Where do you get your games?

[Cartagia]

As collectors, I imagine that most of us would get our games on the secondary market, but I also know that the main secondary market outlet - GameStop - doesn't have the best reputation (at least in the US).  So, the subject question stands - where do you get your games?

On the first run market I was a huge proponent of the Best Buy's Gamer's Club unlocked, where I save a ton of money, and earned a lot of points, but since BB ended the program and my membership expired this year I have really backed off - even though I placed a few extra pre-orders prior to the expiration to get the bonus points and discounts.

In general, however, I don't buy a ton of new games on release day.  I tend to wait on sales, in which case the outlet doesn't matter for me, or I find warehouse / open box outlet stores.  There is a local chain called Bargain Hunt that I was getting lots of my new games from earlier this year / last year, but ever since they changed how often they do markdowns it has not been as beneficial, but I still occasionally find something.

That brings us to the secondary market.  Most of my collection has actually been supplemented from two major sources - local auctions, where finds are becoming more and more rare, and Facebook Marketplace, where people now think that any game older than 10 years is worth $20 automatically.  That's not to say finds can't be had, you just have to work harder and be more vigilant.

There is a giant used media warehouse in Nashville called McKay's that I visit on a semi-regular basis, that will occasionally have some good deals, but the best part about it is the trade-in credit.  I've not actually paid a single dollar to them in years.  I found a woman selling hundreds of CDs (and a copy of Street Fighter II!) about two years ago that I paid $20 for.  I went through the entire collection, ripped the albums I wanted to keep, kept the ones I really wanted to keep and then ended up with about $200 in store credit that I have been cycling through with different DVD, CD and game upgrades over the past couple of years.  My last visit was the first time since that purchase that I actually spent more credit than I earned on the trip.  The prices here have been creeping up slowly the past few years, however.

There's a small comic shop chain called Great Escape near McKay's, the focus is more on collectibles, but they do have a few games and the like.  Anything that McKay's doesn't take in trade, they will, and their prices are generally better if they happen to have the same thing.

And of course there are the old stalwarts, yard sales, flea markets, Goodwill.  Inconsistent, but they can often be the source of the flat out best deals.  My last yard sale deal was a PS2, Wii and 4 or 5 Wii games for $15.  And I got a random great haul of 360 games at a Goodwill about 2 months ago.

[98dgreen]

Basically everything in my collection comes from yard sales from April to October and from thrift stores in the off season with a small amount coming from flea markets and trades.

[tripredacus]

Primarily thrift for me. Really it is the only good way to get PC games. I was very sad the day Gamestop (or was it EB back then?) announced they would stop selling used PC games.

[burningdoom]

It used to be primarily 2 local sources + eBay. But both of those local sources are gone. There was an awesome used movie and video game shop called Video Exchange that closed down. And the local Goodwill was awesome, but now they never put out video games anymore. At least they still put out a lot of DVDs and blu-rays, still, though.

Now it's mostly GameStop and eBay. Local hunting is just for movies mostly, anymore, and comics at the local comic shop.

[kypherion]

Retro Gaming expo, Ebay, Amazon for new games like Smash Ultimate

[pizzasafari]

Pretty much just eBay, but I sometimes get modern games from CEX and Game if I'm in town. The only retro game shop in my area closed down a few years ago so I don't really have any alternatives.

[ignition365]

I rotate constantly.  I haven't been buying second hand games a lot lately, so really it's just been Best Buy/Amazon/LRG.

[bikingjahuty]

The area I live in is mostly a wasteland; the thrift stores have all become greedy and overpriced, the flea market has the same sun faded sports games they've had for over a decade, and garage sales are not a great investment of your time from my experience either. I find most of my games at various independent game stores around town and also several used media stores in the state. While I do pay ebay prices or close to ebay prices a lot more than I used to, I actually go to these places with the intention of catching them slipping on prices, which I've become pretty good at over the years. A few slip way more than others so I try and go to them more often, but nearly all of them accidently price something well under ebay, and if it's something I want I snag it. There a ton of collectors and resellers in my area so this is my way of catching the deals in plain sight while they're rummaging through Goodwills or our shitty local flea market for the chance of finding a $15 game for a few bucks.


On another note I don't collect retro as much as I used to, so I buy a lot of newer games which Gamestop is good for. I also buy games on ebay a decent amount.

[kamikazekeeg]

I get my new stuff primarily at Best Buy, because my gamers club is good till 2020.  Combine that with okay game trade-ins sometime and that's how I keep up with new stuff.  Old stuff, when I'm looking, is usually thrift shops.  Don't go hunting much these days since I don't have extra cash for it.

[aliensstudios]

A good chunk of my stuff comes from 2nd & Charles lately. I was getting new games from Amazon until they discontinued their 20% Prime discount for pre-order,. eBay is always trusty too as probably half of my collection came from winning various auctions or lots on the site. I always try to win auctions on eBay and rarely go the Buy it Now route since auctions seem to better reflect the price it's worth.

[oldgamerz]

I bought a ton of stuff from
www.JJgames.com online, all retro video games.
I've also bought some at a local indoor all year round flea market where I live.

a few were purchased from
www.amazon.com

I never used ebay for anything

HINT: if you shop for anything on JJgames you need to know, that you might have better luck at first choosing a console and then. clicking on see all items that way, it tells you the condition the item your purchasing off bat. and you usually can snag a better deal that way. Rather then looking through game genres

[hoshichiri]

Anywhere I can, dudes!

Seriously, it's not terribly uncommon for me to eye around for games in a general sense most places I go. I've been out with friends in an unfamiliar area & googled 'videogames' just to see if there's a shop around- my area has a high concentration of 'nerdom', so I usually get a hit. Plus, anyplace that deals in secondhand anything is fair game- thrift stores, antique stores, yard sales, estate sales, pawn shops, consignment- I've found games in damn near all of them!

I do tend to focus on a few places, though- there's a shop called Game Lobster within walking distance of work. It's dirty, it's disorganized, they don't screen for bootlegs & prices are typically on the low-end of eBay's Buy it Now listings... but, they'll let you inspect anything & test whatever they can before you pay, so there's actually a fair amount of confidence in getting working gear from them. Plus, they sell EVERYTHING, so it's great for obscure systems. I got my Channel F from them. I also stop into a Human Society Thrift store just down the street all the time- I don't often find gaming stuff I want there, but when it does turn up the deals are good- $5 for a PS2 slim? I can do that!

Honestly, though? I mostly use Ebay & Amazon these days. It's not that my local places are bad- I've simply reached a point where most of what I'm after is pretty uncommon, so I'm just not likely to find it in the wild at all. It may cost more than a lucky hit in a local shop, but it helps keep me focused on the titles I really want, as opposed to 'well this is here, it looks interesting, so I guess I'll get it."


As for modern games- usually Amazon or Gamestop. For the rare times I buy something brand new, they tend to offer some sort of perk for doing so (be it a pre-order bonus or discount). For modern games bought secondhand, Gamestop is actually very useful for me. There's a lot of titles for last-gen that are half the price of Ebay… assuming you can find one in store. Well, given the geeky density of my area, there's a lot of Gamestops. A LOT. A quick search on their locator has 19 stores within 15 miles of my home. Not surprisingly, I can usually pop onto the website, search local inventories, find a game, and either run down or call to see if it's in a condition I want to buy it in. Pretty handy, really.

[dashv]

Anywhere I can, dudes!

Seriously, it's not terribly uncommon for me to eye around for games in a general sense most places I go. I've been out with friends in an unfamiliar area & googled 'videogames' just to see if there's a shop around- my area has a high concentration of 'nerdom', so I usually get a hit. Plus, anyplace that deals in secondhand anything is fair game- thrift stores, antique stores, yard sales, estate sales, pawn shops, consignment- I've found games in damn near all of them!

^ This is me too.

As far as regular haunts...

• Ebay (for 2nd hand or new old stock)
• Amazon.com (pre-orders)
• Limited Run Games
• TheFlea (No seriously. He has great pickups constantly and has helped me fill gaps in my collection for a reasonable price on more than one occassion)
• Game Stop (Rarely has the best prices. But I still check them out from time to time)
• Savers (thrift shop)
• Goodwill (thrift shop)

I love finding local shops when I am away from home. Sometimes the places are a total dive and/or the prices are crazy.

But now and then I find a true gem with great employees, good selection/presentation, and reasonable prices.

Level UP in Santa Cruz is a good example.

Up until about a year ago I used to do Savers and Goodwill runs regularly (sometimes as often as 4 times a week!) But here in the Bay Area the traffic means my entire night after work is basically done. Also I was coming home with lots of random stuff that I arguably do not nead (like 3 progressive scan Super VHS editing decks, an 8mm reel projector, iCade mini blu tooth arcade cabinet, 10+ original xboxes, a 37 inch CRT tv, Numerous game guides. 2 Super Cobra lightguns that work with PS1,PS2, and Sega Saturn.

Actually the more I think of it I need to start thrift shopping again.

[shfan]

^ This is me too.

Ditto, although it's very rare to find something I actually want to keep, buying cheap secondhand items to trade-in is how I get most of my games and devices. Occasionally I get something new, but it tends to be Limited Run or something which I would struggle to trade for.

[ferraroso]

I buy most of my stuff at shops like Book Off and (mostly) Hard Off.
Apart from that, I love to just go out driving and finding new thrift shops (or "recycle shops", as they are called around here) I didn't know existed. Last Wednesday, for example, I was able to score Sexy Parodius for the Saturn for ¥100 at a shop I had never noticed before.

Apart from that, once in a while I also find some good deals at the Fammys, Otakara Souko, A-2 and Takarajima stores.
And when I REALLY want something and cannot find it for cheap anywhere else, I can (almost) always turn to Yahoo! Auctions.