Man, all these game groups I keep seeing people getting these massive deals, or people just giving them stuff. Over and over again.
How do you guys keep having this lucky. I can scour yard sale after yard sale, pawn shop after pawn shop; and I'm lucky if I come across cartridges of any kind.
For me my best finds ever come from asking people at garage sales if they have anything because they may you know forget about the nes with a handful of games up in the attic or didn't really think anyone would spend money on it since their games and systems stored away are 15, 20+ years old.
the exact line I use is "you don't by chance happen to have any video games do you?" or some variation their upon, then I wait to see/hear their reaction a quick no means they either don't have any or they don't want to sell which ends the attempt,.
If they say no but It takes them a bit to say it like they are thinking or are hesitant then they probably have games in the house but are unsure if they should sell them. On these I usually start by telling them that "well I'm just wondering because I actually collect video games" and start a conversation with them and probably 70-80% of the time IF they actually have games they will go inside and bring out a few and I just pick from there ( I personally always ask what they want for them and If its a good deal I do not haggle even if I know I will get a better deal, If they over price it then that is when I haggle)
sometimes you will hear "Yeah we have games but my (insert relative here) plays them." In this instance I ask "You wouldn't know If you have anything older that they don't play anymore do you?" This is a lot less with probably only 20-30% success rate to see the games and they are usually picked clean of any good titles but sometimes you get lucky and can get some very good things.
The best Is a hesitation and "well what are you looking for?" this usually means they have something older like play station and backwards or a handheld, my answer is "anything really I collect video games, so If your have something you are willing to bring something out then Im willing to look at it." this is how I get the majority of my cartridge and handheld games.
Also just remember that any garage sale Is ran by a person so basically just act how you would like to be acted towards "hello", "how are you", "nice weather we are having", ect before asking any questions will open more doors than you would think at a garage sale. and as such if you know their initial offer is a fantastic deal ie $5 for a game you know sells for $50 in its current condition don't try and haggle it down as they are just trying to make a few bucks off of stuff they don't use anymore.