Thread by @SethAbramson

This eBay seller is selling two graded video games: a CASTLEVANIA II for $195,000 (not a typo) and a GUARDIAN LEGEND he put up for auction this week.

When the latter game was at *$250* with 2 days left, he cancelled the auction.

This is how an artificial market bubble operates.

(PS) There are definitely some people who want to collect sealed and graded video games for real. There may even be 500 to 1,000 such people worldwide. But a group of 50 to 100 investors/resellers is running this market, which—in *total*—is a complete sham. And it's a damn shame.

(PS2) Did I mention that the game he's trying to sell for $195,000 *isn't even in mint condition*?

Auctions reveal how people *really* value a good—which is why these market manipulators have to cancel an auction the *second* it reveals the true value of what they're pumping up.

(PS3) I wish journalists would ask the cadre of men who claim games are "going to $10 million" why their peer resellers on eBay are having to *cancel auctions in mid-stream*. A few weeks ago it was PUNCH-OUT!!—an auction for a near-mint copy was cancelled when it ended at $940.

(PS4) I'm actually underselling how bad the PUNCH-OUT!! situation was. It bordered on criminal fraud. The seller reneged on the auction when his game went for $940 rather than the (presumably( $50,000+ he was aiming for. Here's the feedback the jilted buyer left for "PremoGames":

(PS5) The crazy end to that story? Instead of getting thrown off @eBay permanently as "PremoGames" should have been, he *re-listed the game* and *again* tried to get the (presumably) $50,000+ these market-manipulators claim their games are worth. What happened? See for yourself:

(PS6) Any video game journalists watching what's happening on eBay are watching a market bubble exposed in real time. Auctions are being pulled, games being listed for insane figures aren't selling—the whole thing is being revealed as a sham even as this cadre of men keeps lying.

(PS7) Watch @PatTheNESpunk and @KarlJobstGaming for more on this—the video below in particular. While I'm a (very, very, *very* low-end) video game collector myself, I'd never lie to people in pursuit of my hobby. The men who *are* disgrace the rest of us.

(PS8) This is my favorite rant ever on this subject. He really ramps it up over the several minutes of this video and then totally sticks the landing.