The great thrift store famine

[thadsilverfox]

things like that will never become collectible cause everyone has a collection (think beenie babies) sure for the short term but in the long run you end up with 2 boxes of crap that get donated to the toy section

That's true with a lot of collectibles nowadays. Everyone trying to keep everything sealed now thinking they will go up in value one day. Companies now prey on these type of collectors by offering less items at a higher cost.

[BigO]

I really thought about picking up a Wii and some games but I think the resellers have already thought of it. I just imagine some reseller in my area with a basement full of these consoles & games waiting for the prices to rise before unloading them. I can never find any Wii consoles much less Wii games at any of the thrift stores around me.

I find Wii games on rare occasion. Based on what I see in the thrift stores, they must have made 100 times as many Wii balance boards as they made consoles.

[Keatah]

Most collectibles are only valuable among like minded people and other collectors seeking the same thing. Otherwise it's just "stuff". The value is what someone else says it is. Otherwise it's just "stuff".

[Andromeda Stardust]

I find Wii games on rare occasion. Based on what I see in the thrift stores, they must have made 100 times as many Wii balance boards as they made consoles.

GameXchange has so many balance boards it isn't even funny. I could see someone building a fort out of them. Thing about balance boards, they came with Wii Fit, which the casuals bought in droves. Real gamers and collectors want nothing to do with fitness stuff usually, so it languishes on store shelves. Remember this is the casual market that bought the Wii so they could go bowling in their living room. Those who hadn't thrown their Wiis in the closet already probably picked up the fitness bundles as well. Maybe someone come up with a novel use for the balance board in homebrew or something, but it's just junk.

 

If I want exercise, I'll go ride on my mountain bike...

[7800fan]

GameXchange has so many balance boards it isn't even funny. I could see someone building a fort out of them. Thing about balance boards, they came with Wii Fit, which the casuals bought in droves. Real gamers and collectors want nothing to do with fitness stuff usually, so it languishes on store shelves. Remember this is the casual market that bought the Wii so they could go bowling in their living room. Those who hadn't thrown their Wiis in the closet already probably picked up the fitness bundles as well. Maybe someone come up with a novel use for the balance board in homebrew or something, but it's just junk.

 

If I want exercise, I'll go ride on my mountain bike...

 

I can name one fitness stuff that all real collector are clamoring for and would sell their mother out for a chance to buy it. But that would be out of thousand or so over the last 30 years so it is a rare gem.

[hookem]

GameXchange has so many balance boards it isn't even funny. I could see someone building a fort out of them. Thing about balance boards, they came with Wii Fit, which the casuals bought in droves. Real gamers and collectors want nothing to do with fitness stuff usually, so it languishes on store shelves.

Goodwill has tons of them too. Whenever I see something like so prominent in thrift stores and so unused by anyone (like George Foreman grills), I think.... what GENIUS MARKETING!!!

 

Full disclosure - I bought a balance board, new. Never made it out of the box. About a year into ownership, I figured, why take it out? I'll have a pristine video game collectable that I bought new complete unopened in the box (which for some reason, with ALL the thousands and thousands I've spent on new videogame stuff, has NEVER happened before). That delusion went south quickly.

[DuggerVideoGames]

Goodwill has tons of them too. Whenever I see something like so prominent in thrift stores and so unused by anyone (like George Foreman grills), I think.... what GENIUS MARKETING!!!

 

Full disclosure - I bought a balance board, new. Never made it out of the box. About a year into ownership, I figured, why take it out? I'll have a pristine video game collectable that I bought new complete unopened in the box (which for some reason, with ALL the thousands and thousands I've spent on new videogame stuff, has NEVER happened before). That delusion went south quickly.

 

I'm sorry that happened for you. I hate it anytime somebody gets disappointed with what they thought was a good investment. I made a much more conservative investment, however. I got a copy of Shaq-Fu for the Genesis many years ago for just a dollar; that thing will be worth thousands someday because it is the ultimate doorstop!

[Retro-Z]

Lots of doom and gloom in this thread. LOL. You'll ALWAYS have to search for the good stuff. EVERYWHERE. Garage sales. Flea Markets. Thrift stores. Etc. Finding the good stuff at bargain prices is NOT easy!

 

Within the last few months I found a stack of quality N64 Mario games, a complete Sega Saturn system, and several interesting PS2/Xbox games. All at Goodwill. However, I drop in about 3-4 times a week. The stuff definitely doesn't last long on the shelves.

 

It's also important to keep an open mind at thrift stores. If you go with a specific goal in mind, such as hoping to find Atari 5200 games, you'll likely be extremely disappointed. I've chosen recently to start messing around more with the PS2 and original Xbox (stuff that I can actually find fairly frequently at thrift stores these days), and have found some great games for incredibly cheap. A local pawn shop was clearing out their Xbox/PS2 inventory late last year, and I built up an instant collection of 20-30 good titles for less than $40. That alone is probably enough gaming to last me several years, at least at the rate that I finish games these days. The Wii is another good system to watch out for, as mentioned earlier. I have passed up several boxed Wii systems the last 12 months in beautiful condition for $40 and under. Talk about some INSANELY cheap gaming on a great system with some awesome games made for it. And the PS1!!! Those things are basically free!!! Right now is a great time to collect for the PS1, especially considering how cheap the systems and the games are right now.

 

No, you won't find a lot of cartridge games at thrift stores anymore, which is to be expected considering how long it's been since they were made. You don't find a lot quality film cameras at thrift stores either, and they started dying off around the same time as cartridge-based video games. There's also all of the other factors including increasing collector's value of classic cartridge games, an increased demand for them, increased competition in the form of other collectors and resellers/"pickers", and the availability of sites like eBay that allow people to easily sell stuff to a global audience. In another 20 years, the thrift store shelves will probably be stocked with PS3/PS4 and Xbox360/Xbox1 stuff, with maybe a few games for older systems like the PS2 mixed in. This is just part of the natural cycle of what gets donated to thrift stores.

 

There's still tons of great stuff out there. And in all seriousness, eBay isn't necessarily a bad option. You can save the headache and frustration of burning up time and gas money by just buying from an eBay dealer. Let them go through all of the BS of locating the merchandise, camping out at thrift stores all day, searching through garage sales at the crack of dawn, etc. Just get online, run a quick search, and buy it on eBay, all from the comfort of your own couch.

 

However, that DOES eliminate the fun of the hunt. I would imagine that physiologically, searching for stuff at thrift stores creates the same kind of brain activity as gambling at a casino. LOL.

 

I've said it before, but the only time you truly stop finding stuff is when you stop looking...

[Keatah]

However, that DOES eliminate the fun of the hunt. I would imagine that physiologically, searching for stuff at thrift stores creates the same kind of brain activity as gambling at a casino. LOL.

 

So does online searching.

[Osgeld]

yea I drop in twice a week and have found a famiclone and yars revenge in like 5 years, not all goodwills are equal

 

The one thrift store that does carry games around here that I have found doesn't mark them the look it up on eBay when you ask

Edited April 9, 2016 by Osgeld

[thadsilverfox]

Within the last few months I found a stack of quality N64 Mario games, a complete Sega Saturn system, and several interesting PS2/Xbox games. All at Goodwill. However, I drop in about 3-4 times a week. The stuff definitely doesn't last long on the shelves.

 

A local pawn shop was clearing out their Xbox/PS2 inventory late last year, and I built up an instant collection of 20-30 good titles for less than $40. That alone is probably enough gaming to last me several years, at least at the rate that I finish games these days. The Wii is another good system to watch out for, as mentioned earlier. I have passed up several boxed Wii systems the last 12 months in beautiful condition for $40 and under. Talk about some INSANELY cheap gaming on a great system with some awesome games made for it. And the PS1!!! Those things are basically free!!! Right now is a great time to collect for the PS1, especially considering how cheap the systems and the games are right now.

 

I've said it before, but the only time you truly stop finding stuff is when you stop looking...

Sounds like me and my reseller friend need to make a trip out to Kansas. I have family in Kansas City so we can save a little on lodging fees. I'll start mapping out the stops now.

Edited April 9, 2016 by thadsilverfox

[AtariLeaf]

As mentioned above, if you do want to find anything you must go regularly and perhaps several times a day. That's what the resellers do and they do this because it IS their job. What I've noticed though is that a great many resellers don't hold down regular jobs. I know of at least two in my area that flip video games because they can't or won't hold down a job. Too stressful, boss is a meanie head, I'm lazy, getting up before noon sucks. I think there's a pattern to these charmers.

[Retro-Z]

Sounds like me and my reseller friend need to make a trip out to Kansas. I have family in Kansas City so we can save a little on lodging fees. I'll start mapping out the stops now.

 

LOL. By all means, come on down and give it a shot. However, there are just as many resellers around here as anywhere else, as well as horrible inventory, high prices, etc. Occasionally, you time it just right to find something cool.

 

I've probably made about 100 visits to thrift stores the last 3-4 months. Of those, I found the N64 games one trip around 2 months ago, and the Sega Saturn system about a week later. Every other trip has been a bust. So if you want to come to Kansas, spending a big wad of cash on trip expenses, for a less than 2% chance of finding something, be my guest!

 

Garage sales have been a bust this year so far. Like the $300 Wii system. Or the $30 beat up Xbox with no cables or controllers. Or the $50 PS2 with a couple of sports games. There was a like-new recent model boxed Xbox 360 with a few nice games for $80, but it was one of the 4GB hard drive versions.

 

So don't mistake my enthusiasm for actual availability of cool stuff to buy. I just don't expect to find a heavy sixer 2600, Colecovision, or Vectrex every time I go visit a thrift store. And I get as much fun out of searching as I do actually finding and playing around with this stuff. It's simple reality that yeah, nearly 20 years after the last cartridge game for a major video game console (not including handhelds) rolled out of the factory, you won't find many cartridge video games or the consoles that play them at a thrift store. But, if someone keeps looking, I guarantee they'll find something.

 

As far as resellers being lazy, the successful ones that make a decent living wage doing it are probably more ambitious than most of the people in the regular work force. They are out well before the sun rises looking for places to visit, spending tons of hours every week listing things for sale online and packing/shipping them off, and dragging their stock to flea markets and other events with no guarantee of success in sales. Any reseller that is lazy either won't be a reseller for very long, or already has a good primary source of income anyway.

Edited April 9, 2016 by Retro-Z

[AtariLeaf]

 

 

As far as resellers being lazy, the successful ones that make a decent living wage doing it are probably more ambitious than most of the people in the regular work force. They are out well before the sun rises looking for places to visit, spending tons of hours every week listing things for sale online and packing/shipping them off, and dragging their stock to flea markets and other events with no guarantee of success in sales. Any reseller that is lazy either won't be a reseller for very long, or already has a good primary source of income anyway.

 

Those are the professional resellers. The kind I'm talking about are the ones who still live at home and/or have family supporting them while they sleep until noon and go to thrift stores and garage sales to buy stuff to resell so they can have money for beer or movies. The professional ones are the ones that have their own shops, fleamarket booths or other expenses and thus (usually) pay taxes and are contributing members of society.

[Keatah]

That may be all they can be. Not everyone is an Elon Musk.

[thadsilverfox]

As far as resellers being lazy, the successful ones that make a decent living wage doing it are probably more ambitious than most of the people in the regular work force. They are out well before the sun rises looking for places to visit, spending tons of hours every week listing things for sale online and packing/shipping them off, and dragging their stock to flea markets and other events with no guarantee of success in sales. Any reseller that is lazy either won't be a reseller for very long, or already has a good primary source of income anyway.

This ^

 

You will never make it as a reseller if you can't wake up at the butt crack of dawn.

[thadsilverfox]

That may be all they can be. Not everyone is an Elon Musk.

No offense...I have never heard of this guy. Names I'm familiar with getting thrown around are Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Cuban, Warren Buffett, and so forth. I actually had to Google (Larry Page & Sergey Brin Co-founders) the name.

Edited April 9, 2016 by thadsilverfox

[4Ks]

No offense...I have never heard of this guy. Names I'm familiar with getting thrown around are Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Cuban, Warren Buffett, and so forth. I actually had to Google (Larry Page & Sergey Brin Co-founders) the name.

 

You seriously didn't know who Elon Musk is? He's one of the most famous entrepeneurs in history. Basically every modern economics textbook uses him and his company, Tesla, as an example of successful trailblazing.

[DuggerVideoGames]

 

You seriously didn't know who Elon Musk is? He's one of the most famous entrepeneurs in history. Basically every modern economics textbook uses him and his company, Tesla, as an example of successful trailblazing.

 

He should start his own line of perfume and cologne!

[thadsilverfox]

 

You seriously didn't know who Elon Musk is? He's one of the most famous entrepeneurs in history. Basically every modern economics textbook uses him and his company, Tesla, as an example of successful trailblazing.

Don't remember ever reading about him in any of the economic textbooks in 2012. What product has he invented that I currently use on an everyday basis? I'm just an average guy who doesn't follow business or finance. Then again I don't have cable TV so I really don't keep up with current events. You make it sound as if it is common knowledge.

 

Google...I use just about daily

Warren Buffett...invest in many companies that i drink and eat daily

Steve Jobs...I own an Ipod

Bill Gates...I have a windows phone

Mark Cuban...I occasionally watch basketball

Elon Musk...???

Edited April 9, 2016 by thadsilverfox

[+Ksarul]

Elon Musk: Just launched a resupply spaceship to the ISS. . .and landed the first stage on a drone ship at sea.

[Osgeld]

and that paypal thing no one uses

[Skippy B. Coyote]

And in all seriousness, eBay isn't necessarily a bad option. You can save the headache and frustration of burning up time and gas money by just buying from an eBay dealer. Let them go through all of the BS of locating the merchandise, camping out at thrift stores all day, searching through garage sales at the crack of dawn, etc. Just get online, run a quick search, and buy it on eBay, all from the comfort of your own couch.

 

However, that DOES eliminate the fun of the hunt. I would imagine that physiologically, searching for stuff at thrift stores creates the same kind of brain activity as gambling at a casino. LOL.

Where I'm at with the systems I'm actively collecting for right now, eBay is pretty much the only option when it comes to finding the games I want. I've already got all the common and uncommon titles, and most of the rare ones too. The games I'm actively looking for at this point haven't shown up at any of the local game stores in a better part of a decade and only pop up on eBay a few times a year, which means my chances of finding them at a thrift store or garage sale are somewhere between slim and none.

 

I think that eventually everyone who collects games for just a couple specific systems, assuming they keep collecting long enough, will come to the point where the only place to find the few remaining games they want is going to be eBay. And I'm alright with that, because I'm honestly just happy that there is somewhere that I can look and have a decent shot at eventually finding the games I'm still looking to add to my collection; even if they're not going to come cheap.

[4Ks]

Don't remember ever reading about him in any of the economic textbooks in 2012. What product has he invented that I currently use on an everyday basis? I'm just an average guy who doesn't follow business or finance. Then again I don't have cable TV so I really don't keep up with current events. You make it sound as if it is common knowledge.

 

Google...I use just about daily

Warren Buffett...invest in many companies that i drink and eat daily

Steve Jobs...I own an Ipod

Bill Gates...I have a windows phone

Mark Cuban...I occasionally watch basketball

Elon Musk...???

 

Tesla manufactures electric cars. They've been making headlines for years because they're the first to make these cars affordable for average people. You definitely don't need to own one of these cars to have heard of the company, or Elon Musk - they're pretty big names in their field. And frankly, I've never heard of Mark Cuban, but I'm not going to act like he isn't famous because my limited sphere of knowledge happens to not include him.

[AtariLeaf]

Where I'm at with the systems I'm actively collecting for right now, eBay is pretty much the only option when it comes to finding the games I want. I've already got all the common and uncommon titles, and most of the rare ones too. The games I'm actively looking for at this point haven't shown up at any of the local game stores in a better part of a decade and only pop up on eBay a few times a year, which means my chances of finding them at a thrift store or garage sale are somewhere between slim and none.

 

I think that eventually everyone who collects games for just a couple specific systems, assuming they keep collecting long enough, will come to the point where the only place to find the few remaining games they want is going to be eBay. And I'm alright with that, because I'm honestly just happy that there is somewhere that I can look and have a decent shot at eventually finding the games I'm still looking to add to my collection; even if they're not going to come cheap.

 

That's where I'm at as well. I could walk into any thrift store and buy xbox or PS2 games if I wanted just to say I "found" something, but my wish list is quite small and mostly consists of big box pc games, Tandy Coco, C64, Atari 8-bit or homebrews. Almost none of which ever shows up around here, at least in the last several years, so it's online or nothing.