Where Do You Buy Your Classic Games?

[Polygon]

I'm surprised that I didn't find this in a search. Anyhow, I was wondering what everyone's sources for buying classic games and systems. I've always used eBay since the only game store I know of around here is Game Stop which is useless of classic games.

So, let me know if there are any other sites out there besides eBay that you use to buy classic games an systems. Also, post up any stores you go to as well.

[buzz_n64]

Sites- Ebay, Gamedoctorhk, Digital Press sellers
Stores- All thrift stores in my area
Other- Swap meets

[Parodius Duh!]

Trading on the forum, or, when in desperate need, ePay.

[todesengel]

Buying and trading with other DP members, local thrift stores and flea markets.

[SpaceHarrier]

Mostly at local, independent video game stores. Occasionally at swapmeets.

[betamax001]

Pretty much Amazon and eBay or Play N Trade or some indie stores in Chicago. Thrift stores always have junk around me.

[Rickstilwell1]

I get most games on ebay and locally at a store called Monster Gaming. I usually find common accessories and systems at Goodwill and Value Village and go on craigslist to sell them locally.

I am able to sell a lot more video games on craigslist than I do on this forum or others. But if I search craigslist for a game I want I never seem to find it. I must be one of the rare few who sells older games on craigslist in my area instead of just current and last gen stuff so that's probably why my sales on there are so good.

[8bitmusic]

Thrift stores, flea markets, begging for friends/relatives "old games"

[jb143]

There are quite a few stores in the St. Louis area that sell classic games and I'll hit them up occasionally but I get mine almost exclusivly from thrift stores and craigslist. I rarely buy games on eBay.

[GrandAmChandler]

http://www.nlvideogames.com

-GAC-

[Polygon]

Hmm, thrift stores. I never thought to look there. I take it you don't find many complete games there? It seems I have a Play N Trade locally. I'm going to have to check them out as well. Craigslist was one I never though to try as well.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone.

[jb143]

Hmm, thrift stores. I never thought to look there. I take it you don't find many complete games there?

Most aren't but you'd be surprized. Most used game stores I've been to are mainly cart only as well though.

And seeing that you're in Utah...when my parents lived there a few years ago, my dad found a mint CIB NES at Deseret Industries...for 3 bucks!!!

[8bitmusic]

Hmm, thrift stores. I never thought to look there. I take it you don't find many complete games there? It seems I have a Play N Trade locally. I'm going to have to check them out as well. Craigslist was one I never though to try as well.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone.

Depending on what you collect, you may find something CIB. NES/SNES/64 are rarely traded in with the box/instructions. You may, however, find complete Genesis, Dreamcast, Sega CD stuff. One problem is the condition of ANY game--especially if your local thrift store writes on everything with Sharpie.

Remember to not only check the display/showcase area, but also the toy section, electronic section, cd/dvds, etc.. Check everything. I just recently found 2 Gameboy carrying cases sitting underneath a stack of women's hats.

[jb143]

One problem is the condition of ANY game--especially if your local thrift store writes on everything with Sharpie.


Not a problem at all. Sharpie comes right off with a q-tip and rubbing alcholol. Even if it's on the label.

And your right about Genesis games. Probably 80% of the ones I've found at Goodwill are CIB.

[8bitmusic]

Not a problem at all. Sharpie comes right off with a q-tip and rubbing alcholol. Even if it's on the label.



Tell that to my copy of Shadowrun. *sad face*

[jb143]

Well...the only thing I've ever had an issue with getting any kind of permanent marker off of is non glossy cardboard. And I just use cheap dollar store alcohol. Maybe they used some more heavy duty marker.

[Dred]

Mostly via Internet (eBay, forums, other auction sites).There are no retrogaming shops around me (retrogaming isn't popular here in Poland). One guy is only selling his N64 & PS games which he was renting back then. This dude suggest me to clean my cartridges with soup and water, if they aren't working! >_<

[Edmond Dantes]

Game Xchange, eBay, and sometimes local pawn shops and thrift stores.

[Nebagram]

eBay, DP, cex (though their pre-PS1 selection can be summed up in two words: sports & shite).

Will occasionally pick up some good stuff at car boot sales, at every one in England you're practically guaranteed a barely-functioning 8-bit British micro (like a Sinclair or an Acorn) with a stack of games for a tenner.

[Enigmus]

Mainly thrift stores. The local one has some great finds, but almost always goes slow during the summer due to garage sales. The pricing's great too, with most games being $3. Sometimes it can seem to be a ripoff, such as a Sears Video Arcade being sold without a power adaptor for $50, but can always be better upon close inspection (it has an Atari Game Center stand from around 1979 with about 20 to 25 AA title games with their original manuals.) I've even found used NESes for prices way lower than eBay (complete set with hookups and box at the thrift was $10.)

[Polygon]

So, what are the requirements to get access to the trading section of the forum?

[The 1 2 P]

I use ebay and the occasional buying from members here on DP. In the real world there is a store near me that sells classic systems as far back as the Intellevision and I buy games from there when they are reasonable. I also go to local flea markets and ones in surrounding states, as well as Goodwill.

[todesengel]

So, what are the requirements to get access to the trading section of the forum?
I believe it's 10 days before you can view it.

[philinchio]

I get most of my gaming stuff from thrifts, garage sales, and PnT.

[DDCecil]

Mostly online from here and a few other websites. Ever since my store went out of business back in '07, I just can't enter another brick and mortar store, independent or not. Give me a few more years, and I might just get over that. Maybe.

[TheGam3r]

Microplay & eBay

[sebastiankirchoff]

Flea markets, thrift stores and garage sales.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I usually buy games from as many different places as I can: forums, used game shops, occasionally ebay if its something I can't find otherwise. Some of my old games come from yard sales to be honest.

[Polygon]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. It's been a while since I've bought any retro games. I had been focusing on some of my other hobbies and I decided to get back into my games. I can't believe some of the price gouging going on, on eBay. I just had to find some alternatives. I mean, $50 for a SNES with controllers, adapter, and R/F. It's ridiculous. Then some of the games. :beaten:


I believe it's 10 days before you can view it.

Oh good, that's not bad. I was expecting it to be 100 posts or something. LOL

[Olly]

eBay.

I used to buy some from a gaming store near me, but they closed down a couple of years ago, and their other stores (both quite near) have pretty much zero retro stuff.

[betamax001]

Man it seems so many people are able to score stuff from thrift stores. Whenever I see anything video game related (very rare by me it seems) it's mostly junk, or stuff I don't want. I guess no one donates video game stuff in McHenry County.

[MetalMilitia]

Man it seems so many people are able to score stuff from thrift stores. Whenever I see anything video game related (very rare by me it seems) it's mostly junk, or stuff I don't want. I guess no one donates video game stuff in McHenry County.

Yeah man I never find anything at thrift stores in the Chicago land area. I also never find anything at the Play N Trade in Crystal Lake either.

[Steve W]

Around the Dallas area are stores called the Movie Trading Company. A couple of years ago they started buying and selling used games from all eras. I've bought the proverbial dungload of games from them, from pretty much every single location across the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It also helps that they price nearly all of their pre-NES era games at a blanket price of $1.99, regardless of rarity. :D

There's a small local chain of retro game stores called Console Game Exchange located in a few malls here and there, although I don't buy all that much from them. There's also a couple stores called FX Game Exchange in the area. There were briefly a couple GameXchange stores scattered around (sadly gone now), and there's two or three Play N' Trade stores in the D/FW area. A few independent game stores dot the landscape as well. Plus, there's loads of thrift stores and several flea markets, one of which is huge as hell and I almost always find something when I go there.

I have never bought anything off eBay before. I've never really had to, since most stuff can be found locally. In the past two or three years the Dallas area has developed a huge retro gaming market.

[retroman]

PowerGamer in the Glen Burnie mall..Flea markets, and online.

[Gameboy415]

Man it seems so many people are able to score stuff from thrift stores. Whenever I see anything video game related (very rare by me it seems) it's mostly junk, or stuff I don't want. I guess no one donates video game stuff in McHenry County.


Yeah man I never find anything at thrift stores in the Chicago land area. I also never find anything at the Play N Trade in Crystal Lake either.

Wow, you guys are near me! :cheers:
I live in Lake Zurich now, but I grew up in McHenry (the actual town).

Anywho, I usually score most of my retro stuff at the outdoor Flea Market in Rosemont during the summer months, and stick to Goodwill, Disc Replay, Half Price Books, and Play N Trade for the rest of the time.

The local stores rarely have anything good, but the ones down south by my family's house usually have great stuff.
Point in case, I found THIS at Half-Price books for $100 (after 50% off coupon @_@) a few weeks ago:
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f390/Gameboy415/1012%20Pickups/1012StarFox.jpg

[8bitmusic]

Yeah man I never find anything at thrift stores in the Chicago land area. I also never find anything at the Play N Trade in Crystal Lake either.

I find a lot of good stuff in Chicagoland. Maybe I'm just getting there before you and taking all the good stuff! :)

Make sure you visit in the mornings, when their stock is fresh and not picked-over. But, as with anything, it's all luck.

[lazyhoboguy]

I buy mostly from amazon.com and estarland.com. Very rarely I buy games off ebay. I find a lot of NES stuff at thrift stores and have found a n64, nes, snes, gc, and dc console at thrift stores. I refuse to give much business to gamestop chains due to tons of reasons I don't feel like getting into now lol.

[Michael Thomasson]

(Shameless plug)
Well, I've been selling retail for twenty years and online for a dozen:

Retail (mostly new shrinkwrapped):
http://www.gooddealgames.com/inventory/Retail%20Games.html

and Homebrew:
http://www.gooddealgames.com/

Free Shipping of the Retail game orders over $100 if you mention this post ;-)
I have a FLAWLESS 100% 10+ Year E-Bay Rating, too :-)

Michael T.

[Baloo]

http://www.nlvideogames.com

-GAC-

Seconded!

Also thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales. That's where I've gotten the bulk of my classic games. And the occasional expensive game over the internet.

[Dr. Dib]

I find a lot of good stuff in Chicagoland. Maybe I'm just getting there before you and taking all the good stuff! :)

Make sure you visit in the mornings, when their stock is fresh and not picked-over. But, as with anything, it's all luck.

Obviously it's because no one lives in the best part of Chicagoland, the part that is in Indiana! Yay! Ok my finds are slim too.

Anyway, most of my games come from classic game stores. I occasionally find stuff at resale/thrift stores, but rarely anything good. I also check out Craigslist all the time, though I think my purchases from it round out to 5 or so. I'll occasionally check out garage sales and flea markets, but I usually don't like to drive places when I am not guaranteed to find something. Ebay is where I used to go, but I haven't really bought a lot in years.

So yeah, look around.

[jrokshady]

Ebay
Amazon
GameGavel
Goatstore
Lukiegames
JJgames
Gameexpress
Estarland
Local retro game stores

Check prices:
VideoGamePriceCharts.com
Searching on Google shopping, then sorting by lowest price usually helps me figure out if someone is tyring to rip me off.

[Darkman2K5]

I usually hit up flea markets, Digital Press, craigslist, ebay, and Play 'N Trades. Theres a Play 'N Trade in my area thats selling earthbound complete for $300. I once found Spiderman for the 32x in a Play 'N Trade but unfortunately did not buy it.

[Polygon]

Man, I really wish I had more local stores than GameStop. Especially a retro video game store.


Ebay
Amazon
GameGavel
Goatstore
Lukiegames
JJgames
Gameexpress
Estarland
Local retro game stores

Check prices:
VideoGamePriceCharts.com
Searching on Google shopping, then sorting by lowest price usually helps me figure out if someone is tyring to rip me off.

Thanks for that list and the link. That should really help. There are a lot of times I think people are just trying to rip people off, but I could be way off base.