Video Game "Look what I found"

[TEKTORO]

How much were they asking for the Steel Battalion Controller? Just curious, cause if it was cheap you should of grabbed it you never know.

[J_Wil]

Went to SoCal for a few days to attend an awards ceremony for my girlfriend who has separated from the military. She gave me her PS2 because she only bought it years back because it was the cheapest DVD player she could find at the time. We also made a deal (the terms aren't important) in which she would allow me hit my old stopping grounds and do some thrift store game hunting. She despises my gaming habit so this was a big deal. Holy shit was it a good trip. I found a pristine and complete copy of Futurama for the PS2 for $2.25 (which is not a common game) and a handful of Game Gear games for $0.75 each at a Goodwill. I saw a lot of the normal stuff I used to find out there..a $10 Gamecube, a $25 PS2 slim, 2 $35 N64 packages with 2 controllers, and a memory card (1 with an expansion pak), a $10 Dreamcast (and a not so good deal $65 SNES) all in immaculate shape but I passed on all that because I don't need any more of those. I did pick up a basically brand new copy of Lee Travino's Fighting Golf (NES) for $8 (looks like it's never been played) and some Sega Genesis game called f*cking MUSHA! I was just awestruck when I saw it sitting in their showcase...but then I saw the price was $175. This particular store looks all the game values up and prices them accordingly but man do they get some good stuff in. I initially decided not to get it but my girlfriend actually talked me into it when I showed her that the latest eBay sales for complete copies without damage had sold for between $300-350. We used to argue quite a bit about how much time and money I spent on games and I still can't believe she was okay with it. So, yeah it's a lot of money for any game and ridiculous for a thrift store but based on the current market value it's a good deal especially being that everything is mint. Even the manual has is absent of creases or dinged corners. I figure I won't likely come across this game again, especially in this condition so I might as well join the big boy game collector's club and grab it. I'm more amazed that my girlfriend gave me the thumbs up to buy such an expensive game than I am to actually have it in my collection. Something that will bug me is the clerk said they had gotten in a game that they were holding in the back that their pricing person researched at a value of around $1,000. I asked if she knew what it was and of course she didn't. I tried to sweet talk her into letting me at least see what game it was but no luck. I've since returned home to crummy Albuquerque so I'll never know. I can only imagine... I really miss SoCal.

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[TheWhiteFalcon]

Even though it's better for them, I liked it better when thrift and used stores didn't look up prices on eBay. You found a lot better deals back then.

Especially since eBay's prices are ridiculous.

[aaron]

nice find on musha! that's awesome.

[J_Wil]

Even though it's better for them, I liked it better when thrift and used stores didn't look up prices on eBay. You found a lot better deals back then.

Especially since eBay's prices are ridiculous.

I wholeheartedly agree. I hate that people who don't know anything about what they have use eBay as the benchmark for market value and more so that they use unsold "Buy It Now" listings to make that determination. The sad reality is that eBay is a player in what determines how much something is worth based upon what a few people are willing to pay.
When a thrift store starts selling at retail or at the already inflated eBay averages it's no longer a thrift store. I don't like paying retail at thrift stores and if it's not something that's legitimately very uncommon or rare I pass. I figure I'll find the more common stuff cheaper at some point so there's no rush. Still, people like myself who occasionally pay exuberant prices at these thrift stores are only condoning that behavior and I'm not proud of that. In my case, there are generally a handful of games for each system that I would consider centerpieces for my collection. As unrealistic as it may be, I would like to have a complete US Genesis collection one day and MUSHA is one of those centerpieces and with the way retro game prices are trending up quickly, especially the harder to find ones, I felt like this one was in my favor even at that price. At worst, I can decide it's not worth it and either at a minimum get my money back or trade for a few things that I would have a tough time getting otherwise.

[Snatch1414]

How much were they asking for the Steel Battalion Controller? Just curious, cause if it was cheap you should of grabbed it you never know.

They were $5 for each piece. It felt like I should buy them but I just have no idea what I'd do with them.

[oxymoron]

I live in Socal and I have yet to find some deals like that. Where exactly did you stay?

[mjmjr25]

I wholeheartedly agree. I hate that people who don't know anything about what they have use eBay as the benchmark for market value and more so that they use unsold "Buy It Now" listings to make that determination. The sad reality is that eBay is a player in what determines how much something is worth based upon what a few people are willing to pay.
When a thrift store starts selling at retail or at the already inflated eBay averages it's no longer a thrift store. I don't like paying retail at thrift stores and if it's not something that's legitimately very uncommon or rare I pass.

Markets fluctuate drastically and rapidly. Any non-chain store with any serious volume can't be expected to know the current value of all of their inventory - it would be nice if all prices are marked and updated ahead of time, but you as a consumer can tell if it has a price or not, and if you take an item to the counter w/o a price, good chance is they are going to check ebay for a value. You can state your case they aren't ebay and make a lower offer, you are a consumer and the choice to buy is yours alone. Case in point, MUSHA CIB was $100 a year ago, now it's doing $200 range. So you would suggest they should leave it at $100 and let someone else come in there, buy it for $100, and flip for $200? A thrift store is still a store - they need to generate revenue. You are a consumer and can choose or not choose to make a purchase.

Of course it's fun to find a steal of a deal in a store or flea market, but it doesn't go hand and hand with the same ideology that a store shouldn't get fair value on their item, or do what it takes to find fair value. If they charge ebay prices for everything, don't buy anything, and they won't last long.

[superyoda41]

I agree mjmjr25's post. If they are going to be exorbitant with their prices then I just pass and move along. The store and I both have our agendas and freedom to do what we want.

Sometimes it sucks (like when I found a complete colecovision/controllers/boxed games but they wanted like $200.00), but I get why they do what they do. If they don't get the money then some joe will sell it on ebay and get the higher value. It's frustrating because 4-5 years ago (pre-smartphones being common) nothing was expensive, but things have changed and you have to go along with it. (plus it gives you something wax nostalgic about: the good old days when I used to buy 20 NES carts for $2.00 etc.)

I get more annoyed with the people who walk into a thrift store and go through the bin of games and look up each title on his or her smartphone. That is ultimately the reason for the price spikes. All it did was let a thrift store know that they can get in on the action, which I just don't get annoyed about. I'd rather them get fair market value. I get far more annoyed when I see a guy buy something they are looking up on his phone and then check ebay that night and find it for 20 times what they paid.

Still, in my area I still find they screw-up pricing every week and I grab some good things. I have meant to post from the last week, but just last night I grabbed a Cobalt SP for 2 bucks. They had a flame one behind the counter for $20. There is still enough to go around.

Personally, I have the most fun going to yard sales. You get the best deals and it's the most fun. If your willing to work a little harder than the next guy you can get some great stuff.

[flojocabron]

here's what I got the other day at le flemarket

J League Soccer League Eleven For JPN Gamegear $2.00; At least I think thats what it's called. Its got some japanese letters.

I then got a wii zapper and Tetris for Gameboy for $3.00

Finally, I then found in the middle of a whole bunch of sports PS2 games, I found: Tony Hawks Proving Ground PS2, Scooby Doo Unmasked PS2, Tony Hawks Underground 2 PS2, and Smackdown Vs Raw PS2. All four games for $8.00

Today I also picked up 16 ps2 games at gamestop for $17.00

more disc only games. why cant I stop buying them?