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| Yard/Garage sales |
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| Warmsignal:
In 2019 while living in a small and mostly rural area? Forget about it. It's done. 10 years ago, the 80s/90s nostalgia bug had not yet hit big, there weren't television and media articles promoting the notion that "you could have valuable toys collecting dust in your closet / this person sold their Nintendo game for $10,000", and not everybody had a phone with 3G and a web browser yet. Because of those factors, lots of old games hit people's front yard and were sold at rock bottom prices. Not so today. Everyone is far too savvy, and it takes a really rare kind of ignorance to still let go of them as if they were completely worthless and obsolete. The chances are maybe 1/100 and it's just not worth that in time, effort, gas money, headache, etc. I don't care if it's rare and sought after, they can keep it. I'm really done with game hunting. I had a good run with it, but it's far past time to hang it up and I can't recommend yard sales to new collectors. I think it's a waste of time now, unless you seriously can't afford to pay the online rates for what you actually want. |
| sworddude:
--- Quote from: Warmsignal on July 05, 2019, 01:59:41 pm ---In 2019 while living in a small and mostly rural area? Forget about it. It's done. 10 years ago, the 80s/90s nostalgia bug had not yet hit big, there weren't television and media articles promoting the notion that "you could have valuable toys collecting dust in your closet / this person sold their Nintendo game for $10,000", and not everybody had a phone with 3G and a web browser yet. Because of those factors, lots of old games hit people's front yard and were sold at rock bottom prices. Not so today. Everyone is far too savvy, and it takes a really rare kind of ignorance to still let go of them as if they were completely worthless and obsolete. The chances are maybe 1/100 and it's just not worth that in time, effort, gas money, headache, etc. I don't care if it's rare and sought after, they can keep it. I'm really done with game hunting. I had a good run with it, but it's far past time to hang it up and I can't recommend yard sales to new collectors. I think it's a waste of time now, unless you seriously can't afford to pay the online rates for what you actually want. --- End quote --- your right 10 years ago prices where already rising but mobile phone addicts where not a thing back than allot more mess ups. Even uptil 2015 the market looked a hell lot different than it is today so yea 10 years ago deals where plentyfull for all systems and rare games way less hyped or known to common people. Gamecube n64 gameboy sets etc where so plentyfull online unlike today where barely any sets come out from original owners anymore. ebay but especially mobile phones ruined it for sure but imo facebook market place hammered the final nail in the coffin kinda motivates emulation a hell lot more instead of starting from scratch deals are still there but that pond getting smaller and smaller not to mention people looking prices up making deals allot more rare unless they messup on collector specific stuff, hyped easy stuff is almost getting kinda impossible to get these days. |
| armani:
no luck at all, especially with boxed pee see games |
| drjohngalt:
I've tend to have a few days each year that I really hit gold with yard sales. Mostly, though, the best I do is $1 wii games or something equally disappointing (but at least I don't come home empty-handed). Edit: I do live in a fair-sized suburb next to the capital city, so there is definitely a lot more action here than in more rural areas. But there is also more competition, so it balances out. Here are a few tips that work well for me: 1) Go on FRIDAY. Sales in my area are usually Friday and Saturday (when I was younger they used to be Saturday and Sunday). Obviously being the first to get there will increase your odds of getting the good stuff. This is the first year in a long time my work schedule hasn't allowed me to take Fridays off, and it has been a lot tougher with people telling me "I got rid of all my game stuff yesterday". 2) If you don't see anything, ASK. Almost ALL of my big scores have come by asking people (who didn't have anything set outside) if they have any old game stuff. You'd be surprised how often people say "I have a box of old games but didn't think anyone would be interested" or even "I didn't even think about that, thanks for reminding me." 3) Don't pre-judge. I've been tempted to drive past certain "types" of people (and entire neighborhoods) based on age, appearance, or some of the other junk they're selling, but games and stuff can be found in the unlikeliest of places. 4) Set limits. Not just spending limits, but time/distance limits. Tell yourself you'll go our for two hours and head home no matter how good (or bad) your day goes. 5) Take a friend. It's always more fun with a friend. Plus you can play off each other, have fun, and make better deals as a pair. Most of my biggest days have been with a friend. Happens to be the same guy every time; I'm starting to think he's good luck! 6) Have a consolation plan. Don't get discouraged. You'll strike out maybe 90% of the time, and the odds of actually scoring high-value games (as opposed to low-dollar titles and commons) are a lot less than that. Don't expect much and you won't be disappointed. I try to stop by one of the retro shops in the area if I strike out after a day of yard sales and treat myself to something with the money I was planning to spend. Don't get discouraged; it's a numbers game and is all luck. Also: pawn shops, flea markets, etc might have some good deals, but they are usually picked over by collectors frequently and the sellers have a better idea of what the games are worth. Goodwill-type stores (at least in my area) tend to sell the games (especially cart games) online and the stuff they do have on the shelf is usually overpriced. But I've still had a few lucky finds. |
| bikingjahuty:
--- Quote from: Warmsignal on July 05, 2019, 01:59:41 pm ---In 2019 while living in a small and mostly rural area? Forget about it. It's done. 10 years ago, the 80s/90s nostalgia bug had not yet hit big, there weren't television and media articles promoting the notion that "you could have valuable toys collecting dust in your closet / this person sold their Nintendo game for $10,000", and not everybody had a phone with 3G and a web browser yet. Because of those factors, lots of old games hit people's front yard and were sold at rock bottom prices. Not so today. Everyone is far too savvy, and it takes a really rare kind of ignorance to still let go of them as if they were completely worthless and obsolete. The chances are maybe 1/100 and it's just not worth that in time, effort, gas money, headache, etc. I don't care if it's rare and sought after, they can keep it. I'm really done with game hunting. I had a good run with it, but it's far past time to hang it up and I can't recommend yard sales to new collectors. I think it's a waste of time now, unless you seriously can't afford to pay the online rates for what you actually want. --- End quote --- This is where I'm at as well. The hunt is no longer fun since most everyone knows what they have, assuming they still have anything of value and interest at all. There are people in my area, many actually, that advertise constantly on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Offer Up, and hell, one even has a giant sticker on his back window asking people to call him if they have video games they're selling. It's got way out of hand and too many interested parties now. The amount of time, gas, money and energy you have to put forth now is not worth the eventual payoff of maybe finding a $50 game or two for under $5. I make almost $50 in an hour and would honestly just rather buy the damn game off ebay for that amount and be done with it. I absolutely do miss the good ol'day when very few people were out there looking and before everyone had smart phones. It was a gold mine! My local flea market was a treasure trove of cheap games; I'd have to make several trips to my car often because my backpack was stuffed full of cheap games and I coulddn't carry anymore lol. Now if I go there, I'm lucky to find a single game for a decent price. As for garage sales, it's even more draining, and even back when I was into hunting for deal I rarely had luck with them. |
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