a dream that died...my atari rant for today

[PressureCooker2600]

man....i suppose my collecting and playing atari is pretty much confined to getting them on the internet now i've exhausted pretty much everywhere in fort smith now

today...i happened upon a place i've heard about called something....cant remember. it was downtown....i knew they pretty much just sold comics and toys and CCGs, and internet gaming is nuts in there. i walked in to look around for atari games on a whim....and the first thing i saw was a treasure trove (in my eyes) of VCS games (rare and common) and tons of Intellivision games CIB with all overlays that were unbent and in perfect condition. Beauty and the Beast, B-17 Bomber....I awed over all the titles...tons of Spectravision games for VCS and tons of my fav Activision games (I always buy extras cause i just love activision). they had some Imagic games i dont have like moonsweeper and apollo games. i almost shit myself. i went through though and noticed none of them had tags like everything else in the store. i figured they would look on ebay or DP like every other store seems to do to find a price....but i didnt care. i asked the clerk how much for some of the intellivision, colecovision, and atari games. then i got the old one-two punch to my soul.....

"sorry...those are the games we keep here and play. we dont sell atari stuff." i bought a mountain dew and left under a cloud of sadness. PLAY THEM MY ASS.....all their carts looked so dusty to where it looked like i was the only one to lay hands on them in a couple years. the connectors were kinda dirty so you can tell they didnt play them. plus....they were all to busy playing some stupid MMORPG online to even think about atari...damn young kids. they were even kinda surprised i brought them up. i think if they are just sittin there....they could be sold to someone who will actually clean them and play them on a regular basis. they had tons of duplicates too so why not sell off one or two. what harm would that do. i'm still teary eyed at the perfection of the shape of the intellivision overlays and boxes.

i hate when stores put up displays of stuff they own just for drooly faced dudes like me to walk in and drool over it. i wouldnt put my collections on display...except for myself. maaaannnnn....that was my last hope in fort smith.......

all those games........all those games

i havent seen that many atari games etc. sittin around in a shop like that in yearsssssssss

...play em do ya.....better dust em off first......

they even had jaguar games

[Breakpack]

It's ok Pressure......someday......someday they will be set free......like they were meant to!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Brian R.]

I will never understand stores that are supposed to be in the business of SELLING STUFF that put stuff out and then say it's NOT for sale. Pretty damn asinine.

 

I know a place where there's lots of Atari stuff that's not for sale - my apartment!

[sandmountainslim]

I will never understand stores that are supposed to be in the business of SELLING STUFF that put stuff out and then say it's NOT for sale. Pretty damn asinine.

 

I know a place where there's lots of Atari stuff that's not for sale - my apartment!

I went into a gamestore in Huntsville, Alabama a couple years back and they had a display case of Atari games and consoles, I asked about them and they said "sorry that is our MUSEUM"!!!

I reckon they think themselves the damn Louvre.

WP

[Uzumaki]

Offer them a nice crisp $100 bill for everything. Yes it might be cheap but if they sees a $100 bill, they might go ka-ching and sell it anyway.

 

Then don't come back to the store for a long time just in case...

[dwh]

Offer them a nice crisp $100 bill for everything. Yes it might be cheap but if they sees a $100 bill, they might go ka-ching and sell it anyway.

 

Then don't come back to the store for a long time just in case...

 

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.You should have grumbled something about winning a multi-million dollar lotto and nowhere to spend the money and left.

[jboypacman]

Thoses Dirty S.O.B.s.Lets break into there store steal all the stuff and split the spoils!LOL!Seriously that does suck.Maybe you could get a bunch of people together and pull resources and make them a offer they could not refuse.Buying all the items up and spilt them between each other.

[+atari2600land]

Luckilly, I never ran into something like that involving Atari. They did have a couple toys I wanted, but they said "Oh, that's for display only." Why they put stuff out and not sell it is beyond me. My grandparents had a garage sale every year and hanging in the garage was a moose head. They didn't want to sell it, so they just put a big "sold" sign on it. I wonder whatever happened to it...

[oldgames]

Offer them a nice crisp $100 bill for everything. Yes it might be cheap but if they sees a $100 bill, they might go ka-ching and sell it anyway.

 

 

 

You know, I always have the cash in my hand when I make an offer at garage sales, flea markets, etc. Whether it's five bucks or 50, I try to have the exact amount of the offer ready in hand. Something about actually seeing the cash waiting to jump into their pocket that makes it hard for them to say no!

 

 

 

Seriously PressureCooker2600, I'd go back as see if you can catch the store manager sometime. You might have better luck.... or not, but it's worth a try.

[simbalion]

I ran into a computer store like that in Massilon, OH. People kept dumping off really old computers on them. Atari, Commodore, TI, you name it. They are now just all on display over top of the shelves. That was really irksome since our area Good Wills will no longer accept computers and other electronic stuff older than 1999 or 2000. I wonder how many Atari systems are getting pitched because of Good will?

[PressureCooker2600]

i shoulda had some cash in hand....all i had was a few fives though....

maybe that would have changed his little mind

i can understand fuckin TOYS on display......but video games that you fuckin play just isnt right....almost like showing off

they had the fucking games on the fucking shelf with all the comics and toys on sale for christs sake....how are is JOHN Q. PUBLIC, who is interested in buying them, supposed to know they arent on sale when they are next to shit with tags.....they coulda made more money today then they would the rest of the day......i woulda bought most of em......they only got fifty cents for a soda outta me when they coulda had at least 30 bucks today and whenever i get paid over 100 dollas for the rest.

 

whats even sadder is that they had an atari just thrown on the ground all dusty and nasty looking...I guess thats the one they PLAY the games on

 

stupid "I have every old star wars figure and am going to put them all around the store to show off to people that i have everyone....and play stupid MMORPGS when a customer is asking questions" muthafuckas....

[rheffera]

Damn that sucks man! I dont think ive ever been in that situation before..(in regards to atari stuff) but i certainly know how it feels and all i can say is damn but everyone hass thier price. get some dough and go back they and say ill give you $100 for the lot (and whip the cash out for the effect) and if you really want it go higher and eventually theyll cave in. I did this once before and it worked. All i can say if it dosnt dman.

[Lord Thag]

Word of advice. There's a guy like that in town here who never sells his stuff like that. Unless you happen to stop by on a slow month (Jan or Feb) and chat him up when he's trying to make ends meet. 'What about all of that stuff' I ask. 'Not for sale' says he. 'Oh, that's a shame. I was planning on buying most of it' (insert cash register sound). Then, he usually pulls it down and cuts me a deal.

 

Head back in January. You might luck out.

[Atari-Jess]

You guys are terrible.

Stop whining that they aren't selling you the owners personal property.

 

It's his store, his stuff, and he can play it and display it however he wants.

 

And insulting the fact they want to have a small museum? What, do you honestly want to see all this stuff just hidden away in some dark basement?

 

I think they're doing people a service by allowing people to enjoy original hardware where most people would have no interest in hunting out for equipment of their own.

 

NOT EVERYTHING IS FOR SALE, NO MATTER WHERE IT IS.

[shadow460]

Come to Oklahoma City for a Saturday, Pressure. We've got a Vintage Stock opening soon, and you could easily hit all the Game x Change stores within four hours.

If you came down on Friday night, you could grab a motel room or maybe stay with one of the collctors here, then wake up around 5 AM Saturday morning and hit the swap meet in Midwest City before hitting the game stores and thrifts.

I imagine the least you'd find is one or two third party titles you don't have, maybe some spare controllers, and maybe hang out with fellow collectors for an evening of Warlords or something.

[simbalion]

You guys are terrible.

Stop whining that they aren't selling you the owners personal property.

 

It's his store, his stuff, and he can play it and display it however he wants.

 

And insulting the fact they want to have a small museum? What, do you honestly want to see all this stuff just hidden away in some dark basement?

 

I think they're doing people a service by allowing people to enjoy original hardware where most people would have no interest in hunting out for equipment of their own.

 

NOT EVERYTHING IS FOR SALE, NO MATTER WHERE IT IS.

 

If that place wants a small museum, then they should clean up the games and the system, put them in a display case, and mark it as such. Instead from what was said, it sounds like the games and system were very dirty and sitting right beside stuff that was for sale. Also, I doubt I would shop at a place where the employees were busy playing MMORPGS instead of serving thier customers.

Edited November 26, 2006 by simbalion

[Paranoid]

I'm inclined to agree with Atari-Jess on this one. The condition is one thing (although it sounds like it was also a very clean collection, as far as being CIB, etc, regardless of being dusty). It also sounds like it might be an after-hours thing, and a few things about that.

 

A small retail shop probably keeps the owner there for long hours, and the employees there for long hours. Someone comes in early, opens and preps the store (which requires a lot more than just turning the key and flipping the sign from closed to open), and someone is there for awhile after the last customer leaves. Often the same employee, and often the owner. If the owner keeps games around for himself and the employees to unwind on, that doesn't seem like a problem to me.

 

Second, the owner may have a rule about the classic retro games designed more or less to keep them special, make them a *reward*, and to avoid having customers want to touch the fragile, expensive, hard to replace, older equipment. That seems reasonable to me, also. "Keep the PS2 and the PCs and games running all day, if it is slow, go ahead and play, let the customers see you playing, let them play... but don't turn on the retro stuff".

 

And as long as this guy HAS a collection that is sitting behind a glass display case in public... well... there you go. There are people on this forum who have emacculate collections that NO ONE will ever get to see except that owner and his circle of close associates. Those die-hard "collectors" who have museums in their own house, solely for their own enjoyment. It is like the collectors of antiquities and art who have museum pieces in their mansions, to a certain extent. I'd rather have the stuff out on public display than locked away in someone's museum wing.

 

I just can't fault the retailer in this case. I'd be more upset if they had commons tagged for $20, with stickers on the boxes.

[plaidbrad3141]

That really does suck. I've never seen it with Atari stuff, but my wife and I are avid aquarists (fishkeepers) and I have seen many a "display" tank at a shop with the only stuff worth buying not for sale. One key to running a good store in my mind would be to maximize your selling potential by actualy selling things in the store. I totaly understand wanting to keep some of the cool stuff but wether it be fish or Atari, keep it at home then. Display items really irk me.

[PressureCooker2600]

they werent in a case or anything.......some of the vcs apollo games top labels were ripped off and all dusty but the boxes for the Inty cases were pretty good (especially the Imagic ones). The overlays were perfect....

 

another thing is that they could at least keep them in the back room.....they had three.

one GOOD reason for that is that they had all these within walking distance from the door.....and the store is in the worst neighborhood in Fort Smith. someone could just walk in, grab some and walk out b4 the dudes had some time to turn away from their fantasy MMORPG. especially keepin the boxes and overlays out. the same way with their toys....there all over the place by the door. parts of the collection......i dont think most people that walk in that place off the street care about the honor system or if its rare or not.....theyll steal it regardless...

for the owners sake....he should at least keep them in a case or somethin.....people could still look at em and then KNOW they arent for sale (makin people like me get less build up of excitement at lookin at all the carts) plus save some stolen atari carts which would suck

the only other gripe is they were stuck in between tons of other games for sale and comics for sale.....at least set them off to the side so people can tell whats for sell and whats not

 

and if the dude wont go for that 100 dolla bit.....we can form an A.L.F. (Atari Liberation Force)

[Paranoid]

That really does suck. I've never seen it with Atari stuff, but my wife and I are avid aquarists (fishkeepers) and I have seen many a "display" tank at a shop with the only stuff worth buying not for sale. One key to running a good store in my mind would be to maximize your selling potential by actualy selling things in the store. I totaly understand wanting to keep some of the cool stuff but wether it be fish or Atari, keep it at home then. Display items really irk me.

 

 

Actually, I think you hit the nail on the head with this comparisson.

 

Aquariums are a great example... because most of the retailers (especially mom-n-pop sized ones) are hobbyists too, and most of them want to show off their own examples. It is hard to find a small aquarium retailer that DOESN'T have a display tank, and lots of times the best examples in the store are there (because THAT is their baby, it is where their best examples go, and it is the tank that gets the most attention). Now, really, I see your argument as "Don't do your own merchandise"... a common enough refrain for anyone in the business of reselling anything with a lot of logic. But, just like the Cocaine dealer... it is kind of hard to have any interest in these things which people are so passionate about, and NOT do your own merchandise. To have enough passion to really connect with Fishkeepers, most retailers have to be passionate fishkeepers too. To understand what REALLY GOOD COKE is, it helps to have done really good coke. And again, you may not realize it, but especially for the small retailer, the business often IS home... just home open to the public. You spend as much if not more time there than at your actual home, but way more goes on outside of open business hours than the consumer realizes. I spend about 5 years in small retail at the start of my career. I ate at the store, I slept at the store, I took dumps in the store bathroom, I got drunk at the store, we partied at the store, I had sex at the store, we socialized at the store, we played games at the store. I spent late nights there and arrived early mornings. I was at the store as much when we weren't open as when we were. It was open to the public 8 hours a day, and way less than 365 days a year. The rest of the time it wasn't just an empty building, it was OURS, and the consumer wasn't invited. And I wasn't an owner, just the manager. So, there were a lot of things at the store that personalized it for me and my crew... and that is just how it works. No different than having personal stuff at your cubicle, workstation, or wherever else you happen to spend that part of your life called "work".

[shadow460]

I should know about spending long hours at the small business. While the rest of our employees were enjoying their Black Friday off, my boss and I were busting our tails fixing a machine. The company wasn't open for business, either.

Often times I am there just as late as the owner is. I, too, eat at work, use the work bathroom, sleep at work (esp. on days when I gotta be there but I feel like crap, I'll sleep through half my lunch hour), and I'm sorta on call, too.

 

So if they wanna have their stash, well, that's that, I suppose. OKC and Tulsa have a slew of game stores each, and they ain't more than a day's drive away. Plus you don't gotta worry about gettin' lost in the spaghetti bowl of streets that is downtown Fort Smith wonderin' just how on this green Earth you got to the Mead plant.

 

That store sounds familiar, though...comic shop in Downtown Fort Smith...man it's been a lotta years since I was in that town...

[Dolt]

That 'we don't sell 'em' bit sounds to have been from a guy low on the totem pole, who wouldn't dare sell something 'cause he doesn't know what it's worth. Go back when the manager's there and offer $60 (not $100), and when he balks, go up a bit till he says on a whim $100. It'll work.

But, make sure you go back. A local store where I live years ago had a mint sealed Beat 'em and Eat 'em which the guy behind the counter wouldn't sell me--"it's only for display.' I came back a month later and it'd been sold. Lesson learned: Money talks--but only to the guy in charge.

[jboypacman]

If you do go back and try and buy what they have let us know how it turns out.Good Luck.

[PressureCooker2600]

its all about the moolah.....i know that......even with me...

who knows what id do if someone offered me a couple mil for somethin priceless

[Atari-Jess]

I like how you guys think he'll accept $100.