f.y.e is somehwat (in)famous for carrying lots of out-of-print titles, long after many big box retails have clearanced them out. I love f.y.e. for this very reason. Where else are you going to find a sealed copy of Digital Devil Saga 2 or Metal Gear Acid?

Unfortunately, some stores are rather lazy about updating prices on items. Sure, you can bug an employee to price check stuff for you, but there’s a way to do it yoursef:

You can use the music preview kiosks (the little stands with headphones and an LCD screen, pictured) to price check any item at f.y.e. (Lots of shoppers don’t know this.) You usually have to wait ~20 seconds to watch a commercial, but after that an info screen will load with the current price and screenshots of games.

This trick will work at any Transworld Entertainment store: f.y.e., Wherehouse, Coconuts, Sam Goody, Suncoast (though they usually don’t have the screens), etc.

This is especially helpful on hunting sealed older titles. I’ve discovered good buys like Gradius V (PS2) for $19.99 using this trick.

On a related note, it seems that prices at f.y.e. stores are not quite universal. I’ve seen Xenosaga II for PS2 anywhere from $7.99 to $49.99 depending on the store.

Image: Microsoft

What I ordered:

What I got:

This is one “wrong item received” that I won’t be filing a complaint for.

I believe the look on my face was priceless when I opened the evelope and thought, “I………. didn’t order this…… did I?” The fact that I couldn’t answer that clearly is the reason I named this blog what it is.

I wrote just a few weeks ago that Gamestop has been jacking up the prices of Fire Emblem and Pikmin games due to their “posthumous” popularity via Super Smash Bros. Brawl. They’ve done it again; the original Pikmin just went from $19.99 to $24.99. (This game was $9.99 or less a year and a half ago.)

Here’s a couple of recently ended eBay auctions that just about made my jaw drop.

The first, a complete set of Karaoke Revolution games for the PS2. Yes, I know they’re very much sought after, but the price? $800, sold to one “lvlovernpink.” Meanwhile, other complete sets sit unpurchased at $229. No one ever said eBay bidders were rational. (thanks to monkeydeew for the tip)

Karaoke Revolution 1 2 3 Party Country American Idol — ended price: $800

Silly me. I put in a bid of 3 GBP (about $6) on this next item, thinking that I actually had a chance of winning. I love Final Fantasy, but as I told my friend on this one, at $132, I don’t think the winner of this item can really be called a “winner.”

McDonald’s Final Fantasy Chocobo Dungeon Promo Moogle — ended price: 68 GBP, about $132 US

Gamestop just got wise to the fact that Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is becoming one of the most sought-after Gamecube titles, perhaps due to the recent Wii sequel, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. They just raised the used price by 50%, from $19.99 to $29.99.

The fact that Fire Emblem is becoming such a hot collectible is especially interesting if you remember that Nintendo cut the retail MSRP to $14.99 just before it went out of print. In the past year, Gamestop’s used price has jumped from $12.99 to $17.99, then to $19.99, and finally to $30.

This isn’t the only ascending price at your local Gamestop — they recently jacked Pikmin up to $19.99 and Pikmin 2 up to $39.99, due almost soley to Captain Olimar’s newfound popularity in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

JJ over at Video Game Price Charts has put up an interesting (albeit self-explanatory) post based on an idea that I submitted to them — to track Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga’s price crash after the recent Atlus reprints.

Here’s what Nocturne looks like, and it ain’t pretty:

For the record, I don’t think Amazon ever got the reprints of Digital Devil Saga — only Gamestop did. And to make matters more interesting, Gamestop is only selling the game as gutted and used, a process that they called “newsed” — new product converted to used. This means you can buy a new sealed Nocturne but NOT DDS; I believe means something interesting is going to happen in the long term: Sealed copies of DDS will keep a very high price while Nocturne’s is not as high, because new/sealed copies of DDS are generally not available, even now.

If you’ve read my previous posts, I still think Nocturne’s price will go up once the reprinted copies have evaporated. There’s a precedent for this — both Disgaea and Persona 2 have seen slow price growth even after reprints.

Ah, ’tis the year of RPG reprints. One of the last high-valued RPGs on the PS2, Ar Tonelico, is getting a reprint later this month — a preorder page is now available on Rosenqueen, NIS America’s online shop.

Just a few months ago, Atlus reissued the obscenely rare Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga 1. Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne is available from both Play-Asia and Amazon (where it goes in and out of stock).

Until today, original prints of Ar Tonelico had been pushing around $70 on eBay without the box and around $80 with.

If the past is any indication, even the reprints may turn out to be good investments. Atlus reprinted Persona 2 and Rhapsody in 2005 and sent out massive numbers of copies to Gamestops around the country, priced at $29.99 each. Rhapsody’s price has slid to around $20, but Persona 2 has shot back up to $50-$70 on the used market, most likely due to the ongoing popularity of the series.

In other news, Ar Tonelico’s reprint might point to an upcoming US release of Ar Tonelico 2. Thelonepig on Cheapass Gamer emailed NIS’s customer serivce to ask about Ar Tonelico 2 coming stateside, to which they responded, “that they couldn’t make any formal comments, but that ‘you won’t be disappointed.’”

Can someone tell me why people are still paying $30 for Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance when Konami released a fine 3-game Metal Gear Solid Essentials package this month (Substance included) at the same price?

Has Konami done a poor job at getting the word out about the new set? I predicted Substance’s price to drop like a rock this month.

Here’s a Consumerist-style one for you.

Dick’s Pawn is one of my favorite places to visit in Myrtle Beach… just be sure to remember your elementary math. 5 DVDs for $12 or 10 for $25… hmm, I wonder how much 20 DVDs would cost. $60 maybe? Sounds like a deal to me!

I shouldn’t complain too much, because here’s what I got for my $12:

• Vampire Hunter D Special Edition
• Peter Pan (Disney)
• Castle in the Sky (Ghibli/Disney)
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney, out of print)
• Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition 2003 ($100-$200 on eBay)

Pikmin 2 prices are hitting an all-time high on eBay, with used copies hitting the $60-$70 without breaking a sweat. Sets of Pikmin 1 and 2 are easily topping the $100 mark. Over at Amazon, the lowest price is currently $69.77 and goes all the way up to $199 for a new copy.

Why now? Well, Pikmin hero Captain Olimar was included a main character in Smash Bros. Brawl. Given that said game has been selling gobloads of copies, no doubt many Wii gamers are being introduced for the first time to Miyamoto’s greenthumb niche title.

Oh, how I regret selling the sealed non-PC Pikmin 2 I had a year ago.