Sealed Copy Of The Legend Of Zelda Fetches Over $411k At Goodwill Auction
Another entry in the rapidly growing list of classic games selling for astonishing prices.
Most retro collectors I know, including myself, would pounce on the chance to own just a open boxed copy of The Legend of Zelda for the NES, but a sealed copy would be a real coup. And most collectors I know also frequently drop by their local Goodwill stores hoping to score items donated by unknowing good Samaritans and undervalued by clerks. However, that trend is rapidly fading as the non-profit has been taking notice of the retro craze and how much money some people are willing to throw down on a decades old hunk of cardboard and plastic.
Source: shopgoodwill.com
Case in point: a recent Goodwill Auction for an ungraded, sealed copy of the original Legend of Zelda for the NES just sold for $411,278. Goodwill described the game as having “some scratches and smudges on the plastic” along with a peeled retail sticker and a few “dents” in the box. The auction listing started at a measly $100 but bidding quickly escalated to almost $10,000 by the end of the first day. From there the bidding continued to climb by tens of thousands of dollars. The biggest single leap in price, $70,000, occurred on the afternoon of the final day. Ultimately the winner won by outbidding the competition by a single dollar (Nice shootin’, bid-sniper!). While this is nowhere close to the highest price anyone has paid for a vintage game, it is a record for the Goodwill auction website.
- WATA Graded “9.8” Factory Sealed Super Mario Bros. (NES) – $2,000,000
- WATA Graded “9.8” Factory Sealed Super Mario 64 (N64) – $1,560,000
- WATA Graded “9.0” Factory Sealed “NES TM” The Legend of Zelda (NES) – $870,000
- WATA Graded “9.6” Factory Sealed “No NES TM, 5-Screw” Super Mario Bros (NES) – $660,000
- Factory Sealed The Legend of Zelda (NES) – $411,278
The biggest mystery out of all of this, which will likely never be solved, is how the Connecticut Goodwill got their hands on the rare sealed game. What isn’t a mystery, however, is how Goodwill plans to use the generous sum. They have already announced plans to use it to fund the construction of a career center in Stamford, CT to help with the many Americans still struggling to recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Best of luck to them!
