How to Sell Retro Games Without Getting Burned

A boxed, complete Dreamcast copy of something desirable can sell for double a loose disc — and yet half the listings I scroll past bury that box in a dim phone photo taken on a beige carpet. If you're serious about getting what your collection is worth, the selling itself is a skill. Here's how to actually do it well.

Photos that close the deal, not just fill the slots

Buyers of retro gear are paranoid, and rightly so. They've been burned by "disc looks fine" listings that arrived scratched to oblivion. Your job is to remove every excuse for a lowball offer or a return.

Shoot in daylight near a window, on a plain neutral surface — a white sheet or a grey table beats your kitchen worktop. Fill the frame. Then get every angle that matters:

• The front and back of the box, plus spine — spine wear is where PAL big-box damage always shows first.
• The disc or cart face-on, angled slightly to catch scratches honestly rather than hide them.
• The manual, inlays, reg cards, and any spine cards — for Saturn and Dreamcast jewel cases, the back-insert artwork is half the value.
• Close-ups of any flaws: cracked hinges, label tears, disc scuffs, yellowed plastic.

Photograph the flaws deliberately. A seller who shows the ring-marks on a disc reads as honest, and honest sellers get the sale even at a slightly higher price.

Price it before you list, not after it stalls

Guessing is how you either scare buyers off or leave money on the table. Do fifteen minutes of homework first. Look at sold listings, not active asking prices — anyone can list a common PAL sports title for silly money, but sold data tells you what people actually paid.

Condition changes everything. A loose cart, a complete-in-box (CIB) copy, and a sealed one are three completely different markets. Region matters too: NTSC-J Saturn stock often commands more than the PAL equivalent, and a US NTSC copy of a game that never got a European release is a different beast entirely.

Common sports and racing titles are where sellers get greedy and stall. A Dreamcast copy of Virtua Tennis or Virtua Striker 2 were printed in huge numbers — price them like the crowd-pleasers they are and they move fast. Save the ambitious pricing for the genuinely scarce stuff.

Describe condition like the buyer is standing next to you

Grading language is where trust lives or dies. "Good condition" means nothing. Tell them what they're getting, part by part.

Be specific about the disc: light hairlines that don't affect play, or a deep gouge near the outer edge? State whether you've tested it and on what hardware. For cartridge games, mention the label — sun-fade and price-sticker residue are the two things buyers zoom in on. For boxed items, call out crushed corners, split seams, and whether the inner tray is intact.

Never write "rare" unless it genuinely is. Seasoned collectors read that word as a red flag on common stock. And if something's missing — the manual, one of the inlays — say so up front. A Genesis Sonic 2 without its manual is still very sellable; a Sonic 2 advertised as complete that arrives without one gets returned.

Packing so it survives the courier's worst day

Couriers throw parcels. Assume yours will be dropped from waist height onto concrete, then packed under a heavier box. Your job is to make that survivable.

• Immobilise the item inside its packaging. A disc rattling in its case will crack the hub teeth — tape the case shut or wrap it so it can't flex open.
• Wrap each item in bubble wrap, then create a floating layer of at least 3-4cm of padding on every side inside the outer box. Newspaper compresses; use bubble wrap or air pillows.
• Never post a boxed game in a flimsy mailer. Cardboard boxes crush. Use a rigid outer carton one or two sizes up, with the item suspended in the middle.
• For sealed or graded items, sandwich between stiff card so nothing can bend the box corners.
• Ship tracked and insured on anything worth more than the cost of the postage upgrade. Retro buyers expect tracking, and it protects you both.

Tape the outer box along every seam. A parcel that arrives looking well-packed also tells the buyer you cared — and that's the difference between neutral feedback and a five-star review that helps your next sale.

The sellers who consistently do well aren't the ones with the rarest stock. They're the ones whose photos, descriptions, and packing are so tidy that buying from them feels risk-free. Nail those four things and you'll get repeat buyers — which is worth more than any single hot listing. What's the worst-packed parcel you've ever received?