I still do and I won't stop any time soon. I found a Game and Watch and some Master System/Megadrive games for a good deal recently, so it's still possible to find stuff IMO. I even found an Atari 2600 and games I didn't have on a local Craigslist-like site for a good deal last week. It is still a lot harder to find stuff today though, but I think we're far from the point where it's not worth it anymore to hunt
I use to go all the time to thrift stores. I've mentioned this before at another forum. I did some research for two weeks. I went to two flea markets on Sunday found a few titles. Went for two weeks every day which I went got food, driving, gas, mileage on car and time spent. And when you find mario 2,Zelda, a couple ps1 titles, I have spent more time and money doing all that where I could just have gone to eBay.
I go to a thrift store once a week on my day off and that it.
The days for me finding gold at thrift stores are over.
The last gold gem I found was a few years ago where at a Salvation Army I found a tg16 with 6 games
I've never been been a big yard sale person but I use to enjoy a fleamarket every now and then. Most of my great wild finds were from retro game stores years back and even just going back a few years ago. Most of us had a store or several that didn't ever think prices changed so that now high dollar game was still a few dollars. Today though, I don't seek games in the wild unless it's just convienent. I passed a retro game store recently on my drive back from vacation but with kids in the car, I just wanted to keep going and get home as soon as possible without a unnessary delay.
I've stopped. I have no problem spending retail on eBay. Much more convenient than going store to store in hopes of finding something to flip or something you actually want to keep for the collection.
Deals are still out there, but it's likely the newbies new to the scene with the motivation who will find the deals.
I stopped going to flea markets/car boot sales/auctions/garage sales about 3 years and now stick to online and the odd op shops, pawn brokers and thrift stores near my work. I used to spend more time visiting these places but as the years went by things dried up and i found myself having to put more effort in and deal with more competition and misinformed people who thought their FIFA 99 cart was worth triple figures. Reason being a combination of convenience, being busy with real life and also the chances of finding good stuff at reasonable prices daily aren't as good as 6-8 years ago. You've gotta do more legwork and have connections now. Not going to waste half a day sorting through rubbish to find a diamond in the rough.
Basically, I don't go out of my way anymore, i live near a pawn broker-style shop so I'll pop in there once a week and visit those places near my work occasionally but my days of mapping out garage sales and markets within a 30km radius to visit on a Saturday morning are long gone. Had a good run, but all good things come to an end!
Same. I found that I started getting way too involved emotionally toward the end. It would absolutely kill me if I had just lost out on that rare deal out there. The competition was too much. Like keep me up at night, level. Last week someone posted on Facebook a killer deal they had going on at a garage sell for a Nintendo 64 and a tote of games I couldn't make out, but were certainly CIB for $50. Of course, the comment list was already huge and growing, and it had only been 8 minutes since the post. I found myself wanting to jump in my car and run out... then realized it was Mother's Day, and my wife is pregnant with our second kid. It would have been an extreme dick move for something I wouldn't have probably reached in time. But this is just to illustrate how collecting in the wild started becoming for me. Straight up dragon sickness. Not worth it.
I still go out to yard sales on a weekly basis. On Fridays I'll leave for work an hour early and hit a few on my way in. On Saturdays my wife along with my kids and myself all go out together. We'll hit up a few sales and then have breakfast at the farmers market.
As for thrift stores, I still go about 2-3 times a week. I have to take an hour lunch at my job and I have 4 thrift stores right near me that I can make it through before I have to be back, so it is pretty convenient. If I had to go out of my way, I would probably go a lot less.
Flea markets I very rarely go to anymore. You have to get there super early just to have any kind of decent chance and even then I see about 10-15 resellers and collectors doing the same thing.
I have to say that it is getting pretty rare that I find any actual retro gaming items though. The fact that I collect other items like Legos, along with looking for toys for my kids and finding items I can sell to buy the games I want is what keeps me motivated.
Like others I don't have the time I would rather trade and buy online. I do go to the local retail shops but that is more for fun and I don't usually expect to get many deals. I usually pick up cheap commons at retail shops. As for the heavy hitters I have been trading with local collectors more via facebook.
I used to hit thrift stores and yard sales constantly (almost every day). In recent years I slowed down to 1 thrift store trip per week and maybe 1 yard sale a month. I don't find anything of serious value any more. I rarely even see junk video games any more. it's like all video games have become a must purchase thing. Occasionally I might find a movie I want or something that might be fun to play with with the kids ( i love the random bags of figures at Saver's).
I buy mostly from ebay or from my local game store. I went to a couple yard sales last year and had some success, and I stop at Salvation Army now and then, but for the most part I don't bother with yard sales/craigslist/etc. Out in the wild, I'm basically going to come across random games. But when I'm buying on ebay/in store, I might be spending more money but I'm usually getting games I'm actually looking for instead of random stuff I otherwise wouldn't have sought out.
If I'm going to go out looking for games, I would much rather go to places where I am guaranteed to see them. So I'll always hit up the local game stores or occasionally the flea market. Otherwise, I am all eBay, forums, etc.
I think the biggest thing is having more than one interest that way if you don't come away with one thing you may find something else that you like. I still frequent a string of thrift stores at least once a week, in fact, just yesterday I found a CIB Advance Wars Days of Ruin for DS for $2 in a pile of shovelware games. Flea markets and estate sales usually make my rounds too, but I'll skip garage sales as I've never made a decent find at one.
We went to a flea market when we were in Japan last month, and I could not believe how much stuff I got for so little with no competition. I walked away with a backpack full of stuff probably totaling about $200. I may have spent $10, and I passed on way more stuff than I bought. You just have to know where to look
All the retro stores in my area are as expensive if not moreso than eBay or Amazon. On top of that the thrift and pawn shops in my area never have any good games and the few times they've had things they've been ridiculously overpriced (Atari 2600 w/ no cables for $80, $50 for a BROKEN Dreamcast...wtf??) So it is way easier to shop online and somehow cheaper. So yeah I have stopped going to local stores completely.
Almost 95% off ebay and NA. I do have the occasional grab of CL. Usually go to Savers and Goodwill twice a month for household needs and kids/work clothes. I do peek for games, but only had 5 hits in the past 3 or 4 years. Best was a Castlevania Symphony of the Night in the $3 CD section, and a sealed Wii Nights for $5. Everything else has been only a couple bucks off the ebay value and I only grab if I actually want it. Most stuff is priced higher than ebay.
I even found an Atari 2600 and games I didn't have
go on...
Nothing too special actually, I only mentioned it because it was my first craigslist find in about a year.
nice! I still need a 2600 Jr. That's a nice King Fu Master as well...
I totally forgot I rescued one of those from the thrift store a few months ago, and it's been living in my trunk ever since. If you want the little guy Bert it's yours for the $6 I think I paid for it, plus shipping
If I have free time, and the weather is nice, I might swing by the flea markets in my area. But I definitely don't spend as much time as I used to. It's a combination of higher competition, higher prices, lower quality finds in the wild and the simple fact that I consider my time to be more valuable than that.
Most of my purchases lately have been either here at NA, through my local Facebook collecting group, LRG, or GameStop (cheap PS3 games). Even with those options, I've been buying way less and playing a lot more.
If I don't have to exert much effort, I'll check out a flea market or yard sale. Otherwise, everyone's already caught on around here that old cartridges = $$$.
the sad part is it's not even just carts anymore. I collect for playstation and such mainly and it's heartrbreakingly maddening to see someone at a flea market put 150 on a ps1 because its a "new console" or to see someone put 200 on an original xbox because its a "xbox one new console" and the same goes for games. I see sports games marked five and ten dollars for ps2 because its a "video game" and its so saddening. I don't really hunt on the regular anymore.
I do however love going. My fiance loves going as well, albeit for different reasons [she repurposes furniture and does woodworking] so at least I have a partner who is into going to those places, so I don't feel as though I could better use that time doing something with her since in my situation it is something we both can enjoy.
but we really pick and choose now a days. I can say I lose my drive to go hunt every now and then as i've never really found a deal. except for the ps2 i found at goodwill for 4 dollars that one was a good one. my brother in law is the one who got all the deals. he stopped buying but he would find system after system on letgo and such for like 20 bucks and buy huge lots for 50 bucks. kinda bummed me out cause i would hunt alot more and find nothing.
It isn't as much that I stopped as much that I never really got much in the wild to begin with. I did some buying and selling on craigslist for a while, but I never really did the whole goodwill / flea markets / thrift stores / yard sales thing. This isn't a slight to those who do, it just never seemed worth the time to me. There are too many people in my area who make it a job, that there is pretty much no hope of me finding anything interesting anyway. There are several people around here who get out early and hit every single place they can, snatching up everything. Completely their prerogative, I actually don't harbor any hatred or envy toward them, but just explaining why it isn't really worth my time.
The other issue for me is that there is virtually nothing around here that really fits within my current collecting goals. A lot of my collection has shifted to more obscure items, import Atlus games and items, etc. I doubt I'm ever going to see an NTSC-J "Hamster Paradise" for gameboy advance sitting around locally somewhere. Much of my collection over the last couple years has come almost exclusively from NA and eBay. People love to complain about ebay and how terrible it is, but honestly, for a good chunk of my collection the ONLY way I would ever hope to get the items is ebay.
To those of you wild hunters out there, I wish you the best of luck. Not for me personally, but the finders keepers threads around here tell me that people still find some deals every now and then.
I find that people in the wild are super cheap. I'll give a good deal, but if you want a game for $2, go elsewhere. I'd rather take my eBay, PayPal and shipping fees. I had a garage sale last week and I lowered my prices from eBay or other sources a lot and someone didn't want to pay $20 for a game that sells for $50+....
I still do yard sales and flea markets once or twice a month, but I really don't look for games anymore. Instead I look for tools, and home project related items.
I have always gone to Goodwills and Fleamarkets and thrift stores my entire life. I love "Junk" and restoring things so I always run into something to re-purpose from somewhere. But In the last 6yrs Video games just are not showing up at these places anymore. (Except Overpriced Fleamarket vendors) But the days of the Traditional "HUNT" are officially over I would say. About the best things I have found at those sort of places anymore are usually consoles or Common games. Like the odds are also like finding a shiny Pokemon in the wild! 1 in 8,000 chance seems like.
Hunting is now considered finding a deal $5-$10 cheaper than eBay at a retail/reseller. or someone price match something wrong! (IE: I got a copy of hello Kitty Cruisers on Wii U for $20)
GAMEOVER: HUNTING IN THE TRADITIONAL SENSE IS (FOR THE MOST PART) "OVER"
I appoloigize for those just getting into the hobby, but it is obviously too late...
Maybe If the bubble pops? But then im sure so many of us would gladly swoop in and gather up the
remains (If that were ever truly going to occur)
There will sure be some fun stories to tell your grand kids, one day though
I generally don't go to yard/tag/garage sales or flea markets
One thing is my interests are now very obscure and odds of finding anything is rare enough even online the other thing is time working six days a week I have little to no time.
It's still worth it for me to hit garage sales every Saturday and Fridays on lunch. I don't travel for them anymore and I get there as early as I can. I also buy anything I think I can flip and then use that money to buy games as well.
I still go to garage sales demanding they empty their homes of old video games and offering me their wares at a dollar a peice. Then bitch the whole way home that I paid too much.
Last summer I tried to go to yard sales when I knew they were happening, but they're just so random and rarely announced in my area that the total lack of return on my investment of time and gas that I stopped after a few weekends. Add to that the fact that I was alone (wife worked weekends) and having to take my then-1 year old son in and out of the car every time I stopped, and a good time was not had. My son ended up with a few things, but as things go in the reseller-hell that I live in, I came up empty handed. I might try my hand again this year, now that my son's a year older and much more mobile, but I honestly don't know that it's worth the effort based on what I'm searching for.
Yeah I pretty much stopped completely. I still go into thrift stores and garage sales occasionally but I haven't seen any games at them for about a decade and never expect to anymore. The brick and mortar game stores are just like buying online except significantly more expensive so whats the point.
The only time I really buy directly from the game store anymore is when I have a friend over and I want something new to play with them right away while they are there
Comments
I even found an Atari 2600 and games I didn't have
go on...
I go to a thrift store once a week on my day off and that it.
The days for me finding gold at thrift stores are over.
The last gold gem I found was a few years ago where at a Salvation Army I found a tg16 with 6 games
Galaga
Super Star soldier
Bonk
Keith courage
R type
Final lap twin
Two controller and multi tap for twenty dollars.
I even found an Atari 2600 and games I didn't have
go on...
Nothing too special actually, I only mentioned it because it was my first craigslist find in about a year.
Deals are still out there, but it's likely the newbies new to the scene with the motivation who will find the deals.
Basically, I don't go out of my way anymore, i live near a pawn broker-style shop so I'll pop in there once a week and visit those places near my work occasionally but my days of mapping out garage sales and markets within a 30km radius to visit on a Saturday morning are long gone. Had a good run, but all good things come to an end!
I even found an Atari 2600 and games I didn't have
go on...
Nothing too special actually, I only mentioned it because it was my first craigslist find in about a year.
nice! I still need a 2600 Jr. That's a nice King Fu Master as well...
As for thrift stores, I still go about 2-3 times a week. I have to take an hour lunch at my job and I have 4 thrift stores right near me that I can make it through before I have to be back, so it is pretty convenient. If I had to go out of my way, I would probably go a lot less.
Flea markets I very rarely go to anymore. You have to get there super early just to have any kind of decent chance and even then I see about 10-15 resellers and collectors doing the same thing.
I have to say that it is getting pretty rare that I find any actual retro gaming items though. The fact that I collect other items like Legos, along with looking for toys for my kids and finding items I can sell to buy the games I want is what keeps me motivated.
We went to a flea market when we were in Japan last month, and I could not believe how much stuff I got for so little with no competition. I walked away with a backpack full of stuff probably totaling about $200. I may have spent $10, and I passed on way more stuff than I bought. You just have to know where to look
I even found an Atari 2600 and games I didn't have
go on...
Nothing too special actually, I only mentioned it because it was my first craigslist find in about a year.
nice! I still need a 2600 Jr. That's a nice King Fu Master as well...
I totally forgot I rescued one of those from the thrift store a few months ago, and it's been living in my trunk ever since. If you want the little guy Bert it's yours for the $6 I think I paid for it, plus shipping
Most of my purchases lately have been either here at NA, through my local Facebook collecting group, LRG, or GameStop (cheap PS3 games). Even with those options, I've been buying way less and playing a lot more.
If I don't have to exert much effort, I'll check out a flea market or yard sale. Otherwise, everyone's already caught on around here that old cartridges = $$$.
the sad part is it's not even just carts anymore. I collect for playstation and such mainly and it's heartrbreakingly maddening to see someone at a flea market put 150 on a ps1 because its a "new console" or to see someone put 200 on an original xbox because its a "xbox one new console" and the same goes for games. I see sports games marked five and ten dollars for ps2 because its a "video game" and its so saddening. I don't really hunt on the regular anymore.
I do however love going. My fiance loves going as well, albeit for different reasons [she repurposes furniture and does woodworking] so at least I have a partner who is into going to those places, so I don't feel as though I could better use that time doing something with her since in my situation it is something we both can enjoy.
but we really pick and choose now a days. I can say I lose my drive to go hunt every now and then as i've never really found a deal. except for the ps2 i found at goodwill for 4 dollars that one was a good one. my brother in law is the one who got all the deals. he stopped buying but he would find system after system on letgo and such for like 20 bucks and buy huge lots for 50 bucks. kinda bummed me out cause i would hunt alot more and find nothing.
anywho, games are fun!
The other issue for me is that there is virtually nothing around here that really fits within my current collecting goals. A lot of my collection has shifted to more obscure items, import Atlus games and items, etc. I doubt I'm ever going to see an NTSC-J "Hamster Paradise" for gameboy advance sitting around locally somewhere. Much of my collection over the last couple years has come almost exclusively from NA and eBay. People love to complain about ebay and how terrible it is, but honestly, for a good chunk of my collection the ONLY way I would ever hope to get the items is ebay.
To those of you wild hunters out there, I wish you the best of luck. Not for me personally, but the finders keepers threads around here tell me that people still find some deals every now and then.
Hunting is now considered finding a deal $5-$10 cheaper than eBay at a retail/reseller. or someone price match something wrong! (IE: I got a copy of hello Kitty Cruisers on Wii U for $20)
GAMEOVER: HUNTING IN THE TRADITIONAL SENSE IS (FOR THE MOST PART) "OVER"
I appoloigize for those just getting into the hobby, but it is obviously too late...
Maybe If the bubble pops? But then im sure so many of us would gladly swoop in and gather up the
remains (If that were ever truly going to occur)
There will sure be some fun stories to tell your grand kids, one day though
One thing is my interests are now very obscure and odds of finding anything is rare enough even online the other thing is time working six days a week I have little to no time.
I have a dog so I'll get up early and take him for a walk Saturday morning. I'll bring some cash and if we see any signs we'll go check it out.
Same with if I'm out driving on a Saturday to do some errands. If I see a sign along the way I'll veer off and check it out.
But I no longer set aside a morning and go hunting.
The only time I really buy directly from the game store anymore is when I have a friend over and I want something new to play with them right away while they are there