What’s it worth? Sega Zaxxon sold in Cincinnati, OH

In today’s edition of ‘What’s it worth?’, here is a recently ended auction on eBay for a Sega Zaxxon that sold in the Cincinnati, OH area.

Sega Zaxxon – Really solid final BIN price

For me, Zaxxon is one of the games that comes to mind when I think of Sega for one of the most widely produced games. Paramount owned Sega and spent considerable money to product a commercial for Zaxxon back in the 80’s to ensure their claim of that Zaxxon was the new #1 game came true. I’d speculate this game did get production numbers likely in the thousand(s), possibly multiple tens of thousands.

The likelihood that this game was widely produced, in part supports the typical selling price for this game. I typically think the value of this game being in the range of $400-$600, with a higher end of $700. Right now (May) there are a half dozen active listings across the US for this game that have been sitting for weeks in that $400-$500 price range or lower. However, this auction would support that a Zaxxon in nice original condition in an urban area can command a premium over the typical price.

Final Bid Price for the Zaxxon: $795

What to look for when buying a Zaxxon

One of the main things to look at when valuing this game is the condition of the cabinet. This auction (surprisingly) only had a single photo showing one side of the cabinet. But this game is notorious for having rust on the coin returns, the composite cabinet chipped and crumbling on the bottom edge or under the coin returns, and the artwork in disarray. The black sideart was a target for kids to carve their initials, and the control panel overlays almost always have worn through on the radius if not pulled away from parts of the panel.

This particular Zaxxon cabinet doesn’t appear to have any of those issues. The sideart on the one side (assuming its original) only has a few chunks missing and is fairly free of scratches. The overlay is in amazing shape, the buyer should ask whether or not that overlay is original. This Old Game produces quality, highly accurate reproductions – but there is a ton of reproduction artwork out there for Zaxxon that is really low quality and can be a detractor from the value long term.

Closing Note – Valuing Games

This auction is one example where someone could have left money on the table if they had followed a ‘price guide’ for this game.

If you have a Zaxxon or another game that you are looking to get an up to date appraisal that reflects collectors in your city, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I monitor values of games across a number of different sources beyond eBay and I provide free estimates on game values, all you need to do is send along photos and a description of the condition of your game.

Here are some similar arcade posts

• What’s it worth? Williams Defender sold in Georgia
• What’s it worth? Atari Gauntlet – Houston, Texas
• What’s it worth? Atari Asteroids Deluxe – Grand Island, Nebraska
• What’s it worth? Nintendo Popeye – Key West, Florida
• What’s it worth? Donkey Kong Jr. Parts

If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.