Pre-1984 video game era finds in the wild are a thing of the past

[Video]

I came to the same conclusion about 10 years ago. Some people may see Ebay as a plague or something, but for me, the classic gameing scene dried up befor ebay existed. Ebay gets me access to stuff that simply isn't out there anymore, and I will NEVER see in the wild.

 

I started my game collecting in the late 80's, buying a friends atari, and about 50 games for about $20, and I've done this a few times in the early 90's too. MOSt of my 2600 collection came from local places, same with the Intelivision, whihc I happened onto a complete in box set with like 20 games in about 95, and the 5200, I got a few years earlier, from a store that found they had one in the back and just wanted to get rid of it.

 

But mid 90's on, the scene dried up completely. I still see an occasional Combat or Pac-man, but the fact of the matter is, the big sets, and rare stuff is gone.

 

Incidentally, my collection is about like this.

 

Atari 2600, 90% of my collection came from thrifts

Atari 5200, the only thing that didn't come from a thrift was the trackball.

Intellivision, about half of my collection came from thrifts.

 

Coleco, Odyssey, some other stuff, almost exclusively off of ebay.

 

Nintendo and newer, all bought new, though a few things come from ebay, like the Turbo Graphix, and Advance wars 2.

Edited November 10, 2006 by Video

[birdie3]

The whole "My video game collecting cock is the longest" theme that this thread seems to be headed in is pretty cheesy. If you think that I am a poseur, uniformed, or whatever for my somewhat out dated topic.. My apologies. I can on the other hand totally see how I am somewhat entering the scene too late and to say something like what I have is a bit passe and socially retarded. I guess the other thing that can be learned here is that collecting for this specific era was prime quite a number of years ago and it definitely sucks in more ways than one as of late.

 

Thank God for homebrews and hacks!!

[murfj]

I agree with you, Birdie. At least here in my town, I just don't see this stuff anymore. I go to the thrift stores and they literally have nothing- no systems, no cartridges, no accessories. And all but one video game store in town carry nothing older than the original Playstation, in fact they chuckle and act confused when I ask if they carry any Atari (or even NES) stuff. There is one store that is good that still has a couple of cardboard boxes full of Atari 2600 games, they don't keep inventory of which of these games they have, they just label them all for sale for 94 cents each listing them in the computer as "Atari game". But when I go and dig through the boxes it seems the inventory is different each time, and when I ask they why this is (thinking they have people who are often bringing in Atari games to sell to them) they said they mostly just swap inventory amongst their stores. They tell me that they see almost none of this old Atari stuff coming to be sold, and so for me I'll just have to be happy with buying any games from them that I want, and searching Ebay for anything else.

[candiru]

The whole "My video game collecting cock is the longest" theme that this thread seems to be headed in is pretty cheesy. If you think that I am a poseur, uniformed, or whatever for my somewhat out dated topic.. My apologies. I can on the other hand totally see how I am somewhat entering the scene too late and to say something like what I have is a bit passe and socially retarded. I guess the other thing that can be learned here is that collecting for this specific era was prime quite a number of years ago and it definitely sucks in more ways than one as of late.

 

Thank God for homebrews and hacks!!

 

I'm not sure that anyone was putting you down or trying to sound elite. I think what the guys that have been at it longer are talking about is that initial transition from a dirt-cheap multitude of gaming stuff to hit or miss. Now we're seeing the transition to almost nothing being available outside of eBay or the "I know this stuff goes for a lot of money on eBay, so give me $10 for Pac-Man" crowd. Of course your geographic location can make a big difference too.

 

I've only been somewhat actively thrifting for the past 4 years or so, and I've noticed a gradual decline in that short amount of time. It always picks up a little during the spring and summer though when people are more likely to be doing housecleaning. It's easy to get more pessimistic about thrifting this time of year.

[birdie3]

I have often talked about putting an advertisement in the paper for a few months just to see what happens. There are a few stories on this forum about people who have been quite successful with it. Can anyone else attest to this?

[Wester]

I tried putting up fliers with my number on them before. I left them up for about a week, had a few calls, the only thing I really remember getting is some NES and SNES stuff. It wasn't too bad I got some games I needed and my first Mini SNES.

[youngskywalker]

I started collecting records from thrifts, flea markets, and garage sales in the early 90's and from then til now I've definetly seen less and less good vinyl available. Those big boxes of goodies has turned into a few goodies here and ther. Plus you need to be very persistent to find good stuff.

Since I was finding less recods around I happened to get into this videogame collecting thing about a year and a half ago. The records were'nt around, but the retro gaming stuff was.

But, just in the past year since I've been thrifting the workers get to know a regular and they know what you're after. I just saw a 2600 with power supply paddle and joysticks going for $35, when just a few months earlier I got one from the same place and in better condition for $10.

If I do find a cool cartridge it will be like $5.99 for somthing common.

They are jacking up the prices on anything videogame related now.

[birdie3]

Hmmm... That's funny. I personally have sort of graduated from video game collecting to LP collecting. Haven't had too much luck with it lately though. There seems to be a real thrift store conspiracy here in Kingston. All of the used record shops seem to have first dibs for some reason.

[Atari_Elite]

It's weird. Atari's are easier and cheaper to find online. I found an Atari 2600 on Ebay for 1 cent. And it's been out for a few days and nobody bid on it yet!

[AussieAtari]

I have often talked about putting an advertisement in the paper for a few months just to see what happens. There are a few stories on this forum about people who have been quite successful with it. Can anyone else attest to this?

 

I have not placed ads in newspapers, only community newsletters etc, but the thing to watch out and be prepared for is the people who think that because you advertise, their stuff must be worth a bit and expect way more than you are willing to pay.

[Wester]

It's weird. Atari's are easier and cheaper to find online. I found an Atari 2600 on Ebay for 1 cent. And it's been out for a few days and nobody bid on it yet!

 

I find that most game stuff doesn't get much attention until the last hour of the auction. So, better keep an eye on it.

[chadtower]

 

A bare Colecovision with no games = $20 on ebay

A boxed Microvision and three games = $15 on ebay

A boxed TI-99 4/A computer = $5 on ebay

A 2600 vader with RGA Game selector = ?

Amiga Joyboard = ?

 

 

Now pay to ship them. The price more than doubles.

 

Of course, I do agree on the cost of free time/gas/etc being greater than you'll likely find on most days. Ebay is often the most cost efficient way to get things until you make that rare $400 item for $5 find. They happen... but not very often.

 

 

The annoying thing about placing ads in the paper is that you'll get 10 calls. 5 from people who just want to know what their stuff is worth and still argue with you over your answer. 2 from people who want "$100 beacuse I paid $115 in 1984". 1 from a guy who doesn't have anything and wants to buy stuff from you, but for pennies and wants a 1 year guarantee. 1 from a guy who says he has tons and tons of stuff you can have for almost nothing if you come get it... and then invites you down into his dank basement to dig through dozens of soggy boxes to find a 2600 with hobos living in the cart slot. The last call will be from an old lady that has "a couple of old game boxes and a bunch of games for it that you can have for a couple dollars" but then her son calls back two hours later to yell at you for "tryin ta rip off mah maw".

Edited November 13, 2006 by chadtower

[cyberfluxor]

I saw Vectrex Blitz! yesterday at a game store, nice and loose. Didn't think much of it since I'm not much of a retro gamer, more classic and modern. On any day though I stumble across handful amounts of Atari 2600 games and sometimes 5200 but 7200 are in the middle. Other retro systems are always lacking though such as the Vectrex and Colecovision although they are out there on occasion. As for the 8 and 16-bit systems they are littered everywhere, more so than the PS and N64. The real pleasure for me though is stumbling across those Saturn games because they are always hidden behind everything so you have to really look to see them behind those Sega and Nintendo cartridges. Sometimes there's Dreamcast games chilling on the counter of these places stashed alongside loose audio CDs and DVDs marked as $1, which is nice.

 

I guess I'm lucky with all the stores in my area and the abundance of various things but it's nowhere near the vast finds in other areas I'm sure, but it's a nice feeling to know there's plenty in the wild around me to pick up.

[chadtower]

People who complain about never finding Vectrex stuff should keep in mind it was rare when it was at retail. Not many stores carried it and few people bought it. The odds of finding any Vectrex items at all in the wild are so low that you are far better off going the Ebay route or buying them off a forum.

[AussieAtari]

As things are getting harder to find in the wild and eBay can only be the way to go sometimes, it is concerning to find examples of where sellers restrict where they will send things due to their opinion of what is "economical".

 

Often sellers will only send to local areas or offer pick up only as they either think that the cost of postage will be too high and the buyer will pull out of the sale or they don't want to pack thing up.

 

Post 1984 I know, but last week I wanted to bid on a complete Jaguar system from the States and the seller would not accept my bid as he reckoned it would be uneconomical due to postage costs. I see that as being my decision. In this case the system was USD$35 and the postage would be around USD$70.

 

Considering I really want a Jaguar to get near completing my Atari hardware collection, my options are to pay AUD$250+ locally (rip off), USD$95 + shipping from Bests or via eBay in the States or UK. That made the item economical in my book, but unfortunately not his.

 

As has been mentioned already in this thread, opportunity (thrift) shops are starting to charge more and more for 8-bit systems, especially if in original boxes. I have seen 2 NES systems for more in a Salvation Army store than in a Game Traders recently!

Edited November 13, 2006 by AussieAtari

[strattsp]

I think if you have the attitude that it is dried up and there is nothing out there, than that will be your experience. Certainly thrift stores do not have the stock they did 10 years ago. However, if you are determined to find stuff, it is out there. There is still tons of stuff (older and newer) that gets sold for dirt cheap at yard sales every weekend. (If you show up at noon, I already bought it out from under you though!) Get to the yard sales 15 - 30 minutes before they start and if you don't see what you are looking for, ask. Over 3/4 of my finds are from people saying, "oh yeah, I do have that". I have been collecting since 1996, and this last summer I added about 200 games (atari, sega, nes, n64) to my collection and still pocketed close to $5K after dumping the rest on ebay. Just because you don't think the person has anything, doesn't make it so. - By the way - trailer park community yard sales are gold mines for video games.

 

As far as an ad in the paper goes, I ran a ten day ad and ran out of money after 2 days. I got easily over 50 calls. Some people thought they had gold with pac-man and combat, others literally told me that they were getting ready to pitch their system, and were wondering if I would give them a few bucks for their 5200 with 20 games.

 

There is tons of stuff out there if you are willing to work for it.

[chadtower]

Also, if you're going to run the ad, work out the prices you will pay before the first call comes in. The callers are going to expect you to already know and will settle for a lot less if it sounds like you have a price scheme established. Make sure you're willing to simply turn down someone's stuff if they want too much for it.

[birdie3]

I think if you have the attitude that it is dried up and there is nothing out there, than that will be your experience. Certainly thrift stores do not have the stock they did 10 years ago. However, if you are determined to find stuff, it is out there. There is still tons of stuff (older and newer) that gets sold for dirt cheap at yard sales every weekend. (If you show up at noon, I already bought it out from under you though!) Get to the yard sales 15 - 30 minutes before they start and if you don't see what you are looking for, ask. Over 3/4 of my finds are from people saying, "oh yeah, I do have that". I have been collecting since 1996, and this last summer I added about 200 games (atari, sega, nes, n64) to my collection and still pocketed close to $5K after dumping the rest on ebay. Just because you don't think the person has anything, doesn't make it so. - By the way - trailer park community yard sales are gold mines for video games.

 

As far as an ad in the paper goes, I ran a ten day ad and ran out of money after 2 days. I got easily over 50 calls. Some people thought they had gold with pac-man and combat, others literally told me that they were getting ready to pitch their system, and were wondering if I would give them a few bucks for their 5200 with 20 games.

 

There is tons of stuff out there if you are willing to work for it.

 

This was the kind of posted I was fishing for!! Thanks for the information.

[Bill Brasky]

Most of the stuff I've seen at flea markets is filthy, like it's been sitting there for years on the floor. You can sometimes score Fairchild Channel F carts if you look through the stacks of 8 tracks. They always get put in with them by people who don't know what they are.

[Bruce Tomlin]

Also, if you're going to run the ad, work out the prices you will pay before the first call comes in. The callers are going to expect you to already know and will settle for a lot less if it sounds like you have a price scheme established. Make sure you're willing to simply turn down someone's stuff if they want too much for it.

Right. Something like "$1 per unique cartridge game title (50 cents for duplicates and Genesis/SNES/later sports titles) with a bonus for a large number of unique titles, for boxes, and for instructions, $5-$10 for a console, $1 per controller, $1 for power supply".

[Flack]

The annoying thing about placing ads in the paper is that you'll get 10 calls ...

Yup, pretty much spot on. When that AP article that included pictures of my arcade cabinets came out, I received several calls from people who simply looked me up in the phone book. Most of those were price checks. One was an offer for a non-working Centipede cabinet for $500, three states away. I've never run an ad in the paper but I have posted one on Craig's List before and got the usual offers to sell me $10 SMB/Duck Hunt carts.

 

I can't say not to try the method because you never know what'll happen, just be prepared to turn a lot of the people down (or end up with the world's largest and most expensive Combat collection).

[chadtower]

Right. Something like "$1 per unique cartridge game title (50 cents for duplicates and Genesis/SNES/later sports titles) with a bonus for a large number of unique titles, for boxes, and for instructions, $5-$10 for a console, $1 per controller, $1 for power supply".

 

 

You'll want prices lower than that. Probably half. Or else you'll end up with a shelf full of Genesis consoles you paid $10 each for.

[ubersaurus]

I still see stuff for all generations of consoles. not so much in thrift stores(although the genesis is the big thing in those now) but flea markets and yard sales have given some decent yields.

[Dave Farquhar]

I think if you have the attitude that it is dried up and there is nothing out there, than that will be your experience. Certainly thrift stores do not have the stock they did 10 years ago. However, if you are determined to find stuff, it is out there.

 

There's definitely something to that. My wife came in yesterday with four 2600 carts she got at a thrift store. Nothing terribly rare, but no Combat or Pac-Man either. She paid a quarter each.

 

I find that if I go out with a good attitude, I do better. Some people say it's magic. I don't believe in magic. What I do know is last weekend I went to a sale, it was a total dud, and then the next one was worse, and the one after that was as bad as the second. I got frustrated and got lost on my way to my fourth sale. So there I was, I'd been out for an hour, I'd made it to four measly sales, and I'd spent one lousy dollar and didn't have anything thrilling to show for that. Some weekends I can make it to four sales in my first 15 minutes AND find something really worthwhile at one or more of them. I don't believe that I can control what will be at my next sale with my will, but I do know if I cover more ground I'll find more, and if I have a positive attitude like things are going well, I see things I won't see if I'm down in the dumps about how things are going that day.

 

The other thing I didn't allow myself is that it IS November, and I AM in the midwest, so if I find anything at all at a yard sale the second weekend of November I should be happy.

 

My wife did well the first couple of places she visited, and she had a really good day. For that matter, I ended up having a pretty good day too because I decided to cut my losses, go to a different part of town that was more familiar and where I'd been successful before, and I ended up spending enough that I had to stop at an ATM to get more money.

 

The other thing that helps, and others alluded to this, is to be looking for more than one thing. I look for CDs, video games, and Lionel trains. If you think the supply of video games has dried up in the wild, try looking for Lionel trains! Almost everyone thinks their ultra-common (and beat to hell) starter set that books for $50 is worth thousands. But my wife and I even find those sometimes. And believe it or not, about half the time the price is lower than I would have been willing to pay.

 

I find a LOT more video games than trains.

 

There'll be weeks that you don't find any video games. But if there are one or two other things that you're also looking for, and you find some of that, it keeps you going out, and eventually you will find them. How many million units did the Atari 2600 sell?

 

I'm confident that I'll still be able to find Atari 2600 stuff 20 years from now.

[starwardude]

All i have to say: look at my location, and the fact that i have: A)No car, and B) No job.

All i find? zip, zero, nadda, zilch, NOTHING! Almost always the same junk.

Edited November 18, 2006 by starwardude