I haven't had much luck at the thrifts of late. Finally got a bit of a break today with some boxed Genesis games (roughly $5 each), a Model 2 Genesis ($10), PS2 Slim (with Midnight Club II inside)($10), and a PSOne ($13) a Wheel of Fortune Plug n' Play ($3), and from a pawn shop Uncharted for PS3 ($12).
I can't resist if I find cheap boxed Genesis games so I picked up the decent ones I found. Plug n' Plays aren't really all that great but I like the ones that look interesting and use them more as decorative pieces than anything.
I can't seem to come across a working PS2 slim. This is the 2nd one of bought from a thrift store with a non-working disc drive. I had been looking out for a Genesis for my old man for a while now and this was the 1st time I can across one that wasn't ridiculously priced since I started searching. It powers on fine but I can get the any games to boot up. I took it apart & gave it a good scrubbing but still no dice. It's always a risk buying game systems from thrift stores or just where ever they sell "as is/untested/no refunds" but I only pay what I'm comfortable gambling with. $10 isn't going to kill me if I can't fix it eventually but I'm sure I'll be able to get it working somehow. The PS2s are another story. If I can get replacement disk drives cheap enough, I'll give it a go. If not, I may just sell them for parts. The PSOne also had a stuck eject button but that was an easy fix and it works beautifully.
I'm also happy to say I finally bought a soldering kit. I have been reading up for a while now but it's time to start practicing with simple electronics (led lights and that sort of thing to start). I hope to get the hang of it quickly so I can start fixing my pile of broken consoles.
Overall I'd say I paid too much considering 2 of the consoles are broken but it was great to finally come away with something after a couple of weeks of nothing at all.