VGCollect Forum
General and Gaming => Classic Video Games => Topic started by: mastodon on April 13, 2019, 01:50:14 pm
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How luck are you guys at finding retro gear at yard sales? Ive hit a couple this year and i didnt find anything. Two pawn shops near me have some crappy nes games. Which I seem to be buying just because they are there. Maybe you guys have tips for a new yard sale goer.
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I'm not a big yard sale person, although a few of my biggest scores were at garage sales. My main problem with them is you have to hit up 50+ garage sales to find a good deal sometimes, and if the sale is advertised with games it then becomes a race of who gets there the earliest and can get pretty dicey from my experience.
My best advise is to go to community garage sales where a lot of people in a relatively small area are having garage sales so you don't have to go far between sales. Obviously see what they have out, but even if they don't have anything always ask the seller and see if they have any video games for sale. I can't stress how important doing this is. A lot of time saying this will jog their memory or they'll decide to sell games they may have been unsure about selling, but since someone is asking they're more inclined to let go of them. Another advantage of asking even if you don't see anything is they are caught off guard and don't have time to research what the games are worth, meaning you have a much better chance of getting a good deal on whatever they're selling.
Despite how effective doing this is when people actually have games, actually finding someone who has games for sale is tough. As I said, I've literally hit up dozens of sales in a day and came up completely empty handed. It became so barren that I eventually lost the motivation to even go out to sales anymore. One strategy that I've thought of is hitting up sales in older, more established neighborhoods since there's a greater chance that people have lived there a long time and possibly still have old games that belonged to their kids or grandkids. I've noticed in newer neighborhoods people typically got rid of this stuff before they moved because they didn't want to worry about moving it when they moved into their current home.
Hopefully some of this helps.
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I tried years ago to do garage sales in my area, but I was always missing out on stuff, despite being there practically at opening. Then one time I took a trip with some friends over a few towns, and we filled a car trunk with stuff. It's so hit and miss. I personally find more luck with the flea market and thrift shops, though there's only two thrift shops I go to anymore.
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I buy things other than games so if I don't find as much it doesn't really matter because I am still making money and am not going home empty handed. It also helps to hunt for games that are old but not retro.
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See if your town has a set yard sale weekend, and go out then. Use yard sale finder websites to get you started, but don't be afraid to just follow random arrows in the neighborhood- folks who have older games are likely to not be the internet type.
Finally- don't expect much, and hit sales as often as possible. I usually get a good find- but only one for the season. This stuff's not as common as the internet can make it look. Also, don't narrow your focus too much- if you're after cartridge games, you're gonna be sorely disappointed. But if you're willing to take old PS2/Xbox games, you'll be fine.
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It's a combination of blind luck and persistence to find anything now. In the end it comes down to whether you're willing to travel and take time trying to find a bargain.
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I find more of what I like to call, "bloated bay" now happening in yard sales. So you know when an uninformed person looks an item up on ebay and goes with the highest, most bloated price they can find and associate that with their item? I find more people than ever think their copy of mario/duck hunt is worth gold. The surge of "classic" systems has indirectly influenced this bloated perception too.
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All people in this thread gave good advice in my opinion, Unfortunately for most people at yard/garage sales are more likely to find knick knacks, toys, table lamps, maybe a few dusty movies nobody wants, and clothes lots of clothes or shoes.
Usually all or most of the video games, electronics, and music CDs are the first to sell off at some specific Yard/Garage sales.
I don't go to Yard Sales because I have a near by indoor flea market. There is somewhat of a snowballs chance in a hot summer that you're gonna be finding video games or even electronics at most Yard/Garage sales in my experience. I even been to a major flea market outdoors with not a single video game or music CD in sight
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I find more of what I like to call, "bloated bay" now happening in yard sales. So you know when an uninformed person looks an item up on ebay and goes with the highest, most bloated price they can find and associate that with their item? I find more people than ever think their copy of mario/duck hunt is worth gold. The surge of "classic" systems has indirectly influenced this bloated perception too.
I found a garage sale about 5-years ago with some guy in his early 30s selling a bunch of choice SNES games he'd had since he was a kid. Unfortunately he had read one too many CNET and MSN articles about "Items in your Basement Worth a Fortune!" or "25 Video games that can make you rich if you own!" He had a piece of paper with prices on all the games and the cheapest one was probably 3x ebay. I remember specifically a loose copy of Super Metroid he had that he wanted $200 for, which nearly made me laugh in his face. I asked him how he got his prices and he said that he went on ebay and "that's what they'r going for." I tried explaining to him that some insane price a reseller is asking is different than the price that someone actually paid, but he wasn't interested in me explaining this to him, and it became clear he wasn't going to give a fair price no matter what I said. I've experienced this to a lessor degree at other sales before, but he was by far the worst.
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living where i do yard sales are pretty much old clothes and furnature. Finding games at one is next to impossible or they automatically assume since its 80's its worth a new car
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All people in this thread gave good advice in my opinion, Unfortunately for most people at yard/garage sales are more likely to find knick knacks, toys, table lamps, maybe a few dusty movies nobody wants, and clothes lots of clothes or shoes.
Usually all or most of the video games, electronics, and music CDs are the first to sell off at some specific Yard/Garage sales.
This is very true, the early start is your friend.
At this point, I don't put too much effort into yard sales- becuase, as counter-intuitive as it sounds, I have better luck in collector's circles! I think it's becuase being in 'the scene' makes people more aware of what the going prices for things really are- and they're more likely to have something I need. Plus, if what you want is more causal fare, you can actually get some screamin' deals. I got a Wii Fit board for $1 at a retro event a couple years ago. Another seller saw me buy that, and gave me Zumba Fitness CIB for free. The logic for both was the same- they didn't want to have to haul it home becuase they weren't likely to sell it later.
So, I guess check to see if there's any events in your area where local collectors/resellers get together for swaps & sales. You won't get the find of the century, but you'll get decent deals- especially if you've been collecting for awhile and don't want the common stuff anymore.
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The problem with yard sales is that you can't go in at a free day and be relaxed and find some good stuff
Sadly you kinda have to be hardcore to find the good stuff going in hours before a sale starts. If your lucky you live in a region where such people are far and few in between but usually It's slim pickings when you have such people around aka the reason why allot of people find nothing and give up on yard sales.
@hoshichiri
Why would you want to have a wii fit board or a zumba for dirt cheap or for free?
Maybe for trade in values but otherwise I'd happily give those away for free aswell If I'm honest. zumba had some nice a
I've also heard and seen pickups from some people claiming that more stuff ends up in 2nd hand stores and fleamarkets these days
Than again when looking at all those filler titles absolute trash and occasionally a good metal slug ps2 game worth 10$ totally worth it I'm telling you ::)
In my opinion It's just resellers finally having a brain and knowing that trash titles do not sell and only picking the good stuff instead of pikcing everything clean like in the past wich made even crappy games a rarity. why put in the effort to haul garbage around man they finally figured it out.
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Sometimes you can live next to an indoor resale shop selling games or year round indoor flea market without knowing it. I used to live in the middle of no ware, and there was a shop that sold just about everything walking distance from my old rural area apartment complex. Both the flea market and this resale shop are not even that well known I think.
I once traded some things in I was not using before at a resale shop. In the middle of the woods on a main road and got a free Sega Saturn with 2 games for free once, everything was included, including the controller and all the hookups.
Sometimes looking online can aid in your search as well. Such as finding building near you that carries and sells miscellaneous things from house clear outs and random junk collectors.
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@hoshichiri
Why would you want to have a wii fit board or a zumba for dirt cheap or for free?
Maybe for trade in values but otherwise I'd happily give those away for free aswell If I'm honest. zumba had some nice a
Your opinion is shared by many- which is why these deals are available at the hardcore gaming events. So if, like me, you like keeping novelty games around, it's a good place to find deals. I like being able to show people some of the weirder ways people can play games- control it with your feet (wii fit), dancerize (Zumba), giant plush baby controller (babysitting mama- also acquired for $1 at a church rummage sale). Not usually the best games, but always a unique experience. It's also a good way to get set up for some party games- my sister in law found a boxed set of Scene It controllers for the Xbox for $1 at one of these retro shows.
Obviously, it's not for everyone- but as I said, if you are inclined to have casual fare in your collection, hardcore events are a great place to get it crazy cheap.
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I go out and garage sale when ever I can and I come home with boxes full of stuff.
I live in an area with over 100 sales every weekend. Biggest tip I can give you is get up early and hope you get there before the resellers do.
If you watch my pick ups over the years you'll see all the stuff I bring home.
Garage sales "should" start up in full force here shortly, I can't wait.
In fact a large community sale with over 100 houses is going to have theirs the first week in May.
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@hoshichiri
Why would you want to have a wii fit board or a zumba for dirt cheap or for free?
Maybe for trade in values but otherwise I'd happily give those away for free aswell If I'm honest. zumba had some nice a
Your opinion is shared by many- which is why these deals are available at the hardcore gaming events. So if, like me, you like keeping novelty games around, it's a good place to find deals. I like being able to show people some of the weirder ways people can play games- control it with your feet (wii fit), dancerize (Zumba), giant plush baby controller (babysitting mama- also acquired for $1 at a church rummage sale). Not usually the best games, but always a unique experience. It's also a good way to get set up for some party games- my sister in law found a boxed set of Scene It controllers for the Xbox for $1 at one of these retro shows.
Obviously, it's not for everyone- but as I said, if you are inclined to have casual fare in your collection, hardcore events are a great place to get it crazy cheap.
I guess your right everyone can enjoy different things in the hobby
Allot of people love to play and collect filler titles to each their own I guess.
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I'm not a fan of yard sales in general, but the few times I've been to them I came away with some neat stuff.
I think you need to keep your expectations really, really low when you go to them. Usually, they're just a place for finding older clothes, furniture pieces, or trinkets. The sellers are just trying to clear some space.
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I'm not a fan of yard sales in general, but the few times I've been to them I came away with some neat stuff.
I think you need to keep your expectations really, really low when you go to them. Usually, they're just a place for finding older clothes, furniture pieces, or trinkets. The sellers are just trying to clear some space.
that's usually because a sale has been picked clean of good stuff hours before a sale opened. When you find stuff it usually because the items where added later on in the day when the buyers who where there early have already left.
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Last couple of years flea markets and yard sales haven't been good in my area, even if I show up early.
I've had luck at thrift stores though, been getting good X360 and PS3 games for cheap. But mainly last gen games though, PS2 and original Xbox is all sport titles. Found a Genesis complete in box for a decent price recently, picked it up works fine and kept it for a backup. Decent amount of PS4 games are turning up too, but still priced too high for a thrift store, so still gonna wait on those to dramatically drop in price once next gen begins. I make friends with my local thrift store people, so they keep me in the loop when new stuff arrive, send me pictures and what not. Luckily their not collectors or play games in general so they don't keep the good stuff for themselves. :P
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When it comes to finding retro games, I generally have more luck finding them at pawn shops or thrift stores. One time I found a NES system (with no cables or controllers) for just $5.00. I tested it out since I already had the cables for it & it worked.
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In 2019 while living in a small and mostly rural area? Forget about it. It's done. 10 years ago, the 80s/90s nostalgia bug had not yet hit big, there weren't television and media articles promoting the notion that "you could have valuable toys collecting dust in your closet / this person sold their Nintendo game for $10,000", and not everybody had a phone with 3G and a web browser yet.
Because of those factors, lots of old games hit people's front yard and were sold at rock bottom prices. Not so today. Everyone is far too savvy, and it takes a really rare kind of ignorance to still let go of them as if they were completely worthless and obsolete. The chances are maybe 1/100 and it's just not worth that in time, effort, gas money, headache, etc. I don't care if it's rare and sought after, they can keep it. I'm really done with game hunting. I had a good run with it, but it's far past time to hang it up and I can't recommend yard sales to new collectors. I think it's a waste of time now, unless you seriously can't afford to pay the online rates for what you actually want.
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In 2019 while living in a small and mostly rural area? Forget about it. It's done. 10 years ago, the 80s/90s nostalgia bug had not yet hit big, there weren't television and media articles promoting the notion that "you could have valuable toys collecting dust in your closet / this person sold their Nintendo game for $10,000", and not everybody had a phone with 3G and a web browser yet.
Because of those factors, lots of old games hit people's front yard and were sold at rock bottom prices. Not so today. Everyone is far too savvy, and it takes a really rare kind of ignorance to still let go of them as if they were completely worthless and obsolete. The chances are maybe 1/100 and it's just not worth that in time, effort, gas money, headache, etc. I don't care if it's rare and sought after, they can keep it. I'm really done with game hunting. I had a good run with it, but it's far past time to hang it up and I can't recommend yard sales to new collectors. I think it's a waste of time now, unless you seriously can't afford to pay the online rates for what you actually want.
your right 10 years ago prices where already rising but mobile phone addicts where not a thing back than allot more mess ups. Even uptil 2015 the market looked a hell lot different than it is today so yea 10 years ago deals where plentyfull for all systems and rare games way less hyped or known to common people.
Gamecube n64 gameboy sets etc where so plentyfull online unlike today where barely any sets come out from original owners anymore. ebay but especially mobile phones ruined it for sure but imo facebook market place hammered the final nail in the coffin
kinda motivates emulation a hell lot more instead of starting from scratch
deals are still there but that pond getting smaller and smaller not to mention people looking prices up making deals allot more rare unless they messup on collector specific stuff, hyped easy stuff is almost getting kinda impossible to get these days.
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no luck at all, especially with boxed pee see games
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I've tend to have a few days each year that I really hit gold with yard sales. Mostly, though, the best I do is $1 wii games or something equally disappointing (but at least I don't come home empty-handed).
Edit: I do live in a fair-sized suburb next to the capital city, so there is definitely a lot more action here than in more rural areas. But there is also more competition, so it balances out.
Here are a few tips that work well for me:
1) Go on FRIDAY. Sales in my area are usually Friday and Saturday (when I was younger they used to be Saturday and Sunday). Obviously being the first to get there will increase your odds of getting the good stuff. This is the first year in a long time my work schedule hasn't allowed me to take Fridays off, and it has been a lot tougher with people telling me "I got rid of all my game stuff yesterday".
2) If you don't see anything, ASK. Almost ALL of my big scores have come by asking people (who didn't have anything set outside) if they have any old game stuff. You'd be surprised how often people say "I have a box of old games but didn't think anyone would be interested" or even "I didn't even think about that, thanks for reminding me."
3) Don't pre-judge. I've been tempted to drive past certain "types" of people (and entire neighborhoods) based on age, appearance, or some of the other junk they're selling, but games and stuff can be found in the unlikeliest of places.
4) Set limits. Not just spending limits, but time/distance limits. Tell yourself you'll go our for two hours and head home no matter how good (or bad) your day goes.
5) Take a friend. It's always more fun with a friend. Plus you can play off each other, have fun, and make better deals as a pair. Most of my biggest days have been with a friend. Happens to be the same guy every time; I'm starting to think he's good luck!
6) Have a consolation plan. Don't get discouraged. You'll strike out maybe 90% of the time, and the odds of actually scoring high-value games (as opposed to low-dollar titles and commons) are a lot less than that. Don't expect much and you won't be disappointed. I try to stop by one of the retro shops in the area if I strike out after a day of yard sales and treat myself to something with the money I was planning to spend. Don't get discouraged; it's a numbers game and is all luck.
Also: pawn shops, flea markets, etc might have some good deals, but they are usually picked over by collectors frequently and the sellers have a better idea of what the games are worth. Goodwill-type stores (at least in my area) tend to sell the games (especially cart games) online and the stuff they do have on the shelf is usually overpriced. But I've still had a few lucky finds.
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In 2019 while living in a small and mostly rural area? Forget about it. It's done. 10 years ago, the 80s/90s nostalgia bug had not yet hit big, there weren't television and media articles promoting the notion that "you could have valuable toys collecting dust in your closet / this person sold their Nintendo game for $10,000", and not everybody had a phone with 3G and a web browser yet.
Because of those factors, lots of old games hit people's front yard and were sold at rock bottom prices. Not so today. Everyone is far too savvy, and it takes a really rare kind of ignorance to still let go of them as if they were completely worthless and obsolete. The chances are maybe 1/100 and it's just not worth that in time, effort, gas money, headache, etc. I don't care if it's rare and sought after, they can keep it. I'm really done with game hunting. I had a good run with it, but it's far past time to hang it up and I can't recommend yard sales to new collectors. I think it's a waste of time now, unless you seriously can't afford to pay the online rates for what you actually want.
This is where I'm at as well. The hunt is no longer fun since most everyone knows what they have, assuming they still have anything of value and interest at all. There are people in my area, many actually, that advertise constantly on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Offer Up, and hell, one even has a giant sticker on his back window asking people to call him if they have video games they're selling. It's got way out of hand and too many interested parties now. The amount of time, gas, money and energy you have to put forth now is not worth the eventual payoff of maybe finding a $50 game or two for under $5. I make almost $50 in an hour and would honestly just rather buy the damn game off ebay for that amount and be done with it.
I absolutely do miss the good ol'day when very few people were out there looking and before everyone had smart phones. It was a gold mine! My local flea market was a treasure trove of cheap games; I'd have to make several trips to my car often because my backpack was stuffed full of cheap games and I coulddn't carry anymore lol. Now if I go there, I'm lucky to find a single game for a decent price. As for garage sales, it's even more draining, and even back when I was into hunting for deal I rarely had luck with them.
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In 2019 while living in a small and mostly rural area? Forget about it. It's done. 10 years ago, the 80s/90s nostalgia bug had not yet hit big, there weren't television and media articles promoting the notion that "you could have valuable toys collecting dust in your closet / this person sold their Nintendo game for $10,000", and not everybody had a phone with 3G and a web browser yet.
Because of those factors, lots of old games hit people's front yard and were sold at rock bottom prices. Not so today. Everyone is far too savvy, and it takes a really rare kind of ignorance to still let go of them as if they were completely worthless and obsolete. The chances are maybe 1/100 and it's just not worth that in time, effort, gas money, headache, etc. I don't care if it's rare and sought after, they can keep it. I'm really done with game hunting. I had a good run with it, but it's far past time to hang it up and I can't recommend yard sales to new collectors. I think it's a waste of time now, unless you seriously can't afford to pay the online rates for what you actually want.
100% agree on this
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There are no yard/garage sales in my area, unfortunately. Tough luck for me.