2010021115

NC Woman Sells Nintendo For $13,105 On Ebay

By Elliott West, The Raleigh Telegram

Week Of Thursday, February 11, 2010

HAW RIVER, NC - A North Carolina woman who sold an original Nintendo Entertainment System recently on eBay.com literally cashed in on something that many people would have just thrown away.

An unknown seller from Haw River, which is in Alamance County near Burlington, with a screen name of Lace_Thongs35, recently sold an original NES system along with several games on February 10th.

The sale was ordinary except for the fact that after 36 bids, the collection of games and the NES system went for a grand total of $13,105 (not including $13.95 for shipping) on eBay, the online auction site.

Why did the relatively common and quite used game system sell for so much? The NES system didn’t even include the power adapter or TV connector.

Was it once owned by Elvis or perhaps included a potato chip in the shape of the Virgin Mary?

No actually, what drove the price up was that a relatively rare video game in the original box was included in the sale.

A very hard-to-find video game called “Stadium Events” that was released in 1987 that collectors prize was the big ticket item in the group.

“Fewer than 10 complete copies of the game are thought to exist, and retro gaming aficionados consider it one of the hardest-to-find NES games ever made,” says Plugged In, a Yahoo News column on video games.

The game itself is worth a lot of money but the box is also key.

“It wasn't even the game itself that was worth the bulk of the money -- it was the original cardboard box, which collectors value at a breathtaking $10,000,” says Plugged In.

The sale evidently drew a lot of interest from eBay bidders, according to statements on the sale page from the woman.

“I have had so many requests for more pics (including pics of the “Stadium Events” game) so please be looking for them tomorrow,” she said before the auction ended.

With such a high price bid on such an everyday item, the seller was evidently very pleased.

“Thanks a bunch everyone for the awesome bids and for all of the help with this wonderful auction,” she added.

:: END