Yard sales can be great places to find collectibles, as demonstrated by a Reddit user who managed to find a piece of Halo history for a fraction of the modern collectible market value. Over its twenty-year history, the series has grown a sizeable fanbase, and naturally has attracted the interest of collectors.
Halo is a first-person shooter series that was first created by Bungie, who now actively support Destiny 2. 343 Industries now manages the Halo series, but entries from the Bungie era remain revered as some of the best console first-person shooters.
A post on Reddit by u/beveralan shows a sealed copy of a sealed Halo 2 preview disc, purchased for only one dollar. The preview disc was a promotional item given out in the buildup to Halo 2's launch and contains several videos, including a trailer for the collector's edition featurette Behind the Scenes: Making of Halo 2. The cover of the disc features Halo 2's Master Chief clad in the iconic Spartan armor. Back in the buildup to launch, many fans would have opened their copies, but the copy beveralan found is sealed. Therefore, it is worth much more in the modern collector's market, selling for upwards of $200.
With the massive price disparity, commentors were quick to point out the value in the collectible. Some replies even express interest in buying it off beveralan, so the future of this copy of the preview disc is unclear. Regardless of price, the preview disc is an interesting piece of Halo history, and is a concept marked by its time. In 2021, game trailers and behind the scenes videos would usually be distributed digitally instead of as physical items. These days, video game merchandise tends to be designed as collectible rather than a way to provide information.
The history of the item itself is also worth considering. It appears to be in very good condition, which can be a huge selling point for video game collectibles, so it was likely never distributed in the first place. Good condition increases the collectible value of an item, as it means the disc inside may still be in working order, provided it has not been broken at some point in the flimsy package.
While it is likely the contents of another collector's disc were archived, a good condition copy is an important component of Halo's storied past. The original discs would have been exciting for gamers at the time, but after the game released the discs became moot. Halo 2 is widely credited with being the reason Xbox Live took off in the first place, and the buildup to launch would have been an exciting experience to live through and anticipate, especially through the exclusive content featured on promotional discs. As such, this Halo fan is very lucky.