Video Game Collecting Tips: Track, Clean, & Maintain Your Collection

In this episode, we share our panel that we recently did at the 2023 Midwest Gaming Classic where we discussed how to collect video games, track your collection, find the values of your games, identify fakes, and some tools you could use to clean and maintain your collection.

One of the great things about video game conventions is you get people who reenter the hobby for the first time and perhaps decades. Sometimes, however, their enthusiasm can overwhelm And they can overpay for items, purchase items that aren't worth what someone is asking, or worse they buy a fake. Other times if they've been back in the hobby for a while they may purchase a game multiple times because they don't remember what they have. I've been guilty of this myself! As such, I threw together this panel to talk through all of those issues and more.

*PriceCharting & GamEye App*
One of the best tools that you can have at your fingertips Is something that allows you to see the real value of games and systems and also allows you to track what's in your collection. PriceCharting and Gameye are two tools that I use regularly for both of these things. Both provide comprehensive data regarding the value of games, loose, complete in box, and sealed. I know sometimes people will try to do their due diligence and look on websites like eBay to get appropriate pricing, but what they often look at is the listing price, not the sold price. Both of these tools give you sold prices, that way you know what the market is doing regarding a specific item. They both also allow you to track your collection, so this way you don't purchase the same game multiple times.

*Game-bit Screwdrivers*
Many video game cases, and systems as well, utilize a very specialized screw head called a game bit. Think of it like a reverse Allen head screw. This is important to be able to get inside games to open them up, especially if you are buying expensive games to verify their authenticity. Yes, people have put reproduction boards inside cartridges that are very expensive to try to get extra money for them. Any reputable seller should be okay with you opening a game in front of them just to inspect yet before plopping down several hundred dollars.

*Authentic Versus Reproductions or Rakes*
Reproduction cartridges are not uncommon, and most people do something to the outside of the case to call out the fact it's not authentic. As long as someone is transparent, I have no issue with it. It's when they try to pass along a repro as authentic that it bugs me. One other concern about reproduction cartridges is sometimes they aren't built the best. By that I mean some games do not operate at the correct voltage, and some do not have the edges of the boards chamfered where they would go into a system, which could potentially cause damage to your pins. I highly recommend steering away from reproductions unless it's from a known publisher such as Retro-bit.

*Cleaning and maintenance*
Anytime you get a new video game cartridge, I cannot state more emphatically, CLEAN IT! Many of these cartridges are approaching 40 years old, and that means you have 40 years of gunk, dirt, carbon deposits, and more that you need to remove from the pins. Isopropyl alcohol and a 1Up Cleaning Card will take care of most games. Some of them, however, will require separate TLC. I like to use a metal polish called Brite Boy, other people have used Brasso. Brasso is much less expensive, but it's a lot more harsh and abrasive. Brite Boy is not an abrasive at all, and it tends to clean up more easily when you are done. We have many videos on the channel talking about bright boy, and how to clean your games and systems. I'll have that linked in a playlist for you to check out.

I want to thank the team from Midwest Gaming Classic for having me at the show yet again. As someone from the area, it is a pleasure and an honor to support my hometown convention. I've been to many across the country, and they're truly is no place like home.

#MidwestGamingClassic #Panel #VideoGames