Weekend finds

[number six]

Here's the weekend pickups. Nothing shocking (other than finding Japanese PCFX software and DUO games and a TG16 game I didn't have.. not really valuable but just.. weird to find) but i almost always find something. Was happy to get a good deal on Super Punch-out as those are going up.

How often do you go out 'hunting' ?

Personally I've given up on the weekday thrifting. I used to goodwill it 2 or so times during the week but with the increased goodwill prices ($5.06 minimum, bitches!) and all the eBay wh0res scanning UPCs its basically fruitless. Besides I've got over 200 PS2 games.. no more please! (thats about the only thing you are guaranteed to find).

So when I got out usually i'll go with some friends and run an area.. we covered about a 100 miles today. Best deals tend to come at the swap meets or the real off the beaten path fleas. I know Yard Sales a king but i just can't get up at 5am for those.

[PunkicCyborg]

I found a couple PCFX games at hobby spot a couple years ago which I thought was pretty odd. It's a very Japanese system with few playable games if you can't speak the language

[Niloc]

Power Rangers though? Don't give me "Well I was really into them as a kid" either - you're only a year younger than me.

[lordtakuban]

I have not had any luck finding cool stuff like that in the wild at all.  But then again I rarely, if ever, go looking for stuff.  There aren't many flea markets down here aside from the Swap Shop that has the same 4 or 5 booths but set up in 50 different locations.  I've been meaning to go check out garage sales, but I just have so much crap to do all the time that it would seem like a luxury to be able to casually go look for things.

I see people on collector groups on facebook always finding great deals on stuff too.  One day, I'll be able to look. ... One day... 

[TimothyC]

Power Rangers though?

That's just trade bait of course :p. 

[number six]

I found a couple PCFX games at hobby spot a couple years ago which I thought was pretty odd. It's a very Japanese system with few playable games if you can't speak the language

Yeah i have no interest in starting a PCFX collection but the oddity of it plus it being a Tenchi Muyo based anime magazine disc made it worth picking up (plus it was cheap). But it does make you wonder how things like this end up here. This was at a video game store so i bet somebody bought a PCFX lot and ditched the anime disc thing he didn't want.. or something.

[number six]

Power Rangers though? Don't give me "Well I was really into them as a kid" either - you're only a year younger than me.

True, I have absolutely zero affinity for the power rangers. The only bit of Power Rangers i think i've ever seen was the last 30 minutes or so of the movie on HBO one day while I was flipping through the channels. Even that looked pretty stupid. I'll stick with Voltron when it comes to super senzai (or whatever this genre is called)

I only bought this because I'm going for a complete SegaCD set:

[TimothyC]

I don't go hunting for stuff like I used to as I used to be a thrift store junkie (vintage clothes, toys, games, dishes, etc.) and now that I have a youngling I just don't have the free time anymore.  That coupled with the fact that I try not to "collect" anything anymore means I shop a lot less frequently, but after making one hell of a craigslist score with that Nintendo display late last year I decided to search Nintendo stuff this Saturday morning and I found something.  I traveled quite a distance to grab the item I was after only to find it was in worse condition than expected (but still fairly priced), but the seller did me solid by selling me the following lot for $5 each.  Who wouldn't have bought the lot below for $35 ?  Most are CIB though I think a couple/few may be missing a manual or a flyer. 

Oh, and if anyone knows the name of the Japanese N64 game please tell me so I don't have to figure it out :p

[number six]

I have not had any luck finding cool stuff like that in the wild at all.  But then again I rarely, if ever, go looking for stuff.  There aren't many flea markets down here aside from the Swap Shop that has the same 4 or 5 booths but set up in 50 different locations.  I've been meaning to go check out garage sales, but I just have so much crap to do all the time that it would seem like a luxury to be able to casually go look for things.

I see people on collector groups on facebook always finding great deals on stuff too.  One day, I'll be able to look. ... One day... 

Stuff is out there you just gotta know where to look and go frequently.

Thrifts and such used to be good but those are too picked over. The nicer Flea Markets are usually filled with more traditional resellers that know the ebay prices probably better than you so finding the killer deal is unlikely.

The best places now are the swap meets or nasty fleas. Places where the general public can show up and just start selling.. kinda like a bunch of yard sales in one spot. These places exist and the product churns.. you just gotta commit to going once a month or so to have a shot. Even then the ebay wh0res are always a step away.. few months ago found a guy selling a bunch of SMS games and he told me somebody already 'bought a bunch' after they UPC scanned them all. Bastards! At least know the prices!

We've also got a few retro stores here in tampa with reasonable prices so while you may not get the mega-score you can do better much better than ebay if you keep your eyes out.

[number six]

I don't go hunting for stuff like I used to as I used to be a thrift store junkie (vintage clothes, toys, games, dishes, etc.) and now that I have a youngling I just don't have the free time anymore.  That coupled with the fact that I try not to "collect" anything anymore means I shop a lot less frequently, but after making one hell of a craigslist score with that Nintendo display late last year I decided to search Nintendo stuff this Saturday morning and I found something.  I traveled quite a distance to grab the item I was after only to find it was in worse condition than expected (but still fairly priced), but the seller did me solid by selling me the following lot for $5 each.  Who wouldn't have bought the lot below for $35 ?  Most are CIB though I think a couple/few may be missing a manual or a flyer. 

Yeah thats not bad at all, made your money back with the Castlevania alone i'd imagine.

I haven't really tried CL because i've been burned so many times on the arcade side but i know you can get deals there as well.

[TimothyC]

The best places now are the swap meets or nasty fleas. Places where the general public can show up and just start selling.. kinda like a bunch of yard sales in one spot. These places exist and the product churns.. you just gotta commit to going once a month or so to have a shot. Even then the ebay wh0res are always a step away.. few months ago found a guy selling a bunch of SMS games and he told me somebody already 'bought a bunch' after they UPC scanned them all. Bastards! At least know the prices!

The guy I bought my NES stuff from this weekend said he had just sold his loose cart collection the day before.  He had 400 loose carts and was pleased with the fact he received $500 in cash for the lot  .  I basically scooped the leftovers from that megakill, but the point is it's getting harder and harder to find steals these days.  If you're only looking online on occasion or hitting stores every few months the odds are against you.

[lordtakuban]

Thanks for the tips.  I'll look and see if there are any swap meets in South Florida to check out.  CL always seems shady, but you never know.  My problem is that I really try not to buy too much stuff, but I'd love to find a few decent scores every now and then.  I might have to change my mindset a bit.  haha.

[TimothyC]

CL always seems shady, but you never know.

Get your CCW and carry.  I don't carry to every CL deal as typically I'm picking up something cheap for the house or kid, but if I were buying anything worth more than a few hundred I would.  I haven't gone on nearly as many CL runs as some folks, but I did accidentally buy stolen merchandise one time from a seller (found out a pin and old game I bought were stolen from a board member here after I posted about the pick-up).  Regardless I've never felt in danger at any point, but the guy I bought the Nintendo stuff from lived in a trailer complete with broken down cars outside and a pitbull.  Once I stepped inside I immediately noticed the smell of weed, but I didn't say anything ...

Oh, if anyone wants the Nintendo games (as a lot) above they're for sale for roughly ebay price minus 40% since I can't test them and some may be missing manuals . 

[Niloc]

Get your CCW and carry.  I don't carry to every CL deal as typically I'm picking up something cheap for the house or kid, but if I were buying anything worth more than a few hundred I would.  I haven't gone on nearly as many CL runs as some folks, but I did accidentally buy stolen merchandise one time from a seller (found out a pin and old game I bought were stolen from a board member here after I posted about the pick-up).  Regardless I've never felt in danger at any point, but the guy I bought the Nintendo stuff from lived in a trailer complete with broken down cars outside and a pitbull.  Once I stepped inside I immediately noticed the smell of weed, but I didn't say anything ...

Oh, if anyone wants the Nintendo games (as a lot) above they're for sale for roughly ebay price minus 40% since I can't test them and some may be missing manuals .

There was a post on Reddit recently with pictures of a police station parking lot that had a sign stating it was an area for people to conduct transactions they made on Craigslist and the like. Police nearby, area under video surveillance and well-lit.

Don't know if they have anything like that around here but it seemed like a good idea, and if it's reasonably close and the seller won't agree to meet there then you probably don't want to do business with them.

[number six]

The guy I bought my NES stuff from this weekend said he had just sold his loose cart collection the day before.  He had 400 loose carts and was pleased with the fact he received $500 in cash for the lot  .  I basically scooped the leftovers from that megakill, but the point is it's getting harder and harder to find steals these days.  If you're only looking online on occasion or hitting stores every few months the odds are against you.

It still amazes me that people would put in the effort to collect 400 loose NES games but not enough effort ti list them on ebay. Throw that up 100 games at a time.. probably get $300 or $400 a lot at this point. People are nuts.