How to get eBay alerts for retro video games

Complete in box, loose or sealed: decide first

Each of these is a different item with a different price, so give each its own Spotter. For a loose cartridge, Exclude box only, manual only, case only. For a complete copy, put complete in Must include and incomplete, no manual in Exclude, then make a second Spotter with CIB, since sellers use both.

Region: NTSC-U, PAL and Japanese

Retro games were sold in regional versions, and they aren’t always interchangeable.

• NTSC-U, sometimes written NTSC-U/C, is North America. It’s what most U.S. buyers want for their own console.
• PAL is Europe and Australia. Many consoles are region locked, and even where a PAL game runs, it can run slower or display wrongly on a North American setup.
• NTSC-J is Japan. Famicom and Super Famicom cartridges are shaped differently from NES and SNES ones, and the title can differ too: EarthBound is Mother 2 in Japan.

Imports are common on eBay in the United States because they’re often cheaper. If you want a North American copy, Exclude PAL, Japanese, NTSC-J, Famicom and the game’s Japanese title. Check that none of those words appear inside your game’s own name before you add them. If you collect imports, flip it: put Japanese or Famicom in Must include.

How Spotter Otter’s AI helps with games

• Start from a photo. Take a photo of a cartridge label, a disc or a box, or upload a screenshot. Spotter Otter reads the title, platform and any product code printed on the label, uses eBay’s image search for clues, and writes a description for you to check. Add loose, complete or sealed, and the region, before you start. It identifies the game; it doesn’t check whether a cart is a reproduction.
• Or say it in your own words. “EarthBound for SNES, North American cartridge, no repros” becomes an eBay search and a list of must-haves from Luna, Spotter Otter’s AI. You confirm them and set a maximum price, which is required.
• Must-haves are read the way sellers write them. Ask for a complete North American copy, and a listing that says it’s PAL, or cart only, is left out; one that doesn’t say gets a Maybe, so you can check the photos.
• Paste a link to an eBay listing of the same game, such as one that sold before you saw it, to start a Spotter for it.

Spotting reproduction carts

Reproduction cartridges are new copies of old games, sometimes sold openly as repros and sometimes passed off as originals. They’re most common for valuable titles: EarthBound and Chrono Trigger on the SNES, the Pokémon games on Game Boy and Game Boy Advance, and sought-after NES and N64 games.

Exclude repro, reproduction, custom, homebrew, bootleg, aftermarket to remove the ones that say what they are. For the rest, these are the red flags:

• The label. Too glossy or too bright, blurry or pixelated print, or a label that sits crooked or doesn’t fill its recess.
• The board. Ask for a photo of the inside. Genuine Nintendo boards carry Nintendo’s name and part numbers; most repro boards have no Nintendo markings, and many use a black blob of epoxy where labeled chips would be.
• The shell. Plastic in the wrong color or texture, missing molded markings on the back, or ordinary Phillips screws where the original used a security screw.
• The listing. One seller with several copies of a rare game at the same low price, or stock photos instead of the cart itself.

Some genuine carts are sold with a reproduction box or manual, and the listing will say so. Excluding reproduction drops those too, which suits a collector who wants all-original pieces. If you only care about the cart, leave that word out and read the listing instead.

Label condition and other details collectors check

For loose games, the label sets the price. Look for tears, fading, water damage, writing (a name in marker is common) and rental or price stickers. Sellers note clean label, minor label wear or label tear. Ask for a straight-on photo if the listing only has angled shots.

Many older cartridges keep save files with a small battery that eventually runs flat. A listing that says new save battery or holds a save has been checked or serviced; one that says won’t save needs a battery, which is a routine repair but worth pricing in. For disc games, ask for photos of both sides of the disc to judge scratches, and check the case is the original rather than a replacement.

Consoles and bundles

Console listings vary more than game listings. A bundle may include controllers, cables and games, or just a console and a power supply. A CIB or boxed console has its original box and inserts. Exclude for parts, not working, untested unless you want a project, and check that the listing says what’s included: controllers, the power supply and the video cable.

A Spotter’s condition can be new, used or refurbished. Almost every retro console is listed as used, so the words in the title and description tell you more than the condition setting does.

Price it from sold listings

Search the game on eBay, turn on the “Sold Items” filter, and separate the sales: loose, complete and sealed copies can differ by a wide margin, and so can a first print and a budget reprint. Ignore the box-only and repro sales that slip into the results, then set your Spotter’s maximum from what’s left.

Example Spotters