Man lists rare 1987 video game for $17,000 on eBay. Then, someone informed him about its real value

A 22-year-old from California sold a sealed copy of the 1987′s video game “The Legend of Zelda” for a whopping $288,000. Initially, the copy was expected to go for even more, about $700,000 as per CNBC. The seller, Kiro, told the news outlet that the vintage game from the iconic game franchise had been in his family forever. When he found it, he figured that it could be valuable and expected to get around $17,000 to $20,000 on eBay. He realized the true value of the copy in quite a dramatic fashion later. 

A copy worth $700,000 was nearly sold for $17,000

Kiro told CNBC Make It that the game was purchased from the now-defunct Fedco for $29.87 in 1987, which would be over $80 today. However, the game was well preserved and remained unsealed for nearly three decades, which made it ever so precious.  

Thus, Kiro who had previously sold valuable sneakers and Barbie dolls on eBay, decided to do some research to come up with a fair price for the item  “I looked at price history and thought ‘Oh, maybe at most I’ll get like $17,000 or $20,000 if I’m lucky,’” he said.

He went on to list the item on eBay at a price of $17,000. He got offers within minutes from collectors who were ready to pay whatever he asked for. He shared that one user offered him $30,000 in cash upfront for the copy. Kiro then realized that the value of the game must be much more, so he quickly canceled the sale and took the listing down. 

Within hours, he received a message from a collector requesting to get on a phone call with him. The collector explained that his copy of “Zelda” was from the game’s very first production run, making it an extremely rare unit. Further, as it was still sealed, it was considered a "holy grail" find for video game collectors. As per CNBC, the most recent sale of a copy of the first production unit of “Zelda” went for a whopping $705,000. 

The collector further helped Kiro get in touch with a grading service and an auction house that specialized in selling vintage, collectible video games. Kiro then flew down to Florida to have the game professionally graded. He then went to Texas to meet with Heritage Auctions, which handled the sale of the game.

“It’s really kind of a miracle,” Kiro expressed, given how he listed the game on eBay and got in touch with the right person. Kiro's copy went on to headline Heritage’s Video Games Signature Auction, expecting a high six-figure sum. It ultimately sold for $288,000, as per GameRadar. While it was less than the expected $700,000 it was way more than the $17,000 for which Kiro had almost sold it. 

Before the auction, the young seller had expressed that he sat down with a certified public accountant to plan what he would do with the money. "I will definitely not be spending it right away. It’ll go into building long-term wealth for myself and my family," he said.