slosu Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 I was at a Retro Game Shop in my neighborhood today and the dude behind the counter told me he had two boxes full of Atari games that recently came in. He allowed me to go in the back room and sift through them, that kind of suprised me because I only talked with him a few times before today. I kicked off a few commons and set a side a couple of "5's" that I might have been interested in if the price was right. Then there it was.....Water World! I could have easily have slipped this cart in my coat but that is not how I roll. I also think that I could have gotten this game for a couple of bucks but I said screw it. I took the game up to the counter and handed it to the owner and asked him if he knew what this was, of course he said no. I told him....DUDE! Put It On EBAY Now! He looked up how much it was worth and he thanked me plenty. He ended up giving my games I brought up to the counter for nothing, they were Mario is Missing (SNES) Fathom (ATARI) Shootin' Gallery (ATARI) Laser Gates (ATARI). I also earned his trust and I know I can count on the "back room" any time I want! I think it's safe to assume that you can see this game popping up on ebay in the next day or two.....who knows I may even put a bid on it! Steve http://www.xanga.com/Atari_Man 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 You are a honest man........ And you earn your fee for your action- GREAT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophero Sly Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Honesty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Your my hero for the week. It's nice to hear when people are honest and kind. There's to little of it in the world today. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homerwannabee Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Wow, you are a better person than me. Happy to see that he gave the other games for free as a finders fee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveD Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 There's one from Ohio on eBay right now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroogur Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Very cool thing you did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Honesty is the best policy. I would have purchased the Waterworld cart at his asking price myself. I've come across several R5 and R6 games in the wild that the seller did not know the value of. Many didn't care, either--it's store policy that Atari games sell for a set price. I have access to the back room in several stores, too, although I don't go into those stores too often. One manager got angry with me because I asked an employee for a look through the box of VCS games behind the counter. The employee said yes, and I snagged a handful of rare carts. The store manager was hacked off, and I didn't go back to that store for months (went back just the other day, in fact, and asked about the spare games anyway!) My policy is kind of like this for finding games in the wild: Beg, borrow, but don't steal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchysuperman Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Sorry to say, I'm not that good a person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homerwannabee Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Looks like the shop owner put it on Ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...68513%26fvi%3D1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegamatrix Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 At least he started it low. I was waiting for the $100 bin with reserve not met. And kudos for your honesty slosu!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 A big thumbs up from me for being honest with the guy, it's nice to see that. Funny that there are three Swordquest Waterworld carts on eBay now with two of them from Ohio and one from neighboring Pennsylvania. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Yes, it sure beats the 'Yippee! look how much I stole from Goodwill!', 'Look how much I ripped of a clueless person!' or 'I steal things all the time' threads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipster Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Surely the whole point of visiting these shops is in case of a bargain otherwise you may as well just stick to ebay and not bother? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 (edited) Lucky for that clerk,you are an HONEST person,someone that honest is pretty RARE.Chances are high, another person would of robbed him blind.I dont think it was too smart a thing for the clerk to do,for safety reasons. Edited November 24, 2007 by Rik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zwackery Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 I've come across several R5 and R6 games in the wild that the seller did not know the value of. Many didn't care, either--it's store policy that Atari games sell for a set price. I don't understand how someone can be running a retro shop (or any type of shop, really) and not be aware of what the market is as well as the value of their merchandise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 I don't understand how someone can be running a retro shop (or any type of shop, really) and not be aware of what the market is as well as the value of their merchandise. This is the reason why most businesses fail. 90% of people don't know what the hell they're doing...which is both good and bad for the rest of us. :!: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 I don't understand how someone can be running a retro shop (or any type of shop, really) and not be aware of what the market is as well as the value of their merchandise. This is the reason why most businesses fail. 90% of people don't know what the hell they're doing...which is both good and bad for the rest of us. :!: I know that if I started a video game store today, I would be in trouble in this regard as well. While I have a good grasp of what's rare for classic systems (pre-NES and some NES), I'd be in trouble for anything newer than the NES, excluding the Jaguar and Lynx of course (Genesis, TuboGrafix, SNES, N64, Playstation, etc..) I'm guessing many people who own stores like this are more familiar with more modern systems and don't really have a clue for the most part of what's rare for the Atari 2600 and other vintage consoles. Especially given the 2600's rather large library. Having said that, there's no excuse for not lookup the relatively rarity of any games before putting them up for sale. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 That was a good thing to do because no bad deed goes unpunished. It's also true that no good deed goes unpunished, so you're pretty much screwed either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zach1845 Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 My opinion is someone is getting ripped off either way. Im sure the store payed no more thant 50 cents to get that cart to begin with.. So the store would lose out if they sold it for say 5.00 but the person who really gets ripped off is the person who traded itno the store to begin with. Im sure 95% of people dont know the difference between a asteroids or a waterworld Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zach1845 Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 (edited) a asteroids or a waterworld Edited November 25, 2007 by zach1845 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 It'll pay off in spades for you. I have a pretty good relationship with my local store owner, he knows I'm a cheap bastard, and I know he has a business to run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 I wouldn't of said anything in that case.I do not feel it would of been my obligation to inform him that it was worth more,thats the stores responsibilty.I find it pretty bizarre that a retro gaming shop would NOT know the value of a WATERWORLD cart,and the fact that some carts are worth more than others.That shop wont be in business long,if it continues doing that.If i owned a shop,where the employees let people in behind the counters and in the back rooms,they would be on their way to the UNEMPLOYMENT line!,for any reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Dogs Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 I wouldn't of said anything in that case.I do not feel it would of been my obligation to inform him that it was worth more,thats the stores responsibilty.I find it pretty bizarre that a retro gaming shop would NOT know the value of a WATERWORLD cart,and the fact that some carts are worth more than others.That shop wont be in business long,if it continues doing that.If i owned a shop,where the employees let people in behind the counters and in the back rooms,they would be on their way to the UNEMPLOYMENT line!,for any reason. Most of the stores I have been at have a few Atari games out and the rest in a box in the back. Display space is valuable. The store would rather put a newer game out that they can sell and make $5.00 to $10.00 bucks on rather than an Atari game that will only sell for $1.00. If you want to see their whole stock of Atari games, they either have to get the box for you or let you in the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 I wouldn't of said anything in that case.I do not feel it would of been my obligation to inform him that it was worth more,thats the stores responsibilty.I find it pretty bizarre that a retro gaming shop would NOT know the value of a WATERWORLD cart,and the fact that some carts are worth more than others.That shop wont be in business long,if it continues doing that.If i owned a shop,where the employees let people in behind the counters and in the back rooms,they would be on their way to the UNEMPLOYMENT line!,for any reason. Most of the stores I have been at have a few Atari games out and the rest in a box in the back. Display space is valuable. The store would rather put a newer game out that they can sell and make $5.00 to $10.00 bucks on rather than an Atari game that will only sell for $1.00. If you want to see their whole stock of Atari games, they either have to get the box for you or let you in the back. Yes,thats okay,just as long as someone's in there watching with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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