losing hope in classic game retail business

[ncman071]

So i decided to travel an hour from my house with my kids today to go to the closest playntrade store i could find. I go in and notice that the selection isn't all that bad....there's some saturn, genesis, a little snes, ps1, etc... nothing rare or anything but a decent selection....

but then i start noticing prices....24.99 for super mario world.....$69 for a boxed Secret of Mana....with the box looking HORRIFIC....terribly bent up with no manual/maps....$59 for a boxed illusion of gaia for snes as well.....the box was in bad shape with no manual....the list goes on....terrible prices for NES and Snes games that are rediculously common titles....$14 for a loose primal rage for the genesis....$60 for a loose snes super advantage arcade stick...are you kidding me!

i walked out with madden 95 on snes for $1 which was the only fairly priced game i saw. It just sucks because there are ZERO retro shops anywhere close to me......and yes i know about craigslist and ebay...but it would just be nice to walk into a local game store that sold retro games for fair prices...

i did manage to go to a local pawn shop about a month ago and purchased a few decently priced snes games.....but i hate going to pawn shops because i always feel like their staring at me...like what the hell is he doing here.....just don't feel comfortable in those places...at least the ones around where i live....

anyway, i felt the need to rant...i hope everyone here has a wonderful thanksgiving and a super christmas coming up!

[Gameguy]

i walked out with madden 95 on snes for $1 which was the only fairly priced game i saw. It just sucks because there are ZERO retro shops anywhere close to me......and yes i know about craigslist and ebay...but it would just be nice to walk into a local game store that sold retro games for fair prices...
The closest game store near me doesn't use ebay pricing, they use Amazon pricing. Of course, everything is insanely expensive and nothing is worth buying there. Plus lots of the stuff they're selling isn't even in good condition yet they want top dollar for it. I only go in occassionally when I want to try selling some things as sometimes they pay a decent amount for it, though it's still not all that often. Most of their customers don't know how to shop around for anything.

I don't really bother with game stores anymore, and thrifts are pretty terrible now too. I've never really had much luck at pawn shops either. There's pretty much just garage sales and craigslist now, though it's not often for good things to turn up. It's just hard to find anything good now anywhere.

[Jack_Burton_BYOAC]

It's like that everywhere here (KY). There's a store near me that wants $120 for a boxed Super Castlevania IV.

I think a lot of these stores and traders online vastly overrate the value of having a box+manual for a lot of games. For an obscure game that had a low run I can see it fetching 2x or 3x the loose game value, but for a Castlevania? Those games always have freakin' awesome box artwork. A lot of people kept them, and they were produced in huge numbers anyway. I don't want to pay any more than 1.5x the loose value of a cart for a CiB game.

[wiggyx]

It's most definitely NOT like that here. There are plenty of used game stores near me that carry 8, 16, 32bit and beyond and the prices are most often very fair. There are even occasionally great deals to be had. I frequent 2 or 3 of them weekly to hunt for goodies. Just depends on where you live.

[djshok]

It's like that a lot of places. There's this outrageous store here in Toronto (Xtreme Game Interactive), they have a nice selection of retro games, but the prices are fucking retarded for lack of a better description. ie: $20 for a cart only GB Tetris, $29 for Chester Cheetah Too Cool To Fool in a beatup box for Genesis LOL. I went in there and walked out feeling like that store is there for joke purposes only. I don't know if the people running that store heard of the internet.

[dgdgagdae]

I'm pretty lucky to have found a fairly priced independent shop with good stock local to me. There are 2 called CGX (Console Game eXchange), and they use Amazon pricing. Not everything has a price on it, and I've been in there and asked for a price and watched them look up prices at Amazon. Sometimes they have decent things (I bought an NES Advantage in excellent condition complete in box for $50), but mostly it's overpriced. There's another shop called FX Game Exchange that has really good prices. Genesis games are mostly $5-$10 or less, and I've bought several PS2 games there at buy 2 get 1 free. Accessories are well priced, too. I just got an N64 Rumble Pak for $5.

[Ed Oscuro]

I'm losing hope in game retail, so I'm gonna teach them a lesson by snapping up that shit hot $1 madden 95 deal before they can profiteer off it

Man I feel great coming back to the forum and seeing this. You've been doing this long enough you know you don't need a madden 95, too. :puppydogeyes:

[Jack_Burton_BYOAC]

Because repros are getting so popular even the cheapest of the cheap SNES carts may have a bottom price of 10-15 dollars in the future simply for use as donor carts. There's lots of info out there and it is easy enough that more and more independent game shops will start selling them on their own. If enough of these crappy (imo) sports games are sacrificed we may enter a bizarre collectors marker indeed.

[Ed Oscuro]

Because repros are getting so popular even the cheapest of the cheap SNES carts may have a bottom price of 10-15 dollars in the future simply for use as donor carts. There's lots of info out there and it is easy enough that more and more independent game shops will start selling them on their own. If enough of these crappy (imo) sports games are sacrificed we may enter a bizarre collectors marker indeed.
You don't have to be a part of that, you know.

And I'll be damned if I care what other people are doing about Madden 95. Did you go to the store to buy some Twinkies to help those poor people who couldn't get them? (That actually might have been a winning proposition, admittedly, for a diabetes-spreader.)

The donor cart argument seems easily knocked down as well - not every old beat-up game will be a good "donor" shell or PCB; plus, those things can be made, if we get into that bizarre collector's market indeed. The new Neo Geo games don't need any old parts because new ones are being produced.

And frankly I wouldn't lose a second of sleep if every copy of Success Joe was scrapped for Gunlord or XYX.

$1 starts to add up over a while, and on top of that, you're losing your own time and money in both looking at junk and storing it. (the idea is well-covered in economics theory as "time is money:" this introduction (http://bigthink.com/econ201/time-is-money-really) states "In our daily lives, we all have time-consuming activities that are not economically productive, in the sense that they don't produce goods and services that have value nor do they give us pleasure. A prime example is commuting;" they could have replaced "commuting" with "browsing the shelves of the local overpriced game outlet because I have a duty to Madden '95")

I've got nothing against browsing stores and looking for deals - hell, I still look at all the teevees even though I got a nice '06 Trinitron, just out of curiosity. But it is a time-waster, and...why Madden 95? :deadhorse:

anyway just :deadhorse: a bit, hope it was a useful perspective.

[Jack_Burton_BYOAC]

Well, personally I don't support sacrificing any game, no matter how crappy to create a repro.

However, you can't deny that it is cheaper to pick up a $1 game to use as a base rather than buy or make a completely new cartridge. If used games stores, particularly the less reputable ones, get into this business (and I think they will) we'll start seeing less and less of the games that historically sell for the least because they'll be turning them into copies of more valuable games. This will start to make them harder to find and they'll go up in price!

[Ed Oscuro]

Well, personally I don't support sacrificing any game, no matter how crappy to create repro.
Ditto...


However, you can't deny that it is cheaper to pick up a $1 game to use as a base rather than buy or make a completely new cartridge.
I simply assumed that the OP bought it just because...I don't know, quite a few types of collecting habits get under my skin, from sacrificing working games (and yeah, I'll agree, even Madden 95), to making SMB/DH furniture, to sacrificing ROM boards to fit something that looks like a Metal Slug 3 Martian prone to death by shaken baby syndrome (http://kogami02.free.fr/Chrono_Trigger/Chrono_Trigger_02.jpg).

But I thought that was not what this thread is about...I do see your point though, although I think it still makes sense to think whether you're just hoarding against the apocalypse or whether you're just slowly bleeding yourself of your money (and shelf space).

[wingzrow]

I don't even HAVE any retro gaming, or even gaming related stores near me.

Maybe I can start a store of my own someday and actually charge a decent price for things.

[The Adventurer]

How dare businesses try to make a profit in a tough economy for niche entertainment. Don't they know games belong in the hands of 'real gamers(TM)' for next to nothing?! The nerve of some people.


But in all seriousness, don't blame retailers. Blame people who actually are willing to pay that much for used games. Their the ones who drive prices, not the other way around.

[wiggyx]

We will NEVER run out of copies of Madden 9X. Even if we gave everyone one on the planet that wanted a repro of Bahamut Lagoon, or FFV, or Secret of Mana 3, etc., there would still be a massive amount left over.

Are we trying to save every copy of every shitty sports game for future generations? Better to become repros than end up in a landfill. I think the Smithsonian can get by with just one copy of NBA live 96.

[The Adventurer]

In a dark grim future people will be forced to sacrifice copies of Final Fantasy III and Super Metroid to get repos of Madden '95.

[Ed Oscuro]

Don't they know games belong in the hands of 'real gamers(TM)' for next to nothing?! The nerve of some people.
Yeah, that's exactly what we actually meant to write. Thanks for getting into our heads and putting that out there so people know what we're really on about!

[The Adventurer]

Yeah, that's exactly what we actually meant to write. Thanks for getting into our heads and putting that out there so people know what we're really on about!

I can't even grasp what you're on about. What is 'over priced' exactly? More then you are willing to pay. Except there are those willing to pay. So they aren't over priced. They are were the market lies.

Just because games were cheap 5 or 10 years ago doesn't mean they will stay that way. In fact historically they won't, as demand increases and supply decreases. The time to find A list games for a fiver at a game store are over. I'd get used to it.

[Jack_Burton_BYOAC]

In a dark grim future people will be forced to sacrifice repros of Final Fantasy III and Super Metroid to restore Madden '95.

Fixed it.


Ditto...


I simply assumed that the OP bought it just because...I don't know, quite a few types of collecting habits get under my skin, from sacrificing working games (and yeah, I'll agree, even Madden 95), to making SMB/DH furniture, to sacrificing ROM boards to fit something that looks like a Metal Slug 3 Martian prone to death by shaken baby syndrome (http://kogami02.free.fr/Chrono_Trigger/Chrono_Trigger_02.jpg).

But I thought that was not what this thread is about...I do see your point though, although I think it still makes sense to think whether you're just hoarding against the apocalypse or whether you're just slowly bleeding yourself of your money (and shelf space).

Oh, I wasn't really worried about the OP. I'd figure most people buy games like that to fill in the gaps of a "complete" collection of a system's games.

But you're right. Completionism itself is sort of a fool's game. But I can imagine sitting back, and looking a shelf with every officially licensed NES game and feeling something good. But then sometimes such collections, even my own modest ones, fill me with a strange feeling of melancholy.

However, know there are others out there that live for the joy of collecting them more than playing video games. If this makes them happy, I'm for it.

Going back to the topic. I'll add that the copy of Super Castlevania IV I mentioned has been sitting unsold for 3 years. It's just sort of befuddling that a person can be in the business of selling games and not figure out that a price drop may be in order. Or perhaps they are right and one day a proper rube will walk out the door with it.

[Gameguy]

I can't even grasp what you're on about. What is 'over priced' exactly? More then you are willing to pay. Except there are those willing to pay. So they aren't over priced. They are were the market lies.
How about a complete copy of Lunar The Silver Star on the Sega CD for $200, or a loose copy of Rad Racer II on NES for $60? Those are the types of prices I see on the older games at the store near me. I can get just about any game for cheaper if bought online, even if buying at the average going rate on ebay with shipping added.

I'm also told that for the most part they pay next to nothing for most games because most people who bring in games don't know or don't care what they get for them, they're just cleaning out space at home. I can sometimes get offered more because I know about pricing so they won't be able to get anything really good off me for a buck or two. Of course when I bring in anything rare or obscure I'm told they can't give me much because they aren't in high demand and will sit around for awhile, at the same time when I ask about buying anything obscure I'm told that the pricing is high because the stuff is harder to find and they won't be able to find more copies again easily or at all.

[Emperor Megas]

I can't even grasp what you're on about. What is 'over priced' exactly? More then you are willing to pay. Except there are those willing to pay. So they aren't over priced. They are were the market lies.In my experience these games almost NEVER move. Most retro gaming stores I've been to that mark games at those high prices have the same stock on the shelves for YEARS. That's not hyperbole, I mean literally years. They tend to remain afloat by DVD and modern used game sales. The retro stuff doesn't move at ALL, and they never mark things down to reasonable prices. It's like they're just being stubborn and trying to convince themselves that this shit is worth serious money.

[The Adventurer]

How about a complete copy of Lunar The Silver Star on the Sega CD for $200, or a loose copy of Rad Racer II on NES for $60? Those are the types of prices I see on the older games at the store near me. I can get just about any game for cheaper if bought online, even if buying at the average going rate on ebay with shipping added.

I'm also told that for the most part they pay next to nothing for most games because most people who bring in games don't know or don't care what they get for them, they're just cleaning out space at home. I can sometimes get offered more because I know about pricing so they won't be able to get anything really good off me for a buck or two. Of course when I bring in anything rare or obscure I'm told they can't give me much because they aren't in high demand and will sit around for awhile, at the same time when I ask about buying anything obscure I'm told that the pricing is high because the stuff is harder to find and they won't be able to find more copies again easily or at all.

So a business is buying low in order to sell high? Shocker of SHOCKS! Call the police!

Like was said, many of these shops get by on day to day sales of common DVDs and modern games. They have no reason to move languishing product if their bills are getting paid. And someday, someone with money burning a hole in their pocket is going to fork over. Now granted I know some places can really go over board. But the fact is some of these games are actually legitimately rare, and maybe they do over charge on Super Mario/Duck Hunt*, but that's their prerogative. If it works for them it works for them.


*you know why they over charge on common first party titles? Because when Jo-Anybody suddenly gets nostalgic for his old video games, wanders into a Retro Game store, and forks over 50 bucks for a Famiclone (or $100 for an NES). They're going to want a copy of Super Mario Bros to go with it. And that's where these shops make their profits. And they well know it.

[Emperor Megas]

They're shooting themselves in the foot though. It would serve them better to price games to actually move (while still turning a fair profit) and build up an decent clientele that will keep coming back and supporting them. Why wait 3 years for a sucker to purchase 1 overpriced classic game when the can have an enthusiast purchase 70+ (2 a month) in that time, and bring friends in to do the same, AND move more of those DVDs and modern used titles, too?

Honestly, it's not only sleazy to camp for people who may not know any better to fall for the okey-doke, but it's counter profitable.

[retroguy]

Gee, I guess I should feel lucky. My local game store uses a price guide to figure stuff out (rather than Ebay or Amazon) and if the cartridge looks beat up or someone wrote on the label, they'll knock a few bucks off the price. Because of that, prices are generally very fair and I can always walk out of there with something good.

[sloan]

I went on a gaming run last weekend. Hit 10 thrifts and 4 retro game/music stores. I was shocked that for the first time in all my years, there was not a single gaming item of note (other than a few sports games) at any of the 10 thrift stores. Is no one giving their stuff to charity thrifts anymore?

The retro game stores did have some reasonable deals though. I walked out with about 15 games and a couple controllers for under $40.

[Doonzmore]

The closest game store near me doesn't use ebay pricing, they use Amazon pricing. Of course, everything is insanely expensive and nothing is worth buying there.

At least with ebay you can view completed listings, because it seems a lot of retailers have difficulty grasping that there is a difference between what an item sells for versus what people are buying it for. I found out a few months ago that the Play N Trade I frequented bases their prices on amazon and since then I've only purchased 4 items from them. I feel that the last straw was last week when I saw them pricing boxed (no way of knowing if they were complete because they sealed them up) snes game using amazon. The employee's girlfriend was prancing around on the other side of the counter look through them and at one point asked (and I think the game was Donkey Kong Country) "Are you going to keep this one at 30 or jack it up?". I must not have been more than 2 feet away from her. I couldn't believe my ears. These are some of the items I spotted inside of the display case:

Ahh! Real Monsters for 10
Rocko's Modern Life for 25 - "This goes for like 300 new hehe" uttered the employee
Kirby Super Star for 90
Pokemon Puzzle league for 20
Dracula X for 200

I spotted a copy of Ren and Stimpy Buckeroos and asked how much they needed for it. It didn't have a price sticker on it yet but the employee said in a fearful voice "Probably 100". I asked to take a look at it. The front was sun-faded, the sides were smashed, there was a sticker on the back and no tray or manual inside the box - a clear sign that it was a previous rental. I set it down and the girlfriend chirped up that she would buy it for the employee as a christmas present. He proceeded to put the game in a shelf and they started kissing over the counter. That's when I made my exit.

[Gameguy]

Like was said, many of these shops get by on day to day sales of common DVDs and modern games. They have no reason to move languishing product if their bills are getting paid. And someday, someone with money burning a hole in their pocket is going to fork over. Now granted I know some places can really go over board. But the fact is some of these games are actually legitimately rare, and maybe they do over charge on Super Mario/Duck Hunt*, but that's their prerogative. If it works for them it works for them.


*you know why they over charge on common first party titles? Because when Jo-Anybody suddenly gets nostalgic for his old video games, wanders into a Retro Game store, and forks over 50 bucks for a Famiclone (or $100 for an NES). They're going to want a copy of Super Mario Bros to go with it. And that's where these shops make their profits. And they well know it.
So you still don't consider it a ripoff to charge $200 for Lunar when it sells for $40 online in the same condition? I expect to pay more at a game store for the convenience, being able to trade towards it, and not having to deal with shipping costs but that's too much markup. It's not really a rare game.

If a game store offers 1/3 of the selling price in cash or 1/2 in trade up front I wouldn't have a problem with them. When they offer less than $5 a game for stuff they'll charge $60-$80 each I get annoyed. They offer me more than that but they take full advantage of those that don't know. I've seen them pay $5 in trade for a copy of NES Action 52. I don't like seeing people get ripped off.

They're not all bad though, they have a bunch of cheap $2 games and they had a sale when they reduced these to $1 each to try and clear them out. It's just that they were all horrible games so I didn't buy anything. When they first opened I could actually find decent enough games for $1-$5 each, now anything like that is $10 and up.

[dgdgagdae]

I feel that the last straw was last week when I saw them pricing boxed (no way of knowing if they were complete because they sealed them up) snes game using amazon.

One of the CGX stores near me also reseals games for which they have boxes. If I can't see the quality of it before buying it used, there's no sale. The employee was shaking the boxes - "Sounds like this one is cart only". Their return policy is store credit only, even if a game is non-functional.

[Lady Jaye]

I'm not surprised at all, since Play n Trade recently took over Gamebuzz/Dimensions Jeux, a Quebec-based chain of videogame stores/rental outlets that would sell retro games at outrageous prices (such as $225 for either Lunar game on PS1, $100 for Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2 on PS2, etc.). It also means that I can't expect the former Gamebuzz to suddenly sell their retro games at a decent price in the near future, since they're now part of a like-minded chain.

There's a difference between wanting to make a profit and survive as a business and selling stuff at 2-4 times the market value. Obviously, you'll say that it's their right to gouge prices and our right to not support them, but we're not their target market. They're going after the non-retrogamer who suddenly feels like playing their old PS1 or NES game or what not on the actual original console, unaware of the actual market value of the games they wish to play.

[SparTonberry]

I spotted a copy of Ren and Stimpy Buckeroos and asked how much they needed for it. It didn't have a price sticker on it yet but the employee said in a fearful voice "Probably 100". I asked to take a look at it. The front was sun-faded, the sides were smashed, there was a sticker on the back and no tray or manual inside the box - a clear sign that it was a previous rental. I set it down and the girlfriend chirped up that she would buy it for the employee as a christmas present. He proceeded to put the game in a shelf and they started kissing over the counter. That's when I made my exit.

Buckeroos NES or SNES? I've heard the SNES version is fairly rare (though I don't know if it's $100 rare), while the NES version is pretty cheap despite being such a late release.

[IHatedSega]

Is $75 worth it for Link To The Past, with no book or manual? I actually ended up selling my SNES to the store, no point in trying to collect with prices like that. Its like all these stores gauge their prices so they have a ton of inventory all the time, not just for overhead money.

I just stick to emulation, I dont have a Wii and me buying used games from a store doesnt put any money in Nintendo's pockets anyway, so I dont have any remorse for doing it. The biggest problem with emulation to me is I have SO MANY GAMES! I cant decide all the time on what I want to play. :/

[Atarileaf]

Is no one giving their stuff to charity thrifts anymore?



A lot of people will blame ebay but I think a bigger culprit is Craiglist, Kijiji, and other free online ads. Think about it, most people would give stuff away unless they were having a garage sale. Either that or you had to pay to have an ad in your local newspaper.

Now, anyone can get a free ad on Craigslist without the hassle of listing on ebay, packing it, shipping it. . .

. . . and guess what, that old video game system in my basement? I hear they're worth some money, maybe I can put it on Craigslist and make some money instead of donating it to the Salvation Army or Goodwill.

I think people are donating to thrift stores, sure, but I don't think its video games as much as they used to, everyone has heard that those things, even though their really old, are popular and people actually spend money on them.

[Atarileaf]

They offer me more than that but they take full advantage of those that don't know. I've seen them pay $5 in trade for a copy of NES Action 52. I don't like seeing people get ripped off.



So if you saw Action 52 in a garage sale for $5 you'd politely decline, pull out your smart phone, show the latest completed auction on ebay, and happily offer that price minus $10? Ya know, because you don't like seeing people getting ripped off.

[ncman071]

can someone on here just sell me secret of mana for $10?

[DreamTR]

So if you saw Action 52 in a garage sale for $5 you'd politely decline, pull out your smart phone, show the latest completed auction on ebay, and happily offer that price minus $10? Ya know, because you don't like seeing people getting ripped off.

This point exactly.

A lot of people are trying to find "deals" that they are eventually going to flip anyway sometime in their lives.

We all know the cost of classics have went up, but as it is with every hobby no one wants to pay them.

I have to charge $20 for Mario World because, well, we sell out of them all the time.

I'm not even the most expensive game store in town, we have a place charging $39.98 for Contra and I charge $19.99 and he gets his $40 for Contra.

Rent/Employees, etc.

The deal is really if you don't own a game store brick & mortar with overhead, you don't know what it is like out there at times.

I had people haggle me on 7.99 used Call of Duty games for 360. Really? We are the cheapest place in town for most retro stuff and the only time people think we are overpriced is because they are trying to flip the items online.

[djshok]

This point exactly.

A lot of people are trying to find "deals" that they are eventually going to flip anyway sometime in their lives.

We all know the cost of classics have went up, but as it is with every hobby no one wants to pay them.

I have to charge $20 for Mario World because, well, we sell out of them all the time.

I'm not even the most expensive game store in town, we have a place charging $39.98 for Contra and I charge $19.99 and he gets his $40 for Contra.

Rent/Employees, etc.

The deal is really if you don't own a game store brick & mortar with overhead, you don't know what it is like out there at times.

I had people haggle me on 7.99 used Call of Duty games for 360. Really? We are the cheapest place in town for most retro stuff and the only time people think we are overpriced is because they are trying to flip the items online.


That makes sense, but I have to ask - do you still get customers and draw a profit? I mean I understand why stores do this, but I also haven't bought games from any local stores in a loooong time. 95% of my collection was bought online, through auctions and forums. I don't want to generalize, but I assume most people who are serious about collecting do the same, if that's the case than how do the local stores manage to stay in business? Is it all just profit from casual impulse shoppers and people who don't use online shopping?

[Gameguy]

At least with ebay you can view completed listings, because it seems a lot of retailers have difficulty grasping that there is a difference between what an item sells for versus what people are buying it for.
Just saw this post now. I told them about using completed auctions or videogamepricecharts.com but they want to stick with Amazon. They said that most ebay auctions aren't available to Canada so they don't count those. It's like they take what an item will sell for, ad shipping costs and duty on top of that, and mark it up a bit more to get their pricing.


So if you saw Action 52 in a garage sale for $5 you'd politely decline, pull out your smart phone, show the latest completed auction on ebay, and happily offer that price minus $10? Ya know, because you don't like seeing people getting ripped off.
Of course I wouldn't do that, I don't have a smart phone. :p

I do consider it a bit different at a garage sale. For one thing I have no idea if it works before buying it, this store now tests all games before taking them in for trade(as stores should do). They don't clean the games though, I've seen them just blow in the carts to get them working. If someone prices something on their own, I'll go with their pricing. For untested stuff with no returns I won't risk much money, but if people ask me what it's worth I'll tell them. I've done it before, saying if it works it's worth $x.xx much while I'm personally only willing to pay $x.xx much.

Plus as a business a big part of success is through word of mouth. I would think that if anyone later realizes that they got ripped off they'll tell everyone they know about it, if anyone they know is a collector then pretty much all local collectors would know about it and avoid going there. Sure they can sell the popular games to people who don't know any better, but what about the obscure games that few people besides collectors would want?


This point exactly.

A lot of people are trying to find "deals" that they are eventually going to flip anyway sometime in their lives.

We all know the cost of classics have went up, but as it is with every hobby no one wants to pay them.

I have to charge $20 for Mario World because, well, we sell out of them all the time.

I'm not even the most expensive game store in town, we have a place charging $39.98 for Contra and I charge $19.99 and he gets his $40 for Contra.

Rent/Employees, etc.

The deal is really if you don't own a game store brick & mortar with overhead, you don't know what it is like out there at times.

I had people haggle me on 7.99 used Call of Duty games for 360. Really? We are the cheapest place in town for most retro stuff and the only time people think we are overpriced is because they are trying to flip the items online.
They price Contra at $100 loose. I'm not kidding. I've heard them complain a few months ago how they're not getting as much business now as when they first opened, but I guess they're still doing alright. They seem to repair a bunch of systems so they're making good money on that, they just don't offer repairs on older systems and I found their disc resurfacing to be terrible so I can't recommend them to anyone. Apparently they're thinking of moving to a bigger location because their current location is pretty small, I'm not sure if they'll do well elsewhere though as their current location is pretty convenient. I won't go out of my way to visit this store. Even when I need stuff that's cheap like a DS stylus they don't carry them anymore, they used to but don't want to order anymore now that they're sold out.

I remember when I sold some games to someone through the local classifieds I mentioned how I cleaned and tested everything. This person then mentioned this store which is just down the street from me, saying how he bought a Genesis game for full price and when he got home he found it was filthy and won't go back as he expects games to be clean when paying that much. I didn't bring up this store at all, but it's interesting to see how word of mouth spreads on it's own. Heck, I remember some kid with his parent came in looking to trade in some games for anything they could get, they were told that they don't want them and should go to EB Games instead as they'll still take them. These were current gen games so EB Games would take them in for something for sure, I just can't imagine turning away people to a competitor unless the games are in horrible shape and unsellable. Even for crap titles offer $1 a game, it's easy to sell current gen games for $1 even if you just take them to sell elsewhere in bulk rather than take up store space.

There is a Microplay further north that has decent pricing, it's still not cheap but it's not that stupid either. It's just out of the way for me so I rarely travel there.

[scaleworm]

I went on a gaming run last weekend. Hit 10 thrifts and 4 retro game/music stores. I was shocked that for the first time in all my years, there was not a single gaming item of note (other than a few sports games) at any of the 10 thrift stores. Is no one giving their stuff to charity thrifts anymore?

The retro game stores did have some reasonable deals though. I walked out with about 15 games and a couple controllers for under $40.

I think that if you looked on ebay, for that thrift store, you will get an unpleasant surprise concerning those games.
Our Goodwill puts them up there now. Thrifting for games has gone (for the most part) away... :(

http://stores.ebay.com/Seattle-Goodwill/Video-Games-/_i.html?_fsub=10546780&_sid=57338117&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

[BlastProcessing402]

All I know is if I hadn't discovered a retro store near me recently, I wouldn't have been able to replace my crapped out N64 Rumble Pak because I never would've gotten around to ordering one online. I don't know if it was a good price or a ripoff ($10), but I do know I like that I could just walk in, plunk down the cash, and walk out with it. Given the choice I'll take buying in person over buying online any time.

[wiggyx]

In a dark grim future people will be forced to sacrifice copies of Final Fantasy III and Super Metroid to get repos of Madden '95.

LOL!


So you still don't consider it a ripoff to charge $200 for Lunar when it sells for $40 online in the same condition? I expect to pay more at a game store for the convenience, being able to trade towards it, and not having to deal with shipping costs but that's too much markup. It's not really a rare game.

If a game store offers 1/3 of the selling price in cash or 1/2 in trade up front I wouldn't have a problem with them. When they offer less than $5 a game for stuff they'll charge $60-$80 each I get annoyed. They offer me more than that but they take full advantage of those that don't know. I've seen them pay $5 in trade for a copy of NES Action 52. I don't like seeing people get ripped off.

They're not all bad though, they have a bunch of cheap $2 games and they had a sale when they reduced these to $1 each to try and clear them out. It's just that they were all horrible games so I didn't buy anything. When they first opened I could actually find decent enough games for $1-$5 each, now anything like that is $10 and up.

I expect to pay LESS at retail. The way I see it, they aren't able to reach the number of potential buyers that you could on eBay or Amazon. So, with that in mind, I feel a lower price makes more sense seeing as that store may only be able to reach 2-3% of what an online seller could at absolute best. I don't understand why B&M shops think that online prices are the absolute measure of what their prices should be. It makes no sense. There's one local shop here that's part of a chain which I frequent who prices a lot of the 16-bit stuff that I typically look for at or slightly above webernets prices. I used to work for this particular chain, and I can decipher the coding that they use on the price stickers to let them know how long a piece of merchandise has been in the store, and almost all of the pricier SNES games have been sitting for 6 months or more. The sticker only gives the date without the year, but based on the extreme fading/discoloration on some of the price tags, I'm pretty sure that quite a few have been sitting for well over a year.

I think the WEB provides far more convenience than retail does. Sitting on your couch and clicking a few buttons to have a game sent to your door is a TON easier than running to a store, especially when you factor in gas for the trip. In fact, the store in question is about 25 miles away, which means that it costs me about 7-8 bucks just to make the voyage regardless of whether or not I buy something. 7-8 bucks for a few SNES games is about what I'd expect to pay in shipping when purchasing on the web, not to mention the other costs associated with vehicle upkeep, which just adds that much more to the cost of that trip.

[Tron 2.0]

Is $75 worth it for Link To The Past, with no book or manual? I actually ended up selling my SNES to the store, no point in trying to collect with prices like that. Its like all these stores gauge their prices so they have a ton of inventory all the time, not just for overhead money.

I just stick to emulation, I dont have a Wii and me buying used games from a store doesnt put any money in Nintendo's pockets anyway, so I dont have any remorse for doing it. The biggest problem with emulation to me is I have SO MANY GAMES! I cant decide all the time on what I want to play. :/
Prices for used snes games are getting out of control.Maybe in the future it clam down,but who knows.Still it's a good thing that there are flash cartridges for the snes so what me worry :p Still emulation can make it to easy for any one leaving the player burned out.

[The 1 2 P]

There are no more classic game stores down here but I have noticed that some thrift stores and Goodwills price their items higher because they think they are competing with online retailers such as ebay or amazon.

[Gameguy]

All I know is if I hadn't discovered a retro store near me recently, I wouldn't have been able to replace my crapped out N64 Rumble Pak because I never would've gotten around to ordering one online. I don't know if it was a good price or a ripoff ($10), but I do know I like that I could just walk in, plunk down the cash, and walk out with it. Given the choice I'll take buying in person over buying online any time.
I'm surprised these are worth anything. Whenever I got any in a bundle I just gave them away for free, I passed on bags of several together for $2.99 at thrift stores too. I always passed on them whenever I saw them, same with memory cards.



I expect to pay LESS at retail. The way I see it, they aren't able to reach the number of potential buyers that you could on eBay or Amazon. So, with that in mind, I feel a lower price makes more sense seeing as that store may only be able to reach 2-3% of what an online seller could at absolute best. I don't understand why B&M shops think that online prices are the absolute measure of what their prices should be. It makes no sense. There's one local shop here that's part of a chain which I frequent who prices a lot of the 16-bit stuff that I typically look for at or slightly above webernets prices. I used to work for this particular chain, and I can decipher the coding that they use on the price stickers to let them know how long a piece of merchandise has been in the store, and almost all of the pricier SNES games have been sitting for 6 months or more. The sticker only gives the date without the year, but based on the extreme fading/discoloration on some of the price tags, I'm pretty sure that quite a few have been sitting for well over a year.

I think the WEB provides far more convenience than retail does. Sitting on your couch and clicking a few buttons to have a game sent to your door is a TON easier than running to a store, especially when you factor in gas for the trip. In fact, the store in question is about 25 miles away, which means that it costs me about 7-8 bucks just to make the voyage regardless of whether or not I buy something. 7-8 bucks for a few SNES games is about what I'd expect to pay in shipping when purchasing on the web, not to mention the other costs associated with vehicle upkeep, which just adds that much more to the cost of that trip.
That's a good point too, if someone has to travel far out of their way you hope to find stuff priced well as you're wasting gas and time to get there. I only go to this one because it's within walking distance from my house, I literally pass it on my way to the thrift stores which are also close by. The thrifts are pricing some stuff pretty high too, a couple days ago the Value Village got a loose Snoopy Game and Watch and priced it at $29.99 in the display case. They're worth about $30 loose, but this one was untested and the face was a bit scratched up. Why waste my time checking out a thrift store when things are priced the same that I can buy them at any time I want? It was next to the new crap DS games priced at $14.99-$19.99 each, and the piles of new HD-DVDs at $9.99 each. I was happy to see a couple Saturn games put out at $3.99 but they were crap titles in bad condition. Still it's nice to just see games come in now as it's getting to be a rare sight.

[Steve W]

I'm pretty lucky to have found a fairly priced independent shop with good stock local to me. There are 2 called CGX (Console Game eXchange), and they use Amazon pricing. Not everything has a price on it, and I've been in there and asked for a price and watched them look up prices at Amazon. Sometimes they have decent things (I bought an NES Advantage in excellent condition complete in box for $50), but mostly it's overpriced. There's another shop called FX Game Exchange that has really good prices. Genesis games are mostly $5-$10 or less, and I've bought several PS2 games there at buy 2 get 1 free. Accessories are well priced, too. I just got an N64 Rumble Pak for $5.
You haven't mentioned that there's a lot of locations of Movie Trading Company stores that a lot of the time have decent prices. There's also a few Play N' Trade stores around (one only a mile farther west on Parker Rd. in Plano) and one or two indie game stores scattered around (Game Master in Rowlett and GameChop in Carrollton spring to mind). Dallas has really become a good place to find old games in the past few years.

And you didn't mention that there's another FX Game Exchange up in McKinney. It's smaller than the Plano location, and it reeks from the Subway next door, but they sometimes have interesting stuff there.

[retroguy]

If you're near Dallas, you should check out a series on youtube called The Game Chasers. You might find some good places to look for stuff just by going where they've been.

[dgdgagdae]

You haven't mentioned that there's a lot of locations of Movie Trading Company stores that a lot of the time have decent prices. There's also a few Play N' Trade stores around (one only a mile farther west on Parker Rd. in Plano) and one or two indie game stores scattered around (Game Master in Rowlett and GameChop in Carrollton spring to mind). Dallas has really become a good place to find old games in the past few years.

And you didn't mention that there's another FX Game Exchange up in McKinney. It's smaller than the Plano location, and it reeks from the Subway next door, but they sometimes have interesting stuff there.

I didn't know that Movie Trading Company sold retro games, so that's good to know. I've been to the Play N' Trade on Parker a few times, and I bought my boxed Genesis from there. Their prices on retro games may be decent, I don't know. I don't think they have a very good selection, and they way they just thrown them in bins, it's hard to tell what they have.

I'll have to look into GameChop.

[Steve W]

If you're near Dallas, you should check out a series on youtube called The Game Chasers. You might find some good places to look for stuff just by going where they've been.
I've seen that. I hope I don't run into those guys, I used to work with one of them. We didn't get along for various reasons. It might be awkward.

[A.C. Sativa]

I have 2 retro stores near me, both have prices that aren't unreasonable, but both have awful service. One is staffed solely by the owner, a miserable fat dickhead that insults all his customers and complains about how they don't spend enough money, but he's a 5 minute walk from my house. The other is filled with clerks that are so desperate for a sale that they jump all over your nuts as soon as you walk in the door. Seriously, they get so far up your ass they can tell what you had for breakfast, to the point where I refuse to shop there. I don't buy anything online, and with the local flea market closing (to make way for a fucking Walmart, of course) the dickhead is my only option nowadays.

[DreamTR]

That makes sense, but I have to ask - do you still get customers and draw a profit? I mean I understand why stores do this, but I also haven't bought games from any local stores in a loooong time. 95% of my collection was bought online, through auctions and forums. I don't want to generalize, but I assume most people who are serious about collecting do the same, if that's the case than how do the local stores manage to stay in business? Is it all just profit from casual impulse shoppers and people who don't use online shopping?

Well, you have to remember, buying stuff online is still not something everyone does.

In fact, some people are very wary about it because of bad experiences to begin with and this way if something goes wrong with the gme they have warranty/place to take back, chance to try out the system and games, etc.

Collectors are not what makes a classic game store money, it's the casual gamers looking to rekindle high school/college/childhood years and want a system and some games.

With all of this they build a place to trade in their stuff and buy more things as they see fit.

There is a cycle to a used game store that does it correctly.

I honestly think the most expensive game we ever had was Conker at 44.99. We are very reasonable to be honest but yes, some of the Mario stuff we have to sell higher.

[Griking]

So i decided to travel an hour from my house with my kids today to go to the closest playntrade store i could find. I go in and notice that the selection isn't all that bad....there's some saturn, genesis, a little snes, ps1, etc... nothing rare or anything but a decent selection....

but then i start noticing prices....24.99 for super mario world.....$69 for a boxed Secret of Mana....with the box looking HORRIFIC....terribly bent up with no manual/maps....$59 for a boxed illusion of gaia for snes as well.....the box was in bad shape with no manual....the list goes on....terrible prices for NES and Snes games that are rediculously common titles....$14 for a loose primal rage for the genesis....$60 for a loose snes super advantage arcade stick...are you kidding me!

i walked out with madden 95 on snes for $1 which was the only fairly priced game i saw. It just sucks because there are ZERO retro shops anywhere close to me......and yes i know about craigslist and ebay...but it would just be nice to walk into a local game store that sold retro games for fair prices...

i did manage to go to a local pawn shop about a month ago and purchased a few decently priced snes games.....but i hate going to pawn shops because i always feel like their staring at me...like what the hell is he doing here.....just don't feel comfortable in those places...at least the ones around where i live....

anyway, i felt the need to rant...i hope everyone here has a wonderful thanksgiving and a super christmas coming up!




There's three real problems with a used game store IMO.

1) There really isn't a reliable source for new stock. Once you sell that boxed copy of The Secret of Mana you may not get another.

2) You really can't sell your games for less than online prices otherwise someone's going to buy out most of your stock and resell it theirself online.

3) Rent and labor is expensive.

I hate to say it but I've always felt that the only real benefit of having a retail store for games is that it provides a place for the locals (who don't know how to sell online) to trade in their old games for pennies on the dollar.

[Emperor Megas]

I've seen that. I hope I don't run into those guys, I used to work with one of them. We didn't get along for various reasons. It might be awkward.No kidding? Indulge us, please. We're like teenage girls when we hear shit like this. :)

[o.pwuaioc]

Is $75 worth it for Link To The Past, with no book or manual?
Not even close.

[sparf]

Back in the slightly-civilized mountains where I came from there is a small chain of stores called G2K Games. They deal in comics, movies, music, card games, and retro gaming stuff.

There is also another store that I think is a VERY small chain, called Packard's, in the local mall.

at G2K, I can sift through their stock of Atari VCS titles and pull five or six out of the stack, all uniformly priced at $0.99. Anything above that price point is behind the counter because of rarity. For example, Superman was $9.99, Chase the Chuck Wagon was considerably more.

I can walk into Packard's in the mall, go to THEIR Atari 2600 shelf and dig and dredge, and I come up with a few things: an asthmatic cough from all the garage dust that they never bothered to wipe off the OUTSIDE of the games they took in trade, a copy of E.T. for $17.99, a copy of Yars' Revenge for $7.99, confusion at having to separate out a few Intellivision and Colecovision game cartridges that made their way carelessly into the mix, a whole lot of back pain from squatting down so low to the floor, and a whole lot of regret at wasting my time with this ridiculously priced store. A copy of Chrono Trigger, cartridge only, was priced at $179.99 in there, and that was with a damaged label and obvious remnants of sticky spilled soda clinging to the outer plastic.

Back to G2K, Their NES, SNES, and Genesis games are all priced at $4.99 for the common stuff, and the more rare or desireable games are kept behind the counter for higher prices (for example, a boxed copy of Tom and Jerry, complete with manual, poster, etc) was for sale for $19.99, while an unboxed copy was $9.99.

I may find a few more rare titles in stock at Packard's, but I'm never going to buy them there. Instead I make it a point to hit at least 1, maybe 2 G2K locations every time I am in the area to visit family, and I always leave with a big bag full of neat and interesting things. Often I even slip over, buy some Magic cards and a comic or two, and perhaps (like this past visit) something like the Blu Ray set of Back to the Future. They made me a customer. Packard's treats me as if I am a fool who knows nothing about the commonality of a game like E.T.

[Tanooki]

I don't blame the original TC for losing hope. I was living for a bit out in CA again for 3 years and ugh it was pretty awful once 2011 rolled around. Up until a point in that year I was able to take a 20 to the flea market and come away usually with 7-10 NES games and it was decent stuff or other oddball portable or other system gems. People started all treating old games like a business more and more since that point and it has gotten just nasty. I've written on it before and tend to take shit from collectors for it and the predatory reseller type shmucks as I know I'm right. People now are causing this nasty bubble with the prices and ruining classic games like they did 20 years ago with baseball(sports) cards and comic books. Shops on and offline are popping up in droves, people driving up prices even on average quality stuff in places. You get dipshit collectors wanting perfect goods and paying 4 figures or worse at times on stuff and giving the greedy clueless types more ammo along with all the crappy BINs on ebay that sucker some newbie which helps encourage more escalation as well. It's kind of like a vicious cycle, and I Hope it implodes eventually where the highly printed and moderately highly printed stuff crashes and hard, just like comics and cards, while the truly few in comparison rares and super rares those maintain or still can gain just like in those other mediums. I get the argument that the cards and comics have nothing in common but that's just self-delusion when you see back then companies saw what was going on and started printing more comics/cards both in variety and amount, games are doing this now too, the shops, the price escalations, the quality increases on the new stuff on face value, it's all there.

I for one just won't play into it. I've set an 'original local retail' price on my cap I'll buy something for and that's pushing it. I've successfully picked up damn good stuff being one with moderation. Last christmas I paid $50 shipped both for EVO and Wild Guns, $40 on Ninja Gaiden Trilogy, and luck has it $2 for Earthbound at the flea market last June, and just 2 weeks ago $5 for the gray rare variant of TUrok Rage Wars (sold it on ebay, it's awful, was going to keep it, did keep KI Gold which was $5 too.) :D Just yesterday afternoon I hit up half price books and got 8 games for $1 piece, and then a CIB like new Top Gun 2 for $5, Pokemon Pinball GBA for $7, and a Batman for $4 and that really made me happy as I forgot what dollar good games were where I was living. It's hard to find fun these days where you don't take it in the ass if you're not careful or patient, but you can.

[IHatedSega]

Not even close.

I meant box by the way haha

[wiggyx]

Yeah, $75 for something as common as Link to the Past makes no sense. Hell, I was eying a player's choice copy today which was CIB and only 40 bucks at a local shop.

$75 is insane :(

[Doonzmore]

Buckeroos NES or SNES? I've heard the SNES version is fairly rare (though I don't know if it's $100 rare), while the NES version is pretty cheap despite being such a late release.

Snes and yes, I understand that version is the rarer of the two, though I doubt it's rarer than Fire Dogs. I remember renting it back in 1999 and thought it was dreadful. Given the condition of the box and the fact that I can't view the cartridge, 100 is a bit of a stretch. They were also selling a boxed copy of Kirby 64 for 80. Give me a break. You can buy off ebay for at least half of that price.

My general feeling towards people who run game stores and base their prices off amazon is this - Why should we waste our time shopping at your store if we can expect to pay the same prices online?

[IHatedSega]

E.T. for $17.99, Chrono Trigger, cartridge only, was priced at $179.99 in there, and that was with a damaged label and obvious remnants of sticky spilled soda clinging to the outer plastic..
ET and all boxless Atari games are $2 at the retro store near me. And they had a copy of Chrono Trigger for $80 with 3 sets of initials or something on it in permanent marker. I dont know how much they charge for Link To The Past.

They also have a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 for $150, that may be ok priced they also have sealed Mario 64 is $135.

[o.pwuaioc]

Yeah, $75 for something as common as Link to the Past makes no sense. Hell, I was eying a player's choice copy today which was CIB and only 40 bucks at a local shop.

$75 is insane :(

Even that is on the pricy side. VGPC has it as $25, which is an average, so presumably some are even cheaper. (Buy it nows tend to drive the price up because some idiots can't wait for a decent price.)

[megasdkirby]

We need another video game crash, specifically for classic games.

That way, prices will drop considerably and idiots who shell out asinine amounts *coughAGEmemberscough* will be forced to sell at rock bottom prices...and eventually learn a lessen about how not to be stupid.

Then the fun of collecting might resurface again. Might.