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« on: November 09, 2018, 09:03:50 am »
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.
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