theres always going to be less informed people with deeper pockets out there and people ready to take advantage of this. if you want to address it the only way is to document sales prices and make this information freely available, but even then i do not see this making any sort of significant impact on a global sales/pricing.
arcade pcbs to my mind are different from other comparable limited item collecting genres (card games comic books etc) for a few reasons;
the supply is much more limited, yes there is the dependability/functionality aspect as a counter but most things can be repaired without too much hassle.
i think pcbs comparatively to console items have been undervalued for a long time, as you're getting the complete package in a single item i.e. console game cartridge is just a rom board with fancy packaging. there is a higher nostalgia factor with console items but generally the product (game) is of lesser quality due to format restrictions
its an interactive product an not a passive one like books or cards particularly when considering slabing/grading with the high end of those genres negating their original utility
As to price increases this is inevitable the more things go into permanent collections the less there is in general circulation, so more money has to be offered to get people to part with them. when i started seriously collecting i said to myself that i would only have 2 or 3 £200 boards and if i wanted a different one then i would sell one of the ones i had and that was the upper end of my price range, flash forward 10 years and spending £500 on a toaplan board when i have another 10+ boards already in my collection in that price range doesn't require much consideration. this change in mentality is due to other factors; knowing how available these boards are (this is in the context of an item only publicly offered for sale a handful of times over a couple of years and knowing a rough market value of said item), having set specific goals for what i want to own and budgeting for these as/when they become available, playing most games and knowing what i want to own, a preference for original format media rather than reproduction or emulation, and getting genuine enjoyment from playing and owning my games and having a wide variety of genres and eras to chose from.
ultimately if your being priced out of collecting what you want to own and it is making you unhappy then its not the hobby for you and this goes for anything not just arcade games, if you want to control the market as to your perception of what it should be then theres a flaw in your thinking, or be proactive in creating a more informed marketplace based on sale prices/general trends etc.
jugemscloud2020-03-07 18:56:54
