Should you open a valuable sealed game?

[L___E___T]

I can understand both, but I basically don't trust sealed games anymore, and I don't think anything 8-bit sealed makes a difference.

Having said that, I've turned down new hardware before because the seller took it all out the box, photographed it and then put it back in.  I like things factory fres, or as much as possible.  I have a brand new unopened famicom like that and that's good enough for me.

Lotus - what was the rare game?  I picked up an old stock Zelda and Donkey Kong game+watch each for $50 once, they were sat in a shop for 20 years and looked absolutely virginal, with the seal on the top and everything.  So, they weren't sealed (none were) but it had the same effect to me, and I think that can be possible with new famicom games and hardware.

[Epic_Lotus]

Well, I've got several rare Game Boy games sealed.  Like I've owned an F1 Pole Position and still own Castlevania: Legends.  F1 is like $400 CIB, but 3-4 times that sealed.  I'm actually looking to sell my Castlevania because for the $750 it's worth I can grab a crapload of CIB games that I want to actually play (a CIB Legends among them, lol). 

I'm not saying people shouldn't collect sealed games, just that it doesn't do anything for me anymore.  Even if I won't play every game in my collection, it's nice to know that if I do pick it up off the shelf, I'm not destroying hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of "value" by playing it.  This is one reason I actually love the Famicom and Super Famicom is because "new" games have no seal to them, so they will never command the same kind of premium as a sealed game in the US.  I can buy a new copy of Chrono Trigger from Japan for what, $100 in excellent shape?  A sealed US copy is going to set you back like $2000-3000.  I think part of that is also due to what you mentinoed, that even if a FC game is new, you have no idea if it's been taken out of the packaging at all.  I had a friend on another board buy a couple of new FC games and had them graded by the VGA service.  They looked fantastic (I mean 10/10's), but VGA could tell that the boxes had previously been opened even though they could also tell the contents were unused.  So for me personally, while I love picking up new games, keeping them new is just downright uninteresting.

[L___E___T]

I wholeheartedly agree - but I stay well away from the VGA and to me they're not nearly as informed as they make out.  Perfect games given 85+??

Anything fresh from the manufacturer they'd never grade 100, those guys are ass and I find the whole VGA thing moronic entirely.

[Epic_Lotus]

I wholeheartedly agree - but I stay well away from the VGA and to me they're not nearly as informed as they make out.  Perfect games given 85+??

Anything fresh from the manufacturer they'd never grade 100, those guys are ass and I find the whole VGA thing moronic entirely.

You are definitely correct, they have been known to "misgrade" games.  I have a friend who is probably as close to expert as they come on sealed games (he's bought/sold hundreds of sealed items), and several that he pegged as grading at 90+ they returned with 85's on them.  I know that they do have rules they go by, but there is an arbitrary element there. 

That said, I own like 2 VGA games that I do plan to keep and I will say they do look nice.  Are they worth the money?  Ehhhh, I don't know.  It does make them much more attractive centerpieces, though.  It's kind of like buying a nice matte and frame for an art print you really like.  The print may cost you $150, but the framing is probably going to run you almost half as much or more.  Looking at it from that perspective I don't mind the $50 it costs once in a great while to have a game I really like turned into a nice showcase piece.  Honestly, though, I doubt I'll ever own more than a dozen graded games in my lifetime.

[L___E___T]

Do you understand my point though?  If the maximum grade is 100 but it's never used (I've never even seena  95) then what's the point?

That in itself shatters the whole thing for me.  I abhor the VGA, they seem to be experts on dog-eared corners and that's it.

[Epic_Lotus]

Yeah, I definitely get your point.  I've seen a few 100's (like 3 of them), but that's not many.  What they're mainly grading is the quality of the shrinkwrap, though.  The box underneath can be perfect, but if there are scratches all over the plastic wrap, it will get a crappy grade.  I also understand not wanting to pay to have somebody call your valuable crap, though.  Don't mistake my occasional use of their services for being an apologist for them.  I've watched people try to argue for and against them, and all the arguments essentially end at "To each his own".  So I don't make that argument, lol.  That was the whole point about with my framing analogy, in that I'm not really using it as a way to boost the value of my games by having a nice number attached, but just as a way to make it a more attractive showpiece.

[shoggoth80]

If you plan to resell, don't. If you collect/play, then do so. I have a sealed/boxed (shrinkwrap has a split starting on one side) Aladdin Dech Enhancer for the NES. As soon as I am able to get more of the Aladdin carts, it's gonna get opened! Until I do, I see no reason to pop the seal, even if there IS a game included with it.

It's all a matter of perspective and intent, no?

[L___E___T]

Fair point, I think the framing analogy is a really good one actually.  That's actually made me consider them now for one or two pieces as well.  I don't live in the States or nearby so I wonder if it's an option but I could consider it for a few items.

[UglyJoe]

If I were going to frame a CIB game, I think I would remove the contents of the box first

[Epic_Lotus]

One alternative I know they offer is their "sliding-bottom case".  It's basically an acrylic box protector in which you can remove the games whenever you want.  For a standard NES sized box, I believe they run about $15 + shipping, which is cheaper than the $40-ish for having them actually slap a grade on it.  I think if you're doing a custom sized case (like for a Famicom game), it's probably closer to $25 since they have to actually make it and don't already have a stack of them lying around.  Just wanted to throw that out that as a more cost effective "framing" option .

[Cam3ron@FW]

I don't order sealed games for pricy reasons but say right now, I'm ordering saturn games, what would make more sense to me is get CIB games since it feels better and displays better on the shelf.  Also, despite what most say, I love the saturn cases for some reason, breakable as they are.

[Epic_Lotus]

If you need replacement Saturn cases, I'd recommend buying some very cheap sealed sports titles and cannibalizing the cases.  They can be had for $4-7 usually if you're patient, and might be worth it to make some nice expensive games look even nicer .

[X]

i just opened today my sealed Dino Crisis 2 Demo version for the playstation... and of course I played it.. I need the full game of this T__T. huhuh so hanging.

[MarioMania]

I won't open it