Making a Fortune From Junk

I was never a gamer, and not a hoarder, either, but both of those things just made Tanner Sandlin of Austin, Texas, a little bit richer. He sold his boxed (but used) cartridge of Air Raid for the Atari 2600 for $31,600 on eBay. The game is only one of 13 known copies to still exist, and the only known copy to still have its box.

And the only reason Tanner Sandlin still had it, with box intact, is because he is a bit of a packrat and never got rid of it.

Me? Even if I’d had it, it would have gone the way of lots of other things I once had…off to the thrift store or into the trash. If I haven’t used it for a year, I don’t need it (so my rational brain thinks) and I toss it or give it away. Mr. Sandlin did no such thing, and now he’s $31,600 richer.

I wonder what he’ll do with the money. I wonder what I’d do with a $31,600 windfall. What would you do with it? And do you have a copy of Air Raid I can buy off you, cheap?