Stupid Question [Where do you find stuff?]

[SkiDragon]

I hate to ask such a stupid question, but I am wondering where people tend to find their stuff. I go to lots of garage sales but have almost no luck. Where else can one find old games and stuff? How many places do you look before you find something worthwhile. The best "find" I've had is getting a load of Atart and Colecovision stuff for $20 from a friend.

If there is another place where this is discussed, sorry; just point me to it.

[AB Positive]

Yard sales and flea markets are where people find stuff "in the wild" so to speak. Independant video game stores can be good too when they deal in anything VG related, but the one near me is quite aware of the value of such items so few deals to be found. Then there's eBay when all else fails but there's still deals to be found for the eagle eye'd


-AG

[VACRMH]

I go to lots of garage sales but have almost no luck.

Did you ask the people there if they have any games to sell? That always helps and i've bought a good amount of games that way.

Also, ask friends and family if they have anything lying around. I was talking to my girlfriends mother a few years ago and she remembered there was an Atari 5200 in the shed :D

[maxlords]

Yard sales, pawn shops, thrift stores, and online. That's it. That's where I get EVERYTHING I get.

[Keir]

Also be sure to check the Events & Gatherings forum to see if there are any trademeets or similar events in your area. There may even be a Michigan area "roll call" which will help hook you up with other local collectors who might be able to help you.

[vintagegamecrazy]

Find a couple of places and go there regularly. I go to the thrift on the way to work 2 to 3 times a week. It may not produce all the time but I can usually find something even small stuff once a week. You have to be very persistant. When you go garage sale searching, get there early and when they start Thursday or friday. I talk to so many of them and they say "I had games and sold them a day or two ago".

[Cmosfm]

Here's an article I wrote that may be helpful...


Looking For Games In All The Wrong Places

So, not satisfied with just playing games anymore, You’ve decided that it’s high time you start collecting games. You know that a few of the local game stores carry recent as well as classic games, and there’s always auctions up and running online, but of course those won’t net you the kind of deals you hear about here or on the Digital Press forums. You want the good deals! You want the kind of deals that dreams are made of don’t you? Well, I’m here to help with the definitive list of where to hunt and where not to hunt.

Flea Markets/Jockey Lots - This is where you will probably net your best deals! People bring there old “junk” here with two things in mind, getting rid of it and making a little cash. Remember, you’re not the only one looking for gaming goodness, that’s why you have to get up and out early before the good stuff is snagged. Never be scared to haggle here! Saving a few bucks on each item you buy just means you have more to spend later on down the line.

Yard Sales - Just like flea markets, except it requires a little more traveling. One key element to yard sales you need to keep in mind is always remember to ask if they have any games. You’re at the persons house, who knows, they may have a treasure trove of games inside that they didn’t think anyone would want to buy. Always keep that in mind.

Thrift Stores - Depending on your location, this will probably be your next best bet. With thrift stores, the games can come in any day, so check often. 2-3 times a week should do. For the most part haggling here is a no-no, the prices are usually set in stone.

Pawn Shops - These can be on and off here when it comes to finds. You rarely ever see anything pre-NES here, and anything pre-PSone is lucky. Usually pawn shops don’t require as much repetition hunting as thrift stores do, but you need to get the feel of each one you’re in. Ask if they ever carry what you’re looking for, that will determine how often you visit that particular store. If ever again.

Video Rental Stores - Want to jump start your collection? Of course you do! This is the way to do it. Crazy talk you say? Nah, visit you’re local and even non-local mom-n-pop video rental stores that’s been around for a good 10-20 years. Lots of times they have games that they stopped renting many years ago either in the stock room, in storage, or out for sale. Usually the owners are willing to sell them all out cheap just to make room for new rentals. Being that the stores usually keep the boxes for the games it just sweetens the deal even more. Just like yard sales, you might not get anywhere if you don’t ask about them.

Those places should be your normal “hunting grounds” for finding good deals. Now, where to stay away from you ask?

Game Stores - Not naming any names here, but game stores are usually not good for getting deals. Don’t get me wrong, you can get what you pay for here…bad games at low prices or good games at expensive prices. Occasionally you’ll run across something special, but that doesn’t happen too often. Don’t make this your only stop for game finds.

Online Auctions - For the most part, online auctions like eBay are a sellers field only. Game prices get blow out of proportion, shipping is usually high, and deals are far from being good. Stay away from online auctions unless you know the tricks of the trade, which I will hopefully get into in a future column.

Consignment Shops - Welcome to the land of expensive gaming! That is, if you even find games here. The thing to keep in mind here is that two people are out to make money on the items in the shop. The person who owns it, and the person who owns the shop. So hitting a consignment shop is usually a waste.

Antique Stores - I get this question a lot. Have you ever found any games at antique stores? My answer? No. I have never found a single game at an antique store, so unless you’re extremely bored one day, don’t even bother.

There you go! The definitive list of where to go and where not to go when looking for gaming deals. Keep in mind that everything varies by area and from store to store and to still give your local game stores a look every once in a while. While a consignment shop may have a box of NES games for 10.00 each, look through it anyway, you may just find a Stadium Events in there and just because I‘ve never found anything at an antique store doesn’t mean you won’t. Make friends, talk to people, be nice & ask questions. Never turn down an opportunity to look in a new place for games, follow your instincts, games are all over the place….you just have to find them.

~Chris O’Sullivan - Cmosfm@aol.com

[thegreatescape]

I live off ebay, a local game store and a local pawn store for my pre-psx stuff. Good thing the pawn store and game store are almost next to each other :)

Psx and later stuff i can get from anywhere :o


Thrift Stores - Depending on your location, this will probably be your next best bet. With thrift stores, the games can come in any day, so check often. 2-3 times a week should do. For the most part haggling here is a no-no, the prices are usually set in stone.

Pawn Shops - These can be on and off here when it comes to finds. You rarely ever see anything pre-NES here, and anything pre-PSone is lucky. Usually pawn shops don’t require as much repetition hunting as thrift stores do, but you need to get the feel of each one you’re in. Ask if they ever carry what you’re looking for, that will determine how often you visit that particular store. If ever again.


I always thought pawn and thrift stores were the same thing :embarrassed:
What exactly is the difference between a pawn store and a thrift store ?

[Aussie2B]

Thrift stores can get their goods in a variety of ways. Some of them are charities, so all their stuff was donated to them.

Pawn shops get their goods from people tight on money most of the time. They bring in something they think is of a decent value (hence why you see a lot of jewelry and such), the guy gives them cash, and then the item is sold (or the person may come back when in a better financial situation to try to get the item back).

[Daria]

About antinque shops... I never go to any while searching for games but I've been dragged into them plenty of times by my mother. In some stores 70s-80s era electornics are considered antiques. I really wouldn't be surprised if I did run across an old system or bin of games there.

It really depends on the store it's self.

[SkiDragon]

Thank you for this information, and keep it coming if there is anything else useful to know. I am mostly looking for more obscure stuff, and also a VCS.

My best (and only) find at a yard sale was a boxed genesis for $15. Not that great. Oh, and a broken PS2 for $3 that I might be able to fix if only I knew where to buy that ribbon cable that hooks to the CD drive (internally)...

I went to a few thrift stores and half of them had a copy of mario/duck hunt for $1... And one had the Activator for Genesis for $20, but that was not cheap enought to warrant purchase.

My only purchase from a video rental place was when I bought mario RPG at one. It was just sitting on the shelf and I asked if I could buy it, and they said yes. Oh, and I also raped blockbuster with that recent Gamerush deal.

I used to go to Funcoland a lot, but since they dont carry the older stuff anymore, I dont go as much.

Ive bought a few things off ebay, but only when I thought it was a good deal, like a boxed nes top loader for $60.

The most annoying thing is a friend whose mother throws away games for no good reason, or sells them to Gamestop of all places. She supposedly threw away an NES and also many games for it because it "didnt work", but that was a while ago. She also supposedly threw away Act Raiser for SNES, but there was no explanation. I want to get their Atari before it goes in the trash too....

Just Reminiscing. Thanks for the info.

[downfall]

You can occassionaly find something in an antique store. Good for posters and vintage board games, lunchboxes, etc.

If you're into the memorabilia type stuff.

I've also found one game at an antique shop before - Complete, Mint Star Wars for NES for $8.

Antique shops generally tend to be a bit on the high side though as far as price goes.

[-hellvin-]

Thrift Shops: Extremely exhausting. You have to hit these up like crazy and you will 90% of the time find junk. But there is always the other 10%. That's the part that makes it so sweet.

Pawn Shops: Usually junk. Old sports games, psx/drm commons and can be expensive. But I did find stadium events at on for 5$.

Game Stores: They (sometimes) know what they are dealing so this will be hard on your funds. But I like em cause I can go in and bam, it's just games, not a damn scavenger hunt. And I'm talking small game stores that sell old school shit, not gamestop/eb (although sometimes these can hold good finds in the genesis/snes/nes area).

Ebay: Keep an eye out here. Sometimes you can get quite a steal. Especially buying games in lots, most of the time.

That's all I do. I never pursue yard sales. I've tried several times and got jack shit, but it's too hard for me because I work 6am shifts, usually till 10am-2:30pm. The parknswap near me is crap. Horrible flea. People charge wayyyyyyyy too much for shit.

[Vroomfunkel]

Thrift Shops: Extremely exhausting. You have to hit these up like crazy and you will 90% of the time find junk. But there is always the other 10%. That's the part that makes it so sweet.


Tell me about it .. I have been hitting thrifts (charity shops, as we call them) in London for 7-8 months now. In other words, since I got here - and I've only ever made two finds ..

1 - The Beast Within for the PC, which I sold for a modest profit which I ploughed back into Sega games, which is what I really collect

2 - Ultima Underworld, Ultima Underworld 1 & 2, and Runequest (not a videogame .. but profitwise, probably my best find in London so far)

When I was in Bristol, I hit the charity shops there all the time, and usually came out with nothing. But every now and then, you strike gold .. Probotector for Megadrive for £2.00 .. or complete Secret of Evermore and Illusion of Time for £3.00 each. Or Night Trap 32X CD & Corpse Killer 32X CD for £3.00 each (PAL versions). And once, a mint boxed NES with 8 boxed games for £40 at a 2nd hand music store!

Vroomfunkel

[Daria]

Vroomfunkel: I see you picked up RuneQuest, probably the boxset, just some advice since you're in England. If you spot any of the old GamesWorkshop boxsets/boxgames (Talisman, Warlock, DragonQuest, Mighty Empires, etc) pick them up and resell them on ebay for some mad money. Since that stuff all originated from England, english thifts would probably be the best places to score them cheap.

[neuropolitique]

I find almost all of my stuff in thrift stores. As everyone else has said, persistance is the key. I used to pop into thrifts once in a great while, and come out empty handed wondering why everyone raved about them. Then one day I found a few decent master system games at a Goodwill. After that, I started going more fequently, and my finds increased. Then I expanded the number of stores I went to and my finds increased even further. Now I operate on a "thrift schedule",which is as follows;

Everyday: Hit a Goodwill right around the corner from me. I was so happy when that one opened.
Few Times a Week: Hit the goodwill around the corner, the Goodwill in Lawrenceville, and the Metro Thrift.
Twice a Week: Do the circuit, which is the Goodwill around the corner, Goodwill Lawrenceville, the Catholics, the Metro, Goodwill Pleasant Hill, Last Chance, Goodwill Lilburn, Value Village Lilburn, Value Village Roswell, Goodwill Roswel, Goodwill Cummings(optional).

The curcuit usually yeilds quite a bit of stuff. The odd days throughout the week will get me something from time to time. You really need to love thrifting, though. It helps that I look for more than games. Old cameras, particularly folding Polaroids, have grabbed hold of me lately, so I have those to look for. Odd gadgets, computer equipment, other weird stuff you come across. I saw a great tagline on a site about thrifting that I think really sums thrifting up.
Finding things you never knew you needed.

There are some things I've learned that help me in my searches. The first is to know the store. Knowing where games are usually kept is only the start. Are the games in a case? If not, then they could be anywhere in the store, and you'll be all damn day searching for them. Find out where in the store they are put out. Then find out the most common places people cart them off to. The store may put them out in the electronics section, but people pick them up a carry them around. Find out where they drop them. Look through the VHS tapes, CD racks, tape racks, 8-tracks. Look through anything that is about the same size, or similar in people's minds. Look in the areas next to where the games are ususally found. For some reason I find a lot of games under the pillows and sheets in one store. They are directly below the VHS tapes. Sometimes games are put there, and I think people try to hide the games. Haven't figured out why, though.

Look behind the counter. This goes for glass cases, and the registers. I once found a boxed Super Mario Bros. 3 under a register. Not rare, but a favorite. I've found numerous items behind display cases, also. Bunches of games just sitting the waiting to be displayed or forgoten by someone. A quick lean over the counter can tell you if there's anything to be had.

Don't go thrifting if you are looking for one specific system, though. You never know what you will find at a thift, and you will wait for ever looking for specific stuff. I've found everything from 2600, to jaguar, to GBA games, with just about everything in between at some point. best thing to do if hunting specifics is to eBay your finds. Thrifting can be a good way to finance your collection.

Another downside to thrifting is that you will not find any new games. The only exception to this might be a grand opening. At the opening for the Goodwill around the corner, there were PS2, Xbox, and the two GBA games I grabbed for $2 apiece, sealed. Stupidly I didn't pick up the PS2 or Xbox games because I didn't collect for them. Dumbass!

Well, this is longer than I had intended. Let me end by saying you really need the thrifting bug for thrifts to work for you. Put in the time and they will pay off. Otherwise, it won't be worth it.