Thrift Store Finds

File: IMG_2219.jpg (2MB, 3264x2448px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 3264x2448px

Bumping with other shit I've found for next to nothing

File: IMG_2223.jpg (2MB, 3264x2448px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 3264x2448px

I'll post this just as an example of what you can get but obviously these don't count as retro

>>3594128
let me guess. you live in the midwest?

>>3594128
Local pawn shop was how I got used Genesis games as a kid. Good times. Nowadays however, they research online and jack up the prices to full ebay value so there's 0 point buying from them.

[u]Nice finds[/u]

[b]You are a fool to waste days scrounging for games when you could download the entire ROMset in an hour and actually beat all the games you like before you die[/b]

I've gotten the majority of my collection from Japanese thrift stores. SFC for 500 yen, clear red N64 for 1500 yen, Saturn for 2000, Famicom edition GBA SP in flawless condition for 4500, games for 100 yen apiece (even popular stuff like CT, FF, DQ, ALttP, SMRPG, DKC, etc.).

YouTube bandwagoners aren't really a thing here, so no one cares about this stuff and prices are still pretty reasonable for the most part.

The '00s are long gone but I still occasionally find not-shit retro console games at thrift stores or yard sales. I'm working on my ability to ask yard sale people if they have old video games they might not have set out, which sometimes pays off. The vast majority of what I buy now are sixth and seventh gen games though. I also have been picking up a lot of retro PC games lately as those haven't really taken off and I expect they will.

i go to bootsales every weekend, and have gotten some amazing stuff in the last 4 or 5 years.
most recent score was last sunday actually.
not /vr/ but w/e, 220 xbox original games for £20. all disc only, but idc, some really great titles and rare stuff in it too. very pleased.

and month before hand, genesis + 20 boxed games and tonnes of controllers for £5.

charity shops i frequent regularly, but rarely get anything good. i did go into one of there backrooms a while ago though, and got a nice bundle of about 30 games, including suikoden + devil dice (very good game) all PS1, for a tenner.

protip: always ask to go into charities backrooms. that is where most of there best stuff is/

>>3594328

I ask people if they have games. I went to one last year and said I was looking for old games but they said someone just bought them all. I asked if they had more they wanted to sell and they said no but their roomate might. SO she asked the roomate who had an Atatri 2600 with 100+ games (88 various games with the rest being duplicates) and a bunch of joysticks. He asked $150 for it but I told him my yard sale budget was $100 and he took it.

I've asked numerous times, it doesn't hurt anything.

>>3594224
It isn't really about playing the games. Yes, I do play them but it's mostly the hunt. I want those cartridges and systems in my collection. To me there's almost nothing more gratifying than convincing myself to visit one more store and then coming up big on a FFVII or Donkey King Country. Also you have to be smart about it and actually make it worth your while. I've come across Secret of Mana carts at pawn shops many times but they're being sold for $75-$100. That's obviously something that isn't going to get me excited. To each his own I guess.

File: amiga set.jpg (3MB, 4288x2848px) Image search: [Google]

3MB, 4288x2848px

The flea market across my street has had some great stuff, but only once in a while. I visit there at least once a week and they have something interest maybe once in a year. In the last 10 years I have found there:

>NES + at least 5 controllers, four score adapter, and Chip'n'Dale rescue rangers game
>SNES + 2 controllers
>N64 + 1 controller and Carmageddon 64
>Gamecube
>at least 10 playstation ones, I still have them all
>ferw PC big box games from Baldur's Gate to Worms
>countless PS1, xbox, xbox 360, and PS2 games

>HeroQuest board game for 2 euros
>shoebox full of Warhammer 40k figurines and items, some of them painted and assembled, some of them still in the unassembled gray plastic, original boxes for some of the figurine sets, and some larger figurines and vehicles etc. all for 5 euros
>AD&D dungeon masters guide, and player handbook
>Halls of Horror: Gothic Floor plans (some kind of accessory/playfield set for tabletop RPGs)
>countless sci-fi and fantasy novels
>bunch of heavy metal t-shirts and vinyl LPs (first press of Metallica's Kill 'Em All, wtf!)

And that's just some of the stuff. When I was a kid I used to buy my comics and movies from there. There have also been some really cool stuff that I regretted later for not buying. Some years ago there was a full Amiga 500 set complete in the original box with big bag of floppy disks for like 20 euros. I regret deeply not buying that. I did get Amiga 500 few years later for free, but still goddamn.

There also were some SNES games when I was a kid, but I didn't buy them because I wasn't intro retro gaming back then. Also, the SNES games were relatively cheap because they weren't considered retro back then, just old, and it was before the retro gaming boom. Goddamn that is a great flea market. They are changing location earlier this month to a bigger building, which is sad because that place was a big part of my childhood, but also pretty exciting because the new building is much bigger.

/blog

>>3594354
Don't you need to volunteer in order to be given access to the back room?

Nevertheless I suppose this is why all that ends up on the shelves are 6th gen sports games...

>>3594156
What do you live? Have yet to find retro gaming anything for next to nothing all sky high prices at thrift stores and pawn shops here in the bay area

>>3594526
Different places have different rules. I don't know how different it is in the UK, but at Goodwill in the US I believe that nobody but staff are allowed in the back room. Also they require that everything be put on the floor for around 24 hours before staff are allowed to purchase it.

I course, I'm sure many freely break this rule or have their friends nab stuff for them so the point is mostly irrelevant.

>>3594689
The problem as as far as I know most well known thrift store chains put all the gaming stuff asides now, that isn't PS2 sports or DDR mats and just sell it online.

>>3594354
>implying they will let you go into their backroom

>>3594303
where in japan?
Definitely not super potato or book off right?

>>3594303
Is it true that Japanese games are pristine without any dirt, label damage, stickers, or marker?

Why is the Japanese race cleaner than Murkans?

>tfw can't ever find good shit at my local thrift
>the other day in a casual chat with an employee there, I learned why
>apparently, they send off most of the good shit(coins, games, sterling(jewelry gets to stay, and is grossly overpriced), gold, etc.) to the owner


I mean, I'm happy to know, but that whole deal kind of pissed me off and explains why I can't ever find good shit there.

Oh, and it's the kind of thrift store that staples price tags to ALL of their clothes.

>>3594809
>they send off most the good shit.

This is every thrift store ever the last few years. I don't even bother anymore and already excepted that most stuff I want I will have to pay decent money for. I'm just glad I got a lot of stuff I wanted when the getting was good. Some deals can still be found and most game shops will make a deal if you have the cash in hand. Those prices inside the glass are never final.

>>3594808
Not at all. Most of the FC games I've imported from japan have sharpie on a kid's name on them or are very dirty. They're not US kind of dirty, less gross than that, but they still need a major cleaning.

>>3594876
you import from ebay or from a proxy?

>>3594903
I occasionally buy on eBay if the price is right (rarely); I usually buy 3-5 carts at a time from japan-living forum members on specialty forums.

I've only found 1 great deal at Goodwill and that was a N64, 2 controllers, and like 8 games. One being Goldeneye.

I did find GTA5 for Xbox 360 for 5 bucks shortly after it came out.

>>3595173

Oh, the N64 worked and it was $30 for everything.

Another thing I found is the more obscure thrift stores and Goodwills in the black neighborhoods usually have more game stuff, I don't know if it is because the retro craze hasn't hit them or some people are reluctant to go to poorer neighborhoods. I find my best stuff their.

>>3594687
Greetings fellow Bay Area collector!
Don't give up, check out Thrift Town, Saver's, and Eco Thrift.
I have found plenty of gems in Vallejo and Hayward. You're hard pressed to find deals in any of the major cities, unless you go the Craigslist route.

>>3594775
Hard Off is where you go for retro stuff, not Book Off. And yeah, that's mainly where I go as far as thrift stores. Also hobby shops, and random hole-in-the-wall used game stores run by cranky old men.

>>3594808
Not really. As >>3594876 said, they usually require some cleaning if you buy from thrift stores. Most specialty shops make a token effort to clean them before selling them, but even then I like to give them a good scrubbing with alcohol.

Also, I don't know if it's due to the humidity or what, but the contacts on cartridges are usually in pretty bad shape and don't work at all at first, which is probably why they end up in the junk bins at thrift stores. But so far I've always managed to revive them with a bit of isopropyl alcohol, elbow grease, and patience.

>>3595201
For sure man nice to know there are others in the area. I'm out in Walnut creek and been trying to hit off the road thrift stores around concord, Pittsburgh, Livermore and danville. I've had some luck with garage sales depending on the season.

>>3595180
I have noticed this as well.

>>3595180
The people there are less likely to spend the time and effort looking up the real value of stuff and dump it.

>>3595254

Japan is an island. The sea spray fucks things up. I have the same issue where I live plus the heat and sand, so stuff is pretty fucked up.

anyone in FL?
seems like a barren wasteland for /vr/ stuff.

File: 20161101_201245.jpg (1MB, 1836x2013px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 1836x2013px

>>3595363
My best find ever was at a garage sale, Lunar for Sega CD in fantastic condition for $2, Mega Man x4 for $2, and a sealed copy of WCW vs NWO World Tour for N64 for a buck.

Grand total $5.

Nothing else comes close, although I did find some other odds and ends at modest prices.

>>3594687
I live in Seattle. There are are at least 15 thrift stores that I visit when I go out hunting for the day.

>>3595531
>sealed copy of wcw vs nwo for 1$
On brazil we pay 10 bucks for a shit cartridge

File: IMG_2553.jpg (36KB, 400x400px) Image search: [Google]

36KB, 400x400px

OP here. I'm seeing some of your comments and a few things cross my mind. 1) how hard are you looking? 2) do you go game hunting often? 3) do you have the patience? When you go to a thrift store you can't just quickly look in the video game/cd/DVD section. Try checking all of the electronics, kids toys, and glass case/collectible areas. Most of the time the employees have no idea what they're looking at and will throw a gem in an unexpected place. Are you visiting stores often? If you're seriously considering expanding your collection on the cheap then you need to shop around frequently...as in 3-4 times per week. Get to know employees on a first name basis. Even go so far as to give the store manager your phone number. I've got 3-4 managers from various stores that call me a few times every month. Lastly don't be a bitch. Don't get discouraged after a few trips out. I've gone weeks without finding shit! I mean some stores had one or two PS2 FIFA or Harry Potter games and that was it. You'll find the good stuff but you need to be dedicated. Also don't be scared to go on goodwill's online auction site. I've gotten so many steals simply because nobody else bid on an item. Follow these steps and you'll find something good sooner or later.

>>3595925
the problem with goodwill's auction site is the outrageous shipping prices that go along with them

>>3595926
I totally feel you on that. What I do is only choose the pickup locations that are close to me. So again I live in Seattle which means I can go to the Seattle or Tacoma pickup location with no problem. Obviously not everyone has one close to them. I wouldn't pay that shipping price either.

>>3595943
ah I see. I'll try to see if there's anything around my area then if I don't have to pay costs for them.

>>3595943
another question, do you have to pay handlers fees regardless if it's being shipped or not?

>>3594328
> I also have been picking up a lot of retro PC games lately as those haven't really taken off and I expect they will.

Kill yourself.

You are literally reseller scum.

>>3595963
If it says there is a handling fee or whatever, yes. You gotta pay the wages of the person listing shit afterall.