The Official "Thrift finds" Thread

[SRGilbert]

Hit the motherlode on craigslist today--$40 for 150 carts R1 to R4. I've traded 82 of them off, have a deal in the works fo four more, and ten or twelve are going into my collection.

 

Link while it's there.

Nice, I love Craigslist, if you pay attention, you can get some really great deals without the BS of Ebay.

[SRGilbert]

The only game related thing I found today at the yard sales was a set of four "Add'n Stac" video game store units, little interlocking plastic Atari cart holders. Got 'em for a quarter! The lady was curious, she says "So, what are you going to use those for?" I said it's for Atari carts and she was suprised I knew, and that's what they used them for years ago. When I told her I collect old game stuff, she told me they had a Turbografix and a bunch of games if I were interested, but she had to ask her son how much he wanted for it. I stopped back later and it turned out he didn't want to sell it after all. It was funny, when she tried to guess what they might want, she said $25, and said it as if it were a lot.

 

Oh well........

 

Another interesting find today was a 18x24" lightbox. Like the kind for backlit posters, about 5 inches deep, all metal frame, and it works. Was marked at $5, guy sold it to me for $2. Not sure what I'll use it for yet, but it's the perfect size to display a pinball machine backglass, so that could be cool. Looking around online and something like this would normally run about $200.

Edited May 10, 2008 by SRGilbert

[shadow460]

I just sold another large part of that Craigslist lot for $24 in store credit, which we used. Total, we've got about $44 in store credit from two places, and we spent $40 on the lot. I'll post up the games I kept later.

 

Not a bad deal, IMO. We're only out the money spent on gas to get to and fro, and not even that since I held back perhaps a dozen carts.

 

I got lucky last weekend, too, but it was on computer parts. Maybe my luck will continue, and if I can keep up a supply of large lots, I might consider reselling some until my collection gets filled up.

[Quadhorn]

How do's, all,

 

The UK doesn't really have thrift stores in the same way as the US; what charity shops and second hand stores there are rarely have much if any electronic stuff and the few independant games shops that have retro stuff are rapidly vanishing. So we don't get the kind of deals you all seem to. On the other hand, sometimes we get more than we expected.

 

Gamestation were selling pre-owned Gamecubes for £25, with one controller and any two games under £15 each. (For comparison, the local pawn shops are selling them at £15 bare.) They also had pre-owned bongo sets on at 2 for £20, each with either Donkey Konga 1 or 2 ... which of course are less than £15 each. They didn't have any loose pre-owned Gamecubes so they gave me one of the "new" boxed old stock ones, along with their standard 2-year warranty, the battered box of which contained further unexpected goodies.

 

In all, for £25, I got:

 

* A new original purple flavour Gamecube, with 2yr warranty, one pad and cables,

* A 3rd party spare controller (happened to be in the box),

* 2 sets of bongos (turned out to be boxed and new, not pre-owned),

* Donkey Konga 1 and Donkey Konga 2 (both new, factory sealed),

* Resident Evil 4 (with instructions in an unlabelled case, also in the box),

* Zelda Collectors Edition (the NES and N64 Zelda games ... loose in the RE4 case), and

* A memory card (also found in the RE4 case)

 

... not bad for an otherwise aimless wander through town.

[wccw mark]

How do's, all,

 

The UK doesn't really have thrift stores in the same way as the US; what charity shops and second hand stores there are rarely have much if any electronic stuff and the few independant games shops that have retro stuff are rapidly vanishing. So we don't get the kind of deals you all seem to. On the other hand, sometimes we get more than we expected.

 

Gamestation were selling pre-owned Gamecubes for £25, with one controller and any two games under £15 each. (For comparison, the local pawn shops are selling them at £15 bare.) They also had pre-owned bongo sets on at 2 for £20, each with either Donkey Konga 1 or 2 ... which of course are less than £15 each. They didn't have any loose pre-owned Gamecubes so they gave me one of the "new" boxed old stock ones, along with their standard 2-year warranty, the battered box of which contained further unexpected goodies.

 

In all, for £25, I got:

 

* A new original purple flavour Gamecube, with 2yr warranty, one pad and cables,

* A 3rd party spare controller (happened to be in the box),

* 2 sets of bongos (turned out to be boxed and new, not pre-owned),

* Donkey Konga 1 and Donkey Konga 2 (both new, factory sealed),

* Resident Evil 4 (with instructions in an unlabelled case, also in the box),

* Zelda Collectors Edition (the NES and N64 Zelda games ... loose in the RE4 case), and

* A memory card (also found in the RE4 case)

 

... not bad for an otherwise aimless wander through town.

doesnt uk have what's called boot sales where people sell all kinds of stuff?i used to buy/trade alot to a fellow named adam in uk that would get all kinds of sms games at these boot sales for cheap.he would find all kinds of classic games and stuff.i think he went by the name caterize on digitalpress. Edited May 11, 2008 by wccw mark

[vrocko]

Hi everyone, well went back to the pawn shop for those other 2600 games and the son of a gun raised them all $5 bucks! I don't like it when people do that. It really irritates me. I left without buying a thing. He had a couple 7800 games too but he raised the price on them. You know people shouldn't get so greedy. I suppose somebody will go in there and buy the one's that are left. What do you guys think? Was I wrong to leave them? They are one's I don't have. Anyway so I went to some garage sales instead. Found some 3DO and Atari Jaguar CD's at one place. 2 3DO samplers, Crash and Burn, Vid Grid, a Myst Demo and Baldies. Got them all for $2.00. Not a bad deal and I had not seen the 2 3DO samplers before. I think one was a pack in with the system but it had a couple games on it. I'd not seen before. I asked about the systems themselves but he had already sold those. Anybody need a Crash and Burn, Vid Grid or a Myst Demo? I've got 2 of each now. Let me know.

 

Rich

[BeerGnome]

Another interesting find today was a 18x24" lightbox. Like the kind for backlit posters, about 5 inches deep, all metal frame, and it works. Was marked at $5, guy sold it to me for $2. Not sure what I'll use it for yet, but it's the perfect size to display a pinball machine backglass, so that could be cool. Looking around online and something like this would normally run about $200.

 

those things were typicaly used by graphic artists before the advent of "layers" in photoshop.

 

we have one down in the beer mines for lining up tap handle decals.. I use it for lining up printed out PDF plans for model airplanes

[shadow460]

Hi everyone, well went back to the pawn shop for those other 2600 games and the son of a gun raised them all $5 bucks! I don't like it when people do that. It really irritates me. I left without buying a thing. He had a couple 7800 games too but he raised the price on them. You know people shouldn't get so greedy. I suppose somebody will go in there and buy the one's that are left. What do you guys think? Was I wrong to leave them? They are one's I don't have. Anyway so I went to some garage sales instead. Found some 3DO and Atari Jaguar CD's at one place. 2 3DO samplers, Crash and Burn, Vid Grid, a Myst Demo and Baldies. Got them all for $2.00. Not a bad deal and I had not seen the 2 3DO samplers before. I think one was a pack in with the system but it had a couple games on it. I'd not seen before. I asked about the systems themselves but he had already sold those. Anybody need a Crash and Burn, Vid Grid or a Myst Demo? I've got 2 of each now. Let me know.

 

Rich

 

Rule of thumb, everything in the pawn shop is overpriced useless junk. It doesn't matter if you really want the item or it's a great deal, you must act as if it's all overpriced useless junk and be insulted that anyone, much less a pawnbroker, would even think you were willing to pay that much money for this piece of crap.

 

If you're interested in one item in a set, and you think you might want the whole set at some point, get it all at once. At the same time, pretend like the price is too high and that you really have to think about it before you buy. Don't ever get excited over anything in a pawn shop--the next time a similar item comes in, it will be priced higher.

 

I've dealt with one too many absolute jerks behind the counter of the pawn shop, and I rarely ever go into any of them today. Too many pawnbrokers treat me like scum, and I will not have it.

[Quadhorn]

doesnt uk have what's called boot sales where people sell all kinds of stuff? [...]

Aye, there are car boot sales, but those near us never seem to have anything much. Occassionally a little Dreamcast or PSX stuff, but mainly copies or over-priced second-hand games for whatever the current generation of consoles are. For how much they want, I'm unwilling to risk the money on something that might not work from people who likely won't be there next time you go.

[vrocko]

Hi everyone, well went back to the pawn shop for those other 2600 games and the son of a gun raised them all $5 bucks! I don't like it when people do that. It really irritates me. I left without buying a thing. He had a couple 7800 games too but he raised the price on them. You know people shouldn't get so greedy. I suppose somebody will go in there and buy the one's that are left. What do you guys think? Was I wrong to leave them? They are one's I don't have. Anyway so I went to some garage sales instead. Found some 3DO and Atari Jaguar CD's at one place. 2 3DO samplers, Crash and Burn, Vid Grid, a Myst Demo and Baldies. Got them all for $2.00. Not a bad deal and I had not seen the 2 3DO samplers before. I think one was a pack in with the system but it had a couple games on it. I'd not seen before. I asked about the systems themselves but he had already sold those. Anybody need a Crash and Burn, Vid Grid or a Myst Demo? I've got 2 of each now. Let me know.

 

Rich

 

Rule of thumb, everything in the pawn shop is overpriced useless junk. It doesn't matter if you really want the item or it's a great deal, you must act as if it's all overpriced useless junk and be insulted that anyone, much less a pawnbroker, would even think you were willing to pay that much money for this piece of crap.

 

If you're interested in one item in a set, and you think you might want the whole set at some point, get it all at once. At the same time, pretend like the price is too high and that you really have to think about it before you buy. Don't ever get excited over anything in a pawn shop--the next time a similar item comes in, it will be priced higher.

 

I've dealt with one too many absolute jerks behind the counter of the pawn shop, and I rarely ever go into any of them today. Too many pawnbrokers treat me like scum, and I will not have it.

 

Thanks gunslinger! I'll remember that. I just hate when somebody bumps up the price like that, gee kind of like the gas companies! It's just his way of trying to get more money from me. What its done has drive me away from his shop. He can sit on those carts for the rest of his life for all I care. I should have bought all of them as soon as I saw them but didn't have the cash on me. Ah well live and learn. I'll find more 2600 cart's I'm sure. Got to hit more garage sales this year! Take care!

 

Rich

[Ghost Soldier]

Had a decent weekend for finds.

 

Cyborgirl Pinball NIB PC .29

Crash & Burn Pinball NIB PC .29

Half-Life PC 1.49

Raft Rider 2600 2.00

Rock & Roll Racing Gen .50

Jeopardy! Gen .50

Genesis 3 Button Controller .50

Lode Runner NES 1.49

Alfred Chicken NES 1.49

3x Gameboy Game Cases .50

Super Gameboy SNES .99

Rocket Power CIB PS1 1.49

Pandemonium 2 CIB PS1 1.49

Bushido Blade CIB PS1 1.00

PS1 Controller Extension Cable .29

Spawn CIB DC 1.00

Tetris Plug & Play 2.49

Electronic Pinball Handheld 1.00

Coleco Head to Head Plug & Play 1.49

Various Nintendo and Sega Toys 1.00

Game Informer Mag. Jun 07 .19

Hulk Strategy Guide .19

 

Edited May 12, 2008 by Ghost Soldier

[jboypacman]

Some nice finds as always Ghost congrats.

[wccw mark]

you are the man ghost!!especially nice find that spawn for dreamcast is!!

[MFoolsRun]

I've gotten some decent stuff in the past week

 

SNES ($3/ea)

Secret of Evermore

Secret of Mana (second copy, trade bait!)

Ultima The False Prophet

Wordtris

Paperboy2

Arkanoid

Illusion of Gaia

 

Genesis ($3/ea)

Sonic 3D Blast

Vectorman2

Soldier of Fortune

Lightning Force

 

NES ($2/ea)

Marble Madness

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Super Mario 3 (in nicer shape than any of my copies)

Super Sprint (Tengen black cart)

Barker Bill's Trick Shooting

Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt (can you ever have too many?)

 

N64 ($3/ea)

Mario Party

Mario Tennis

Perfect Dark

Diddy Kong Racing

 

And some other stuff I can't remember right now.

[madhatter667]

Some really nice SNES finds. Evermore, and Ultima should eat up many hours of your life! Ha ha ha!

Secret of Mana is a great game. Should be solid trade fodder. Ilusion of Gaia is a fun one as well. My SNES is pretty much an RPG machine....

[Ghost Soldier]

Congrats on the excellent finds MFoolsRun.

[classicgamer24]

i agree ghost soldier excellent finds there mfoolsrun

[wccw mark]

great finds mfoolsrun!!

[madhatter667]

Not a great find, but useful...

I found a small stack (about 15) of 720K DSDD floppy disks for $.10 each. These will be very useful as soon as I learn how to write ST disk images to them. Heh heh heh.

 

SNES Mouse. This is the second SNES mouse I have seen, and actually in better shape than the last one I found. Why can't I find a PSX or ST mouse? I'd have immediate uses for those (point and click games like Clocktower and Broke Sword for the PSX are really fun, and I think the mouse would speed up my response times);

[vrocko]

Well found some more games at the local Goodwill yesterday.

 

Berzerk (cart only)

Super Mario Bros. 2 (in box with everything)

Super Mario Bros. 3 (in box with everything)

Little Nemo (in box with everything)

Battletoads (in box with everything)

 

All for $10.00, 1.99 a piece. I left a few PS1 games there, all in fair shape but nothing really good unless someone wants a Planet of the Apes, and a Dreamcast game, 2K1 Football which I have. I was suprised to see the Nintendo games boxed with everything in them. Thought there might be a NES around and asked but they didn't have it. I'm selling the NES games. I don't have one at home anymore, mine died eventually, so I'm going to see if anyone wants them. They did have a bunch of Sega Game Gear and Gameboy games. One "grab" bag had Game Gear and Gameboy games, 14 all together with a couple duplicates, in it for $50 and a set of 4 Gameboy games for $40. Only a couple Game Gear games had cases all the rest were just the carts. The pricing was weird though, $50 for 14 games then $40 for 4, and not a good 4 more like Mary Kate and Ashley stuff. Didn't pick them up, didn't have the cash on me at the time. Might go back today and get them today. I'll let you know!

 

Rich

[RickHarrisMaine]

I picked up a new and sealed Shadowman for the N64 for $4.99

[classicgamer24]

got a silver gameboy sp for 19.99 a little on the dirty side but it works im happy

[SpendTooMuchOnAtari]

I just picked up 8 complete Nintendo DS titles because I'm obsessive compulsive and haven't been able to pass up used DS games that I don't have when I see them out and about. So, this isn't really a deal, in fact, I paid too much! Luckily I did have some trade that I didn't have much invested in and they gave me more than I paid for the stuff I brought in.

 

Uno / Skip-Bo / Uno Free Fall

Star Wars Lethal Alliance

Transformers: Decepticons

Smart Boy's Gameroom

The Golden Compass

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - doesn't do too bad on ebay and this one I'm actually excited to play

The Little Mermaid

Ben 10: Protector of Earth - does suprisingly well on ebay for some reason

 

I paid about $9.31 each which includes the ridiculous 8+% AZ tax and they are for my collection, not to resell.

 

I did get a dollar off the order for having a mustache though....

they run some weird promotions sometimes.

[MFoolsRun]

Puzzle Quest is great! Definitely worth $10.

[gulag picture radio]

Xbox for $6. The dvd drive is broken, but I think that I have some spares... Boots up, so I'm suspecting that it'll work fine (though some of the dashboard animations are a bit jerky. I wonder if one can defrag an Xbox drive?). If it works, then I'm going to try softmodding it.

 

Game Cube with LCD screen, rechargeable battery pack (non functional, but I can solder new batts in), 2x controllers, army men game, smash brothers melee & one more title. All for $15.