+Charlie Cat Posted December 6, 2008 Author Share Posted December 6, 2008 Hi guys, One time (in which I'll never forget) there was a local Funcoland in Paramus, NJ that had over 100 Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt cartridges that they couldn't sell for beans!! Its not that they couldn't, it was that nobody wanted them because everybody had them. This was back in around December 1995-January 1996 and the PSX & N64 were starting to sell like nuts on the market Anyway, I was in the store passing the time playing Super Mario 64 and my brother was playing NiGHTS. Around the sametime there was this guys who was browsing around and saw the SMB/DH cartridges just stacked up'd collecting dust in the corner. When he saw the price for them in the paper circular for 10¢ each, he said "The hell with it, I'll buy them all!". The manager kinda blessed him because those games were there since the store open and he just couldn't get rid of them. So to end this with a bang, the manager sold him the 100 cartridges with no sales tax (he wanted them outta there) and the total came out to $10 all together!! He was very fortunate. You had a 2-in-1 cartridge for 10¢ each and that was a 100+100 with a total of 200 games with no tax at a total of $10. What a experience that was. Eventually, he sold them all after meeting him 12 years later. But he said it took him 8 years to sell them all because it took awhile till the NES retro cave came back in the next decade. Anthony.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarian63 Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 (edited) The two Funcolands near me were actually really good stores. Both had good selection and decent prices. They were much better than the Gamestops that replaced them. Mostly I guess I am comparing them to independent local game shops here in Columbus, Funco was always nearly double the price of the small locals. I guess if there was nothing else they would have been a resource as they did have alot of games. Didn't they have some stupid price sheet... I remember reading one and thinking "no way" "too high" Edited December 6, 2008 by atarian63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 I remember calling in to inquire about buying some NES RPGs and classic arcade ports. I had just bought a top loading NES and those dual page ads in the game mags at the time made Funcoland seem like the folks to call to feed my new toy. The guy on the other end informed me that I "should really upgrade to a SNES or Genesis." I already had a SNES and Genesis. I was wanting Dragon Warrior, Wizardry, or Ultima because there basically were no RPGs for the 16 bit consoles at that time. When I asked about games like Galaga, he could barely hide his contempt. When I asked about Donkey Kong Classics he outright burst into laughter. They didn't have anything in stock and needless to say, I had no desire to buy anything from them after the call was over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cimerians Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Sorry to rain on everyone's parade but they were the sorriest pieces of garbage I've ever saw. I mean...worse than any corner fast food joint in south Chicago. They had basically classic games which were not classic at the time. They were managed horribly. If you were lucky you met a gamer who worked there. 99% of the time you didn't. It was some schmuck behind the counter (or deadbeat). The only cool thing is they hung on to Nes games for pretty long and of course always threw out the boxes and manuals. (If you were lucky then feel happy). No....I dont want to remember Funcoland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MausGames Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Funcoland advertised in my favorite video game magazines in the 80's! I used to send in games for trade, and buy all the cheaper titles. I was pretty excited and then quickly disappointed when I found the Funcoland store at the mall in Dayton Ohio. Or maybe it was in Fairborn, I can't remember... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iswitt Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 There is a Funcoland in Florence, KY (literally right next to a GS) and they are still selling SOME older stuff. It's mostly like a GS now, but they have some interesting stuff every now and then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yuppicide Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 I used to work at Funcoland before they were owned by whatever company owns them now. We used to open the older games because some had the Famicom converter inside. There was a guy who used to come in and he imported stuff from Japan. He used to offer me multicarts all the time. My friend came often since he drove me to work. He'd hang around and wait for new stuff to come in. Sometimes making a side-deal with the person rather than Funco buying the stuff. He got friendly with the manager and he would let him take game boxes for his collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaperman Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I used to work at Funcoland before they were owned by whatever company owns them now. We used to open the older games because some had the Famicom converter inside. There was a guy who used to come in and he imported stuff from Japan. He used to offer me multicarts all the time. My friend came often since he drove me to work. He'd hang around and wait for new stuff to come in. Sometimes making a side-deal with the person rather than Funco buying the stuff. He got friendly with the manager and he would let him take game boxes for his collection. so, 'poorly managed' is the jist of that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akator Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I didn't visit a Funco Land until the late 90s when they became more common in Virginia. At the time I saw a lot of trends that Game Stop now common at Game Stop. On the positive side, it was Dreamcast central in 1999 and the best place to play Dreamcast games before buying, with multiple systems set up for customers to play. They were really pushing the console and would swap out Dreamcast games so customers could play them, something they wouldn't do for other systems. That also lead to it becoming like an arcade, always filled with kids. While that's cool, it also made things more difficult when actually trying to purchase something -- the non-paying, game playing customers were always in the way and taking up too much employee time. It would be nice if there was a current chain with some of those qualities, only a better management of "game testers." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yuppicide Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I don't usually get drunk enough to puke.. I know my limit. Well, I went to this New Years party and the next day my friend drove me in to work at Funco. He asked what I had all over the back of my army jacket. I said nothing that I know of. Once I got into work and took off the jacket I saw it was covered in puke. No clue how it got there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christianscott27 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I used to buy a lot consoles at flea markets and yard sales just to get the games and then I'd trade in the hardware at funco for even more games. It was like organic game farming. I remember getting those trade in value lists and studying them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegamezmaster Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 There used to be two where I lived. The best thing was they would put any used game manual in boxes that you could look at. Many a time I'd aske if I could just have the whole box of manuals and they'd always say sure. Ah the good old days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted December 12, 2008 Author Share Posted December 12, 2008 Wow i didn't think there was one Funcoland left and you bet i remember them always trying to sale thoses dang NES Cleaners,lol. Oh yeah, those cleaners. I still have 4 of them. Man they were crazy. Anthony.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Climber Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 I remember the manager telling me if I didn't buy a game cleaner he wouldn't warranty the NES I was purchasing, not even for one second! Basically it would be sold as~is. I told him that was bullshit. That was my first major disappointment with what has now become the all time greatest disappointment in video game stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 Don't forget that when you asked to buy a used game that it would be encased in a cardboard box with the word Funcoland on it. Very annoying. I think I still have a few of those around somewhere, along with some of those old newspaper-style price lists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted December 12, 2008 Author Share Posted December 12, 2008 Hi guys, I think I have some of those Funcoland circulars around too. To bad I trash the rest of them. Anthony.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE 1 2 P Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 I remember Funcoland. I hated their disc-only sleeve copies. That reminds me of Gamestop. I wonder why...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted December 13, 2008 Author Share Posted December 13, 2008 I remember Funcoland. I hated their disc-only sleeve copies. That reminds me of Gamestop. I wonder why...... Same here. Anthony.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted December 13, 2008 Author Share Posted December 13, 2008 There is a Funcoland in Florence, KY (literally right next to a GS) and they are still selling SOME older stuff. It's mostly like a GS now, but they have some interesting stuff every now and then. Hi guys, Man!! A Gamestop & a Funcoland side-by-side? That's awesome. Post a picture of that if you have a chance. Anthony.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshilime Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 :_( at lose of funco land near me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 :_( at lose of funco land near me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpgfaker Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I really enjoyed Funco...I always took their monthly pricing and played it like the stock market, buy cheap and wait till the value went up....got a lot of free games that way. Sometimes I'd see a price cheaper elsewhere and buy it just to nail better trade credit...this went on for years, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilsonCat Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I passed a Funcoland this past weekend near the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove, NY. It's been there a while and never changed into a Gamestop. Not sure what it looks like in there as I didn't have time to stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinjaWarrior Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I loved Funcoland..Super Mario Bros. for $25... I remembered getting a Super Mario Bros. 3 Box there & I still have it I also went to Vidots up the street..that where I got my first NES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuarterArcade Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 As mentioned they were great for oddball NES games, I filled in a lot of holes in my collection through their website, probably 10-12 years ago. Most odd games were $.50-$3.00 and if you ordered online or mail order most were available. Of course as a collector of complete games, it was dissappointing that you never got the box and rarely the instructions. I spoke to one employee who said any used game boxes were tossed. I do agree the selection at a local store varied greatly, what was the point of that huge price list when only 10% of the games were in stock? Anthony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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