The Great South Florida Thread

[FoxNtd]

Hey all. I'm in Broward here. :popcorn:

[Penguin]

I'm going to Miami this weekend so hopefully I can check out some of the local places. I might try and hit up any of the flea markets and the Play N' Trades.

[BetaWolf47]

I'm going to Miami this weekend so hopefully I can check out some of the local places. I might try and hit up any of the flea markets and the Play N' Trades.

Hey, if you're going to be in Miami on Sunday, me and Luis are going to hang out at my place.

[Penguin]

Hey, if you're going to be in Miami on Sunday, me and Luis are going to hang out at my place.

Cool, we've got a pretty busy schedule so i'm not sure if ill have any free time or not. I'll def give you guys a call thou.

[BetaWolf47]

Cool, we've got a pretty busy schedule so i'm not sure if ill have any free time or not. I'll def give you guys a call thou.

New developments: It might not be happening, since something came up in my schedule. I'll let you know.

[FamicomFreak]

Revive the thread!!!

[Penguin]

Ohh yea Luis, we need to go to the Swap Shop soon.

[BetaWolf47]

Yes we do!

[FamicomFreak]

Yes it's our destiny!

[CreativeOnlineSurname]

Sooo, I just moved from a Fort Myers apartment to a Cape Coral house and I now have enough space for a Room of Doom. Unfortunately, I've been out of the collecting game for a while, and everything seems to have gone out of business. What's still around?

I stumbled upon boxed NES games at $5.00 a pop at a Salvation Army on U.S. 41 near Six Mile Cypress. Got a reissue Metroid, Dr. Mario, StarTropics and Zoda's Revenge! I don't think they have much left, if anything.

[sixwayshot]

Congrats on actually finding something in a Fort Myers thrift store. I've stuck with Play N Trade for my NES purchases. The store in the Cape is awesome as hell. The majority of my collection (Been collecting seriously for about a year...) is stuff I've bought from the Cape PnT.

I've had luck with the Capital Pawn in Naples before, but most of their games are fairly new, and the prices were kind of expensive. The one in Bonita used to be a damn oasis of games, but I haven't gotten anything worthwhile from them in years. The Bonita location actually moved a few months ago, so maybe they've got some different stock...

[Gavica]

arent nes games prices are your play n trade a ripoff? at mine they charge stuff like 30 for a metal gear loose cart

[sixwayshot]

Eh, not really. Play N Trade locations are franchised, so every location is more or less independent of the others. Prices for games are entered into the system from the company, but a franchise owner can alter prices as they see fit. This is probably meant to correct errors (Overpricing on certain titles, underpricing on others) and to lower prices for items that aren't selling, but some owners do indeed mark up game prices to ridiculous levels.

At the one I go to the most, most NES games are $3-$5. Sports games, with a few exceptions, are $1. The staples of the NES: Metroid, Mario, Zelda, etc... cost more than the regular games, but they're certainly not $30. Most SNES games are $5, with the better titles selling for more. But the prices aren't too bad, normally. Other consoles follow the same sort of pricing structure, but the more recent-gen items are more expensive, for obvious reasons-- they probably sell a lot more than the NES or Saturn stuff. Gamecube stuff in particular is fairly high at the Cape store. Ikaruga is $40, and I picked up my copy for $20 at Gamestop (Not the best example, though-- Ikaruga's not exactly a common game).

I've been to Play N Trade stores that mark up old stuff to insane levels, worse than a clueless CL listing or a bad flea market dealer. The one I went to upstate had common NES games like Xevious, Astyanax and City Connection marked up to $8. Oddly enough, I did find two great finds at that store: A CIB Kolibri for the 32X, and a loose cart of Mr. Do! for the Game Boy.

[Gavica]

Eh, not really. Play N Trade locations are franchised, so every location is more or less independent of the others. Prices for games are entered into the system from the company, but a franchise owner can alter prices as they see fit. This is probably meant to correct errors (Overpricing on certain titles, underpricing on others) and to lower prices for items that aren't selling, but some owners do indeed mark up game prices to ridiculous levels.

At the one I go to the most, most NES games are $3-$5. Sports games, with a few exceptions, are $1. The staples of the NES: Metroid, Mario, Zelda, etc... cost more than the regular games, but they're certainly not $30. Most SNES games are $5, with the better titles selling for more. But the prices aren't too bad, normally. Other consoles follow the same sort of pricing structure, but the more recent-gen items are more expensive, for obvious reasons-- they probably sell a lot more than the NES or Saturn stuff. Gamecube stuff in particular is fairly high at the Cape store. Ikaruga is $40, and I picked up my copy for $20 at Gamestop (Not the best example, though-- Ikaruga's not exactly a common game).

I've been to Play N Trade stores that mark up old stuff to insane levels, worse than a clueless CL listing or a bad flea market dealer. The one I went to upstate had common NES games like Xevious, Astyanax and City Connection marked up to $8. Oddly enough, I did find two great finds at that store: A CIB Kolibri for the 32X, and a loose cart of Mr. Do! for the Game Boy.

damn, at mine in ft lauderdale i have yet to see one less than 15 and those are crappy ones

[BetaWolf47]

I've had luck with the Capital Pawn in Naples before, but most of their games are fairly new, and the prices were kind of expensive. The one in Bonita used to be a damn oasis of games, but I haven't gotten anything worthwhile from them in years. The Bonita location actually moved a few months ago, so maybe they've got some different stock...

There's actually two Capital Pawns in Naples. I found Super Metroid at one, back in 2006. The way I see it, the one on Golden Gate Parkway is good for the occasional older game, while the one on Davis Boulevard is good for N64 games.


damn, at mine in ft lauderdale i have yet to see one less than 15 and those are crappy ones

Hey, I didn't know you were so close to me dude! We've got to make some trades sometime.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

The same pricing structure for Play-N-Trade is used in the Orlando area as well for base prices: $3-$4 for NES, $4-$5 for SNES, $1 for sports games.

I haven't hit up a pawn shop in a while. I might hit up a couple pawn shops tomorrow just to scout what they have.

[Pikkon]

I still need to stop by a Play n Trade,I never been into one before.
But last week I did score some super fami games from my local craigslist and I got them for a great price.

[Pikkon]

Also I wanted to ask if anyone knows of some good import game stores in the Tampa area.

[exit]

Randomly hit up a few places after having breakfast with a buddy and ended up scoring a few things.

Went to the thrift store on 441 and Hollywood and scored a copy of Phantasy Star for $3,w whats even more amazing is that it came with the original box and instruction booklet. The box is in perfect condition and the instruction booklet is surprisingly fully intact, only the font cover is ripped a bit. Then the Goodwill on Hallandale Beach Blvd I found a N64 with 3 controllers and all of the cords for $10, plus a copy of Mario 64 w/ instructions for $3.

It's really nothing special, but hey it's the most I've gotten in months and it was really interesting to see a Master System game in the wild, which is something I haven't seen since I was about 7.

[eddieruckus]

probably a big bump here, but I found this thread and felt a need to post. I just recently got into collecting nes and snes games and I was looking for some places that I can make a day out of going to and scooping up some games.

my question is, is the swap shop really a decent place to pick some stuff up at? at this point Im trying to build a collection and looking to pick up games at a decent price , more than trying to pick up rare stuff, eventually ill get there ( I collect vinyl records too so im no stranger to the collecting game). I live in coral springs so any decent feedback and reccomendations would be awesome, also, first post

[BetaWolf47]

It's not really good or bad. It's hit and miss, like any other place. Sometimes you'll find great stuff, sometimes you'll find zilch. It's definitely worth checking out though.

[fuchikoma]

Moved from Ft Lauderdale to Port St Lucie and there is nooooothiiiing up here.

1 PnT. They actually had a pretty varied collection but then they moved across the street and the owner keeps anything pre-PS1 locked up in the back.

[wingzrow]

Well, i'm in ft lauderdale (lauderdale by the sea specificly ). Besides the swap shop, where can i go to get old games? Pawn shops have been a crap shoot. Also, the local play & trade is the most overpriced store i've ever seen.

[wingzrow]

Headed east on 441 untill I hit the coast, tons and tons of pawn shops but not much of anything was found, made maybe like $40.00. Didn't help that I went so late in the day, planning on going west early today since those neighborhoods are bad the further west youngo. Hopefully it won't matter as much in the morning.

[ThoughtBomb]

Hey it's been a bit since I've been on here, but I've got some items on sale (comics, games) that I'm desperately trying to get rid of. If anyone in the 305 is interested please hit me up, at this point I just want to clear out some closet space.

[BetaWolf47]

Well, i'm in ft lauderdale (lauderdale by the sea specificly ). Besides the swap shop, where can i go to get old games? Pawn shops have been a crap shoot. Also, the local play & trade is the most overpriced store i've ever seen.

Depends what you've got already. Also depends on the season. Last spring was good to most of us regulars out there. Found a super rare Gamecube game, some sealed NES games, and some semi-valuable CIB Genesis titles. Bookmark this link:
miami.craigslist.org/brw
and check the Electronics, Toys & Games, and Video Gaming sections frequently. There's a lot of scalpers, but you'll find something eventually. It's how me and FamicomFreak landed some sealed NES titles :D

[Penguin]

I'm hoping to make a trip to the swap shop again in a few weeks. We'll see how things go. :) Iw as in Orlando two weeks ago and found some pretty cool stuff, including House of the Dead for Saturn, and a boxed Power Base Converter.

[Penguin]

Well I've been pretty busy lately and haven't done much hunting. The one or two times I actually did make it out, I diddn't see much of anything at the flea markets or thrift stores. Kind of slow around these parts. I plan to make it over to the Swap Shop in the next few weeks, so hopefully that trip will produce some good finds.

[exit]

A buddy of mine called me up yesterday and told me that CD Trader in Sheridan Plaza had some older games there. I checked it out today and they had some NES, SNES, Genesis, PS1 N64 and Dreamcast games there. They had quite a few Genesis games with their original boxes and 2 NES games that were still boxed as well, there wasn't a huge selection, but hey it's good for a generally dry area

I asked the guy if they'd continue to sell the games, he said that as long as people bring the games in they'll continue selling them and he also said that it's something he's been dreaming of for a while. So that's good news for me, since now I won't have to rely on the crummy thrift stores as much.

Anyway I ended up grabbing Crystalis (NES, $6), Super Mario All-Stars (SNES, $9), Shadow Tower (PSX $5) and Mischief Makers (N64, $6), so I ended up getting some good games at a decent price.

[MrNelson]

I know it's not really SOUTH Florida, but if anyone in the Tampa Bay area is looking for a good retro store, I highly recommend R.U.Game? in Tampa. They have a sizable inventory and many import titles (mostly FC, SFC, and N64), not to mention they usually have better prices and trade-in values than Play N' Trade (ex. PNT had a SFC copy of F-Zero for $20, I got one at R.U.Game for $3). They also offer student discounts on all used items (which is great, considering it is just down the road from USF, just in case anyone here attends there as well). Check it out if you're in the area.

[exit]

Found a few decent games at CD Trader again, luckily I had just received a Visa gift card, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to afford any of it.

TMNT III - The Manhattan Project (NES) $4.99
Double Dragon (NES) $4.99
Shadowgate 64 (N64, Complete) $5.99
Shemnue (Dreamcast, Complete) $14.99 - Been wanting this for a while, never saw it at Play N Trade when there was one around me, so I was pretty psyched when I saw it in the case

[petik1]

South Florida retro gamer reporting in! Besides Swap Shop and a local Play n Trade, there aren't really any stores that regularly carry retro games...

Such a shame.

[johno590]

I know this is a south florida thread, but does anyone know of any good places in Orlando? All the thrift stores never seem to have anything, and I've only been to one flea market since I moved here.

[Penguin]

I know this is a south florida thread, but does anyone know of any good places in Orlando? All the thrift stores never seem to have anything, and I've only been to one flea market since I moved here.

There's a decent flea market in Sanford called Flea World, it's just outside of Orlando.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

I know this is a south florida thread, but does anyone know of any good places in Orlando? All the thrift stores never seem to have anything, and I've only been to one flea market since I moved here.



the only one i ever went to in orlando moved or shut down, it used to be on bumby, close to the skate shops beta & covert, their selection sucked anyway, so it wasnt too big of a loss


best places to go are the flea market in sanford which isnt to far north from orlando like has been suggested, there are a couple of retro booths and they all usually give you good deals if u buy a couple or are a regular, havent been in like 2 years tho, so maybe its changed


if you ever make it to kissimmee theres one on 192 that just opened, he used to operate closer to my house but then got new ownership and the guy running it is a fucking dick, he acts like he's the one doing me a favor by allowing me the priviedge to spend money there, i havent been to the new location but it used to be pretty decent before the move so...there u go

[johno590]

Thanks; I've been to the flea market at Sanford and there were a few booths, but nothing spectacular. This was a year ago, and I had kinda lost my passion for collecting, I was looking more for MTG cards at the time.

I actually live right across the street from the Hobby Spot, but if I recall most of their prices were kinda steep.

I'll keep looking around here, I need to go to more yard sales then maybe I'll stumble upon something.

[killbobbinjoe]

I've been looking for any retro games and systems. I recently went to the Flea Market on Sample Road. There was nothing. :help:

[JustRob]

Ok, I'm back, sorta, kinda, still on the hunt.

I've been hitting up the CD Trader on Sheridan lately. Picked up a couple R5 rarity genesis games there.

Does anyone know of any other CD/Movie trader type places in the area? I need a different kind of store to supplement my thrift runs.

[exit]

Ok, I'm back, sorta, kinda, still on the hunt.

I've been hitting up the CD Trader on Sheridan lately. Picked up a couple R5 rarity genesis games there.

Does anyone know of any other CD/Movie trader type places in the area? I need a different kind of store to supplement my thrift runs.

Stay out of my territory!

But seriously, CD Trader is awesome with their prices on their games, they never overcharge even on games that would call for it. I've scored a few goodies there, but been avoiding going there due to my low income at the moment. I don't know of any other places to go to and the thrift stores have been dry as ever this summer, only place I see any games at anymore is the thrift store in the back of the plaza on Hollywood Blvd and 441. It's hit or miss like everywhere else, but every once in a while you'll find some good stuff, it's where I got my complete copy of Phantasy Star.

Sometimes you'll see a Dreamcast or an original XBOX at a random pawn shop, but we're pretty damn dry when it comes to games in my neck of the woods.

[VertigoProcess]

Yoooo i live in south floridaaaaaaaa.... and i'm actually opening a retro game store next year...

[JustRob]

Exit...dude. I only started going there cause you mentioned it once :)

I picked up Fire Shark and Rastan Saga II over the weekend there. I traded in some random ps2/xbox/360 games and I had enough to cover those two and Chakan.

They have a few more at the moment, all stuff I don't have so I dunno. I'm broke as hell but I have some CDs and vinyl I can part with if I can trade it.

Also, that big thrift on hollywood and 441. I like it cause you NEVER know what you'll find. I found a Saitek x52 pro set there for $16. Just needed the jumper cable between bases which I got off of monoprice for $1! They did have a cib Marko for genesis in one of the bins behind the counter, but it was $8 and I didn't really feel like paying that much. The lady there will usually just let me back there to look through them since they are so busy most of the time. Haven't really found anything else yet.

[exit]

My only problem with that thrift store is they don't take debit/credit for purchases under $10 I believe, which always poses a problem since I almost never carry cash on me and I'm not about to run to an ATM to get a $3 game. I had to let a complete copy of Blade Runner (PC) and a Super Gameboy behind because of this, so I usually avoid going there if I don't have any cash on me.

I think there's a Play N Trade on Flamingo that opened about a year ago, but I'm not about to drive there just for that and they tend to be grossly overpriced anyway. I've been meaning to print out a list of thrift stores off of Google Map and spend a day checking them out to see which ones are worthwhile, but I just don't have the time or money right now.

[VertigoProcess]

and i've been ignored...

[JustRob]

You haven't been ignored. It's just that "I'm opening a store next year" isn't as helpful as "I'm opening a store tomorrow and all DP members get a discount"

[VertigoProcess]

well more pretty much useless information, have you guys heard of gorilla games? they sold stuff for all of the retro systems, use to go there every week, but the 2 stores that were in my area shut down... don't think the whole company went under cuz they franchise, there might be some more further south still you guys should check them out.

I actually due pretty well hitting yard sales every Saturday find all kinds of n64 stuff and every few weeks i find nes and snes stuff too.

I live up in boca area by the way so i'm not really in the Miami region

[JustRob]

I keep seeing ads on Craigslist for Gorilla Games in the Wellington Mall, but that's so damn far away from most of us down here.

[VertigoProcess]

I keep seeing ads on Craigslist for Gorilla Games in the Wellington Mall, but that's so damn far away from most of us down here.

it's worth checking out at least once, they're kind of on the expensive side but not every thing is grossly over priced.

I picked up a copy of ninja gaiden 1 for NES with box and manual for like 10 bucks I think... thought it was a ok deal.

but they got NES SNES N64 Genesis saturn dreamcast... all that stuff... even spoted a 32x in there once and even at one point they had a whole slew of master system games for like 5 bucks a pop with case and manual... unfortunately at the time i didn't know if my master system worked so i only picked up one just to test it.... had the original receipt of purchase in it, thought that was pretty cool...

[BetaWolf47]

My only problem with that thrift store is they don't take debit/credit for purchases under $10 I believe, which always poses a problem since I almost never carry cash on me and I'm not about to run to an ATM to get a $3 game. I had to let a complete copy of Blade Runner (PC) and a Super Gameboy behind because of this, so I usually avoid going there if I don't have any cash on me.

I think there's a Play N Trade on Flamingo that opened about a year ago, but I'm not about to drive there just for that and they tend to be grossly overpriced anyway. I've been meaning to print out a list of thrift stores off of Google Map and spend a day checking them out to see which ones are worthwhile, but I just don't have the time or money right now.

I've been to that PnT a few times. It's good stuff actually. Paid $5 for a copy of Fire N Ice for NES, a game which goes for $40+. One of my other friends said he got Knuckles Chaotix there for about the same price.

[JustRob]

The PnT off of sheridan and flamingo? I passed by there a couple months ago and it was closed...wasn't it?

[BetaWolf47]

The PnT off of sheridan and flamingo? I passed by there a couple months ago and it was closed...wasn't it?

It's closed already?! I don't know, I moved back to Naples last year.

[exit]

It's closed already?! I don't know, I moved back to Naples last year.

I guess it must have closed already, according to Google Maps there's one in Miami on NW 87th Avenu, Ft Lauderdale on 2370 N Federal Hwy and Coconut Creek on 4425 Lyons Rd. I could have sworn that one in Miami had shut down well over a year ago, so maybe they re-opened, or it's a completely new one.

[VertigoProcess]

I guess it must have closed already, according to Google Maps there's one in Miami on NW 87th Avenu, Ft Lauderdale on 2370 N Federal Hwy and Coconut Creek on 4425 Lyons Rd. I could have sworn that one in Miami had shut down well over a year ago, so maybe they re-opened, or it's a completely new one.

I know they are a franchise so I don't think it would close then re open...

[JustRob]

Just found this ad on craigslist. Anyone interested?

http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/vgm/2678771052.html

[goober_grape]

ive found a lot of games on CL , but not one console :@ (well Ive found N64 console for $50 FML) any ideas where to find a N64 or gamecube in sarasota for a decent price?

[goober_grape]

not an atari guy, but Im sure there'll be some gems in there!!

[JustRob]

Alright, time to necro this thread. Anyone still around for a roll call?

[Daria]

Still living in the West Palm/Lake Worth area.

[neotokeo2001]

Still living in the West Palm/Lake Worth area.

Me too.

[BetaWolf47]

Moved back to Naples in September 2010. Not that far from you guys.

[muhanad]

I'm in lake worth.

[needler420]

I'm in Ocala aka slowcala wish I was back in Miami or Fort Lauderdale.

[muhanad]

Anyone else??? Please post any of your hunting places! Thanks

[Collector_Gaming]

I am originally from that area. Fort Myers/Port Charlotte area

I have family in Naples and visited last year in the spring time. A cousin of mine took me to this massive flea market in fort myers and saw a video game guy there with all kinds of stuff. Don't know what his prices were but be interesting for you guys to check out i bet!

[muhanad]

Bump come on people!

[Daria]

I'm in lake worth.

Me too. :P

Edit: Durr... Just noticed I had already posted this only a few posts up.

[muhanad]

Me too. :P

Edit: Durr... Just noticed I had already posted this only a few posts up.
Do you know of any good hunting places in our area?