Little Collection note to all you new collectors on DP.

[Raedon]

I see quite a few of you are just doing your collecting online or at Gamestop.

You need to learn about "the hunt"

find out all the flee markets in your area, the more backwoods the better. Don't go to, like Dallas' biggest flee, go to the bobby joe's flee market in gober's nob - Population 112.

I make my best finds at these little flee markets and have for years. I still find 2600's w/100's of games for $10, that isn't a joke.. The guys at flee markets also don't know jack about the games so they usually have 30 NES carts and put $3-5 on them. Same with SNES carts.. always $5.. I've got soooo many FFIII carts from flee's that went right to ebay.. I also find top loaders for $10-20 every once in a while.

What you see below cost me less then $40 and all came from backwoods flee markets.



Over the 2001 season this is some of the stuff I had to dump from Flee markets for Christmas.




Next place you guys should be at is Pawn Shops

Pawn shops price everything the same.. I got my first piggyback Sega CD complete from a pawn for $25 (a bit much but it was mint)

Here is what I got from just stopping on a whim at a pawn shop.



You should also be stopping at a Goodwill or other thrift store at least 3 times a week around noon (that is when they put out the stuff.)

though Goodwill has started to auction off the good stuff dropped off at their door They don't do so for things like VIC 20's, C64's and common carts.

I also got Tony Hawk 4 for GC for $3 once at Goodwill.. I don't know why it was there.. but there it was lol.

So remember!

A Flee Market a weekend!
Pawn Shops
Goodwill


and remember to BARTER! Buying 5 games for $25? Say, "I don't know.. how about $20?" then pull out a $20.

Bartering at these places is NORMAL.

Ok, I've said my say.. Just tired of seeing all these, "boo hoo Ebay prices are insane!" forget Ebay except for the rare stuff.

Don't go to Ebay to buy a system. (Neo-Geo systems being an exception lol)
Don't go to Ebay for Final Fantasy carts or any other common game.
Don't expect to find something every time you stop somewhere.

Happy Hunting!

[digitalpress]

Yup.

Or better still, attend the many events across the country. There is no more sure-fire way to maximize your time and money than to deal with OTHER collectors. No junk. No toasters. No shipping fees. And there's usually beer.

Carry on.

[-hellvin-]

Man...I wish I could find stuff like that out in the wild. I just never get lucky at my fleas, they're all very large and usually have no one selling games of any kind. ONLY time I ever got lucky was this lady selling sega cd games for 5$ and got Shining Forcd CD, =). That pawn shops out here never seem like something to bother with. For me it's all about Savers. Only place I ever find good stuff.

[Raedon]

Yup.

Or better still, attend the many events across the country. There is no more sure-fire way to maximize your time and money than to deal with OTHER collectors. No junk. No toasters. No shipping fees. And there's usually beer.

Carry on.

This is cool yea.. but your bread and butter is what I posted.. events are just kick ASS FUN! and the stuff you find is better traded then ebayed.

Problem with events for most of us is that the traveling fee's to get there usually cost more then a loose bubble bath babes and you only go away with maybe a rare or two at a few bucks less then the guide.

Events are more for meeting the coolest guys you will ever meet because they are complete collector geek like you.

This is not true if you live in the northeast.. all the cool events happen there. If you are like me in a small East Texas town then you only have the Austin Classic.. if they have it again this year.

[wisekrak]

One other point to mention...
Tell everyone you know. Friends, Family, Co-workers that you are interested in old videogame stuff. Mention to them that you would be willing to "give a few bucks " for their old junk. (using the word junk helps as you dont want them to start thinking its valuable)
I have had some of my best and cheapest finds this way. Like the time my co-worker told me one night at work that her neighbor had thrown out an old Atari and games into the trailerpark dumpster. Well after work we headed out there and sure enough, a nice 6 switcher VCS with 12 loose games. One of them was Chase the Chuckwagon.

SCORE!

[Balloon Fight]

Amen. Flea markets are my favorite places to go to, because it is like a huge garage sale without the driving. I always find some good stuff there. I need to hit up my goodwills more though, but I never find anything there anyway.

[portnoyd]

Sticky this thing. It's #1. It already has the basic primer facts for collecting.

dave

[Flack]

As I mentioned in another thread, I got two really good hookups a while back on some local arcade games from my old REALTOR. I agree, let everyone know you are collecting. Last weekend an old friend of mine's parents were having a garage sale. I told them I was looking for "you know, that old Atari kind of stuff." They said they had something in the closet that said Atari on it but they didn't know what it was. They came back out with an Atari Stunt Cycle system which they GAVE TO ME FOR FREE. Remember folks, a lof of what we collect here is other people's trash. I checked eBay and saw a loose Stunt Cycle going for $65 not too long ago. This one was free.

The other thing is (and this is more than a plug), if you're serious you NEED a DP collector's guide. Most of us haven't memorized the value of every cart. Do this for a while and your mind will start playing tricks on you. Is it Bezerk with the orange label that's rare, or the green one? Which Bible NES games are worth something? You will probably make the money back that you spent on the guide within the first week or two of hunting.

[Raedon]

Yea, the DP guide is a big part of collecting not just for the right collector price point, but because you can mark out what you have and it's quality on the book.

My DP guide has.. lets see...

Next to SMB 3 I have "MBD"-Mint Box n' Dox which means no need to look farther for me and "C5-IIII" marked meaning I have 4 SMB 3 carts to sell or trade that are in mint(5) condition. If one was crappy marked on and torn label it would have been C1-I C5-III.

When I get back with new carts I pull out the guide and mark it up. Sometimes I forget I had a cart but when you find NES carts for $1 who cares.

You can also take your DP guide into a Gamestop as they don't CARE that you collect. The kids don't have the power to raise or lower the price.

[hu6800]

Unless your a HIGH ROLLER collector
Then you can get everything he showed in the picture in a matter of an hour without haggling or kissing ass.
How many Flea markets in the US have spare $5 pcengine LT's ?
(sucks being an NEC collector)

[Jasoco]

Wow.. $40 for all that? Shit, man! I really should start going to some of the many Flea Markets around here. I checked one out once but didn't go too far into it. I doubt there was anything good. But I really should try again.

I'd be lucky to find ONE top-loader. Though, I'd have to have it modified ASAP as I hate having to use RF. And I'd really like an NES that worked without having to take a risk with a new connector. Plus, they're just cool.

[dreamcaster]

The majority of my finds have come from Cash Converters, Salvation Army stores etc.

It's only in the last couple months I've used eBay just to pick up some rarities I have given up on finding in the wild, or imports which I won't see in stores either.

That said, I've given up on eBay as I've found it far too expensive and is largely a waste of time, with too many stupid sellers and equally moronic buyers.

[Dr. Morbis]

Just one little tip to add. This has been a goldmine for me:

Find a yellowpages of your city (or the city you are travelling to) and turn to the section on video rental stores. Now cross off ALL chain stores (ie: BlockBusters). Phone every *independent* video store asking if they have any "old Nintendo games" left. Now visit all the ones who said they did.

This is excellent for nes and snes collectors especially, but almost useless for pre-crash systems (although I did find a place with old INTV games once). Almost all of my good finds in the wild have been discovered through this method. The best places in my experience are the stores with heavy 'adult' content, and the stores way out in the suburbs in a sea of houses. This can take a lot of time, but if you have a Saturday to kill, a city can be usually completely scoured in a single day.

[Raedon]

Wow.. $40 for all that? Shit, man! I really should start going to some of the many Flea Markets around here. I checked one out once but didn't go too far into it. I doubt there was anything good. But I really should try again.

The less known the flee the better. Any flee associated with a city or around a city of more then 400,000 people don't bother unless your just bored. When you star seeing people selling carts at different prices or the carts are $5 but the same game in a box is $10 you know your in a bad hunting area.

Here is my flee market must do's if I want the good stuff for little $$$:

To me the hunt for the great deal on the "Holy Grail" is the fun in collecting for me.. not just throwing down a lot of bank on ebay for it. Now this isn't for some collectors as it requires the passion to do things most people wont.. Like getting up at 6am on a Saturday.

1) You MUST be at a flee market the first day it opens 30 minutes BEFORE it opens. Some flee markets allow people to buy on Friday night, most do not.. know these things.

2) After about a year of going to a flee every month it's open you will know the "regulars" who have games. Get to know them, remember they names. After you've cashed out a flee 3 hours after it has opened and put your booty in your car go back and talk a bit. These guys do flee markets not just to make money but because they like to talk and make friends. The more of a friend you are the more you will hear, "hey Wes! Check out these old Atari's I got *shows 3 woodgrain 4 switch and 30 or so games controllers power supplies etc* I'll say, "man those are dirty haha, do they work?"

"no itea.. You take em all off my hands for.. $25.."

I'll rummage threw the carts and look at the systems, "Hmm.. I don't know, these are pretty messy.. I'll give you $15"

seller, "no no, I need to make money here! haha"

ME, "ok how about $20?" deal is made.. off I go with 3 cleanable 2600's with hookups and stuff 29 carts I have and 1 I did not. I keep the one and the rest is cleaned up and tested then put away for ebaying.

3) Touch base with the regulars early and see if they have anything new. ask, "get any new NES sense last month?" "not that I can think of." now go do a quick once over of the flee. Look in every booth walk eveything once. If you see anything game related stop and check but don't wait linger if it's just some NES commons. As it is 8am many people are still setting things out. You should go over a flee market at least 3 times. The last time will be around 9-10am depending on if you found anything or if the flee is a bit larger like 100 vendors (a max for where I will go.) And this last time around go threw everything.. boxes, booths with the velvet elves pictures. I found my Tengen Tetris in a booth that looked to have nothing but these dolls and little lanterns.

4) Rain or snow, if the flee is open go!

My best finds are when it is 45 outside and overcast. Like December and January here in Texas.

5) Don't piss off the people who have had the Saturn on a table for 8 months with 4 games and a $80 price tag.. usually they are just trying to sell it for a son or friend and besides just being uncool I have had at least one occasion where that same person had some uncommon, clean nes carts with no prices. I got em for $2 each.


6) always haggle.. I have never pain for something at a flee and not got at least $1 off.. game stuff or not lol

7) Most of these guys have some storage shed where they keep all their stuff. I helped on guy clean out his storage shed and ended up with 60 boxed genesis games, 2 top loaders a bunch of loose NES' a few boxed ones a whole bunch of NES games.. like 130 that help fill my collection and 20 or so that were just worth it for trade bait.

Ask if this is all they have or all they brought.

[§ Gideon §]

What you see below cost me less then $40 and all came from backwoods flee markets.

Show off.

Seriously, thanks for the tips! I've only been to a flea market once or twice. Do you have any advice on how to locate the good ones? Other than word-of-mouth and dumb luck, I don't know how to find out where the flea markets are.

[Raedon]

What you see below cost me less then $40 and all came from backwoods flee markets.

Show off.

Seriously, thanks for the tips! I've only been to a flea market once or twice. Do you have any advice on how to locate the good ones? Other than word-of-mouth and dumb luck, I don't know how to find out where the flea markets are.

Most town "trades days" flea markets have web pages. Go to those and ask around.. yea.. the little back woods fleas are word of mouth. Many of the same guys end up at all of them.. Like first weekend its longview trade days, then I go to Tyler's flee where I find something in a blue moon.. it's the biggest one I go to. then to Saxton City is the next weekend.. A little back back woods flea.

Then I either take the last weekend of the month off (Canton is that weekend and is HUGE.. never anything there but "what it goes for on Ebay" vendors.)

or I'll go to this odd sort of every weekend flea outside Sheveport, LA. It's a storage place where you can walk around on the inside and people might show up and open their storage "stores" I've got some interesting stuff their before.. lots of old computer stuff and C64 carts. Most of the people selling games there are overpriced but they have uncommon+ stuff constantly.

[TNTPLUST]

Excellent topic. I wish someone had pointed this out to me when I started collecting 7 years ago. Here are a few other places to add to the list.

Garage/Yard Sales - look them up in your local want ads or Pennysaver (So. Cal paper but I know all cities have similar)

Foreclosures and estate auctions - again you find them in the papers and I don't run into too much competition.

Make friends with the Goodwill workers and Pawn Shop people. If you can get an employee in your back pocket they will notify you before the stuff ever hits the sales floor.

On a sadder note I notice that Goodwill stores in lower income areas are typically better than one in more affluent areas. I also prefer older stores to new ones. Some newer stores have designated "Electronics sections" with trained technicians. BEWARE the deals are not has good and a lot of these guys a getting the good stuff before it gets to the sales floor. You can also check Goodwill.com but beware it is much like Ebay.

[Mayhem]

No flea markets around here at all. No second hand shops, no pawn type shops. The odd car boot sale but they hardly ever any old computer/console items at them. Most of that stuff is further up north in the country, guess down here people cycled through the tech a lot quicker. Plus the fact a lot of items I'm after only came out in the US anyhow. It all adds up to meaning I have to most of my acquisitions online...

[hydr0x]

i want to add one thing for people that live in regions/countries with only few fleas and that stuff and for non-us people

check your ebay once in a while!! (the best in the middle of the night) i know ebay.com is a mess, but other ebay's aren't (ebay.de, ebay.com/au, ebay.it and so on), you can get amazing deals there, i once got a Mega Drive incl. 40 games for 20.00 incl. shipping, you can get things cheaper than at fleas sometimes, but you've got to know how...
of course you can't find FF cheap there, that's true, but the unknown rares as i call them are very easy to get cheap...

[EnemyZero]

I hear ya wisekrak, i hit most my family for older games, most just donated them, same with my friends, i got tons of stuff that way. Also i had alot of success with garage sales, soon as summer hits i will be goin all over, my best find was last summer, i got a near to new saturn still in the box with the instructions and everything, 20 games (including ones like panzer dragoon, gaurdian heroes and a few imports) 2 controllers, and a light gun for 20 bucks

[anagrama]

Most of that stuff is further up north in the country, guess down here people cycled through the tech a lot quicker.

Heh heh, hurrah for the technologically-backward north!
Most of the boot sales around here have yet to start up this year, but I'm looking forward to them - I've been kinda stilted for the last couple of years since I've had no regular transport, but the bulk of my collection originally came from boot sales around '99-'00.

[jonjandran]

Then I either take the last weekend of the month off (Canton is that weekend and is HUGE.. never anything there but "what it goes for on Ebay" vendors.)
.

My in-laws live in Longview and they dragged me to Canton a couple of times.

If I want a $1000 antique litter box I guess I'll go back.

I think I saw 1 Game Gear for $100 and that was it.

But it is HUGE !!!!

[AB Positive]

A tip from a seasoned Yard Sale vet here:

always, always, ALWAYS ask if they have old electronics/video games at a yard sale. ALWAYS. Half the stuff I've gotten from yard sales were from asking a sale that didn't have anything out. Most notably, a working Intellivision with 21 games (10 complete) for 17 bucks. I'm not an INTV collector, but the $$$ I made from that paid for my Neo Geo MVS setup.


-AG

[Sanriostar]

Remember kids:

"If the thrift is clean, the finds can't be seen"

Thrifts that you have to dig and paw through yield the best stuff.

[den68]

You should also be stopping at a Goodwill or other thrift store at least 3 times a week

this is key. stopping once a month may yield the occassional find but multiple stops will obviosly increase you chances. any time I've passed on an item it was gone the next time I stopped and I DO stop 2 or 3 times a week.

I've used all or most of the methods suggested and they work. but you have to be persistant. you can't do it for a couple weeks and give up. if you want the stuff you have to be willing to sacrifice the time to find it.

the "tell everyone you know about your collection" is huge. in the past year it's landed me: an Atari 7800, Atari 2600, Playstation, N64, Gameboy Pocket, Sega Genesis, Coleco Gemini and about 150 games between them for ...free!

I'm sure you other die hard "hunters" can relate but it's a friggin' rush making that nice score for a mere pittance.

for the record about 90% of my collection has been gathered using the various methods mentioned. at the moment (including multiples) that would be about 75 systems and around 4000 games.

get out and hunt!!