Any VGA/Sealed Pokemon Games collector here?
Would love some comments on the future of these. When i look, at prices they tend to have a similar pattern as for the drastic price increase on rare cards the past few years. Maybe with some delay.
It’s hard to tell the rarity of sealed games compared to a PSA card. But when looking at eBay i would say these become very rare - especially the Red and Blue version. I think these are a bit overlooked because all focus is on cards or booster boxes. I think they are going to become a very hard to get and expensive collectible in near future.
Also do any of you know what is the rarer region to own? Europe or USA?. Thanks
Personally, I do not think they are overlooked at all. In fact, comparatively to their print runs, Pokemon Blue and Red are exclusively much more expensive than any other sealed non-rare gameboy games out there, absolutely due to their supply and demand. There is definitely a video game collector market out there, and while it may seem in efour no one is interested in them, thousands of collectors all look for this game which is why it commands such a high price.
Many local video game stores mention this a lot for Pokemon games, particularly retro ones; don’t bother haggling with them as they will be gone within a few hours of them displaying it on shelves.
There are a few collectors here who collect video games, namely Scott if you watch his videos, the red/blue sealed gameboy games are in the background.
One caveat you must consider about sealed video games, especially Game boy games is that they are really fragile, making it hard to protect and store, and they take more space. You would have to invest more into protecting your video games, and furthermore, video game collectors are pretty picky with condition. Lastly, the video game grading market is still not mature yet, with people doubting on how a grade is assigned to a sealed video game.
Thanks for the writing ditto.
As you say print run on these are massive, you Can see that on the market for the games used and sold without packaging, there a millions for almost free. But i’m very sure - no evidence tho - that almost none bought a GB game on that time and never opened it. Which means sealed games has a tiny population. Especially in NM condition. I beleave the market is still overlooked because in the card Universe you have endless choices for collecting and many cards also have huge population, even in PSA 10 grade. Here we only have 3 games in both the 1st and 2nd generation of games which means that people have limited choices of collecting. In my theory that focus the Money stream to few products that is already hard to get. Therefore If these collectibles have some more focus, demand would blast at only limited products and not thousands of different cards. Therefore i think that even 1.000 usd is cheap for let’s say, a nm graded version of Pikachu version. Also i beleave, and this is a personal opinion, that there are more nostalgi to the Gameboy game than the cards.
Your statements are true, but in the bigger picture of video game collecting, some games are far more expensive than Pokemon at the moment. To respond to your statements chronologically:
Yes, opened packaged Pokemon games are relatively cheap (not free but roughly $50) and yes, sealed games do have tiny population; this can be seen by their respective prices. However, in comparison to other rarer-print run video games, Pokemon pales in comparison. Megaman V complete in box sold for $700 USD, and that is a used, opened copy of the game. A sealed version would bring unprecedented levels of value. Therefore, for a common game like Pokemon, but sealed (making it rare), being priced at $600-$1000 USD seems fairly reasonable for this game. Remember, as soon as it’s opened, the game loses almost 90% of its value which makes this a riskier collectible to have.
Yes, there are endless amounts of Pokemon cards, but only a handful of them are commanding insanely high prices. If you want a 1st edition charizard base, no matter the condition, you are dropping hundreds of dollars into this card. Same with sealed Pokemon games. If you want a sealed Pokemon game, you are dropping a 1000% premium to get it sealed. Otherwise, you can get a used copy for $20 or even less, depending on the condition of the cartridge.
Yes, evidently if more people would want a sealed copy of the game, the price would naturally increase. In fact, this can already be seen with the prices steadily rising over the years. However, I do not agree that the games right now are “cheap”; I am confident that they will rise in the future but I don’t think they will jump as insanely high as Pokemon cards anytime soon.
The nostalgia part is really a toss up depending on the person. I personally find the game boy games more nostalgic than the cards also, but you must also consider that as youth, if you wanted a Pokemon game you can simply buy one and that would be it. However, collecting something like a 1st base charizard who went out of print almost immediately as soon as its released, along with the fact that there are no guarantees you will be pulling it from a pack makes it much more significant and memorable for someone to get it back.
Video game collecting is absolutely a growing hobby with a bright future ahead of itself but I would be careful with its prices and “investing” into sealed Pokemon games. There are still a lot of variables that you need to consider if you are dropping thousands of dollars into the video games sealed:
The value of the sealed Pokemon games evaporates if the seal wears off, or if the box gets slightly damaged.
Grading them is still a total toss up
There is batteries inside Pokemon cartridges, and no one knows if the acid may leak out one day and damage the box
You can literally get one unsealed for a 90% reduction in price
The price is fluctuating a lot for these games
These variables are why I think Pokemon games are appropriately priced, and not currently underpriced in the market. These cartridges inherently bring a lot more risk than owning a PSA 10 1st base charizard, and with a not as reliable grading service it makes it hard to collect these games at the moment due to subjectivity. However, this is all based on my own personal opinion when I was buying these sealed cartridges. I got a sealed Pokemon Yellow for $100 and thought there was too much risk buying them as prices continually increase. Also, prices were flying everywhere with sealed copies selling from $200 to $700.
Great reading Thanks a lot.
You mention yourself that VGA yet is not as reliable as PSA and i have been reading a lot of hate on forums on this service. Why is that you think?. My first thought is it’s just people that hate grading, are against investments driving prices up etc. or just trolls?
Have a VGA game myself and it’s spot on graded - by my opinion - and packed beautiful. In my mind this could just as well been from the PSA by the quality of it.
It’s because they lack consistency, and it doesn’t seem to bring up the value of the game a whole lot. The biggest culprit I see though is that they are not always consistent with grades along with poor grade guidelines, which is a big no-no in a grading service. If you cannot rely on the grade, then you might as well buy it sealed. I’m not too into the VGA grading service but perhaps it’s simply not well established yet, or otherwise in the past they made some mistakes and need a catch-up on their reputation.
Another possibility is the aforementioned high costs of getting a game graded. Unlike cards, video game boxes take a lot of space, require even more care in grading and boxing that the costs of grading is significantly more than grading a card. That high barrier of entry can turn a lot of people off, especially since you can simply just buy a game sealed and placed into an acrylic holder.
There’s also the possibility that the mindset of a card collector and a video game collector is different. I myself am not too into the video game collecting community so it’s hard to gauge on that, but perhaps some collectors buy it sealed but not graded so that in the future, they may delicately open it to play with (not sure about this though).
I’m glad you got a beautifully packed VGA game, I think the statement of “get the product, not the grade” still stands. In the end, you cared more about the sealed game in great condition itself than the grade, right?
I think in regards to PSA vs VGA, a difference I can see is that: if there was a mint copy of a card, and a slightly flawed PSA 10 version of the card at the same price, a sizable amount of people would still choose the slightly flawed PSA 10 card. On the other hand, if there was a flawed highly graded VGA sealed game and a completely brand new, mint condition of the same game, a larger portion of people may choose the raw, sealed mint copy of the game instead. That’s just my personal opinion though!
Hey all, I’m looking to buy a Red Version that’s currently listed on eBay, however, there’s a blank white sticker blocking the barcode on the backside of the box which scares me…should I be worried? If not, what should one look for besides the H seam seal when buying sealed GB games?
As with any product: look for reputable, experienced sellers. Does the seller have a lot of negative feedback or not? Does he specialize in games or not? Definitely look for the H-seam though, that’s a very good indicator. You could also buy a VGA graded copy to further ensure legitimacy.
That is one oddly bland sticker. I’ve never seen a sticker there, but I guess it might be a store-specific thing? Have you asked there seller about it? It has the H-seam and the seller is reputable. Is the price to good to be true?
I was thinking the same thing. When I spoke with the seller he says- “it’s just a plain white sticker”. He’s asking $800 for it which is around the ball park but I just don’t know. I can’t find another one that’s in good shape/ fully sealed. None of the VGA copies have stickers covering the barcode.
If it’s any help, the back looks identical to the copies I have in my collection, seam and all. Identical except for the sticker of course. That price is only very slightly above the average but the box looks very crisp. If all 8 corners are sharp I would pull the trigger.
I actually been looking at the sealed VG’s and consoles too. Im waiting to get the yellow just cuz I am a Pikachu collector regardless if it is not as rare.
Definitely pick it up. It’s a very warm yellow and Pikachu always displays nicely. I’d also recommend you pick up the Japanese version for the alternate artwork. The only downside is they were never sealed so you’ll have to settle for a crisp looking CIB copy.
What are your guys thoughts on the VGA grading system? Honestly it seems to be a bit of a scam to me, with no pop reports available and the site where you submit appears very unprofessional.
I collect sealed pokemon gameboy games and have submitted to VGA so I have some understanding of the whole thing.
That one I have been pondering myself to get on ebay but just don’t have the funds right now - looks like it’s sold now, perhaps you got it.
The price is not too good to be true, it’s fairly accurate as to what it should be. Mainly because of the dent at the top, and the sticker. Dents will significantly reduce the price for GBA games. Only the very mint games get top prices.
The sticker is fine on the back and not a huge deal. A lot of games have the sticker on the back. Many sealed bundles included the sticker. It just depends on if it bothers you personally. Personally, I wouldn’t be too bothered.
VGA does take into consideration stickers, but I’ve seen many high graded ones with the barcode sticker so it’s not a huge deal. It depends on the placement of the sticker. Over the bar code is…probably the most ideal if you are going to put a sticker anywhere.
Do NOT attempt to peel the sticker. That would be a horrible idea. You will risk either completely ripping the seal (which will basically demolish it’s value) or only parts will come up and it will look even WORSE. Just leave it.
Price wise…we’re in a bit of a decline in the market. This seems to be across most WOTC stuff as a whole as well. So price wise…it’s fairly accurate.
To estimate how good a deal is - also note how long the item has been up on ebay. Insane deals don’t last that long on ebay…minutes sometimes seconds even. That pokemon red was up for almost a month (I know because I was watching it for a while). That means it’s fairly accurately priced. Combine that with a downturn in the market (temporary of course), that’s why it didn’t sell asap.
If you got it, I would be overall happy with your purchase!
Thanks a lot.