How to price "desire" • Collecting General • The Acaeum

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How to price "desire"
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Thork N Hammer
Prolific Collector

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Joined: Mar 26, 2010
Last Visit: Sep 08, 2018

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 1:27 pm

Inflation being a nasty enough component, add rarity and desire to the mix and we see what might account for the current trend of, in some cases, out and out scalping. Let the buyer beware, and all that. But something made me do a little research this morning and I was stunned to uncover these 2 facts.

1974

Minimum wage was about $2.00 an hour (generally, ymmv)
The Original Box set (man on the horse) cost $10.00

The average Joe had to work 5 hours to pay for the right to own and play the original game.
Today, if the same set was being produced, and at the same rate/formula, it should cost him about $36.25 (ymmv)

Understanding scarcity and demand (I collect old Beatle records), does not motivate me to fork over 100s of $ for something that is not going to be in M condition(straight from the supplier) and, in most cases, piss poor at best.

Sure, 1,000 original sets produced in 1974 makes it a rare bird. But is that rare bird worth $2,995.00 to you? If so, good luck getting it, and good luck getting it in M condition.

So what's my beef?
No beef.
Just wanted to point out something I discovered. If y'all already knew that, then please excuse my noobieness.
:oops:

"Here's to swimmin with bowl-legged wimin"

Blackmoor
Long-Winded Collector
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Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 5:09 pm

I dont get what you are trying to say?

Also the average "Joe" does not make minimum wage; maybe somebody starting a crap job at McDonalds may.

Games can get you through times of no money but money can not get you through times of no games!!

TheHistorian
Sage Collector

Posts: 2589
Joined: Aug 02, 2006
Last Visit: Mar 11, 2023
Location: Seattle, WA

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:01 pm

Blackmoor wrote:I dont get what you are trying to say?

Me neither.

Context please!

Areas of interest/knowledge: Harn, WFRP, Ars Magica, anything BRP based such as CoC, Runequest, Pendragon and all their related games

gyg
Verbose Collector

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Location: UK

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:09 pm

Blackmoor wrote:I dont get what you are trying to say?

No, me neither.

I think though, that you may have answered your own question in the thread title. People pay silly money for this nonsense for one reason only - because THEY WANT TO - scalping doesn't come into it, the guys in the market for the big ticket items are simply not worried about the price - let's be honest, if you're on the breadline buying vintage D&D does not come high on the priorities list.

You could do the "is this worth $x" about anything you care to mention that isn't an out and out necesity. The answer is always its worth whatever 1 (or on ebay,2

) people are willing to pay. This is the reasons why Ferarris will always sell and Sothebys art auctions seem to break an all time record every single year - no-one actually needs a Van Gogh or a shiny Italian sports car, but there are those in the market so happy days for the organisations involved.

I wish I were in a postition to shell out $2K+ on a single D&D item but I'm not so I don't worry about it, but if I ever get in that position I wouldn't hesitate - how can you put a $ value on the stuff you love?

You can never have too much of something you didn't need in the first place.

gyg
Verbose Collector

Posts: 1945
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Last Visit: Jul 17, 2026
Location: UK

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:12 pm

And another thing - 5 hours money for, potentially, a life time of pleasure - cheap

(until "collectors-creeptm ) sets in

You can never have too much of something you didn't need in the first place.

Thunderdave
Verbose Collector

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Location: Toronto, Canada

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:13 pm

I think 5 x minimum wage today (roughly) gets you a Pathfinder Core rulebook, so the price of entry into RPGs over the years is somewhat constant. (though clearly you're getting more 'product')

Gold was about $175 an ounce in 1974 and has appreciated tenfold... an OD&D woodgrain has appreciated more like 200-fold... so there you go, rpgs as an investment, winner

I draw the line at collecting... D&D beach towels.

Shoulda been: ".. from Pangreenia to Floratopolis, from mystical Treeonia of spectral Forests to Schruborial dimensions." - The Forests of Leng

benjoshua
Long-Winded Collector
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Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:35 pm

davidc wrote:Gold was about $175 an ounce in 1974 and has appreciated tenfold... an OD&D woodgrain has appreciated more like 200-fold... so there you go, rpgs as an investment, winner

Ummmm....not exactly. While it is true that there are some rpg items which have appreciated significantly, not all of them have. That's also true of comic books, stamps, cars, or almost anything collectible. Not only that, collectibles require storage space and insurance, both of which can limit any investment return. And even insurance rarely fully protects you from moths, rust, acid paper, and aging. And there's no guarantee that items won't fall in value later. Rappan Athuk prices have taken a hit lately from what I can tell, for example. Maybe that's a bad example, but my point is that investments don't always only appreciate.

Frankly, if you want to get a great return on money, you are usually better off with investing in instruments especially designed for making money, like mutual funds, and looking at your hobby as just that. Collect what you like and enjoy it.

Truth is worth finding and life is too short to work for money.

gyg
Verbose Collector

Posts: 1945
Joined: Mar 26, 2004
Last Visit: Jul 17, 2026
Location: UK

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:50 pm

benjoshua wrote: Collect what you like and enjoy it.

yep - looks like that just about sums it up - if it was just about the money no-one would bother posting here

Thunderdave! wrote:I think 5 x minimum wage today (roughly) gets you a Pathfinder Core rulebook, so the price of entry into RPGs over the years is somewhat constant. (though clearly you're getting more 'product')

spot on as well.

And another thing (again!) - remember $ spent does not necesarily equate to quality of product - some of the real pricy items are not that great when it comes to actual product (everyone feel free to pick their favourite here

).

(and a decent RC is still worth having- even at 50 bucks you don't need to buy anything else, ever (though see my caveat about collectors-creep tm above!)

You can never have too much of something you didn't need in the first place.

bbarsh
Long-Winded Collector
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Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 9:56 pm

"Thuderdave!" I think I am seeing a midlife crisis in real time!

And I could've bought these damn modules off the 1$ rack!!!

New modules for your Old School game http://pacesettergames.com/

Everything Pacesetter at http://pacesettergames.blog.com/

Thunderdave
Verbose Collector

Posts: 1655
Joined: Mar 08, 2008
Last Visit: Aug 06, 2026
Location: Toronto, Canada

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 11:31 pm

bbarsh wrote:"Thuderdave!" I think I am seeing a midlife crisis in real time!

Ha, well, I'll get it out of my system quick, promise

I draw the line at collecting... D&D beach towels.

Shoulda been: ".. from Pangreenia to Floratopolis, from mystical Treeonia of spectral Forests to Schruborial dimensions." - The Forests of Leng

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