Simply put, an Alpha means we are still in the early stages of working on things.
We are still making changes to the data and also corrections where necessary. We are currently in an Alpha stage which means that things are not done yet. We wanted to give you an early chance to see what vgSpotlight has to offer for features concerning your game collection.
We also want to mention that if read anything in this guide that does not sit well with you, then you can let us know and we will absolutely consider your thoughts and ideas. Thank you.
NOTE:The service will continue to change as you use the Alpha because we will actively be making updates.
The game values listed on vgSpotlight are a wonderfully derived piece of information, but we feel there is still explanation necessary to ensure that everyone truly understands it. Games do not have a set price. There are varying levels of completeness and condition that will lend to a price for a particular item and one game that normally sells for $50 could sell for $35 if it has an undesirable tear in the label. The opposite is also true and a game that commonly fetches $100 in fair condition may see a sale that exceeds $200 because it is in mint condition.
The point we are stressing here is that the game prices that are listed on vgSpotlight are used for a reference point and getting an idea of how much a game might sell for. That said, perhaps you are only willing to spend $15 on a game that is listed at $20 and then we would tell you to wait (if you didn't necessarily foresee the game value increasing dramatically in the near future) because there are still times when you will find games both more expensive and cheaper than what is listed on vgSpotlight. Do not pay more for games than you want to (unless of course you have to, which is the case with some games).
Always do more research than just looking at the value listed on vgSpotlight to ensure the best deals, but never forget to check vgSpotlight before making an impulse buy! Also, a game might list for a higher price loose than complete, this just means that for the sales we have analyzed the loose version sold for higher than the complete version. Does that mean that the loose version is worth more? Of course it does not mean that. So again, just understand that the prices listed are more of an average value, which can still be very helpful.
It is also important to manage your game details to ensure that your collection value is as accurate as possible. This consists of setting the completeness of your game so that we know if you have it in the box or if it's new and sealed. Then specify the condition of the item with A, B, or C.
With completeness, things are pretty self explantory, but we do want to mention that Complete can mean the jewel case, manual and game for Turbo Grafx games (without the original outer cardboard box), but as far as everything else is concerned it should contain everything it did when it was originally available if it is complete. New/Sealed is, of course, a factory sealed item that has not been opened.
Searching for games with vgSpotlight is a breeze with its title keyword matching. You are able to type words out of order and include console names or aliases. Such as "Goldeneye N64" or "Zelda NES". Try it out, it's a blast.
vgPlayline is a feature that allows you to track time and comments while playing your games. This is helpful to see when you were playing certain games and for other metrics that we plan to visually stun you with once we get further down the road with this particular feature.
On the topic of importing, we may or may not be able to match your games from another system with our system. We have our top engineers on this as far as the technical piece is concerned and when we groom the data more regularly we will fill in gaps where certain games aren't matched during import.
The browser extension will automatically show you information about a game, including its average price details when you are browsing popular sites such as eBay, Amazon and GameStop. For more information please visit the browser extension details page.
