lance_miller Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 What do you think about the non-video gaming people who clean out every thrift store and flea market in sight, leaving nothing in the wild for the true collector. Do they provide an essential service or would we be far better off without them?Any advice on beating them to the games? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Brasky Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 No. It's an essential service. People who want to waste their time and gas driving around hoping they stumble upon something they're looking for are the only people who are "true collectors"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candiru Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 I'd rather they didn't, but there's not much you can do to stop them or beat them to the good stuff. I guess you could always buddy up to a thrift store employee and get them to set stuff aside for you. That works for some people, although there's a good chance there's already someone who works there that saves videogame stuff for themselves or a friend. I stop at thrifts fairly often on my way home from work, but they're so picked over that I rarely stop at any that aren't right on my way. I really do enjoy finding stuff in the wild, but with gas prices the way they are and how rarely anything turns up it's not hardly worth it. Here's the way I figure it. If you've got an average job with a steady income, even if you have to buy everything at eBay prices, you've still got a better life than some sad bastard that sits in a thrift store all damn day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbatina Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 What do you think about the non-video gaming people who clean out every thrift store and flea market in sight, leaving nothing in the wild for the true collector. Do they provide an essential service or would we be far better off without them?Any advice on beating them to the games? I've got the opinion of "get there before it's gone" when it comes to thrifting and collecting. It would be nice if everything was still in the wild for all of us to find on our own, but I don't think that just because someone chooses to buy on eBay instead of looking for it themselves that they deserve it any less. In fact, you could almost say the opposite about your opinion when it comes to collectors. People that buy carts in thrift stores want to pay as little as possible for the rare items. However, on eBay they go for what many people would consider their true value. I'd almost say that the people that buy them on eBay are more "true collectors" than people rummaging the thrifts. My .02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariJr Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 part of collecting is the challenge of finding things that are collectible. i donno, i think its fun when i FINALLY find something , it gives you more satisfaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scumdogg Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 I think professional scalping does hurt collectors, to an extent. It's not like there wouldn't be an Ebay if there weren't just straight-up scalpers out there, so let's not pretend that. It's just gotten to the point where, just like if you overhunt an animal, it disappears. In many parts of the country flea market and thrift store finds are almost non-existent. And if you DO find anything at one of those locations, odds are the price is adjusted "according to Ebay". Just like toy price guides, the use of Ebay as a price guide is just serving to drive up prices across the board, and those of us that actually enjoy the thrill of a hunt that gets us outside the house are pretty well boned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Climber Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Thrift stores suck balls for finding games Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technosis Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 part of collecting is the challenge of finding things that are collectible. i donno, i think its fun when i FINALLY find something , it gives you more satisfaction. It also gives you a ton of fun memories of weird flea markets and wacked out garage sale people. I often think that the games are secondary to the whole "scavenger" hunt aspect. What memories do you have of eBay purchases? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariJr Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 part of collecting is the challenge of finding things that are collectible. i donno, i think its fun when i FINALLY find something , it gives you more satisfaction. It also gives you a ton of fun memories of weird flea markets and wacked out garage sale people. I often think that the games are secondary to the whole "scavenger" hunt aspect. What memories do you have of eBay purchases? i donno, i have memories, but i agree. its usually just click.. buy.. yay.. done. where as when you find it in a store you can say over and over excitedly how you found it, how it was hidden so it wasnt seen, how much you got it for. only time im excited about ebay stuff is when i get something for 99 cents with shipping simply because no one bid on it. ive gotten some import saturn games like this that were worth 30-70 bucks , but only spent about 5 bucks each on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusk2600 Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 (edited) it isnt just the sellers, it is the buyers, they sell for what people will pay, the person to point the finger at is the deep pocket collector Edited March 15, 2007 by Dusk2600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesD Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 I think a lot of old systems would be junked without them. However, it makes it difficult to pick up stuff at estate or yard sales for really cheap prices. Sure you can get deals but only if you beat the ebayers to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plaidbrad3141 Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 Good topic Lance. I love finding stuff in the wild but as described that can be rare at times so what do many of us do besides deals in the marketplace here and on other forums? We often go to Ebay right? Well so do the resellers. Heres the good/bad part. Many of the more rare games I own came from Ebay and yes some of them from resellers. The thing I don't like is when I find a somewhat rare game and bid on it a reseller bids it up to the point where it is no longer a good deal, so if you still really want it you bite the bullet and pay so to speak. The good news is that resellers usuay stop bidding just at the point where it is no longer a good deal. Wait, that dosen't sound good either. I guess it's just irksome to know they will just jackup the price and relist instead of someone really enjoying it at a fair price. On the other hand if not for a reseller I may not ever find a particular game perhaps. I love/hate resellers I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrldstrman Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 I dont mind resellers that start the auctions at 99 cents and let them run..ones i cant stand are the stores that put a bin price on items that sit for years but will not come down on the price... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 I can't stand scalpers or resellers either one. I find in person that the typical reseller's attitude about buying games is outright disrespectful, and a bit pompous when you're buying from them. If you're tyring to sell, the reseller acts like you've got nothing but worthless junk. Either that, or they drool over and plead with you for stuff that's clearly not for sale. Then when you go to buy, suddenly "they've got their bills/employees to pay", or "well, they just can't lose money on it" (and of course, that includes not losing money on shipping, their gas, their time, or the air that they breathe). Over the net, the attitudes don't show through, so I don't know if they're good or bad. To get to some of the good deals first, you have to know when the thrift shop stocks its shelves. Some are stocking constantly. Digging through the bins of stuff that's yet to be put out is a given (got an orange Zapper this way last week), and digging around the entire store is also a given (found a light sixer this way and declined it). If you're stuck looking in the game case, you won't find anything. If, on the other hand, you're willing to dig through the phones and clock radios, you might just find a Wico stick in there like I did. In any case, hit the thrifts every single day for a couple of weeks, and then you'll begin to see what days the shelves are fullest. (Snagged some Vectrex titles this way by pure accident, and I've snagged some harder to find NES games this way) Go on the days the shelves are fullest--that's when the store stocks. Along this line, you need to visit the messier thrift shops. If the shop is organized, it's just as easy for the resellers to pick out games as it is for you to. If you go to one that always looks like a tornado just passed through, you'll find good things in the rubble like the CX-22 and the Driving Force I got recently. As stated, buddy up with the people at the stores. That goes for game stores also, not just thrift shops. (I've gotten too many games to mention this way) Another way that might work is to dumpster dive, and be ready to repair anything you find. If a particular store is notorious for trashing certain products, dumpster dive the place and do NOT even think of bringing the products into the place sometime when they're open. You'll probably find the products busted up, and that's why you have to be able and willing to fix them up. (I've gotten computer parts this way) Being extremely nosy helps, too. Ask to see the stock that's in back. If there's a box sitting within sight behind the counter, ask to dig through it. You'll be told that it's "just the same stuff we've got out on the shelf", but 90% of the time that is a bald faced lie. Ask to see it anyway, and then rant about this or that really cool item (even if it's not something cool) and buy it. Now I've got about three different stores that'll flop the behind the counter boxes out in front of me when I walk in. That's how I got Tengen Tetris, several R4 and R5 VCS games, copies of Hat Trick and Jinks, my driving controllers, at least one Video Touch pad, nearly got a 4 switch woody that way with a severe discount (I declined), Micro Machines Challenge (an R4 Game Gear title), and a whole ton of other stuff. I'll tell ya, only two of my games that are R6 and up came from ebay, and I've got quite a few games of that rarity. I got Alien Brigade and Mean 18 from the bay, and I didn't pay anywhere near street price for Alien Brigade. Be flexible. don't go looking for one particular item, go with a list. Go with a BIG list, and be open to trying out hardware or games you've never tried before. Above all else, you have to be persistent. It sucks when 95% of your thrift visits turn up nothing. If you give up at that point, you'll never get to that one time when you find something great. Don't like wasting gas? Take candiru's advice and hit the thrifts that are on your way home. There are at least five of them within a mile either way of my route home, and probably twice that many if I'm willing to go up to a mile past my home. What about garage sales? I've never had any good finds in them, but some day I will. Instead of wasting gas, I wiat til it's the warm season (when there are more sales out), then I bike to them with a rather large bag folded up on the rack. If I see something I want, I buy it and I load it into the bag for the ride home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdie3 Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 What ruins the hobby is the fact that the older good stuff is getting more difficult to acquire at a reasonable price (see: supply and demand). The professional sellers are mostly collectors too as far as I can tell. I do think that it is rather strange for someone to actually make a living from selling used video games though but hey.. Whatever works for you, dudes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelboy Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 As far as eBay goes, the real scourge is stuff like this. Shameful. Good thing most collectors know better... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowscore Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 If I can find a console or whatever covered in thick dust and DOA for cheap, put some time into making it as good as I can again so that I may release it into the wild with my time and expenditures compensated via ebay, then I feel I have done a service to the community. I have fun restoring someone else' junk into our gleaming treasures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mezrabad Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 I dont mind resellers that start the auctions at 99 cents and let them run..ones i cant stand are the stores that put a bin price on items that sit for years but will not come down on the price... Yeah, I'd have to say that nails it for me, too. I'd prefer to see them actually let the market set the price than to just wait until someone stupid enough to pay the topmost dollar comes along. Then again, one of my favorite quotes says that rarely has a person lost money while underestimating the intelligence of the general public. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lance_miller Posted March 15, 2007 Author Share Posted March 15, 2007 I can't stand scalpers or resellers either one. I find in person that the typical reseller's attitude about buying games is outright disrespectful, and a bit pompous when you're buying from them. If you're tyring to sell, the reseller acts like you've got nothing but worthless junk. Either that, or they drool over and plead with you for stuff that's clearly not for sale. Then when you go to buy, suddenly "they've got their bills/employees to pay", or "well, they just can't lose money on it" (and of course, that includes not losing money on shipping, their gas, their time, or the air that they breathe). Over the net, the attitudes don't show through, so I don't know if they're good or bad. . Shadow thx for the great tipps. This pompous sh*t seems to be quite common doesnt it? My ex boss is into old records and says it's much worse for him. He syas the dealers in his area are much more pompous to new customers and are incredibly cutthroat. It appears that the competition got really nasty bewteen them when several delaers were selected for fines and tax audits when a rival delaer reported them for undeclared income. I can imagine that many internet sellers have been reported anonymoussly to the IRS for evasion. I wonder if any full time Ebay sellers have lost their houses due to tax audits? If you find a nice and fair games delaer stick with them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Video Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 Well, It kinda pisses me off that there is NOTHING in the wild to find. It's more fun to find it that way than to just plop down on Ebay for an Item. But the fact is, Ebay is fast, easy, and quiet often cheaper than game stores/thrifts/yardsales (at least, around here, the few times stuff does pop up) Of course, the downside to Ebay, is if you find a Quadrun or something, you have zero chance of getting it for $5 from someone that doesn't know it's value, as there can be millions that will see it, and it will go for hundreds. Eh, if I wanted to play it on true hardware (in that case) It would actually be cheaper for me to buy the hardware to make a pirate copy for myself (er, if it doesn't have custom ram or something, that is) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeusExMachina Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 In general I have no problem with people who spend their time unting and selling cartridges. However, I despise those who try to tell you how worthless your items are when you want to sell them and how valuable the same items are when they try to sell them to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homerwannabee Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 As far as me I think my opinion is changing a little. When I had a smaller collection I was ticked that I had to go the Ebay root to get any of my games. But as my collection has steadily grown over the years I know realize that even if there was no competitiion I would not find anything that I do not have and I would be stuck with where my collection is currently at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariJr Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 In general I have no problem with people who spend their time unting and selling cartridges. However, I despise those who try to tell you how worthless your items are when you want to sell them and how valuable the same items are when they try to sell them to you. i agree. as far as bidding on ebay, yea its really annoying. thats why i have found a few stores online that i like that have reasonable prices, always buy it now. i hate bidding as im always sniped. the thing is , that other than this place, i find things in the wild that are good VERY seldomly, esp when its sega saturn related stuff. in short, as much as i hate ebay, its really all i got to find stuff, especially imports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusk2600 Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 I personally have and still do find a ton of my rare games in the wild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bust3dstr8 Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 I agree with AtariJr that Ebay is great for the import gamer. If you pick up lots of singles you can be patient and wait until you see someone in your area selling the game, all that shipping charges adds up. $12-$14 for EMS or $3-$5 for Priority Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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