Your collection - post a photo - show us what'cha got!

For me, it's more about lack of space. We got a storage unit to give us space to clean and sort, and we ended up filling up any space we cleared out just as fast.

I've been trying to buy a lot less, i.e. getting vanilla Vita games vice the big LEs.

I've been trying to get rid of the larger items and pricier items first, but only if I don't actually want them any more. My criteria is basically if I didn't have it, would I buy it? If so, I keep it. Else, I get rid of it. I got rid of maybe 30% of my CEs so far that way. I lost momentum when I ran out of shipping boxes and my Prime ended, around February. Planning on ramping up again soon.

 
Rig said:
Part of keeping my collection isn't necessarily even about the games and consoles, but the memories I get when I browse through it. Sometimes I go in and pull a game off the shelf to reminisce about times playing it, how/where I bought it, etc.

It helps that my wife is pretty encouraging about my collection. While she doesn't play, she helps find deals from garage sales and whatnot, and she's very happy to help assemble a man-cave in our next home.
Click to expand...
The memories stuff is why I don't think I'll sell the NES or SNES stuff. Those two systems are my go to systems in terms of memories. My earliest video game memory is getting Zelda 2 for Christmas when I was like 5 and then a SNES when I was 7 and at some point Link to the Past when I was like 7. I went over the manuals on both those games a million times. Even though I wasn't reading much at 6 I loved the pictures in the Zelda manuals.

One of my favorite video game images of all time is Link walking away from the castle from Zelda 2. I even bought the Japanese handbill so I could hang it up.

Zelda_2_Flyer_01.jpg


The rest of my collection is 99% never been played. The SEGA Saturn, CD, Genesis, Master System, etc. I've played probably 10 games total out of the whole bunch. I've only played through one turbo grafx cd game (Y's 1+2 combo).

Not that I need the money myself, but it just seems like a better idea then having stacks of boxes in an old bedroom or closet. Also I'm use the money for a few expensive things I'd like for myself so that is nice too.

 
Had a major scare last weekend when my basement flooded. The front half is finished and that's where my collection is, but the back half has been having some problems with the masonry. It was only 1.5" of water and fortunately all the shelves are on legs, and my wife was able to get everything out of the way. The only thing that got damaged was the box for a Wii Fit board, which is definitely not a huge deal.

 
I've sold off a couple of things that I've come to regret, all for the gamecube: Tales of Symphonia, Paper Mario, Skies of Arcadia, Cubivore, Battalion Wars, and Ikaruga.  On the bright side, I picked up Tales on the PS3 for a lot cheaper than what I sold it for, but I haven't been able to get the others.  My only consolation is that I wouldn't have had a chance to play them anyway.  

From time to time I get the urge to sell all my old systems and games (Intellivision, NES, SNES, N64) especially now that they can be emulated if I ever want to play them again.  Then I stop myself because I don't really need the money.

Sometimes I wish I was like Cheapy though.  He goes through a purge of old stuff when when he transitions up to the next gen.  That would greatly help with clutter and moving.

 
I've thought about purging my collection many games but every time I start going through my games, one by one, it ends up the same... I find 1-2 that I'm cool with selling, and then the other 100 that I want to keep, and ultimately say screw it and don't bother. 

With that said, I've slowed down my purchasing quite a bit. I've settled on making the Wii U the last system I collect for. I'll still buy games for my PS4 and 3DS but not with the goal of collecting. I also plan on dumping some CEs... they take up too much space. 

 
A while back I mentioned that I was in the process of building a custom cabinet for my game consoles.  Well, it's finally done and all set up.   I took a bunch of pics along the way and figured I'd share.

The cabinet is made up of four parts: the main body is broken into individual left and right pieces in order to make transportation possible (the whole thing weighs over 400 pounds), a top counter, and a bottom kickguard/skirt.  

The unit has 30 individual front compartments to hold individual game consoles as well as my AV receiver and Framemeister.  Each compartment has a fan to produce air flow to safeguard against overheating.  

There is a hidden rear compartment that houses all of the AV wiring, electrical (48 mounted outlets via a pair of workbench strips), and gigabit networking.  The rear compartment is also cooled with a temperature-sensing fan system.  I realized while typing this up that I didn't get a good pic of the rear compartment after everything was connected (just during the earlier stages of the build process).

The exterior has a cherry finish that matches my Mt. Vernon Cherry Polk LSiM speakers (although the lighting in the pics doesn't make it look like they match for some reason).   The interior of the compartments is white so that it reacts with the blue LED lighting.

There are a TON of pictures here, so I'm popping them in spoiler tags so as to not clutter up the whole page.

On to the pics (click for high res):

Stage 1:  initial interior framing



Stage 2: exterior attached & casters mounted



Rear view (the vertical center boards on top and bottom allow the two independent units to be bolted together, the large holes are for the fans, the small holes will be fitted with grommets for cable passthrough)



Front view (the front facing has yet to be finished at this stage)



Individual compartment view



Stage 3: Woodwork complete - time to mount fans and install lighting

Right-side unit



Rear view after fan mounting (pardon the sawdust - I had just drilled all the bolt holes for the fan mounts):



Top counter completion (my woodworker buddy drilling the holes in the top counter for TV power and HDMI passthrough):



Rear view of the right side unit, now with thermal control (top), fan and lighting power switches, and exterior vent fans installed:



Stage 4: Delivery Day!

Immediately after being rolled off the truck and into my game-paying room



Prepping to bolt the two units together (front view):



Combined rear view.  This is before I actually wired all of the fans up, and mounted the electrical outlets.  The final unit has each row of fans able to be turned on/off independently and has two 72" 24-outlet workbench power strips mounted along the back.  I've got two gigabit switches mounted to the two top center panels so all network-capable devices are connected via gigabit Cat-6.  The back also houses a various RGB SCART and HDMI auto switches and splitters (so that consoles are auto-detected and can be routed to either TV).



Top countertop and bottom kickguard installed (i.e. the complete unit, before any systems are setup)



Stage 5: Fully-Populated and Ready to Game!

Here's what it looks like with the room lights on.  The faint blue glow in the compartments is from the blue LED fans.  In this pic the actual blue LED in each compartment are not on.  The main TV is a 64" Samsung plasma, the secondary TV is a 46" Sony Bravia LCD.

Game%20Cabinet%20-%20Stage%205%20-%2001.jpg


And here it is with the LEDs turned on:



Left side systems (Sony, Nintendo, & Sega, as well as my Marantz SR5010 receiver.



Right side systems (more Sony, Microsoft, 3DO, Atari, Turbo Duo, and my old component switch - which has been swapped out since it was defective, which you can see in the pics below)



Right side panel view (top is the rear compartment thermal display, power switches control the fan rows and the LEDs, bottom fan panel is to vent the rear compartment - these only kick on when the thermal controller detects a specified temp back there)



And the left side panel, just the other vent fans.  The right side blows in cool air and this side vents out hot air.



And here's the unit all lit up with all of the blackout window shades closed (this pic doesn't really do it justice because the iPhone camera sucks in low light)



My Connected Systems

And here are the systems (While I have multiple versions, variants, etc of many of these I only have one of each system type in the cabinet).  I have room for some expansion here as I still want to get a NeoGeo AES and a few other goodies.  Everything here is ready to play at a moment's notice and entirely configured with my Amazon Echo (including the cabinet lighting and fans) --  "Alexa, trigger GameCube" and I'm up and running on GC and ready to rock.

Atari 2600 Woodgrain - I'm planning on modding this with the new RGB mod that Tim Worthington developed, so this isn't actually hooked up until I do that.



Atari SpaceToilet... er... Jaguar/JagCD - This has the CatBox attachment and a custom RGB coaxial cable for the CatBox that Retro Console Accessories made for me.  Routed through the Framemeister for upscaling.



Nintendo NES - I've modded this with a new Blinking Light Win 72-pin connector and tray and the HiDefNES HDMI board from Kevtris - the HiDefNES is gorgeous, I highly recommend it.



SNES Mini - This is modded for RGB and routed through the Framemeister with a coax RGB SCART cable from Retro Console Accessories.



N64 - This is modded with the UltraHDMI board from RetroActive - like the HiDefNES, this looks stunning with the UltraHDMI.



GameCube & GameBoy Player - This is routed through the Framemeister via the official Nintendo Component Cables.



Wii U


DS and Virtual Boy (sadly, the cabinet doesn't give me any places to really display the VB properly with its stand, it's just too tall and I didn't want to make the cabinet any taller - it's already 4 feet tall as it is).  On the shelf above them you can see my Harmony Ultimate hub, which is how I automate all of the switching via Alexa and IFTTT.



Sega Tower of Babel... Genesis/CD/32X - In order to cut down on outlet use, these are all powered with the fantastic Sega Trio from Retro Game Cave.   Routed through the Framemeister via RGB SCART coax from RCA.



Sega Saturn - Routed through the Framemeister with RGB SCART coax from RCA.   I'm really looking forward to the Optical Drive Emulator device from Dr. Abrasive so I can hook a USB hard drive to this baby.


Sega Dreamcast - As you can sort of see in the first pic, this is connected via a Toro VGA/RGB box, then via an RGB SCART coax to the Framemeister.  I've also modded this DC with the USB-GDROM from Mnemo (which you can see in pic 2).





OG Xbox - Right now I have the Mt. Dew system hooked up, but it looks kind of funky as the only off-color console in the cabinet, so I've actually swapped it out for my standard one.  Routed through the Framemeister via Monster component cables.   My standard Xbox has 2TB hard drive installed (via IDE-to-SATA board), running XBMC.


Xbox 360 Slim


Xbox One fat



PS1 - Routed through the Framemeister via RGB SCART Coax from RCA  (I apparently took this pic before actually plugging it in, you can see the scart cable dangling in the grommet in back)



PS2 fat - routed through the Framemeister via Monster component cables.  Running Free McBoot.  1TB SATA 2.5" SSD installed via the Network Adaptor and an IDE-to-SATA board.



PS3 - backward-compatible launch model



PS4 



PSP, PS Vita, and PS TV - I'm not really a fan of playing on handhelds, but I tend to love the handheld libraries.  So I've got PSP component cables that are routed to the Framemeister so I can play on the TV and a PSTV for my Vita games (the PS TV is tucked behind the Vita itself so you can't see it in this pic).



Panasonic 3DO FZ-10 - This has two mods installed in it - Otaku's RGB mod and Mnemo's USB mod (the latter of which you can see in pic 2).  Routed through Framemeister via RGB SCART (I haven't upgraded this SCART to a coax from RCA just yet).





Turbo Duo - I've replaced all of the crappy original NEC capacitors and installed the RGB mod in this one.  Routed through Framemeister via RGB SCART coax from RCA.



And finally, here is my XRGB-Mini Framemeister as well as the professional Inday switches that route the component cables and audio for the non RGB SCART stuff going to the Framemeister (all the SCART connections run through two Bandridge 5-way SCART auto-selectors in the rear compartment).


 
Absolutely awesome work!  That's a type of setup I'd wish to have in my man cave (someday, when it's house buying time). 

Can the LED's be turned off?  How long was the project, start to finish?

I'll have to look into the Saturn mod you were talking about; I love my Saturns.

What SATA-IDE adapter did you use in the Xbox?  I never considered one of those as an option.  Back in the day, I think 500GB was the maximum drive size (but when we were all still using the IDE drives).  I may have to adjust my softmod to get a bigger drive in there!

 
Callidus said:
A while back I mentioned that I was in the process of building a custom cabinet for my game consoles. Well, it's finally done and all set up. I took a bunch of pics along the way and figured I'd share.

The cabinet is made up of four parts: the main body is broken into individual left and right pieces in order to make transportation possible (the whole thing weighs over 400 pounds), a top counter, and a bottom kickguard/skirt.

The unit has 30 individual front compartments to hold individual game consoles as well as my AV receiver and Framemeister. Each compartment has a fan to produce air flow to safeguard against overheating.

There is a hidden rear compartment that houses all of the AV wiring, electrical (48 mounted outlets via a pair of workbench strips), and gigabit networking. The rear compartment is also cooled with a temperature-sensing fan system. I realized while typing this up that I didn't get a good pic of the rear compartment after everything was connected (just during the earlier stages of the build process).

The exterior has a cherry finish that matches my Mt. Vernon Cherry Polk LSiM speakers (although the lighting in the pics doesn't make it look like they match for some reason). The interior of the compartments is white so that it reacts with the blue LED lighting.

There are a TON of pictures here, so I'm popping them in spoiler tags so as to not clutter up the whole page.

On to the pics (click for high res):
Click to expand...
This is so awesome on so many levels...

 
Thanks. :)  I'm pretty thrilled with how it turned out.   It had been something on my "one day I'm going to..." list for years and I finally decided to just make it happen.

I spent about a month planning the unit out - collecting system measurements, figuring out the best alignment and use of space based on the differing system sizes, figuring out all of the lighting/cooling/electrical components, etc.  

Then I found a cabinet maker on Thumbtack to do all of the woodwork (I'm comfortable working with wiring and electrical/networking/etc, but I'm certainly not a builder of any sort).  He had some very helpful tweaks to my design (the two-unit construction, the grommets, the heavy-duty casters, etc).   He was pretty backed up with kitchen work most of the summer, so I was in his waiting queue for a few months.  Once he started the woodwork, that portion was completed in a couple weeks (various stopping points for me to get down to the wood shop to make sure fan holes, grommet holes, stain color, etc were all spot-on).

Then I spent an entire weekend in his shop doing all of the wiring work once the build was complete.   Mounting fans, mounting lighting, running power cables for everything, etc.

All in all, including all of the down-time, it was about 6 months from first planning work to completion.

---

The Saturn mod isn't in production yet.  Dr. Abrasive just cracked the Saturn recently and developed the prototype for a USB connection (via the system's rear I/O port, somewhat like the PSIO).   My guess is they won't be available for order until early next year.   Here's a link to the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOyfZex7B3E

---

I'm actually using the same IDE-to-SATA adapter in both my PS2 and Xbox - it's this one from Startech.  In the Xbox, that's all you really need.  The maximum hard drive the OG Xbox can use reliably is a 2TB.

The PS2 setup has an extra component in it (only because of the alignment of the IDE port and the hard drive bay).  I have an IDE extender card (this one), which just serves to essentially "flip" the IDE port in the Network Adaptor upside down so that the 2.5" SATA drive is sitting nicely on the expansion bay floor.   I went with a card instead of just using an IDE ribbon so that the drive is hard-mounted inside instead of sliding around.   The maximum size hard drive the PS2 can use reliably is only 1TB (I'm not sure if this is a PS2 file system limitation or a software limitation with OPL).

 
Looks awesome. I put a bunch of blue LEDs in my computer case when I built it a few years ago. Sometimes I think it is awesome other times I turn them off because it gets distracting when watching a movie.

I keep trying to figure out what to do in my empty rooms. I have a small one that is like office sized and a bigger bedroom. I keep planning on putting another TV and making the extra bedroom something but I either hang out in my living room or my other extra bedroom (which I made into a computer room/eBay room/whatever else)

When I bought the place I never thought about having too much space - now I'm still trying to figure out what to put in it.

 
Haven't posted my collection since I moved into my new place almost two years ago. I thought you guys might enjoy. General orientation of the room and pics will be in a clockwise order from the door (if that makes sense).

Entryway from left side.



Same entryway from right side.



Same shelves from inside the room.



Closet. Doors are normally closed to hide this mess.



SNES and N64.



Anime, Turbo, random shelf/soundtracks, and trade pile corner



PS2, PSP, Dreamcast, and PC



Amiibo, Xbox, boxed NES and Gameboy family, Wii U



figure shelf 1



Random collections, DS, Zelda shrine. 



figure shelf 2



Playstation and 3DS



Downstairs where we play games. Also fat cats.



 
Last edited by a moderator:
Callidus said:
---

I'm actually using the same IDE-to-SATA adapter in both my PS2 and Xbox - it's this one from Startech. In the Xbox, that's all you really need. The maximum hard drive the OG Xbox can use reliably is a 2TB.

The PS2 setup has an extra component in it (only because of the alignment of the IDE port and the hard drive bay). I have an IDE extender card (this one), which just serves to essentially "flip" the IDE port in the Network Adaptor upside down so that the 2.5" SATA drive is sitting nicely on the expansion bay floor. I went with a card instead of just using an IDE ribbon so that the drive is hard-mounted inside instead of sliding around. The maximum size hard drive the PS2 can use reliably is only 1TB (I'm not sure if this is a PS2 file system limitation or a software limitation with OPL).
Click to expand...
Thanks I was about to ask which adapter you used since I remembered I used to have an old ps2 with a HDD adapter but it has been years feel like trying this simple mod again

 
Why are Gamecube component cables selling for $300 when you can get the same experience using a Wii with BC?  Is it because of the Gameboy Player or do people want it just because it is rare?  

Sorry for the O/T...

 
Probably a bit of both.
I want them, and I have a Wii with component.

Also, I think it's just part of that collector mentality. I know that my Gamecube, when plugged in, isn't as good as it could be...

Weird, but that's just how it goes for me. Always hope I will come across a pair someday for cheap. (Hahahahaha.)
 
I can see that. Not being as good as it can be is what stops me from selling mine. $300 is pretty tempting though.

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk
 
I'm not 100% sure but I thought there was a difference between GC games running on a GC using comp cables vs Wii using comp cables, hence why people pay hundreds of dollars for them? I remember asking the same thing and I think there's a site that compared the two and the GC w/ comp cables were marginally better. 

I remember the reason I bought them: Resident Evil 4. I was super hyped for that game, even though I am a complete puss when it comes to horror games, and was blown away by how good it looked. I dropped the $45 on the cables on Nintendo's online store after a few hours of the but by the time the cables came, I already beat the game. It was cool seeing some other games in pro-scan but I actually never used mine too much. Never thought they be worth as much as they are... 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I remember how good games looked when I got those cables. It was the same when I got the VGA box for the Dreamcast. I couldn't believe consoles could look that nice.

Rig said:
Also, I think it's just part of that collector mentality. I know that my Gamecube, when plugged in, isn't as good as it could be...
Click to expand...
I think that is the biggest part. You can google online and the general consensus seems to be that the gamecube looks slightly better. Like here is a hardcore analysis http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=51789&sid=c212f7010e3e85b70b8e371b5c9216e7&start=30

The fact that it looks so slightly better means that probably 98% of people wouldn't be able to tell the difference sitting back on their couch 7 feet away from the TV.

 
For me, personally, I went the GameCube+component route for two reasons - 1) the GB player, and 2) cabinet space efficiency.

Re: Point 1 - I love the games that come out for handheld systems (because I'm a big JRPG fan and there tend to be pretty prevalent on handhelds), but I really hate playing games on a tiny little screen. I play my GB/GBC/GBA games exclusively via the GB Player.

Re: Point 2 - While I have a GC, Wii, and Wii U, I'd rather only hook up the GC and the Wii U while leaving my Wii in the box on a shelf. The combination of a Component GameCube and an HDMI Wii U effectively gives me the best video output possible for four systems - GC, Wii, Wii U, and GBx.

But then, when I picked up my GC component cable (only within the last year) it only cost me about $80 (got it as part of an eBay lot with a system, carrying case, a few controllers, memory cards, and a dozen or so games).

I'd like to think I'd pass on it if the thing was $300, but then I think of the money I have put into various mods (Hi-DefNES, SNES RGB, UltraHDMI, 3DO RGB, TurboDuo RGB, etc), cables (custom coaxial RGBSCART for basically everything that isn't component or HDMI), switches, etc to get my setup how I have it and then I realize I'd probably cave and buy the cable in the end after all. :|
 
Callidus said:
I'd like to think I'd pass on it if the thing was $300, but then I think of the money I have put into various mods (Hi-DefNES, SNES RGB, UltraHDMI, 3DO RGB, TurboDuo RGB, etc), cables (custom coaxial RGBSCART for basically everything that isn't component or HDMI), switches, etc to get my setup how I have it and then I realize I'd probably cave and buy the cable in the end after all. :|
Click to expand...
I'd wager there is gonna be a HDMI mod for the GC sooner or later... hell, there might already be one. Would probably be cheaper to buy a modded system than buy GC component cables.

I never knew older systems could be modded, until I saw a NES Toploader with composite. I wish I was good with electronics/soldering so I could do of that stuff.

EDIT* Just searched... yep, GC has HDMI mods already. Looks amazing...

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/01/hardware_review_we_look_at_a_definitive_gamecube_hdmi_mod

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Oh damn - i don't have the GC anymore, but might still have the component cable.

*Edit* Sold it in 2006 for $50. Oh well.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nice find on that GC HDMI mod Vinny, I hadn't seen that one yet. I might have to give that mod a try and compare it to the Component.

I'm loving the NES and N64 HDMI mods.

I've read that a true HDMI mod isn't possible on the SNES for some reason (which I don't fully understand - I would think that if a native RGB mod is possible, then an HDMI mod for it should be as well).
 
I had hoped the HDMI mods for GC would actually bring he price down on the component cables. I like playing on my old Trinitron, so component is the best it can do.

So far, it hasn't happened yet.
 
Rig said:
I had hoped the HDMI mods for GC would actually bring he price down on the component cables. I like playing on my old Trinitron, so component is the best it can do.

So far, it hasn't happened yet.
Click to expand...
I'm surprised someone hasn't just been able to duplicate the component cables. I know there's some special chip in there or whatever, but still, you'd think someone could figure it out.

In either case, it's a collectible Nintnedo item. I don't see it dropping unless Nintendo decides to make more. Even if there was a third party made cable that was as good as the original, I don't think the original would drop.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Vinny said:
I'm surprised someone hasn't just been able to duplicate the component cables. I know there's some special chip in there or whatever, but still, you'd think someone could figure it out.

In either case, it's a collectible Nintnedo item. I don't see it dropping unless Nintendo decides to make more. Even if there was a third party made cable that was as good as the original, I don't think the original would drop.
Click to expand...
There was a generic Gamestop one though?

 
I don't think there's been a third-party GameCube component cable. I think some of those universal ones don't actually use the component?
 
Rig said:
I don't think there's been a third-party GameCube component cable. I think some of those universal ones don't actually use the component?
Click to expand...
Correct. There is no generic GC component cables.

A lot of companies release "multi-system" component cables that would work as component for PS2/XB but only composite/s-vid for GC.

Here's a page I found with a bit more info. Sony and MS had 1 port for the PS2/XB for all outputs, with a chip built in to handle any conversion (the digital video output by systems had to be converted to display on analog inputs like composite, s-vid and component). Nintendo did not... Nintendo had one port for analog out (composite/s-video) and then a separate digital out to cut costs (no chip needed). Instead, the chip itself was included on the cables, so Nintendo could save on the system and pass the costs on to the cables themselves.

http://gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=av:gamecube_rgb

 
I had a chance a couple of years ago to grab GC Component Cables for $80. Reeeaaally wish I had gone for it, but I couldn't justify the cost what with already having the Wii Component Cable.

 
This happened,

image_46.jpg


Bought new house, packed it all up.  I guess new shelves are in order, though I did take the ol' Super Mushroom drawer pull that I made years ago to the new house O:)

Only been at the new house for about a month, so we still have a ton of setup and whatnot to do, but eventually I'm going to build something really nice to house all the loot.  The good news is that the house is about 2.5x the size with a 2,000 square foot garage that we're turning into the new home of RCG, so my commute to work will be a tad shorter.  Not to mention all of that equipment being at my disposal on the property.  Gonna be  killer when it's all done.

 
wiggyx said:
This happened,

image_46.jpg


Bought new house, packed it all up. I guess new shelves are in order, though I did take the ol' Super Mushroom drawer pull that I made years ago to the new house O:)

Only been at the new house for about a month, so we still have a ton of setup and whatnot to do, but eventually I'm going to build something really nice to house all the loot. The good news is that the house is about 2.5x the size with a 2,000 square foot garage that we're turning into the new home of RCG, so my commute to work will be a tad shorter. Not to mention all of that equipment being at my disposal on the property. Gonna be killer when it's all done.
Click to expand...
Thought you got robbed there for a second... glad to see that's not the case, b/c I planned on robbing you.

j/k Congrats, on the new place. I still haven't unpacked at my new place... or brought over everything from my parent's place.:lol:

 
Mike_TV said:
Ha, I saw the fan on the floor and thought someone else's gaming area got flooded. Glad that's not the case!
Click to expand...
Luckily I live in Cleveland, so flooding isn't too much of a concern. The collection is going to end up on the first and second floors of the new house, so it's even less now :)

Vinny said:
Thought you got robbed there for a second... glad to see that's not the case, b/c I planned on robbing you.

j/k Congrats, on the new place. I still haven't unpacked at my new place... or brought over everything from my parent's place.:lol:
Click to expand...
Haha! Thanks!

Unpacking blows. Good luck!
 
Speaking of floods and getting robbed, does anyone here have their collection insured?  Basic homeowners insurance does not cover collections or items of high value.  I learned this the hard way when part of my coin collection was stolen.

 
Invicta 61 said:
Speaking of floods and getting robbed, does anyone here have their collection insured? Basic homeowners insurance does not cover collections or items of high value. I learned this the hard way when part of my coin collection was stolen.
Click to expand...
I mentioned it to my insurance company and they said it would be covered under personal property. Just gotta keep evidence of everything show how (meaning receipts or pictures). But really, it would be a huge pain to value so many games fairly. I'm sure they'd lowball the hell out of it.

I think I saw something about this on Racketboy way back when... games as a collectible are a bit easier to get insured for b/c there's less variables on a game's value (as most of a game's value is based on it's functionality- if it doesn't work, it's worthless) vs stuff like old comics, coins, etc wherein most of its value is based on condition. Something like a car is 50/50, wherein a collectible car that doesn't work still might have significant value b/c it's individual parts still have value (good condition/original seats, body, engine).

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Vinny said:
I mentioned it to my insurance company and they said it would be covered under personal property. Just gotta keep evidence of everything show how (meaning receipts or pictures). But really, it would be a huge pain to value so many games fairly. I'm sure they'd lowball the hell out of it.

I think I saw something about this on Racketboy way back when... games as a collectible are a bit easier to get insured for b/c there's less variables on a game's value (as most of a game's value is based on it's functionality- if it doesn't work, it's worthless) vs stuff like old comics, coins, etc wherein most of its value is based on condition. Something like a car is 50/50, wherein a collectible car that doesn't work still might have significant value b/c it's individual parts still have value (good condition/original seats, body, engine).
Click to expand...
I was told I would need additional insurance for collections. As for my currency collection, I had over $1,300.00 FACE VALUE in old star notes, silver coins, etc. stolen and they said they could only cover $300 because that's all the policy would cover for cash stolen. I needed an additional policy for collectible currency.

They may not think of video games as having much value. I know I would be pissed if they tried giving me $300 for my gaming collection when just one game is $300.

 
I've been struggling to find a viable insurance option for my collection as well. I have been using Allstate for my renter's insurance, but when I told them the approximate value of my game collection they flat out told me that it wouldn't be covered.

They tried looking into their collectibles rider as well but, after a couple days of looking in to it, they told me that it couldn't be used on games.

Needless to say, I'm in the market for a new insurer.

Vinny - out of curiosity, did you tell your insurance company the value of your collection? I've heard from a few collectors who were verbally told something similar by their insurance companies, but then when a claim was made the insurance company treated all of the vintage games like any other old tech (i.e. outdated and depreciated to the point they are virtually worthless like a VHS tape or stack of CDs).
 
Last edited by a moderator:
if you know what the total value of the games you have is cant you tell the insurance what it is worth and see if they will cover that much for just the collection. i heard that others get insurance for collectables so they don't end up getting such a low amount. i would be pissed off too. $300 would not even cover my most expensive game with how much prices have risen. i need to insure my collection too but i not sure what the total value is since i have new and old games. i have over 2000 games so i would guess about an average of $10 per game so the value is around $20K but that does not include all the systems or controllers. then i also have an anime dvd/bluray collection with a bunch of older out of prints worth over $100 a piece.

Invicta 61 said:
I was told I would need additional insurance for collections. As for my currency collection, I had over $1,300.00 FACE VALUE in old star notes, silver coins, etc. stolen and they said they could only cover $300 because that's all the policy would cover for cash stolen. I needed an additional policy for collectible currency.

They may not think of video games as having much value. I know I would be pissed if they tried giving me $300 for my gaming collection when just one game is $300.
Click to expand...
 
I need to look into insurance for my collection at some point. Not just the video games but the statues, comics, and comic art. I have a few pieces in the 5 figure range of value that I need to figure out sooner rather than later.

 
Insurance is an interesting topic. 

90%+ of my collection is being stored at my parent's place.  While they have insurance on the house/etc., I'm sure it wouldn't cover my things.  It's one of those things I've been meaning to look into getting covered.

I have a $10K renter's insurance policy at my apartment...but I'm wondering if that coverage is too low.  (I'm sure it is.)  I have no idea how they'd treat the value of the games I have in my apartment.

 
Renters insurance covers a certain amount stored outside your house, such as your car. My storage unit is covered by my renter's insurance, from what they told me. I think it's only up to about $4k if it's not in your home. I lumped the value of my games and figures into the insurance policy when I bought it, but I don't actually know how they treat that either. Guess it's a AAA trip soon.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top