10881 replies to this topic

[DrLove0378]

Last weekend I found a few good games I didn't already have...

NES - R.C. Pro-Am II RARE
SNES - Goof Troop
SNES - Super Adventure Island II RARE
N64 - GoldenEye 007
PSX - Space Invaders (CIB)
PSX - Metal Gear Solid (CIB - original release, not the Greatest Hits version)

All for $21.


Ok, so this one wasn't exactly a thrift find, but I also checked out the pawn shop last night and saw a Sony PSP 3001, which was being sold "as is" for $50 because they said it wouldn't charge. I was intrigued, because I had never owned a PSP before, and figured it just needed a new battery pack (which could be had for a little bit of nothing.) So I asked them to plug it in with one of the AC adapters they had lying around, and asked to try out a UMD in it. YES, it powered on, and YES, it loaded and played the game. It had a screen protector on it as well, so I knew the previous owner at least took care of it...

"I'll take it," I said, so the clerk went in the back to retrieve the cables that were traded in with it... which turned out to be a car power adapter from a TomTom GPS (with a USB tip), attached to a cheap wall power converter. HA! No wonder it wasn't charging! They couldn't exactly renege on their price, so they sold it to me for an even $50.

I stopped by Ross on the way back and took a look at their electronic knick-knacks (which usually include some gaming accessories), and found an el-cheapo PSP starter kit ($9.99), which included a car adapter. So I plugged that adapter into the wall adapter I had just gotten, and as luck would have it, it successfully charged the battery. (It was an original Sony 1200mAh battery pack in there too, not a cheap knock-off.) Only thing wrong with the unit was a loose battery door, so I quickly got a replacement on eBay for 89¢.

Upon further testing, I found that all the controls, as well as the Wi-Fi, worked fine. I got an unexpected bonus too -- when looking through the XMB, it reported a MemoryStick was present, so I checked it out, and there was an original Sony-brand MemoryStick PRO Duo Mark 2 (1 GB) in the slot (and it had "The Simpsons Movie" loaded on it, to boot!) So that's one less thing I needed to buy! What a deal!

Edited by DrLove0378, Wed Nov 4, 2009 11:44 AM.

[vrocko]

vrocko, on Wed Nov 4, 2009 10:25 AM, said:

Wow you guys have all the luck. I can't seem to find anything around here lately. I did go to Cleveland for CCAG 2009.5 to get some retro gaming stuff I wanted. Some of the games and miscellanious I got were:

2600
Mario Bros.
Star Trek: Strategic Operations Sim
Fantastic Voyage

Intellivion
Overlays for Space Battle, AD&D and Sea Battle

Colecovision
Zaxxon
Cosmic Avenger
Looping
Donkey Kong Junior
Space Fury

Genesis
Hard Drivin'

Sega CD
Formula 1 Championship

Gameboy
Joust and Defender
Another cart with 4 games on it (can't remember the names right now)

SNES
Two controllers

It was a really good show, lots of people, lots of dealers and games. I tried to win a GenMobile in the ticket drawing but no such luck. I did spend a lot of time at the Zaxxon, Tempest and Gorf arcade games, free to play as much as you want. Digital Dino's were there with their retro computers and they had a game running on each one. Aetherbyte Studios was there with a new game they created for the TurboGrafx-16 which was a lot like Berzerk but updated graphics, sound, etc. Nice game if you happen to see it buy it. I almost bought a TurboGrafx-16 just for that but passed. It was $50 and I'd already spent way too much so I figured I'd better quit before I go broke. Oops already there! I don't why there's been such a limited amount of retro game stuff around here at the thrift shops or flea's lately. Guess there's more retro gamers in the area than I thought. I'll keep looking.

Rich

Oops that one line should read "I don't KNOW why there's been...". Brain's moving faster than the fingers can type.

[shadow460]

Awesome deal on the PSP Brite! I got a Voodoo 5 5500 in a similar fashion. The shop owner said he couldn't get the card to boot up. My old one had been, er, "loaned out" although I did recover it almost a year later. I told him my 5500 had gone missing.
The next time I came in, I asked about the card. He had tried again but still could not get it to post. He kept getting AGP error beeps. He simply handed it to me and said "take it, maybe you can get it working". I asked if he'd plugged in the Molex power connector, and he said he did not remember. When I got home with it, I installed it and it didn't post for me, either. Then I recognized I'd been a bone head and forgot to hook up the Molex plug. Once I did that, it worked fine. I overclocked it for a few weeks until I got my old card back, then set it up bone stock and it's displaying my video right now as I type.

Recently I've acquired several UMD movies for $2.50 a pop. Most were still sealed when I got them. I was originally looking for a used cordless pea grinder, so I hit up a few pawn shops and found these on the cheap:
Beauty Shop
Lords of Dogtown (long box retail version) this one is gently used
Be Cool
Vantage Point
Chain Reaction
The Pest
Behind Enemy Lines this one is also gently used

Also, today I grabbed up Atlantis and Pitfall! for the Intellivision for $2 each. I've already got Pitfall! but I can't find the overlays I had with it. The one I got today has the overlays and instructions.

I also grabbed Castlevania II for the classic Game Boy for $4. This is the only true "thrift find", the rest came from a used game shop and a pawn shop.

[cybercylon]

shadow460, on Fri Nov 6, 2009 12:55 AM, said:

I also grabbed Castlevania II for the classic Game Boy for $4. This is the only true "thrift find", the rest came from a used game shop and a pawn shop.

Thrifts are so dead in my area that I'll post stuff I got from a used game shop if it is a decent deal. e.g., finding 5200 games in the wild in my area isn't exactly easy.

[Smatchmo]

Went to a junk shop and traded a boxed NES clone (yobo) w/ 2 controllers + California Games for 2 blinking NESs and 4 complete TI-99 games (3 carts, 1 tape).

Good finds seem to have dried up in my area, or maybe I'm just lookin' in the wrong places?

[whovian]

I got what might be my best find in months today. I found :

* Gameboy Pocket Yellow CIB
* Tetris Gameboy CIB
* Donkey Kong Gameboy CIB


ALl for $20.

[shadow460]

cybercylon, on Fri Nov 6, 2009 9:06 AM, said:

shadow460, on Fri Nov 6, 2009 12:55 AM, said:

I also grabbed Castlevania II for the classic Game Boy for $4. This is the only true "thrift find", the rest came from a used game shop and a pawn shop.

Thrifts are so dead in my area that I'll post stuff I got from a used game shop if it is a decent deal. e.g., finding 5200 games in the wild in my area isn't exactly easy.

Very true on all counts. 5200 games are more than non existent in our thrifts and have been for many years. Most thrifts around here don't have much in the way of video games anyway. 2008 was an exception. In the spring I was finding 2600 games like nobody's business.

Still, they are the only places you're going to find the better deals. Game shops either won't know what the rare systems/games are (Vintage Stock doesn't know what Power Mission is ), or they will set the prices so high that the system just won't ever sell. Thrifts price the stuff to move in time. If their price is in the stratosphere, wait a week and if the item hasn't sold, it will usually get marked down. That's when you be there right at opening time on markdown day, and bulldoze your way mercilessly to said item like you've been possessed.

[Ace_1]

I picked up something yesterday that I always kept saying to myself that I would never purchase, despite the fact that console has some games I really like. That console is:

An Atari 5200.

It's the 4-port model. It came with 2 of Atari's notoriously unreliable controllers, 3 games(Pac-Man, Super Breakout, Missile Command), and the awkward switchbox(no power supply, however).

Total cost: $30CAN

Also had these 2 Atari 7800 items thrown in for free:

-Pole Position II
-North American Atari 7800 controller

[RickHarrisMaine]

I was a bit surprised to see a minty copy of Star Wars, the Force Unleashed for the PS2 at the Salvation Army today, more surprised at the $2.99 price though.....

I bought it of course.....

[BDW]

The finds were lackluster today, even with the biannual thrift in town. Went to goodwill, saw two Football games for the Genesis. I normally have a policy against buying sports games, but the price was too good. $.10 a piece!!!! Cant go wrong with that! Although when I go to get it rung up, the register lady marked it up to $2 a piece! I said, "Hey! It says $.10 on the box!" The lady responded, "We dont sell anything for $.10." I told her I dont play those bait and switch games, and I left the store.

At the thrift, I bought 6 45's for $2. It included: 2 45's of KISS, one Micheal Jackson, one Jackson 5, and one Jimmy Buffet record. Cheeseburger in Paradise


Got some other stuff, nothing media related though, so I'm not even going to mention them.

[shadow460]

Those Jackson 5 records could be worth some serious money. I've seen picture records of the Jackson 5 listed for hundreds of dollars. Michaels' stuff is probably worth about what it was when it was new.
I have Thriller on a 12 inch record. I purchased it for $15 just after he died. The next time I was in Vintage Stock, that same version of Thriller was going for $30.

[brak]

picked up a...
turbografx-16 complete in box, $65
atari 5200 w/two WORKING controllers, $15
working game gear w/ a/c adapter, $7

ive been wanting these 3 for quite a while, pretty awesome!

[SnapCraft]

brak, on Sun Nov 8, 2009 5:51 PM, said:

picked up a...
turbografx-16 complete in box, $65
atari 5200 w/two WORKING controllers, $15
working game gear w/ a/c adapter, $7

ive been wanting these 3 for quite a while, pretty awesome!

Nice!

Slow day for me. I was getting pissed. You ever go through the "aisles" of a flea market and see just one too many clothes racks and think that your going to have a slow/crappy trip? I hate that feeling. Then, because of your negative karma, the Flea Gods make sure you don't you don't win the lottery during the visit. You really start hoping that the next turn, next scan, next inspection will bring gold, but doesn't. Ohh yeah, I'm addicted, I know.

Got:
NES: Kirby's Adv, Joust, Wrath Black Manta, & Jackal.
Genesis: boxed Valis III w/o inst.
$14 total.

Passed:
$50 Dreamcast - 2 controllers, AC, 12 games. I asked if I could buy some of the games separately. The crazy woman said, "Look at what you get, 1, 2, 3,...12 games! $50 is a great deal!" Yeah, OK, maybe next time.

$15 boxed Sega Menacer - This could be a buck and I think I'd still pass. It's bulky and sucks, right?

$15 boxed SMS "rectangled top" Controller - Yeah, really thought about it, but passed.

Please tell me I didn't f-up here. I passed on a $25 N64 w/ 1 controller and AC. The only thing that sticks in my head is that it had a unique "expansion pak" plug-in. It covered the entire area where it plugs in, had thick black plastic on the top (protruding about 1/4" out and measured about 2" by 2" square), and it had holes in it (much like a strainer). It obviously replaces/doesn't allow you to put the original cover back on. I pulled it out and it said something like "4k" on the side.

Please tell me that's an everyday thing. ...even if I wasn't able to hunt down a picture/info on the 'net.

[SRGilbert]

SnapCraft, on Sun Nov 8, 2009 8:14 PM, said:

Please tell me that's an everyday thing. ...even if I wasn't able to hunt down a picture/info on the 'net.

Sounds like an off brand memory expansion pak to me, can't imagine it would be worth anything, certainly not $25. The Dreamcast might not have been a horrible deal depending on what games it had and whether you needed them I guess.

[RickHarrisMaine]

picked up a beautiful, great stickers, battery door intact, with batteries, working Coleco Pac Man tabletop for $1.79 at Goodwill today.

[brojamfootball]

RickHarrisMaine, on Mon Nov 9, 2009 7:51 PM, said:

picked up a beautiful, great stickers, battery door intact, with batteries, working Coleco Pac Man tabletop for $1.79 at Goodwill today.

Nice!

[vrocko]

Went to a turkey dinner in Kinsman, OH last weekend with the family. They also have a rummage sale there to raise money so we all went and looked around. I went into the "Tool room" as they call it and found a Dreamcast with controller, an original Sega DC controller, all hookups, the first Dreamcast magazine CD, NBA 2K, just the CD no case or instructions, and a memory card, a MadCatz one not a VMU.

Now I don't know why a DC would be in their "Tool room" but I was happy to find it. It said "as is" on it so I thought it might be broken but I could use it for parts if necessary. It was priced at $5.00! I said what the heck. When I went to the guy to pay he said he'd take $3.00 instead, I thought well then it MUST be broken but still useful.

Took it home and it worked perfectly! I couldn't believe it. So now I've got 3 DC's. One always hooked up, one as a backup and now this one. The controller works great too but has something in it, it rattles. I'm going to open it up and get it out. Finally a break!

Rich

[vrocko]

brak, on Sun Nov 8, 2009 5:51 PM, said:

picked up a...
turbografx-16 complete in box, $65
atari 5200 w/two WORKING controllers, $15
working game gear w/ a/c adapter, $7

ive been wanting these 3 for quite a while, pretty awesome!

IMG_2007a.jpg

Dang! Knew I should have bought that Turbografx 16 for $50.00 when I saw it at CCAG 2009.5.

[cybercylon]

SRGilbert, on Sun Nov 8, 2009 9:14 PM, said:

SnapCraft, on Sun Nov 8, 2009 8:14 PM, said:

Please tell me that's an everyday thing. ...even if I wasn't able to hunt down a picture/info on the 'net.

Sounds like an off brand memory expansion pak to me, can't imagine it would be worth anything, certainly not $25. The Dreamcast might not have been a horrible deal depending on what games it had and whether you needed them I guess.

Yes, with the dreamcast, it would really have depended on the games that came with it. All sports titles, not a great deal. Throw in a mint Powerstone 1 or 2, or 3-4 A titles that aren't as rare, then it would have been a decent deal.

[AtariLeaf]

It IS Heavy and it IS my brother :

[aikainnet]

Picked up both for 1$ each

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (GG)
Bugs Bunny in Double Trouble (GG)

[Rev. Rob]

It's Veteran's Day, so I've been hit up the yard sales and flea markets for a while. I didn't score much today, but I got this TV (32" Sony Trinitron Wega) for $60, and an Aurora InterActor for $8, just because I can't pass up weird videogame shit.



Game Crazy is having a going out of business sale with everything 80% off, so I think I am going to head there next.

[bretthorror]

Rev. Rob, on Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:41 PM, said:

It's Veteran's Day, so I've been hit up the yard sales and flea markets for a while. I didn't score much today, but I got this TV (32" Sony Trinitron Wega) for $60, and an Aurora InterActor for $8, just because I can't pass up weird videogame shit.



Game Crazy is having a going out of business sale with everything 80% off, so I think I am going to head there next.

I got one of those Aura things off the shopping channel years ago. I think I used it a few times. The power source is fucking huge, if I remember right. I think I kept mine even though the hookups aren't there.

[BDW]

Rev. Rob, on Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:41 PM, said:

It's Veteran's Day, so I've been hit up the yard sales and flea markets for a while. I didn't score much today, but I got this TV (32" Sony Trinitron Wega) for $60, and an Aurora InterActor for $8, just because I can't pass up weird videogame shit.

How well does that InterActor work? I think it looks pretty cool....

[SRGilbert]

brandondwright, on Wed Nov 11, 2009 6:05 PM, said:

Rev. Rob, on Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:41 PM, said:

It's Veteran's Day, so I've been hit up the yard sales and flea markets for a while. I didn't score much today, but I got this TV (32" Sony Trinitron Wega) for $60, and an Aurora InterActor for $8, just because I can't pass up weird videogame shit.

How well does that InterActor work? I think it looks pretty cool....

I have one of those too. Imagine if you will, a really cheap subwoofer that you strap to your chest. It emphasises the low frequency sounds in a game (punches, shotgun blasts, ect.)

And yeah, it works about as well as you might think it would, that is to say, not well at all.