Searching for rare games is a rather depressing venture

[Terminusvitae]

...both in the real world and on the 'Net. I cannot precisely state how thoroughly demoralizing it can sometimes be to scour every yard sale, flea market, resale shop, thrift store, and so on within a 250-mile radius, and the greatest find you can claim is getting your hands on a color-label S.E.I. Impossible Mission 2 for the NES.

Unfortunately, excursions on the Internet fare little better--while of course it is easier (though by no means truly "easy") to find uncommon and rare items, any hope of a bargain or even fair market value should be immediately dashed, discarded, and fed through the woodchipper. Prices seemingly range from outrageous to astronomical, and you can forget about prying so much as a polite response from the owner, even if they claim to be "open to bargaining."

I must say, I envy all of you who manage to run across these amazing discoveries.

[8-bitNesMan]

If the fish aren't biting, try a different pond...

[Terminusvitae]

I suppose I was whining a bit in the topic post, and I will be relocating within the next few months. And, of course, I watch the Buying & Selling forum here at DP like a hawk eyeing a rabbit.

[8-bitNesMan]

I know the feeling man. I live in Tennessee and good finds used to be abundant around here. Now every seller has a bad case of Ebayitis even with dirt cheap commons. Well games that SHOULD be dirt cheap, but are anything but. Just keep plugging and when the motherlode does turn up, it will be that much sweeter. Good luck!

[snes_collector]

If you're looking for something, you'll never find it.....


That's how it goes for me, atlease

[pseudonym]

It's not too bad around here. I found a CIB Death Race and a CIB Destiny of an Emperor (NES) for $5 the other day. I always say, just keep looking and you're bound to find something good.

[theshizzle3000]

I think my friend Mick Jagger said it best:

No, you can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
And if you try sometime you find
You get what you need


On reading it though I guess it doesn't really pertain to this situation....oh well.

[Barbarianoutkast85]

Usually in my case, you're either hot, or your not. Like the last two months I've found a handful of CIB rares, and a handfull of loose rares. But then there's months were all you find is a bunch of toaster over NES's and SMB 3 carts.

[mnbren05]

I think this phenom. seems to be taking place many places. Ebay has certainly provided many people with a way to sell their products at a profit and quickly. This means though that the price of individual items goes up as people become greedy and buy into (literally and figuratively)the system. If the sellers can find buyers a prices will be inflated to resemble this trend. Unfortunately that means the local classic scene and finding rares etc becomes increasingly a chore. I used to be able to come across NES for $1 maybe $3 at the most and $5 for boxed games. Now those prices have atleast tripled in some cases and for the most gone way up. I guess it's the price you pay for having a service like ebay that provides everyone a avenue to as they put it "Shop Victoriously".

[otaku]

personally I like the internet side of things its alot easier to get ahold of stuff than going through shops or traveling to find stuff (cheaper most of the time to!) also I tend to be able to sell the rare stuff when I'm done with it for the price I paid if not profit (or lose very little) I;m fine with things

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Yeah, I get demoralized too when I look at the "[insert month] 2007 finds" thread... I usually have a few small things to post compared to the motherlode that a lot of people hit on a weekly basis. Central Florida is a black hole of good games. Now despite not finding games, I do run across a fair amount of NES, N64s and the occasional Genesis @ reasonable prices. Last gen consoles are the easiest systems to buy games for... because you can still get their games everywhere- and I don't have a huge problem finding good games for them. I'm relocating soon too, but I'm not sure if South Carolina will yield better results though. But they are called "rare" for a reason right? It just some people are luckier than others.

[Nate Nanjo]

Well, personally, I've never seen anything big around here. Its really not that big of a gamers market around here.

[udisi]

I don't really bother trying around here anymore. maybe 5 years ago I could go out every weekend and atleast find something worth the trip, but since Gamestops stopped carrying older stuff, and ebay took off, most anything classic is gobbled up.

[cyberfluxor]

It's all about the digging. Grab a shovel and some rope then I'm good to go.

[Technosis]

personally I like the internet side of things its alot easier to get ahold of stuff than going through shops or traveling to find stuff (cheaper most of the time to!) also I tend to be able to sell the rare stuff when I'm done with it for the price I paid if not profit (or lose very little) I;m fine with things

The internet is good as well for trading stuff. I find it's a bit more fun when it's just a good old style trade without the worries of cash. The only trouble is that you sometimes need to be patient to get what you want.

I've had good consistent finds in the past......but you have to be a bit clever and maximize your chances for finding things. It isn't so much about just blindly searching all the time...it's more about picking the best times and staying in contact with other collectors. In my area we have the occasional swap meet, and these are great for getting stuff. In one of these meets you can get more than what you'd find all year searching the thrifts....and you don't have to worry about shipping etc. and you get to meet other like minded people :)

[theshizzle3000]

Well, personally, I've never seen anything big around here. Its really not that big of a gamers market around here.

I second that as I live in the same area the best thing I have run across in the wild was the Virtual Boy I found at the flea market and even then thats not completely life changing. I am still holding out for that Playstation Lightspan to show up...we all have dreams right.

[Steve W]

Like it's been said before, it's not about searching blindly, it's about maximizing your searches to the stores that are the most likely to have classic game stuff. I never hit Goodwill or Salvation Army stores, because I've found next to nothing in any of them. Small, locally run thrifts are usually better, but most of those tend to only deal mainly with used clothes. Their donation bins usually say "clothes only" on them, which usually means that their stores suck for games. For some reason, the Disabled American Veterans stores I've been to always have games in them. They don't specialize in clothes, they do everything, and I always find great stuff in my local store.

[scooterb23]

Chin up pal.

If the games were easy to find, they wouldn't be rare now would they?

[zektor]

Chin up pal.

If the games were easy to find, they wouldn't be rare now would they?

Wise words. Let me tell you how often in the past twenty years I have found a truly rare game (R8+) in the wild: 0

I do live in an area that is completely bone dry (Northern NJ...damn you Joe! :), but I would assume it is just as difficult in most other areas as well. People generally know when they have something very rare, and take advantage of it. Honestly, I have gotten better deals (and some semi-rares) in lots on ebay than I do locally. Actually, I get better deals all around on ebay. I get charged more at the Salvation Army for games than on ebay from a private seller....and that is pretty sad.

[ScourDX]

Finding rare games is all about luck. Sometimes you find it at places when you least expected. I recommend you to check out craigslist.org. This is where I find a lot of unexpected rare games for cheap. Not like ebay price.

[otoko]

I agree with all of you.

Except I have found some good finds in Goodwill before. Just good, not great. I've had more luck on Ebay. Many Thrift stores have tried to screw me in the rear for 100% commons, and at the swap meets/flea markets I've been to I've, at best, seen a cosmetically destroyed genesis (somehow working) and they wanted 50$ and $20 for each game they had. Couldn't really tell what they where because they where colored over...

Gah, Illinois is another dead area. Better deals in Wisconsin...

Edit: I'm from Batavia. IL and referring to that area.

[RadiantSvgun]

You just have to know your area. I live in the south, so I check antique stores and pawn shops, or I buy off friends who dont know what they have. Just keep at it.

[Sailorneorune]

I know it's a pain, but keep your spirits up, and do some research on local stores. Also look for what's good, not just what's rare.

Best find in recent memory? Shining Force CD for $5. This was at least 6 months ago. Since then, not a whole lot, though I have taken advantage of a Wii sale or two.

Ancient Chinese Secret: BOOK BROKER ;)

[animesuperj]

As some other people have said, my rare stuff seems to come and go. I got a brand new Atari 2600 w/o box but with system case, and 12 games in boxes for free. Probably my best find yet. One thing that keeps me going, is don't "over do" what your looking for. I'll look for a bit, and see if I can find whatever I'm looking for at a resonable price. If not, move on, is so, SCORE! Although, I'll always keep my eye out for it, but never "actively" looking. The best finds are the ones you don't expect.

Just keep going, I'm sure you'll find something along the way that will be worth the wait. Just sucks when that wait is WAY TOO LONG, and I'm sure we all know how that goes.

[boatofcar]

You can get some great deals at the buying and selling forum here at DP and over at Atari Age - the trick is to be vigilant and hit F5 often ;)

[otoko]

You can get some great deals at the buying and selling forum here at DP and over at Atari Age - the trick is to be vigilant and hit F5 often ;)

I agree especially when the seller gets desperate to sell off his/her stuff for cash.

[IronBuddha]

I know the feeling man. I live in Tennessee and good finds used to be abundant around here. Now every seller has a bad case of Ebayitis even with dirt cheap commons. Well games that SHOULD be dirt cheap,

Same thing as well over here in my part of Pennsylvania. Ever since Ebay things have changed completely. There's a market here I go to some weekends and there's a stand that "specializes" in all games and consoles old and new, but every time I go there I'll ask a simple question but the answer always ends in "well on ebay this item costs alot more after shipping" I get the shrills every time I hear it, as if scraping your nails across a chalk board (I think I'd rather hear that actually)

[DigitalSpace]

I've had some pretty good luck for quite some time. Sure, sometimes I have a streak of finding nothing at the thrifts, but I haven't given up on them, and eventually the persistence pays off.

Regarding cheap NES carts, I've had no problem getting good games for $1-$3 cart only. And there are places around here that charge too much for their stuff, but I mostly avoid them.

Then again, I'm not specifically looking for "rare" games. It's awesome if I find them, but getting some cheap commons I didn't have and was interested in trying out always beats going home empty-handed.

[mailman187666]

I occasionally find rare games here and there. I usually find at least one thing I would like to bring home. Not always the best finds. I have to admit though I almost shit my pants to find a Swordquest: Waterworld for sale at an indoor flea market 20 minutes from my house though. That took years to find.

[ubersaurus]

After searching for years, the best I turned up was the Imagic odyssey 2 games.

After a month of searching for atari 2600 games, my friend found Rescue Terra 1 and a bunch of other games at a flea market.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't :P

[98PaceCar]

Hunting is all about persistence and having realistic expectations. I'd love to believe that every time I go out I'll run across some ultra rare game worth thousands of dollars. Truth is, that rarely if ever happens so I've gotten to the point where if I just find something I don't already have, I'm happy. That has the added benefit of making the good finds that much sweeter!

[megamaniaman]

I think basically one main problem with finding rare old games is this. Our hobby is extremely small. For every video game collector there are 100 comic collectors or a 100 music collectors. Fact is that if someone were to put out old games at a swap meet they would be lucky if 1 maybe 2 people would actually buy their stuff. The only thing that actually sells somewhat is the NES. For instance I have seen this one guy week after week trying to sell the exact same Atari 2600 carts with not one single cart being bought. I know of another person at the swap meet I go to that has been trying to sell the same sealed real sports baseball for $3 for the past 4 months. Again, no one is buying. Until this hobby gets a lot bigger you are probably not going to find anything rare.

[Slate]

I personally have found awesome hauls in the past (Like a brand new copy of tank brigade for the atari 2600 - I'm assuming a new copy is an R9 or R10) But it's been drying up around here. The goodwills have been pricing things high (A REGULAR GAMEBOY FOR $25?) And the last thing I "found" Was a sega genesis. Wait, I'm wrong.. The last things I "Found" Were Store displays from EB.

Maybe it's because i've been slacking off or maybe it's because I don't want to buy old games as much as I did. But I keep looking. You never know, Maybe they made more NWC Carts than reported! :)


Same thing as well over here in my part of Pennsylvania. Ever since Ebay things have changed completely. There's a market here I go to some weekends and there's a stand that "specializes" in all games and consoles old and new, but every time I go there I'll ask a simple question but the answer always ends in "well on ebay this item costs alot more after shipping" I get the shrills every time I hear it, as if scraping your nails across a chalk board (I think I'd rather hear that actually)

Hey, Wich part of PA? I'm between pittsburgh and erie.

[xtremegamer]

While I never find rare games I want, I do find rare games in the wild that I will use for trade bate or sell on ebay to fund the games I truely want. BTW, what part of Missouri are you from?

[mailman187666]

I think basically one main problem with finding rare old games is this. Our hobby is extremely small. For every video game collector there are 100 comic collectors or a 100 music collectors. Fact is that if someone were to put out old games at a swap meet they would be lucky if 1 maybe 2 people would actually buy their stuff. The only thing that actually sells somewhat is the NES. For instance I have seen this one guy week after week trying to sell the exact same Atari 2600 carts with not one single cart being bought. I know of another person at the swap meet I go to that has been trying to sell the same sealed real sports baseball for $3 for the past 4 months. Again, no one is buying. Until this hobby gets a lot bigger you are probably not going to find anything rare.

there is actually this one flea market I go to and the only tables that you have to actually wait for people to move out of the way to see the table is the vids tables. It seems like the vids there are all over the place and its rare not to find at least something fun to play that isn't already in your collection. If you go there too late, you're buying the leftovers. Go to flea markets where you know they have games early in the morning because sometimes other collectors and even vendors are there to snatch up the rare ones first thing in the morning.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I know the feeling ... in fact, in my densely populated area - I've only ever found ONE item of game-type-collecting interest at a "garage sale" : A Fisher Price PXL2000 camera in near-mint condition for $10.

I spent a few years doing the whole "garage sale" scene, only to come to the conclusion that the oldest games that I'd find would be NES carts. So I gave that up pretty fast.

I mean, think about it - A.) We live in an era of eBay ... and even older people who are completely computer illiterate know how to use eBay ... and B.) people prone to hold garage sales on any type of regular basis probably DID sell their Atari-era stuff already off at a garage sale 15-20 years ago.

The majority of my retro/rare/classic game collection came from my years of managing a Funcoland, where people would bring boxes and boxes of old Atari/Vectrex/Intellivision/etc. stuff in hoping that we'd buy them back for "store credit".

[Soviet Conscript]

Hey, Wich part of PA? I'm between pittsburgh and erie.

yhea, i'm curious as well. if he's by Pitt i may know which stand he is refering to.

theres a guy at a local flea market here that has a nice variaty of stuff for reasonable prices.

last time i was there i picked up a excellent condition SNES, boxed colecovision, boxed Odessy 3000 and an excellent condition atari 7800. everything had controllers and a/v hookups, ac adaptors.
nothing spectacular but for the being in the wild at sane prices its the best thing i've found around here.

he almost always has a good selection of changing hardware and games. he gives decent discounts for buying bulk (he took like $20 off the total for those systems) and he sometimes throws in "untested" controllers and games for you. i also know he does some quality control by testing the games and systems before he sells them. if it is untested he will straight out tell you.

[Garry Silljo]

yhea, i'm curious as well. if he's by Pitt i may know which stand he is refering to.

theres a guy at a local flea market here that has a nice variaty of stuff for reasonable prices.

last time i was there i picked up a excellent condition SNES, boxed colecovision, boxed Odessy 3000 and an excellent condition atari 7800. everything had controllers and a/v hookups, ac adaptors.
nothing spectacular but for the being in the wild at sane prices its the best thing i've found around here.

he almost always has a good selection of changing hardware and games. he gives decent discounts for buying bulk (he took like $20 off the total for those systems) and he sometimes throws in "untested" controllers and games for you. i also know he does some quality control by testing the games and systems before he sells them. if it is untested he will straight out tell you.


Are you talking about the guy at Trader Jack's? That guy is pretty awesome, I agree with you there. I can almost always find something there and he gave me some Atari 2600 paddle controllers free once even though I didnt buy anything, just because he had so many and he didnt even know if they worked. They did... awesome-sauce.

[Terminusvitae]

While I never find rare games I want, I do find rare games in the wild that I will use for trade bate or sell on ebay to fund the games I truely want. BTW, what part of Missouri are you from?

I live in Owensville, about 90 miles east-south-east of Columbia, though I plan to be relocating there within the next couple of months. Do you know of anyone who's looking for inventory management/analysis? :D

As for my roaming, I visit Jeff City and Columbia a great deal, so I LIKE to think I've pecked around both cities to find everything, but I very well could be wrong. Other than that, I've been to every hole-in-the-wall town around the Ozarks, as far south as Sikeston, and as far east as St. Mary in my searches for uncommon and rare games. Unfortunately, the best I've been able to do IS that color-labeled, S.E.I. release of Impossible Mission 2.

[otaku]

My local place I frequent (one of maybe five game stores locally) is really a gem its family owned for over a decade now and they're all gamers so they know games even the rare obscure stuff we like and the prices are fare sure they'll try to charge outrageous ebay/amazon prices but quite often they'll lower their prices to meet an online competitor as well. usually I make money by buying from them when it comes time to sell the stuff.

[Soviet Conscript]

Are you talking about the guy at Trader Jack's? That guy is pretty awesome, I agree with you there. I can almost always find something there and he gave me some Atari 2600 paddle controllers free once even though I didnt buy anything, just because he had so many and he didnt even know if they worked. They did... awesome-sauce.

yhep, thats the guy

there are times when the pickings are slim but most times i'm really pleasently suprised at the varaity of stuff he has usually in great condition with all the hookups. hes even offered me a few common games for free before for no real reason other then he wanted to get rid of them.

[ProgrammingAce]

So the basis of this thread is that it's hard to find things that are rare? Am I missing something?

[Terminusvitae]

Snappy one-liners are witty, but they add little to a discussion. I began this thread as a self-pitying whinefest, and it has taken a nice direction, in that people are sharing their experiences, their tactics, and their preferences.

Please show some respect, sir, if not for me, then for everyone else in this conversation.

[Untamed]

Might I point you to my thread a couple weeks ago, along similar lines.

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106361

[Buyatari]

It was SOOOOOOOOO much easier 10 years ago.

[Ed Oscuro]

I think my friend Mick Jagger said it best:

No, you can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
And if you try sometime you find
You get what you need


On reading it though I guess it doesn't really pertain to this situation....oh well.
Yeah, I was gonna say...I don't usually need tons of NES commons. Although for the last half a year my local haunt has had a lot of good PC games from various decades :)

[Slate]

yhep, thats the guy

there are times when the pickings are slim but most times i'm really pleasently suprised at the varaity of stuff he has usually in great condition with all the hookups. hes even offered me a few common games for free before for no real reason other then he wanted to get rid of them.

Do you go to The Exchange? I hit it up every time i'm in pittsburgh, Wich isn't often. I'm hoping to go soon so I can get rid of some spare genesis and N64 systems.

[Volcanon]

So like here in Japan I know Famicom carts are generally cheaper, but tons of stores have boxes of $1 carts for sale (GOOD games too, like Dragon Quest
3, and Dragon Quest 4 for $3). Mostly cart-only. I presume though, that there is much less demand for famicarts since you need an adapter.

[mnbren05]

Do you go to The Exchange? I hit it up every time i'm in pittsburgh, Wich isn't often. I'm hoping to go soon so I can get rid of some spare genesis and N64 systems.

No way, you go to The Exchange. I haven't been there in about a year, but I only live about 70 mins from Pitt so I stop by every now and then. I tend to stay away this time of the year though, people do not take kindly to my Winslow jersey LOL. The amount of heckling the jersey draws from the steelers fans is certainly something.

[lkermel]

It was SOOOOOOOOO much easier 10 years ago.

Tell me about it ! Today, you have to be incredibly lucky to find something really rare in the wild, and for a good price. The best way (even on Ebay) is to buy lots, I've happened to find a couple of rare games in lots of 10/20 games on Ebay...
I still miss the time, at the end of the 1990s, where you could easily find tons of good stuff at your local Flea Market...

[Technosis]

It was SOOOOOOOOO much easier 10 years ago.

Very true! Ironically, if you Google the old RGVC posts from ten years ago you'll find people saying the same thing back then (except they'd refer to the pre-Internet days LOL )

[PentiumMMX]

I haven't had any truly awesome finds. Ever.

I live in a small town, and I rarely get any good deals (Occasionally I find a good deal, but for the most part, all I ever find is beat-to-hell copies of NFL Fuckinmadden), and since Gamestop stopped taking older games, I have to take long trips to the nearest Game-X-Change (Which is about 2 towns away).

eBay has it's goods and bads, and it'll probably never die (Sales may drop at times, but eBay in general will probably never shut down for good).

[Damaniel]

I've had a few 'rare' finds in the wild over the years (an R8 and a few R7s), and I've found plenty of R5/R6 games in the wild as well. Of course, these finds are definitely the exception and not the rule. A couple factors have probably helped me out:

- Location: I live within 25 miles of at least half a dozen classic game stores, and the closest one is within walking distance of where I work. At least a couple of these stores are run by very knowledgeable staff who accept nearly anything in trade, and offer very reasonable prices on the stuff they sell. The store near my work (part of a small group of independent game stores that all run under the name 'Game Trader') gets new stuff in literally every day, so I can drop in a couple times a week and see something new every time.

- Persistence: If you only stop by your local game stores/thrift stores/garage sales once a month, you'll probably miss out on a lot of cool stuff that came in and was sold before you ever had a chance to see it. I don't go to every local game store regularly, but I try to hit the close ones at least once a week.

Most importantly, rare games are called rare for a reason: they're rare! If you could just walk into any game store and have your pick of the rarities, then half of the fun of collecting (the hunt) would be gone. All you can do is accept that finding a rare game is going to be an uncommon event, and enjoy the thrill of the hunt. The cool stuff will show up eventually. :)

[Steve W]

I enjoy the thrill of the hunt. The cool stuff will show up eventually. :)
So true. That's my favorite part of the hobby, hunting stuff down. When I first started thrifting in late 2002, I would hit thrift after thrift and not find anything, and I was really discouraged. I was about to give up thrifting altogether. But then I came across an oddball hole-in-the-wall thrift store I hadn't come across yet. What's the first thing I saw when I walked in? A Rastan arcade cabinet with a $50 price tag on it. Turns out it didn't work, and the arcade guys who stored games next door couldn't get it working again. I didn't have room for it, so I passed. I still regret that. Anyway, I came across a controller-less Vectrex there. The lady didn't know what it was, and sold it to me for $5. That kick-started my collecting desire. Since then, I've amassed a huge collection. Even found several rares, like a Myriad 6-in-1 cart for the NES, Shining Force CD for the Sega CD, Legend of Zelda Internal Demonstration Disc for the Philips CD-i, another Vectrex (non-functional), and so on.

It takes one good find to kick you in the ass and make you hit those stores on a regular basis. You're not going to find good stuff every time you head out, you just have to get used to that. But with persistence and some intelligence, you'll start finding stuff. Look for 'thrift store' in your zip code on Google Maps. You might be surprised at how many are around you. Hit them all, and start whittling away all the ones that suck... in other words, all clothes and baby junk. Hit them on your day off work. You'll start working out which stores to look at and which never have anything.

I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area here in Texas. This place is rife with eBay resellers. And I still manage to find decent stuff around here. Hang in there, dude. It'll work out.

[Soviet Conscript]

Do you go to The Exchange? I hit it up every time i'm in pittsburgh, Wich isn't often. I'm hoping to go soon so I can get rid of some spare genesis and N64 systems.

nope. never been there? should I?

we used to have one right by me in Washington (at least i think it was a VGE). it was nice but not much better then a standard gamestop.

though at the time we had it gamestops were still carrying genny and snes and other other stuff so if the VGE still does that i may have to make a quick trip into Pitt.

[ProgrammingAce]

Snappy one-liners are witty, but they add little to a discussion. I began this thread as a self-pitying whinefest, and it has taken a nice direction, in that people are sharing their experiences, their tactics, and their preferences.

Please show some respect, sir, if not for me, then for everyone else in this conversation.

Uh... alright.

I own hundreds of rare and one of a kind video games and consoles. I was given, for free, 3 unreleased games in the last week alone. Five years ago, it would have been impossible for me to have what I do.

So by my estimation, it's a thousand times easier to find rare games today then it was in the past.

Of course, my interpretation of rare pretty much excludes anything that was ever sold in stores...

Ok, now that i'm done being a jackass...

My original point was to point out that as time goes on, there will be less and less "rare" stuff out there only when you limit your interpretation of rare. Of course 25 years later it's going to be much harder to find "rare" 2600 carts. 25 years from now it'll be that much harder.

On the flip side, new "rare" items are being introduced into the market place every week in the form of current gen console games. It's no harder to find current gen rare games now then it was 10 years ago. All it takes is some guess work.

When you say it's harder to find "rare" games, what you really seem to be saying is that "it's harder to find rare OLD games".

To which i reply, duh.

[kainemaxwell]

I usually check ebay every few days or once a week. Also the flea market in my town has a guy that sells various games and systems (found a few decent NES and NES black box games complete too).

[MarioMania]

I found Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure for the 32X a month ago at the goodwill..Just keep on lookin you bound to find something

[ianoid]

Waaah, waaah, waaah.

The only reason it seems like EVERYBODY is ALWAYS finding rarities is because it's easy to consolidate what you hear on the internet as though you are the only one not finding good stuff. In reallity, it's alot of work for folks to find stuff. If you want the goods, expect to work for it. If it was really that easy, stuff wouldn't be rare, would it?

Few people are able to complete a collection without the help of the internet. It's been like that for a decade or more. Epic finds are few and far between.

I have no sympathy.

Then again, I know some regions are very very dry. So just save your thrifting cash and buy one rare game on eBay a month. If you only need Bubble Bath Babes or whatever, then buy one a year. The more you look for, the more you'll find. If you only look for 10 games for one system, you probably won't find too many of those in the wild. Whereas if you are looking for 400 different Genesis or SNES titles, you'll likely have better luck.

Lamenting the internet is in many ways unjust as the more people selling stuff on the internet, the lower the prices in the end. Supply and demand, that sort of thing.

[Steven]

to the topic creator, I understand your POV. Your gaming morale can take a hit if you search long and hard and never seem to have those "OMG" deals happen to you. But it really is about being patient, being the right person at the right time and doing your homework. Not saying you AREN'T doing those things, but if you do, and keep an optimistic outlook you might find yourself not feeling as down on this subject as you currently are.

I guess I'm lucky though, I've had some great deals and being at the right place at the right time. Just keep your head up, keep truckin' and eventually the "video game Gods" will bestow you with some luck.

[Terminusvitae]

In posting this topic, it appears I have ruffled some feathers and encouraged rude discourse. I apologize for doing so.

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

The thing for me about finding 'rare' stuff is that most of my few "OMG" finds haven't been stuff that I was actually looking for.

JY

[Zing]

"well on ebay this item costs alot more after shipping"
Translation: "The regional fair market value is higher than the price I am charging."

In other words, it is a fair price. Just because it isn't a garage sale "everything in this box for $1" deal, doesn't mean the seller is trying to rip off anyone or asking an unfair price. I would argue that people demanding to pay significantly less than Ebay value are the robbers.

[Nimrodil]

In posting this topic, it appears I have ruffled some feathers and encouraged rude discourse. I apologize for doing so.

Don´t do that:-). As with the thrill of the hunt I think discussions (sometimes "hot") are one of the interesting parts of the collecting world:-).

For me, who live in northern Sweden, Internet is everything. We have big flea markets here as well, but you never find any rare games there. But I like the hunt on the net, both when you find something rare/really wanted for trade on a forum and all exciting auctions. Of course that means I seldom do "bargains", but I guess that´s a question of definition. If I win a really rare item that fit within my collections frames (mainly Treasure stuff), I regard it as a great find even if I have to pay "overprice" for it. Who know, maybe I have to wait several years before I get the chance again so I gladly pays what it costs me (within resonable limits, I am not a rich collector:-) and congratulate myself for the nice find:-). Without Internet (auctions sites, translation services, web forums, paypal etc. etc.) my collection wouldn´t even be possible for me to reach and had been limited to a pile of PAL-games and maybe some really expencive import titles. I guess 99 % of us has that in common.

[Cauterize]

"Searching for rare games is a rather depressing venture"

I cant agree with this enough!
I started collecting every last drop of video games i could find around 4 years ago, before then i had a small sized collection of games i loved playing.
However the main reason i started collecting was infact a reason that could be considered depressing...

I wasnt too well 4 years ago, my life became limited to what i could do/manage, so i spent a great deal of time on my own/resting. In this time i decided to start collecting so i had a great library of software to play depending on how i felt...

I decided to pick up any game i didnt own, even if it was Fifa 96, or Bob The Builder... Even ones i knew id never ever play... because something told me at the back of my mind that i 'might' play it one day...
My collection kept growing, however it was always the same games id play and the others just accumilated dust...

My main focus was the Megadrive and Master System, as it stands im 12 away from a full PAL SMS set and 38 from a full PAL MD set... This used to be my main aim, to collect every single one...

However its all changed now...

Now im much better and back on my two feet, the way i felt about the 'dust accumilaters' changed...
The rows of sports games, crappy games, kids games with no challenge began to annoy me to no end... I didnt care how rare they were anymore...
They began to remind me of a past where i was limited...
My room became pretty much anti-social, i couldnt invite anyone round really due to the lack of space in my room... Ontop of that, everytime someone came round that hadnt visted before, i had to explain why there was a ridiculous amount of games in my room... It got pretty annoying...

Slowly but surely i have been pulling off my shelves games i dont play and putting them on my eBay shop... My Playstation 1 collection has dropped from a massive 600+ to a mere 100. My PS2 Collection followed, as did the N64 Collection and a few more...
I decided to only keep the games which either meant something to me, or are damn good!
When it came to my excess Megadrive and Master System collection, i carefully put them into boxes in storage as i think now isnt the right time to sell them.... Same goes for SNES, NES, DC and so on... Ontop of that if i ever did need to sell them for desparate financial reasons, im sure near completes set will do me well :)
Sooner or later theyre gonna be harder to get hold of, so ill wait till that day...
Now ive pushed my bed back up against the wall where the shelves were and given myself the room ive wanted for a while :)

The main benefit i found from selling off all the excess PS1 games was that i had a disposable income to spend on games i actually wanted...
Recent purchases from my excess income have been 'Parodius' (Saturn), In The Hunt (PS1) and Megaman 7 (SNES)... and it makes me wonder why i didnt do this sooner!

So now my room has drastically been changed, i pulled out some of the unused shelving, rejigged it all around and i can now honestly say im much happier...
When i go to choose a game from my shelving, im not overwhellmed by titles i dont wanna play, im more puzzled as to which one is better to play!

Wanna see the change?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/cauterize4/IMG_4366.jpg

And to be honest, im loosing the passion for hunting in the wild at car boot sales. Obviously you have to get up really early which i dont mind, however there are quite a few newbies around who have latched onto the concept that games make money on eBay. These people have no love for games whatsoever. Ive spoke to them at random at the boot sales and they cant tell Halo apart from Gunstar Heroes... This saddens me too as i know for a fact alot of decent games out there will be swamped up by the resellers.
Fair enough, everyone needs to make a living but it can be quite frustrating at times.

I think eBay probably is and always will be the best place for finding Rare items... Obviously you have to go up against everyone else, but isnt that the same as a boot sale/flea market... locating the item before others as apposed to winning the final bid!?
At the end of the day it all depends on how much you actually want that item and what youll do to aqquire it ;)

Good luck hunting guys!

[Technosis]

I started collecting every last drop of video games i could find around 4 years ago, before then i had a small sized collection of games i loved playing.
However the main reason i started collecting was infact a reason that could be considered depressing...

I wasnt too well 4 years ago, my life became limited to what i could do/manage, so i spent a great deal of time on my own/resting. In this time i decided to start collecting so i had a great library of software to play depending on how i felt...

I give you credit for being able to amass to much stuff despite your "life being limited". Were you able to get most of it at the "car boot sales" that you mentioned?

[Griking]

I think this phenom. seems to be taking place many places. Ebay has certainly provided many people with a way to sell their products at a profit and quickly. This means though that the price of individual items goes up as people become greedy and buy into (literally and figuratively)the system. If the sellers can find buyers a prices will be inflated to resemble this trend. Unfortunately that means the local classic scene and finding rares etc becomes increasingly a chore. I used to be able to come across NES for $1 maybe $3 at the most and $5 for boxed games. Now those prices have atleast tripled in some cases and for the most gone way up. I guess it's the price you pay for having a service like ebay that provides everyone a avenue to as they put it "Shop Victoriously".

As long as companies like Gamestop can stay in business by giving people pennies on the dollar for used games it means that there are still TONS of ignorant people out there who either don't know a thing about games and what they're worth or don't want to bother with ebay . My advice is to just keep at it and eventually you'll find something. Perhaps you live in the same neighborhood as another collector or forum memeber who just happens to be a little quicker than you are.

[Zing]

there are quite a few newbies around who have latched onto the concept that games make money on eBay. These people have no love for games whatsoever. Ive spoke to them at random at the boot sales and they cant tell Halo apart from Gunstar Heroes...
I was going to make some witty remark about these newbies knowing the difference because Halo was so common that it was worth nothing. Then I actually checked Ebay and Halo 1 is selling for ~$25! W T F??? That's like Mario Bros/Duck Hunt selling for $25.

[Garry Silljo]

nope. never been there? should I?

we used to have one right by me in Washington (at least i think it was a VGE). it was nice but not much better then a standard gamestop.

though at the time we had it gamestops were still carrying genny and snes and other other stuff so if the VGE still does that i may have to make a quick trip into Pitt.

Your getting you chains mixed up. The store in Washington Mall was originally called "Video Game Exchange" before the chain changed names to "It's About Games," and then went under completely. The Store they are talking about "The Exchange" was originally called "The Record Exchange," and is a completely different franchise that buys and sells music, movies, and games in most formats. It's a chain with many stores in the Pittsburgh area so when people say they go to "the one in Pittsburgh" they really need to be more clear. I frequent the ones in Dormont, and on Mignight Rd. I think there is one on Forbes Ave. as well plus many more. I would highly recommend the place. The have a pretty good selection most of the time and reasonable prices, sometimes GREAT prices. I just remembered another one across from the Mall at Robinson... it's very small and crammed though.

[Terminusvitae]

Come to think of it...has anyone found (either on the 'Net or in printed form) a list of all the unlicensed NES games that are known (or rumored) to exist? The Rarity Guide here at DP is an excellent resource, but it would be nice to have such information in a condensed format.

If no one out there in Web-land has done it (although I cannot imagine several people wouldn't have), it might make a good project for a rainy day...

[ProgrammingAce]

In posting this topic, it appears I have ruffled some feathers and encouraged rude discourse. I apologize for doing so.

Oh, don't mind me. I'm just a giant asshole. I'm really just pissed because my internet's been out for over a week now... I'm posting this message via carrier pigeons.

[Terminusvitae]

I can understand that, and it isn't much of a big deal. I tend to be extremely stiff and formal over the Internet, which usually translates to "uptight."

[Soviet Conscript]

Your getting you chains mixed up. The store in Washington Mall was originally called "Video Game Exchange" before the chain changed names to "It's About Games," and then went under completely. The Store they are talking about "The Exchange" was originally called "The Record Exchange," and is a completely different franchise that buys and sells music, movies, and games in most formats. It's a chain with many stores in the Pittsburgh area so when people say they go to "the one in Pittsburgh" they really need to be more clear. I frequent the ones in Dormont, and on Mignight Rd. I think there is one on Forbes Ave. as well plus many more. I would highly recommend the place. The have a pretty good selection most of the time and reasonable prices, sometimes GREAT prices. I just remembered another one across from the Mall at Robinson... it's very small and crammed though.

oh, i know what your talking about. i always figured they were just movies /music and maybe had some common ps2 or xbox stuff so i always passed when it came to really checking those places out. i'll have to give em a closer look next time, thanks