Cartridges and Discs Fail Differently
Video games split into two physical categories that need opposite protections. A cartridge is a circuit board in a plastic shell with exposed edge connectors — the gold pins that make contact with the console. Those pins are the vulnerability: bent, scratched, or corroded contacts mean a game that won't boot, and they sit exposed at exactly the end most likely to strike a box wall. Cartridges want a snug sleeve or bag and enough padding that nothing hits the connector edge, plus a moisture barrier, because corrosion on old pins is a real problem with vintage carts.
Discs are the mirror image: the data surface scratches and the case cracks. A disc that isn't properly seated on its hub rattles against the case teeth and picks up the concentric scratches that cause read errors — so check the disc is clipped in before it ships. Cushion the case so it can't take a direct impact, since standard jewel cases are famously brittle. For valuable discs, ship the disc in a sleeve with the case protected separately, exactly as our CDs and DVDs guide recommends. Same box, opposite worries — know which one you're packing.
The Sealed and Graded Market Changed Everything
Retro video games have become a serious collectibles market, and it has done to game boxes what the sneaker market did to shoeboxes: the cardboard is now the asset. A sealed, factory-shrink-wrapped game — or one graded and encapsulated by a service like WATA or VGA — trades at multiples of a loose copy, and its value is bound up entirely in the condition of the box, the seal, and the case. A corner ding is a grade drop, and a grade drop is real money.
So sealed and graded games ship as collectibles, not as games. The original box or slab travels inside an outer shipping carton, never taped or labeled directly, cushioned on every side, in a rigid box that can't be crushed. Graded slabs bring the brittleness problem our comics and trading-cards guides describe — the rigid case cracks, and a cracked case can mean costly re-holdering — so they want a double-boxed, immobilized shipment with genuine cushioning. Photograph every face of the box or slab before packing, and insure to market value rather than to what a game 'should' cost.
⚠️ Never ship a sealed or graded game in a padded envelope. The box corners and the slab are precisely what the buyer paid for, and a mailer permits exactly the crushing and flexing that destroys them. Rigid outer box, cushioned, immobilized.
Complete-in-Box: Manuals, Inserts, and the Small Stuff
CIB — complete in box — is the collector's benchmark, and completeness is made of small, easily-damaged paper: the manual, the cardboard inserts and trays, registration cards, the poster or map that came with the game. These often carry a substantial share of a CIB copy's value, and they're the parts most likely to arrive creased, because paper packed against a hard cartridge is paper waiting to be bent.
Protect them like the paper collectibles they are: manual in a sleeve or between rigid boards, inserts kept flat, nothing folded to make it fit. Reassemble the box's contents the way the factory did, so the tray supports the cartridge instead of letting it slide around and scuff the interior. And list completeness precisely — CIB, manual-only, cart-only, and box-and-cart-no-manual are distinct market categories with distinct prices, and a listing that overstates what's included is a dispute waiting to happen.
Counterfeits, Testing, and Honest Listings
Retro games are heavily counterfeited — reproduction cartridges are common, and knowledgeable buyers know the tells. Photograph the label, the back of the cartridge, and where relevant the board through the shell; note the region and any variant markings. If you aren't certain a game is authentic, say so rather than asserting it: an honest 'sold as-is, not authenticated' listing is perfectly acceptable, while a confident claim that proves false is a fraud complaint.
Then test what you can and describe what you find. Does the cartridge boot? Does the save battery still hold — a genuine, well-known issue on old carts and a legitimate thing to disclose? Is the disc free of deep scratches? Photograph the game running on a screen if you're able: it answers the buyer's real question instantly and it's the most persuasive thing a used-game listing can contain. Sleeve the cart, seat the disc, protect the paper, box it rigid, and tell the truth about what works.