That's really irritating. My last experience at a flea market was great, but I can totally see all of that happening.
For the most part, the fun that comes from finding stuff outside the Internet is gone. When your favorite stores start going above prices on eBay, then there's no point in going at all.
Yup, and I've talked to those guys, there response is always "If I'm going to sell for ebay values or less, I'm going to close my store and just sell on ebay".
For a flea-market dealer, that's B.S. You pay like $10 for a table (at least at my local flea market).
But for a brick-and-mortar store, that's a completely legitimate answer. They have to pay for rent, for their business license, and to keep the lights on in addition to the inventory. And if they have employees, they have to pay them, too. None of that is a concern for eBay sellers, just inventory and shipping costs (which the customer is often charged for shipping, too).
Fortunately I still know at least one video game reseller who isn't an extortionist. He buys stuff up from yard sales, and flips them for a flat price. No individual looking each game up crap. Usually, the oldschool stuff is $3, $4 each. More modern stuff is like $5 or $8. I got Tomba from him for $2, I think he gives me some sort of loyalty discount. He sells everything he buys to flip pretty much. Makes a killing, he really does because it's not just games he resells. But he makes like $400 a weekend. He makes a good profit, gamers get good deals from him. It's full of win.
But most resellers want exactly what the game is supposedly worth and they don't care how long it takes to sell it. I come back to some of these guys like a year later and they have the very exact same copies of games sitting there. It's like, what are thinking?? You want sit here and pay a huge rent to have an indoor booth, and struggle to get every penny out of each game and wonder why you're not doing very good?
My advice - loose the indoor both, get a trailer to haul your wares. Wake your lazy butt up and go set your stuff up on the common folks ground, and sell your goods for a fair flea market price. I'd almost guarantee that you're making better money that way at a flea market. Even I have sold stuff at a flea market before. My view was always - yeah people are low balling you, but I'd rather make the sale and have cash in hand, than sit on this stuff I brought out here. A lot of game resellers refuse to see it that way. I think they have an attachment to having the stuff, and exploiting the desperation in the eyes of wanting gamers. I think these people are freakin' evil, I really do sometimes.