Garage Sale Corner

[Philflound]

Maybe if enough of us show interest in having a topic called "Garage Sale Corner", the Al's may consider it. In this topic, we can tell of our expeditions on finding games in the wild. Since this gets thrown around on different topics, it would be cool to centralize it.

 

So, I'm going to start this week's finds for me today. There wasn't too much in the way of vintage video games. I did get a VIC-20 in the box for $5.00, a Centipede board game for $1.00 which I may sell (have to check if my original one is complete), and 2 NES games for 75 cents each Star Wars ESB and 8 Eyes. Picked up a Pac-Man colorforms for a buck, though I don't know if that is complete.

 

With non-video game items, I hit a gold mine. At least it seemed to be a gold mine to me. I got a 2-XL with a ripped box and some of the carts for about $8.00. I'm guestimating this, since it was part of a lot. Got tons of vintage boardgames, most were from the 1950s and 1960s. These averaged between $1-2, since I got them from 2 different people.

 

I missed out on some nice wordprocessing typewriters for $5.00 each. Some greedy bastard grabbed all 4. All I wanted was one.

 

So what goodies did you guys & gals find?

 

Phil

[Philflound]

Seems like no one cares about doing this I see. Have no replies. Maybe I just posted it in the wrong title. See, we should make a new title. Al's? What do you think?

 

Phil

[Atarinvader]

IMHO I don't think there are enough threads to justify it. Maybe if the auctions forum was changed to include the wild...?

[Philflound]

Well, it really can cover anything in the wild. Thrift stores, flea markets, whatever. But I for one would like to hear about how people got deals on their vintage video games.

 

Phil

[Rockin' Kat]

well...... I really don't know what would be called a good deal on a 2600A..... I got one for $4 at my local goodwill a few days ago.....still have no power supply for it though.....all I've been able to do with it is wipe all the gooey dirt off it...and make it all shiny and stuff....that and It had an astroblast cartridge mounted in the cart port so I bought that too.... 99 cents.....

 

I rarely have the time/transportation to go to garage sales.... usually I just find moldy furnature and broken stereo equipment when I acctually get to stop at one....

 

-MSC

[bradjewell]

i got an atari 800xl computer with 410 tape drive, and power supply, and 3 5200 games: pole position, pac man, and dig dug for 10 dollars. I was pretty happy about it. I gotta clean it all up.

 

Brad

[tbfinley2]

All I ever find at yard sales are baby clothes and Nes and Sega Games.Sometimes I feel like Im hunting for the dodo bird.

 

MY WEB PAGE

[AtariDude]

While I find the topic somewhat interesting, some of us would not be able to participate since it seems that depending on what part of the world you are living on, you either can find things readily or not being able to find anything at all (like myself )

[Philflound]

Well it was a suggestion. I love hearing stories of the wild and how people find things. Just like Pitfall Harry with his Crazy Climber and Texas Chainsaw. I gave a whole bunch of advice on how to find games in the wild. For those of you who don't have a good will, Salvation Army, Thrift store, etc near you, consider making a flyer and hanging it up in your local supermarket or put it in the free newspaper bin or racks. There are many ways to acquire this stuff without actually searching too hard.

 

One way is to see if anyone near you cleans attics/basements for a living. Not sure how they would be classified, but the 2XL and the VIC 20 that I got and mentioned in the start of this post came from a guy who did just that. I didn't know this until I began talking with him, but I gave him my business card and told him that if he got anything to give me a call. Hopefully it will pan out and I will get some really good stuff. At least he knows that I want old video games, so he'll put it on the side just for me (hopefully).

 

Or again, take a small classified out. Sometimes my local paper will offer a free classified for a day. Utilize anything that is free. If I remember right, you can sell one item for free up to $100. But in that, put a few games for sale, then mention Also Buying! This might get you some great stuff.

 

So, good luck and hopefully I'll see a section of "In The Wild" soon.

 

Phil

[Rockin' Kat]

I could probably post an ad for taking old Computer equipment off other people's hands in the flyer that goes out to all the residents of the Development I live in, but then I've had my name in there for house sitting for over a year and I havn't recieved any calls for that...so I don't really think that many people acctually even look in the thing....

-MSC

[Philflound]

That's not necessarily true. The big word is money. If people can get some money for something they have sitting in their closet, they will be hastier to call you rather than giving you money to perform a job. Spend or receive? Which would you rather have? But it can't hurt doing once. What you want to do though is try to make a bulk amount. Goto Kinkos or Staples and make a larger quantity, since your cost will drop per copy.

 

If you have a supermarket near you, open up the free newspaper bin. Take all of the newspapers out and insert your flyer in each one, then put them back. If you goto garage sales or flea markets or whatever, and you don't see what you are looking for at a person's place, hand them a flyer. Tell them you buy the items on the flyer, and if they don't personally have them, try to get them to ask friends and family who might have them. Remember, money talks.

 

Good luck.

 

Phil

[Rockin' Kat]

Hmm... I guess I'll go ahead and try it... but not untill I get a job this summer....