Retro shops in Austin, TX?
So I just moved to Austin, TX a few weeks ago and I was initially delighted when I heard about GameOver, a retro video game shop with a healthy selection of rarities and imports. Upon arrival, however, I realized this is like a boutique to a thrift store. They have old games alright, but they don't come cheap. $15 for Monopoly on NES?
My question is, to anyone who lives in the area, where is one to go for reasonably priced retro video games?
Hey bro. I spend some time in Austin from time to time and have been to all three Game Over Video Game stores. They are defenitly pricey, although I will say they have the best customer service. Their systems are decently priced though. I bought a N64 for $29 bucks and took it home (I live 6 hours away) To my disapointment, there was a problem and it didnt work. I sent an email to them, and I got a phone call from the owner himself. He was really sorry. They sent me another one, no charge, and I didnt even have to ship the defective one back. I just took it back when I was in town. That was super. Anyhow, the games are a bit pricey, but I guess thats what you have to do if thats your sole buisness. They had Super Mario Allstars there for $40 bux!?? I got it on ebay for $9. Theres a store called Game Fellas, and theres one called Gamerz at the Lakeline mall. Theyre all pretty descent, but priced about the same. Game Over has cool events though, competitions and Concerts..cool!
After perusing Google Maps, looks like there's a couple stores called Gamefellas that carry used games (I don't know whether they cover retro gaming or not), and another store called Press Play Video-Games that states that they have classic games there. And there's a couple Play N' Trade locations around the area, they usually have some older stuff, but at close-to-eBay prices. There's also a place called GamerZ that looks fairly promising. And if you're willing to travel every once in a while, there's a Console GameXchange up in Temple, and an FX Game Exchange (the words "game exchange" are very popular for stores it seems) up in Waco, and there are supposed to be some good game stores around Bryan and College Station. I've only been south as far as Waco and Temple and can't vouch for the Austin and Bryan/College Station stores.
There are also decent amounts of thrift stores strewn across central Texas, too. That's my favorite part of collecting classic games, the thrill of the hunt! Burning three-quarters of a tank of gas and 90% of your iPod's battery in an all-day hunt is almost always worth it, not just for the finds but for the experience. The last time I was down that way I ended up with Japanese PS1 memory cards, a few SNES games, a virtually unusable Dreamcast controller, and (finally) a pair of SMS 3D glasses along with some odds and ends. Good times, good times.
Make the drive up here to Dallas, and you'll find a wealth of places. There's several Movie Trading Company location scattered around, something like 4 Console GameXchange stores nearer to Dallas, an FX Game Exchange up in McKinney, Screw Attack!'s store Game Attack! is up in Flower Mound, Bulldog Comics and Games (a tiny dive mostly for tabletop games although they have a dwindling assortment of video games) up in Lewisville, a few Entertainmarts around the Dallas area (they've got a smaller amount of retro stuff), and a couple of Play N' Trades. Plus there's a good game seller out at Trader's Village Flea Market that's been there forever, and other flea markets and thrift stores a'plenty. Dallas went from having very little classic gaming to an overabundance. It's pretty sweet.
Last edited by Steve W; 08-27-2010 at 12:07 AM.
I moved to the area about a year ago. Game Fellas is the best store I have found. For retro games they do deals like buy 2 get one free and things of that nature.
Their prices aren't too bad either. Final Fight 2 for 10 bucks. That's a steal if you ask me. The rest of the prices aren't super low, but fair. . . Chrono Trigger for SNES was $50. . . could be a lot worse.
GameOver on the other hand. . . Big time ripoff. Anything that isn't a sports game is going to be at least ten dollars. I think they might actually price SMB/Duckhunt at 9.99. I could be wrong on that. . .Regardless, the prices there are a joke.
There is a Play-N-Trade in Round Rock. They're pretty hit and miss. . . and don't have much of their store devoted to older games.
Of course, the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores are always worth checking. If all else fails, there is always Half Price Books. Sometimes you can get lucky there.
I almost forgot about Flea Markets! Some are better than others. . . and some people will try to rip you off big time.
Last edited by Dirkfunk; 08-27-2010 at 09:58 AM.
Since I've a spent a lot of time in most of the places mentioned above I'll throw in my two cents worth.
Austin:
GameFellas has been around a long time in the Austin area and they offer some great deals on systems and games, as stated above, but they concentrate on systems from the 90's and 2000's. You won't find much in the way of 80's classics except for NES and a few SMS games. All of their stores are well stocked and well run with the systems that they support. They recently opened up a store at Highland Mall which replaced their PressPlay store (PressPlay is part of GameFellas) and they feature DVD's alongside video games. The north store at Lake Creek Pkwy used to be the one located at Northcross Mall and as such is the location you'll find more of the older stuff. Their customer service is good and I've never had a problem with anything I bought at any of their stores.
Game Over is the newer of the chains and concentrates on 80's and early 90's systems and games with a smaller selection of stuff from the late 90's and 2000's. They are sometimes a bit pricier but it depends on what it is. They definitely know the value of the harder to find games but I've never had a problem with the prices as I feel that they are pretty fair about things. They do get a lot of stuff in stock and I've spent quite a bit of money with them building up my Dreamcast collection. If you're looking for Atari 2600/Intellivision era stuff then this the place to go in Austin. They carry a great selection of loose carts as well as new boxed games for the 2600 and Intellivision. The north store (Lamar at Hwy 183) features an impressive retro system museum with items going back to the early 70's. Customer service is top notch and they have been great about letting me know when something I'm looking for shows up in one of their stores. As mentioned already in this thread they put on some great gaming events during the summer months.
Gamerz at Lakeline Mall is the newest of the retro stores in the Austin area and while I've found a few games I needed there they have a limited stock and really don't have much in the way of 80's classics. They mostly carry the late 90's and 2000's stuff. I haven't spent too much time in this store but the staff was always friendly and willing to look up stuff in their system to see if they had anything in inventory that wasn't on display.
Central Texas:
F/X Game Exchange is another great chain although they concentrate mostly on the mid 90's to 2000's, carrying new XBOX 360, PS3 and Wii items. Depending upon the location they carry games and systems all the way back to the 2600 but you'll mostly find stacks of commons. Their College Station store is the original and probably the best stocked when it comes to older stuff. They have locations in all over the central part of the state including Bastrop, Brownwood, McKinney, Waco and possibly a few other towns since I last checked. Outside of their College Station store the Waco store is the best stocked but don't let that keep you from checking out their smaller locations. I've been surprised a few times by what they had in stock. They are a chain that also tends to carry DVD's as well but it's definitely not a big part of the inventory. I give them very high marks on their customer service. I picked up a game at the College Station store and didn't realize until I got home (170 miles away) that disc 2 was missing (my mistake too for not catching it while I was there.) I called them up and the clerk found the disc, apologized for the mistake and mailed it to me at no additional cost.
North Texas:
Console GameExchange has a pretty good selection of stuff dating back to the NES era but if you think Game Over's prices are high then watch out for this chain. They are definitely the priciest of the retro stores in Texas but that might have something to do with their mall locations. The Valley View Mall location is probably their best stocked store as well as their best looking store.
PlayNTrade is a chain that I avoid. Not because of any pricing or customer service issues but because of the lackluster stock. Every time I've stopped in at one of their locations they only seem to have the most common titles and lots of them.
I been to two Movie Tradking Company locations and was not impressed by anything they had. Not what I would call a retro store, more like a store that just happened to have something from the 90's because some random person walked in and dropped off their kids old PSOne games.
I haven't been to Game Attack but I'll have to make sure and stop in there next time I'm in the Dallas area.
you must not have been to any movie trading companies recently man. they have a huge amount of retro stuff. The main one I hit 2 times a week doesn't have much boxed stuff other than genesis, but they have a plethora of NES, SNES, Genesis stuff.
The nice thing is the boxed stuff is same price as unboxed so on those occasions they get boxed stuff you get a really good deal
I have gotten 2 misadventures of tron bonne for $9.99 at this store, chrono trigger complete 44.99, breath of fire 1 & 2 both complete $19.99 each, and a few more things too. i passed on a snatcher complete $74.99 but wished i would have gotten it.
I used to work for Gamefellas "back in the day" (mid to late 90's). Teresa and Paul ran those stores. Long story short, they split and Teresa opened up Gamerz. It's pretty much Gamefellas.
Also, check out any Half Price Books you come across. I've found some pretty good scores there. There's a location on South Congress that I hit whenever I'm in town visiting my folks. It's also right up the street from a Goodwill, where I've had some good luck as well.
Austin has a lot of great places to find retrogaming, unlike the barren wasteland that is Houston - the crotch of Texas.
Yeah, it has been a while since I went to their stores. I skipped them the last two or three times I was in town. Thanks for the info. I'll have to make it a point to hit some of their locations when I'm up there in October.Originally Posted by jeffg
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