New Tool: eBay Game Sniper

We've launched a new feature on the site we are calling eBay Game Sniper.

The tool constantly monitors eBay video game listings and instantly updates the page when it finds a game with a fixed price below our estimated value.

The page starts off with just a sample link and as new deals are found they are added to the top of the list.

Each listing shows the:

• Condition - Used, Complete (CIB), or New
• Game Name - The name of the product the seller selected when listing the game
• Listing Title - The title of the listing on eBay
• Savings - The difference between the fixed price and our estimated value
• Price - The price the seller is asking for the game
• Estimated Value - The value we estimate for the game in this condition

eBay Game Sniper Settings

There are a couple settings for the eBay Game Sniper.

Connection Status - If you are connected and receiving new listings as we find them. The tool automatically tries to reconnect if disconnected.

Desktop Notifications - If you click this box you will see notifications like the one below show up on your desktop. This allows you to do other work and still know when a new listing is found.

Other Details about eBay Game Sniper

The tool will notify you 1-2 minutes after a new listing has been posted. BUT the best deals sell quickly. The better the deal the faster you need to act to win it.

The tool is created as a web app so you can install it to your mobile device's home screen. Read how to do it on iOS or Android devices.

After using the tool please give us your feedback so we can improve it. There is a feedback link on the Snipe page.

Xbox 360 and PS3 Games Are Worth Collecting Now

Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 already have some rare and valuable games (see Xbox 360's | see PS3's). With the launch of Xbox One and PS4, the time for the really rare/collectible games is upon us.

According to our research, rare games are five times more likely to launch in the last two years of a console's life than they are during any other time. As gamers move onto newer consoles the print runs become smaller for new releases. This increases the chance they will become rare.

There are many examples of this including Panzer Dragoon Saga for Saturn, Teen Titans for Xbox, and Flintstones Surprise at Dino Peak for NES. In general, about a third of the "most rare" games for any console were released in the last two years.

Xbox One and Playstation 4 launched less than a month ago (Nov. 22nd and Nov. 15th respectively). It is hard to imagine 360 and PS3 still being relevant in November 2015. So more than likely we are in the last two years of both Xbox 360 and PS3.

Not All Late Generation Games Will Be Rare

Not every game that comes out in the last two years will become rare, but your odds are much better than any other time.

To increase your odds even more focus on RPG or fighting games and limited editions. Data shows RPG's and Fighting games keep their value the best and have the highest chance of increasing in price. The same with limited edition games.

Which Games Will be Rare?

This is very hard to predict. Many of the games that will eventually come out are not announced yet. But I would focus on upcoming, RPG's or Fighting games or limited editions. Or best of all limited editions of an RPG.

Keep the games in brand new condition, do not open them. That helps increase rarity because most games are open in order to play. If you really want to play it buy a second copy.

Some announced games that are good examples:

Xbox 360
Dark Souls II
South Park: Stick of Truth
Fable Anniversary
Dragon Age
Lords of the Fallen
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z

Playstation 3
Tales of Symphonia Chronicles
Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemist of Dusk Sky
Dragon Age
Dark Souls II
Persona 5
Ragnarok Odyssey Ace

Can you think of any upcoming 360 and PS3 games that you think will be hard to find in the future? If so let us know in the comments below.

Demand for Playstation 4 is Higher then Xbox One

Playstation 4 and Xbox One launches are behind us and both consoles are reported to have sold 1 million units in the first day. With the exact same supply this is a great opportunity to look at resale prices and see which console has the greatest demand.

Econ 101 tells you supply and demand determines the price. We know the supply for both. So any difference in resale price is entirely due to demand.

Below is a chart of PS4 and Xbox One console prices before and after launch.

Both consoles are selling for prices higher than their retail prices (PS4 $399 and Xbox One $499). Playstation 4 prices have been relatively stable in the $580-600 range. Xbox One prices dropped $50 on launch day from $700 to $650.

PS4 and Xbox One have different retail prices so adjusting the chart to show the premium people are paying helps to see the relative demand between the two.

Playstation 4 consoles have been reselling for 150% of retail price. Xbox One was selling for 140% of retail prior to launch but prices then dropped to 130%.

Prior to launch people expected Xbox One to be harder to find then it actually was on launch day.

Any sale before launch day is based on the expectation of supply, but not the actual supply. To really compare demand between Xbox One and PS4 we need to look at prices after launch because at that point supply was the same.

The chart above shows the premium customers were paying for the two consoles with the launch days aligned and the premium paid 1, 2, 3, etc days after launch.

Since launch, consumers have been paying a higher premium for Playstation 4 consoles than Xbox One consoles. With supply being constant at 1 million units each, demand is higher for Playstation 4.

This indicates that when supply becomes readily available for both consoles Playstation 4 will sell more units.

Methodology

The prices for this study are based upon the average resale price per day on eBay.

Video Game Winners and Losers: November 2013

Every month we write an article with a list of some of the games with the biggest increase and decrease in price. We call the series "Winners & Losers".

Winners: Video Games With Biggest Price Increase

Drakengard for PS2

F-Zero GX

Shadow Man for N64

Robin Hood for NES

Batman Returns for NES

More Winners
Robot Alchemic Drive for PS2
King of Monsters for SNES
ActRaiser 2 for SNES
Nosferatu for SNES
Skyblazer for SNES

Losers: Video Games With Biggest Price Decrease

Lufia: The Legend Returns for Gameboy Color

Care Bear Cares Quest

Yoshi's Island DS

Kirby's Squeak Squad

Barbie and the Three Musketeers

More Losers
Fatal Frame for Xbox
Asphalt Urban GT 2 for DS
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor for DS
Cradle of Rome for DS
Super Star Kartz for DS

Methodology

The list is made up of the games with the biggest change in price compared its average price in the last two years. We use the standard deviation for the prices to eliminate games that naturally have volatile prices.

For example, a game has an average price of $10 and a standard deviation in this price of $1. 96% of the time prices will be within $8 and $12. If during the next three months the price jumps to $14, then $15, and $16 after that we can be very confident the price increase is statistically significant.

PowerFest 94 For Sale

We have listed PowerFest 94 for sale on eBay.....again.

Earlier this year we sold this one of a kind game from the 1994 Nintendo PowerFest competition for $23,100. The buyer was forced to cancel the transaction though after having some financial difficulties.

The game can be yours for $24,000 or make an offer if you think it is worth a bit less.

Will PS4 and Xbox One Consoles Increase in Price After Launch?

With the launch of Playstation 4 (November 15th) and Xbox One (November 22nd) comes the inevitable question for gamers: Will the console be hard to find at launch?

If you think it will be easy to find at launch, you can save yourself the pain of waiting in line in the middle the night for the midnight launch. But if you are wrong, you might need to pay a hefty premium if you want to buy the console any time soon.

Factors to Consider with PS4 and Xbox One

Production
One of the biggest factors determining a console's price after launch is the production of the console and how many will be available.

With the Xbox 360, production was very limited. Resale prices were sky high for the first several months.

Jack Trenton, Sony's Playstation boss in USA, says production numbers are "phenomenal" and they expect plenty of consoles for retailers.

Xbox One on the other hand has lowered shipment projections for the first month. A sign of potential supply issues.

Demand
When the Wii launched in November 2006 there were millions of units available, but it became the must have gift of the year. It was hard to find and prices shot to $500+ from an MSRP of $299. Even in year 2 (2007), Wii console prices were above $500 by the end of November. High demand, not low production kept resale prices above retail prices.

On the opposite end, Playstation 3 sold poorly after launch due to the $599 MSRP. The PS3 was hard to find on launch day, but resale prices on eBay quickly dropped below as $599 as demand dried up.

Prices Before Launch A good people's expectations about prices after launch are the prices before launch.

This isn't a perfect indicator though. Playstation 3 consoles were selling for as much as $1,000 prior to launch. Soon afterwards prices plummeted to $600, the launch price for the PS3.

Below are the Xbox 360 and PS4 Console Prices Prior as of November 13th 2013.

Console	MSRP	Resale Price	Premium
Xbox One	$499	$670	34%
Playstation 3	$399	$600	50%

Right now the PS4 is selling at a 50% premium to the MSRP so people expect it to be harder to find than the Xbox One.

What do you think? Will PS4 console prices increase or decrease from now? How about Xbox One console prices?

You can check our PS4 Console and Xbox One Console pages to see the latest prices and monitor how they are doing.

Blockbuster World Championships II Sells at Goodwill for $10,500

Goodwill must be really happy they started their ShopGoodwill.com website.

Normally they would have sold this lot of Genesis games and consoles for $5-10 in one of their stores. But this time it sold for $10,500!

Why the high price? One of the games was the very rare Blockbuster World Championships II.

The game had not sold publicly since 2011.

Goodwill had no idea what it was worth. Bidding started at $1.00 and the game was listed as "NBA Jam Tournament Edition of Judge Dredd" with no mention of "Blockbuster World Championships" anywhere.

This very scenario is the reason Goodwill started their online website, but the reason collectors find fewer great deals at Goodwill stores.

Call of Duty Ghosts for $44.99

eBay is offering 15,000 units of Call of Duty Ghosts for $44.99.

You can choose the console - Xbox 360, PS3, or Wii U.

The page will not show the price, but when you go to make the purchase it will be $44.99.

Video Game Winners and Losers: October 2013

Every month we write an article with a list of some of the games with the biggest increase and decrease in price. We call the series "Winners & Losers".

Winners: Video Games With Biggest Price Increase

Super Pitfall

Adventures of Dr. Franken

Thunder Force II

WeaponLord

Stinger

More Winners
Fatal Fury
Side Pocket
Sword of Vermilion
Little Nemo: Dream Master
Mega Man 8
MechWarrior 3050
Chuck Rock

Losers: Video Games With Biggest Price Decrease

Darkstalkers 3

Super Mario Galaxy 2

Capcom vs SNK 2

Math Blaster in the Prime Adventure

Hitman Blood Money

More Losers
Care Bears Care Quest for GBA
Yoshi's Island DS for DS
Wonder Pets Save the Animals for DS
Mario Party 8 for Wii
Monopoly for PS3

Methodology

The list is made up of the games with the biggest change in price compared its average price in the last two years. We use the standard deviation for the prices to eliminate games that naturally have volatile prices.

For example, a game has an average price of $10 and a standard deviation in this price of $1. 96% of the time prices will be within $8 and $12. If during the next three months the price jumps to $14, then $15, and $16 after that we can be very confident the price increase is statistically significant.

Collecting Panasonic Q Gamecube

I know it is bad to start off a collecting article with a warning but I am because I've been burned twice on this thing and I don't want anybody else suffering the same fate. The Panasonic Q  is a fragile and fickle machine. The disc drive is extremely prone to breaking or malfunctioning and easily cracks during transit. Since this is mostly an import buy, the "breaking in transit" is a major concern and insurance on the item is advised. Buyer beware.

Otherwise, this is an amazing and beautiful piece of interesting Nintendo history and hardware that makes a great visual centerpiece for any collection with its polished front and bright blue LED's. The Panasonic Q is a Nintendo GameCube/DVD player hybrid machine that is capable of playing DVD'S, VCD's, GameCube games, and MP3's on CD. There were two versions released, one for ¥41,000 JPY that played only JAP-region GameCube gamesand Region 2 DVD's while a modified version was priced at ¥46,000 JPY that played Region 1-6 DVD's and NTSC and JAP-region GameCube games. The modified version was intend to attract import buyers from the USA since the console was only released in Japan.

The history behind the creation of this machine is rather interesting. Nintendo worked with Panasonic to develop the optical drive for the GameCube but part of the deal was that Panasonic would be able to develop and sell a DVD-player that could also play GameCube games. Nintendo saw no problem with this and green-lighted the plan. Of the 4.04 million GameCubes that sold in Japan, less than 100,000 of them were Panasonic Q's, thus making it a rare and collectible item. The poor sales due to it competing with cheap DVD players and the standard GameCube culminated in the console ceasing to be produced in December 2003.

The Panasonic Q was a really powerful and cool piece of hardware. It featured a back-lit LCD screen, a front-loading (and extremely fragile) disk drive, supported Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, had a separate sub-woofer jack for more bass, and could be operated by remote that was shipped with it. The Q could also use the broadband and modem adapters and had the appropriate ports to use them. The long "feet" of the console prevented the use of a standard Game Boy Player so a special version was released specifically for the Q. This add-on is so collectible that it usually sells for more than the Q itself at around $500.

Another cool and collectible piece of Panasonic Q hardware is the special controller. It is just a standard GameCube controller with a special color and label but they can sell for around $50.

The console can easily be found on eBay for around $150 but complete in box with remote and controller will cost as much as $400. It is a cool, fun item but like I said in the first paragraph, be careful. These things contain a lot of moving parts and the more moving parts, the better chance one of them will break and you'll just end up with a very pretty paperweight.

PricingCart Available to All Users for Free

Our PricingCart tool is now available to all users for free.

The PricingCart lets you price video game lots, value your entire collection, and can be a simple Point of Sale system. This is the most popular feature with our account holders so we decided to make it available for all users to enjoy.

You add games to a list and the tool tells you how much they are worth in total.

Anyone can use the PricingCart by clicking "Lot Value Calculator" from the "Tools" menu.

The tool is free for all users, but there are some premium features too. Users who have an account and a paid subscription to a price guide service can:

• See unlimited number of items
• Remember your favorite consoles
• Have option for market, buy, or sell prices

A bit more info about that last feature because it is a new one with this update. Subscribers to a price guide that includes suggested buy and sell prices can see those prices in the PricingCart. Choose the price type you want from the drop down and the calculation automatically updates.

Try the PricingCart and give us your feedback in the comments below.

Customize Your Own Video Game Price Guide

We have updated our video game price guide service to make it easy to use, fully customizable, and cheap.

• No account needed: You don't need to create an account and verify your email address before downloading a guide. Just start downloading. No email address required at all.
• Pay with a credit card in one step: A simple four question form and payment is done. No address or zip code needed.
• You choose which consoles you want to include: If you only collect N64 games, only pay for info about N64 games.
• You choose exactly what data you want: You can include loose, cib, and new prices. UPC, Amazon ASIN, and eBay EPIN indentifiers. Suggested retail prices, release dates, and more.

Guides for All Types of Users

The guides are fully customizable so you can make one that fits your exact needs. For example:

• Seller on eBay who needs eBay unique identifier for every game: Easy
• NES and SNES collector of Complete in Box games: We have that
• Brick & Morter Retailer competing against GameStop: No problem

Checkout the video game price guides and customize your own today.

See The Changes

Below are some images and more explanation of the changes

Choose From Pre-Built Guides or Start Customizing

Customize the Guide You Want
If you choose to customize the guide you select the data you want to include like price, suggested retail prices, UPC, Amazon ASIN, eBay EPIN, etc.

Then Choose Which Consoles You Want
Choose from a list of consoles you want included in your guide. Each console costs $0.25 up to a $3 max.

Easy Credit Card Payment
The payment form is very simple. You have the option of paying for your guide one-time or for a small premium you can get daily updates and setup recurring billing.

Download Your Guide
After payment you can download your guide immediately. If you subscribed you can bookmark the page to come back to download again with updated data. If you want to integrate the price guide into your point-of-sale software or other software you can use the url provided to automate access.

Account Holders Can See Download History
An account is not required, but if you do have one you can see your download history in your account home page.

Skylanders Swap Force Figure Check List

Skylanders Swap Force, the third game in the Skylanders series, releases October 15th 2013. The list of figures available for Swap Force are listed below. Use the checkbox to keep track of which figures you already have.

As more Swap Force figures are announced and rare variants are found they will be added to this page.

See the list of all Skylanders Figures or price guides for Skylanders.

Skylanders Swap Force Figure Check List

Blast Zone
Blast Zone Dark
Boom Jet
Bumble Blast
Bumble Blast - Lightcore
Bumble Blast - Jolly
Chill - Blizzard
Chop Chop - Twin Blade
Chop Chop - Green Twin Blade
Countdown
Countdown - Lightcore
Countdown - Kickoff
Cynder - Phantom
Doom Stone
Dune Bug
Eruptor - Lava Barf
Eruptor - Lava Barf Volcanic
Fire Kraken
Fire Kraken - Jade
Fire Kraken - Gold Dev Team Exclusive
Flashwing - Lightcore
Free Ranger
Free Ranger - Legendary
Freeze Blade
Fright Rider - Halloween
Fryno
Gill Grunt
Grilla Drilla
Grim Creeper
Grim Creeper - Lightcore
Grim Creeper - Legendary
Hoot Loop
Hoot Loop - Enchanted
Hot Dog - Fire Bone
Jet-Vac - Turbo
Magna Charge
Magna Charge - Nitro
Night Shift
Night Shift - Legendary
Pop Fizz - Super Gulp
Pop Thorn
Prism Break - Hyper Beam
Punk Shock
Rattle Shake
Riptide
Riptide - Green
Roller Brawl
Rubble Rouser
Scorp
Scorp - Green
Scratch
Slobber Tooth
Slobber Tooth - Dark
Smolderdash
Smolderdash - Lightcore
Sprocket
Spy Rise
Spyro - Mega Ram
Spyro - Dark Mega Ram
Star Strike
Star Strike - Lightcore
Star Strike - Enchanted
Stealth Elf - Ninja
Stealth Elf - Dark Ninja
Stink Bomb
Terrafin - Knockout
Trap Shadow
Trigger Happy
Trigger Happy - Springtime
Warnado - Lightcore
Wash Buckler
Wash Buckler - Dark
Wash Buckler - Color Shift
Wham-Shell - Lightcore
Whirlwind - Horn Blast
Wind Up
Zoo Lou
Zoo Lou - Legendary

See What Your Skylanders Figures Are Worth