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Thread: Good deals at flea markets

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    Insert Coin (Level 0) Zora Mystery's Avatar
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    Default Good deals at flea markets

    What is the best way to get a good deal at a flea market? I want to get some NES games today, so I was hoping to get some good opinions.
    NES pwns the current gen.
    Come see my NES collection


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    Pretzel (Level 4) miaandjohnrule's Avatar
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    OriginalRope

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    learn to haggle

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    Cherry (Level 1)
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    Quote Originally Posted by miaandjohnrule View Post
    learn to haggle
    +1. There's a fine art to it. You have to try to talk them down (no matter what), but at the same time do so respectfully...

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    Pac-Man (Level 10) mailman187666's Avatar
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    I'm sure there is existing threads around here about this, but other than learning to haggle, you also don't wanna show the person how much you have on you, don't wear nice shoes, and usually if you buy more than one thing, you can get a better discount.

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    ServBot (Level 11) Kejoriv's Avatar
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    make sure that if you haggle down a price, that you have the exact money and the seller doesn't have to give you back change.

    along the lines with nice shoes, don't wear a nice watch

    if you think the price the seller quotes is way too high, walk away.

    don't mention ebay, craigslist or any rarity guide.

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    Pretzel (Level 4) miaandjohnrule's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kejoriv View Post
    don't mention ebay, craigslist or any rarity guide.
    Even when they do.

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    Apple (Level 5) Superman's Avatar
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    http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=116516
    First he takes a homeless persons Nintendo. Now he want games for it!

    Kidding aside, I would say make sure the market you go to has games to begin with (if you know or can talk to someone who might). In cities with multiple markets, there is usually one or two that doesn't have a lot or any gaming items, they might specialize in antiques like furniture or they have only new items.

    If you go somewhere that doesn't have any games, you won't have much luck finding them!

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    Strawberry (Level 2) Nitrosport's Avatar
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    What I do is put a little cash in each one of my pockets. I can pull money out of one pocket and say this is all I have without showing all my cash. It's helped me many times.

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    Strawberry (Level 2) NES_Rules's Avatar
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    If it's a seller that you think you will buy from again and again, get to know them, maybe even see if they are willing to trade games. I know I've gotten some sweet deals from a guy at the flea market simply because I almost always buy his $1 NES games and have gotten to know him well. He'll even let me come behind his table to see stuff he hasn't put out yet.

    And like others have said, learn to haggle. But if you notice a seller doesn't like haggling, don't try to haggle every week, you won't get him to change his ways.

    Also, carry a lot of change on you, especially quarters and $1 bills, vendors love getting change, instead of having to make change.

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    Pretzel (Level 4) dao2's Avatar
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    wow these are some pretty cool tips that'd I've never thought of now I just need too find a flee market ;p

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    These are all very good tips. If you learn to haggle, you'll do wonders at flea markets and garage sales. Another trick I learned, although it won't work on everyone, is if I sit and check out an item for a long time like I'm debating whether or not to buy it, sometimes the seller will come over with a lower price or group discount just to get rid of the items. I don't know if anyone else has had this happen, but I've scored a few good deals this way.

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    Cherry (Level 1) Viraneth's Avatar
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    I ot 8 Xbox games for $3 thatway. They were Out of box, no manual, yes but the equivalent at any store would be $10+. I just walked the circuit otablesthree times, then looked them over once. Left, came back, looked at them again. I did the latter part twice, and they approached me with an offer. In my mind, I was all like "Score!" I got $40 of value that day out of $8 by doing that strategy. XD
    For the glory of the Lion, and for the Emperor!

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    Kirby (Level 13) norkusa's Avatar
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    When I go to the flea market, I always keep a $10 and $20 bill in separate pockets. If I see something I want for $15, I'll pull out the $10 and say "all I've got is this $10" and wave it around in their face. If it is a $30 item, I'll pull out the $20 bill and do the same thing.

    Showing them the money is the important part though. They're less likely to turn you down if they're looking at the cash. Works most of the time for me.

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    favorite quote of mine "He who mentions price first, loses"

    Ask what they want for it first, and haggle from there.

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    Great Puma (Level 12) Steve W's Avatar
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    Just finding a flea market that has games in it is usually the hardest part, in my opinion. It's slightly different around me, where flea markets are usually 95% hispanic. I'm a goofy white guy so they always try to charge ridiculous amounts for everything, since white guys have more money apparently. If they want too much, just walk away. If they really want to sell it, they'll tell you to stop. Otherwise, it just wasn't worth it. Unless it's something fairly rare or unique that would be a pain to track down or costly to buy online. I never bother haggling in that case, just grab it, chuck some money at them, and go. Usually vendors don't have a clue what the worth of the stuff they're selling is. I've gotten fantastic stuff that way, just paying a few bucks for something that I know is worth twenty times that much.

    I personally don't like to haggle. It's just me, I guess. I will on occasion, but most of the time I just pay them what they ask if it's reasonable. If not, I won't bother. I don't like dealing with people, I just want to wrap up the transaction and go.

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    Cherry (Level 1)
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    I've kind of built up a relationship with some of the vendors at the local flea market. It's a lot easier here though because these particular vendors charge set prices for most system games. NES or Sega $3 unless it's anything Mario or Sonic $5. GB, SNES, PS2, XBOX, etc. ranges from $5-10, but usually nothing more. They don't really know the value of their stuff and they usually don't have more than a couple of uncommon or rare items. Because they see I come along every weekend, they know I'll buy stuff I'm interested in if they lower the price by a couple of dollars.

    With other vendors I usually use some of the techniques mentioned above (putting change in different pockets, standing around, and just haggling for multiple items). Something I have used in the past is calling them out on their prices. I'll mention that I can get the item at a certain price at a certain place. Don't be afraid to use it. It can work to your advantage and save you a couple of bucks. It isn't very helpful when you call them out on a gamecube that they obviously bought at gamestop because it comes in the refurbished box they use.

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    Strawberry (Level 2) Dr. Dib's Avatar
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    The only advice I have is this:

    - Don't act interested or wear anything video game related. Sellers are bound to jack up the prices if it isn't already set.

    - Walk the circuit a few times: This is just to make sure you didn't miss anything or new sellers didn't arrive.

    Those really won't help getting a good deal. Mainly are good tips.
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    Pretzel (Level 4) ssjlance's Avatar
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    Just learn to haggle, and don't act too excited by what you find. Unless there is a sticker on it, chances are they'll try and mark it up when they see how interested you.

    Vendors can smell excitement. It smells like money.

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    Mega Man (Level 19) The 1 2 P's Avatar
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    Always ask for a lower price than what teh seller is offering the games/systems for, especially if you are planning on buying multiple items from the same seller.
    ALL HAIL THE 1 2 P
    Quote Originally Posted by THE 1 2 P
    Why? Once you've seen one partially-exposed butthole you've seen them all.

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    Pac-Man (Level 10) mailman187666's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by norkusa View Post
    When I go to the flea market, I always keep a $10 and $20 bill in separate pockets. If I see something I want for $15, I'll pull out the $10 and say "all I've got is this $10" and wave it around in their face. If it is a $30 item, I'll pull out the $20 bill and do the same thing.

    Showing them the money is the important part though. They're less likely to turn you down if they're looking at the cash. Works most of the time for me.
    that works with everybody, not just games dealers. Try doing that when buying a car, people like looking at a wad of bills waving in thier face.

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