Climate Vault Storage
Free 90-day holding for every consigned lot.
Sealed lots rest at 18°C and 45% relative humidity in our on-site vault, individually boxed and insured to A$25,000 per item at no charge for the first 90 days.
Est. 2014 — Fitzroy, Melbourne
The Gavel for Rare Game Artifacts
BlazeArtifactJournal grades, authenticates and auctions the cartridges, sealed copies and consoles that defined a generation — catalogued with the rigour of a fine-art house and the eye of a lifelong collector.
The House
A saleroom built for players, run by archivists
Housed in a restored 1880s warehouse on Gertrude Street, our rooms sit between Fitzroy’s galleries and the old Foundry laneways. Every lot that crosses the block is examined under raking light, weighed, photographed and logged against three decades of price history before it ever reaches a bidder.
We began as a print zine appraising boxed imports; today we run monthly live gavel auctions, a members’ vault, and an editorial desk that publishes the provenance behind each headline lot. No shill bids, no mystery reserves — just honest condition reports and a paddle in your hand.
11,400+
Artifacts catalogued
98.6%
Grading concordance
A$2.7M
Hammered in 2025
How a Lot Moves
From doorstep to gavel in five measured steps
Consignments follow the same disciplined path whether it is a loose Mega Drive cartridge or a factory-sealed first print. Typical turnaround is 10–14 business days.
- 01
Intake & Cataloguing
Drop in to the Gertrude Street rooms or post insured. We assign a lot number, record serials and shoot reference frames the same day.
- 02
Authentication
PCB traces, label registration and shell moulds are checked against our reference library to rule out reproductions and reseals.
- 03
Grading & Photography
A two-assessor blind grade on our 100-point scale, followed by 24-megapixel photography under calibrated D65 lighting.
- 04
Auction Listing
Your lot is published with a full condition report and an honest reserve, then promoted to our registered bidder roll ahead of the monthly sale.
- 05
Settlement
Cleared funds are remitted within five business days of the hammer, less a flat 12% seller’s commission. No listing or photography fees.
Assurances
What the paddle number buys you
Hover any card to read the fine print behind each guarantee.
Two-Assessor Grading
Independent blind grades, reconciled on record.
Every artifact is graded twice without either assessor seeing the other’s notes. Discrepancies over two points are re-examined and the reasoning is printed in your report.
Live Gavel Auctions
Monthly saleroom sessions, in person or by proxy.
Sales run the last Saturday of each month from 2pm in the Gertrude Street rooms. Absentee and phone bids are welcome, and every hammer price is published afterward.
Provenance Records
A permanent, portable history for each lot.
Ownership chain, grade notes and high-resolution imagery are archived to a tamper-evident certificate that travels with the artifact through every future sale.
Restorations
Before the bench, after the bench
A sample of console and cartridge restorations completed in our Fitzroy workshop. Drag the divider to compare.
After
BeforeYellowed Super Console Shell
Reversed 30 years of UV oxidation without bleaching the branding.
After
BeforeCorroded Cartridge Contacts
Re-tinned edge connector and a fresh save battery — boots first try.
Enquiries
Questions before you consign
Search the most common questions from collectors and sellers.
Standard grading starts at A$180 per artifact and covers authentication, a two-assessor grade and calibrated photography. Bulk collections of ten or more items are quoted at A$150 each. The initial appraisal consultation is always free.
We charge a flat 12% of the hammer price, deducted at settlement. There are no listing fees, photography fees or reserve fees. Unsold lots can be relisted once at no additional cost.
No. You are welcome to visit the Gertrude Street rooms Tuesday to Saturday, but you can also post consignments insured. We photograph and log every parcel the day it arrives and email you a receipt with the assigned lot numbers.
We inspect wrap seam geometry, shrink texture, sticker placement and the print registration on the box itself under magnification. Findings are cross-checked against our reference library of factory examples, and anything inconclusive is graded as “unverified seal” rather than guessed.
Cleared funds are remitted by bank transfer within five business days of the hammer falling, once the buyer’s payment settles. You receive a full statement showing the hammer price, commission and net proceeds.
Yes. We’ll suggest an honest reserve based on recent comparable results, but the final figure is yours. We do not place shill or protective bids of our own — the reserve is the only floor.
Contact
Book an appraisal or visit the rooms
Send a note and one of our assessors will reply within one business day. For time-sensitive consignments, call the rooms directly.
Phone
+61 3 9347 8435Rooms
17a Gertrude Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Email
[email protected]Saleroom Hours
Tue–Sat, 10am–6pm · Closed public holidays
17a Gertrude Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Gertrude Street, Fitzroy — two doors from the Smith Street corner