Frustratingly crazy prices...

[cybercylon]

I have this store about 40 minutes north of my house the charges stupid prices on most of their stuff, yet they are always busy and seem to be moving inventory, based on my visits. The only thing I can figure is that there are certain collectors for classic systems that will pay just about anything for that "must have" game cart, and are too lazy to shop around or look online.

 

I think you're right. Some people like the instant gratification of having it their hands and seeing it in person. Which I can't always blame them, its hard to trust some online retailers and eBay sellers.

 

There is also knowing what you are getting aside from the instant gratification. The is a classic store in a mall about 40 minutes away from me that I will occasionally buy a system from. Yes, it's over priced, though those prices quoted by the original poster are excessive even for this place. But there is something to be said for being able to buy it sight seen that is not a grubby, banged up POS and having a return policy to boot.

[GideonsDad]

This may be somewhat off-topic for the thread but the title is "Frustratingly crazy prices...". I was at GameStop on Saturday and glanced at the pre-owned GBA games display and saw they were selling Pokemon Emerald for $40!!!??? Anyone know why?

 

GideonsDad

[STICH666]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyUpT0g2KAE

 

Wow.

[Rik]

Inflation affects everything,and its just going to get worse.All malls are being torn down around here now,and strip malls built in their place.Electricity rates have skyrocketed which in turn raised the rent,thus having to increase prices,which made people simply avoid buying.Malls cost may more to operate obviously.I can see why many stores closed their doors.This is a shame,no more walking around in a nice warm mall in the winter,and a nice cool mall in the summer.

[marcfrick2112]

In my area, all but 1 store that sells classic stuff, either went belly-up, or became a Mega Giant Super Game store....

 

Gone is the Council of the Blind thrift where I bought a boxed 4-port 5200 for $25 (I talked them down from $50).... or the Music Recyclery that had a case of Genesis games... MUSHA for $4.67... They seemed to price carts almost randomly.

 

Now, all I have is CD exchange, or is it now Mega Media Exchange... again, some prices are pretty high... Thier 2600 games are usually from .99 to $3.99, but all are fairly common...

 

It is nice to have a local store that has a Saturn ($34.99) for sale, tho. (Even tho I already have 2.)

[Lemmi]

Hehe, reminds me of the Gibraltar Trade Center in my area.

For one, this dirt mall costs $2 to even get in, so I hardly ever go (unlike the Taylor Trade Center, which I go to weekly and 9/10 buy something) but the vendors there are straight up hoarders.

Some of the vendors there have had some of the same games and systems for the past 6+ years!

I don't know how they are surviving other than modern game or DVD sales.

$65 for a sega CD? I saw a Sega with CD & 32x + a game for $40 at TTC.

There was also a vendor there with Final Doom in a cracked case and a scratched up disk, wanted $45, also Command & Conquer for $35, which was also in barely acceptable condition.

 

And as always, when you approach them about their prices, they try to pull that "I bought it for more" or "ebay prices.." crap, when I know full and well I could easily get both games together for $45. I walked away saying "You should lower your prices, you'll get more sales".

 

heh i live 10 min from the trade center, but i havent been there in about 3 years, ive been curious to know if the booth called Game Over is still there (a black guy ran it), i got some awesome deals from that guy in the past

snatcher for $20 -- sealed lunar and arc the lad for the playstation $40 each, and when i sold them last year i made a profit of $220

[shadow460]

I just got mine. I find cheap games all the time, but yesterday I found Wabbit in the wild for $12. Ouch!! I mentioned that it was kinda high, but when offered a discount I wefused since they'd just handed over a missing piece free of charge for something else I'd purchased the day before.

 

Time to whack some wabbits!

Edited December 24, 2009 by shadow460

[4Ks]

I've seen some crazy things at my local game store. Super Mario World for $20.00, used white DS Lite for $110.00, Metal Slug: 1st Mission for $18.00, Super Mario Bros. 2 & 3 for $18.00 each, model 2 Sega CD for $40.00, Super Mario All-Stars for $25.00, and many others. Another thing that I don't like about that store is how they got rid of their Jaguar, 32X, and 3DO sections so they could have HD-DVD and PlayStation 3 paraphenalia.

[shadow460]

SMB 1 goes for $35 at the Game X Change stores here. It's so crazy you could literally buy it for a couple bucks at one store then turn and flip it for $15 somewhere else.

[GrandviewCoin]

Well, the Mega Media is now pitching all Sega Genesis boxes unless they have any value.. IE big $$$

 

Also they are cherry picking titles and inflating costs on them..

 

Milwaukee pretty much sucks for classic gaming.

 

And it feels like selling your soul to buy anything from that place on Greenfield Ave..

[Austin]

I went to visit the local Play 'n Trade today and found that they have been closed down (The last time I was there was a little over a month ago). It looks like their way-overpriced classic games didn't do too well for them.

[Mirage]

Well, the Mega Media is now pitching all Sega Genesis boxes unless they have any value.. IE big $$$

 

Also they are cherry picking titles and inflating costs on them..

 

Milwaukee pretty much sucks for classic gaming.

 

And it feels like selling your soul to buy anything from that place on Greenfield Ave..

 

What? They're throwing away boxes? I saw that they just had the stacks of NES/N64/SNES/Genesis carts, but didn't think anything of the fact that there weren't any boxes.

 

(This paragraph is if by "that place on Greenfield Ave", you're referring to the MegaMediaXchange on 76th in Greenfield, not sure if you are). I had sort of a different view of them though... I didn't think most of their prices were horrible. It was sort of hit-and-miss. They had carts I wouldn't pay $10 for (and haven't seen priced higher than $10) priced at $25, but on the lower end, they had some decent ones for $4-6 that would go for that or more on the 'bay... and when you figure you're not paying shipping. I was really pleasantly surprised when I went in there.

 

But if they're throwing out boxes or doing anything else non-collector-friendly like that... I won't give them another penny. Not that I thought they gave a crap, but to do that is just crazy.

[chuckwalla]

At least everyone's finally forgotten about that Antiques Roadshow episode...

 

Holy Cow! Thanks for stirring up some bad memories (kidding!)

Years ago the parents of an ex-girlfriend (who were actually very big on collectibles and antiques) gave me their Atari 2600 (with games and the multiplexer, all in brand new condition that he had stored away for years). I still remember her telling me that she and her family watched that show with that B.S.'er on tv telling everyone that an Atari 2600 sold for something like $500 (correct me if i'm wrong), and I remember seeing that show and rolling my eyes back saying "you're so full of s***! I told her that the guy was full of it and that I collect and play the stuff and she didn't believe me - until I showed her a few online dealers who sell complete systems for $40 or so. BEWARE VIEWERS!

 

ANYWAY, i've noticed that prices are still high on ebay, craigslist, and at the few local retail outlets that sell classic video games and even higher than usual recently. There have been some good buys (I got a loose copy of Sega Genesis Gunstar Heroes for $9 shipped in November) but they're generally overpriced.

 

Cherish what you have, especially in these times!

[shadow460]

You'd be surprised at how many places throw the boxes away. Even if games come in used and CIB, there are some places with explicit instructions to throw out the box and manual and sell the cartridge loose. Of course, many of those never make it to the trash can. Often they are saved for certain customers.

 

Well, the Mega Media is now pitching all Sega Genesis boxes unless they have any value.. IE big $$$

 

Also they are cherry picking titles and inflating costs on them..

 

Milwaukee pretty much sucks for classic gaming.

 

And it feels like selling your soul to buy anything from that place on Greenfield Ave..

 

What? They're throwing away boxes? I saw that they just had the stacks of NES/N64/SNES/Genesis carts, but didn't think anything of the fact that there weren't any boxes.

 

(This paragraph is if by "that place on Greenfield Ave", you're referring to the MegaMediaXchange on 76th in Greenfield, not sure if you are). I had sort of a different view of them though... I didn't think most of their prices were horrible. It was sort of hit-and-miss. They had carts I wouldn't pay $10 for (and haven't seen priced higher than $10) priced at $25, but on the lower end, they had some decent ones for $4-6 that would go for that or more on the 'bay... and when you figure you're not paying shipping. I was really pleasantly surprised when I went in there.

 

But if they're throwing out boxes or doing anything else non-collector-friendly like that... I won't give them another penny. Not that I thought they gave a crap, but to do that is just crazy.

[Mirage]

You'd be surprised at how many places throw the boxes away. Even if games come in used and CIB, there are some places with explicit instructions to throw out the box and manual and sell the cartridge loose. Of course, many of those never make it to the trash can. Often they are saved for certain customers.

 

 

I can understand it for space and logistical considerations. It still infuriates me. Unfortunately, I can't see myself ever becoming a regular enough customer to get special box treatment. There's just not that many games I want anymore that they'd have. At least some will make it to a collector, that's slight consolation.

[kyle]

They will be closed by this time next year

[GrandviewCoin]

You'd be surprised at how many places throw the boxes away. Even if games come in used and CIB, there are some places with explicit instructions to throw out the box and manual and sell the cartridge loose. Of course, many of those never make it to the trash can. Often they are saved for certain customers.

 

 

I can understand it for space and logistical considerations. It still infuriates me. Unfortunately, I can't see myself ever becoming a regular enough customer to get special box treatment. There's just not that many games I want anymore that they'd have. At least some will make it to a collector, that's slight consolation.

 

 

 

Well I was told by a senior employee, that due to theft, they were going to throw all boxes away unless the game carried any value.

 

One day I go in, lots of Sega in boxes, next time there isn't even a shelf dedicated to them..

 

And the place on like 72nd on Greenfield in West Allis.. ah yeah, Record Head.. I HATE them.. seriously..

 

Oh and the second offer on stuff they don't really want.. just don't ever do it..

[Mirage]

 

Well I was told by a senior employee, that due to theft, they were going to throw all boxes away unless the game carried any value.

 

One day I go in, lots of Sega in boxes, next time there isn't even a shelf dedicated to them..

 

And the place on like 72nd on Greenfield in West Allis.. ah yeah, Record Head.. I HATE them.. seriously..

 

Oh and the second offer on stuff they don't really want.. just don't ever do it..

 

Gotcha. Well, the boxes thing is ridiculous seeing as how they have all the loose games in a big glass case that is 80% empty. And a 2600 in a huge case all alone, so it's not like they don't have the space. Easier to see all the labels I guess. Whatever, just ticks me off to see good stuff go to waste. I wonder if they're moving away from classic games altogether...

 

Yeah, Record Head is nuts. I haven't been there in years, but I remember them pricing common 2600 carts starting at about $5 each, and on up the crazy ladder from there. I did once find a mint Cosmic Swarm for $5 though, so I bought that. Milwaukee does pretty much suck for classic gaming, but we have the MGC, so... I guess that sort of makes up for it!

[STICH666]

I've seen some crazy things at my local game store. Super Mario World for $20.00, used white DS Lite for $110.00, Metal Slug: 1st Mission for $18.00, Super Mario Bros. 2 & 3 for $18.00 each, model 2 Sega CD for $40.00, Super Mario All-Stars for $25.00, and many others. Another thing that I don't like about that store is how they got rid of their Jaguar, 32X, and 3DO sections so they could have HD-DVD and PlayStation 3 paraphenalia.

Those prices are actually pretty fair.

[Zap!]

You'd be surprised at how many places throw the boxes away. Even if games come in used and CIB, there are some places with explicit instructions to throw out the box and manual and sell the cartridge loose. Of course, many of those never make it to the trash can. Often they are saved for certain customers.

 

 

I can understand it for space and logistical considerations. It still infuriates me. Unfortunately, I can't see myself ever becoming a regular enough customer to get special box treatment. There's just not that many games I want anymore that they'd have. At least some will make it to a collector, that's slight consolation.

 

You said special box treatment.

 

<flashes back to '94 to his Beavis and Butthead days>

[Rev. Rob]

 

 

You said special box treatment.

 

<flashes back to '94 to his Beavis and Butthead days>

 

Fuckin' awesome, dude.

Edited January 17, 2010 by Rev. Rob

[Rev. Rob]

We don't have a lot of vintage game store in the Phoenix area. We do have a few options, Games+, Bookman's, or Goodwill/Pawn Shop/Savers/Yard Sales. The latter is the luck of the draw, really.

 

I've bitched about Games+ here before in great detail, how they don't price anything and actually check eBay BIN prices right in front of you to set the price of the games when you bring them to the counter. Oh, I can go on.

 

I haven't complained about Bookman's, because I generally like them, and a good deal can be had at their stores. However, I dislike when stores set a "generic" price for games, and Bookman's practices this with commons. NES or Genesis games that ought to be a dollar or so are priced at $3.00 because that's their flat price. I hate that.

[shadow460]

They will be closed by this time next year

 

Game X Change has been chuckin' boxes for at least five years now with little sign of closing up. They're hurting, but they're not in grave danger.