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    Peach (Level 3) Zthun's Avatar
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    Default Classic video game stores suck.

    It amazes me when I go shopping at the mall and I walk into a store like Hot Toys. The store clerks there (probably also the owners) hate me. Why? It's not because I do any damage, but I can't help it but to laugh when they have a boxed NES that comes with mario/duck hunt for $150. So the NES in there has a 150% mark up off the original price when it was brand new and around a 180-200% mark up from eBay. Wonderful.

    I can make the same complaint about flea markets and the goodwill, but at least with those places, you can find deals with people selling their old collections. It's much easier to find a copy of Mario RPG or Secret of Mana for $10 at a flea market rather than $40-$50 that most mom and pop stores run. I can bet my left arm that most of these places use eBay to get their inventory, as if nobody else can.

    I've seen stories on here about people beating their heads into the wall over thrift stores and not being able to find anything. Do you ever get this feeling about classic video game stores as well, or do you just go in with the expectation that they will have outrageous prices and unreasonable inventory (mind you that the games in these stores do tend to be in pretty bad shape)? I've seen stories on here about thrift store success as well. I have never seen a success story about a classic video game store.

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    Yes. Very yes.

    I went to a flea market recently, and there was a stand full of games. I saw a copy of Mario 3 in a Funcoland case for the dirt cheap price of... $15. There was a sign listing prices, and it vaguely said "Atari-- $5." I saw a four-switch VCS below it, and asked if I could see it. They handed it to me, and I noticed a sticker proclaiming $40. Not only that, but I was going to buy a three-button Genesis controller to use on my 2600 Jr., and they wanted $8 for the fricking controller. Then, I noticed a case full of Game Boy Colors and a lot of games, with a copy of Pokemon Gold for $35. What. The fuck. And right below the games were handguns. I kid you not.

    Needless to say, I now have proof that the idiots running the stand shouldn't be allowed within 40 ft. of a NES. This overpricing crap may work on others, but this pissed me off for a few days. In short, idiots shouldn't use eBay to price copies of Mario 3.

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    The only local "retrogaming" store in my US hometown finally closed its doors last month.

    Imagine someone selling PS1 Greatest Hits games for $70 because they're still new. Even though they're sunfaded from being left in the store window for the past three years. I hated that store a lot, especially because the guy had a habit of clearing out every single retail store with a clearance bin (like Target) just to resell at his crappy store.

    Anyway the building it was in was kept under lock and key for close to four months after the huge earthquake from last Easter. They were finally slapped with an eviction notice and thrown out two weeks ago.
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    I must be lucky in that I have several stores in the area that offer fair prices. The one local chain that is somewhat overpriced still isn't too over the top. I still get most of my stuff from thrift stores though, when they aren't pricing stuff crazy high that is. Yesterday I saw a loose Mario Party 3 at Goodwill for $30 and a loose Goldeneye for $20.
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    !!!

    i went to a local flea market this past weekend and some one wanted 20 bucks for a loose copy of super mario land with a messed up label on gameboy because"they dont make them anymore"!!!!
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    Quote Originally Posted by jb143 View Post
    I must be lucky in that I have several stores in the area that offer fair prices. The one local chain that is somewhat overpriced still isn't too over the top. I still get most of my stuff from thrift stores though, when they aren't pricing stuff crazy high that is. Yesterday I saw a loose Mario Party 3 at Goodwill for $30 and a loose Goldeneye for $20.
    I'm in this boat too.
    We've got 3 stores, one local chain dedicated to games, another regional chain that also does movies and cds, and then one local guy who also runs a thrift store.

    the local guy isn't going to give you anything that'll blow your socks off, price-wise, but he's an awesome guy, knows his stuff, and is decently cheaper than ebay.

    the regional chain mostly bases its stuff off ebay, but the area manager tells everyone to price em a few bucks lower than a comparable copy (I know this because I just started working with him)

    as for the local chain, this place is just freaking awesome! I've never seen anything overly overpriced there, and i've even found some pretty sweet deals there, like Mega Man legends 2 for $18 CIB

    as for the whole B&M pricing, it's generally done by what sells, hence the $15 mario, hell, i can't find one locally for less than $18, and it ALWAYS sells, same thing with all-stars and world on snes, those are both ~$20

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    Hmmm, I feel I should chime in here. While I'm only a mere walk from the Midwest Gaming Expo when it's going on (just West of Milwaukee), there's not really squat for game stores here. We've got several mega Media Exchanges that sell games for the usual at or above online prices, ex: 5 copies of FF7 in their case for $70 a piece, $30 Mario Karts, etc.. basically the places college kids go to buy 'old school N64's, man'.
    Oconomowoc has a store (not sure if I should name it? If you live in the area you'll know) that just plain sucks. It's about half DVDs, half games, but the shelves are loaded with nothing more than dozens of SNES and Genesis sports titles, and innumerable copies of Mario/ Duck Hunt and other crap. This place really sums up the terrible side of some old game stores.
    One afternoon I was looking in their glass case up front, thinking it odd how they NEVER get any good games in, when I see a giant stack of games on the floor: Klonoa, the Suikodens, sealed Saga Frontiers, etc. I asked if I could see them and the girl said sure and put the stack on the case. After excitedly looking through all of them, I asked her for the prices, and she told me 'Oh, they're NOT FOR SALE, but I could get their Ebay name and buy them on there'. I was flabergasted, and naturally left, but I decided to go back the next day and see if someone else with any sense was working. Sure enough the owner was, and he told me the same thing. I asked him what advantage I had over any other item on Ebay and he said 'well, I guess you could save on shipping.' Then I asked him for a reason that I should ever revisit his store and he just shrugged. What a crock. Now WHILE I'm standing in there, 3 hipster kids come in with a copy of FF7 and tell the guy they need beer money. He offers them $5 for it, and they say sure. Well, I told them I would give them $6. The owner got furious and threw us all out, and I've never been back. I did get the $6 FF7 and they got their beer. I think.
    The most ironic part is that THAT SAME NIGHT 3 kids broke into his store and stole a few hundred worth of cash. I had an idea of the suspects. But I digress. I know that a game store has to survive somehow and that Ebay is a part of many businesses, but the problem here is that 1- there is no reason to physically go INTO the store, 2 - the store is set up and displayed very poorly regardless of his stock, and 3 - the owner was just a prick with NO customer service skills whatsoever, and didn't care if he lost a potential customer.
    The sad part is that for every place that's run like Digital Press is (and I would LOVE to have a place like that by me, don't get me wrong) you have 5 places like this, that instead of having any reverence or love for the hobby itself only want to make a quick buck.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zthun View Post
    So the NES in there has a 150% mark up off the original price when it was brand new and around a 180-200% mark up from eBay. Wonderful.
    Wait, I'm confused. Wasn't the original NES released at the $200 mark? Maybe even higher? I was just a wee lad, but I could have sworn the NES wasn't exactly a cheap piece of equipment back in the '80s. Sorry, maybe I am reading this wrong, but now I'm curious as to the original NES launch price.
    Last edited by frogofdeath; 10-04-2010 at 09:16 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by frogofdeath View Post
    Wait, I'm confused. Wasn't the original NES released at the $200 mark? Maybe even higher? I was just a wee lad, but I could have sworn the NES wasn't exactly a cheap piece of equipment back in the '80s. Sorry, maybe I am reading this wrong, but now I'm curious as to the original NES launch price.
    After doing some research, you are correct and I am wrong. The original NES retailed for $199. I could have sworn to Christ all these years I got mine for $99 retail, but I didn't remember since I was around 6 years old and my mom spent the $50 I had saved up for several years in pennies and quarters. My bad.

    I think a lot of you misunderstand what I'm talking about. $15 for Mario 3 is reasonable and not too far off of the market price; you can usually sell it for $7-$10. Add in the cost of shipping, and you're almost there. My problem comes is with stores charging somewhere between $40 for Mario 3 (yeah, I've seen this). I'm sorry, but a store that does that just sucks.

    In this economy indie stores need to survive too
    No store NEEDS to survive. The earth is not going to implode because an indie store goes out of busniess.

    My point is that classic gaming stores eventually die because there is simply no market for these games. Collectors like you and I like old games, but were just a speck. The vast majority of gamers trade in their old games and never even give a second thought to playing them again. Sometimes they like to talk about them, but that's about as far as that goes.

    Gamestop survives because of it's used games market. The shop I described survives because it sells way more than just video games (also sells figures and other collectibles at OK prices). Outside people's private collection, the only way FOR a raw B&M video game store is to blow up the price of any game to well beyond any reasonable market price. If I found a copy of Mario Kart in decent condition at one of these stores for $20, I can give them the benefit of the doubt. In my experience, however, these stores will be charging $40 for the game. Surviving or not surviving, that doesn't mean they don't suck.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zthun View Post

    Gamestop survives because of it's used games market.
    Not really true. It depends on location. The retro store near me sells quite a bit and has been around for a few years.

    And not only that, I do get customers at work that request parts for older consoles. I recall one lady come in asking if we sold N64 AC Adapters.

    I agree that stores need to make revenue too. But if they have an item that has sit on the shelf for years and does not sell, that should ring a bell to the owner to reduce the price. Or sell it on Ebay. Or let it rot there for many more years to come. It's their decision.
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    I think people who say "Classic video game stores suck" suck.


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    Quote Originally Posted by Zthun View Post
    No store NEEDS to survive. The earth is not going to implode because an indie store goes out of busniess.

    My point is that classic gaming stores eventually die because there is simply no market for these games.

    Surviving or not surviving, that doesn't mean they don't suck.
    Quote Originally Posted by digitalpress View Post
    I think people who say "Classic video game stores suck" suck.


    Last edited by GrandAmChandler; 10-05-2010 at 08:44 AM.
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    One of my greatest finds came from a B&M classic video game shop. I got Master Builder (R8) for the 2600 for $3. The one in my area has (or had, I haven't been there in awhile) all Atari carts for $3 no matter what the title or rarity.

    Granted there prices are quite high, higher than ebay even, on most of there other stuff.
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    There has never been a batch of classic game stores around here really. But I have gotten some good stuff at GameCrazy before they went off the classic-plastic and went belly-up and I've also made killer scores at one of the Play-n-Trades that used to be around here. The only surviving indy store I know of is a long drive away. It just opened earlier this year and I can only manage to get down there once a month at best. Got good things there too.

    The thing is, someone operating a classic game store is going to know their market (if they want to survive). You're not going to take them to the woodshed value-wise and cherry pick on the cheap like you can the pawns or the flea vendors. They're specialized! That has got to be worth something. Finds are much more consistent to boot, thanks to them knowing what is in demand and such. I'd post a supply/demand/price intersect here, but that's a little overkill.

    I'm not saying they're all good at all. Most the Play-n-Trades were pathetic by report and by what I saw myself. There are good ones out there, even if they are hard to find as they have been for me.
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    Quote Originally Posted by digitalpress View Post
    I think people who say "Classic video game stores suck" suck.





    The earth is not going to implode because an indie store goes out of busniess.


    The earth might not, but I did - and have yet to recover.

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    Quote Originally Posted by frogofdeath View Post
    Wait, I'm confused. Wasn't the original NES released at the $200 mark? Maybe even higher? I was just a wee lad, but I could have sworn the NES wasn't exactly a cheap piece of equipment back in the '80s. Sorry, maybe I am reading this wrong, but now I'm curious as to the original NES launch price.
    In my area, the SNES launched at $199. The NES "zapper set" was priced at $109.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zthun View Post
    I've seen stories on here about people beating their heads into the wall over thrift stores and not being able to find anything. Do you ever get this feeling about classic video game stores as well, or do you just go in with the expectation that they will have outrageous prices and unreasonable inventory (mind you that the games in these stores do tend to be in pretty bad shape)? I've seen stories on here about thrift store success as well. I have never seen a success story about a classic video game store.
    I rarely go to dedicated stores, the ones that were close by are now out of business. There is a decent one that's north of where I am but it's not like stuff is dirt cheap. I did get a complete copy of Gunstar Heroes for $4.99(plus tax) well over a year ago which is what thrift stores were charging for old games at the time, but I mostly walk out empty handed.

    Craigslist and Kijiji are where I find most of my finds now.

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    I understand some stores selling overpriced merch, but guess what? In this economy indie stores need to survive too. A genny controller for $8 is a decent deal at a brick & mortar store. In fact I sold two at that price last Saturday. Super Mario 3 constantly sells for $15, because that's the only game every one wants when they buy an NES. A refurbished 2600 for $40 is a good deal. I understand being frustrated about not getting dirt cheap stuff, but a retro game store is not the place for $5 systems, it's a place to obtain easily something that is only sold online. You are paying for convenience. Now if the staff of the store is a bunch of dicks, then don't support them. Just don't take them for granted, or they will be gone.

    It's all Supply and Demand, and it varies in your area. Somethings in our area don't sell at all compared to other areas. But I can get $15 for Super Mario 3 from any Joe Schmoe off the street any day of the week.
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    Hey fuckwad, this forum is brought to you by the owner of a classic video game store that happens to not suck. I'm sure he'd appreciate this thread.

    Don't judge 'em all.
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    This is a classic gaming site and the most active thread is a load of people wanking off to my little pony.

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    Yeah, I agree. It's one thing overpricing products to outrageous levels, such as say, $130 for Kolibri (That was a real Brick and Mortar price up at a store in the Poconos). But in economics, the goal is to make as much money as you can. And you can price things as high as you want as long as it sells. If Super Mario Bros. 3 is selling at Next-Level Videogames for $15 and we can't keep any in stock then well, that's saying something now isn't it?

    Really, you can't get all the games for dirt-cheap. Brick and Mortar stores aren't flea markets, they're actual businesses trying to stay open. And if Super Mario Bros. 3 is selling at $15 and it helps your revenue, then why price it any lower? And the collector isn't going to want Super Mario Bros. 3 anyway, chances are they already have it.

    Stop complaining.

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