You can cross off the Buffalo Game Craze as well. Was just there earlier this week. Fully stocked store with the door locked and an "Available for Rent" sign in the window from the building owner.
You can cross off the Buffalo Game Craze as well. Was just there earlier this week. Fully stocked store with the door locked and an "Available for Rent" sign in the window from the building owner.
According to FB, High Energy Vintage secured a new store location at 429 Somerville Ave, Union Square Somerville MA. The store will be opening sometime in late October.
I do a lot of business with Collec-Tiques in Rochester, NH. They have a pretty sweet selection, but some of their prices can be a little high as they use eBay as a price guide.
Right next door to them is a place called We Buy Stuff. They have a big selection of retro stuff and their prices are solid and they always take offers. Went in there the other day and they had a sale where all NES, SNES & N64 were $2 each.
Nothing for the province of Newfoundland? I can help with this!
Games Exchange
St. John's, Newfoundland
Game On Collectables
Bay Roberts, Newfoundland
Peninsula Video Games
Marystown, Newfoundland
Game On is a pretty new store, but I hear they're pretty great. PVG doesn't have the largest selection but the prices are very, very fair. Lots of famicom and super famicom imports as well. Games exchange has a great selection and staff. Some of the commons are a tad bit pricey, but the rest of their games are fairly priced for the market.
Anyone been to the store in miami that was added called the grid gamers? I checked the guys facebook and not only does he seem very unprofessional, but it looks like he just does console paint jobs and physical modifications.
You can cross off the Buffalo Game Craze as well. Was just there earlier this week. Fully stocked store with the door locked and an "Available for Rent" sign in the window from the building owner.
I also stopped by there recently and was disappointed to find out they shut there doors. They had some cool kiosks.
You should add The Trading Post in Canton, Connecticut. They sell mostly DVDs and CDs but always have a stock of about 20 CIB genesis games, sometimes they get in huge lots of NES (which is where I got my Startropics for 2 bucks last month), and sometimes they even have gameboy and SNES.
I am in Athens, GA visiting as my wife has a work conference here and I looked up U-Games from the list on NA. Their Facebook page states they closed in June so you might wanna take them off the list. I was feeling bummed as this is the 3rd closure in the 3rd city I have been to in the last 6 weeks but while going to the Georgia Square Mall here I came across a place called RetroAge. It is not a very big store but has a decent size stock and a few arcade machines in there. Some are plugged in and working while others are not. They do have a Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man pinball machine unplugged in there that I thought was cool as well as one of those Konami 12 game cabinet deals that were out a couple years ago. I plan to go back tomorrow as I will have more time and can ask some questions and see if there are any good finds there. Always nice to see a new shop around.
Thought this would be the appropriate place to post this, the Kentucky Florence Mall Game Swap (already on the list) is highly NOT recommended. I have seen them prey on kids by buying their games for about 1/10 of what they sell them for eBay or above prices. They will not haggle on any price of anything. To top it off i went in there to see what they would give me for a few games, and when he offered me 1/5 of what they are worth, i said "Im sorry man i just cant do that". His response was rolling his eyes at me, then he told me how much each of my games were worth, and lied about ALL of them except 1. I told him again im sorry i just cant do it for that much, and he started raising his voice at me "Well then what would it take, 50? 100) in a real asshole tone. I told him id do it for 50 (even though i wasnt really going to i just wanted to see how greedy this guy was) and he said no 40 is the best he could ever do because "he has to make a profit". So again i told him sorry i cant do that, he just gave me one of those snarky laughs and said goodluck finding a better deal. Needless to say, never going there and i wouldn't recommend anyone go there unless they want to pay ebay or above prices. The guy was a real asshole about it all, all he had to do was say 40 is all we could do and i woulda said no thanks and went on my way, but he just had to try to feel smarter like i didnt know what my games were worth. 1/10
Sad thing is this used to be a really good store until they moved to a different location in the same mall, now there is not a single deal to be found there, and they never have new stock =(
The owner is the definition of a shyster. He has that Thundercats big wheel and Masters of the Universe bicycle in that store and I asked how much they were and of course they weren't for sale. Then he asks me "well.....how much would you pay if I did sell them?" What kind of stupid question is that? I actually gave him a price that was about what they go for on ebay and he then proceeded to tell me how they only paid $20 total for the both of them. BTW they set up a booth at the toy shows in Columbus and Cincinnati and try to sell that Thundercats big wheel for more and more money each year. First it was $700, then last time I saw them there it was $2000!
Anyway the store isn't actually that bad since they are too stupid to update their prices. They've had Isolated Warrior in there for $7.99 and KickMaster for $29.99 for years and I got them a few months ago. They price stuff too high at first, but then it sits there so long that the value goes up over time but they never adjust the prices. Any pre-NES era stuff is always priced weird. I just got a bunch of rare Coleco, Intellivision, Atari 8-Bit, 2600, and C64 cartridge games for like 80% lower than their VGPC value, and there were even more that I had to leave behind because I already had spent a ton of money. I'm talking $40 games for like $2.99! But then they'll have something like Space Invaders for 2600 at $9.99, it doesn't make any sense.
Originally posted by: GCrites80s
Were you selling them stuff they actually needed? You don't indicate what type of games they were. Every game store gets tired of having stuff they don't need shoved in their face.
I literally had them offer me $10 for Mega Man X3 last year because "we already have a bunch of these". I've seen that place flat-out lie to people about values so much that I almost wanted to wear a hidden camera and film them giving me lowball offers on rare games just to expose them. Hell, if you talk to the owner enough he will proudly brag about how he rips people off.
Thought this would be the appropriate place to post this, the Kentucky Florence Mall Game Swap (already on the list) is highly NOT recommended. I have seen them prey on kids by buying their games for about 1/10 of what they sell them for eBay or above prices. They will not haggle on any price of anything. To top it off i went in there to see what they would give me for a few games, and when he offered me 1/5 of what they are worth, i said "Im sorry man i just cant do that". His response was rolling his eyes at me, then he told me how much each of my games were worth, and lied about ALL of them except 1. I told him again im sorry i just cant do it for that much, and he started raising his voice at me "Well then what would it take, 50? 100) in a real asshole tone. I told him id do it for 50 (even though i wasnt really going to i just wanted to see how greedy this guy was) and he said no 40 is the best he could ever do because "he has to make a profit". So again i told him sorry i cant do that, he just gave me one of those snarky laughs and said goodluck finding a better deal. Needless to say, never going there and i wouldn't recommend anyone go there unless they want to pay ebay or above prices. The guy was a real asshole about it all, all he had to do was say 40 is all we could do and i woulda said no thanks and went on my way, but he just had to try to feel smarter like i didnt know what my games were worth. 1/10
Sad thing is this used to be a really good store until they moved to a different location in the same mall, now there is not a single deal to be found there, and they never have new stock =(
The owner is the definition of a shyster. He has that Thundercats big wheel and Masters of the Universe bicycle in that store and I asked how much they were and of course they weren't for sale. Then he asks me "well.....how much would you pay if I did sell them?" What kind of stupid question is that? I actually gave him a price that was about what they go for on ebay and he then proceeded to tell me how they only paid $20 total for the both of them. BTW they set up a booth at the toy shows in Columbus and Cincinnati and try to sell that Thundercats big wheel for more and more money each year. First it was $700, then last time I saw them there it was $2000!
Anyway the store isn't actually that bad since they are too stupid to update their prices. They've had Isolated Warrior in there for $7.99 and KickMaster for $29.99 for years and I got them a few months ago. They price stuff too high at first, but then it sits there so long that the value goes up over time but they never adjust the prices. Any pre-NES era stuff is always priced weird. I just got a bunch of rare Coleco, Intellivision, Atari 8-Bit, 2600, and C64 cartridge games for like 80% lower than their VGPC value, and there were even more that I had to leave behind because I already had spent a ton of money. I'm talking $40 games for like $2.99! But then they'll have something like Space Invaders for 2600 at $9.99, it doesn't make any sense.
Originally posted by: GCrites80s
Were you selling them stuff they actually needed? You don't indicate what type of games they were. Every game store gets tired of having stuff they don't need shoved in their face.
I literally had them offer me $10 for Mega Man X3 last year because "we already have a bunch of these". I've seen that place flat-out lie to people about values so much that I almost wanted to wear a hidden camera and film them giving me lowball offers on rare games just to expose them. Hell, if you talk to the owner enough he will proudly brag about how he rips people off.
I have a local store here that does the same thing. The owner still thinks it 1995 an no one has internet. I went in to see if he had anything I needed on Saturday and he told me that he can't get trades. He told me that even the old people that come in the he used to be able to rip off dont trade games there anymore. I know alot of people myself included that drive 30-45 minutes just to trade games elsewhere.
His big undoing was afew years ago a guy tried to trade in a copy of Final Fantasy III, and he offered him about 10% of what the one he had in stock was marked at. The customer asked if he could give him more, but the owner told him that he could only sell if for around $5. The customer then asked him why he had one priced for $40 in the case. The owner knew he was caught and made up some lame excuse. The guy then made it known around town, and most people quit trading there. The owner also has been known to have people arrested for stealing if they dont return Movie rentals on time.
Is that an actual store? Might need to swing in there next time I'm in Warren.
It is, he's got some stuff in his shop, it's the front half of like an antiqueshop/house. He puts his good stuff on instagram, he has just common and uncommon in the store!
Thought this would be the appropriate place to post this, the Kentucky Florence Mall Game Swap (already on the list) is highly NOT recommended. I have seen them prey on kids by buying their games for about 1/10 of what they sell them for eBay or above prices. They will not haggle on any price of anything. To top it off i went in there to see what they would give me for a few games, and when he offered me 1/5 of what they are worth, i said "Im sorry man i just cant do that". His response was rolling his eyes at me, then he told me how much each of my games were worth, and lied about ALL of them except 1. I told him again im sorry i just cant do it for that much, and he started raising his voice at me "Well then what would it take, 50? 100) in a real asshole tone. I told him id do it for 50 (even though i wasnt really going to i just wanted to see how greedy this guy was) and he said no 40 is the best he could ever do because "he has to make a profit". So again i told him sorry i cant do that, he just gave me one of those snarky laughs and said goodluck finding a better deal. Needless to say, never going there and i wouldn't recommend anyone go there unless they want to pay ebay or above prices. The guy was a real asshole about it all, all he had to do was say 40 is all we could do and i woulda said no thanks and went on my way, but he just had to try to feel smarter like i didnt know what my games were worth. 1/10
Sad thing is this used to be a really good store until they moved to a different location in the same mall, now there is not a single deal to be found there, and they never have new stock =(
The owner is the definition of a shyster. He has that Thundercats big wheel and Masters of the Universe bicycle in that store and I asked how much they were and of course they weren't for sale. Then he asks me "well.....how much would you pay if I did sell them?" What kind of stupid question is that? I actually gave him a price that was about what they go for on ebay and he then proceeded to tell me how they only paid $20 total for the both of them. BTW they set up a booth at the toy shows in Columbus and Cincinnati and try to sell that Thundercats big wheel for more and more money each year. First it was $700, then last time I saw them there it was $2000!
Anyway the store isn't actually that bad since they are too stupid to update their prices. They've had Isolated Warrior in there for $7.99 and KickMaster for $29.99 for years and I got them a few months ago. They price stuff too high at first, but then it sits there so long that the value goes up over time but they never adjust the prices. Any pre-NES era stuff is always priced weird. I just got a bunch of rare Coleco, Intellivision, Atari 8-Bit, 2600, and C64 cartridge games for like 80% lower than their VGPC value, and there were even more that I had to leave behind because I already had spent a ton of money. I'm talking $40 games for like $2.99! But then they'll have something like Space Invaders for 2600 at $9.99, it doesn't make any sense.
Originally posted by: GCrites80s
Were you selling them stuff they actually needed? You don't indicate what type of games they were. Every game store gets tired of having stuff they don't need shoved in their face.
I literally had them offer me $10 for Mega Man X3 last year because "we already have a bunch of these". I've seen that place flat-out lie to people about values so much that I almost wanted to wear a hidden camera and film them giving me lowball offers on rare games just to expose them. Hell, if you talk to the owner enough he will proudly brag about how he rips people off.
Are you sure that you are dealing with the owner? The reason I ask is that he seldom works at Florence or any other location except Tri-County. In fact, he didn't work in the stores barely at all for years because he had a gold store next to the Eastgate Kroger where he spent most of his time. The other factor is that he owns 5 game stores (soon to be 6) and a comic book/sports memrobilia store. So his time is split among 7 stores and two storage facilities. A problem that often pops up when running game stores is that the employees sometimes want to try to turn buying stuff into a game (a side effect of hiring gamers). He has expressed his frustration regrarding this practice to me since we all know paying too little for stuff means you won't have anything good. Luckily, I work closely enough with my employees that they know to pay out for the good stuff and pay little for garbage. But I only have one store and 4 employees, not 7 stores and 26 people working for me. Sometimes there's not enough time to eradicate behaviors you don't like.
Regarding Atari, I am the only person I know of that has worked there that really cares about Atari. And I'm the only person that has worked at my stores that cares about Atari at all as well. Atari isn't popular around Cincinnati either. There's no Atari Club like we have in Columbus down there for sure. Their motivation to learn Atari prices is small, but I'm sure they're brushing up on it since they did a massive rare Atari buy about 6 months ago that they are still going through.
Also for everyone, do NOT use Pricecharting for Atari commons. Rares sure, but Pricecharting for whatever reason is way too high on commons. Games that we (and Game Swap) sell for $0.25, $0.49 and $0.99 can be $5-7 on there. And if you go look at the listings Pricecharting generates that's the case there too. I don't know how it turns all those penny Combats on Amazon into $2-3, but it does. It has gotten better than it was about that but it's still pretty bad.
Comments
Vortex Video Games. in Watervliet, NY.
http://www.facebook.com/vortexvg
Thanks!
Red Fox Gaming
2111 Catawba Valley Blvd. SE
Hickory, NC 28602
http://redfoxgamingandele.wix.com/redfoxgaming
They have not been open for very long. Selection was decent. Picked up several games. Very friendly service.
You can cross off the Buffalo Game Craze as well. Was just there earlier this week. Fully stocked store with the door locked and an "Available for Rent" sign in the window from the building owner.
Sad to see another one go.
Santa Barbara CA
Greece, 2 in Rochester, Irondequoit, Webster, Victor, Canandaigua, Macedon.
https://www.facebook.com/Collec-tiques-318695768266282/timeline/
Right next door to them is a place called We Buy Stuff. They have a big selection of retro stuff and their prices are solid and they always take offers. Went in there the other day and they had a sale where all NES, SNES & N64 were $2 each.
https://www.facebook.com/webuy.stuff
For Pennsylvania, there's an Exchange in Erie.
Games Exchange
St. John's, Newfoundland
Game On Collectables
Bay Roberts, Newfoundland
Peninsula Video Games
Marystown, Newfoundland
Game On is a pretty new store, but I hear they're pretty great. PVG doesn't have the largest selection but the prices are very, very fair. Lots of famicom and super famicom imports as well. Games exchange has a great selection and staff. Some of the commons are a tad bit pricey, but the rest of their games are fairly priced for the market.
You can cross off the Buffalo Game Craze as well. Was just there earlier this week. Fully stocked store with the door locked and an "Available for Rent" sign in the window from the building owner.
I also stopped by there recently and was disappointed to find out they shut there doors. They had some cool kiosks.
Here's a few for the list:
Mixed Style's - St.Catharines, Ontario
Gaming Gators - St.Catharines, Ontario
The Basement - Niagara Falls, Ontario
Super 1Up Games - Hamilton, Ontario
Big Bee Comic's - Hamilton, Ontario
Letter Box - Hamilton, Ontario
Game Mania - Toronto, Ontario
Downsview Games - Toronto, Ontario
Retro Replay - Kitchener, Ontario
There's one in Fort Wayne, IN called "Game On!"
https://www.facebook.com/GameOnFortWayne
Here's the FB page for that store.
Wild Card Video Games
438 Robbins Ave.
Niles, OH 44446
He sells stuff off of instagram, so add him!
Last week he had duck tales 2 go though (sadly I missed that one)
But I picked up Battletoads and Double dragon, and swamp thing from the same lot. He's got good stuff at reasonable prices, all cleaned and tested.
Sparky's V&C
Red Barn Flea Market(always several vendors there)
Bay shore pets is a nice spot already on list
I think 1 of the e-trade posts shutdown or moved.
And there are to game stops but don't think they carry older systems anymore
Thought this would be the appropriate place to post this, the Kentucky Florence Mall Game Swap (already on the list) is highly NOT recommended. I have seen them prey on kids by buying their games for about 1/10 of what they sell them for eBay or above prices. They will not haggle on any price of anything. To top it off i went in there to see what they would give me for a few games, and when he offered me 1/5 of what they are worth, i said "Im sorry man i just cant do that". His response was rolling his eyes at me, then he told me how much each of my games were worth, and lied about ALL of them except 1. I told him again im sorry i just cant do it for that much, and he started raising his voice at me "Well then what would it take, 50? 100) in a real asshole tone. I told him id do it for 50 (even though i wasnt really going to i just wanted to see how greedy this guy was) and he said no 40 is the best he could ever do because "he has to make a profit". So again i told him sorry i cant do that, he just gave me one of those snarky laughs and said goodluck finding a better deal. Needless to say, never going there and i wouldn't recommend anyone go there unless they want to pay ebay or above prices. The guy was a real asshole about it all, all he had to do was say 40 is all we could do and i woulda said no thanks and went on my way, but he just had to try to feel smarter like i didnt know what my games were worth. 1/10
Sad thing is this used to be a really good store until they moved to a different location in the same mall, now there is not a single deal to be found there, and they never have new stock =(
The owner is the definition of a shyster. He has that Thundercats big wheel and Masters of the Universe bicycle in that store and I asked how much they were and of course they weren't for sale. Then he asks me "well.....how much would you pay if I did sell them?" What kind of stupid question is that? I actually gave him a price that was about what they go for on ebay and he then proceeded to tell me how they only paid $20 total for the both of them. BTW they set up a booth at the toy shows in Columbus and Cincinnati and try to sell that Thundercats big wheel for more and more money each year. First it was $700, then last time I saw them there it was $2000!
Anyway the store isn't actually that bad since they are too stupid to update their prices. They've had Isolated Warrior in there for $7.99 and KickMaster for $29.99 for years and I got them a few months ago. They price stuff too high at first, but then it sits there so long that the value goes up over time but they never adjust the prices. Any pre-NES era stuff is always priced weird. I just got a bunch of rare Coleco, Intellivision, Atari 8-Bit, 2600, and C64 cartridge games for like 80% lower than their VGPC value, and there were even more that I had to leave behind because I already had spent a ton of money. I'm talking $40 games for like $2.99! But then they'll have something like Space Invaders for 2600 at $9.99, it doesn't make any sense.
I literally had them offer me $10 for Mega Man X3 last year because "we already have a bunch of these". I've seen that place flat-out lie to people about values so much that I almost wanted to wear a hidden camera and film them giving me lowball offers on rare games just to expose them. Hell, if you talk to the owner enough he will proudly brag about how he rips people off.
My guy is
Wild Card Video Games
438 Robbins Ave.
Niles, OH 44446
He sells stuff off of instagram, so add him!
Last week he had duck tales 2 go though (sadly I missed that one)
But I picked up Battletoads and Double dragon, and swamp thing from the same lot. He's got good stuff at reasonable prices, all cleaned and tested.
Is that an actual store? Might need to swing in there next time I'm in Warren.
Thought this would be the appropriate place to post this, the Kentucky Florence Mall Game Swap (already on the list) is highly NOT recommended. I have seen them prey on kids by buying their games for about 1/10 of what they sell them for eBay or above prices. They will not haggle on any price of anything. To top it off i went in there to see what they would give me for a few games, and when he offered me 1/5 of what they are worth, i said "Im sorry man i just cant do that". His response was rolling his eyes at me, then he told me how much each of my games were worth, and lied about ALL of them except 1. I told him again im sorry i just cant do it for that much, and he started raising his voice at me "Well then what would it take, 50? 100) in a real asshole tone. I told him id do it for 50 (even though i wasnt really going to i just wanted to see how greedy this guy was) and he said no 40 is the best he could ever do because "he has to make a profit". So again i told him sorry i cant do that, he just gave me one of those snarky laughs and said goodluck finding a better deal. Needless to say, never going there and i wouldn't recommend anyone go there unless they want to pay ebay or above prices. The guy was a real asshole about it all, all he had to do was say 40 is all we could do and i woulda said no thanks and went on my way, but he just had to try to feel smarter like i didnt know what my games were worth. 1/10
Sad thing is this used to be a really good store until they moved to a different location in the same mall, now there is not a single deal to be found there, and they never have new stock =(
The owner is the definition of a shyster. He has that Thundercats big wheel and Masters of the Universe bicycle in that store and I asked how much they were and of course they weren't for sale. Then he asks me "well.....how much would you pay if I did sell them?" What kind of stupid question is that? I actually gave him a price that was about what they go for on ebay and he then proceeded to tell me how they only paid $20 total for the both of them. BTW they set up a booth at the toy shows in Columbus and Cincinnati and try to sell that Thundercats big wheel for more and more money each year. First it was $700, then last time I saw them there it was $2000!
Anyway the store isn't actually that bad since they are too stupid to update their prices. They've had Isolated Warrior in there for $7.99 and KickMaster for $29.99 for years and I got them a few months ago. They price stuff too high at first, but then it sits there so long that the value goes up over time but they never adjust the prices. Any pre-NES era stuff is always priced weird. I just got a bunch of rare Coleco, Intellivision, Atari 8-Bit, 2600, and C64 cartridge games for like 80% lower than their VGPC value, and there were even more that I had to leave behind because I already had spent a ton of money. I'm talking $40 games for like $2.99! But then they'll have something like Space Invaders for 2600 at $9.99, it doesn't make any sense.
I literally had them offer me $10 for Mega Man X3 last year because "we already have a bunch of these". I've seen that place flat-out lie to people about values so much that I almost wanted to wear a hidden camera and film them giving me lowball offers on rare games just to expose them. Hell, if you talk to the owner enough he will proudly brag about how he rips people off.
I have a local store here that does the same thing. The owner still thinks it 1995 an no one has internet. I went in to see if he had anything I needed on Saturday and he told me that he can't get trades. He told me that even the old people that come in the he used to be able to rip off dont trade games there anymore. I know alot of people myself included that drive 30-45 minutes just to trade games elsewhere.
His big undoing was afew years ago a guy tried to trade in a copy of Final Fantasy III, and he offered him about 10% of what the one he had in stock was marked at. The customer asked if he could give him more, but the owner told him that he could only sell if for around $5. The customer then asked him why he had one priced for $40 in the case. The owner knew he was caught and made up some lame excuse. The guy then made it known around town, and most people quit trading there. The owner also has been known to have people arrested for stealing if they dont return Movie rentals on time.
Is that an actual store? Might need to swing in there next time I'm in Warren.
It is, he's got some stuff in his shop, it's the front half of like an antiqueshop/house. He puts his good stuff on instagram, he has just common and uncommon in the store!
West Virginia: Pixelnation in Bluefield is now CLOSED (RIP)
Virginia: -There is a cool retro game store in Roanoke called Electronic Expo
-G2K Games in Cedar Bluff is now CLOSED
Mr. Zero's is in ROSEVILLE, Minnesota, not ROSELAND.
Roseland is an unincorporated community in the middle of nowhere.
Just thought I should mention that.
EDIT: Also, the We Got Game in Mankato also has a location in Minneapolis.
Thought this would be the appropriate place to post this, the Kentucky Florence Mall Game Swap (already on the list) is highly NOT recommended. I have seen them prey on kids by buying their games for about 1/10 of what they sell them for eBay or above prices. They will not haggle on any price of anything. To top it off i went in there to see what they would give me for a few games, and when he offered me 1/5 of what they are worth, i said "Im sorry man i just cant do that". His response was rolling his eyes at me, then he told me how much each of my games were worth, and lied about ALL of them except 1. I told him again im sorry i just cant do it for that much, and he started raising his voice at me "Well then what would it take, 50? 100) in a real asshole tone. I told him id do it for 50 (even though i wasnt really going to i just wanted to see how greedy this guy was) and he said no 40 is the best he could ever do because "he has to make a profit". So again i told him sorry i cant do that, he just gave me one of those snarky laughs and said goodluck finding a better deal. Needless to say, never going there and i wouldn't recommend anyone go there unless they want to pay ebay or above prices. The guy was a real asshole about it all, all he had to do was say 40 is all we could do and i woulda said no thanks and went on my way, but he just had to try to feel smarter like i didnt know what my games were worth. 1/10
Sad thing is this used to be a really good store until they moved to a different location in the same mall, now there is not a single deal to be found there, and they never have new stock =(
The owner is the definition of a shyster. He has that Thundercats big wheel and Masters of the Universe bicycle in that store and I asked how much they were and of course they weren't for sale. Then he asks me "well.....how much would you pay if I did sell them?" What kind of stupid question is that? I actually gave him a price that was about what they go for on ebay and he then proceeded to tell me how they only paid $20 total for the both of them. BTW they set up a booth at the toy shows in Columbus and Cincinnati and try to sell that Thundercats big wheel for more and more money each year. First it was $700, then last time I saw them there it was $2000!
Anyway the store isn't actually that bad since they are too stupid to update their prices. They've had Isolated Warrior in there for $7.99 and KickMaster for $29.99 for years and I got them a few months ago. They price stuff too high at first, but then it sits there so long that the value goes up over time but they never adjust the prices. Any pre-NES era stuff is always priced weird. I just got a bunch of rare Coleco, Intellivision, Atari 8-Bit, 2600, and C64 cartridge games for like 80% lower than their VGPC value, and there were even more that I had to leave behind because I already had spent a ton of money. I'm talking $40 games for like $2.99! But then they'll have something like Space Invaders for 2600 at $9.99, it doesn't make any sense.
I literally had them offer me $10 for Mega Man X3 last year because "we already have a bunch of these". I've seen that place flat-out lie to people about values so much that I almost wanted to wear a hidden camera and film them giving me lowball offers on rare games just to expose them. Hell, if you talk to the owner enough he will proudly brag about how he rips people off.
Are you sure that you are dealing with the owner? The reason I ask is that he seldom works at Florence or any other location except Tri-County. In fact, he didn't work in the stores barely at all for years because he had a gold store next to the Eastgate Kroger where he spent most of his time. The other factor is that he owns 5 game stores (soon to be 6) and a comic book/sports memrobilia store. So his time is split among 7 stores and two storage facilities. A problem that often pops up when running game stores is that the employees sometimes want to try to turn buying stuff into a game (a side effect of hiring gamers). He has expressed his frustration regrarding this practice to me since we all know paying too little for stuff means you won't have anything good. Luckily, I work closely enough with my employees that they know to pay out for the good stuff and pay little for garbage. But I only have one store and 4 employees, not 7 stores and 26 people working for me. Sometimes there's not enough time to eradicate behaviors you don't like.
Regarding Atari, I am the only person I know of that has worked there that really cares about Atari. And I'm the only person that has worked at my stores that cares about Atari at all as well. Atari isn't popular around Cincinnati either. There's no Atari Club like we have in Columbus down there for sure. Their motivation to learn Atari prices is small, but I'm sure they're brushing up on it since they did a massive rare Atari buy about 6 months ago that they are still going through.
Also for everyone, do NOT use Pricecharting for Atari commons. Rares sure, but Pricecharting for whatever reason is way too high on commons. Games that we (and Game Swap) sell for $0.25, $0.49 and $0.99 can be $5-7 on there. And if you go look at the listings Pricecharting generates that's the case there too. I don't know how it turns all those penny Combats on Amazon into $2-3, but it does. It has gotten better than it was about that but it's still pretty bad.