New and don't know where to start

[Apollo22]

So, first off, i'm new and not much of a gamer. A friend suggested talking to a few people on here that might be able to help. My girlfriend was cleaning out a bunch of boxes the other day that her dad left behind after her mom passed away and found a few games. She asked her dad about them and he didn't really care to much. Pretty much all the games that were in the box he received as gifts. Never played any of them. The only one he considered playing was World Of WarCraft. And the only reason he considered it was because of everyone going crazy about it at the time. He opened the box and never made it any further than that. All the items in the box are still in their original packaging. The only packaging that was opened was the plastic the box was sealed in. Every one I have talked to so far seems to think I have a jem here. I have no idea. I was hoping some of the members here could help tell me a little about what I have.
From what I under stand it is the World of Warcraft the burning crusades collectors edition. They tell me its vanilla. What ever that means. And that I should hold on to it. I guess what i am asking is how can i tell if its valuable and why is it so valuable? I was considering giving it to my nephew who is a huge gamer and wants to go into video game design and programming. Figured he might like it but i don't even know what kind of games hes into.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[Twisted]

there was some world of warcraft collectors edition that had a small print run..just before the whole world of warcraft phenominem exploded..it's supply vs. demand...there are many PC gamers who want to collect this version that i referring to..although i don't know what you really have, and there's just not enough copies floating around.

[Apollo22]

My buddy said something about there being pets or whatever that you can only get in this edition. thats part of why its so sought after. and the fact there are very few floating around. what should i look for to know if its even worth anything? either way its going to my nephew as a gift. welllllllll, unless i get sticker shock that is then i might hang on to it. lol

[utta]

Originally Posted by Apollo22

My buddy said something about there being pets or whatever that you can only get in this edition. thats part of why its so sought after. and the fact there are very few floating around. what should i look for to know if its even worth anything? either way its going to my nephew as a gift. welllllllll, unless i get sticker shock that is then i might hang on to it. lol

It depends on if it's Burning Crusade (green box) or Vanilla(the original World of Warcraft CE in a brown box).

It also depends on if the code is used. It's a one off, and once used, it's useless to try again, and then you'd try to sell it to someone wanting to fill the space in their collection.

if you're looking for a monetary value, it breaks down as followed

Vanilla with valid code: $450-800
Vanilla without valid code: $75-100

The Burning Crusade with valid code: $300-450
The Burning Crusade without valid code: $125-150

[Apollo22]

its in the brown box and considering he never even pulled anything out of the box except the book to read up a little on it, i think its safe to assume the codes are still good. how is it that some of these are so sought after that people are asking like $3,500 for them? i mean come on, its just a game right? sorry if i sound kind of naive

[Apollo22]

the cards inside are still in the plastic as well

[utta]

Originally Posted by Apollo22

its in the brown box and considering he never even pulled anything out of the box except the book to read up a little on it, i think its safe to assume the codes are still good. how is it that some of these are so sought after that people are asking like $3,500 for them? i mean come on, its just a game right? sorry if i sound kind of naive

As someone who plays WoW, with a GF who is addicted to collecting pets, it's safe to assume that a lot of time, money and sweat go into getting her the pets. Some people have more money than I, and less things to do with it. Some people are sealed collectors, and for old out of print items like the original World of Warcraft, they'll spend obscene amounts of money.

If you could, could you post a pic? The cards were never in the brown box, just in the green and blue(The next expac of Wrath of the Lich King)

[Apollo22]

guess goes to show how little i know. lol. it is the green box. bad lighting i guess when i pulled it out. looks brown from the side. i'll do my best to post a pic. just have to figure out how. not very tec savy

[utta]

Originally Posted by Apollo22

guess goes to show how little i know. lol. it is the green box. bad lighting i guess when i pulled it out. looks brown from the side. i'll do my best to post a pic. just have to figure out how. not very tec savy

it's a vBulletin board, so if you're on any other sites that use vBulletin, you can use this way.

Scroll down to the text window, click Go Advanced, and if you have a link(photobucket), click on the little landscape picture, 6 spaces to the left of the "youtube" button.

[Apollo22]

yeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhhh, no photo bucket or anything like that. i have a fb. i can upload to that and just share the link i think