found NES games in trash

[Dusk2600]

DOUBLE DRAGON (I guess this means I can throw out my 7800 version j/k)

^^ yes, you can

[youngskywalker]

I take stuff thats left in parking lots, or around the front area of thrift stores.

I don't jump fences to get into donaton areas, most of the time it's a locked area.

The only reason I started doing it is because once I got to one of my favorite thrift stores about a half hour before opening. There was a pile of old pirateship models from the 70s still in the boxes. I saw them there and thought I should leave them, then a guy came up and took all of them! I felt like I missed out on a great find that I could have had.

So now I always check to see if there's anything cool around the donations. Somtimes I drive by thrift stores at night and a bunch of ladies are already raiding the bags of stuff! So far I've found only a few things worth taking, one being a new panzer general playstation game.

It's not like I'm taking kids clothes or wheelchairs or anything. I feel like theres much more serious things in the world to worry about.

[Cheese007]

Question #1

WHY THE HELL WOULD THEY THROW OUT MONEY?

Especially old money. Come on, that's just common sense, or lack thereof.

Btw I too would like to see those old coins, as I am a collector myself.

Edited August 8, 2006 by Cheese007

[Dusk2600]

Yeah, i am still baffled about thta one, those coins are probibally way more valuable then the nes games

[JagFan422]

It's not like I'm taking kids clothes or wheelchairs or anything. I feel like theres much more serious things in the world to worry about.

 

No your just taking the items the thrift sales to make the money to buy the clothes for needy kids and wheelchairs for the disabled.

[Dusk2600]

Oh no, not another one of these arguments

[Atari-Jess]

I take stuff thats left in parking lots, or around the front area of thrift stores.

I don't jump fences to get into donaton areas, most of the time it's a locked area.

 

ITS THE SAME.

 

The only reason I started doing it is because once I got to one of my favorite thrift stores about a half hour before opening. There was a pile of old pirateship models from the 70s still in the boxes. I saw them there and thought I should leave them, then a guy came up and took all of them! I felt like I missed out on a great find that I could have had.

 

You decided to steal cause other people were doing it?

 

So now I always check to see if there's anything cool around the donations. Somtimes I drive by thrift stores at night and a bunch of ladies are already raiding the bags of stuff! So far I've found only a few things worth taking, one being a new panzer general playstation game.

 

So because old ladies do it, it means you're in the clear right?

 

It's not like I'm taking kids clothes or wheelchairs or anything. I feel like theres much more serious things in the world to worry about.

 

No difference man, those items get turned into cash which helps people, it doesn't matter what you're stealing. It's not the food bank you're stealing from, its goods that get converted into cash.

 

It doesn't look like anyone is gonna get through to you.

[Bill Brasky]

Did you find the game 'Dirty Diaper II: The lost levels' or 'Urine Soaked Mattress:Turbo Edition'.

[JagFan422]

eeewww lol

[Atari-Jess]

Did you find the game 'Dirty Diaper II: The lost levels' or 'Urine Soaked Mattress:Turbo Edition'.

 

 

MY FAVOURITES, I'LL PAY YOU ANYTHING... oh no wait, turbo edition? DD2? Maaan, I thought you were delivering the GOODS.

[Lemmi]

i used to visit a salvation army store that had tons of stuff piled up on the front door step every morning, then after about 2 months they changed it and posted a sign saying that anything left on the sidewalk or by the door would be thrown out no exceptions, thats when the dumpster divers came out in droves

 

i couldnt do it myself because the store was right next to a resturant and they both used the same dumpster .. ewww

 

i found a space invaders cart (text version) in the garbage back in the early 80's which was weird because it was in my friends garbage and he didnt even own an atari, i still have that game in my collection

 

i found a small pinball machine once and i tried to repair it but being only 11 or 12 i had no idea what i was doing

i got the lights to work and the flippers, but the board was half dead, only the bottom half worked

all i kept hearing from mom was throw that garbage out, that xmas i got one of those small portable pinball games

 

then the best thing was the philips cdi 220 system with the only problem being the door wouldnt open, take the top off and manually open the door fixes that problem

[CARTRIDGE STEALER]

I never went dumpster diving BUT when I was a teen and I worked in the stockrooms of certain stores, I would throw some merchandise in the dumpster and come back at night at pick it up.

 

 

does that count?

[shadow460]

i used to visit a salvation army store that had tons of stuff piled up on the front door step every morning, then after about 2 months they changed it and posted a sign saying that anything left on the sidewalk or by the door would be thrown out no exceptions, thats when the dumpster divers came out in droves

 

That's why I don't count it as outright stealing if you pick up something that's not actually in the donation bin. It is a gray area that I prefer not to find myself in, but if anything, you might be saving whoever dropped it off a ticket that they'd eventually have gotten for littering.

 

If it's in a clearly marked donation area, it belongs to the store. If it's anywhere else, it's fair game. If you take something off the property at all, though (even if it was in the dumpster), someone somewhere is gonna call you a thief.

 

Do you want to be known as a thief? I don't mind being called a dumpster diver, but I don't want to be known as a thief.

Edited August 9, 2006 by shadow460

[Dusk2600]

I never went dumpster diving BUT when I was a teen and I worked in the stockrooms of certain stores, I would throw some merchandise in the dumpster and come back at night at pick it up.

 

 

does that count?

 

Thats a hell of an idea.

[ComputerCollector]

The coins are old 1 cent through 25 cent coins from the 30s and 40s mainly. The pennies are wheat pennies or whatever you call them. The dimes are all different. They havea head on it with wings coming out of it, like the Smurfs toward the end of their career (80% of you dont know what Im talking about).

Ill post pics as soon as I get the chance.

 

pmpddytim, I read your post on page 1. I find people like you wasteful. for example, I when I went to the place last night, they must have had 10 computer monitors piled up next to the dumpster, and each one had a wire cut off. This pisses me off because I can get 10 bucks for them when I sell them.

[Wester]

Nice find on the coins. Those dimes you described are "Mercury" or Liberty dimes, one of my personal favorites.

[Dusk2600]

sell the mercury dimes, once i got 4.00 worth of them from this machine called coinstar, a guy put them in and it wouldnt take them, so i gave him new dimes for those. 3 monthes later i sold them for 18.00 they are worth their weight in silver

[Video]

Nice find on the coins. Those dimes you described are "Mercury" or Liberty dimes, one of my personal favorites.

 

Not to mention all Dimes and Quarters are actually made of their weight in Silver befor anbout 1962 or so, so any of those really old coins are worth a LOT more than face value, even to non collectors. (A dime around 50-75 cents, and a quarter around $2-$5 apiece)

[Tempest]

I've never dumpster dived before. The closest I've come is being on good terms with a GameStop employee who would leave the boxes and instructions of games they were supposed to throw out in a nice little pile for me out back instead of trashing them.

 

Taking stuff from a dumpster is ok, but taking anything that is clearly left as a donation (whether or not it's in the trailer or not) is stealing no matter how you try and slice it.

 

Tempest

[pitfallaimee]

I saved five or six dreamcasts from going into the dumpster in 2001. They were "non-working" but two of them did and I did some stupid art experiment with the others.

[Wester]

Nice find on the coins. Those dimes you described are "Mercury" or Liberty dimes, one of my personal favorites.

 

Not to mention all Dimes and Quarters are actually made of their weight in Silver befor anbout 1962 or so, so any of those really old coins are worth a LOT more than face value, even to non collectors. (A dime around 50-75 cents, and a quarter around $2-$5 apiece)

 

 

Actually its from 1964 and earlier, commonly called "coin silver" ~90% pure silver. prices vary depending on year, mintmark, and condition. If I were you I'd take a look through a coin pricing guide or the yearly published book, "A Guide to United States Coins commonly" called the "Red Book" to make sure you aren't holding onto any key date coins.

[shadow460]

I've got a mercury dime at the house. I have no idea what it's worth, or what date is on it.

Nor do I really care, as it isn't going anywhere soon.

[ComputerCollector]

Who would I sell them to, the bank? Or shoudl I look for a collector int he area?

[Wester]

I would check for key dates and then take them to a reputable coin dealer for grading and an appraisal. Don't mess around with pawns or half-ass places, if you have anything good they will just rip you off.

 

I took a look through an old Red Book (2003) the key dates to look for in Mercury dimes are:

1916 D

1921

1921D

1942 W/2 over 1 mint mistake

1942 W/2 over 1 mint mistake

some minor ones are:

1926S

1931D

 

Mint marks are found on the back of the dime on the bottom to the left of the pole looking thing.

 

Key dates for Silver (1964 and before) Washington Quarters are:

1932D

1932S

1936D

1937 w/double die stamp on the obverse

1937S

1938

1942D w/double die stamp on the obverse

1943 w/double die stamp on the obverse

1943S w/double die stamp on the obverse

1950 D over S mint mistake

1950 S over D mint mistake

 

The rest of the years and dates are still worth some cash but these dates are the hot itmes that will get you some major coin in good condition.

 

Hope this helps. Let us know what you find.

Edited August 12, 2006 by Wester

[DrLove0378]

The reason they don't want people dumpster diving is likely the liability issue -- if someone were to get hurt or killed while diving, the store could get sued. But as for the donations, I no longer have any qualms about taking from them, because of an incident that happened in '03. If it's not in the donation bin, it's technically not theirs.

 

One morning before class, I had some time to kill, so I stopped into Goodwill to see what I could find... and I located a mother lode of Apple II and C64 diskettes -- some originals, but most were "game library" disks. (194 of them on my count, and none had a price tag on them.) So I gathered 'em all up, took them to the counter, and asked how much they wanted for them...

 

"$1.99 each," said the bitchy (and thoroughly uneducated) saleslady. Which would have resulted in a total of $417.91, with tax. Not good.

 

So I asked to speak to the manager, and explained to him the obsolescence of the disks I was holding. He told me that he couldn't change the price of the disks, but referred me to the regional manager, so I could take it up with him. I took a ride downtown, and explained the situation to him -- and how a brand new full box of 5.25" disks is usually priced $1.99, whenever one surfaces in the store. (Can you tell I had no life at the time?)

 

He emailed me the next day, saying that the disks might have viruses, and therefore, they would not sell them to anyone, because they didn't want to risk damaging anyone's computer.

 

I emailed him back, stating that there couldn't possibly be any viruses, and that I would accept any and all responsibility for the consequences of using the diskettes. He responded again, saying that they had already been thrown away. DAMN! All that work for nothing. I guess things like this happen when they put people with double-digit IQ's in charge.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a total cheapskate... I'll pay the $1.99 they want for a decent video game. Kinda dumb how they price Combat carts $1.99, but who knows? One day something particularly RARE, like "Chase the Chuck Wagon" or "Stadium Events", might pop up. And since the donation-processing employees likely don't know one video game from the next, they'll probably price it $1.99... and make the person who finds it very happy.