As any GameFan reader would tell you, GameFan was very, how shall we say, generous, with their game scores. It wasn't uncommon to flip open any given issue of GameFan and find high '80s and '90s slapped across the board. And you might be thinking that's what this particular article is based around...

But actually, no

Not only is GameFan generous.... but so too are the people who own them...

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 13, 2007

After class let out I drove to the local library. Tonight, a HUGE GameFan auction was ending, and it was my chance to fill in the gaps. Issue #2 through 12!  In all, 11 issues that are VERY HARD to come by, and highly sought after. I knew what I had to do. SNIPE. You know what
they say: All's fair in love and eBay!

I arrived at the library around 7 PM. I had 80 minutes before showtime so I spent 40 minutes studying. At 7:40 PM I placed myself on the internet waiting list, which, when summoned,
allows you up to one hour's usage. At roughly 8 or so, my ass was firmly planted...

Gauging the auction's end time via the Bid History... I grabbed the nearest blank slip of paper and one of those stubby library pencils....

Pretty sad that
I kept it, huh? It
would end in 6
minutes and 13
seconds. I added
that to the time
and figured the
auction to end at
8:21 PM and 15
seconds. I'd place
my max $283.98
at precisely 8:21
and 10 seconds...

Yup, I REALLY wanted these mags. The seller put up great pics, had a great description and I could tell this guy kept them in pristine condition. It was just a gut feeling on my part... that this was the guy to buy it off of. Hence the overly INSANE maximum bid

It'd been a while since I seen the earliest GameFan issues for sell, and I didn't have any of them, so it was like this auction had my name all over it...

I also emailed him
prior to the end of
the auction. His
shipping price was
$16.85, but I asked
if he'd do flat rate
priority, and he
agreed. Therefore
shipping was $10
and I used that to
calculate my max
bid. I punched in
$283.98 and waited
anxiously as the
seconds ticked
down...

                  The page
                  refreshed...

A WINNER IS YOU!

The 11th bid of the auction, I sniped with 5 seconds to go for $162.51, or $172.51 total. $15.68 per issue. A hefty price, but in some ways a bit of a bargain, too. I've seen them go for even more, and to get them all in one fell swoop was super sexy, oh yeah

5 days later, the packaged arrived. In addition to the mags, what did I find inside?

Bonus items?  I dug to the bottom of the peanuts

It wasn't much, but the thought spoke volumes

So, thanks to Joe and Larry (from 3.19.06) I now had GameFan from issue #2 to the end of 1994. Being able to reclaim this part of my childhood was priceless. And wouldn't it be nice to get the '95 issues too... to round out the "16-bit age."  A little over a month later, why, I'll be damned

WEDNESDAY MARCH 21, 2007

As luck would have it I decided to do a random GameFan search on eBay Tuesday March 20, 2007. Lo and behold, a lot of '95 issues was ending the very next night. 11 issues from '95.... exactly what I was looking for!  Best of all, it only had one bid: currently at $9.99!

24 hours later: CONGRATULATIONS!  YOU WON LOT OF 11 GAMEFAN ISSUES '95!

My max was a much tamer $48.88. WOW. It ended at $12.50!

$12.50 + $6.95 S&H + Insurance + DC number = $21.25 total. Or a measly $1.93 per issue!

While the 1995 issues aren't as sought after as the earlier ones, which can command anywhere from $15-$25 an issue, it's STILL not particularly easy to come by. This was one of those lucky breaks -- caught people sleeping at the wheel...

5 days later, it arrived. And I must say, asa veteran of eBay since the summer of 1999, with over 500 transactions under my belt... this package turned out pretty damn memorable...

          Just beautiful...

          But suddenly,
          something drops
          out of the box...

Hey, that's me!

[*Slaps forehead* -Ed.]

A card? For moi? There was something thick-ish inside it, too...

And that thick-ish thing inside....

Thick, green, not QUITE what I was looking for but hey

Couldn't have said it better myself, Mario. Talk about some generosity! It wasn't like I paid her
an arm and leg, either. So this came genuinely from her heart  *cue audience awwwww*

Simply unbelievable. Within 40 days my GameFan set went from 1994 to 1993-1995. And...
I dealt with two of the most generous sellers I've ever had the pleasure to do business with

A FINAL THOUGHT

Be it a quiet Monday evening, or a lazy Sunday afternoon, whenever I thumb through these issues I can't help but think of ole Joe and Irene... two former GameFan owners who were...
hard to believe.... EVEN MORE generous than GameFan itself

Skid, Mr. Goo, the whole gang... would be proud, I'm sure

I know I am