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Re:Super Rare NES game in eBay auction at $89,000 by marban on Saturday January 25, 2014 @05:59AM (#7120482)
You could say the same about arts, mangas or Pez dispensers. Having owned and sold a large Super Famicom and vinyl collection I can definitely say that collecting is (was) way more fun than owning.
Re:Super Rare NES game in eBay auction at $89,000 by gradstudent on Saturday January 25, 2014 @06:17AM (#7120516)
Do art, manga and Pez collectors pay almost six figures for beat up junk? For stuff that isn't even readily identifiable? For context, these carts have previously sold for between $10K and $20K. In much better condition too.

The only conclusion I can come to is that rabid video game collectors are a special kind of stupid.

Re:Super Rare NES game in eBay auction at $89,000 by marban on Saturday January 25, 2014 @06:26AM (#7120530)
I wouldn't call collectors who act out of irrationality stupid since you have to look at the motivation behind a deal situationally — I'd just say it's on the edge of being an unethical waste of money.
Re:Super Rare NES game in eBay auction at $89,000 by gradstudent on Saturday January 25, 2014 @06:29AM (#7120535)
> I wouldn't call collectors who act out of irrationality stupid since you have to look at the motivation behind a deal situationally — I'd just say it's on the edge of being an unethical waste of money.

Unethical? Huh? Ethics is concerned with morality; with right and wrong. There's nothing inherently wrong about paying large sums of money for beat-up bits of electronics. It's just plain ol' stupid.

Re:Super Rare NES game in eBay auction at $89,000 by philpill on Saturday January 25, 2014 @08:07AM (#7120676)
One good reason might be if you think the value is going to increase beyond what you paid for it, like people paying whatever mad amount for bitcoins.

I think people who spend huge amounts on diamonds are stupid, but everyone has their reasons.

Re:Super Rare NES game in eBay auction at $89,000 by aidenn0 on Saturday January 25, 2014 @03:31PM (#7122253)
There are loads of ethical systems that condemn wastefulness of money; the US has had at various points at least a plurality, if not a majority of people ascribe to moral systems derived from puritanism, so at least in the US, it is unsurprising to hear someone saying that wasting money is unethical.