Selling "rare" games for a profit - NOT WORTH IT!

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mrwogs2

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Just thought I'd share my thoughts with you all regarding my recent Mass Effect 2 CE sale. In addition to the one I bought for myself from Meijer, I picked up another one, hoping to sell it for a profit. What I learned is...it's not worth it!

Here's the breakdown:

Purchased ME2: CE for $69.99. After tax this came to $75. Checked out the usual online marketplaces - half.com, ebay.com and amazon.com. On ebay they were going for around $90-$100. On half.com, about the same. On the amazon.com marketplace, bewteen $100 and $150 (way too high, IMO). Amazon's fees were higher than ebay and half's, but I went this route because of the higher selling price.

The game sold quickly for $110 and the total amount I received from amazon (inluding the shipping credit of $3.99) was $97.

The only shipping option I had at USPS, due to box size, was Priority. This cost $8.50. Add on delivery confirmation for $.70 and the shipping total was $9.20.

Let's not discount the amount of time I spent driving around looking for the game, as well as driving to the post office and waiting in line.

Final math...

$110 (amazon sale price) - $18.84 (amazon fees) + $3.99 (shipping credit)- $75 (purchase cost) - $9.20 (actual shipping cost) = $10.95.

Worth it? To some, maybe. To me, no :) I am not complaining at all, I just thought it would be interesting to break this down and share it with you guys. In the future, no more buying extra copies to sell. :roll:

Any one else feel the same way, or differently? Similar experiences?
 
You made minimal profit because it's a current game. I used to sell 1st party N64 games for like $20-$30 profit because you couldn't buy them in store.
 
No offense man, but you made little profit because you suck. (Again, no offense). The ME2 CE has been on the rise on Amazon since it came out. It was selling for $90 on 1/26 and it's up to about $115 right now. You also used way too big of a box for the game. If you could have found a box about the size of a flat rate envelope, shipping would be at most $5. A little bit of patience and you would have made a bit more money. I see this hitting at least $130 in a couple of days.
 
Here's everything you did wrong...

1) You used a priority flat rate box. Why in the hell would you do that for a game? Find a box just big enough for the game and then ship it whichever method you would like. Priority would have been around $5 if you found a good sized box.
2) You didn't wait long enough. This game was selling for $90 on 1/26 on Amazon. It's now up to $115. It's been going up day after day.
3) You wasted your time and drove around to find a second copy?
4) You assumed that $150 was way too high. There's a certain CAG, who shal remain unnamed, that sold a preordered copy of ME2 on 1/24 for $150 + $50 next day shipping.
 
Its totally dependent on the rarity of the game. After seeing how many places were taking pre-orders for the game, I decided the Collector's Edition would not be rare enough to flip like the first one was (Gamestop.com exclusive). Now the pre-order DLC and collector's edition DLC on the other hand are a different story.... I sold my DLC code for $35 with free shipping (naturally) and that paid for a good chunk of my Collector's Edition.
 
Appreciate the responses.

In regards to #1 above: I don't know about you, but if I buy a collector's edition online, I damn well want it to be shipped properly - with plenty of space for bubble wrap/foam peanuts. If you ship it in a box that is "just big enough for the game" it liable to get damaged in transit. It's happened before to me. I chose to do the right thing and pack it properly in a box larger than the game. By the way, the ME2:CE packaging id double the width of a normal game and weighs a lot due to the metal packaging.

In regards to #2 above: The ones listed on Amazon for $115 have been there for an entire week, no one is buying them at that price. That's why I listed mine a few bucks cheaper. They are going for $99 tops on ebay.

In regards to #3 above: They were pretty much out of stock everywhere. Meijer was the last store I visited, and I found both copies there.
 
[quote name='mrwogs2']Appreciate the responses.

In regards to #1 above: I don't know about you, but if I buy a collector's edition online, I damn well want it to be shipped properly - with plenty of space for bubble wrap/foam peanuts. If you ship it in a box that is "just big enough for the game" it liable to get damaged in transit. It's happened before to me. I chose to do the right thing and pack it properly in a box larger than the game. By the way, the ME2:CE packaging id double the width of a normal game and weighs a lot due to the metal packaging.

In regards to #2 above: The ones listed on Amazon for $115 have been there for an entire week, no one is buying them at that price. That's why I listed mine a few bucks cheaper. They are going for $99 tops on ebay.

In regards to #3 above: They were pretty much out of stock everywhere. Meijer was the last store I visited, and I found both copies there.[/QUOTE]

#1 - I never said buy a box that's just big enough. Buy a box that's just big enough for it to be packaged properly. It's not a hard thing to do. As long as you stick by the length and width of a flate rate envelope, priority should never cost you more than $5. Very rarely will it go over $5.

#2 - They've been listed on there for a week because idiots have been undercutting everyone for the past week. Like I've said before, this CE will sell for more than the $110 you sold yours for. All we have to do is wait for the people who are penny warring to be sold out and then it will start selling for more. I've already sold one for $130 + $3.99 shipping on Amazon.

#3 - Then you can't contribute all the driving around to JUST finding that one ME2: CE to flip. You wasted your time driving around for a personal copy and not a copy to flip.
 
Hey man, thanks for your thoughts.

The box I picked was exactly as you described. About an inch on all sides for packaging.

Not sure what to tell you about shipping costs...it was $9.20 for priority. More expensive due to the heavier weight is my guess.

I suppose I wasted my time just looking for the game :) Meijer was the only store that had it. I picked up my copy and the one I sold there.
 
[quote name='mrwogs2']Hey man, thanks for your thoughts.

The box I picked was exactly as you described. About an inch on all sides for packaging.

Not sure what to tell you about shipping costs...it was $9.20 for priority. More expensive due to the heavier weight is my guess.

I suppose I wasted my time just looking for the game :) Meijer was the only store that had it. I picked up my copy and the one I sold there.[/QUOTE]

Did you pay for the postage at the post office? I guess that could be why it was more expensive. Priority for me is really expensive whenever I pay for my postage at the post office. I usually stick to paypal for postage.

And at least you found a copy or two in stores. I have yet to see any ME2: CE at any retail store around here yet. I'm lucky I had mine preordered on Amazon.
 
Darkrider23,

Yeah, I used my own box, packed it at home. I've never paid for postage on paypal....what's the deal with that? Thanks!
 
What makes you call ME2 CE rare? Just because something is a CE doesn't make it rare (see: Halo 3 Legendary Edition). And just because a game sells out doesn't mean it's rare either... it just means it was popular enough to sell out. I'm sure they produced plenty of copies.

You sold it too early OP. That was your one and only problem.
 
As others have said, you just sold too early. Everyone out there had the same idea as you: pick up copies of this and try to flip them. If you held onto it, you probably would have gotten a lot more. The CE for the first game is pretty rare now and goes for a good amount. Seems like the same might happen for this one, too, considering it's OOS just about everywhere.
 
Haha. Yeah me neither. Put it in a box with some foam peanuts and bubble wrap. Maybe the post office increased their rates recently. I'm telling you though, the CE is pretty darn heavy.
 
Yea, I wouldnt consider it "rare" yet. "Limited" seems a more proper term. I dont think something thats a week old can be rare in any circumstance. Anyway, if you really wanted a profit, you should have waited like some said to get the max potential of the sale. 10 bucks aint worth the trouble, thats why a lot of these kinds of "deals" rarely work out well. But your also gambling that this "rare" item will stay that way over time. Either way, usually isnt worth the investment or the gamble.
 
Agreed. Some folks have also commented that, since EA has published this, there may be another run of the CE. Some collector's editions never really go up in value at all. Anyway, lesson(s) learned.
 
Did they actually increase the Priority rates recently? I shipped out a LOZ:TP guide last week and it was 8 bucks, even from Paypal.
 
[quote name='mrwogs2']Agreed. Some folks have also commented that, since EA has published this, there may be another run of the CE. Some collector's editions never really go up in value at all. Anyway, lesson(s) learned.[/QUOTE]

That's definitely an issue. Dragon Age is a perfect example... the CE was rare(ish) for a month or so, and then a bunch of copies showed up, which had to be a second run.

I'm curious to see if that happens here or not. Sure, there was a second run of DA:O, but that second run also didn't sell like gangbusters and is still available. EA Store still has 360 version, Amazon has PS3. It could work against ME2 and show that a second run may not be a great idea, sales-wise.
 
[quote name='N3UROP0D']Did they actually increase the Priority rates recently? I shipped out a LOZ:TP guide last week and it was 8 bucks, even from Paypal.[/QUOTE]

They did. It used to be a flat $4.80 for me, now it varies. I've seen it go from $4.80 to $5.30, depending where I'm shipping to.
 
[quote name='N3UROP0D']Did they actually increase the Priority rates recently? I shipped out a LOZ:TP guide last week and it was 8 bucks, even from Paypal.[/QUOTE]

Yes, on Jan 1st. And even stuff under 1 lb has variable rates depending on distance now.

Edit - Yeah, Scorch, if you still want the $4.80 pricing to anywhere you have to use the flat-rate envelope or small flat-rate box (which only fits DS and PSP games, and not console stuff).
 
when you sell a recent game, you have to make sure to cover your grounds when it comes to profit, which is why youre buying and selling it in the first place. the whole point is to make money right? although the game is not in stock in most places, some online stores do have them.

when you have a site like cheapassgamer, you tend to forget that there are thousands of people out there out to get this particular version and they'll gather what they can to try to find it. hence the thread regarding the collectors edition availability on the deals forums. selling it online is probably the most profit youll get from it, since your market is big.

next time shop smart cause you'll end up losing time and money. right now is probably not the time to sell this anyways since its still available. you live and learn, you get better the next time around. welcome to the world of flipping.
 
[quote name='mrwogs2']Any one else feel the same way, or differently?[/QUOTE]

Way differently. I bought a black label copy of Castlevania SOTN for PS1 for $20, kept it sealed and sold it years later for over $500.

I also bought 2 copies of Prinny for PSP for $8 apiece (store closing) and sold the pair for $100.
 
I disagree to an extent. It can be worth it the games itself is rare. By "rare" I mean not alot of copies made etc. Nowadays, newer games aren't worth it unless you plan on keeping them for 2-6 years after the intial release.
 
Can someone please explain how this game is selling for over $100? I just typed mass effect 2 collector's edition on google and I can easly buy a copy for $70. I'm just not seeing how this is worth over $100 in a week.
 
I've been saying for a while not that shipping has become a huge expense lately, and one that eBay and Amazon seem to take for granted. When selling video games, eBay puts a cap on how much you can charge for shipping, and that cap barely covers the cost of shipping, let alone materials, and having to take time to drive and wait at the Post Office. It's really a joke now, once you subtract out shipping costs, eBay fees, and PayPal fees, it's not worth it to sell on there unless you're going to make at least $50 profit.
 
Ebay lets you charge exactly what shipping will be if you put "calculate shipping costs" and the weight when you do an auction. If you use paypal shipping and print your labels, you get a slight discount on shipping and free delivery confirmation as well.
 
[quote name='bringerofdeath']Can someone please explain how this game is selling for over $100? I just typed mass effect 2 collector's edition on google and I can easly buy a copy for $70. I'm just not seeing how this is worth over $100 in a week.[/QUOTE]
people are lazy. when you can afford "slightly expensive" things its easier to get carried away. finding it on ebay is easy.. finding it on amazon is also easy. most people don't like to shop around.
 
You assumed a CE and SEQUEL of a major release by a big publisher would appreciate in value. If they had a CE or LE of the original Halo, it would be 5x rarer than Halo 3 LE.

CE's of new IP's that become successful go up in value, ie Dragon Age Origins until they decided to milk it and it is still going for above retail.
 
[quote name='N3UROP0D']Did they actually increase the Priority rates recently? I shipped out a LOZ:TP guide last week and it was 8 bucks, even from Paypal.[/QUOTE]

They did and it sucks for the most part.

[quote name='007']That's definitely an issue. Dragon Age is a perfect example... the CE was rare(ish) for a month or so, and then a bunch of copies showed up, which had to be a second run.

I'm curious to see if that happens here or not. Sure, there was a second run of DA:O, but that second run also didn't sell like gangbusters and is still available. EA Store still has 360 version, Amazon has PS3. It could work against ME2 and show that a second run may not be a great idea, sales-wise.[/QUOTE]

I believe there is a 3rd run of Dragon Age coming soon (Amazon had it available for preorder with a ship date of Feb 2nd, but it's taken down now). Amazon sold out of the 2nd run on the 360 version. I wouldn't be surprised if the 3rd run of the CE actually does come through.

[quote name='Nightfox31']I disagree to an extent. It can be worth it the games itself is rare. By "rare" I mean not alot of copies made etc. Nowadays, newer games aren't worth it unless you plan on keeping them for 2-6 years after the intial release.[/QUOTE]

Believe it or not, there are quite a couple of 360 and Wii games that are worth two times or more their MSRP. There are also games you can buy at GS used and get 2-3x what you paid for them. I won't tell you what they are, but they are out there ;).

[quote name='bringerofdeath']Can someone please explain how this game is selling for over $100? I just typed mass effect 2 collector's edition on google and I can easly buy a copy for $70. I'm just not seeing how this is worth over $100 in a week.[/QUOTE]

The simplicity of shopping on Amazon usually makes people spend more money. I don't know why people don't google, but I'm not complaining.
 
Here is what you did wrong. You sold it as the same way you bought it!

To make a profit, sell every piece of the Collector's Edition separately: The Game Discs, the Steelbook Case, the Artbook, and the Codes. Sell Everything separately at inflated prices (people will pay more for the separate items that they want) and you would have made money.

That's what I did/am doing. I have not sold the game discs yet, but I have sold everything but them and have already made $10+ profit (off of 2 CEs).. which doesnt seem like much, but I still have the 2 sets of game discs, which I can easily sell for $40+ ea giving me a profit of $90+ (or $45+ per game)
 
[quote name='DarkRider23']I believe there is a 3rd run of Dragon Age coming soon (Amazon had it available for preorder with a ship date of Feb 2nd, but it's taken down now). Amazon sold out of the 2nd run on the 360 version. I wouldn't be surprised if the 3rd run of the CE actually does come through.[/QUOTE]


For this reason I'm going to disagree with everyone that says he sold it too early. DA LE was supposed to be limited and wasn't. I'd say odds are good that this one will be available again soon. Should have priced it higher though. My recommendation is that if you are interested in any LEs and can't find it anywhere online to purchase, wait at least two weeks after release before resorting to paying eBay markup.
 
[quote name='rainking187']For this reason I'm going to disagree with everyone that says he sold it too early. DA LE was supposed to be limited and wasn't. I'd say odds are good that this one will be available again soon. Should have priced it higher though. My recommendation is that if you are interested in any LEs and can't find it anywhere online to purchase, wait at least two weeks after release before resorting to paying eBay markup.[/QUOTE]

DA: O is actually a Collector's Edition and was never supposed to be limited. The only time any sort of Collector's Edition is limited is when they are being carried by only one store like the Assassin's Creed II Master Assassin's Edition was. It will never get a reprint because Gamestop just won't front that kind of cash for more of them.

Now, Limited Editions are totally different. Limited Editions (for the most part) have a limited run and then they are done. There have been some exceptions like the Fable II LE that got a reprint (or maybe it was a bunch of used ones resealed because they have a heat seal).

But for the most part I agree with you. You should at least wait 2 weeks before buying any CE or LE since that's how long it usually takes for a reprint to hit shelves. You could always snipe some off eBay though. I've seen some unlucky sellers get only $65-$70 for their brand new ME2 CE. It sucks for them, but that's why you never go auction style.
 
Selling rare games for a profit used to be much better. 2003, 2004, 2005-- those were better times. That's when you had a nice intersection of a booming game collector economy on ebay, a decent amount of people unloading PS1 + N64 games on pawnshops and gamestops, and a bunch of rare PS2 games going on clearance all the time (and the clearance bins stayed fairly unpicked.) Not to mention the less obvious stores like CompUSA were goldmines.

It's just not like that anymore. Huge pain in the ass to flip things these days, by comparison.
 
[quote name='DarkRider23']DA: O is actually a Collector's Edition and was never supposed to be limited. The only time any sort of Collector's Edition is limited is when they are being carried by only one store like the Assassin's Creed II Master Assassin's Edition was. It will never get a reprint because Gamestop just won't front that kind of cash for more of them.

Now, Limited Editions are totally different. Limited Editions (for the most part) have a limited run and then they are done. There have been some exceptions like the Fable II LE that got a reprint (or maybe it was a bunch of used ones resealed because they have a heat seal).

But for the most part I agree with you. You should at least wait 2 weeks before buying any CE or LE since that's how long it usually takes for a reprint to hit shelves. You could always snipe some off eBay though. I've seen some unlucky sellers get only $65-$70 for their brand new ME2 CE. It sucks for them, but that's why you never go auction style.[/QUOTE]


It wasn't called a limited edition, but they actually said it would be available in "limited quantities".
http://www.ea.com/news/bioware-dragon-age-origins-collectors-edition
 
[quote name='rainking187']It wasn't called a limited edition, but they actually said it would be available in "limited quantities".
http://www.ea.com/news/bioware-dragon-age-origins-collectors-edition[/QUOTE]

Didn't even know about that, but if there's one thing I learned from EA it's that you never believe what they say. Unless the thing is called a Limited Edition, I will always expect a reprint. Even if it is a LE I would be weary, but a lot more comfortable investing in it.
 
I don't think there are really all that many "limited" runs of games anymore, unless we are talking about some kind of niche title. Companies seem to either run off way too many copies of something (like the Halo 3 Legendary Edition), or they will simply do a 2nd, 3rd, or beyond run, if the market is there. Hell, even the publishers of the nice titles, like an Atlus, have gotten into the act.
 
[quote name='ninja dog'] Not to mention the less obvious stores like CompUSA were goldmines.
[/QUOTE]

CompUSA is a store I really miss. I know most people hated the place and until the last year or so it was all YMMV clearance with manager's deciding what to clearance like Walmart but my local CompUSA had amazing deals, God of War for $10.99 when MSRP was still $49.99, PSP games for $10 - $12 a few months after the system came out and games were still $39.99 - $49.99 etc. And since no one bought games there, I almost always found great deals every time I went there.
 
[quote name='rainking187']It wasn't called a limited edition, but they actually said it would be available in "limited quantities".
http://www.ea.com/news/bioware-dragon-age-origins-collectors-edition[/QUOTE]
limited quantities could be anything. it could be from 3,000-4,000 in its initial run upto 6,000 units in its second run. $60 for a new game is already expensive, given another $15-$50 on top of that its harder for most people to shell out that kind of cash even if you add a DLC, artbook (worthless addon).
 
[quote name='ninja dog']Selling rare games for a profit used to be much better. 2003, 2004, 2005-- those were better times. That's when you had a nice intersection of a booming game collector economy on ebay, a decent amount of people unloading PS1 + N64 games on pawnshops and gamestops, and a bunch of rare PS2 games going on clearance all the time (and the clearance bins stayed fairly unpicked.) Not to mention the less obvious stores like CompUSA were goldmines.

It's just not like that anymore. Huge pain in the ass to flip things these days, by comparison.[/QUOTE]

you're right about those 3 years, ps1 games were still being sold at Babbages and EB for chump change, I remember seeing several used copies of FF7, DW7, for $14.99 and under at EB's in 2003
 
Yeah, I think the distinction has to be made between rare games and scarce games.

In my opinion - anything that is scarce you have to sell right around launch and grab those buyers afraid they will sell out and turn rare.

I think you get your best bet there usually. You can try to hold on to them to see if they turn rare and you might get a bump in value for a moment or two, but you also risk the limited edition collector's edition being 100,000 plus copies flooding the market and killing your price.

Rare games are games that are known to be in demand, low supply, and to sell at a certain price. Those you can gauge what they sell for and what a good purchase price is. In those cases you would know you can get X amount for it so Y amount would be your maximum purchase price.

It's a much more stable market IMO, playing games with scarce items will leave you burned sometimes. I tried to play that game with some Jordans and ended up losing around 30-40 bucks on two pairs. It doesn't help that bootleg Jordans abound on Ebay, but still, it was a risk and I lost on it.
 
[quote name='ninja dog']Selling rare games for a profit used to be much better. 2003, 2004, 2005-- those were better times. That's when you had a nice intersection of a booming game collector economy on ebay, a decent amount of people unloading PS1 + N64 games on pawnshops and gamestops, and a bunch of rare PS2 games going on clearance all the time (and the clearance bins stayed fairly unpicked.) Not to mention the less obvious stores like CompUSA were goldmines.

It's just not like that anymore. Huge pain in the ass to flip things these days, by comparison.[/QUOTE]

I agree with you, there is less and less store clearance now, and with some games like Wii shovelware which is what will end up on clearance in the future, you have to wonder if its even worth buying them if they are $2-3 each now. Not that I have ever been in it JUST for the money but its a pretty rare instance nowadays that you can take an item, any item sold at retail stores and make a decent profit on it. Ebay, paypal, amazon fees, and shipping prices are constantly rising and all of these cut into the profits of a found-at-retail item especially. Before you could do this frequently and it was easy to do and you could make decent money, but now not so much, less and less people are willing to buy into it these days.

You also have the issues of reprints for games, cause the publisher knows when the game's value is going up on ebay, and thus can just produce another run of games which stabilizes the price and basically kills the secondary market. For older games digital distribution like the Wii Shop and Xbox live has killed it however there are many games that aren't on those services and people do still want hard copies over virtual. But now getting a hard copy of the game you want to play doesn't necessarily mean shelling out over $100 on ebay for one of the few copies left in existence.
 
After trading in some games at GS yesterday, I noticed they still had some Assassin's Creed II Limited Edition Master Assassin packs (not the white or black editions from what I could tell). They were marked at $79.99 and currently sell on ebay for roughly $100. I have been debating on whether or not to pick up a copy or two, hold on to them until Assassin's Creed III is released, and eventually sell them then at a time of even greater demand. I know it is pure speculation, but does this seem like a logical move? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
 
[quote name='Swift900']After trading in some games at GS yesterday, I noticed they still had some Assassin's Creed II Limited Edition Master Assassin packs (not the white or black editions from what I could tell). They were marked at $79.99 and currently sell on ebay for roughly $100. I have been debating on whether or not to pick up a copy or two, hold on to them until Assassin's Creed III is released, and eventually sell them then at a time of even greater demand. I know it is pure speculation, but does this seem like a logical move? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.[/QUOTE]

Hey there. I'm actually in a similiar situation, I noticed one of my GS's had one as well, and I've been wondering if it's worth springing for(on a side note I would say they seem to be selling more for around $120 or so). The first Assassin's Creed CE still fetches a nice price... I sold my sealed PS3 copy yesterday on ebay for $70, and that CE wasn't nearly as robust as ACII's CE. AC III is supposedly coming out this year right? I'm wondering if that might be too soon to build up decent hype, usually a sequel is something of an event seperated by a few years of hype so if they're making the leap from ACII to ACIII in such a short time frame I wonder if there's going to be any real interest from folks looking to "catch the fever" (and thus raise the price of previous games).

I think at the worse you might risk breaking even or losing a couple dollars, if you don't mind sitting on 80 bucks I'd say go for it, that's what I'm going to do(if it's still there at least, this GS is a treasure trove though so I'm pretty sure I'm secure on this)
 
[quote name='Swift900']After trading in some games at GS yesterday, I noticed they still had some Assassin's Creed II Limited Edition Master Assassin packs (not the white or black editions from what I could tell). They were marked at $79.99 and currently sell on ebay for roughly $100. I have been debating on whether or not to pick up a copy or two, hold on to them until Assassin's Creed III is released, and eventually sell them then at a time of even greater demand. I know it is pure speculation, but does this seem like a logical move? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.[/QUOTE]

Well, from my experience most recently, ebay, paypal, and shipping takes about 25% away from whatever your final sale price was for an item. The ebay feels are a little lower if you do a standard action as opposed to buy it now, but still I would work with a figure around that.

So you have to ask your self you would be making money.

At 100 plus 5-10 bucks shipping I think you would be losing money on each copy if you are paying 80+ tax.

If you could get 125 shipped for those then you could make 10-15 bucks per copy, so then it would be worth to sell a few IMO.
 
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