Places to start!

[FantasiaWHT]

Hey I haven't been doing this long enough to know any real good tips of places to look to find some good ole (CHEAP) games! I know that to start out, Ebay, EB, Gamestop, Funco, etc. etc. etc. are all out because they're usually the most expensive unless they have some deals running.

Do you all just run around to rummage sales all day? :)

On the same line, anyone in the Milwaukee area?

[Richter]

yardsales, flea markets, goodwill, salvationa army, thrift stores, neighbors, friends of neighbors, pawn shops

[FantasiaWHT]

oooh didn't think of Goodwill/SA, thanks!

[-hellvin-]

Most my luck lately has been at pawns. I work early mornings through the weekend so I can't garage sale hunt =\.

[FantasiaWHT]

Hmmm most of the pawn shops are in rather... umm... sleazy parts of town hehehe... wonder if it's worth it or not.

What about those "Super Sales" (like Blue Star) that come and invade a local convention center and charge $5 to get in? I went to one years and years ago and got a brand new 32X for $10 hehe :)

Anybody had any luck with those?

[Cauterize]

Hmmm most of the pawn shops are in rather... umm... sleazy parts of town hehehe... wonder if it's worth it or not.

...you could be missing out on some sweet deals there! jsut take a shotgun with you or something! LOL

[norkusa]

Hmmm most of the pawn shops are in rather... umm... sleazy parts of town hehehe... wonder if it's worth it or not.

It's worth it, believe me. Some of my best finds have come from pawn shops. Here's a handful of highlights from the past couple months:

Power Stone 2
Tales Of Destiny
Valkyrie Profile (x2)
Tactics Ogre (PSX)
Flintstones Surprise at Dinosaur Peak
Chavez II (SNES)

Yeah, pawns are usually in shitty parts of town but you'll probably find some great stuff for cheap if you risk it. Most of the ones around here charge $5 for PS1 games and SNES/Genesis carts for $3. If you get mugged by a bum while trying to score deals like that, I'd say it's worth it.

[Cmosfm]

here's an article I wrote, may help you...


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 blown 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.

[GameBoy]

Yeah, I would say Flea Markets, Pawn shops, etc. One place around here is one big giant pawnshop, and they usually have baskets of 2600 carts.

[Aussie2B]

Sometimes I wish I was a guy. :/ It's easy for guys to say "oh, it's worth the risk to go to a seedy part of town looking for games", but when you're a chick, the risk is a lot bigger. :( I basically have to completely rule out shopping at places I know are bad, and if a place looks iffy, I probably won't end up going there either. It took a lot of convincing to get my mom and boyfriend to let me go to this one thrift store that's perfectly fine just because the exterior of the building looks "funny".

ANYWAY...

Don't forget video rental places. I've gotten a lot of great stuff from them. Just this summer alone I picked up a complete Mountain Bike Rally for SNES for 3.99, 18 complete Sega CD games for around 15 bucks, a bunch of 1.99 Baldur's Gate II guides that I sold on eBay for $20-30 each, and whole bunch of good stuff for NES, SNES, and N64 that was priced low.

[Cmosfm]

Aussie2B, I didn't know you were a girl! LOL

And yes, Video Rental Stores are awesome, old mom n' pop stores....I get that mushy feeling inside whenever I find a new one.

[The_EniGma]

some times stay away from second hand trading in gamestores

sometimes u can get abargain

but sometimes u get ripped

Example: One store was selling MK3 for 15 quid ($30) for meggy/genny

RIPOFF

Carboots/Fleamarkets are a haven for retro games. Ppl mainly getting bored of their stuff and don't know what its worth

Example: Bought Sonic 1 for genny/meggy for £1 ($2) fully boxed manual and in mint con.

And remember..

Hunt around!

[FantasiaWHT]

Cool! Great tips everyone.

Loved that article, CMOS

Is there a difference between a pawn shop and a consignment shop?

Never thought about ma/pa rentals. Gotta see if there are any around here, but I don't think so...

Hey for you folks in the Wisconsin area, is Seven Mile Fair any good?

[Goodwill Hunter]

Hey for you folks in the Wisconsin area, is Seven Mile Fair any good?

7MF is good for Spanish Language Music CDs, but not so good for videogames. If you're just starting out, check out the Videogame Exchange on 27th St....they are having a blowout sale at the moment...nothing great, but lots of games for very little. Take 2 on 76th is another excellent source for low-priced games. Good luck hunting!

Rich

[-hellvin-]

Sometimes I wish I was a guy.

Yeah, even being a guy doesn't help sometimes, LoL. I've been to some pawns and as soon as I was done with the place I was not at all hesitant to get the FUCK out of there. Almost all pawn shops have some asshole clerks there that act like doing one minute of work is asking to shoot them in the face. Oh well, stadium events for 5 dollars, thanks asshats.

[GrayFox]

Take 2 isn't too bad of a place, but they usually put higher prices on SNES games and even Dreamcast (Sonic Adventure for $16? O_O ), which kind of sucks. You can sometimes get some decent deals on Saturn and Genny games. I picked up a Panzer Dragoon the other day for 7.99. Not too bad.

[Crush Crawfish]

Don't ever hesitate to stop at garage sales when you see them. Even if they don't look like they'll have anything. And always make sure to ask if the have any games too. All of my best finds have been from Garage sales. :Huggles $4 Turbografx-16: