Craziest Stories Hunting Classic Games

[theflea]

One of the funniest stories that happened to me was i walked into a store that sold used games and they had a hundreds of NES games behind glass and when i asked about them i was told they used to be the owners private collection and they haven't been priced yet. So the owners wife told the clerk he could sell them to me at the price in their computer plus an $8 sir-charge.

My 1st thoughts was well i'm not getting any of these games, but decided to pick out some rare games and see what comes up. And even with the sir-charge i got Panic Restaurant for $30, and sense i got that one so cheap i over payed on a many others just because of the great deal i got on the one.

Then after i left, another customer came in asking about Panic Restaurant and he was told it just sold. When he found out it sold for $30 he started yelling at the her telling her how she was robbed and the game goes for over $500 (its $175 at best for cart only on Ebay) and she was mad at me saying I cheated her and i knew that it goes for over $500 and I didn't tell her. I was told later by a friend I was banned from her store.

Whats funny is another game collector in town had the same experience, he came in asked about a game behind the counter and the clerk looked it up in the computer and sold it to him, then she banned him because the clerk sold him a game under what she thought it was worth. Saying again "he conned the clerk to sell it to him".

Has anyone else have crazy stories like this hunting old games? lol
 

[kingrat101]

I dont really have funny stories about game collecting, but in terms of craziness, I frequent a few thrift stores by my house as my area doesnt have any flea markets, and it's just crazy to me the games that show up at these places, and the condition is really nice, I mean genesis games complete and ps1 games complete it's nuts. I've built up my collection a lot over about a year just by these thrift stores.

[drokkul]

I was out on a game hunting trip one time and decided to stop in at a Salvation Army.  I looked in the glass case and saw a few n64 games (of which there was only 3 that I really wanted to get, but they were nothing major).  I decided to look around the rest of the store a little and then come back and ask to see the games.  The guy at the counter pulled them out for me and I looked thru and got the 3 I was wanting and said I'll take these.  About that time a lady that worked there asked me if I was looking for more games like these.

Of course I said yes.  She told me they had a box of games that they had just priced, but they were older than those (referring to the n64 carts)  She said she was pretty sure they were for the original system.  She told me to wait and she would go get them and bring them out.  I was excited with the thought of looking thru what I was expecting to be a shoebox full of games.  About that time she re-emerges from the back with a MOVING BOX that she was obviousy having a little trouble holding.  I went over to help her and set them up on the counter.  I anxiously opened the flaps to reveal a gold trim Game Genie and...66 nes games with sleeves.

I almost pooped myself

Each game had a sticker on it marking it $1.99.  I was just looking thru the box happily marveling at a great stroke of luck.  I already had several in the box in my collection, but there were also a lot I didn't have.  I was thinking about just buying the whole box and had begun doing the mental calculation of cost when the guy behind the counter said "Kind of makes you want to buy all of them doesn't it."  I looked at him and said I was seriously thinking about it.  He then told me that if I wanted to get the whole box he would sell it to me for $90.  I didn't even hesitate.  I then asked him so $90 plus these three to which I held up the 3 n64 games.  He replied "Throw those in there too."

So 66 nes, 3 n64, and a game genie put me at about $1.28 per piece.  I added 39 nes games to my collection that day the most notable of which value wise was probably Wacky Races.  Still a lot of good games very cheap, SMB 3, Zelda, Contra, Super C, Castlevania's 1-3 etc etc.

The funny thing was I was about to give up on the day after that, because nothing was going to top it and I was about 80 miles from home.  I was going to just drive home and enjoy the rest of my day off.  I decided to go ahead and hit the rest of the places I had mapped out.  Then three stops later I picked up Demon's Crest for SNES for $2.50

So this probably goes without saying, but I have not had this good of a day since.  But I hold out hope everytime I start the car!

[kingrat101]

That's Awesome! on those NES games, I had a fairly big pick up about a month or two ago about the same thing I added 33 NES games to my collection from a thrift store and it was conveniently half price day.
Man I tell you sometimes people are really cool. One of the main thrift stores I go to know me and will sometimes save SNES games or give me a discount, girl there told me they dont really sell them much so she'd do that for me. Very cool man, congrats on Demon's Crest Im trying to hunt that sucker down as well.

[soera]

The one score I had was a crazy story in itself.

It was about 6 months ago. I was just bored around 7pm or so looking at Craig's list when I saw a garage sale ad that someone posted. It was along the lines of "Susan (or whatever her name was) is selling a bunch of video games. I just picked up 5 for $1!". I was thinking damn, wish I had noticed that earlier ... then I looked at the address. It was right around the corner. I thought "Hrmm, what the hell?". Wife was in the bathtub and the kids were watching TV so I just jumped in the car and left. I got there, the garage was closed and there were absolutely no cars anywhere. But it was the only day I was going to have the car so I went ahead and knocked on the door. I stood there for about 20 seconds when all the sudden a kid (about 6 years old) peeked through the window. 5 seconds later, a fairly cute girl opened the door. I asked if the garage sale was done and she said it will be back open again tomorrow. I asked if the games were still around and she said yes. Asked if I could see them. She was actually on the phone with her husband who just happened to be at the casino with her parents (It was her mom's garage sale). She talked to dad and he said it was cool if I looked then mom got on the phone and said it was cool too. She opened the garage and it was stuffed full of nothing but games. My jaw dropped a little. I started digging and was thinking to myself I gotta buy it all. I asked how much for the whole lot. She asked mom and she said $300. I told her I would be right back. I hopped in the car, broke the speed limit home, snatched my cash (all the while the wife asking where I was going and wtf I was doing). I ignored her since she was still in the tub and couldnt catch me and took off back to her house. I broke the speed limit back to her house and started loading up tub after tub into my car. I filled the trunk, the back seat, the front passenger seat and the floor board of the back seat and the passenger front seat. I drove back hysterically laughing the whole way home. After almost 3 hours of sorting everything in my garage I wound up with around 250 NES games (about 90 of them boxed) 180 PS2 games, 240 Xbox games, 2 duffel bags of controllers and cords, and countless other games and systems.

Ive been dieing to run into another score like this.

[turf]

soera, I hate you for this. 

Not really, I'm just extremely jealous

[disgaeniac]

soera, I hate you for this. 

Not really, I'm just extremely jealous

I second this

[soera]

It was definitely an awesome moment. One day Ill score another awesome find. Ill be able to repay a great favor I have gotten and hopefully pay it forward for a lot of other stuff!

[shingouryu]

I have a couple I can think of off the top of my head...  Most of them deal with the same place, a local store in town that has come to really like me (as I am probably paying a majority of the costs keeping their business open).

First, an inverse story.  I walk into the store and take a look at their N64 games.  Inside, I see a Clayfighter 63 1/3 with a price tag of $55.  I pondered about this for a second when I realized that it must have been taken in as the rare Sculptor's Cut version that was only sold at Blockbuster.  I informed the manager on duty and he had it changed, though was a bit upset that whomever took it in lost a lot of money on the deal.  A week or so later, I'm at my parent's house and checking the used game carriers in the area when, lo and behold, I see a copy of the Sculptor's Cut for $5.  Whee, karma.

The next story happened a couple months ago.  I walked into the store and looked at their "waiting to be put in the right section" section, and I saw a copy of Suikoden with the double jewel case.  I already had the game, but it was only $20 and had the case, so I figured "why not?"  I got it while making my typical small talk with the workers, then went home.  After changing out of work clothes, I went to check the discs.  The Suikoden disc was in the first part where the demo disc usually is, but I didn't really pay that much mind.  They seldom take the care to put the discs in order.  So I open up the second part of the case, and there I find Suikoden 2.  I rushed back to the store and tell them their mistake, but they said that there was really nothing they could do, since they already sold it to me.  So now I have an extra caseless Suikoden 2, but I told them if the seller comes looking for it to let me know.

The Last Story takes place on Lazulis Island and is a great RPG, but my last story takes place yesterday.  I'm sitting at my desk at work, and my phone starts ringing.  I answer, and get
"Hey this is <name> from <store>, there's a guy here wanting to sell a game that's going for really high prices online..." (I'd given them my number and a list of games I'm looking for before, I've built up quite a rapport with some of the workers)
-"Really, what's the title?"
"Pan...zer... Dragoon Saga it looks like..."
-"Are you serious"
"Yeah...  Looks like if he takes the offer we'll be selling it for $140...  I'll call you back if he decides to take it..."
A couple minutes later I get a text with a picture with the case and the price tag, and he says I can pick it up, but he has to leave at 5.  I take a look at the clock, it's 4:40 and I work about 40 minutes away.  I tell him I can probably swing 5:15, and he says he'll try.  I rush to my supervisor, and I must have looked like I was in a panic, because he immediately told me I could go.  I drove as quickly as possible (well over the speed limit ) back to my town to the store, and marvel in the glory that was my new rare game.

So yeah, those are my stories today.

[upondoom]

10/10 thread, immense jealousy and many laughs. Unfortunately, I don't really have any stories to add. There aren't really any flea markets around here so I do most of my buying from local game stores. Maybe I'll find an insane deal at a thrift store someday.