shopping gamecrazy/eb/gamestop over thrifts and yardsales?

[xaer0knight]

In my area of about 3 cities.. My girlfriend was happy with the fact she found ever Resident Evil and Silent Hill for PSOne and PS2. She said she paid 30 bucks (for RE3) a Used Copy at gamestop here in Kenosha which i thought was a reasonable price considering that I remember paying about 40 bucks for RE2 and 3 both USED for my Gamecube about 1 1/2 years ago.

The point I see is this.. Why is it I go to a Goodwill and find a Nice Used Resident Evil 3 for a mere 3.99? I don't get it sometimes, i would understand if all the RE games were like R6 and R7s. If games like Resident Evil 2/3 are so easy to find in the wild why do companies like GameCrazy get away with selling them so much? The fact both Resident Evil and Silent Hill have been made into movies recently drive the price up and i guess thats Supply and Demand?

I remember being put on a TG-16 waiting list at gamecrazy in Salisbury, MD and going what im #200 looking for one of these (and they carry everything from Atari to Ninteno to Sega and Current Gen). I go to a GameCrazy in Kenosha, WI and they sell hardly any NES games but they have the NES system and they lack anything newer than a PS2.


I guess what I'm trying to see is:
Are you willing to shop big stores like Gamestop/EB/Gamecrazy for older used games (i.e. N64/ps1/gba) over thrift stores and yard sales?

[ryborg]

I guess what I'm trying to see is:
Are you willing to shop big stores like Gamestop/EB/Gamecrazy for older used games (i.e. N64/ps1/gba) over thrift stores and yard sales?

Nope. I think I've bought only around 2-3 older games at chain game stores over the past few years. I try to avoid Gamestop/crazy/etc whenever possible. The thrift stores in my area are gold, and anything else I need, I get from ebay or friends.

[DeputyMoniker]

Shop them OVER yard sales and thrift? No way. Only when I have to. It isn't very easy to find good things in the wild around here so sometimes I have to run by Gamestop of game Exchange to get what I need.

[MarioMania]

I go to both...

[dlopez9069]

Thrift stores and pawn shops seem to have a much larger selection around here so thats where i shop. and besides there isn't a gamestop/gamecrazy in my town.

[miaandjohnrule]

I only go to GS/EB because I have to get the newer titles sometimes. I would much prefer to get them from a Mom and Pop type store but I'm not sure any can get in the distribution loop. The thrifts around here are pretty good, I just don't always have the time to make a long run to them all.

[8-bitNesMan]

Put me in the only go if I ABSOLUTELY have to crowd for GS/EB. Yard sales and fleas on the other hand are fun to me. All the chain stores I know of have phased out anything older than PS2, so it would be hard for me to find any oldies but goodies there anyway.

[Steve W]

I only go to GameStop/EB Games for used Xbox games. If I want anything older than that, I have to hit thrifts. Most of the time I don't find much. I just have to hope I might find something the next time.

[Cornelius]

I can't remember the last time I bought something at a GS. I occasionally wander into one and am just shocked by the prices, so I just wander back out again. They 'get away with it' because you can go there and have a reasonable expectation of finding what you want, or something you want anyway. Thrifts? I only walk out of one with something game related probably 25% of the time I go to them. Still, it only takes a couple of times finding things you want before it is very hard to go back to paying 'retail' prices.

[evil_genius]

If I want to buy a PS2 game I'm not gonna drive all over the city hoping that a thirft store has one. I go to EB's website or I go to the mall and buy it. But as far as hunting goes thirft stores and garage sales are better of course.

[josekortez]

Does anyone like shopping at Gamestop or EB?

[DigitalSpace]

This was definitely my best year for thrift finds.

Most of the games I buy these days are for the NES, SNES, and Genesis. GameStop doesn't have them, and GameCrazy phased them out this year. Over the year, I visited several GameCrazy stores in the area, getting all their "classic plastic" stuff that appealed to me before they were gone. Some GameCrazy stores don't even carry used GBA anymore. Since then, I haven't bothered to look around at GameCrazy or GameStop that much unless a friend wants to look around, there's a B2G1 going on, or there's something on the newer systems that I want at a good price.

However, now is the time to get Game Boy and GBC games at GameStop - many (including some of the best games on both systems) are priced at $5 and under. Some locations have already shipped them off.

[snes_collector]

Well I never find newer games at thrifts and pawns never have anything so if want the game, I'm going to GameStop.

[cyberfluxor]

EB and GameStop? Hahaha!

Sorry, I will drive around Hampton Roads for about 6hrs hitting dozens of thrifts, pawns and indy game shops without stopping at a single chain. It's not worth it to me as it's a waste of time. They all have just about the same stock, same prices and terrible service compared to most others. Only for specific things I'll go to them for, and in most cases I'll end up at Best Buy or Circuit City instead.

[josekortez]

EB and GameStop? Hahaha!

Sorry, I will drive around Hampton Roads for about 6hrs hitting dozens of thrifts, pawns and indy game shops without stopping at a single chain. It's not worth it to me as it's a waste of time. They all have just about the same stock, same prices and terrible service compared to most others. Only for specific things I'll go to them for, and in most cases I'll end up at Best Buy or Circuit City instead.

Now I know why I never found anything at the thrifts when I lived in Hampton Roads. Hopefully cyberfluxor won't plan to move West...

[walrusmonger]

just about everything good gets stopped at the employee level at gamestores- that is, cash offers to buy at above the low trade cost, so the store doesn't get a chance to sell the good product.

I don't mind shopping at these stores for new stuff, and I buy anything used on ebay- but since I stopped collecting older stuff for the most part, I haven't made a game buy on ebay in a while.

[xaer0knight]

EB and GameStop? Hahaha!

Sorry, I will drive around Hampton Roads for about 6hrs hitting dozens of thrifts, pawns and indy game shops without stopping at a single chain. It's not worth it to me as it's a waste of time. They all have just about the same stock, same prices and terrible service compared to most others. Only for specific things I'll go to them for, and in most cases I'll end up at Best Buy or Circuit City instead.


Now I know why I never found anything at the thrifts when I lived in Hampton Roads. Hopefully cyberfluxor won't plan to move West...

lucky.. when i lived in Norfolk, VA (i'm originally from the Eastern Shore/DelMarVa Coast).. i couldn't find a lot of Video Game Related things at any Thrifts Stores. Hampton Roads is a big place i must of missed a lot of stores :-P

[TheDomesticInstitution]

I used to frequent thrift/pawn shops until I moved to an area that has very few of either. I rarely go to an EB-type shop, in favor of video stores like blockbuster, movie gallery, or smaller independent video stores. You're more likely to have a real find at a video store, than paying what EB thinks the game is worth. Of course, if you really NEED a game and price isn't a big deal then I'd try a GS/EB. Although you can sometimes get off cheaper at an EB for used common games than a video store.

[roushimsx]

Thrifts in my area are shit and I'm pretty much left with GS/EB. I quit going to GC/GR because of their deplorable selections and while I occasionally pop into the smaller stores (Vintage Stock, Game Exchange, etc), they rarely have what I'm looking for (Game Exchange's PS2 selection in particular has gone to shit). I've tried my luck with yard sales in the past and only wound up losing money on gas and time on wasted trips.

I wish I lived in a thrift-rich zone like most of y'all do.