Author Archives: admin

10 Tips for Scoring Retro Games on eBay

Ever dream of replaying GoldenEye 007 on N64, decades after your cousin never returned the cartridge? Or maybe you’ve beaten Final Fantasy VII for the tenth time and want a copy in pristine condition as your trophy.

Plenty has changed in the tech world in recent years, but one thing hasn’t. eBay is one of the best places to hunt down retro video games.

Sure, it’s possible some lucky individual just got the deal of the century on Streets of Rage 2 at a garage sale, but you can’t beat the convenience of eBay. The platform’s huge global marketplace makes it possible to find almost any game that’s currently hitting your nostalgia button the hardest, if you know how to look.

But here’s the thing: there’s more to buying collectibles than clicking “Buy It Now.” It takes a little skill, patience, and strategy to score the best deals. Whether you’re chasing a few favorites or building a serious collection, these 10 tips will help you win more auctions and stretch your dollars further.

1. Be Well-Informed on Price Going In

Before you bid, dive deep into the “Sold Listings” filter. It shows what games have actually sold for, not just what sellers are asking. That’s how you know if Pokémon Red Version really goes for $60, or if someone’s just dreaming big.

To get broader data on prices, also have a look at PriceCharting. It aggregates data from completed sales on Amazon and eBay and separates them according to condition. If you look at collecting as an investment and want to understand where the games market is moving, the historical price charts are invaluable.

2. Save Searches and Use Your Watchlist

One of eBay’s most underrated tools is the “Saved searches” feature. It’ll ping you whenever new listings match your criteria, so you can act fast. Whether you’re after Castlevania: Symphony of the Night or just searching “SNES lot,” alerts help you catch new deals before anyone else.

Sometimes, memory doesn’t serve us as well as we think it will when doing a comprehensive search. It can be tricky to find certain auctions again. What’s available on eBay is always evolving, so it’s a good idea to add listings to your Watchlist so you have an overview of your options.

3. Experiment with Search Terms

Different sellers list items in wildly different ways. One might post Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES), while another just adds Mario 3 to their title and calls it a day.

Try variations, abbreviations, and common misspellings. You’d be surprised how often a “Zelda Occarina of Time” listing slips under the radar. TypoHound automatically generates the most common spelling mistakes for you. Give it a go here!

You can also mix and match phrases like “CIB,” “manual,” or “bundle” to see what surfaces. Experimenting with your searches can uncover hidden gems that other buyers never even see. Plus, auctions with fewer views are more likely to sell for less.

4. Auctions Usually Offer the Best Deals

If you don’t mind a little suspense, auctions are where the best deals often live. Some buyers skip them in favor of instant purchases, which means less competition for you.

Keep an eye out for auctions that end at odd hours, like midnight on a Tuesday, when fewer people are online. That’s when you might score Donkey Kong Country for a steal.

5. Study Photos Like a Detective

A game’s photos tell the real story. Zoom in on labels, corners, and cartridge edges. Look for sun fading, scratches, or signs of fake labels. Listings that only show stock photos? That’s usually a red flag. Always go for clear, well-lit images shot from multiple angles.

Keep in mind that the condition that the seller chooses in their listing doesn’t always align with the expectations of collectors. This becomes even more evident when you search with terms that describe the games’ condition. Take it with a grain of salt and take the time to look at listings with titles that aren’t salesy about being cleaned, authentic, or in excellent shape.

6. Read Descriptions Carefully

Descriptions on eBay are all over the map in terms of length and the usefulness of the information. Policies regarding returns, refunds, and combined shipping differ from seller to seller.

It’s easy to miss details like “reproduction box” or “manual not included.” Read everything. Ask the seller questions if something isn’t clear. It’s worth the few extra minutes to avoid disappointment later.

7. Check the Seller’s Feedback

High feedback scores and a history of selling collectibles are good signs. A few negatives aren’t the end of the world, but if you see multiple buyers mentioning fake games or bad packaging, it’s best to steer clear.

You may want to give new sellers a shot! Collectors have reported good luck with buying from new sellers as many are looking to move their inventory for a good price and build their reputation by getting feedback from happy customers.

8. Be Patient with “Buy It Now” Prices

Some sellers list high and wait. Don’t bite right away. Add the listing to your watch list. If it doesn’t sell, the seller may drop the price or send you a private offer later. A little patience can save you a lot of cash.

Waiting also opens the possibility of new auctions popping up, and auctions typically offer better prices. It’s easy to fall for the trap that a rare game in great condition must be snapped up now, but one just like it might appear before you expect.

9. Look for Game Lots

Game bundles, often called “lots” on eBay, are perfect if you’re building your collection fast. In many cases, these sellers are looking to unload their entire collection in one go.

You might grab a stack of Genesis or Game Boy Advance games for less than buying them individually. Instead of paying shipping on every game, you’ll get a starter set that only needs to be shipped once. You’ll get duplicates sometimes, but those can easily be resold or traded.

Some collectors enjoy the hunt more than playing the games! However, if you just want to dive into reliving your childhood memories, game lots are a great option.

10. Always Factor in Shipping and Condition

That $20 deal can lose its shine when the shipping costs as much as the game or the disc arrives so scratched it looks like Freddy Krueger used it as a frisbee. Double-check the total cost and the item’s region before you buy. Sometimes it’s worth paying a little more for a seller who ships securely and quickly.

Again, PriceCharting is your friend. If you are wondering whether to go with a game in very good or excellent condition, check PriceCharting to confirm if the premium is worth it.

Build Your Dream Collection, One Game at a Time

Hunting for retro games on eBay is half treasure hunt, half nostalgia trip. When you mix patience with smart searching, you’ll unlock memories that make your inner kid smile.

Whether you’re tracking down Chrono Trigger, rebuilding your old GameCube library, or chasing the thrill of finding a rare edition of a PS2 game, remember — there’s no rush. You can build your dream collection one score at a time. Plus, you may find that winning eBay auctions is a fun game itself.

Resell Kijiji and Craigslist items on eBay for a profit!

I’ve written about how you can find poorly listed eBay auctions with typos, buy cheap then resell at a higher price, again on eBay.

Today we’ll look at the more traditional method of buying in the real world, then listing the item for sale online.

Priced low enough, buying what you don’t want or need on Kijiji, Craigslist, at a flea market, or even garage sale may be the best purchase you can make! It will be that much easier to promptly list it on eBay and make a tidy profit for your trouble.

The trick here is the item must have enough potential for profit when you factor in your own time. You can estimate what the selling price will be with some quick research on eBay, which I will describe in further detail later.

Why it works

The bidding system on eBay is an economic marvel, as people will pay what an item is worth to them, and sometimes it’s vastly different than you’d expect. This is when the worlds of “real” versus perceived value collide.

If a product is rare or sold out everywhere, even the manufacturers are surprised and often disapproving of the sky-high prices their products sold for via auction. Perhaps they’re wishing they sold it on eBay themselves?

“That’s not what we want to see happen,” said a Sony exec when their limited edition 20th Anniversary PlayStation 4, styled after the original PS1, sold for thousands on eBay. One went for $20,100, while another had a final bid of $15,100. 12,300 individually numbered units were made. It originally retailed for $500.

How to research an item before buying

An important and too often overlooked step is research. Listening to your gut can bring you entirely off base, as your perception of an item’s value may fall outside the average. What you need is objective data to make an informed decision.

Every marketplace gets different results, so as you plan to sell on eBay you’ll need to know real world prices auctions have sold for in the past.

Let’s say you come across a stack of retro game cartridges at a garage sale and you spot The Secret of Mana, one of the most collectable SNES games.

To check the price it’s sold for in the past, visit eBay, type in the name of the item, then check “Sold listings” under “Show only” in the sidebar. You’re only interested in what an item actually sold for because there are too many folks trying to sell items for more than it’s worth and you can’t let this cloud your judgment. Prices may vary greatly depending on sheer timing, location of the item, and the quality of the listing. It never hurts to err on the side of pessimism so you’ll only take risks truly worth taking.

Instant karma

Some people are in a tough spot and need their items sold quickly or simply lack the patience or knowledge to sell items for the highest price possible. In many cases you can offer Kijiji or Craigslist sellers a fair price and still make cash on the resale of an item, so if possible try to make every deal win-win for everyone involved for extra karma points.

A flamin’ hot $99,900 for a Cheeto shaped like Harambe

If you’ve ever walked into a 7-Eleven and gasped at the prices in the chips aisle, you haven’t seen anything my friends.

Just in time to cash in on the Harambe craze, a Cheeto with an uncanny likeness to the famous gorilla managed to fetch a whopping $99,000 on eBay.

His captors at the Cincinnati Zoo may have shot Harambe dead, but apparently his spirit lived on to be reborn as a cheesy snack.

For those in the dark about the incident, a three-year-old fell into a nearby moat and Harambe grabbed and dragged the child. His body language was seen as a possible threat and zoo officials perceived Harambe’s handling of the boy as too rough. The decision was made to kill the gorilla after he had carried the boy up a ladder out of the moat onto dry land.

Getting back to the eBay auction…

“I opened up a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and as soon as I looked inside I came across this unique Cheeto that looks like Harambe the gorilla,” read the description of the whacky listing. “This item up for bid is only for this unique Cheeto, bag not included. This makes a great collectible for anyone who appreciates rare items.”’

It actually looks like three Cheetos fused together, with limbs perfectly positioned just like Harambe’s were when scaling trees.

Bidding started innocent enough at just $11.99. But then again, the original bidder Chris from Burbank, CA, proved the madness of crowds can be traced back to the maddest of them all.

It turns out the “winner” may have bailed as eBay had some trouble tracking the person down. Lucky for the seller there were several bids over $90,000 for possible second-chance offers.

Make money by flipping eBay items that had typos

When I assumed ownership of TypoHound in 2006, other tire kickers around during the site sale had no idea it had the potential to be as popular as it is today. A few came out of the woodwork to diss it even. Although I knew it was a good idea with a memorable name, I didn’t realize it would go so far either.

Another thing that continues to surprise me is it’s many uses, which are limited only by the imagination.

To the uninitiated, the concept behind the site may seem strange or confusing.

Since eBay is all about search, for the seller, one small mistake in an auction listing title can mean the difference from an item selling well below it’s value or at fair market price.

Those that take the time to get a feel for what TypoHound can do, have a rare opportunity to move it all to the next level.

One can go beyond bargain hunting, and enter the realm of achieving sizable profits.

Here’s how it is possible.

In 2009 I wrote about a collector that won an eBay auction for a rare bottle of Allsopp’s Arctic Ale for only $304 because there was a typo in the name. He listed the item later, on the same site, and it made him $500,000!

More recently, I stumbled across an article about a woman who used TypoHound to flip a Burberry jacket on eBay. It was certainly well worth the effort for Marianne. She made $230.

Burberry-coat

Marianne’s Price: $175
eBay Sale Price: $405
Profit Before Fees: $230

Sure, it’s not jaw dropping like the Allsopp’s story, but it sets a more realistic goal for those willing to take a small risk and try their hand at flipping items.

If you have extensive knowledge about a particular type of item, you’d be crazy not to try this!

Yep, it turns out TypoHound is also a viable tool for business!

Find Hidden Deals on eBay now!

Melvins tour van: $99,999.99 isn’t enough

This dilapidated 1972 Dodge Sportsman Royal Van is better known as the “MELVAN” by fans. It’s adorned with spray paint, etchings, rust and a KISS “mural” hand drawn by Kurt Cobain with a sharpie. Legend has it the Nirvana frontman shoplifted the markers from the Thriftway grocery store in Montesano, Washington.

It is featured in many books, ‘Cobain Unseen’, ‘Come As You Are,’ as well as several Nirvana documentary films.

One wonders if this puppy deserves a spot in the ‘The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.’

For those in the dark, the Melvins were instrumental in bringing grunge into the mainstream. The band mingled with and influenced Nirvana who later made it big with ‘Nevermind.’

It turns out the band’s minimum price for the van was $101,000:

The MELVINS have put out the Question, who Will Make it to 101,000 first, The MELVINS facebook fan page https://www.facebook.com/melvinsarmy to 101,000 fans, or the MELVAN to $ 101,000 ? Well, I say Bid High, and Add The MELVINS , They ROCK !

Funny highlights from the Q and A section:

Q: Does this van possess magical powers? For instance, will it make my crappy band not suck, land us a major record contract and allow us to be the first band to play on the surface of the sun?

A: With the exception of playing on the sun, it seems to have worked for The MELVINS Thanks Mitch

Q: Does it smell like Buzzo’s armpits? … My “buy it now” finger is lubed. 😮

A: Having no experience smelling the Kings armpits, all I can say is it smells vintage, does that help ? Thanks For Your Interest Mitch

Bids stopped short at $99,999.99 so it didn’t sell. Luckily, The Melvin’s won themselves some new recruits by posting their little piece of history on eBay.

TypoHound: Kim Komando’s cool site of the day

kim-komando

It’s been nearly three years since I last posted. Now that’s a commitment to slack. So here I am typing at 2 a.m., sipping on limoncello.

In March 2010, TypoHound was named Kim Komando’s cool site of the day and quite possibly discussed on her show. For those unfamiliar, she is best known for her American talk radio program based on the intricacies of computers, the Web, and electronics.

Her weekend program reached a weekly cume of 2.25 million back in 2006. Komando.com is no slouch either. It’s ranking is 1,817 in the U.S. according to Alexa.

Kim’s coverage created a major spike in traffic on TypoHound, if only for a few days. For that I am extremely grateful. More than anything it’s wonderful to know it’s a tool people find useful and perhaps even clever.

This is what Kim had to say about TypoHound:

eBay is one of the most popular destinations for bargain hunters. You can find pretty much anything. Of course, the deals would be better without all the competition.

Alas, other people are vying for the same products you are. That drives up prices. Fortunately, great deals are just a spelling error away.

Sellers misspell product names all the time. They might leave out a letter, or include an extra one. These misspelled products often don’t show up under a normal search.

That’s the point behind TypoHound. Simply enter the correct name of the product. TypoHound generates a list of common spelling errors for that product name.

Click the provided link to search eBay with the misspelled words. You can find some excellent hidden deals. From there, you can use the site as you normally would. You just might be spending less.

www.typohound.com

At times it’s difficult to explain what TypoHound does without confusing the bejesus out of people. Kim reaches an older audience with a basic command of the Internet, so she is used to emphasizing clarity. She did a commendable job.

Find Hidden Deals on eBay now!

Allsopp’s Arctic Ale typo makes collector $500,000

allsopps

I’m a huge fan of quality beer. Macro brews such as Coors Light or Corona are snubbed in favor of Hacker-Pschorr, Leffe Blonde and Unibroue Maudite. There are much more hardcore fans than I on BeerAdvocate, however I was completely unaware just how deep the well is.

A museum quality sealed and intact bottle of Samuel Allsopp’s Arctic Ale from around 1850 (England) currently fetches 500k no problem on eBay. Could this be the holy grail of beer?

Shopping on eBay is supposed to be about bargain hunting. Some are just much better at it than others. A few summers ago, a collector (and budding investor) from Tulsa, Oklahoma ended up making the ultimate beer purchase.

He won the auction for a bottle of Allsopp’s Arctic Ale in which the seller made a typo in his auction and spelt it “Allsops.” The auction ended with very little interest and only 2 bids for the bottle that was obviously worth so much more than the winning bid of $304.

To add insult to injury, the winning bidder turned around and listed the bottle again on eBay, but this time with the name spelled correctly, and got a whopping 157 bidders and a sale price of $503,300.

That sure shows the power of typos.

Bought by collectordan for $304 (“Allsops” misspelling).

ebay-2d1-small

Sold by collectordan for $503,300 (Corrected spelling).

ebay-2d2-small

How did he find the original auction?

He might have been among the small percentage of eBayers that browse for items as most use the search function. It’s hard to say how he came across the original auction since competing bidders that knew how much it is worth missed it. Most likely this is a case of good timing and good luck.

Ready to search for typo auctions for yourself?

By far, the most efficient way to find typos on eBay is with an online app like TypoHound.

Collectible items have the most promise for using this method to bag bargains. Sports trading cards, rare coins, antiques and vintage guitars are just a few examples.

Find Hidden Deals on eBay now!

Chloé St-Amour sells her tarot readings on eBay

st-loveThe thought of going to the local fortuneteller or tarot card expert brings up some clichéd imagery. Of course, there is the long strings of beads hanging down from the arch entrance. Behind that, the hollywood standard is a woman with black hair. Mysterious blue eyes? That too.

Chloé St-Amour of Montéal, Canada fits this description pretty well. The difference is she will give you a tarot reading online that you can buy on eBay.

I am Chloé Saint-Amour and I have been practicing clairvoyance with the Tarot for more than 35 years. Ever since I was a child I have been impregnated by the mystery and the science of the Tarot.

I PROPOSE YOU TODAY A PSYCHIC READING OF QUALITY AND TRUTH, WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO TAKE THE GOOD DECISIONS IN YOUR LIFE AS YOUR FUTURE.

So how do you get your reading? Apparently by e-mail. Prepare to be astonished.

Teen offers up his butt as ad space

butt-tattooDo you have a web site, business, logo, company name etc. that you are just dying to promote?

Banner ads just don’t seem effective as they used to be. Does anyone pay attention to billboards, even in rush hour traffic?

This dude has the answer! He has the new advertising medium you have been dying to sink your marketing dollars into… his buttocks.

Here is a sample of his hilarious blurb, however, be sure to read the whole thing on eBay. It is better to see the real auction for yourself.

I will get a real permanent tattoo of your advertisement, website, tattoo design, logo, company name, or whatever you may think of immediately after the auction closes.

Now a little about me… I’m 18 going on 19 years old. Next week I will be moving to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, which is home to thousands of college students. There are two colleges in downtown Mount Pleasant, Central Michigan University and Mid-Michigan Community College. Another college, Ferris State University, is less than 30 minutes away. I have a passion for music, and love hanging out with people.

Okay, great, he loves tattoos. The part that baffles me is how he thinks his butt is such a great advertising opportunity. Unless he hangs out with his college buddies in the buff, only a few lucky ladies will get to see your ad buy.

Happy bidding!

eBay no longer fun? Try using some auction tools

Yesterday, an article written by Keith Rabois was posted on seekingalpha, slamming eBay for not being fun anymore. “Where Did All the Fun Go?”, the headline asks.

Most often, people blame eBay’s decay on factors like the weakening economy, the rise of Amazon, as well as eBay’s own inefficient search functionality. But the real and simple reason is eBay is no longer fun. Over the years, it has lost online ground and eyeballs to pure entertainment destinations such as YouTube and social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook.

To help push this argument home, various traffic research graphs illustrate how eBay’s traffic has slowed down (see the most recent example below, comparing 2007 and 2008). While the internet as a whole grew, eBay shrunk.

saupload_top_us_props

In the first quarter of 2004, almost 50 percent of the entire U.S. Internet population visited eBay every month. By 2008, eBay’s visitors accounted for only 1.5 percent of total minutes spent online.

Still, I fail to see how less traffic necessarily means online auctions are not as fun as they used to be to the average person.

In a similar (and more convincing) article, Scot Wingo blames online classified sites such as kijiji or craigslist for eBay’s dwindling popularity.

pew-classified-adsNewspapers were losing classified revenue to eBay hand over fist in 2000/2001, as eBay gave people a much easier way to sell their items. The Pew Internet Project released a report, showing that classified sites (mainly craigslist), have doubled in usage between 2005-2009.

Was it just social networking and free online classified ads that led to the decline or is there more to this?

Has eBay become just another dull shopping site?

Perhaps eBay was more fun in 2000 because it was relatively new. For many at the time, buying online was a fascinating new possibility and the fact it was an online auction made it more exciting.

One user commented that sniping tools have taken the fun away. “You are battling a competitor you’ve fought a number of times before–and someone comes in 5 seconds before the end of the auction with a computerized snipe taking it away from both of you.”

Sure it sucks being sniped when you lose. But how about when you win? For web savvy surfers sniping tools are great since they allow you to set the maximum bid and forget about it. One reason eBay isn’t getting as much traffic, is because snipers don’t have to keep visiting the auction, refreshing their browser and staring at a clock.

Less time on eBay might simply mean surfers have become more efficient with the use of numerous online tools. In my eyes, the tools make eBay a more exciting place to visit all over again.

Find Hidden Deals on eBay now!