considering starting my own store

[considering starting my own store]

Going into business is basically for the wealthy. Unless you have a good cushion of cash to rely on for daily operations, it is bound for failure. Like has been said, awaiting the day when it finally turns a profit takes years sometimes. Can you afford to go that long without a paycheck?

 

As for credit cards, I do not recommend them. I know a guy who basically got ruined by charge-backs from disgruntled customers. The credit card companies side with the buyers and you have no recourse but to eat it. Go online with a website and accept Paypal. Paypal tends to side with buyers as well, but can be more forgiving.

 

One other thing: If you decide to go the website route, factor in online advertising expenses. It coats some money to get your site noticed online.

 

P.S. I have had thoughts like yours about opening a retro gaming store in my town. I drive past this one vacant store front almost daily and think hard about it. I guess wisdom tells me otherwise though.

[So Sad]

Its the same kind of stuff that goes on at Goodwill. Notice they never have any game consoles older than SNES or Genesis? Hmmmmmm.....

 

Don't ever donate electronics of any kind to that outfit.

[Frogger?]

Here:

 

 

They were made from cardboard so few survived.

[Go Atari Trying to Liquidate]

If he'd onesy-twosy the stuff, ala O'Shea's, I would be interested in a few of the Jaguar items. He could probably do some business if his prices were even somewhat reasonable.

[WHAT IS YOUR MOST RARE INTELLIVISION GAME]

Ice Trek

White Water!

Safecracker

Blockade Runner

Tropical Trouble

[Atari 7800 controller options]

Will Master System or Genesis controllers work on 7800?

[dreadnaught factor]

When the Atari logo is yellow and freezes, it is generally not a good sign. I have a Space Invaders cart that does that and no amount of cleaning has ever gotten it to work.

 

Hopefully, yours is different.

[What's a fair price for this?]

If everything works good, $50-$60 range.

[storage and display]

^

Neat and tidy, but I've got far too much stuff for those closets to hold.

[storage and display]

 

[NES Blinking Screen]

Something I always wondered though. How does this help games that don't work? I understand the flashing is the NES constantly resetting itself if it detects an unauthorized game but if a legitimate game doesn't work, does disabling this chip somehow help?

 

My experience with dirty/non-working games in a NES with 10NES disabled is that the screen just displays a solid gray or pink color. You still have to clean the contact pins on the dirty cart to rectify that. The advantage to a system with 10NES disabled is that 1)It is now region free and will play other region carts, and 2) You will get far fewer "non-working" games. You still need to keep your contacts cleaned, but the annoying blinking screen will not be a constant problem. Most games, including moderately dirty ones will boot fine. Only the dirtiest of the dirty will cause the solid gray/pink screen. The modded systems I have seen seem to be far less sensitive to dirty contacts. Hope that answers.

[The lost Atari treasure, real jewel encrusted gold and silver prizes!?]

They might be buried in a landfill in New Mexico...

[How many Colecovision Homebrew 'companies' is there?]

Which one do I contact about getting Make Trax done?

[heavy sixer Craigslist find]

^

Did they come with H-6er joyticks?

[WTB: Turbografx-16]

..and some games for it too.

 

PM me, please.

[5200 marketing question]

Sorry to hear so many countries missed out on all that 5200 goodness...

[The Footpedal Controller and STARGATE]

Cool. Are there any other games that use both controller ports for single-player action?

[heavy sixer Craigslist find]

Nice find. Congrats.

[Atari 5200 astro grover]

I can't meet Atari Joe's offer, but bid the $20 that I can afford. PM me if interested.

[Top 10, Underrated, Non-Franchise NES Action Platformers]

^

Technically, Zelda 2 and Rygar are mixed games, part platformer and part something else, but so is SMB3 for that matter.

[Frogger?]

I heard there is a hack of this game that does not require pressing the fire button to make your frog hop. Maybe one day I will have on multi-cart.

[Repairing Atari 5200 joystick.]

Flex circuit will not affect the potentiometers at all. Try a continuity tester on all 15 pins of that controller's cable to make certain there is not a broken trace. If the cable is fine, then try prying up the crimp tabs on the problematic pots and taking the stem and disc out. Clean the entire inside of each potentiometer with electrical contact cleaner found at Radio Shack. Put the stem and disc back in and re-crimp it back together. If that does not solve the directional issues then it is time to buy new ones from Best Electronics.

[NES Blinking Screen]

In most cases there is no need to waste $7-$10 on a new 72 pin connector. Instead, take the console case apart and remove the RF shield and spring-loaded cartridge tray. Then fold a piece of fine grain sandpaper (400 grit or higher) in half (grit side out of course) and run it back and forth in between the console pins a few times. Follow this with a toothbrush dipped in 91% isopropyl alcohol and the system will work good as new.

 

As an aside, it never hurts to disable the 10NES lockout chip while you're inside the console. Just clip the #4 pin shown in this picture and flashing screens are a thing of the past.

 

[What is the benefit of modding a FB?]

What games will the modded FB2 not play?

[How do you charge for shipping on eBay?]

Epay has gotten stupid on the fixed shipping rate issue as of late. It makes it difficult to ship gaming items I have sold. I hate selling on there for this reason alone.