Today, many gaming consoles offer a games library of an entire generation, and in many cases are available on devices no bigger than a large smartphone, which has enhanced the retro gaming experience in new ways. With this in mind, we decided to find out which gaming consoles are the most valuable on the second-hand resale market. To do so, we analysed data from more than 13,000 listings across eBay, Gumtree and WeBuy for 23 of the most popular gaming consoles (see sources at the end for how we picked these).
After analysing the live listings – including how many of each item were currently listed on each resale site, the lowest price of all live listings on each resale site, and the highest price of all live listings on each resale site – we calculated an estimated ‘average’ (median*) price that these items are currently listing for on each resale site, to illustrate the price range potential of each.
We then scored each console based on 4 key factors –
1. Rarity score (R)
- Based on the amount of current live listings, at the time of research
- The lower, the better (less competition, ‘rarer’)
2. Lowest current price score (L)
- Based on all current live listings, at the time of research
- The higher, the better (higher potential starting prices)
3. Highest current price score (L)
- Based on all current live listings, at the time of research
- The higher, the better (higher potential selling prices)
4. Average potential price on the resale market score (A)
- Calculated based on the lowest and highest prices listed at the time of research
- The higher, the better (higher potential selling prices)
We then calculated an average across the 3 resale platforms analysed, to create a definitive index. We then used these metrics to calculate an average across the three resale platforms analysed, and used this to create a definitive index to rank the consoles.
Top Consoles – What we Discovered
By combining the findings, scores, and rankings across all three platforms, the top 10 ‘most valuable’ consoles in the second-hand resale market overall were revealed as:
Interestingly, the top 10 included a mixture of modern and retro consoles, as well as a variety of at-home, hybrid, and portable models.
Looking at consoles released pre-Millennium, Atari Jaguar, Sega Dreamcast, and Sega Saturn were amongst those with the biggest earning potential. As the latest generation (and so, likely to retain a lot of their value), PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series unsurprisingly featured high up.
Read on to examine the data and explore the results in more detail…
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eBay listings
Ordered from earliest release year, our research discovered the following:
|
CONSOLE |
eBay DATA AND ANALYSIS |
||||||
|
Console |
Initial release year |
Company |
Estimated sales |
Lowest current listing price (L) |
Average current listing price* (A) |
Highest current listing price (H) |
# of live listing results (R) |
|
Atari 2600 |
1977 |
Atari |
30M |
£20.00 |
£184.98 |
£349.95 |
66 |
|
Game Boy / Game Boy Color |
1989 |
Nintendo |
118.69M |
£44.99 |
£202.49 |
£359.99 |
314 |
|
Sega Game Gear |
1990 |
Sega |
13.9M |
£59.99 |
£280.00 |
£500.00 |
101 |
|
Atari Jaguar |
1993 |
Atari |
250K |
£189.50 |
£844.75 |
£1,499.99 |
22 |
|
PlayStation |
1994 |
Sony |
102.4M |
£9.99 |
£135.00 |
£260.00 |
624 |
|
Nintendo 64 |
1996 |
Nintendo |
32.93M |
£34.95 |
£517.47 |
£999.99 |
263 |
|
Sega Dreamcast |
1998 |
Sega |
9.13M |
£64.99 |
£257.50 |
£450.00 |
133 |
|
PlayStation 2 |
2000 |
Sony |
159M |
£19.95 |
£134.98 |
£250.00 |
621 |
|
Game Boy Advance |
2001 |
Nintendo |
81.51M |
£44.78 |
£121.89 |
£199.00 |
119 |
|
GameCube |
2001 |
Nintendo |
21.740M |
£23.95 |
£131.97 |
£239.99 |
227 |
|
Xbox |
2001 |
Microsoft |
21M |
£20.00 |
£209.50 |
£399.00 |
304 |
|
PlayStation Portable |
2004 |
Sony |
82M |
£11.00 |
£80.50 |
£150.00 |
119 |
|
Nintendo DS |
2004 |
Nintendo |
154.02M |
£37.99 |
£144.00 |
£250.00 |
87 |
|
Xbox 360 |
2005 |
Microsoft |
85M |
£14.99 |
£257.50 |
£500.00 |
599 |
|
PlayStation 3 |
2006 |
Sony |
87.5M |
£5.99 |
£115.47 |
£224.95 |
2400 |
|
Nintendo Wii |
2006 |
Nintendo |
101.63M |
£35.00 |
£192.50 |
£350.00 |
324 |
|
Nintendo 3DS |
2011 |
Nintendo |
75.94M |
£10.00 |
£182.50 |
£355.00 |
245 |
|
PlayStation Vita |
2011 |
Sony |
14M |
£18.00 |
£159.00 |
£300.00 |
84 |
|
PlayStation 4 |
2013 |
Sony |
117.2M |
£44.99 |
£322.50 |
£600.00 |
514 |
|
Xbox One |
2013 |
Microsoft |
50M |
£30.00 |
£190.00 |
£350.00 |
757 |
|
Nintendo Switch |
2017 |
Nintendo |
107.65M |
£74.99 |
£287.50 |
£500.00 |
540 |
|
PlayStation 5 |
2020 |
Sony |
20M |
£340.00 |
£820.00 |
£1,300.00 |
188 |
|
Xbox Series X|S |
2020 |
Microsoft |
8M |
£95.00 |
£494.98 |
£894.95 |
263 |
Based on the eBay findings, Atari Jaguar, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series were the most ‘valuable’ consoles on the platform.
Atari Jaguar, Atari 2600, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation Portable, and Sega Game Gear had the fewest results (R), indicating that they were ‘rarer’ consoles of the resale market, also showing lower competition for a sale for these.
PlayStation 5, Atari Jaguar, and Xbox Series had the highest starting prices (L), whereas Atari Jaguar, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo 64 had the highest potential prices by top price (H). When it came to the highest potential prices by average (A), Atari Jaguar, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo 64 topped the list for eBay.
Gumtree listings
Ordered from earliest release year, our research discovered the following:
|
CONSOLE |
Gumtree DATA AND ANALYSIS |
||||||
|
Console |
Initial release year |
Company |
Estimated sales |
Lowest current listing price (L) |
Average current listing price* (A) |
Highest current listing price (H) |
# of live listing results (R) |
|
Atari 2600 |
1977 |
Atari |
30M |
£50.00 |
£55.00 |
£60.00 |
4 |
|
Game Boy / Game Boy Color |
1989 |
Nintendo |
118.69M |
£20.00 |
£47.50 |
£75.00 |
42 |
|
Sega Game Gear |
1990 |
Sega |
13.9M |
£70.00 |
£97.50 |
£125.00 |
4 |
|
Atari Jaguar |
1993 |
Atari |
250K |
£390.00 |
£545.00 |
£700.00 |
5 |
|
PlayStation |
1994 |
Sony |
102.4M |
£15.00 |
£70.00 |
£125.00 |
63 |
|
Nintendo 64 |
1996 |
Nintendo |
32.93M |
£25.00 |
£67.50 |
£110.00 |
37 |
|
Sega Dreamcast |
1998 |
Sega |
9.13M |
£100.00 |
£112.50 |
£125.00 |
7 |
|
PlayStation 2 |
2000 |
Sony |
159M |
£5.00 |
£75.00 |
£145.00 |
73 |
|
Game Boy Advance |
2001 |
Nintendo |
81.51M |
£45.00 |
£72.50 |
£100.00 |
16 |
|
GameCube |
2001 |
Nintendo |
21.740M |
£25.00 |
£100.00 |
£175.00 |
28 |
|
Xbox |
2001 |
Microsoft |
21M |
£30.00 |
£65.00 |
£100.00 |
6 |
|
PlayStation Portable |
2004 |
Sony |
82M |
£10.00 |
£80.00 |
£150.00 |
207 |
|
Nintendo DS |
2004 |
Nintendo |
154.02M |
£20.00 |
£80.00 |
£140.00 |
26 |
|
Xbox 360 |
2005 |
Microsoft |
85M |
£15.00 |
£50.00 |
£85.00 |
118 |
|
PlayStation 3 |
2006 |
Sony |
87.5M |
£5.00 |
£102.50 |
£200.00 |
659 |
|
Nintendo Wii |
2006 |
Nintendo |
101.63M |
£10.00 |
£130.00 |
£250.00 |
96 |
|
Nintendo 3DS |
2011 |
Nintendo |
75.94M |
£47.00 |
£48.50 |
£50.00 |
80 |
|
PlayStation Vita |
2011 |
Sony |
14M |
£75.99 |
£103.00 |
£130.00 |
7 |
|
PlayStation 4 |
2013 |
Sony |
117.2M |
£90.00 |
£320.00 |
£550.00 |
193 |
|
Xbox One |
2013 |
Microsoft |
50M |
£10.00 |
£180.00 |
£350.00 |
164 |
|
Nintendo Switch |
2017 |
Nintendo |
107.65M |
£7.00 |
£303.50 |
£600.00 |
685 |
|
PlayStation 5 |
2020 |
Sony |
20M |
£300.00 |
£650.00 |
£1,000.00 |
92 |
|
Xbox Series X|S |
2020 |
Microsoft |
8M |
£139.99 |
£345.00 |
£550.00 |
59 |
Corroborating the eBay findings, Atari Jaguar, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series were also the most ‘valuable’ consoles on Gumtree.
Sega Game Gear, Atari 2600, Atari Jaguar, Xbox, Sega Dreamcast, and PlayStation Vita had the fewest results (R), indicating that they were ‘rarer’ consoles of the resale market, also showing lower competition for a sale for these.
Like eBay, Atari Jaguar, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series had the highest starting prices (L), whereas PlayStation 5, Atari Jaguar, and Nintendo Switch had the highest potential prices by top price (H). When it came to the highest potential prices by average (A), PlayStation 5, Atari Jaguar, Xbox Series topped the list for Gumtree.
WeBuy listings
Ordered from earliest release year, our research discovered the following:
|
CONSOLE |
WeBuy DATA AND ANALYSIS |
||||||
|
Console |
Initial release year |
Company |
Estimated sales |
Lowest current listing price (L) |
Average current listing price* (A) |
Highest current listing price (H) |
# of live listing results (R) |
|
Atari 2600 |
1977 |
Atari |
30M |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
0 |
|
Game Boy / Game Boy Color |
1989 |
Nintendo |
118.69M |
£10.00 |
£77.50 |
£145.00 |
163 |
|
Sega Game Gear |
1990 |
Sega |
13.9M |
£27.00 |
£32.00 |
£37.00 |
7 |
|
Atari Jaguar |
1993 |
Atari |
250K |
£116.00 |
£366.50 |
£617.00 |
6 |
|
PlayStation |
1994 |
Sony |
102.4M |
£11.00 |
£216.50 |
£422.00 |
36 |
|
Nintendo 64 |
1996 |
Nintendo |
32.93M |
£32.00 |
£56.50 |
£81.00 |
79 |
|
Sega Dreamcast |
1998 |
Sega |
9.13M |
£32.00 |
£58.00 |
£84.00 |
6 |
|
PlayStation 2 |
2000 |
Sony |
159M |
£16.00 |
£69.50 |
£123.00 |
71 |
|
Game Boy Advance |
2001 |
Nintendo |
81.51M |
£23.00 |
£56.00 |
£89.00 |
69 |
|
GameCube |
2001 |
Nintendo |
21.740M |
£25.00 |
£70.50 |
£116.00 |
43 |
|
Xbox |
2001 |
Microsoft |
21M |
£28.00 |
£40.00 |
£52.00 |
10 |
|
PlayStation Portable |
2004 |
Sony |
82M |
£7.00 |
£52.50 |
£98.00 |
252 |
|
Nintendo DS |
2004 |
Nintendo |
154.02M |
£28.00 |
£55.00 |
£82.00 |
69 |
|
Xbox 360 |
2005 |
Microsoft |
85M |
£10.00 |
£34.00 |
£58.00 |
123 |
|
PlayStation 3 |
2006 |
Sony |
87.5M |
£14.00 |
£28.00 |
£42.00 |
64 |
|
Nintendo Wii |
2006 |
Nintendo |
101.63M |
£30.00 |
£87.50 |
£145.00 |
131 |
|
Nintendo 3DS |
2011 |
Nintendo |
75.94M |
£20.00 |
£105.50 |
£191.00 |
176 |
|
PlayStation Vita |
2011 |
Sony |
14M |
£37.00 |
£57.00 |
£77.00 |
9 |
|
PlayStation 4 |
2013 |
Sony |
117.2M |
£70.00 |
£110.00 |
£150.00 |
178 |
|
Xbox One |
2013 |
Microsoft |
50M |
£49.00 |
£78.50 |
£108.00 |
251 |
|
Nintendo Switch |
2017 |
Nintendo |
107.65M |
£94.00 |
£101.00 |
£108.00 |
109 |
|
PlayStation 5 |
2020 |
Sony |
20M |
£88.00 |
£249.00 |
£410.00 |
23 |
|
Xbox Series X|S |
2020 |
Microsoft |
8M |
£51.00 |
£217.00 |
£383.00 |
242 |
Based on the WeBuy findings, Atari Jaguar, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 1 were the most ‘valuable’ consoles on the platform.
Atari Jaguar, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Game Gear, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox Original had the fewest results (R), indicating that they were ‘rarer’ consoles of the resale market, also showing lower competition for a sale for these. However, there were 0 results for Atari 2600, showing that there may be an opportunity for this console on the platform in the future.
Atari Jaguar, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 5 had the highest starting prices (L), whereas Atari Jaguar, PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 5 had the highest potential prices by top price (H). When it came to the highest potential prices by average (A), Atari Jaguar, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series topped the list for WeBuy.
Selling Tips
Based on our findings, we’d encourage consumers to check in their storage for any gems which could be sold for a decent profit. For 21 of the consoles analysed, eBay was the most successful platform for attaining a high price. This except in the case of Nintendo Switch where Gumtree was more fruitful, and PlayStation 1 where WeBuy offered the most competitive price.
However, like all resale markets, a sale of your item is not guaranteed… If you are struggling to sell the whole item, consider selling for parts. If you cannot secure a sale, give trade-in alternatives, comparison sites, or recycling websites a go instead.
Here are five additional tips for getting your item sold for the biggest profit possible:
1. It’s all about the description
When writing your listing, use relevant keywords in the title, such as the console name. Add as much detail as you can in the description – remember to include aspects such as the colour, the memory size (larger memory improves ongoing gameplay), and the condition.
2. Be honest with the condition
To avoid any potential disputes with the buyer, it’s also important to be honest with the condition of the item in the listing. If the item is in any way faulty, has damage (such as scratches), or has missing pieces, then explicitly mention these within the listing.
3. Think about the extras
Think about any extras that you can throw in to create a bundle – for example, do you have any games or accessories that you can offer?
4. Additional selling points
Based on our research, limited edition or rare versions of consoles and games raked in a higher resale price overall. Keep these additional selling points in mind when listing your item.
5. Remove any personal data before sending
Before sending your item, make sure that all personal data (such as login details, passwords, photos, and videos), have been removed.
Retro Arcade Machines
Retro arcade machines are the symbol of arcade gaming–but the appeal of classic games doesn’t need to be confined in them. With a little help from modern tech, gamers can now bring the magic and nostalgia of arcades wherever they go. Our data shows that whilst modern consoles are popular, retro gaming consoles are giving the more modern beasts a run for their money, with four of our top 10 being consoles released in the last century.
This only goes to highlight the fact that retro gaming and the consoles associated with it, is very much alive in the UK. We have never been in any doubt about this - which is why we started Bitcade in the first place - but the data shows retro consoles are still in demand and fetching a pretty penny on the second hand market.
But why go for a retro console when you can have the authentic experience!
Our range of top selling arcade machines and accessories includes everything you could possibly need to enjoy or upgrade your machines performance – from USB controllers and cables to light guns and full-size machines. Our retro-style, multi-game arcade machines are available to buy in either 2 players or 4 player configurations, pre-loaded with up to 9000 single and multiplayer games. All of our arcade machines are fully tested prior to shipping and include one year's warranty.
If you have any special custom arcade machine requirements or questions, please get in touch with us by emailing sales@bitcade.co.uk