A PC Game Price Guide

[Todd]

I have failed to find a suitable collector's price guide for old PC games so I was going to start my own or get a collaborative effort started here.

A PC game (IBM PC and DOS 1981 to 1999). Abandon Ware doesn't count. The game has to be on its original media. The game would have 3 price categories:

1. Original media and box condition. $
2. Original media, box condition with all of its documents; including manuals, advertisements, registration card, etc. $$
3. Same as 2 but sealed. $$$

Example:

The 1982 game Andromeda Quest from Avalon Hill is found on Ebay for $16.95USD. It includes:

# Original Box
# Cassette Tape
# Mapping Grid Pad (32 pages, including order sheet for additional games)
# The Avalon Hill Games/Parts Price List, 16 pages with order form
# Registration Card

Notice that it has a cassette tape, obviously not a IBM-PC game. This listing is for the Atari 400/800, Apple ][, Pet CBM, and TRS-80 Models I and III. We could say its worth $16.95 but what would the boxed DOS version be worth?

I can find a boat load of boxed games that released in 1982 for every other system of the era, except for the IBM and DOS. I would suspect a sealed, mint, Andromeda Quest for DOS would easily command a $500.00+ price tag. This is based on a sealed DOS version of "The Bards Tale" that fetched a $600.00+ winning bid last year. 

Thoughts?

EDIT: Maybe this belongs in Classic Gaming. Sorry about that.

[Andrew Armstrong]

The cost is whatever someone is willing to pay for it. Tons of games will be too common, or too rare, to easily price I'd bet (or too unknown for anyone to care).

I've no idea about collectors price guides for any system however, I didn't even know they existed, although I had a feeling people didn't just make up all their ebay prices.

[Todd]

I see what you mean. However, there are guides for baseball cards, dolls, coins, books, old magazines, furniture, cars....the list is endless. Then again the experience is in the game it's self and not the box it came in. oh well...

[Andrew Armstrong]

You can find some price guide websites online for games, and collectors generally can evaluate games - I presume rather then static magazines, most people ask each other what they think something is worth. Since games are built around the web it only figures it'd be this way.

I'm going to Back-Bytes in March, I'll be sure to note this down to ask about - it is an interesting question since so many other collector things get their own guides, or whatever.

[RedWolf]

I'm going to Back-Bytes in March, I'll be sure to note this down to ask about - it is an interesting question since so many other collector things get their own guides, or whatever.

Back Bytes?

[Andrew Armstrong]

Byte Back even - http://www.byte-back.info/event.html