When I was a kid, Superman comics made headlines about how much they were worth. Popular Saturday morning cartoons got kids excited about many comic properties. The rare thing occurred when kids and adults agreed on a craze, and an explosion of comics occurred. Comics were selling by the millions per issue. Many comics publishers capitalized on this and made "alternate covers" for the same issue. Special editions with artwork by other artists on the cover.
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| From Game Collecting with Rick |
These comics have pretty much stayed at retail price for 20 years.
No?
When I was a kid, a Honus Wagner card went for over 1 million dollars. The rare thing happened where kids and adults agreed on a craze, and an explosion of baseball cards occurred. Baseball sets got sub-sets, foil cards, signed inserts, and lots of other illusions of rarity.
If I wanted to re-buy every baseball card I ever owned as a kid, it MIGHT cost 100 bucks... I had thousands upon thousands.
Do you see my point here? Once something becomes collectible, companies like to capitalize on it. Chances are that nothing manufactured to be collectible is ever worth money. No one ever told us that Action Comics #1 was rare due to comic recycle drives for the war effort. Did anyone mention to the layman that Honus Wagner had his cards destroyed because they came in cigarette packs?
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| From Game Collecting with Rick |
So be careful of this stuff if you are a new collector. Wait until you learn why things that are rare are worth money. Game collectors have their Honus Wagners and Action Comics #1's; games that sell for 1,000+ dollars. NONE of them have been collector's editions.
That is not to say collector editions are not worth their price, or that they don't gain in value. A couple of Working Design's collector editions have doubled their retail price or even more lately. I am simply saying that those days are coming to a close, retailers are learning how to capitalize this market.
These days, I am seeing single games with 5 different special edition variables. I am seeing games going NEW for $150 for the collector edition. Remember the comics that came out with variable covers. Remember that $150 for a vintage video game is considered "highly rare treasure" for its generation.
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| From Game Collecting with Rick |
Just be careful out there, and if you want to buy collector editions and limited number items, think about WHY you want to buy them. Decide what is fun and do it for that reason. If the gamble is the enjoyment for you, then there is a lot of enjoyment out there for you these days. I will not judge :)
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