Are You Still Finding Good Deals On Video Games?

[oldgamerz]

How many of you out there are still finding good deals whether online, or in the wild?

Just yesterday I found 10 disc based console games a large Gamecube memory card for all $55. I thought it was a good deal. It was not a fixed lot so I got to pick all ten or more games all priced as $5. my choices of games was anything $5 was from just about all mainstream disc based consoles. Xbox PS2 PS1 PS3 Gamecube  Xbox360 and some more other cartridge based games. I  even had the option to buy as many games as I desired also a manual and correct case on all but 1.

hope is not completely lost for low budget collectors and that is the reason for this post. This was purchased at Taylor Trade Center an indoor Flea Market

[seether]

I found Sly Raccoon for PS2 in a charity shop for £1 a couple months ago and yesterday I got Super Streetfighter IV for Xbox 360 (XB1 backwards compat) for £1.

Sooo I’m picking up the odd thing. However the finds are few and far between and nothing exceptional.

Not finding Zelda for pennies or anything.

[bikingjahuty]

Occasionally, but not as often as I used to.

[98dgreen]

Pretty much every weekend but some weeks are great some weeks are just ok. Mabye one or two weekends is year I don't find anything.

[shfan]

Yes and no. In terms of picking up retro cheap, that horse has bolted years ago. Folks who look for high value items to resell travel to car boots and either ask sellers while they're waiting to get in or try to get there first etc. etc. - they're pretty thorough, and video games have now joined the list of things they ask for like "gold, fishing tackle, perfume". Charity shops etc. increasingly hoard gaming related items like they're priceless jewels etc. etc. (even if they're worthless crap nobody wants). That's not to say you'll never find any, some always slip through the cracks, but if the object of of your buying trip is to find retro games cheap then most of the time you'll be disappointed.

Last-gen stuff is cheap to collect and always at that sweet-spot, everyone's dumping the stuff and the hard to find ones are mixed in, so time to grab them before they disappear and start to rise in price after so many years. I watched a Metal Jesus Rocks video the other day and he suggested "when everyone's going one way, you go the other", and that's exactly it, don't collect what's in, collect what's out, you'll get multiples of games for the same money. The 360/PS3 have a wealth of brilliant games, with much less spread than can be found on the PS4/PS2 in terms of genres, but there's lots of Triple-A games and a few oddities too.

Not only do I pick up what's 'out', the way I get what I want for the right price is via trading - not with other collectors (though that's a very viable option) but by using exchange shops and retro specialists. This way I don't even need to find retro games (or even games), if it's something a store I know will take in exchange then it's credit waiting to happen. If you like to visit car boots, charity shops/goodwill, swap meets etc. etc. then learning where you can get credit for what will allow you to multiply your money.

[oldgamerz]

I found Sly Raccoon for PS2 in a charity shop for £1 a couple months ago and yesterday I got Super Streetfighter IV for Xbox 360 (XB1 backwards compat) for £1.

Sooo I’m picking up the odd thing. However the finds are few and far between and nothing exceptional.

Not finding Zelda for pennies or anything.

my seller yesterday had 2 copies of "Zelda II: The Adventure of Link" and a ton of other NES games I never heard of in a locked case. I think "Zelda II: The Adventure of Link" NES was priced at $20 a piece. I didn't pick it up because I was not sure if it would hold a save game state being so old and everything. Plus I am not a huge fan of NES games being so hard.

I can tell you the place I bought the games at is South and South West of Detroit Michigan, it's easy to miss. If you don't know where the Taylor Trade Center is.

 it's on a busy street called Ecorse Rd RD and it is located in the middle of a strip mall with a Happy's Pizza and other places near buy

there only open on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday opened from about

10AM–6PM eastern standard time

http://www.taylortowninfo.com/

East of metro airport in Romulus Michigan

there are currently as of (7-1-2018) 3 or 4 video game vendors and sometimes they don't show up

[shadowzero]

As you all know there are already a gazillion threads about idoits who find their untested Atari in the attic and ask $500 because they have no understanding of the market.  In the vein of this thread the retro ignorance is a worsening condition especially in smaller rural areas like East Tennessee.  I've lived in large cities like Phoenix and Denver where the independent game stores and flea markets flow like wine, but in smaller places like mine its Letgo or ebay or nothing.  With that said yes.  I still find good deals but its 1 in 5000 when its used to be 1 in 500.  To feed my collection I'll try to find a good deal, like something CIB and then sell it on ebay FOR A FAIR PRICE.  Most folks who use letgo have been burned by ebay or dont want to mess with shipping (enter the 30lbs xbox) which I get.  Sometimes I pay over value too but I try to break even when I can.  I keep a few apps from the android store that help give me an idea of game value but at the end of the day you have to trust you gut. 

BTW the button batteries in those old NES carts last a long , long time if stored at room temp.  They can be replaced fairly easily with a security bit (special screwdriver from the ebay) and a few minutes on youtube.

[xsuicidesn0wmanx]

I found a bunch of ultra-rare Atari XE/XL games from Infocom plus Ultima IV yesterday for $18 each plus an old SSI game for C64 for $20. All are complete except Spy vs Spy so I consider that a steal. Ultima IV by itself is probably worth as much as the rest of the games combined.

[oldgamerz]

As you all know there are already a gazillion threads about idoits who find their untested Atari in the attic and ask $500 because they have no understanding of the market.  In the vein of this thread the retro ignorance is a worsening condition especially in smaller rural areas like East Tennessee.  I've lived in large cities like Phoenix and Denver where the independent game stores and flea markets flow like wine, but in smaller places like mine its Letgo or ebay or nothing.  With that said yes.  I still find good deals but its 1 in 5000 when its used to be 1 in 500.  To feed my collection I'll try to find a good deal, like something CIB and then sell it on ebay FOR A FAIR PRICE.  Most folks who use letgo have been burned by ebay or dont want to mess with shipping (enter the 30lbs xbox) which I get.  Sometimes I pay over value too but I try to break even when I can.  I keep a few apps from the android store that help give me an idea of game value but at the end of the day you have to trust you gut. 

BTW the button batteries in those old NES carts last a long , long time if stored at room temp.  They can be replaced fairly easily with a security bit (special screwdriver from the ebay) and a few minutes on youtube.

I am not into retro collecting for selling, but I am in for keeping and possible sharing with someone I can trust. I am sorry if I sounded ignorant in my posts or the thread. Selling  is not why I collect. amazon does have some good deals as well as JJgames if you live in the country setting and play retro video games

[oldgamerz]

I found a bunch of ultra-rare Atari XE/XL games from Infocom plus Ultima IV yesterday for $18 each plus an old SSI game for C64 for $20. All are complete except Spy vs Spy so I consider that a steal. Ultima IV by itself is probably worth as much as the rest of the games combined.

I am happy for you great job