How To Get Started!!!
NES collecting is growing more and more every day. Anyone who thinks the NES is
a dead system should check out the activity on eBay. The system has so many possibilities:
750+ NES games, prototypes, test carts, unlicensed, unreleased, pirated NES/FC,
Famicom, Disk System, accessories, M82's, store display signs, Panesians, Sachens,
Famiclones, homebrews, PlayChoice 10 and its supporting PCB boards, etc. There is
something for everyone and that's what makes NES collecting so attractive. (Maybe
a little too attractive, for some.) I'm not trying to scare off new collectors,
but you should be warned that it is a very daunting task. Read below to get the
low-down on the basics and to learn some of my own personal tips. Look through the
suggestions below on how to successfully build your own NES collection.
Just Starting My Collection...
There are so many games and other great things you'd love to have. Because of that
starting out may be very confusing. From my own personal experience, I would highly
suggest you search for the "must-have," fun games instead going straight to the
rarer titles. This will make things a little less crazy and stressful in the long
run.
"Must-have" games for me include:
- Super Mario Bros. 1-3 (Platforming)
- Castlevania 1, 3 (Platforming)
- Bionic Commando (Action)
- Mega Man 2 (Action)
- Contra (Action-Shooting)
- Startropics (Action-RPG)
- Legend of Zelda (Adventure)
- Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (Sports)
- Bubble Bobble (Arcade)
If you want to throw in some of the more rare and unlicensed titles with the must-haves go for it. Even if it is just for having a more desireable or "illegal" cart. However, do not base all of your purchases strictly around the rarity of games when you are first starting out, and I cannot stress this enough! Your interest will start to decline as most of the unlicensed games are not that fun to play, or hold interest for very long. A strong mix of both is what you should aim for in the begining.
Some titles to cater the NES collector inside of you. These games are harder to find, more collectable, and a great way to begin fueling a healthy collecting habit. But regardless of their value, they are still must-plays:
- Little Samson (Platforming)
- Dragon Warrior 3, 4 (RPG)
- Gargoyle's Quest 2 (Action-RPG)
- Princess Tomato (RPG)
- Bubble Bobble 2 (Arcade)
- Micro Machines (Sports, and a great start to unlicensed cart purchases)
- Fire 'N Ice (Puzzle)
- Rockin' Kats (Platforming)
I'm sure you've seen a rarity NES guide and you are probaby asking yourself, "How accurate are the sources in these guides?" and "How am I going to find rare games?"
The term "rare" is really relative to your location and the time spent searching. The original and most popular list was compiled by a man named Mike Etler in New Jersey who runs his own game store. Over the many years he has seen NES games come into his hands, Etler decided to create a rarity chart based on his experience to aid NES collectors.
The list is outdated, so another person Stan Stepanic decided to team up with many people and observing the general going rate prices, concentrating on eBay, and talking with other large collectors. He has the most accurate and descriptive list out copyright 2004 and it can be found here: http://www.nesplayer.com/misc/glist_v3.doc
You should look at these lists as surveys of the current rarity and sought after titles in the NES market. Remember they are always subjective to change over time are the prices are not set in stone.
A good example of this is the Tengen Tetris. Years ago prices skyrocketed for this unlicensed game because they were thought to be the rarest of the rare and because of the famous "Tetris" namesake. Now the market is oversaturated with them and the cart-only copies have seen drastically reduced prices. Unless you are looking to buy it complete with box, manual, sleeve, poster, and registration card, the game is not nearly as rare as people make it out to be.
NES collecting has really seen a boom and so auction places are taking advantage of buyers by raising prices. Keep in mind that it's okay to rely on rare lists as reference guides, just don't find yourself dependent on them all the time. Where to start my collection?
A great route to begin is at thrift stores, especially GoodWill and the Salvation Army. This way you can finds some good games and help a good cause too!
Also keep your eyes open on your local newspaper's weekend section for the latest large flea markets, garage sales, and video game shows. The Flea Market Guide of US Flea Markets web site is a great resource to find the nearest places around where you live to check. Yard Sales are a hit-or-miss, so search and browse for listings online or in a local newspaper first, and look to see if games are advertised. From my personal experience, I have never seen more than 3 individual, small-time yard/garage/flea sales in my immediate area that actually sold video games. It's better to attend the big classic gaming events or large flea market stands whenever you can.
I strongly suggest looking up in the yellow pages for any video game stores Local, no-name places could have a great NES stock just waiting for you to discover. Remember that almost all game stores accept trade-ins of used, previously played games and that is exactly where you will be hitting in your searches.
Of course, the most well-known gaming store of the NES collector is...
Gamestop - Ventage Stock - Game Exchange
Although many stores have decided to stop accepting new NES trade-ins, some should offer a relatively healthy supply of NES games (and a few accessories).
If you do not live close by a big city, you might want to go the extra distance to visit one. (The larger the population, the more used NES games that are bound to have been traded in to these chain stores.
Locate a store near you - http://www.gamestop.com/locatordetail.asp
Tricky Tips
- 10 % off - If you find a shop that offers good games and you see yourself coming back to it, buy a Gamestop (or that shop's) ValueCard. For $10 you get 10 issues mailed out to you from Game Informer - which isn't all that bad of a magazine, if only for the classic game treatment they give at the end of each issue - and 10% off of all used games. It could be worth it.
I do not suggest starting out buying your games off eBay. The prices are awfully high, and with sellers scamming uninformed people out of their money with high starting prices, it is the most unfriendliest place to start collecting.
I also cannot recommend buying from online stores if you can do your shopping elsewhere due to those dreaded shipping/handling charges and the inability to see the condition of the games that you are buying.
However, if you and are left with no other solution, you might want to try the NES selection @ www.ebgames.com and use the coupons "PPLAY15" for 15% off and "SAVER" for free shipping. Not many people consider EB online for NES stuff, but they have some nice deals with the coupons on uncommon titles especially when using an EB Edge card to get a 25% discount, read below for info about this. Just caution yourself from buying common games and don't pay over $10 for any one game. You'll know then the price is marked up because of the games popularity and or namesake.
If you see yourself going this route, I would recommend purchasing an EB Edge Card at a local store if you see yourself buying more than a few NES titles through this junction. For only $5 you can get 10% off of all previously played games and DVDs in-store, and the best part is it can be stackable with the "PPLAY15" and "SAVER" coupons online - giving you 25% off every used game on EBGames.com! After a couple of orders, your savings should exceed the initial $5 cost for the card. The EB Edge program lasts a whole year which pretty much guarantees you will save many more times after. EB.com can be a good resource for finding uncommon games, and with discounts, should cost you about $3-4 per game, or, sometimes as little as .75 or $1.49 shipped. There is no other place you can hope to get anything shipped for this low, so this can be a fantastic option.
EB also has a return in-store policy which means if you receive a bad conditioned video game, you can run to a local EB with your receipt and get your money back or exchange it for something else. EB.com has a good rep with the carts people received have been less than good/mint condition. They are packed in a plastic baggie and come with a 100% guarantee to be working.
Good Online Stores to buy from
- http://www.videogameconnections.com
- http://www.videogex.com
- http://www.videogameconnection.com
- http://www.gamechoice.com.hk/famicom.html
- http://www.buyritegames.com
- http://www.telegames.co.uk
- http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/566458/ref=br_bx_c_1_2/107-2555206-3778147
Amazon Auctions Never any good auctions. Maybe you'll be the lucky one to stumble upon a Hot Slots cart because you're the only person there!
Amazon NES Selection Amazon created a helpful way to search for NES titles. Most, if not all, games featured are not available straight from the company itself but instead as you scroll down there are lists of people that do have them for sale or available on "auction" (loosely named since there's actually no bidding involved). Go there and check it out.
eBay The best way to get anything NES on the internet. Virtually every game has been auctioned at least once, including prototypes, and many accessories are also being sold. If you haven't looked around at the NES auctions, consider doing it.
Craigslist If you haven't looked around at the NES auctions, consider doing it.
EBWorld Online outlet for Electronics Boutique. They have an okay selection and package the games very nicely within a sealed package! The only fault is the price tags on some of the games.
Games4Less A gaming site varying from the NES to the Nintendo 64. OK selection and prices.
Gamestop! (Now associated with FuncoLand): Reliable online source for some games but most aren't available to buy.
SuperFami Japan-based business that ships Famicom items overseas if you have the extra dough. Systems are sold regularly here and so are a few good Fami games.
Used Game Trading Zone I have not used this site personally, but searching the games and such is definitely the easiest on UGTZ.
Video Game Connection Another retro-game online store very good selection and good pricing.
Video Game Connections Creator of the NES Rarity List, Mike Ether, owns this great retro gaming store in NJ. Great service and selection!
Video Game Exchange Nice selection with some well priced games.
Vintage Fun World New online store based in Washington State that has some great rarities, replacement NES parts, and generally more than fair prices on software. The owner sounds very nice and should be given the benefit of a doubt.
Yahoo! Auctions Not to be overlooked by eBay, Yahoo has had their fair share of some great rare items. Game Trading
Get to know the online fanbase behind the sites by visiting their message boards. NES World, Digitpress, and even NES Player are all great places to ask if anyone has the games you're looking for. NES collectors should and usually do look out for other NES collectors. Always make sure you know who you're dealing with and ask other people, and the seller, about past tradings they have done, if the transactions proved successful, and their eBay name to look at previous feedback.
Some places are designed to be game trading spots. Used Game Trading (UGTZ) allows its users to display their games up for trade or for sale to search through and pick out. All 3 Panesians, NWC carts, Twin Famicoms, and a lot of other rare items have shown up there in the past.
Ask your friends, family, or people at school/college if they still have any of their old Nintendo stuff and offer to "take it off of their hands for them." Auction Bidding
The NES collector knows about the importance of auction sites. Most of the prototypes, test carts, unreleased, Famicom, and rarer games flaunted around were all bought off of eBay. Unfortunately, it has become overrun and prices have gone totally crazy for many items. Things do not look so pretty for the future of finding good deals on eBay. For example, the average price for a stand-alone, un-boxed Top Loader is $100!
If you're willing to shell out the dough, though, you can build your entire collection off of bids. But, please, don't! NES collecting has really seen a boom in the last couple of years and so auction places are taking advantage of buyers by raising prices. (One of the reasons I strongly recommend against building an NES collection solely around eBay.) You SHOULD use auctions sites - just not in excess.
Don't buy single game carts unless of a very rare type! Always look out for the "game lots," since most bang-for-your-buck bargains are found in bulk. If you are desperately looking everywhere for a certain hard-to-find game, and frequently check back at off/online stores but don't carry it, your last bet is eBay.
Many write it off as second-rate, but Yahoo auctions sometimes have very many rare games. A great guy and seller by the name of Cliff Fuller (id: red1blue2) puts pages and pages of games on Yahoo all with a 'buy now' option.
Tricky Tips
- Tip #1 Spell 'Nintendo' wrong: To make a good deal sometimes you have to think outside the box. Sellers may type in the title description too fast and misspell 'Nintendo'. Some common misspellings I have found are: Nintedo, Nintend, and Nitendo. Also make sure you turn on the "search description and title" option, too, for more results. Search for general words of the game title/genre you are looking to bid on. (For example: instead of 'Super Mario Bros', type in 'Mario Bros'.) Or, if time isn't a restraint, type something very general such as 'Mario' and you'll be forced to sort out from auctions like "Mario tools".
- Tip #2 Night Owl: Surfing at night (11 P.M. and later) and clicking "new auctions"
under eBay's NES section displays all of the newest auctions at that time. If the
auction has 'buy now', you'll be the first to see it. Remember, some people actually
make their living off of eBay, so there are times when a good deal comes up.
Also, about late-night auction surfing, it's also the best time to find auctions that are just about to end. Prices make the biggest jumps just as an auction is about to end, and when it's later at night as less people are using their machines, less snipers are likely to be out. - Tip #3 Sniping: The most hated and debated eBay tactic - sniping is essentially waiting until a certain auction is about to close and bidding when there is less than a minute to end. You must take into account, though, is to give yourself at least a minute then bid. If you have a slow connection, or if the last bidder has put up a higher bid than yours, you must give yourself time to try again. Open your desired auction into three different browser windows for quick access back. Enable cookies on your browser and remember to log-in beforehand to prevent having to enter your eBay user information to confirm a bid.
- Tip #4 Auction Programs:
Ad Template - http://www.adtemplate.com: Free professional HTML-created pages for auction sellers
Free auction counter Antiques & Collectibles - http://www.rubylane.com
Snipeware - http://www.bay-town.com: Paid program that brags: "Snipe auctions on eBay and win every auction!"
eBay's Mister Lister - http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/mr.html
Auction Alchemy - http://www.auctionalchemy.com: Create your auctions and e-mail your buyers quickly and easily. - Tip #5 "The Stalking Method": Some sellers out there are notorious for having the
rarest of the rare, and here is a list of a few:
Vgc (http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=vgc) Owner of videogameconnection.com: protos/rare games
catlady46 (http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=catlady46) Notorious for her Nintendo World Cartridge auction
nescollect (http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=nescollect) Martin, himself, of NES World fame
adol (http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=adol) - From France, seems to have a lot of fami
nes4u (http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=nes4u) - Seems to have an overload of rare pirates/famicom
myrmid (http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=myrmid) - JD, from myrmid.com, sometimes has old NES show tapes
nes.god (http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=nes.god) - A serious collector who owns many prototypes; offering many Sachen titles and other rarities - Tip #7 Friends: Make friends (contacts) with people who you have done business with before and see regularly selling NES stuff. Buying a cart before it goes up for auction can save you time and money. Don't feel bad about e-mailing them a list of what you're looking for.
Ebay for many hardcore NES collectors, with money to spare, is all about the prototypes. NES prototypes pop in from time-to-time, and they may be actual developmental software or samples that were sent to media for writing reviews or promotional purposes. In recent times eBay has cracked down on what they call "Beta Software," closing auctions early before they are able to end.
Ebay sellers of protos haven't let a little eBay TOS policy get in their way of listing, though. Instead of using the words "prototype" or "proto" in the auction title, sellers have begun to use other synonyms to list their items. You can search for a typical prototype auction by typing "NES" + any one of these words: "Sample," "Demo," "Test," "Development," "EPROM," "Final Version."
To make sure you are bidding on actual prototype, and not some homebrew game, check out the seller's feedback and ask questions. The most commonly duped "proto" is Earthbound (Zero) for the NES. While it's true Earthbound was released for the Famicom, it never received an actual release translated on NES cartridge. There does exist a prototype of this release, but you're not going to find it being sold on eBay. The EB carts that pop up are modern reproductions done by copying the translated rom. NES Player's sponser site, NESReproductions.com, offers such services and for much, much less than these sellers.
This is one instance of a fake Earthbound Zero cartridge. This person graciously put up his homebrew reproduction for only $171.05 cents, because apparently, $171.00 would have been under his asking price. With a pathetic sticker label on the cart. The buyer could have gotten a better quality reproduction with a nicer label for only $25 if he had ordered directly from NESReproductions.com. Game Storage
Now that you have a good, or better, idea of how to get the games, remember storing them is just as important! What good is an NES cart that is victimized by dust, water, accidents, and Mother Nature?
Dust covers are important but not totally necessary, depending on your storage device. Instead of buying them by the bulk from some place or an auction, try making them yourself. Do it yourself out of regular paper or cardboard:
Licensed and unlicensed game holders are nice to have. Gamestops usually carry them, or eBay. They may have an ugly appearance and limit the amount of games you can hold but they are much better to have than just putting them wherever and being disorganized.
Or use a Bush Furniture Audio Cabinet - perfect for storing NES games. There's a glass shield cover which prevents dust from entering or even getting near the NES games. It comes only with 2 shelves, but more can be ordered free of charge. Because it's not of pure wood, about $100-150 depending on where you shop. Two or three of these could easily hold the biggest collector's almost-complete collection. And it looks very nice, too.
IKEA offers a really great-looking and afforable shelfing system called BILLY. This particular color is black-brown. I have two of these, one on the left side of my couch, and the other at the other side; and they look very, very rich. More expensive add-ons allow you to add lighting and glass doors similar to that of the Bush cabinet. Creative Solutions
Maybe you spent all of your pay check on games and can't afford or want a large piece of furniture to store your games. Use your mind to think of some homemade ideas!
Use old metal ammo crates. They're almost the exact right width to fit carts, and each box holds about 15 games. Plus, the metal doesn't wear out like cardboard does.
Perhaps you don't have spare ammo crates, but shoe boxes and throw away cardboard boxes all serve the same basic purpose. Think of your own boxes lying around the house or go to a storage place to buy those that best suit you. What to do if you've lost the buying bug!
It happens to the best of us - resting from and avoiding our collecting habits. There is nothing wrong with a break for other things. I have had my share of falling outs with collecting. It's OK to take a break. It's healthier than the people who don't.
Browsing around the web for NES sites always manages to get me back into the NES mood. Helpful Tools
NES Lister is a great program for you to organize your game collection electronically. I use it whenever I get my hands on a new game.
Mike Etler's Rarity List is still pretty accurate for the rarity of NES games but, remember, that it was compiled back in '97 and a lot has changed since then.
Grand NEStral Station has every link and all the unreleased information you would ever need.
Antseezee's NES Rarity and Price List is the newer, more "up-to-date" rarity document. At its core the list is an edited version of Mike Etler's guide. I have not gotten into the content as much as with Etler's, but it looks to be fair. Other than the prices, the rarity of games appear to have been altered for the better. It's good for a beginner to hit up eBay and stores to get a feeling of what the average price of a game is worth. Once you get an understanding and see how much games go for on your own, you can rely on your own knowledge to be your guide.
Stanley J. Stepanic's NTSC and PAL Game List v.3.0 is the newest, most complete updated rarity assessment of NES games and some pirates, with suggested price ranges, manufacter/release dates, countries the cartridge was released at, and a short description of each title to refres your memory. This is the one I personally recommend using.