How much are your Video Games worth?

Are you the lucky owner of a complete copy of the super scarce ‘Video Life' for the Atari 2600? Are you sitting on a cartridge-only version of the hard-to-find ‘It's Only Rock ‘n' Roll' for the ColecoVision? Whichever old or classic video games and systems you have stored up in your attic or under your bed,  read on to see how to find out the value of these items; you never know, you could be holding onto a classic treasure which could make you quite a bit richer...

Unlike baseball card, comic book, stamp, and coin collectors, gamers aren't blessed with endless information regarding the pricing, condition, scarcity, and other factors pertaining to the sheer dollar value of various items respective to their hobby. However, there are a few invaluable resources available for those looking to sell their collections or simply wanting to know what a particular cartridge, disc, or console is worth.

There are several books available to gain a better understanding on the valuation of video games, most notably the various ‘Digital Press collector's guides', which are updated on occasion and include a wealth of information beyond mere pricing, such as scarcity rating, console biographies, critical commentary, anecdotal information, alternate titles, copyright dates, and more. Other tomes to consider include ‘Collecting Classic Video Games' (Bill Galaxy, Schiffer Publishing), ‘Classic 80s Home Video Games: Identification and Value Guide' (Robert P. Wicker and Jason W. Brassard, Collector Books), and ‘The Official Price Guide to Classic Video Games: Console, Arcade, and Handheld Games' (David Ellis, House of Collectibles).

Currently, Video Game Trader and Video Game Collector are the only hard copy periodicals devoted to video game pricing. Both magazines list values of games for modern systems, plus games for all the mainstream classic consoles, such as the Atari 2600, ColecoVision, and Intellivision.  Of the two, Video Game Trader has a more reliable publication schedule. The benefit that magazines have over the books is that the valuations are more up to date. When using the books, try to take into account how much a dollar in the year of the book's publication would be worth in real terms by looking up inflation rates.

Perhaps the best way to know the true value of certain video games is to monitor actual prices realized, which can be done by searching through completed eBay auctions (to do this, you will need to sign up for an eBay account). Things to consider when analyzing prices on eBay (in addition to final price) include condition of the cartridge (or disc), whether or not the game has the box and/or manual, and whether or not the seller is honest (be sure to check their feedback rating) and has done a good job of describing the item.

A less laborious way, is to use a Video Game Price Comparison Search (see Author Bio) that gives a comparison of prices from different online stores. Just type in the name of the game, select your console, and click "Search" and www.usedvideogamesearch.com will give you a list of  how much the main online video game stores are selling your game for.