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Chances are, by now you've heard the story that's circulating all over
the place about the mom from North Carolina who sold the Nintendo
Entertainment System, bundled with what she thought were common games,
on eBay for over $13,000. It's an absolutely amazing story for the
sole reason that the seller had no idea that among those games laid the
illusive holy grail of NES games: STADIUM EVENTS.
Stadium Events is known as the rarest of all NES games due to its
near-extinct existence. 2000 copies were produced by Bandai for
release in limited stores for Christmas 1987 and were quickly recalled
due to Nintendo purchasing the rights to what became the Power Pad
technology from Bandai right after. A couple hundred copies ended
up selling before the rest were yanked off of shelves. Those
remaining copies became the most sought-after Nintendo Entertainment
System game of all time.
NES collectors have been paying five figures for Stadium Events for
years...it's nothing new. But, the seller always knows exactly
what they have and caters the auction to the deep-pocketed collector.
This case was exactly the opposite.
When I caught word of this story, I sent off an email to the seller of
this auction. Angel quickly responded and kindly agreed to give an
interview to C'mon Fwank. It's always nice when good surprises
happen to good people, and this is definitely the true story of "one
man's trash is another man's treasure."
JOSH: Angel,
headlines are everywhere about your amazing story of listing an NES with
five games on eBay and suddenly pulling in over $13,000! And first off,
congratulations! It's only been a few days since the auction ended. Has
it all really sat in yet?
ANGEL: Hi Josh...thank You.
Boy did it set in...I am still picking myself up off of the floor...
Angel's eBay auction skyrocketed to over $13,000!
JOSH: Can you tell us
a little about yourself and how you stumbled upon the NES and its games
that went into this auction?
ANGEL: I am a 39 yr
old wife to 1 (lol), mother of 5, and grandmother of 1. I go to
estate sales, auctions, regular yard sales, and flea markets here in
North Carolina. I try to get items of the same likings out of the
buildings so I can sell in lots due to being extremely overloaded in
items. I am running out of 2 buildings right now (and working on
my 3rd) and items are backed up to the doors. I plan to continue
selling on eBay for a long time now. When I sell in lots it gives
the buyers more of a selection as well as me listing items from house
wares, antiques, vintage, newer items.
I list a little of everything...that gives the buyers
more of a selection. I list quite a few items at $.99 with no
reserves and if it sells for that than I am just as okay with it as if
it were to sell for thousands of dollars. I don't pay huge amounts
for my items and refuse to list items high for my bidders/watchers.
I am not in the business of ripping anyone off or trying to make a
substantial amount for items that I may have paid only a few dollars
for. In this economy, you just can't go expecting to make a
fortune! If the bidders choose to bid large amounts of money, then that
is what they choose to do but I won't list items for more than in my own
experience think that they may be worth. I am far from looking to
"Get Rich" on eBay!
JOSH: When you were listing the
items, did you have any idea of the value of what you were selling?
ANGEL: I had no clue as to what it
was worth (in my eyes it was worth what I listed it for). If
people would understand (which I didn't even know myself until I opened
my first few emails) that the auction sold for what it did because of
the one item that was listed in the lot (the Stadium Events game, the
cardboard box and the original manual), we would be seeing fewer
systems/consoles showing up on eBay now.
The items listed on Angel's auction, including the rare
Stadium Events game that
ultimately shot the auction into the five figures.
JOSH: As the
questions started rolling in and the bids started going up, what went
through your head?
ANGEL: To be honest, I was totally
floored when I opened my first email that someone was asking me to stop
the auction for $100.00; then the second email that I opened, I was
asked to stop the auction for $150.00. Then, the 3rd email came in
asking me to sell the item for $500.00. I then looked over at my
sales page to find out was this some sort of joke or what. I just
sat there in amazement when the auction went from $9.99 to $6000.00 in
less than 2 hours. I started reading email by email to find out
why the auction was going crazy like it was. Needless to say, I
never once expected this auction to go over $20.00 max until I started
watching it climb.
JOSH: A sudden increase of $13,000
is huge! Especially when it's unexpected. How has this changed your
life?
ANGEL: It hasn't really changed my
life at all. I am still the same ole me, but with a few less bills
and a NEW refrigerator!
JOSH: You've basically become an
overnight celebrity with this story. It's everywhere! How has all of
the attention been?
ANGEL: Lordy, I never expected this
much attention from any auctions item that I have listed!!! I started
getting emails with links to the pages where it was showing up and just
started shaking my head in disbelief! I don't think of myself as a
celebrity at all...I am just another eBay seller that came across an
item that was highly sought after. Money will never change my
attitude or my outlook on life. I will admit that the attention that it
received sort of grinded my fingertips to the bones with responding back
to all of the THOUSANDS of emails that I have received!!! But they were
all so welcoming and heart warming that I had to respond :)
JOSH: Stadium Events is the game
that ultimately shot your auction up into the 5 figures. I've gotta ask
- have you ever played it?
ANGEL: I have never played the
game...never had a desire for it...LOL
The "holy grail" of NES collections: Stadium Events.
JOSH: CmonFwank.com
is a website that celebrates nostalgia. What things from your own life
did you enjoy that make you nostalgic for today?
ANGEL: I think I would have to say
my childhood. If I knew everything back than that I do today, I
would have definitely changed quite a few things!
JOSH: Finally, in closing, any other
thoughts you'd like to share about this experience, or anyone you'd like
to acknowledge or thank?
ANGEL: I would like
to Thank a lot of people in regards to this auction
The Highest Bidder (They know who they are)
Nintendoage.com
Rent-A-Shed (Windsor,South Carolina)
Rent-A-Barn (Windsor,South Carolina)
Dutch Barns (Burlington)
ALL of my watchers as well as my bidders on this auction & many
others (without you folks this would not be possible)
My children & my grandson for dealing with my time away due to selling
on eBay
My husband (Lord knows he has wanted to choke me over this hoarding up
but has supported me & believed in me when I jokingly told him that one
day I will hit something BIG) LOL
eBay for making this all possible
ALL of the reporters, news crews & website builders
And last but not least, I would like to Thank GOD; without Him NONE of
this would be possible!
Thanks so much again to Angel for taking time for the interview! Check
out Angel's eBay page
HERE
- you never know what you might find! -Josh, 2/22/10
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