the 3 level rating system...good luck trying to convince the powers that be to change the current system. Unfortunately, AtariHQ and DP also have similar rating systems, so it probably wouldn't go over too well. It is a good idea and very valid description idea nonetheless.

[MegaManFan]

Will that list at the top ever be updated? I posted about having my Waterworld several days ago, but still haven't seen any changes.

As for the availability guide on AA (I think the problem may be we call it a "rarity" guide) I found that it's surprisingly accurate in terms of what I find in the wild. I come across piles and piles of Combat, Pac-Man, Defender and Berzerk. More often than not, 2's and 3's I need show up at the places I frequent every other week, so the # I need is steadily decreasing (mostly LVAR now). Once in a blue moon I hit some 4's and 5's. I never see 6 or up, only got a 7 once, and anything higher than 8 I've had to buy through eBay. Why change the system now? As far as I'm concerned it's the best one going. It insults me somewhat that DP actually lists PRICES. I think the AA system makes more sense, where two people who are trading can make judgments based on where games are listed and/or their own experience acquiring them. Why should I trust DP when games they list for $5-$15 can be had for 99 cents? The one time I found an Atari dealer who had a nice cache of games on display, I asked him what he was selling them for and he pulled out a DP guide and started to look up each one individually. I was so turned off I didn't buy a single thing he had. I'd rather play the odds on eBay because 9 out of 10 times I can get something cheaper than the "list price" in these guides.

[sku_u]

Megaman:

Yes, the DP priceguide is bad. They overprice a lot of items. That's why I never use it when making a trade/selling a cart. The AA gude is the best one out there of all the cart lists I've seen. Maybe AA could change the numerical descriptions in their guide to reflect availability rather than rarity. Just an idea.

[Ed Siegler]

To be totally honest, I only went to DP once. Nothing against them, but I was entirely put off by the pricing guide. Pricing is in a constant state of flux, and a set price, no matter who puts it out, should never apply. It depends on what any game is worth to any given person.

Two stories. I just picked up two games by "Bomb", Z-Tack and Great Escape. Fortunately for me, and waaaaay much to my suprise, I felt that the seller had no idea what they were worth. It was painfully obvious as they are both listed here as 9's. The guy's buy it now price? A whopping 19.95 each! By the time I picked up his entire batch of weird stuff (the two listed games, miner 2049er II, exocet, and three others which I cannot remember, but they were 6's), the total bill for 7 games (4-6's, 1-7, & 2-9's) was $175 shipping included. He even said he'd lower the prices of both Bomb games to 14.95 each! Nice man.

The other example of poorly timed auctions, or ones that should be "Sunday" auctions, is the NTSC Klax proto that I got yesterday. I am glad to have gotten it, but if it were to have been listed on a Sunday, it would have gone for several hundred dollars higher than what I paid.

Again, I'm glad to have these finds.

Some days you're the bug. Some days you're the windshield. This week, I was the windshield of a mack truck!