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[BrodiemanTTR]

I've gone to Rhino (best game store ever) twice over the past few days and taken advantage of their buy-2-get-1 offer to pick up the following:

N64
Rayman 2
Extreme-G
Extreme-G 2
1080 Snowboarding

NES
Xevious
StarTropics

GCN
Killer7
Metal Arms
NCAA Football 2005

Most of them are in great shape, but a few are in a bad way. The two Extreme-Gs have extensive Sharpie marker as well as sticker residue all over them, and the NCAA 05 case looks like it took a bullet for someone. I have a few questions on fixing these babies up since I'm a huge neat freak with my games and usually never buy used unless it's out of necessity (old-school games):

1) What gets out Sharpie? Lacquer thinner?
2) What gets off sticker residue?
3) Can I buy replacement DVD cases? (I also just want some of these on hand anyway because some of my other cases are starting to look a bit worse for wear)

 

[Rlan]

Get some tea-tree oil and very carefully rub off the sticker residue, don't do it too much otherwise it'll start taking off the cardboard. Do the same thing with actual stickers.

I did this with a bunch of original Gameboy games a video store was selling in fantastic condition, but had stickers.

 

[BocoDragon]

Marker: I've gotten marker off DVDs with rubbing alcohol... looks 100% new. I suppose you might even be able to get it off labels and such, but I've never tried.

Sticker residue: Goo Gone is the preferred anti-adhesive, but lighter fluid works excellent. I've gotten stickers off GBA boxes and DVD cover inserts with no blemishes! You still have to be a patient pro to peel off those stickers without ripping anything.... just take your time.

Of course you can buy replacement DVD cases, but keep in mind that all current console games come in proprietary cases (with memory card holders, green plastic for Xbox, etc.). You could hunt down extra cases at game stores/pawn shops, but also keep in mind that in your collecting life you may come across doubles, etc, that you can swap cases with your less than perfect games.

I've gotten all kinds of junky looking games looking brand new. As long as you're not missing anything, or there's ripped paper, you can usually restore any game to cosmetically new condition! Also remember DVD resurfacing, found at any used DVD/Game/CD store. Good luck!

 

[Jeff-DSA]

Goo Gone is wonderful for getting rid of stickers. As mentioned above, rubbing alcohol is great for getting rid of markers, but make sure you don't get it on the label or it will come undone.

 

[radios shipping overview]

Goo Gone and its clones are what I use for stickers. I usually go over anything I buy used with some rubbing alcohol, too, just to get any dirt/gunk/germs/sticky crap off.

I've got marker off with alcohol, but it doesn't always work. In that case, hairspray will work, but be careful to clean it off the plastic quickly.

I tend to replace cases on games I buy used as a matter of practice. Clear jewel cases for replacing PSX cases are easy to get. RedOctane sells loose game cases for replacing PS2/Xbox games, and you can get replacement cases for GC/DS from Nintendo's online shop. If you check Toys R Us stores every now and again, they tend to get rid of PS2 and Xbox cases in large quantities for a few bucks a stack. At least, one near me usually does.

 

[Tommy Gun]

I use rubbing alcohol for all of it. I don't keep movie DVDs in their cases, so if it's a PS2 game I can swap the cases, I don't care about the memory card holder. If it's Xbox I'll switch cases with a crappy game or something.

 

[BocoDragon]

The trickiest things to get are the black center of multiple CD games for PSone. The black center piece either needs pegs on one side (for 3 CD games), both sides (for 4 CD games) or neither (for some 1 disc games, mostly RPGs, that had a fat case anyway, such as Suikoden and MTV Music Generator).

Does anyone know where to find these?

 

[BrodiemanTTR]

So, any tips on acquiring GameCube cases, since those are about as proprietary as it gets?

 

[Javaman]

So, any tips on acquiring GameCube cases, since those are about as proprietary as it gets?

You might be in luck at a Blockbuster/Gamerush. The local one to me throws away the original cases once they move the games into lockable cases and will save some if I ask.

 

[S-Wind]

So, any tips on acquiring GameCube cases, since those are about as proprietary as it gets?

You can buy them directly from Nintendo.

 

[radios shipping overview]

So, any tips on acquiring GameCube cases, since those are about as proprietary as it gets?

Right over here. They carry the two-disc version, too.

 

[BrodiemanTTR]

Right over here. They carry the two-disc version, too.

Excellent, thanks.