How Much Collectors Are Spending On Retro Tech | WIRED

Founder of LCG Auctions Mark Montero visits WIRED to talk through the appraised value of five high-end pop culture collectibles. From an original Super Mario Bros cartridge for the original Nintendo Entertainment System to the very first iPhone and more, learn just how much these technological relics of the recent past are fetching on the collectors market.

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Director: Katherine Wzorek
Director of Photography: Eric Brouse
Editor: Jordan Calig
Expert: Mark Montero
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Kameryn Hamilton
Production Manager: D. Eric Martinez
Production Coordinator: Fernando Davila
Camera Operator: Rahil Ashruff
Sound Mixer: Jeff Gaumer
Production Assistant: Caleb Clark
Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch
Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds

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0:00 Vintage Tech Tour
0:23 Super Mario Bros (1985)
1:23 Sega Game Gear (1991)
2:26 Ghostbusters VHS (1985)
3:21 First Generation iPod (2001)
4:19 First Release iPhone (2007)
5:56 Some parting advice


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[BradDehnert]

All of this stuff is a scam and should be avoided. There is well-documented collusion between the grading companies and auction houses. Not to mention it ruins the retro collecting hobby for those who take actual joy in it.

[j.jester]

Translation "We specialize in separating fools and their money"

[Crafting]

“Today I’m gonna lie to you and the editing will make me look slightly more knowledgeable than a eBay conman”

[patpatboy]

Oh cool, a video about a pump & dump company.

[TonyisToking]

Imagine having to replace 6 double A batteries everytime you finish gaming. The gamegear was brutal on the pocket, and the enviornment.

[EightPieceBox]

Don't give these scam artists a platform

[AMVH]

I have always found it funny that rarity is less important than demand. I have a few things in my collection where there might be a handful of them on earth but weren’t super expensive.

[DontLookLikeAFool]

I wouldn't consider paying the Manufacturer's retail Price for any of them, let alone auctioning it. Vintage technology has a distinct appeal compared to vintage cars that you can drive or paintings that you can display. The only tangible interaction with a "mint" sealed-condition vintage item is the outer box and "rating', which holds little significance.

[JimLeonard]

Please don't contribute to the wildly out-of-control speculation in the gaming collectibles market.

[thmaster]

0:56 source? Minecraft is still the most sold video game, with close to 240 million sales.

[jamesburke]

There is an iphone on ebay someone is ASKING a ridiculous prie for. there is no sold listing for that price so you cannot claim it's worth as much as someones asking price. im going to ask $1B for my car, does not mean thats what it's worth ffs.

[Aragorn]

Um, actually Mario was known as *Jumpman* NOT Mr. Video...?

[thekosmickollector]

I thought you were better than this, Wired. Don't give these auction grifters a platform. The games are absolutely not worth that much. This bubble burst years ago, but they're trying to regain a foothold. Don't let them by believing this nonsense. Grading is a scam.

[Deank]

Is WIRED not going to address the obvious mistake they made by giving these scam artists a platform? Honestly, a rare L by them.

[sundaymorningbeef]

I had a Game Gear and my mom gave it away when I was at University. I still have an old Duck Tales cartridge. I was devastated.

[unusuarioimportante]

How do they know what is in the box? I just saw a video where some people bought 1st gen Pokemon cards and when they opened the box it had current pokemon cards

[morbital]

That Game Gear is going to be DOA with those cheap blown caps SEGA used.

[KevinLopez-htbr]

Absolute bs. Its not worth based on the item itself just what ppl willing to pay which makes its volatile and unstable. Not smart and not accurate

[Skewhaze]

Graded games and graded consoles are a scam. Stop promoting scammers.

[bluenevla]

The Iphone one price is gonna age poorly lol