What happened to the camraderie on this site?

The site still seems to good to me. Comraderie has always been iffy, but I lurked for a while before signed up.

I've had some great people help me out. Like when one person picked me up an extra copy of grim grimoire at the walmart sales.

I've also had some great trades on here. Got Orange Box for the 360, Eternal Sonata and more. I even met up with one person who lived close to me to trade my Virtua Fighter for his Eternal Sonata.

I do wish there was some more trading of older games on the site. I've been looking to trade stuff for a complete copy of wild arms and some other older games for a while but have had no bites. I had to trim down my tradelist because I had so much stuff on it that I was hoping people would want to trade that I had to bring 90% of it over to eBay just to get rid of it / recoop some money back off it.

Now when I do new stuff on the trading list I leave it on there for about a week, and then move it over to eBay or someplace else to get a more immediate cash for it that I can use to buy other stuff.
 
[quote name='Will']

As an example, a local CAG wanted a game from TRU that was on clearance a few yrs back. I was able to snag one from a non-local TRU. He said cool wait till he could get the pay pal and he would pay. Over a month later I hit him up for the money and he says "Oh damn, sorry about that. I got it cheaper elsewhere." My fault for trusting a local CAG and not keeping the receipt. [/quote]

Yeah I avoided that problem by just not playing the waiting game, people had a week and I was keeping a list of whoever asked to go down the line. Years of ebay selling taught me a long time ago people are full of shit half the time
I think the lowest point on this site for me was when some douchebag from Austin was ripping 3 or 4 people off on here for their psp for a ipod or some shit like that.

I took everyones info, proof they had the guy got what he was suppose to etc etc..went to the apt...busted the kids scheme, and got people their shit back. I didnt ask nor want a single thing. All I had in mind was pass the karma along.

When one of those people that were able to get their shit back because of the work I put in, got in on a nice deal for a game I wanted to get for my gf, I simply asked to get in on one of the few they picked up and I was basically told to go fuck myself for asking to get one at cost plus shipping.
Click to expand...


Now that is just wrong, someone helps me out like that I would at least go out of my way to return the favor if possible. Can't say I jack up the price for certain people, I just won't deal with them at all, nice and simple.
 
Only read the 1st page and a few comments on the last but, what if CAG instituted a policy where you could not overcharge on trades by 50% over the value of the actual purchase for the item? For ex: You buy a game for $10, you cannot sell it for more than $15. Buy at $50 cannot sell for over $75. Of course as the price gets higher it would be better to lower that %. People who overcharge can be outted and others can then avoid them.
 
[quote name='J7.']Only read the 1st page and a few comments on the last but, what if CAG instituted a policy where you could not overcharge on trades by 50% over the value of the actual purchase for the item? For ex: You buy a game for $10, you cannot sell it for more than $15. Buy at $50 cannot sell for over $75. Of course as the price gets higher it would be better to lower that %. People who overcharge can be outted and others can then avoid them.[/quote]
Its a decent idea, but how in the world are you going to know about how much people spent on what?
 
[quote name='Azumangaman']Its a decent idea, but how in the world are you going to know about how much people spent on what?[/quote]
I guess it would prevent people from trying to overcharge. If they tried to overcharge you and would not sell at the standardized price, then you could submit their name. If submitted enough times they would go on the list. Oh, and to know what the original person spent, well you could just keep it at the lowest price that game has been found for out on the market unless they can legitimately show a receipt that they purchased it for more.
 
[quote name='J7.']I guess it would prevent people from trying to overcharge. If they tried to overcharge you and would not sell at the standardized price, then you could submit their name. If submitted enough times they would go on the list. Oh, and to know what the original person spent, well you could just keep it at the lowest price that game has been found for out on the market unless they can legitimately show a receipt that they purchased it for more.[/QUOTE]

CAG will never tell sellers how to set their prices (or tell buyers how much they can offer for that matter). CAG will never maintain a blacklist of sellers based on how they price their items. And CAG sure as hell will never force sellers to advertise or otherwise prove the prices they paid for their games. Let's just leave it at that.

Going back to the main topic of this thread, I stand by most of what I said in my post back in December of 2005 (see page 2). Although the camaraderie here at CAG has continued to decline, I am pleased to see that it is still not completely dead, even with nearly 200,000 registered members on the site. Back in 2005, I felt that buyers were mostly to blame for the decline because of the prevalence of lowballing. Now, however, I think buyers and sellers are equally responsible. Buyers still lowball, hoping for the best, and sellers expect to get above-average eBay prices (e.g., if they can get $25-35 MINUS fees on eBay, they expect offers of at least $35 here). Also, the art of haggling appears to have been lost over the years. Four years ago, here's what haggling looked like:

Buyer: "Hi, I'm interested in Game X, but $25 is a little more than I'm willing to pay. Would you accept $20 instead?"
Seller: "Ooh, that's a little too low for me. How about $23?"
Buyer: "I only have $22 left in Paypal. Will that work?"
Seller: "Sure, it's a deal!"

Today, here's what "haggling" looks like:
Buyer: "I'll give you $10 for Game Y."
Seller: "Um, I can get $30 for Game Y on eBay, so you're gonna have to offer something close to that."
Buyer: (ignores seller)
Seller: (eventually gives up waiting for a response and assumes buyer is no longer interested)

Trading on this site used to be so much easier and more enjoyable. Nowadays, you're lucky to have an open line of communication with the other party, let alone try and negotiate a deal.

For the well-being of this site, I wish more users would be involved with the sharing of and posting of video game deals. The gaming discussion boards are nice, and it's great to see the trading forum taking away so much business from eBay (despite the problems I noted earlier), but this site was built on users finding and sharing deals, and that's where the camaraderie comes from. If you find a deal somewhere, post it. If you can take advantage of a deal when someone else can't, share the wealth and help them out. It's not a hard concept.
 
[quote name='video_gamer324']
Today, here's what "haggling" looks like:
Buyer: "I'll give you $10 for Game Y."
Seller: "Um, I can get $30 for Game Y on eBay, so you're gonna have to offer something close to that."
Buyer: (ignores seller)
Seller: (eventually gives up waiting for a response and assumes buyer is no longer interested)
[/QUOTE]

That's exactly what happens all the time! I normally get people asking a price, I give them a "lower than ebay and amazon, with free shipping" price and still get ignored.
 
[quote name='Will']It is what it is. When I first joined, it was tough getting in on most deals and then not getting any hook ups from anyone here.

Slowly but surely I learned why. There are alot of people that bandwagon the site when a major deal goes down and theyre only here to "get theirs" and bail.

Maybe some saw me that way and now I get it.

I dont bother posting what deals I get in on much anymore because Im eventually mauled by noobs that arent looking to contribute a f'n thing to CAG.

I try hooking up those that are hooking up others and Ill be the first to admit Ill try getting over on someone thats only out for themself.

As an example, a local CAG wanted a game from TRU that was on clearance a few yrs back. I was able to snag one from a non-local TRU. He said cool wait till he could get the pay pal and he would pay. Over a month later I hit him up for the money and he says "Oh damn, sorry about that. I got it cheaper elsewhere." My fault for trusting a local CAG and not keeping the receipt.

I think my 'tude is a bit more tamed since I changed my id from Stink Pickle to Will lol.

I think the lowest point on this site for me was when some douchebag from Austin was ripping 3 or 4 people off on here for their psp for a ipod or some shit like that.

I took everyones info, proof they had the guy got what he was suppose to etc etc..went to the apt...busted the kids scheme, and got people their shit back. I didnt ask nor want a single thing. All I had in mind was pass the karma along.

When one of those people that were able to get their shit back because of the work I put in, got in on a nice deal for a game I wanted to get for my gf, I simply asked to get in on one of the few they picked up and I was basically told to go fuck myself for asking to get one at cost plus shipping.

I didnt think it was out of line to ask that thinking maybe he would remember what I did for him but apparently that good deed wasnt remembered.

People will learn how to deal on here, learn to watch who does what for who, and then hook up those that deserve it.

PS-
I still say fuck slidecage for being a hoarder overcharging people for clearance games lol.[/QUOTE]

you sure say that alot but i like to see proof that i ever did it. Its probally i had a 10 buck game that you thought that i SHOULD Of sold you for 10 bucks and i did that is why your so pissed.

O i think i remember you. I picked up a game from a best buy sale for 5 bucks and you thought that i should sell you the game for 7 bucks (5 i paid and 2 for shipping) no matter that it would ran me over 4 bucks in gas to get the item to the post office. and you got pissed when i said it would run like 13 to 15 even to make it worth my time and you threw a fit saying that would be like 3x the price.

site is simple . everything wants something done for them but wont do a thing for anyone till they do something for them. When i find deals i get the games i want them post cause i know for a fact there is ONE HOARDER here.. LOL if you think im a horder you need to see this person .

I remember back in 2006 when TRU had that major xmas deal the dude pushed up a shopping cart and threw every game in the bin in their cart . The SOB even went around the R zone taking games out of people shopping carts. The workers were told to call the cops but they said there was nothing they could do about it. If you dont want people taking items from your cart, then dont leave them in the cart..

Dude had like 150 games and some of them has 10 to 15 copies of the same game
 
There just aren't that many clearance games around here like there used to be, when I find extra I pick them up but those instances are few and far between. I might hit one clearance that has extras in a year. Usually when I hit a clearance I find what I wanted to buy for myself to play and that is it. Other games that I buy are universal drops and are usually very common to find, so its not necessary to trade because most likely the drop can be found online or at most stores. Its not like kmart is pumping out 3$ gamecube games like they used to, now they are marking them down properly and employees are buying them before the customers can get to them.

That and the economy and gas are putting a serious damper on game hunting.
 
I still think once we are a few years into these consoles life cycles there will be better clearances than we see now... but it may never be as good as the $5 CC sales and $2 overstock sales we have seen in years past
 
[quote name='zman73']I still think once we are a few years into these consoles life cycles there will be better clearances than we see now... but it may never be as good as the $5 CC sales and $2 overstock sales we have seen in years past[/quote] Of course not because of inflation and games cost more.

We'll probably get some amazing sales though.
 
[quote name='video_gamer324']CAG will never tell sellers how to set their prices (or tell buyers how much they can offer for that matter). CAG will never maintain a blacklist of sellers based on how they price their items. And CAG sure as hell will never force sellers to advertise or otherwise prove the prices they paid for their games. Let's just leave it at that.

If you find a deal somewhere, post it. If you can take advantage of a deal when someone else can't, share the wealth and help them out. It's not a hard concept.[/quote]
Whats the problem with setting a ceiling % on games sold to CAG members? It would prevent people from taking advantage of people and help to prevent hoarding. It would mean you would probably get a legitimate price most of the time, and when you did not the offender would get outted. Are you afraid you wouldn't get top dollar on your games anymore? You say share the wealth and help those out who were unable to get the deal you got, so why not share the wealth and agree not to overcharge people?
 
[quote name='darkslime']Of course not because of inflation and games cost more.

We'll probably get some amazing sales though.[/QUOTE]

Yes games cost more for two out of the 3 consoles, but the longer these games are out there and the more games are released, we will start to see better sales... I never would have imagined buying PS2 games for a couple bucks apiece shortly into its life... years later, here we are

Honestly, we are getting a decent deal when you realize 15 years ago, we were paying $60 for most new 16 bit games... obviously the move to disc based media made games cheaper to produce, and has allowed this business to remain thriving in a weak economy
 
[quote name='video_gamer324']If you find a deal somewhere, post it. If you can take advantage of a deal when someone else can't, share the wealth and help them out. It's not a hard concept.[/quote]

That's a good idea in theory, as it may get more gamers who want to PLAY these games that're on clearance and sale a copy of them. However, my area has at least 3-4 bigtime hoarders that I know of. One is an asshole who runs a flea market stand and cleans out at least Target and Sears. Another is an ex Target employee who competes with the flea market fucknut.

The other one or two are just people that I've seen at various stores around here who had 8-10 games price checked as I was waiting to have some price checks done myself.

If I had the spare $$$, I'd probably grab as many of these games as I could and open my own stand at the flea market and put the one hoarder right out of business, since I would charge at my cost or slightly above. I can't stand the prick personally, even though I used to go to his cd/dvd shop back in the day. Then again, his prices were actually REASONABLE when he had the retail shop. Nowadays, he charges $22-25 for a Greatest Hits game that's used and was even charging $25-30 for the Burger King games for Xbox/360.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']That's a good idea in theory, as it may get more gamers who want to PLAY these games that're on clearance and sale a copy of them. However, my area has at least 3-4 bigtime hoarders that I know of. One is an asshole who runs a flea market stand and cleans out at least Target and Sears. Another is an ex Target employee who competes with the flea market fucknut.

The other one or two are just people that I've seen at various stores around here who had 8-10 games price checked as I was waiting to have some price checks done myself.

If I had the spare $$$, I'd probably grab as many of these games as I could and open my own stand at the flea market and put the one hoarder right out of business, since I would charge at my cost or slightly above. I can't stand the prick personally, even though I used to go to his cd/dvd shop back in the day. Then again, his prices were actually REASONABLE when he had the retail shop. Nowadays, he charges $22-25 for a Greatest Hits game that's used and was even charging $25-30 for the Burger King games for Xbox/360.[/QUOTE]

Love to see those two fight over a last copy of a game.....

Locally we got at least 1 i know of BUT like i said before i cant remember the last time we even had a SALE
 
[quote name='J7.']Whats the problem with setting a ceiling % on games sold to CAG members?[/quote]

The problem with your proposal is that it won't accomplish ANYTHING you claim it will, not to mention all of the logistical nightmares (e.g., what should the ceiling be, how do you enforce it, etc.). I'll explain why.

It would prevent people from taking advantage of people
Click to expand...

When you say "taking advantage of people," I assume you mean sellers taking advantage of buyers. But how can this be when buyers are not forced to accept a seller's price? If a seller is asking too much, the buyer can simply move on to a different seller.

[It would] help to prevent hoarding. It would mean you would probably get a legitimate price most of the time, and when you did not the offender would get outted. Are you afraid you wouldn't get top dollar on your games anymore?
Click to expand...

If a seller wants more than what CAG allows him/her to ask for on this site, they will simply take their business elsewhere. eBay is one of the most popular alternatives when games don't sell here, and hoarding will persist as long as there is profit to be made, which you can't stop by enforcing price ceilings here.

You say share the wealth and help those out who were unable to get the deal you got, so why not share the wealth and agree not to overcharge people?
Click to expand...

I've bought and sold many games on this site before, and I can say from experience that there's no such thing as overcharging. The reason most prices seem so high nowadays is because there are too many resellers who will take advantage of a seller's generosity and then resell for a profit. When I say "share the wealth," you can still give someone else a good deal while making a little profit for yourself.

I appreciate your effort to try and come up with a solution to a problem that's gotten so big lately, but unfortunately it won't work. I won't say it's poor thinking on your part, just a lack of trading experience. Once you get a few trades under your belt, I'm sure you'll have a better understanding of why things are the way they are.
 
[quote name='slidecage']Love to see those two fight over a last copy of a game.....

Locally we got at least 1 i know of BUT like i said before i cant remember the last time we even had a SALE[/quote]

That would be interesting, to say the least, but I know I'd much rather if they both disappeared completely. At least then I'd have a good shot at buying clearance games from Target and Sears again. The $19.99 and under bins at Sears locally look like a bomb went off in them after those two get done. At least when I check for games/deals, I actually straighten up the bins or whatever before I leave.
 
[quote name='video_gamer324']The problem with your proposal is that it won't accomplish ANYTHING you claim it will, not to mention all of the logistical nightmares (e.g., what should the ceiling be, how do you enforce it, etc.). I'll explain why.



When you say "taking advantage of people," I assume you mean sellers taking advantage of buyers. But how can this be when buyers are not forced to accept a seller's price? If a seller is asking too much, the buyer can simply move on to a different seller.



If a seller wants more than what CAG allows him/her to ask for on this site, they will simply take their business elsewhere. eBay is one of the most popular alternatives when games don't sell here, and hoarding will persist as long as there is profit to be made, which you can't stop by enforcing price ceilings here.



I've bought and sold many games on this site before, and I can say from experience that there's no such thing as overcharging. The reason most prices seem so high nowadays is because there are too many resellers who will take advantage of a seller's generosity and then resell for a profit. When I say "share the wealth," you can still give someone else a good deal while making a little profit for yourself.

I appreciate your effort to try and come up with a solution to a problem that's gotten so big lately, but unfortunately it won't work. I won't say it's poor thinking on your part, just a lack of trading experience. Once you get a few trades under your belt, I'm sure you'll have a better understanding of why things are the way they are.[/quote]
How do you know it would not accomplish anything, without trying it? I don't see logistical nightmares, what I do see is the buyer and seller sharing the best deal for the game out there and negotiating the price based off that deal, or if the buyer shows his receipt, off the amount he paid on the receipt.

Buyers are not forced to accept a seller's price. However that seems to be the case if people are complaining about that very thing. And what happens when the majority of sellers overcharge, then there is no way you will find a seller who does not (cannot move on to another seller).

It will prevent people from hoarding and selling overcharged prices on this site. They will be forced to use ebay, and the people left who don't overcharge (true CAGs) will still be here. The CAG market will thus improve without the hoarders mucking it up.

How is there no such thing as overcharging if there are resellers selling for higher than what they paid for... If there was a ceiling these resellers would also be negatively affected, and many would take their overcharged prices elsewhere, again leaving the real CAGs to trade.
 
[quote name='J7.']How do you know it would not accomplish anything, without trying it?[/quote]

Point taken, but at the same time, you don't have to do something to necessarily know its outcome. You can look at a plan and determine it's relative chance for success. I don't know exactly what will happen if I punch Kimbo Slice in the mouth, but chances are, I will die. Why waste time and resources on something that obviously will not work? It will only hurt the site, not help it.

I don't see logistical nightmares, what I do see is the buyer and seller sharing the best deal for the game out there and negotiating the price based off that deal, or if the buyer shows his receipt, off the amount he paid on the receipt.
Click to expand...
Not for nothing, but can you not see the logistics nightmare here? Who on earth is going to enforce this? Do you realize the man power it would take to monitor every deal done here? Also, as others have mentioned, how is anyone suppose to know what another person paid for a game?
 
[quote name='J7.']How do you know it would not accomplish anything, without trying it? I don't see logistical nightmares[/quote]

You don't see logistical nightmares with determining the price ceilings for each individual game/accessory? You don't see logistical nightmares with policing every thread in the trading forum (and posts in the deal threads themselves) to make sure sellers aren't "overcharging"? You don't see logistical nightmares with telling buyers that they can't offer more than the ceiling prices in PMs? You don't see logistical nightmares with punishing those who do overcharge and handling on a case-to-case basis those who can provide evidence that they paid more for a game? I could go on if you'd like, but I hope I've made my point.

Buyers are not forced to accept a seller's price. However that seems to be the case if people are complaining about that very thing. And what happens when the majority of sellers overcharge, then there is no way you will find a seller who does not (cannot move on to another seller).
Click to expand...

If all sellers are asking more than what a buyer is offering, then tough luck for the buyer. They missed out on the sale, and it's not up to CAG to cater to them by forcing sellers to help them out.

It will prevent people from hoarding and selling overcharged prices on this site. They will be forced to use ebay, and the people left who don't overcharge (true CAGs) will still be here. The CAG market will thus improve without the hoarders mucking it up.
Click to expand...

This brings up a point that has been brought up in the past. Traditionally, a "hoarder" is thought of as someone who buys up all of the cheap games in order to resell for a profit. These hoarders are disliked because, as the theory goes, they take away the opportunity for a gamer, who plans on keeping and playing the games, to get a good deal. But are you any less of a hoarder if you buy up all of the cheap games to offer to other CAGs? Sure, maybe you're not as selfish because you're not trying to maximize your profit, but you've still screwed over that gamer who came to the store 10 minutes after you. I pose this point not because I care to debate the matter with you, but simply to show that your idea of a "true CAG" may not be so distinct from a "hoarder" after all.

And I find it interesting that your definition of a true CAG says nothing about posting deals, which was the original and main purpose of this site. If we use my definition of a true CAG, only those who post deals or have other significant contributions (e.g., mods, contest sponsors, etc.) would be allowed to stay, and everyone else would be forced to leave. Thus IMHO, only the true CAGs (as I define them) would remain. This would effectively eliminate most hoarding activity, but it would also piss off the 99.9% of users who get the boot. I know it will never ever happen for a plethora of reasons, including the fact that CheapyD has said so himself, so don't think I'm suddenly advocating a massive purge of the CAG community. If you want to mitigate hoarding activity, though, it's probably the most effective option. [activate flame shield]

How is there no such thing as overcharging if there are resellers selling for higher than what they paid for... If there was a ceiling these resellers would also be negatively affected, and many would take their overcharged prices elsewhere, again leaving the real CAGs to trade.
Click to expand...

IMO, charging $40 for a game that normally costs $50 is not overcharging, regardless of whether you paid $25 or $5. Charging $55 would be overcharging, though (and for simplicity, assume the game isn't an RPG and isn't expected to increase in value), but in my five years of trading experience, I haven't really seen anyone charging more than retail or much more than eBay values.


J7, I strongly urge you to get some trades under your belt before trying to guess what will and what won't work on the trading forum.
 
[quote name='psiufoxx2']This thread is 3 years old.[/QUOTE]

Yes it is...and from those of us that have been here long enough know that this thread still has its use.

If youll notice I like to bump it every once in awhile to get a "state of the union address" from the members here.

I suppose if you dont like that, feel free to pm a mod or even Cheapy and have them do away with the thread.

So, since you bothered to read the thread even though you werent forced to, contribute in some fashion and stop being a cunt.
 
[quote name='slidecage']you sure say that alot but i like to see proof that i ever did it. Its probally i had a 10 buck game that you thought that i SHOULD Of sold you for 10 bucks and i did that is why your so pissed.

O i think i remember you. I picked up a game from a best buy sale for 5 bucks and you thought that i should sell you the game for 7 bucks (5 i paid and 2 for shipping) no matter that it would ran me over 4 bucks in gas to get the item to the post office. and you got pissed when i said it would run like 13 to 15 even to make it worth my time and you threw a fit saying that would be like 3x the price.

site is simple . everything wants something done for them but wont do a thing for anyone till they do something for them. When i find deals i get the games i want them post cause i know for a fact there is ONE HOARDER here.. LOL if you think im a horder you need to see this person .

I remember back in 2006 when TRU had that major xmas deal the dude pushed up a shopping cart and threw every game in the bin in their cart . The SOB even went around the R zone taking games out of people shopping carts. The workers were told to call the cops but they said there was nothing they could do about it. If you dont want people taking items from your cart, then dont leave them in the cart..

Dude had like 150 games and some of them has 10 to 15 copies of the same game[/QUOTE]

No sir, that wasnt me. Id never expect someone to sell me something at cost and not worry about shipping and time etc etc.

Just because someone is worse than you doesnt make you any better.

And for the record, I hoarded once...back when TRU had the RE4 on the Gc for 9.99. I found a TRU that wasnt being hit that had damn near 20 of em. I initially snagged 4 or 5. Kept one for my gf, flipped one on ebay to pay for that one and mine, and passed along the others here for 5.00 over my cost.

2wks later they still had 10 left and I bought the rest of em out and did the same again. 5.00 over my cost.

Youre not like that. You wanna toss in everything you can to charge more for. You arent interested in helping anyone other than yourself.
 
[quote name='psiufoxx2']This thread is 3 years old.[/QUOTE]

It doesn't matter how old a thread is as long as what's being discussed is still relevant.
 
[quote name='bigdaddybruce44']

Not for nothing, but can you not see the logistics nightmare here? Who on earth is going to enforce this? Do you realize the man power it would take to monitor every deal done here? Also, as others have mentioned, how is anyone suppose to know what another person paid for a game?[/quote]
The buyer and seller enforce it very simply by alerting each other to the best deal out on the market that the game can be bought for and agreeing on a price for the game that is not more than 50% higher, if the seller has proof of receipt for buying it somewhere for more $ he simply posts a pic of the receipt for the buyer to see. If the seller tries to overcharge, the buyer can post his name in a dedicated thread. Once a seller gets his name posted enough times, for ex 3 times, he goes on a list of those trying to overcharge so they can be avoided by buyers. All very simple and not hard to do.
 
[quote name='video_gamer324']You don't see logistical nightmares with determining the price ceilings for each individual game/accessory? You don't see logistical nightmares with policing every thread in the trading forum (and posts in the deal threads themselves) to make sure sellers aren't "overcharging"? You don't see logistical nightmares with telling buyers that they can't offer more than the ceiling prices in PMs? You don't see logistical nightmares with punishing those who do overcharge and handling on a case-to-case basis those who can provide evidence that they paid more for a game? I could go on if you'd like, but I hope I've made my point.



If all sellers are asking more than what a buyer is offering, then tough luck for the buyer. They missed out on the sale, and it's not up to CAG to cater to them by forcing sellers to help them out.



This brings up a point that has been brought up in the past. Traditionally, a "hoarder" is thought of as someone who buys up all of the cheap games in order to resell for a profit. These hoarders are disliked because, as the theory goes, they take away the opportunity for a gamer, who plans on keeping and playing the games, to get a good deal. But are you any less of a hoarder if you buy up all of the cheap games to offer to other CAGs? Sure, maybe you're not as selfish because you're not trying to maximize your profit, but you've still screwed over that gamer who came to the store 10 minutes after you. I pose this point not because I care to debate the matter with you, but simply to show that your idea of a "true CAG" may not be so distinct from a "hoarder" after all.

And I find it interesting that your definition of a true CAG says nothing about posting deals, which was the original and main purpose of this site. If we use my definition of a true CAG, only those who post deals or have other significant contributions (e.g., mods, contest sponsors, etc.) would be allowed to stay, and everyone else would be forced to leave. Thus IMHO, only the true CAGs (as I define them) would remain. This would effectively eliminate most hoarding activity, but it would also piss off the 99.9% of users who get the boot. I know it will never ever happen for a plethora of reasons, including the fact that CheapyD has said so himself, so don't think I'm suddenly advocating a massive purge of the CAG community. If you want to mitigate hoarding activity, though, it's probably the most effective option. [activate flame shield]



IMO, charging $40 for a game that normally costs $50 is not overcharging, regardless of whether you paid $25 or $5. Charging $55 would be overcharging, though (and for simplicity, assume the game isn't an RPG and isn't expected to increase in value), but in my five years of trading experience, I haven't really seen anyone charging more than retail or much more than eBay values.


J7, I strongly urge you to get some trades under your belt before trying to guess what will and what won't work on the trading forum.[/quote]
There's no logistical nightmares when the buyer and seller are informed of the deals out on the market for the games they want. When a person is unable to get the game in the deal, they look to someone else who has. There is no need to police every thread. All that is needed is one stickied thread where buyers can post the name of a seller who tried to overcharge them. After enough people post, the buyers name goes on a list of either 1) someone likely to overcharge or 2) avoid trading with this person. You're making this out to be something different than what I am suggesting.

You state that if all sellser are overcharging then tough luck for buyers. What good is that for the site or CAG users? That is what people are complaining about. Why let hoarders and those out to rip people off have a field day... And it's not CAG enforcing this, it is handled on a trade by trade basis between the people making the trade.

I was not defining all the things that make up a true CAG member because it was not pertinent to the discussion we were having.

What is so bad about 2 people in a thread trying to get the same deal on a game, one not being able to get it, while the other does get an extra copy... and then he and the person who was unable to get the game (buyer) negotiate a price. If the seller goes over an additional 50% charge on the game the buyer can ask him to go lower, and if he will not the buyer can post his name in a stickied thread for 'buyer beware'. If that seller continues to do that over and over enough times to really notice it his name goes in the 1st pg of that thread as someone to avoid.
 
[quote name='J7.']The buyer and seller enforce it very simply by alerting each other to the best deal out on the market that the game can be bought for and agreeing on a price for the game that is not more than 50% higher, if the seller has proof of receipt for buying it somewhere for more $ he simply posts a pic of the receipt for the buyer to see. If the seller tries to overcharge, the buyer can post his name in a dedicated thread. Once a seller gets his name posted enough times, for ex 3 times, he goes on a list of those trying to overcharge so they can be avoided by buyers. All very simple and not hard to do.[/quote]

Fair enough, but there are a few glaring issues.

1) This is all well and good for people trying to buy and sell clearance games, but what about other transactions on CAG? I realize the topic all started over the camaraderie of the board and people doing favors for each other, but if you're going to have rules, they have to apply to everything. You can't randomly decide what transactions fall under these rules, because then you're still going to people bitching about this stuff, and they will have even more ammunition, considering one set of deals is regulated and another isn't. And obviously, these rules would mean squat when it comes to people buying and selling used items. I don't know about anybody else, but I don't hold onto receipts forever, just incase some Nazi Youth pricing squad wants to make sure I am not overcharging by a few pennies.

2) You're essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul. Yeah, you'll get better deals (maybe) on the trading forum, but you'll also create an atmosphere of snitching and bitching. Whatever "camaraderie" is built up by these rules would quickly be dashed away by the thousand page thread of people bitching about someone trying to make a buck more for a game...followed by the person defending himself...followed by the other guy saying he's full of shit...blah...

3) You're still ignoring the simple reality that this is a logistics nightmare, no matter how many times you say it isn't. Someone is still going to follow up CONSTANTLY everytime someone claims he person tried to "overchage." Sorry, but if you don't think that is going to take time and man power, I don't know what to say.

4) Last time I checked, we were visiting Cheap Ass Gamer, not Communist Ass Gamer. Telling people how much they can sell an item for is simply crazy. I can have Prey for the 360 on the my list for $1000 if I want. If someone is stupid enough to PayPal me $1000 for it, they should be shot.
 
[quote name='J7.']The buyer and seller enforce it very simply by alerting each other to the best deal out on the market that the game can be bought for and agreeing on a price for the game that is not more than 50% higher, if the seller has proof of receipt for buying it somewhere for more $ he simply posts a pic of the receipt for the buyer to see. If the seller tries to overcharge, the buyer can post his name in a dedicated thread. Once a seller gets his name posted enough times, for ex 3 times, he goes on a list of those trying to overcharge so they can be avoided by buyers. All very simple and not hard to do.[/QUOTE]

There is just so much wrong with this, so a game goes on clearance at Kmart but 90 percent of them are already sold out of it or it was some temporary glitch i'm still supposed to match that price which technically is the best deal for it and can only go 50 percent higher? Proof of receipt? So now a seller has to hang on to receipts just to sell something on CAG, go through the huge pain in the ass of constantly sending out pictures proving oh yes I paid this price for it when 90 percent of the time the buyer is going to back out? Forcing a ceiling on what a game can be sold for to "protect" buyers is ridiculous, if someone actually wants to pay a premium for a game they are more then welcome to just the same as they have the option to skip that person completely.
 
[quote name='coolsteel']There is just so much wrong with this, so a game goes on clearance at Kmart but 90 percent of them are already sold out of it or it was some temporary glitch i'm still supposed to match that price which technically is the best deal for it and can only go 50 percent higher? [/quote]

Wow, excellent point that completely escaped my mind.
 
[quote name='J7.']There's no logistical nightmares when the buyer and seller are informed of the deals out on the market for the games they want. When a person is unable to get the game in the deal, they look to someone else who has. There is no need to police every thread. All that is needed is one stickied thread where buyers can post the name of a seller who tried to overcharge them. After enough people post, the buyers name goes on a list of either 1) someone likely to overcharge or 2) avoid trading with this person. You're making this out to be something different than what I am suggesting.[/quote]

Well in that case, what you're suggesting is even more useless and ineffective than what I originally thought you were proposing. Who's actually going to read the thread? Who will even care? Only the stingiest of buyers, and they're also probably the ones who contribute nothing to the site yet expect generosity from others.

You state that if all sellser are overcharging then tough luck for buyers. What good is that for the site or CAG users? That is what people are complaining about. Why let hoarders and those out to rip people off have a field day... And it's not CAG enforcing this, it is handled on a trade by trade basis between the people making the trade.
Click to expand...

If ALL sellers want more than what buyers are willing to pay, then it's probably a function of the sale price not being low enough, so it's not even worth it to ask someone to pick up a copy of the game and ship it to you. To give you an example, I've seen many games that go on sale for $10, but you can easily find them on eBay for around $12 shipped. Since shipping+tax is $3-4, those games simply will not sell here. It has nothing to do with greediness.

And for the record, there is a big difference between charging more than what someone is willing to pay and ripping someone off. The latter is fraud, which has serious legal consequences, while there is no crime with the former. Get your terminology straight.

I was not defining all the things that make up a true CAG member because it was not pertinent to the discussion we were having.
Click to expand...

Well according to you, we should prevent hoarders from selling on CAG at higher prices so that only "true CAGs" remain, who will offer games at a mere 50% more than their sale prices (or less). Splendid, but don't forget that these hoarders can also act as buyers, and I'm guessing you wouldn't want the true CAGs selling such modestly priced games to hoarders, who could then resell the games on eBay. So that begs the question - who should these true CAGs sell their games to? Presumably, they should sell to other true CAGs, right? That would be fair. We need some other way to distinguish true CAGs, though, and the most relevant way I can see is by looking at who has contributed deals to the site.

The complete definition of a true CAG is absolutely pertinent to our discussion. You seem to have the mistaken impression that in order to regain CAG's lost camaraderie, we should weed out the hoarders until only selfless sellers remain, who will willingly send any schmuck with a username and a wallet some cheap games. I argue that we need to weed out the schmucks as well since people will only help out others in the community if they see that everyone's doing it. In your definition of a true CAG, it sounds like you would be entitled to cash in on the deals offered by the selfless sellers. In my definition, you probably wouldn't be, in which case it shouldn't matter to you whether or not price ceilings are enforced.
 
coolsteel and bigdaddy, I was going to make the same point. This has happened to me numerous times. I have an extra sealed copy of Zack & Wiki I picked up for $20 back when the game was near full price. I have had it for awhile, but when places started clearing them out (like TRU for $10), everyone expects me to sell it to them for that price. I have even tried to trade it a few times, but have had huge resistance at going 1-for-1 with my sealed game for a used game (which is currently at a $20 price point at XYZ store) because some dolts think I am ripping them off.
 
I only discovered CheapAssGamer recently, but I feel like this is just part of the lifecycle of any community. It begins as a tight group of dedicated members that, if successful, becomes diluted by and influx of other users that try to profit from its newfound popularity.

I don't really see the big deal. Yes, it's annoying to receive lowballs and highballs, but it's not like you're being locked into the deal. If somebody offers you $10 for The Force Unleashed, you say "No thanks" and let that be the end of it. If somebody charges you $100 for The Force Unleashed, you move on. I think buyers definitely need to gain a little perspective and realize that things you purchase over the Internet don't just appear out of the ether and into your mailbox. People seem to forget that people aren't Amazon, and it's difficult to hit similar prices when you're paying for gas, postage, packaging, Paypal fees, and psych bills to ease the mental anguish experienced as a result of repeated trips to the postal window. Oh, the horror.

You can either have it easy, or you can have it cheap. Your lifetime of "easy and cheap" ends when you turn 13 and your adoring mother realizes that she doesn't have to whip out the Visa card every time a new Mega Man or Pokemon game comes out. If you want somebody to do all the dirty work for you, expect to pay for it. If this is a problem, you're welcome to head to Walmart or Amazon and pay full retail price.

This is a community; not a charity.
 
[quote name='CheapyD']I think you guys are going to really like the new trading/deal searching/collection system.[/quote]

wonderful! when?

Anyways, I think the sight has just grown and gathered alot of users and we're seeing the ugly parts more often.

I think there are still some wonderful people here.
 
[quote name='soonersfan60']coolsteel and bigdaddy, I was going to make the same point. This has happened to me numerous times. I have an extra sealed copy of Zack & Wiki I picked up for $20 back when the game was near full price. I have had it for awhile, but when places started clearing them out (like TRU for $10), everyone expects me to sell it to them for that price. I have even tried to trade it a few times, but have had huge resistance at going 1-for-1 with my sealed game for a used game (which is currently at a $20 price point at XYZ store) because some dolts think I am ripping them off.[/QUOTE]

Heh yeah i've gotten the oh you are trying to rip me off on a clearance game speech too, amused the hell out of me since I bought my copy full price months before .
 
Hold the phone! I found it! I found the camaraderie! It was just over in the corner under a pile of clearance Taito Legends game cases!

Alright. Mystery solved!
 
[quote name='Will']Yes it is...and from those of us that have been here long enough know that this thread still has its use.

If youll notice I like to bump it every once in awhile to get a "state of the union address" from the members here.

I suppose if you dont like that, feel free to pm a mod or even Cheapy and have them do away with the thread.

So, since you bothered to read the thread even though you werent forced to, contribute in some fashion and stop being a cunt.[/quote]
I love this thread, don't get me wrong. And I've been around long enough to see this topic come and go, like the tide. It's just, bitching for the sake of bitching behind the virtual wall of the internet is not going to make hoarders not be hoarders. I love to pick up on good deals and share them with others - surprisingly it makes me feel great that we can all share in cheap video games. But.. meh, guess what I'm trying to say is that this thread is old, and it makes me feel old.
 
[quote name='CheapyD']I think you guys are going to really like the new trading/deal searching/collection system.[/quote]

Considering I'm at a dead halt on trades/sales lately, this may be a good thing for my massive collection of crap highly valuable and sought after collectible video games. :lol:Seriously though, I was looking for certain things and it brought up listings for every word BUT the ones I wanted it to search for.

Mind you, the blogging and 'friends'(I've used my MySpace page exactly 4 times in the past year, if that) thing on here are two things I doubt I'll EVER use. Is there any way to shut those off completely? That would be most appreciated.
 
[quote name='bigdaddybruce44']Fair enough, but there are a few glaring issues.

1) This is all well and good for people trying to buy and sell clearance games, but what about other transactions on CAG? I realize the topic all started over the camaraderie of the board and people doing favors for each other, but if you're going to have rules, they have to apply to everything. You can't randomly decide what transactions fall under these rules, because then you're still going to people bitching about this stuff, and they will have even more ammunition, considering one set of deals is regulated and another isn't. And obviously, these rules would mean squat when it comes to people buying and selling used items. I don't know about anybody else, but I don't hold onto receipts forever, just incase some Nazi Youth pricing squad wants to make sure I am not overcharging by a few pennies.

2) You're essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul. Yeah, you'll get better deals (maybe) on the trading forum, but you'll also create an atmosphere of snitching and bitching. Whatever "camaraderie" is built up by these rules would quickly be dashed away by the thousand page thread of people bitching about someone trying to make a buck more for a game...followed by the person defending himself...followed by the other guy saying he's full of shit...blah...

3) You're still ignoring the simple reality that this is a logistics nightmare, no matter how many times you say it isn't. Someone is still going to follow up CONSTANTLY everytime someone claims he person tried to "overchage." Sorry, but if you don't think that is going to take time and man power, I don't know what to say.

4) Last time I checked, we were visiting Cheap Ass Gamer, not Communist Ass Gamer. Telling people how much they can sell an item for is simply crazy. I can have Prey for the 360 on the my list for $1000 if I want. If someone is stupid enough to PayPal me $1000 for it, they should be shot.[/quote]

1) Decent point. While I think different types of trades could be sorted into separate threads, it may not be worth it.

2) Very good point. I do think this would settle down over time to the point where it is not that much of a problem, after people adapt, but some would still argue.

3) I see no reason for someone posting false info over how much a seller asked him to pay. I still think it could be handled fairly easily with a thread. Even if someone posts that they did not try to overcharge, if there are many people all posting that he has, he really has no argument.

4) I just see it as a small amount of regulation for the betterment of all CAGs, not as strong as a Communist State or CCAG. Those who want to rip people off don't belong here IMO.

5) Yes 5)... I don't want to argue with people over this anymore. I admit the points people like yourself have made contain validity to them, just that I disagree with the degree of validity, and I'd like to leave it at that instead of getting mad at each other. There's already other people on this site that have pissed me off lately with their attitudes, which has resulted in me replying not so nicely.
 
[quote name='CheapyD']I think you guys are going to really like the new trading/deal searching/collection system.[/quote]


Are we going to be able to type in the game we have for trade and we will get a list of those that are interested and get to see what they have to offer?

That would be awesome.
 
Like others mentioned, I think it's just because the amount of people coming in has increased. The same great group of users are still here...they may just be harder to find, due to all the extras.

There have been many times when people helped me out with deals, and I hope I have done the same for them. Still happens these days.

EDIT: I have no idea what all the TRU talk is about in this thread. I usually don't even think about heading out to TRU for games; the deals almost never pan out for me (and their inventory system is horrible).
 
[quote name='CheapyD']I think you guys are going to really like the new trading/deal searching/collection system.[/quote] Sounds cool.

When is it going to be useable?

And could you make it less of a pita to use than all of the other collection systems?
 
[quote name='Rig']EDIT: I have no idea what all the TRU talk is about in this thread. I usually don't even think about heading out to TRU for games; the deals almost never pan out for me (and their inventory system is horrible).[/quote]

Wow, really? It seems to be the complete opposite with me...TRU is just about the only place that ever pans out for me. I've gotten a ton of really good clearance games there. The best was probably the $10 copies of MGS: Digital Graphic Novel I found earlier this year. I was picking up some other stuff and noticed a copy behind the counter. I was pretty shocked, because I had a hard enough time finding a copy when they were actually just released. Anyway, there were actually three or four copies there, so I got them all. They were fetching a decent amount sealed on eBay (like $40, thanks to the MGS4 lead-up hype), so I was pretty surprised when only one person took me up when I offered them for cost+ in the TRU clearance thread. In the end, I made a pretty penny.
 
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