CIB the less expensive way

[sloan]

For a number of my CIB titles, I have found that the least expensive way to acquire them is one piece at a time.

Best way usually involves finding an empty box/clamshell/jewel case at Goodwill or Salvation Army, usually the leftovers of a theft. I normally ask the clerk if I can have the empty case/box along with manual, considering they will just throw them away. They sometimes give them to me gratis, and sometimes charge $.50.

I then look online at amazon or ebay for low-priced cartridge only or disc only auctions. I try to find good to very good condition ones, as I don't want ripped labels or scratched discs in my collection. Once they arrive in the mail, I am able to complete my CIB copies.

Has anyone else used this method for acquiring CIB games?

[Gameguy]

That usually works but I find pieced together stuff doesn't always match properly, some people who do this don't notice minor differences between variants and just throw together random pieces. A lot of these differences won't be noticed by people unless you compare multiple copies of a game side by side with another variant, minor differences with box text or cart labels are the usual differences.

The worst "complete" copy of a game I got was Super Mario Land 2 for Gameboy. It had a US original box, a Canadian manual, a Player's Choice Canadian game, and a Gameboy Color cardboard tray that doesn't fit a game with the plastic cart case. I still need to find a proper manual and tray, I managed to find a correct copy of the game that goes with the box.

[Rickstilwell1]

Where on earth have you ever seen a box and manual only of a Super Mario Bros., Zelda, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Suikoden, Vandal-Hearts, Alundra, Lunar, Shining Force, Castlevania, King's Field, Sonic 3D Blast or any other good game that old at a Salvation Army? How many years ago was that?

[Jack_Burton_BYOAC]

My own way is to specifically try to find damaged copies of games. Whenever I visit a used game store, or meet someone who might be into gaming I always ask if they have any scratched cd's or games that simply don't work. Oftentimes things will just be given to me, and sometimes I'll have to offer some small compensation.

Once I have the scratched CD in hand, it will go on the shelf, and a CD-R will be burned to go along side it. It's not legal in any sense, but I feel from a personal ethics standpoint that owning a broken copy of the game gives me license to do so without losing much sleep at night.

[Steven]

Oh absolutely. Bottom line, don't pass up if the deal is anywhere near decent. You can always buy CIB later for a decent deal and sell the double. I can't tell you how many times I've done that.

[Atarileaf]

I've gone out and specifically looked for Genesis boxes that seemed to be hard to find such as Hit the Ice and Space Invaders 91. I don't know that I've ever seen empty game boxes in thrifts so its never been an issue for me and unless a box is really rare and hard to find, buying it online is probably not cost effective.

[Polygon]

I've never seen manuals and boxes in the wild. It's an interesting idea provided you can find that stuff.

[xelement5x]

I find loose stuff in my thrift occasionally enough, it's normally never anything of major note though. One time I found a Genesis box with a N64 in it though! They gave me the box (Sonic 3 & Sonic and Knuckles version) for free.

[Parodius Duh!]

Serial Numbers wont match

[BricatSegaFan]

Serial Numbers wont match

My socks don't match

[sloan]

Serial Numbers wont match

I got a PSX disc today to complete a jewel case, manual, and back art I got some time back at Goodwill. I looked over the manual, artwork, and disc label side. I do not see a single serial number that is on them that does not match.

[Jack_Burton_BYOAC]

Serial Numbers wont match

So what?

It's better to pair loose boxes with unmatching games than see them thrown in the trash.

[sloan]

^
I see it the same way. Preserving as many games in pristine condition for future generations is a good thing. Otherwise, GW/SA would throw away the cases/boxes/manuals, and a loose game from ebay/amazon would never find its matching items.

[Gameguy]

I would save spare parts too but I wouldn't consider things with different serial numbers to be really complete. Everything has to match for it to be complete. It's like saying a game is complete when you're using a display box, it doesn't really count.

[Jack_Burton_BYOAC]

I would save spare parts too but I wouldn't consider things with different serial numbers to be really complete. Everything has to match for it to be complete. It's like saying a game is complete when you're using a display box, it doesn't really count.

Right. I think if you plan on selling on ebay or whatever you should always make a distinction between "complete" and "complete original". There's not currently any good terminology to let you differentiate between the two.

[Gameguy]

Just say it's with box and instructions. There's no need to mention complete at all, if it's not complete. That's how I describe my games if I'm not sure if anything is missing, if it looks like any posters/maps or other inserts are missing it's not really complete.

[The 1 2 P]

My socks don't match

Unless you are wearing sandals nobody is going to notice, which was probably your point.

Sometimes this works but there is usually a significant amount of time between finding various complete pieces. I remember buying a case and manual for the PS1 version of Spider-Man 2 because someone had stolen the disc. Then around 8 months later I found a disc only copy here on DP. I also came across a ton of N64 manuals at Goodwill that they sold me for a quarter a piece. That helped with some of the cart only N64 games I had but theres no way I was ever going to find those matching boxes in the wild. But in general when I find an incomplete game(disc, manual or box) I will pick it up if it's something I want and the price is relatively cheap compared to what it is I'm getting.

[Aussie2B]

Best way usually involves finding an empty box/clamshell/jewel case at Goodwill or Salvation Army, usually the leftovers of a theft. I normally ask the clerk if I can have the empty case/box along with manual, considering they will just throw them away. They sometimes give them to me gratis, and sometimes charge $.50.

I'm surprised they don't get suspicious of you, assuming that you pocketed the cart/disc and are trying to get the whole thing for free or at a discount.

Anyway, I've definitely pieced games together, but not really from thrift store finds. Probably the best instance for me was when I got a PlayStation lot on eBay, and the guy threw in a bunch of burned games. I didn't care about those, but for some reason he had the legit manuals for Saga Frontier and Einhander with the bootleg discs. I then tracked down copies of those games with everything but the manual on eBay. It was definitely cheaper than buying those games complete, especially with Einhander.

[xelement5x]

I'm surprised they don't get suspicious of you, assuming that you pocketed the cart/disc and are trying to get the whole thing for free or at a discount.


Yeah, I worry about coming off that way as well when I ask for loosie pieces, but most of the folks at my local thrift know me so I'm sure I seem a lot more legit than a 12 year old kid doing the same thing. They actually let me swap cases every once and awhile too when there's one that's completely mangled.

[jb143]

I'm surprised they don't get suspicious of you, assuming that you pocketed the cart/disc and are trying to get the whole thing for free or at a discount.



For disc based games at least, the Goodwills around here keeps the discs behind the counter in a big binder. And also occasionally for boxed games with small "stealable" carts like GBA or DS. There have been several times when I took the case to the counter and they went to look for the game and couldn't find it. It happened to me this past weekend actually. I never thought to ask for the case at a discount(it's never been anything that I cared that much about) but past experiences with other things tell me that they wouldn't let me, in case the game turned up or something, or they'd just say they aren't allowed to give discounts.


As far as serial numbers matching, is that even a real issue? I can't see a factory mass producing a lot of boxes, games, and manuals; and then making sure they're all matched up correctly. Maybe for a greatest hits game or something but then it would be obvious it's not in the right case.

[Aussie2B]

Wow, your local Goodwills really take things seriously. I've never been to a thrift store of any kind that didn't leave the contents inside. I have seen some places that tape the cases closed like crazy, which is pretty irritating, and at places that don't, sometimes the cashiers ask me if I checked inside to make sure the disc was still in there, which of course I do. I guess they just accept the fact that things get stolen from time to time.

[jb143]

Yeah, on one hand it keeps the discs safe behind the counter. On the other hand you don't know what you're getting until after you wait in line then wait for them to find it. There have been times when the disc was scratched up and in one case cracked...and as I mentioned previously, not even there to begin with.

[The 1 2 P]

They actually let me swap cases every once and awhile too when there's one that's completely mangled.

I won't even ask permission to do that at my Goodwills. If I'm buying a game/cd/dvd then I want a good case and if the case with the item I want is damaged then I will swap it out right there in the middle of the store in front of everyone. The only problem it sometimes causes is with items that have numbers on their cases because they are stored in binders behind the counter. Which leads me to...


Wow, your local Goodwills really take things seriously. I've never been to a thrift store of any kind that didn't leave the contents inside.

Almost all the Goodwills I've been to have started storing dvds/game disc in binders behind the counter. None of them store cds there, most likely due to lack of space. But for games and dvds this policy went into affect sometime last year. You will still find certain games and dvds inside their cases but the majority are stored behind the counter. At first I didn't like this practice because they write on the game case and disc but it actually does help with theft. Far too many people seem to not have any problems stealing a $4 game or $3 cd so I'm now glad that most Goodwills in this area do this. Theres only one store that actually stopped doing this. But they instead store almost all games and dvds behind the counter.

[sloan]

I'm surprised they don't get suspicious of you, assuming that you pocketed the cart/disc and are trying to get the whole thing for free or at a discount.


I put so many dollars in the Goodwill and Salvation Army coffers around my area that the people know me by name. Many times when I come across an empty clamshell or box, I have a stack of games I am purchasing. Why would I bother stealing one game when I am purchasing six others? I have pulled my pockets inside out and asked them to search me and they have never taken me up on it.

As for keeping the game discs behind the counter, some around my area do it and others do not. As a general rule, if it is latest gen (360, PS3, Wii) they keep it behind the counter. if it is older than that, it is out for open shoplifting.

This serial number thing has me confused. I searched long and hard for serial numbers to match between cartridges and cases and have never seen a single one. If you are referring to the UPC code, there is never one on the cartridge/disc and manual anyway. Can you say, "OCD"?

[Gameguy]

As far as serial numbers matching, is that even a real issue? I can't see a factory mass producing a lot of boxes, games, and manuals; and then making sure they're all matched up correctly. Maybe for a greatest hits game or something but then it would be obvious it's not in the right case.
It's more for limited editions or actual consoles, I know Vectrex systems have serial number on the boxes that match the consoles. With numbers matching I mostly meant the part numbers, like original releases compared to -01 on Nintendo games or mixing US/Canadian games in non-matching boxes. Some NES games have a different seal of quality on them as they were re-released. Some people don't bother checking these things, they buy a cheap copy of the game online and stick it in whatever box they already have. For Sega games it's less obvious than numbers, I know with Ecco the Dolphin there's at least two versions of the carts. One made in Japan and one made in USA, the labels are very slightly different on these versions. The text on the boxes are sightly different too for each version of the game, I believe one says Made in Japan somewhere on the back while the other doesn't say anything. You'd only notice these differences comparing them side by side, it's not obvious like Greatest Hits games.


I remember seeing a King's Quest Collection in a display case at Value Village for $7.99, when I asked to inspect it the disc was missing. Apparently it was somehow stolen out of the display case. I asked about buying the packaging as they were just going to throw it out, they said I could have it for $3.99. I didn't bother with it, that's too much for something they'd just be throwing out.

[Rickstilwell1]

Yeah I'm pretty sure I was only able to sell 15 Game Boy Advance CIB games for $200 like I did because I wrote next to all but three of them [original owner] so they knew nothing was missing.

[Parodius Duh!]

My socks don't match

Good for you, spammy.


I got a PSX disc today to complete a jewel case, manual, and back art I got some time back at Goodwill. I looked over the manual, artwork, and disc label side. I do not see a single serial number that is on them that does not match.

PS1 games all have the same serial number for the same game. Older games have different numbers that vary by manufacturing date and other factors.


So what?

It's better to pair loose boxes with unmatching games than see them thrown in the trash.


Yeah true, most serious collectors that collect CIB items want them to be matching correctly however.

[sloan]

I went to a GW that is out of the way tonight and bought eight PSX games. There was one that the disc was gone and I assumed theft had happened. I took the stack of complete games along with the empty case/artwork/manual to the cash register and explained to the cashier that I would pay them something for the empty game case. She proceeded to tell me that their store keeps the empty cases in the event that the game disc might turn up. What? I told her it was a ruse and that they would end up discarding it in the trash, but she called the manager and they would not back away from that stance. Next time I am at that store and come across an empty game case with manual, the case liner and manual go in my pocket. Better than seeing it go into the trash. No way was I thieving that game when I was paying for eight others, if that is what they were thinking.

[mightykendar]

I've got some really nice almost-CIB Amiga games that I picked up at a Goodwill once...mostly Microprose sims, which I enjoyed as a kid (particularly F-19 and F-117 Stealth Fighter). Keyboard overlays, manuals, maps, you name it, and nice clean boxes. The only problem was...no game disks.

The price was such that it was still well worth my time, but I hope to, via the eBay method or otherwise, track down the 3.5" floppies that go in these boxes. I imagine that they must be easier to find than the packaging and inserts. Like the OP, I plan to make these CIB eventually, one way or another.