Hunting Strategies - Tips for Thrifts/GS/Pawn?

[NayusDante]

I'm wondering if anybody here has any kind of strategies or methods to finding stuff, as it seems to me to be as luck-driven as the lottery.

All that I really do is sort out whatever I see. The racks of CDs are mixed with music, old software, PC games, console CD games, and empty cases. I've been putting them in rows with the spine facing up, and there's usually more stuff there next time I stop by. I guess they think that there's less on the shelf if it's all organized, as they tend to just have everything thrown in. Everything else, however, is just random. I found a box of N64 stuff (console, 4 controllers, 14 games), sold as a box, not individually priced like the PC games and such.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

In addition to the places you mentioned, a lot of people here scour craigslist daily for anything gaming related. There are also those great finds by people who go to yard/rummage/estate/garage sales every weekend.

The main thing is consistency. A lot of those places you hunt will not yield good stuff 75-80% of the time. So you have to return often to find good stuff. I used to hit my regular thrift stores and pawn shops once a week (or two weeks).

That and it pays to have connections. A lot of those awesome finds are by people who work around or with video games. If you have connections to people who sell stuff at flea market's, it will pay off too.

I rambled a bit, but I hope it helps.

[swlovinist]

Flea Marts, Yard Sales, Craigsist, Game lots on ebay, Newspapers, Pawn Shops, Second Hand Thrifts. Search, Search, and Search some more. Dont give up, now if you are just reselling, then the above will be tougher as the profit margins are going to be pretty thin. If you are just collecting for yourself then the above should be plenty of places to find stuff to add to a collection. The biggest advice I have for you is to hit a wide variety of places and as often as possible.

[MrSparkle]

My strategy is to just whip it out without warning. Won't help you find good deals but it'll certainly make the hunt more exciting.

[blissfulnoise]

Not to rain on your parade but finding pre-PSX era games in the wild is pretty much dead now. You're about 5 years too late. The return on your time investment will be pathetically low, so unless you're that desperate or have that much time on your hands, don't make a mission out of it.

And having connections works, but now and days, nearly everyone knows that people want "retro" games and you'll likely pay premium prices for them, even through said connections. The era of finding a box of complete NES games at a yard sale for $10 or random copies of Earthbound and Herzog Zwei in pawn shops is over.

You'll find exceptions all over this board, but they're the exception, not the rule.

Not to sound defeatist, but I gave up seriously hunting some time ago, and I'm better off for it. I still will score some nice stuff here and there (namely, flea markets) but the virtual treasure troves of the video game collecting frontier days is long over.

[NayusDante]

Not to rain on your parade but finding pre-PSX era games in the wild is pretty much dead now. You're about 5 years too late.

I definitely know what you're talking about, but I'm actually seeing an interesting trend. While the thrifts get tons of PSX controllers and the like, I'm seeing something different in other areas...

My local PlayNTrade has a new system in the case every time I'm in. I saw a 2600 two weeks ago, with a stack of games for $40, then it was gone last week, replaced with a GameGear for $25. My reasoning is that the generation that grew up with 80s games are getting married, moving, etc and they're getting rid of stuff. My generation that grew up in the 90s is going to college, and parents don't know what to do with old games. I've bought a box for the latter reason, and I'm "babysitting" my friend's SNES collection for the same reason. The problem here is that these parents know where to sell the stuff. It's ending up at Play N Trades and other retro shops that sell at market value.

So in a sense, retro games are being moved more than ever now, just not as "finds" in the sense that we're looking for.

[coreys429]

Not to rain on your parade but finding pre-PSX era games in the wild is pretty much dead now. You're about 5 years too late. The return on your time investment will be pathetically low, so unless you're that desperate or have that much time on your hands, don't make a mission out of it.

And having connections works, but now and days, nearly everyone knows that people want "retro" games and you'll likely pay premium prices for them, even through said connections. The era of finding a box of complete NES games at a yard sale for $10 or random copies of Earthbound and Herzog Zwei in pawn shops is over.

You'll find exceptions all over this board, but they're the exception, not the rule.

Not to sound defeatist, but I gave up seriously hunting some time ago, and I'm better off for it. I still will score some nice stuff here and there (namely, flea markets) but the virtual treasure troves of the video game collecting frontier days is long over.

And not to rain on your parade but it's still possible to find the deals on pre Playstation out there. I found Herzog Zwei for $3, Chrono Trigger for $2, FF3 complete in box for $1, FFVII black label for $3, and other major finds like an Odyssey for $40. All within 2 months or so.

The key thing is looking for the key things. Also asking the right questions as well. Like if I go to garage sale I ask if they have any older video games for sale. Sometimes its a win other times not at all. Though asking if they have a certain item works out good.

Knowing people at thrift stores and pawn shops help. My local pawn shops they will let me know when something amazing has come in as well as they will save it for me for first pick.

It's Possible to find things in the wild just know what you want and go for it.

[blissfulnoise]

So in a sense, retro games are being moved more than ever now, just not as "finds" in the sense that we're looking for.

That's exactly what I was getting at. More and more people are dealing in retro games these days, thus the "finds" have dried up. It doesn't count as a "find" if you're buying it at a video game store or a booth dedicated to video games at the flea market.

10 years ago, I could walk into any pawn shop or thrift store in town and find stuff. I got Nohmad's, Mega Drive Imports, tons of RPGs, complete NES games, all this stuff nearly hand over fist. My problem is I didn't have enough money to buy it all then but I got a lot of choice stuff. I had contacts who would point people in my direction and when I placed adds in the paper for "old games" I'd get call after call from people wanting me to take boxes of games off their hands for a dollar a game (or less).

All that is over now.

Craigslist is littered with people selling NES bundles for $100 (you get Mario and Zelda, WOW!!1!!) and flea market stands selling Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!! for $30. And they sell too! So, in a large sense, eBay is actually one of the best values going right now. You probably even out in terms of price just buying pretty common games off of there instead of hunting all over town for possibly weeks hoping to get something. To say nothing of really rare stuff.

Sometimes you get lucky and the person selling it doesn't have an idea of what they have (I got a Racermate II on the NES this way, I still payed $25 for it though. Underpriced for what it is, but overpriced as far as an NES game goes), but they typically err on the side of caution.

A 2600 with some games at $40 might be a find (depending on the condition, model, and games) but a Game Gear for $25 definately isn't. It's all a wash.

[blissfulnoise]

Stuff.

You'll find exceptions all over this board, but they're the exception, not the rule.

[Natty Bumppo]

With thrift stores it is also helpful to find out what days they put out goods. If they don't put out stuff on Mondays, it doesn't make sense to go that store until later on a Tuesday at the earliest. Also if they put out something you are interested in one day, it is worth going back the next day since they may have only priced part of a lot the day they put it out.

[guitargary75]

All I have ever found at Flea Markets are fleas.

[Steve W]

All I have ever found at Flea Markets are fleas.

Really? I'm near a giant flea market, and I've yet to find a stand or stall that sells fleas. Very disappointing.

Anyhoo, I've found that the best thrifts are not national chains (like Goodwill or Salvation Army) but local charity stores or chains. Since there's so many eBay douchebags who buy up all the classic stuff for reselling, it's very difficult to find stuff for us genuine collectors out there. I suggest using Google Maps to check out 'thrifts', 'resale', and 'second hand' in your area. Ignore the ones that are obviously women's clothing thrifts, and then work up a route that you can take to hit them, depending geographically where they are. For example, I used to hit the thrifts north of me on one day off, then my next free day hitting the ones west of me. It just takes an hour or two that way. But after repeated disappointments I started hitting them all in one day. A good route will help to minimize the amount of road travel (and gas used). You'll have to get used to the fact that you're going to come home empty-handed on several occasions. Especially if you're in a heavily populated area, since there's going to be others in your area already searching the same stores. But keeping up with it will start to yield results. Mainly thrift on weekdays and not weekends, since there's going to be a whole lot more people out there on Saturdays and Sundays buying stuff up, meaning you won't find much. And finding a good flea market (or several) in your area are better ways to spend your weekends, but get there early.

[NayusDante]

My trip today reflected what we've stated here. Salvation Army had nothing game related, whatsoever, unless you count Microsoft Golf 99. Only got some Asimov novels there. I finally gave Goodwill another chance, and found some PSX stuff, 3 N64 carts, and a boxed Oregon Trail for PC. I kinda wish I had gotten Oregon Trail now...

[BenG76]

I hit the thrift stores in my area around twice a week. There is a Goodwill and a thrift run by a church. I live in a kind of rural area so I am still finding a good bit of NES, SNES etc. A couple of weeks ago I went into the Goodwill and there was a big stack of NES games. I bought 25 of them for 95 cent each. I noticed the couple I left sat there for a week or so before anyone got them. I rarely find games at the other thrift. I do very well at yard sales. I brought home around 40 PS games and 1 PS system as well as an N64 with a few boxed games my last day out yard saleing. I have increased my collection greatly in the past couple of months by doing this.

[jb143]

Thrift stores by there nature are going to be hit and miss. I'll go in one maybe 10 times and find nothing then the next time find a huge stack of games. There are also plenty of people out there that see this "old stuff" as "junk" and basically give it away for next to nothing. Garage sales are the best bet for those types. Either way, it's all about being in the right place at the right time.

[SpyHunter]

3 rules for hunting at thrifts, flea markets, etc

1. Go there often. I have places that get new stuff in everyday and I go there at least 3 times a week.

2. Be nice to the employees. Believe me, you want them on your side.

3. Always ask if they have anything in the back.

[murdoc rose]

If your serious about it yard sale hard core and make a point to stop and the various stores you like or have cheap games. Also it never hurts to bargin with people and check back every once in a while at stores you didn't like or found there prices way too high. A fle market is like a large yard sale so make sure to go there probably first.

[murdoc rose]

3 rules for hunting at thrifts, flea markets, etc

1. Go there often. I have places that get new stuff in everyday and I go there at least 3 times a week.

2. Be nice to the employees. Believe me, you want them on your side.

3. Always ask if they have anything in the back.

so forgot to say these but he is completely right. Even the local game traders owner will hold back things he knows i'll buy and has even given me stuff that he couldn't sell before because it was for a system they didn't carry.

[Natty Bumppo]

One thing to never do is brag about what you find to the clerk or other customers as you check out. I hear people do that all the time (and often they are really clueless about the piece of garbage they have that they think is valuable). Next time the thriift store gets that item (or one close enough to fool them - for example they are not really gonna know the difference between a Sega Cd and a Saturn game and between a lunar and a sports game for the sega cd) you will likely see a higher price - remember that most thrift stores are all profit oriented one way or another. (In most states a thrift store gets that status by affiliating itself with some charity - either real or one they have created as a front - and they turn a very minimal amount of the profit
over to the charity (they have to keep real books for that so that part is pretty honest) - n return they get to use the charity for their solictations via a phone bank for donations. They also have to run a pickup operation of some sort and staff the stores. Most of the employees are very low paid - the managers will get a fair salary and the owners get rich if the store (or stores since many are chains) is at all successful - most of the stores try to milk whatever the market will bear and people who shop at thrift stores are often remarkably naive and will often pay near retail (or even above) for what they think are bargains because it is found in a thrift store. the major chains like Goodwill and Salvation Army are somewhat better but still driven by profit more than most people realise. As far as I can tell the only really charitable thrift stores are small one shop operations that are directly run by a church or a local charity. Unfortunately those stores generally don't get much stock in - but some good bargains can be had at them occasionally.

Another thing with thrift stores is not to narrowly focus on games - you can get all sorts of other things that are useful around the house and will save you money (Just for an example - I buy almost all of Mrs. Bumppo's garden pots (we have a large yard) at thrift stores - and since pots have a limited lifespan I save money every year that way - and I have found some fairly expensive pots dirt cheap. And you can branch out into other collectibles too - many years (long before cds) I made tidy side income scouting records and books (although I kept many of the books for myself - wasn't just a profit motive there).

Also by looking for many things, I rarely wind up a day/evening of thrifting (I go out three or four times a week and hit upwards of twenty five stores each week - some more than once) without finding something useful, collectible or just plain cool.

[swlovinist]

That's exactly what I was getting at. More and more people are dealing in retro games these days, thus the "finds" have dried up. It doesn't count as a "find" if you're buying it at a video game store or a booth dedicated to video games at the flea market.

10 years ago, I could walk into any pawn shop or thrift store in town and find stuff. I got Nohmad's, Mega Drive Imports, tons of RPGs, complete NES games, all this stuff nearly hand over fist. My problem is I didn't have enough money to buy it all then but I got a lot of choice stuff. I had contacts who would point people in my direction and when I placed adds in the paper for "old games" I'd get call after call from people wanting me to take boxes of games off their hands for a dollar a game (or less).

All that is over now.

Craigslist is littered with people selling NES bundles for $100 (you get Mario and Zelda, WOW!!1!!) and flea market stands selling Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!! for $30. And they sell too! So, in a large sense, eBay is actually one of the best values going right now. You probably even out in terms of price just buying pretty common games off of there instead of hunting all over town for possibly weeks hoping to get something. To say nothing of really rare stuff.

Sometimes you get lucky and the person selling it doesn't have an idea of what they have (I got a Racermate II on the NES this way, I still payed $25 for it though. Underpriced for what it is, but overpriced as far as an NES game goes), but they typically err on the side of caution.

A 2600 with some games at $40 might be a find (depending on the condition, model, and games) but a Game Gear for $25 definately isn't. It's all a wash.

one thing to remember is just because it has been a wash for you does not mean it is a wash for others or in general. I see what you are trying to say, games are more valuable these days, thus there is a value connected to them and they do cost more. Some places have dried up, but not around here. But I too have had more scores in the last 6 months than I ever have been. I have been hitting thrifts and fleas and second hand shops for 20 years. With the soft economy, people are taking stuff that they have stored for years and selling it for gas money. Just today, I have a guy meeting me with a box of atari stuff(2600, 7800, 5200 systems and some games). I will be getting it for $60. I got an Odyssey 1 in box last month for $100, Several rare Genesis games for $3 a piece, and a Boxed Colecovision with boxed Colecovision games for $40.

Want to know that other great thing about collecting now? You can bypass the whole search thing, and just to a gaming convention. Back 15 years ago, there wasnt that option. Now you can just go to one place that has THOUSANDS of items at Flea mart prices. So needless to say, I do disagree with you, this is a GREAT time to find stuff.