YOUR Biggest Blunder while Collecting?

[Megatron]

So I was having a brief conversation with another member, and we both had mentioned some real "I can't believe I did that" moments when we started collecting.
That got me thinking, other people have to have these types of stories too.

So I'm curious - what's YOUR most embarrassing / biggest blunder / most 'shake my head thing you've done in regards to your collection.  The ONE thing you wish you could take back.

Mine dates back to 2001...I hadn't really started "collecting", but I never traded games in.  I always kept the games I owned.  Then one Christmas (1998) I got one particular present - Earthbound.  Sealed in box.  The big box with the strategy guide in it...only problem was, I didn't have a Super Nintendo.  My dad thought it was for N64, which I had recently purchased.  So anyway, I figured I would eventually get a SNES, so I put it on my shelf and let it sit.  Until 2001.  When I graduated high school, I found a SNES really cheap, so I decided to finally get one.  Bought a whole bunch of games cheap.  But then I saw Chrono Trigger and Mega Man X.  For some reason, these games were $30 each, when the others like Super Metroid, Zelda, Castlevania 4 all went for $10ish.  So I didn't have the money to pay $30 each for Chrono and Mega Man, and since I was a huge Final Fantasy and Mega Man fan - I had to have them.  So for the first time in my life I opted to trade in a game...a game I knew nothing about and didn't look all that exciting.  A game on my shelf for 2 years collecting dust.
So in July 2001, I took my sealed copy of Earthbound down to Game Craze (local game store in my home town), and traded the sealed Earthbound for Chrono Trigger and Mega Man X.  And honestly, neither of them were in the best shape, but I wanted to finally PLAY them.  I was pretty happy with the trade for a few years, until I stopped playing both of them.  And I started to see the resell value of EB going up.  And up.  And up.  
The kicker of it?  Right around that time, Final Fantasy Chronicles released on PS1 with FFIV and Chronotrigger.  And it was only like $20.  Found out about it a few weeks AFTER the trade.

I admit, I could have done a lot worse, but to this day I can't look at EBound prices without remembering that day in July.  *sigh*  

So what's YOUR biggest regret?

[Ozzy_98]

Let my collection at my old house when I moved out, and sometime in the 8 years I was away from collecting, they got moved into a barn. So if you haven't guessed, they're not in the best of shape right now.

[mojoeskateco]

I bought a mint sealed copy of Gargoyles Quest 2 for the NES on ebay back in 2000 and opened it and played it.

Got it for $5 buy it now and it would be worth much more now.

[Ozzy_98]

You opened and played a game? YOU MONSTER!

We could all think that about our games when they were new, but they just weren't collectable back then. And honestly, they're not really high-value items now. Very few games are valued at their MSRP.  New in box sealed, yea they've gone up, but opened and played, most are still cheaper than new.   It's the rare odd-ball that is worth more now then when it was new.

[Retro Deckades]

Oh man, what a dreaded, depressing topic! Perhaps sharing some of my bone-headery will be therapeutic and help me come to grips with it a little better. Let's see...

Around 2003-2004, I stupidly gave a friend a box full of my old Nintendo Power memorabilia, which included like 10 official Nintendo soundtrack CDs that I purchased from the Super Power Supplies Catalogue. IIRC, it included DK Jamz, DKC 2 OST, DKC 3 OST, Killer Cuts, Super Mario 64 OST, Ocarina of time OST, Mario Kart 64 OST, Starfox 64 OST, Diddy Kong Racing OST, and Yoshi's Story OST.

The second was a couple of years back when I stumbled on a garage sale in which about 70 NES games were being sold for about $1 a piece. I picked out about 10 titles that I was interested in, but passed on the original Castlevania and Mega Man for some reason. I hindsight, I really should have bought ALL of the games and used them to help support my collecting habit.

The third was at a flea market, where a fellow had a nice set of boxed games he had picked up at a garage sale. He also had some MINT condition copies of Nintendo Power and Nintendo Power Player's Guides, including Earthbound's and a Link to the Past's. I passed on a $7 copy of NP Vol. 13, which is the Super Mario Bros. 3 Strategy guide, which I could have used to replace my horrible condition copy. However, I also passed on the aforementioned Player's Guides -- both of which I already own, but they could have easily used an upgrade. Didn't bother asking how much he wanted for them, so at least I don't know if I missed out on an amazing deal.

Those are my stories so far. Hopefully, I will not have any more stories to share from henceforth!

[sheep2001]

So many
Passing up a sale at HMV of sealed nes games after the snes was released. (Talking sub £5 on all titles) circa 1992
Letting my sister have a huge box of 2600 games that she left in her loft when she moved. Circa  1990
Selling a load of my collection for peanuts after being burgled. 2003
Swapping my megadrive with a LOT of rare Japanese shooters for a snes super wildcard.1994
Selling that super wild card for £50. 2003
And lastly, trusting so many so called friends with games that either came back  damaged or not at all. Forever.

[Desolis]

Some of these are bigger deals than others I suppose, but here's a few I can think of off the top of my head.

-Traded away my Game Boy Player when my original Gamecube broke. The Gamecube broke because I made the mistake of loaning it to someone to play who didn't take care of it.
-Got rid of my copy of Axelay for Snes
-I had a couple of old Atari 800xl computer systems, with peripherals and a few games. Ruined by my mothers cats and their lovely need to piss on everything. I have a pretty sizable dislike for cats now because of it.

[kingjohn3]

Selling Eartbound big box for $20 on ebay. Also throwing all my old NES boxes away to have more room.
 

[KalessinDB]

I think we're all guilty of throwing away boxes as kids.  They were boxes.  We were kids.  No one expected them to be worth anything.

@Megatron -- you in upstate NY?  I mean, I know Game Craze isn't exactly a very unique name for a game store, buuuuuut....

[Megatron]

I think we're all guilty of throwing away boxes as kids.  They were boxes.  We were kids.  No one expected them to be worth anything.

@Megatron -- you in upstate NY?  I mean, I know Game Craze isn't exactly a very unique name for a game store, buuuuuut....

I was, yes.  Syracuse is my home town, but I haven't lived there in about 5 years.  And sure enough, right after I leave, a bunch of decent game stores open.  Ah well.


And this wasn't MY blunder, but it did happen to me, so I guess it counts...
One of the reasons I never traded anything in, was after I got my Sega Genesis, my mom decided to give a bunch of my old NES games to a family she knew that was in need.  I didn't object at the time, but considering the games she gave away...Duck Tales, Battletoads, Contra and Metal Storm...I wish I had spoken up.  Oh but she left my TMNT, Top Gun, and Super Mario /Duck Hunt.  Like I said, it wasn't TOO drastic, I didn't even like those gaes that much at the time...but man.

[Moviefan2k4]

I traded in my first Gamecube and some games to get enough money for the 10-disc Superman DVD collection in 2006. Not my brightest moment.

[larryinc64]

Most recently:
I let a friend borrow 4 OEM GameCube controllers and Disc Only Mario Kart DD, this was a year ago, I never got them back. This was last summer, I still might be able to get them back. I have some spare Gamecube Controllers and MKDD.

In the past, I gave away Pokemon Yellow because I did not know how to play it. The only game I ever gave away.

I guess breaking all my  loosing all my old Invader Zim figures in 2004, and a few other things here and there.

[TDIRunner]

Unfortunately, I got rid of several of my console boxes.  I needed the room, and I didn't think about how difficult it would be to get them back down the road.   Fortunately, I still have my original NES and SNES boxes. 

I guess I'm lucky if that's my worst story.

[ThoseWeirdGames]

Starting on the East Coast 

[Megatron]

Starting on the East Coast 

I have found more bargains than I can count...I think it depends WHERE on the East Coast.