Buying a Large Collection: A Retrospective

Back in April, I spent a fairly large sum of money (in the thousands) buying up one of my old friend’s entire game collection.  Having had about six months to ponder the decision and to weigh the pros and cons of the entire ordeal in hindsight, I thought it might be good to share my thoughts and answer the question: would I do it again?

So many games in once place is tough to turn down.

Walking into my friend’s basement and seeing boxes and boxes of games there for the taking was a surreal experience.  For many gamers that love collecting and playing games, seeing literally hundreds of games in once place all at the same time can be like a dream come true, but also completely overwhelming.  I remember seeing some items in the mix like Bomberman 64: The Second Attack, a copy of Lunar: Silver Star Story, a boxed Secret of Mana among many other things and feeling like my hands were slowly being tied as questions busted into my brain: how could I leave this all behind?  Would I ever have an opportunity like this again?  These are the kinds of questions that would have kept me up at night for a long, long time.

The pressure of buying from friends and family can be daunting.

Especially when your friend is a salesman.  Upon entering the room with all the games, I immediately was given a tour of all the rare and wonderful things in the collection while many of the other aspects of it were glossed over.  I barely had a chance to peek through the boxes without being interrupted, or to get a private word in to talk things over with my partner before we were being asked if we were taking it all.  Given that my friend and I had been talking on and off for years about me buying his collection, he already knew where my heart was at and it was really hard to say no even if I wanted to.  He was also a tougher bargainer than me.  When I asked if I could pick and choose what I wanted, he insisted he’d have to increase the price of individual items since he wanted everything gone at once and it would be hard for him to sell the rest.  If he had been a stranger, I could’ve easily bought more time or walked away, but it was difficult to turn him down given everything that was there and our long history together as friends.

The cost vs. what we got was pretty good.

We got approximately 600 games, at least 50 manuals/game guides, and at least 20 boxed consoles/other items with lots of other rare and exclusive stuff (E3 documentation, press kits, demo discs, swag, a developer kit, a game dump of an unreleased game, etc.)  It was definitely a good deal from a monetary value perspective given how much good stuff was in the mix, but the issue I found myself scratching my head over was all the extra stuff that I didn’t really want.  Did I really want an entire box of GameCube sports games or generally terrible movie/television-based games that I’ll likely never play?  What am I supposed to do with much of the E3 stuff that I wasn’t there to gain any context about?  How about some of the accessories that I can’t imagine ever feeling compelled to try out (i.e. the GameCube racing wheel/pedal)?  These things are now mine to store and potentially sell some day if we decide to go that route.

We nearly doubled our collection in one day, but…

…we also ran into the issue of getting a lot of duplicates and extras of things.  There were not only duplicates of things we already had, but there were duplicates of certain items within the collection itself!  It takes a lot of work and time to organize and sell things, and a part of me wants nothing to do with selling on eBay because of some of the horror stories I’ve heard from friends throughout the years around bad buyers and scammers.  Selling locally is an option, but it’s a lot of time I just don’t have for the moment.  What smart person spends money to have to do more work afterward?

Things weren’t always what they seemed.

I think the thing that’s been bothering me the most is that I don’t know that my friend had my best interest in mind at all throughout the transaction.  He continually bragged about selling off lots of the “heavy hitters” of his collection a few years ago like his copies of Snatcher and Popful Mail for Sega CD as well as a bunch of other things along the way that I would’ve loved to have.  Though in my mind the entire interaction and transaction was a gesture of friendship and trust, it became pretty apparent to me that he wasn’t doing me any favours by selling me his collection – he seemed to be in it for the cash, and not for any reconnection or friendship after the fact.  It’s not as if my friend owed me anything after all these years, but it left me feeling a little… used?  I’m not sure that I can even quite put my finger directly on what I’m feeling and why I’m feeling it, but it certainly hasn’t left me feeling completely positive and excited.

—

Looking back on everything, even though I don’t have tender feelings and butterflies in my stomach every time I think about this experience, I think I would do it again if presented with the opportunity but with a little more control from my end.  I would’ve taken more time to think things over and maybe put aside my personal expectations as well.  I might have insisted on my friend pricing out the items that I really wanted to see if it’d be worth it to buy up everything, even if it meant taking a few more several hour trips out his way.

I know that we got a ton of really great things in this game lot that I’ll be able to enjoy for years to come, but I can’t help feeling a little sour about some aspects of the transaction.  In an ideal world my friend would’ve cut me a deal, we could’ve laughed about old times and become good friends again while bonding over it all.  That’s not what happened, and it kinda sucks.  At least my partner and I came out richer in two ways: we obviously obtained a ton of fantastic items and games, but we also gained a lot of important experience as a couple and in the form of life lessons.  For example, it’s unlikely I’ll do business with friends or family again at this level of investment.  I always treat game collecting as a fun and positive hobby experience rather than a rigid business transaction, so I need to get something emotional out of it at the end of the day.  As well-intentioned as friends and family may be, it’s hard to expect that others will be able to meet my expectations.

Hopefully this post gives you all something to consider if you’re ever thinking about a large purchase like this, or end up dealing with people you know rather than strangers.

Let me know what you think: would you have bought everything under these circumstances?  What would be your dream game lot to purchase?  Would you ever buy from family and friends?

Thanks for reading!

-GG