Rare 1982 Atari game found in Texas Goodwill donation sells for $10,590

Representational photo of an Atari 2600 Game - SVG.com

A box of old video games donated to a Goodwill store in Texas turned out to contain a rare 1982 Atari game that collectors had been searching for. The game, Air Raid for the Atari 2600, was sold at auction for $10,590.79 after a bidding war attracted 34 bids.According to Inside Edition,the rare find was discovered in early June 2021 at a Goodwill store in North Texas. Alex Juarez, an e-commerce item processor at Goodwill North Central Texas, was going through donated video games when he noticed one that looked different from the others.The game had a distinctive T-shaped handle and light-blue colour. Juarez recognised that it might not be an ordinary Atari game, so he called his father, who is a video game enthusiast.

His father confirmed that the game was something special.The game was Air Raid, a title released in 1982 for the Atari 2600. It was manufactured by Men-A-Vision and was based on a simple premise in which players controlled an airship while defending Earth.Air Raid was not widely released. Its scarcity made it highly sought after by retro video game collectors. Goodwill North Central Texas said at the time that only 13 known copies of the game existed.

The organisation did not know who had donated the game. According to Goodwill, the donor was most likely unaware that the old video game was a rare collectible worth thousands of dollars.

Rare game goes up for auction

After Juarez identified the game, Goodwill North Central Texas decided to put it up for auction rather than sell it through one of its regular stores.The auction began on June 10, 2021, on the ShopGoodwill website. It was scheduled to run for seven days, but interest in the rare Atari game grew quickly after it was listed.The first bid of $20 came just 15 minutes after the listing went live. By the end of the first day, the bidding had already crossed $2,000.The offers continued to rise during the following days. By the morning of the final day, the highest bid had reached $5,100.

The 1982 Atari 2600 game "Air Raid" sold for $10,590.79 at a Goodwill auction. (Goodwill North Central Texas photo)

The listing attracted considerable attention from collectors. Goodwill said the game was added to 235 watchlists during the auction.The biggest jump came in the final minute. The leading bid increased from $6,300 to the final sale price of $10,590.79.

The result surprised Goodwill officials, who had expected the game to sell for considerably less.Liz Confiliano, director of community engagement at Goodwill North Central Texas, said the organisation had looked at previous sales to estimate the value of the game. The most recent copy they could find had sold on eBay in 2011 for $3,575.The Goodwill copy did not have its original box, so the organisation expected it to sell in roughly the same range.

Instead, the final price was almost three times the amount of that earlier sale.

$10,000 sale to support Goodwill programmes

The money raised from the auction was also set to support Goodwill's community programmes. Goodwill North Central Texas said the more than $10,000 generated by the sale could fund day habilitation services for one adult with disabilities for a year. It could also support job placement services and community resources for 20 homeless people.The organisation said the money could alternatively help 10 at-risk young people earn their GED while receiving a paycheck.Rosemary Cruz, vice president of donated goods and retail at Goodwill North Central Texas, said the organisation was having fun with the unexpected discovery. The identity of the buyer was not disclosed.