Monday, October 31, 2011

Why We Don't Include Shipping In Our Prices

The prices shown on our site DO NOT include shipping costs in the price. The price shown is the price for the item itself. We have received some emails and seen forum posts with questions about this topic and wanted to explain our reasoning.

Shipping Costs Are Different for Each User

Shipping costs are not always the same for each user. Shipping usually costs $3.99 for items sold on Amazon. An Amazon Prime customer doesn't pay any shipping. Some eBay auctions are priced based upon the winner's zip code instead of a flat rate. And some sites offer free shipping if you buy a certain dollar amount.

All of these make calculating the shipping cost an imperfect variable because the price the winner actually paid might not be what you would have paid for the exact same item.

Different Users Want To See Different Prices

PriceCharting.com has two main types of users. 1) video game consumers. 2) video game sellers. Both user types would ideally want to see different variables included in prices. Consumers would like to know the total cost of buying a game. So they would generally like to see shipping costs included in the prices shown.

But online retailers mainly want to know how much they can actually get for selling a game. They don't get to keep shipping because they use the shipping cost to pay for shipping the item.

Including shipping costs in the prices would make the prices better for some users but worse for others.

Shipping is a Transaction Cost

Shipping is a cost of completing the transaction. There are lots of other transaction costs that we could account for in our pricing too and adding each one would become prohibitively complex.

For buyers some transactions include all or some of these transaction costs: shipping, sales tax, cost of gas to drive to store, time to find and pickup the item.

Sellers have their own set of transaction costs: listing fees online, credit card processing fees, material costs to ship an item, costs of running a store or warehouse.

Each buyer and seller has different transaction costs depending on where they buy or sell the item and each of these would need to be considered when trying to determine the "best price". Here is an example:

A buyer is considering two options for a video game purchase:
A) item is priced at $4 in an online store
B) item is priced at $5 at a local store

In order to know which game is the best deal the buyer needs to consider the shipping cost for item A and they need to know how far away item B is and what the sales tax rate is at that location.

Including shipping costs in our prices would only account for one of the many transaction costs for buyers and none for sellers. Instead, we chose to include no transaction costs for buyers or sellers and let each user adjust the prices for their own particular needs and costs.

Summary

We do not include shipping costs in our prices because it would be an imperfect value, it would make prices less accurate for some users, and it would still not account for all costs. You should take that into account when making a buying or selling decision.

All that being said, we realize for some users seeing shipping costs included can be helpful. We have added a feature to the site letting you add shipping costs our prices.

Add Shipping Costs to Used Prices

The price shown on our site is the price for the item only, shipping is not included in the calculations (you can see our reasoning for this here).

We realize there are times when it can be helpful to account for shipping when looking at the prices so we have implemented a feature that lets you add the shipping costs to the prices.
On any product page, click the check box next to "Add typical shipping costs".

Clicking that will add the usual shipping costs for buying one item to the prices shown (eBay and Half add $3.50, Amazon adds $3.99, GameStop adds $3.00, and JJGames adds $3.00).

The "Used Price" increases by $3.50, which is the average shipping price for the sites.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Price Index for All Major Retro Consoles

You might have noticed charts like this on some of our video game pages. We created price indexes for every major retro console so you can see where prices for each console are headed on average.

The picture above is not interactive, but you can visit the Nintendo NES, SNES, Atari 2600, or Sega Genesis (along with others) to try the interactive charts.

You can read more about how the indexes are calculated. We will be rolling out indexes for more consoles in the near future.

Please let us know what you think of this feature by taking the survey below:

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Value of All Complete Video Game Collections

There are tens of thousands of video games a collector could buy. Many game collectors focus on their favorite system and try to "complete" it by buying every licensed game. Below is a list of what it would cost to "complete" each system. The price does not include shipping, unlicensed games, accessories, or consoles.

You can use this guide to help decide which systems to start collecting. When deciding between Nintendo 64 or Super Nintendo, you can keep in mind N64 would cost a little less than $2,000 while SNES would cost about $7,600.

Vintage Consoles

SystemPrice
Atari 2600$9,127
Nintendo NES$8,814
Super Nintendo$7,583
Playstation$7,930
Commodore 64$7,643
Neo Geo$7,418
Sega Genesis$4,526
Sega Master System$4,145
Gameboy Color$3,895
TurboGrafx-16$3,686
3DO$3,343
Sega Saturn$3,138
Sega Dreamcast$2,708
Sega CD$2,430
Virtual Boy$2,185
CD-i$1,973
Nintendo 64$1,921
Jaguar$1,858
Colecovision$1,697
Vectrex$1,693
Sega Game Gear$1,505
Neo Geo Pocket Color$1,241
Atari 5200$1,174
Intellivision$1,139
Atari 7800$839
Atari Lynx$829
Odyssey 2$673
N-Gage$276

Modern Consoles

SystemPrice
Nintendo DS$14,405
Playstation 3$12,401
Xbox 360$13,013
Wii$11,528
Playstation 2$10,230
Gameboy Advance$5,864
PSP$5,038
Xbox$3,686
Gamecube$3,629
Nintendo 3DS$1,051







Friday, October 14, 2011

Most Expensive & Rare Anime DVDs

Cardcaptor Sakura: DVD Megaset (Vol. 1-18)
Used Price: $320

Description: A collection of all 18 DVD Volumes for the Cardcaptor Sakura series. Sakura opens a mysterious book and releases powerful magic cards into the world. She must learn to use her magic abilities to capture each of the extremely powerful beings within each card or disaster will destroy the world.


Ronin Warriors Complete Collection
Used Price: $290

Description: A collection of all Ronin Warriors episodes. The Demon Emperor Arago returns to earth and attacks Tokyo. Nine suits of armor were made from the armor of the last evil emperor who attacked thousands of years ago. Arago has reclaimed four of them but the remaining five suits are in the hands of the Ronin Warriors; the last hope for stopping the Demon Emperor.


Cardcaptor Sakura: Sakura Book Set
Used Price: $210

Description: A collection of Vol. 10-18 of the Cardcaptor Sakura anime series.


Cardcaptor Sakura: Clow Book Set
Used Price: $170

Description: A collection of Vol. 1-9 of the Cardcaptor Sakura anime series.


Sailor Moon S: Box Set
Used Price: $160

Description: A six disc collection of every Sailor Moon S episode. Sailor Moon and the senshi continue to fight a new set of villains in this sequel to Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R. The new villains, named the Death Busters, plan to rule earth using pure heart energy from innocent victims.


Kimagure Orange Road Complete TV Series (Vol. 1-12)
Used Price: $150

Description: A collection of all 12 volumes of the Kimagure Orange Road TV series. Kyosuke Kasuga moves to a new city and falls in love with Madoka. Meanwhile he tries not to break the heart of Hikaru. To complicate matters everyone in Kyosuke's family possesses secret powers, which he wants to keep a secret.

Sailor Moon R: Season 2 Uncut
Used Price: $150

Description: All 42 uncut episodes from season two of Sailor Moon. A magical cat gives a girl named Serena super powers. She becomes the leader of a team of girls named the Sailor Warriors. The uncut episodes are more mature than the original episodes which aired in the US.


Aura Battler Dunbine: Vol. 11 Secrets of Byston Well
Used Price: $140

Description: The eleventh volume of the Aura Battler Dunbine TV series - Secrets of the Byston Well. The volume originally retailed for $20 but sells for $140 used and up to $220 brand new. Show Zama is pulled into the world of Byston Well by Lord Drake Luft in order to pilot his new weapon: Aura Battlers. Show learns that Luft does not have good intentions for Show or other Aura Battler pilots.


Sailor Moon: Season 1 Uncut
Used Price: $130

Description: 46 episodes of Sailor Moon's first season in an uncut collection. The collection includes eight DVD's, a printed episode guide, and English subtitles.


When They Cry: Complete Box Set (6 Disc)
Used Price: $100

Description: The six disc complete box set of 26 When They Cry episodes. A boy transfers to a new town and school in the summer of 1983. He makes friends with some fellow classmates but soon stumbles upon the dark history of this rural town and realizes his friends may not be who they claim.


Kimagure Orange Road: OVA/Movie Box Set
Used Price: $100

Description: A collection of three OVA DVD's and a series ending movie. The episodes on these DVD's are different from the Kimagure Orange Road previously on this list.


Fate/Stay Night: 6 Disc Box Set (Geneon)
Used Price: $100

Description: The six disc box set of Fate/Stay Night by Geneon is worth much more than the four disc version re-released by Funimation. The box set includes all 24 episodes of the TV series. Shirou Emiya learns to summon a "Servant" known as Saber and is drawn into a war for the Holy Grail, a relic that can grant your wishes. Shirou battles seven other Masters, each with his own secret weakness.


Yu-Gi-Oh: Season 1
Used Price: $95

Description: A collection of 8 volumes of the first season of Yu-Gi-Oh. A young boy named Yugi Mutou finds an ancient puzzle and unlocks the spirit within. The spirit was the Pharaoh from an old Egyptian dynasty but he has lost all his memories. Yugi helps the spirit find the lost memories and send him back to the after life.


Kyo Kara Maoh!: God (?) Save Our King!: Season 2
Used Used Price: $90

Description: Box set includes all episodes from Season 2 of Save Our King. Yuri Shibuya is sucked into a toilet after a getting a swirly and finds himself in a world like medieval Europe called Mazoku. Because Yuri has black hair and black eyes he is going to be the next Maoh (King), but his kingdom is on the edge of war and Yuri must learn to lead his country and adapt to their new customs.


DearS: Box Set
Used Price: $82

Description: Box Set of all four DearS DVD releases. A high school student named Ikuhara Takeya helps a young girl named Ren, an alien who came to earth and who's sole purpose is to please her master. She makes Takeya her master and he tries to teach her the culture of earth. Meanwhile Ren is being tracked down by her leader because she is malfunctioning.


Tenchi Universe: Complete Collection
Used Price: $80

Description: The complete collection of 26 Tenchi Universe episodes in one package. Tenchi Masaki lives in normal life in rural Japan. A space pirate crash lands at his grandfather's temple and and Tenchi is sucked into an adventure that will take him across the universe with Galaxy Police, space pirates, a crown princess, and a scientific genius in the cast of characters.


Sailor Moon: The Movies: Box Set Trilogy
Used Price: $80

Description: All three Sailor Moon movies in one special box set. Includes Sailor Moon R: Promise of the Rose, Sailor Moon S: Hearts on Ice, and Sailor Moon Super S: Black Dream Hole. The plot and villains are different in each movie, but each one revolves around Sailor Moon and the other Senshi as they save the world.


Samurai X: The Complete Collection
Used Price: $77

Description: This collection includes the three Samurai X OVAs; Trust, Betrayal, and Reflection; and the Samurai X movie. Himura Kenshin was taken to be a slave as a child but is rescued and found by the master of the Divine Justice School of Swordmanship. Kenshin is trained in the school and joins the Meiji restoration and becomes the Ishin Patriots greatest killer.


Vampire Princess Miyu: Ultimate Box Set
Used Price: $75

Description: The box set includes 6 DVDs with every Vampire Princess Miyu TV episode and a soundtrack CD. Miyu is a born a vampire and is eternally 15. She is charged with returning evil demons, Shinma, back to the dark but she longs to return to the dark herself. She cannot return until she has banished all the Shinma from Earth.


Dragon Drive: Complete Collection 2
Used Price: $75

Description: Dragon Drive Collection 2 includes episodes 19-38 and includes an illustration gallery. Oozora Reiji discovers a virtual reality game called Dragon Drive in an underground arcade. Reiji spends hours training an extremely rare dragon but soon he realizes the game is so much more. He might be the only one who can save an entire world.


Pokemon Master Quest: Part 2
Used Price: $70

Description: A collection of episodes from Pokemon Master Quest (Pokemon Season 5). Some episodes from the season are included on Part 1. Ash, Misty, and Brock finally make it to the Johto League Championships and face new rivals and meet new Pokemon along the way.


Blood +: Part 1
Used Price: $70

Description: Part 1 includes 25 episodes, collectible packaging, and originally came with a t-shirt. Throughout time there has been a battle waging between monsters known as Chiropterans, who feed on blood of the living, and an organization called "Red Shield", who is tasked with exterminating the monsters. Saya Otonashi, a young high school girl, has amnesia but is given a katana sword by a mysterious man. She soon learns she is part of Red Shield and has a destiny to fulfill.


Research & DVD Prices provided by PriceCharting.com. Consulting and co-publishing provided by Anime Nation

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