My gigantic NES/GENESIS/SNES find...

[bizbiz]

Hi, this is my first message on Digital Press, but I have been visiting the website and forum for some time now. My latest game find is what made me register as a user so I could let everyone know about what I got. I made a very big game find a little earlier in the year, but I had to wait until now to go public about it. A local video rental closed down and I got a very large amount of rare items that I am still in shock about. When they shut down, I got a ton of more stuff for free since I knew the owners and was already a regular buyer. That is why I didn't make the news public, in worry that anyone who collects games would find the place and buy out the good stuff.. In the end I came thru with the best game stuff of my life! Highlights of what I got are:

SNES super purchases:
2 copies of Megaman X3 (with box, no instructions)
3 copies of Megaman X2 (with box, no instructions)
1 copy of Chrono Trigger (with box/manual)
1 copy of Breath of Fire 1 (with box/manual)
1 copy of Breath of Fire 2 (with box/manual)
Mega Man Soccer (complete)
etc...

those were all $1.99 each minus 20% so, $1.59 each. I think I got about 80 SNES games, all which were rare/valuable, and I passed on all the crap..

In all, I got almost 200 boxed NES games, but the big buys here were:
Little Samson (boxed/complete) 99 cents
Fire 'N' Ice (boxed/complete) 99 cents
Flintstones Surprise Dinosaur Peak (cart only 99 cents)

And finally, what I feel was my best find (especially since it was 100% free and given to me on the last day of business):

600+ mint condition instruction manuals for SNES
600+ mint condition instruction manuals for GENESIS
600+ instruction manuals for PSX1 (not in best condition)
300+ instruction manuals for N64
100+ instruction manuals for DREAMCAST (not in best condition)
200+ N64 empty game boxes (I am guessing that I got a box for every game on N64 (incidentally I also bought all the Mario/Zelda/Valuable games on N64 for $4.99 each - 20% each)

All these manuals were going to be thrown away, but I knew I would get them on the last day if I played it right.. and I did! The SNES/GENESIS manuals are all mint and include 98% of the entire library of games, with just a few missing on each system (for example, Action 52 on Sega is missing and the Wisdom Tree games are missing) ... this was manuals only, but in addition, I bought roughly 50-100 games for each system that I did have to pay for (all $1.99 - 20% each). Too bad I didn't get NES manuals, my favorite system.. they gave me a ton of mauals on NES, but they were all zerox copies and apparently the originals were thrown away years ago!!! The rest of the manuals I got are all originals in mint condition !!!!!!!!!!!!!! That includes FF2, FF3, any game from Koei on Genesis/SNES, also the Dragon Warrior 3+4 manuals got mixed in with SNES since they are oversized and look like SNES manuals!!!

So, I know this all sounds insane, but it really happened. My friend got roughly 600 movies for 3 dollars or less, most of which were out-of-print 80's movies that rake a lot of money on eBay.

I guess I can provide pictures of whatever you want me to post.. but I don't have any receipts.. most was cash buys to the owner and did not include receipts, and if they did, I don't save them.. many of the NES and SNES games have the video rentals stickers on the side.. so you will see that they all originate from the same place.. I did remove the stickers from Flintstones/Little Samson/Fire N Ice, since I am a huge NES collector and couldn't look at the security stickers any longer.

I'm not selling anything since I collect games.. I kinda became a heavy collector after this event happened a couple of months ago, but I have always collected and never want to sell my stuff again.. I did sell some of my best stuff in 2004 and regret it now.. so no, nothing is for sale!

-John

[Cmosfm]

Congratulations

That's all I'm saying this time.

[fishsandwich]

Hey, dude, this is a FANTASTIC find! Can I did through your N64 instructions? :D

How about some PICS?

PLEASE?

:D

[THATinkjar]

I'm jealous as hell.

[Sniderman]

<breathes a silent prayer that this thread does not go screaming into the depths of Hell>

[bizbiz]

The way I look at it.. I hate corporate companies like Blockbuster and Iggle and yadda yadda, but it is thanks to these guys that I got all this stuff. Basically, the video rental that I got this stuff from was very small (4 stores total and they were local, into independent movies, etc..) They spent years building up the best game aisle in the area.. now the store is gone, I got most of the good stuff, and Blockbuster is in their place. No Blockbuster didn't buy them out or anything, but rather, the owner of the building terminated their lease and quickly signed Blockbuster in.. the whole matter is sad to recall, but everyone knew it was gonna happen.. especially when 2 months earlier, the best music store in Cleveland also existed in this shopping plaza and it too was kicked out by the owner to make way for a Quizno's Subs... sad but true.. and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

[bizbiz]

I will post some pictures later tonight, but I gotta go now.. does anyone want to see anything specific? I don't want to take 50 pictures, but would gladly take 5-10 of requested items. Just don't ask for receipts or anything (hence the thread about Stadium Events!!)

[jajaja]

Please post some pics :)

[bizbiz]

OK, I will post pictures later.. I will be back in a few hours later tonight.. in the meanwhile, tell me what you wanna see a picture of.. otherwise I will snap a few general pictures. Thanks!

-John

[Cirrus]

OK, I will post pictures later.. I will be back in a few hours later tonight.. in the meanwhile, tell me what you wanna see a picture of.. otherwise I will snap a few general pictures. Thanks!

-John

Looks like I live in your area (Northeast Ohio)... now that the deal is over, what store was it?

[PDorr3]

its a shame some of us cannot even get a SMB/DuckHunt cart on NES without having to pay $5 at our local thrift.

Congrats.....now I will go and cry in my corner :(

[bizbiz]

Pdorr3, think carefully.. there has gotta be a better place to look than at a thrift store.. I have 50 in my area and they all suck.. the most I ever find there is clothes, they never have game stuff.. Why not try video stores that are going out of business or better yet, garage sales? I have found a lot of other cool stuff outside of this video rental and ebay, but I can't give out my sources, but a hint is to try the places I suggested! Good luck.

[towerofsong]

We need pics pics pics.
I'm extremely jealous
Since you got so much there you should feel obliged to send me that Chrono Trigger for free...yep...please :D ;)
Oh and congrats...

[bizbiz]

OK here is the first pictures. Manuals galore!

Sega Genesis manuals. I put a few rarer manuals on display in front, but as you can see, there is no repeats and this is basically the entire sega library of game manuals:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_2400.jpg

Next up, N64.. manuals and boxes.. the boxes that are folded don't have games to go with them, but the unfolded boxes on the side have games in them. A lot of these N64 boxes are repeats and include 4-5 copies of the same box like Paper Mario, Mario Golf, and other rarer Mario boxes etc... I think the video place had every N64 ever made in USA except maybe 1-2..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_2398.jpg

PSX --- 100's and 100's of PSX manuals, but many of them don't have front covers.. the rental would remove the cover and leave it in the cd jewel case for a display box and then use the torn out manual as a master copy behind the counter.. so these are mint but unfortunately many have missing covers except the original big case manuals.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_2399.jpg


I will post some other stuff in a little bit!

[FooFighter]

HOLY S!!! @_@

Nice find man!

[jajaja]

Wow yes.. fucking nice! :) But what are u gonna do with all the manulas? hehe

[WanganRunner]

That is a fantastic find man.

Congratulations.

[doomedpeasant]

Dude thats i really nice haul. If you ever stsrt to trade off some of the PSX manuals i would be very interested, cause i need quite a few.

[Slate]

X_x X_x X_x X_x @_@ :) 8-)

Those pics ROCK I'm a little jealous.

How much did you pay total?

[bizbiz]

OK, I am running out of ideas for pictures.. so this is the last one I will post unless I get a specific request for more pictures..

The rarer stuff for NES that I got. All boxed games for NES were just 99 cents each, and they did not include manuals all the time, but some did.. unfortunately Flintstones was cart only!!!!!!!!!
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_2402.jpg

[jajaja]

X_x X_x X_x X_x @_@ :) 8-)

Those pics ROCK I'm a little jealous.

How much did you pay total?

He said the manuals were for free and the prices for the game are in his first post.
I wish I found something nice like this. Altho, I did find mr gimmick for NES for around $10 once :)

[Slate]

X_x X_x X_x X_x @_@ :) 8-)

Those pics ROCK I'm a little jealous.

How much did you pay total?

He said the manuals were for free and the prices for the game are in his first post.
I wish I found something nice like this. Altho, I did find mr gimmick for NES for around $10 once :)

I noticed that.. I was just wondering what he spent, total. I'm not trying to start an argument like in the stadium events topic..

[bizbiz]

OK last of the pictures:

Some of the KOEI and other rarer manuals for SNES:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_2403.jpg

The rest of the SNES manuals:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_2404.jpg

A lot of rare SNES games that have those permanent video rental stickers on them.. very hard to remove, but it can be done:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_2405.jpg

[bizbiz]

Before they went out of business:

Manuals were free.. 0.00
NES games .. 200-300 dollars
SNES games .. 200-300 dollars
SEGA games .. 200-300 dollars
N64 games .. 200-300 dollars
total of 1200-1500 I would guess..

Dreamcast/PSX -- I spent 500-1000 but I bought those about 2 years ago and sold all of them (suikoden 2 comes to mind)

I also bought Popful Mail, Shining Force 1+2, and all the other very rare RPG's for Sega CD from this place.. but I sold all of them to 1 guy. That was back in 2002 when they cleared out Sega CD from their store. I sold the games thinking at the time an old CD game might go down in value over time (not sure why I thought that) but I sold them all!

[WanganRunner]

Ok, so hold on, how many total games did you end up getting from this haul?

if the NES games were like $1.00 each, that means that you snagged like 300 of them, right?

[den68]

if you're talking about those silver ones on the side that leave "void" when you peel them off Goo Gone will take them off piece of cake.

If you're talking about those barcode ones with the magnetic strips then yeah, those ARE a major bitch to clean off.

monster score btw.

[Cmosfm]

I want to see a shot of EVERYTHING you got in one big picture!

What was the price per game by system?

Very impressive, btw, this is the type of find that really makes me cream the ol' undies. I've had some great video store buyouts myself, but never before with so many rarer titles...

...I would have if that owner of that one store wasn't such a bitch, wanted 8.00 per SNES/Genesis/NES/N64 game she had stores in boxes in the back for the past 10-15 years. She had well over 1000 games. I offered 1.00 each and I'd take everything, she laughed....I left....

[qbertandernie]

nice work!

id be interested in city of lost children and jumping flash 2 coverless manuals if youve got extras. (i bought mine cover only)

[bizbiz]

In regards to the question about how much on NES games, I don't know exactly because I collect NES games and immeadietly merged them with my current collection.. I suppose I could go thru manually and count the # with video rental stickers, but I am guessing 200-300 from the place, I basically bought every single NES game they had even if it sucked and was as valueless as Bases Loaded or Play Action Football since they all had boxes. But basically, yes 200-300 games, at 99 cents each.

Now, as for the stickers, the void ones are not always easy, since sometimes you have to rub hard, but generally speaking, I agree with you. Some also have this long black sticker on the security label on back that has a metal bar underneath. If you are not very careful, you rip the security label off too.. I ripped the back of Flintstones Surprise At Dinosaur Peak as a result... so tell me about it!! LOL

I also noticed that the hardest games to get stickers off of are N64, since the paint quickly fades if rubbed even a bit too hard. Vs. never coming off if you rubbed an NES cart as hard as you could.

[bizbiz]

The backs of Flintstones SADP, Fire N Ice, Little Samson for NES (as a result of very difficult-to-remove security stickers):
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_2407.jpg

[boatofcar]

Some also have this long black sticker on the security label on back that has a metal bar underneath. If you are not very careful, you rip the security label off too.. I ripped the back of Flintstones Surprise At Dinosaur Peak as a result... so tell me about it!! LOL


I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I looked in the tech/restoration forum and couldnt find it. Is there a thread where anyone discusses how to get these off?

Awesome. You have no idea how often I dream about a find like that, only to wake up and be disappointed :)

[sharkbates]

Its not just the size of the find, but the condition of everything looks to be in immaculate condtion.

Bravo to the company that kept all of these in such good condition. Unlike the local "corporate" stores that throw away all the "extraneous" items, ie boxes/manuals, what a waste! :(

Congrats! :D :)

[Melf]

You just got here and already I hate you. :P

Seriously, that is one monster find. I'd cream myself if I found something like that.

[segagamer4life]

nice find... I wish I could have stumbled across a find like this... damnn some guys have all the luck...lol

[legov8]

@_@ MAN, did you get lucky. Congradulations on a great find you got there. Wish I could have found something that good. Just be careful when removing the rental stickers. Good Job!

[nesgamer]

:o :pimp: That has to be the biggest haul ever seen on DP.

[Nesmaster]

truly incredible...

id like to see a pic of all the nes boxes, taken the same way as the snes boxes please :)

[bizbiz]

All but just a few (<10) are from the buyout I made on their NES inventory:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/bizbizjohn/IMG_2409.jpg

[Nesmaster]

thats awesome

thanks for the pic :)

[Kejoriv]

Incredible pics! NICE haul. That has the be in the top 5 finds of 2005 here on DP.

[bizbiz]

Thanks guys for all the complements.. if anyone is interested in buying a PSX or Dreamcast manual, please private message me what you want and what you will pay. But, remember, most don't have covers on them. I will also consider selling N64 empty boxes/manuals. But I cannot sell the NES/SNES/GENESIS stuff. Thank you! And anyone who is considering buying a manual from those 3 systems, I have an eBay account and I am a reputable seller, so no worries!

-John

[NESaholic]

WOW man, congrats on you great find,enjoy it to the max.

Nice pics too!

P.s.: I would love to get my hands on that Princess Tomato game,if you would wanna sell or trade let me know ok?really want this game!

[-hellvin-]

Damn...wish you were selling some stuff. I'm sure you've got plenty of genesis manuals I could use. Nice snes finds.

[v1rich]

I hate to think of all the time it would take to put this into a spreadsheet or a database to keep track of it all!

[junglehunter]

Incredible find. Not only that, but the fact that you've had the money all in one shot (or made payments?). I know I, as well as probably many others, have found really nice stuff but not having sufficient funds at the time made the idea go right down the drain. :embarrassed:

[Lothars]

Awesome find, Congratulations, I really wish I could get a find like that, especially since im trying to get a complete super nintendo collection

but damn thats' an amazing find,

Hope i get that lucky lol.

Well just had to say great find lucky you. :)

[slip81]

Incredible find!

So glad it's not another charlie post LOL

[yuppicide]

I guess I should be the 90000th person to say great find, I'm jealous, and I want it all for my collection.

[LensIrritant]

WHAT

[aaron7]

Wow... just wow. I'd die if I found that... as I wouldn't be able to buy it all and I'd hate myself forever!

[Cauterize]

O
M
F
G

That is the biggest, best and most freaking awesome find i have ever seen on these forums!

Congrats!

Got enough there to play till you die!