25 replies to this topic

[Fixitguy74]

While thrifting at the local Goodwill today I saw Combat and Warlords in a glass case with a couple of NES commons and some games for newer systems. I thought to myself "hey this store doesn't trash the old stuff or send it all to shopgoodwill.com. So I then ask the lady at the counter if they get old stuff in often and she says "from time to time we get older stuff but if its a complete system or a large group of games we send it to shopgoodwill". She then goes on to tell me that just the other day they had a 2600 with all the controllers and cables plus, as she put, most every game they made come in but it went to the auction site. It kinda made me cry on the inside a little. I feel thrifting for games is slowly dying off localy and beginning to bum me out.

[deaditeash]

Weird - I had just seen a system and games on ShopGoodwill from MI last week and was thinking I needed to tell my brother to get off his posterior and check those thrifts out...shopgoodwill is ruining the whole concept of thrift stores I tell you!

[Mark T]

shopgoodwill.com is a bigger rip off than eBay it seems

[opeygon]

These days, you are more likely to make a good score at a swap market or garage sale. I still love to go thrifting just about every weekend. Mostly for records, books, electronics, clothes...all kinds of stuff. But the days of finding rarities or great deals on vintage and classic gaming stuff is long gone.

Edited by opeygon, Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:32 PM.

[Hatta]

Goodwill is eating themselves with this bullshit. If they send all their good electronics to the auction site, what's the point of going into the Goodwill store anymore? Goodwill just opened an "upscale" store here in downtown Omaha, where they pick through the clothes and take the brand name stuff and charge higher prices for it. Again that means you're not going to find anything good in the regular Goodwill.


The end result of all of this is that in a few years, no one will bother going to Goodwill because there will be no chance of finding a deal. Everything will be priced at market rates, which you can find anywhere. Goodwill needs to remember that it's mission is finding jobs for the hard to employ, not short-sightedly chasing profits.

[ls650]

Fixitguy74, on Tue Sep 13, 2011 11:42 AM, said:

I feel thrifting for games is slowly dying off localy and beginning to bum me out.

'Slowly dying'..? In my area the classic scene died a long time ago: you never see anything in the thrift shop older than a PS1 or N64, and even those are rare and marked up to prices higher than eBay.

[SlowCoder]

I'm not so sure there is a regulation on how much each store can charge for their donated materials. We have 4 different stores. Go to any of them, and the prices are drastically different, for the same types of items. At one store, a PS2 goes for $40, at another $30, at another $20. All in the same city. Length of time each holds their merchandise before sending to main plant varies also.

[Itchy Koala]

Hatta, on Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:43 AM, said:

\Goodwill just opened an "upscale" store here in downtown Omaha, where they pick through the clothes and take the brand name stuff and charge higher prices for it.

The one in the old market? That was a horrid idea. Went there once to see what the scene was like, never went back. There's plenty of other second hand stores in that area with reasonable prices.

Goodwill is kinda like a Jenga tower. But they're pulling pieces out of the bottom in an attempt to make it taller. They need to just leave it be.

[boxpressed]

I'm not sure whether my local Goodwill is cherry picking or not. There's a glass case in the front where you will sometimes see a PS2, an N64, a GB Pocket, stuff like that. On the shelves, you won't find many consoles beyond Playstations (I did buy one with the box and a rare controller for $12), but there has been an NES and even a boxed SNES (they wanted $80 for it, so I passed). Always PS2 and PSX games, some of them pretty good but expensive. Usually boxed Genesis games, some good titles too. Everything is about what you'd pay for a good deal on eBay before shipping. I think that's not a bad deal if you're buying for your collection and not to resell, especially since your money is going back to the community (I hope). I've found really good stuff at good prices too, such as a Wico joystick NIB, a Speak and Spell CIB, all for a few bucks each. There are a few bad deals, mostly okay deals, and some great deals, which is about as much as I can hope for, to tell the truth.

Edited by boxpressed, Wed Sep 14, 2011 11:23 AM.

[Necron99]

Most big name Thrift Stores have gone downhill over the last few years, Value Village now checks Ebay prices , Goodwill rarely has anything worthwhile and when they do, it has a comical price on it. Neither of those stores seem to sell anything pre-NES anymore either.

At Salvation Army they seem to have staple prices for things, like $4 for a PS1 game, $5 for PS2/GC/Xbox...which is good for the harder to find stuff but selection is usually terrible.

I've also noticed many local thrift shops closing down.

[S1500]

Thrift stores only have Madden games, etc. Games that are of no value to us, and obviously to the person who gave it away.

You want to hear the ultimate regret? Back in '97 when I moved out of my mom's house, I actually gave away some primo stuff to Goodwill. We're talking a Virtual Boy in its own carrying case(from Blockbuster) + games. No stand, but I now look back & realize I could have sold it for good cash.

I also gave away to Goodwill a CIB Sega Master System(with the 3D glasses) with a handful of games. When I bought it, it looked barely used, with things still in their plastic bags.

Again, WHY the hell did I give that away? I could have made some serious coin years later.

[deaditeash]

Well to be fair, the finds at any thrift are only as good as the items donated right..? I check 4 or 5 thrifts as often as I can for a number of things - video gaming, stereo equipment, computers, books, records, board games, legos (for the kids) - this is just another area where online marketplaces such as ebay have played a big but subtle role in the larger scheme of things - nameley awareness and accessibility. All of these types of things can still be had/found/discovered as that age old adage always applies - one persons junk is another's treasure. More and more people realize value of all manner of collectibles and places like ebay give them the means to profit rather easily...my father-in-law is 69 and is still prone to pulling out this pile of the most beaten up Hot Wheels cars you've ever seen and telling me, "You know how much these things are worth on ebay!" I'm sure many a member here has bought gaming items they didn't want/need for themselves to fund purchases - well you just made the pickings slimmer for the next person that actually did want/need what you bought at a lower price. What has really bothered me of late is that I keep seeing these 30ish guys systematically checking every book on the shelf with a mobile-web device fitted with a bar code scanner - they will have an entire cart full of books already too - this must be a rising trend since I was in another place that said "no bar code scanners"...I don't believe this only applies to books either - I see many individuals at the thrifts that just look like they are picking up inventory for ebay these days, frantically searching and throwing anything in their cart in a manner that looks all business... I still think the Thrifts have potential but that it's more a matter of how often you can get there to increase your chances on being there at the right time...

[SlowCoder]

S1500, on Wed Sep 14, 2011 11:38 AM, said:

Thrift stores only have Madden games, etc. Games that are of no value to us, and obviously to the person who gave it away.

You want to hear the ultimate regret? Back in '97 when I moved out of my mom's house, I actually gave away some primo stuff to Goodwill. We're talking a Virtual Boy in its own carrying case(from Blockbuster) + games. No stand, but I now look back & realize I could have sold it for good cash.

I also gave away to Goodwill a CIB Sega Master System(with the 3D glasses) with a handful of games. When I bought it, it looked barely used, with things still in their plastic bags.

Again, WHY the hell did I give that away? I could have made some serious coin years later.

And the worse of it is that it was probably bought cheap by some kid and played 5 minutes before they determined it was just too old, and went back to their SNES or N64. Now, if you're lucky, it's probably sitting in their garage, if they haven't tossed it out as junk years ago.

[SRGilbert]

It feels like it's forever since I've found anything good at a thrift store.

[Hatta]

Itchy Koala, on Wed Sep 14, 2011 11:03 AM, said:

Hatta, on Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:43 AM, said:

\Goodwill just opened an "upscale" store here in downtown Omaha, where they pick through the clothes and take the brand name stuff and charge higher prices for it.

The one in the old market? That was a horrid idea. Went there once to see what the scene was like, never went back. There's plenty of other second hand stores in that area with reasonable prices.

Yeah, that's the one. Actually the only thrift store I've found it worthwhile to return to is the Goodwill computer store on 72nd and Q(iirc). Picked up a C128 and a couple of TRS-80s there for $15 each. Good prices on peripherals too.

[Itchy Koala]

Hatta, on Thu Sep 15, 2011 1:23 PM, said:

Itchy Koala, on Wed Sep 14, 2011 11:03 AM, said:

Hatta, on Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:43 AM, said:

\Goodwill just opened an "upscale" store here in downtown Omaha, where they pick through the clothes and take the brand name stuff and charge higher prices for it.

The one in the old market? That was a horrid idea. Went there once to see what the scene was like, never went back. There's plenty of other second hand stores in that area with reasonable prices.

Yeah, that's the one. Actually the only thrift store I've found it worthwhile to return to is the Goodwill computer store on 72nd and Q(iirc). Picked up a C128 and a couple of TRS-80s there for $15 each. Good prices on peripherals too.

Maybe we've bumped into each other and never knew it .

[fiddlepaddle]

(these complaint threads about thrift stores are always entertaining)

I've discovered that most thrifts seem to be getting smarter about old video games, and better at pricing, but many will put things out at a super high price "for a while" to see if a crazy guy will buy it on a whim. Others might put it online. Just remember though, we can still find real gems because we have specialized knowledge, or because we might want something nobody else wants. Or, because parts are missing and they can't/don't know how to test it, or they don't even know what it is. I still get good deals almost every week. Someday, all those playstations I got for $2 will be worth more. Well, probably, anyway. Well, maybe not, but I have fun finding them. Well, the first few were fun. They DO stack up, though.

Damn thrift stores!

[A_Locomotive]

I almost never find anything interesting at goodwills, only good find I've ever had was my Sega Saturn. Every other good thrift find I've had was at independent thrift stores, I've found a Virtual Boy with 2 games in pretty damn good condition, a NIB Sega 32X, and quite often games.

[BadHornet]

I dont like shopgoodwill for a number of reasons. First there auctions usually get to ridiculously high amounts....a lot more than Ebay sometimes. Second their shipping charges are outrageous, and almost every system they list "as is" and "unable to test"...so you can pay a pretty coin for something that doesnt even work. Sometimes though they do get some unique items though.

[Tony The 2600]

What i get bummed about is when people throw their old systems in the bin rather then sell them to others or a thrift shop!

Sucks big time when they do this as i find it a waste because some other people could get enjoyment out of it.

I have saved consoles in the past when friends decide they are going to throw them out.
Makes these old school classic games become very rare and hard to find other then ebay and so forth.

I go into my local game shops and all i find is way over priced SNES carts ,never any consoles ,maybe if i am having a very lucky day at a garage sale i will find something.

TT2600 is unhappy

Edited by Tony The 2600, Sat Sep 17, 2011 1:51 AM.

[Fixitguy74]

O.K. So yesterday I went to the same Goodwill (mentioned in my original post) and had to scratch my head. They actualy had a Vader with all the hookups, two sticks, one set of paddles and about 10 or 12 commons in a wood grain cartrige holder. This after being told whole systems and large game lots were sent to Goodwill.com for auction. Hmm? If the price was a little lower though, I would have brought it home, but it was nothing I desperately needed game wise.

On a funny note, I did notice while browsing the store a magna doodle in the toy section with this written on it "Goodwill sucks. Their prices are to high." Made me laugh and trip a little more worth while.

[Wayne2072]

Today, at a local thrift store (not Goodwill), I saw an Atari 2600 compatible joystick... looked old and well-used... but it was a glimmer of hope to me.

[jhd]

It really seems to depend on where in the country someone lives.

I am aware of only one thrift shop in Edmonton (the Goodwill store on 51st Avenue) consistently has consoles (usually bare) and games (almost always sports games), and sometimes even strategy guides. Prices tend to be more-or-less reasonable. Other thrift stores in the city will have the occasional bare console or a random joystick or one or two newer games, but not consistently.

In contrast, the Value Village in Saint John, New Brunswck frequently has vintage hardware, including once a Sears-model 2600 (which were not originally sold in Canada), and games from the 2600 up to the PS 2. I almost always find something whn I'm there.

Here in Calgary, I mainly see occasional random gaming things like a Dreamcast keyboard, but no console or games, or an obviously damaged bare Gamecube. I sometimes find PS 2 or Xbox games, but not very often. TV Game, NOAC-based systems are surprisingly common, but these tend to be packed in baggies and hug with the other "electrical" parts, making them quite challenging to find.

Edited to add that there is no equivalent of shopgoodwill.com in Canada (that I am aware of), so presumably more donated merchandise gets to the sales floor.

Edited by jhd, Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:43 PM.

[T2KFREEKER]

I guess I got lucky recently at my local Goodwill. Got my hands on Dragon Warrior II for $3.00. Loose, but still works and the battery is good as well. Also snagged a complete copy of Silent hill for the Playstation for $4.00. Still, it's mostly a crap shoot like everyone here says. The Goodwill across town is a joke though. Those assclowns try and charge $6.00 a pop for VHS tapes and $10.00 for DVD's, even the cheap ones you get from the dollar store. Nightmare on that one. As for consoles? Only ones I have seen lately are broken down Playstations and one XBOX. I wish I could rujn into a 2600 or something like that. Haven't seen the games for sale in what seems like aeons.

[AtariBrian]

as i have said before they should change their name. GOODWILL maybe should change their name to auction central or something