Thrift store finds

[shaggy]

Thrift stores are horrible here.  Goodwill, when they have anything, is usually all sports titles or so insanely priced it's not worth going in them any more.  Except for last week.  When I posted I got Windwaker for $2.  That happens so infrequent, though.  Maybe once every 6-9 months.  I have this big debate in my head that goes on, is it better none with the thrift stores so barren and high priced because of the internet, or was it better before the internet got popular and everyone donated there items to thrifts and everything was under $5.  On the one hand much cheaper and more to find in the wild, on the other everything expensive but you have the internet to locate non-local items and you makes some buddies on the forums.  I am torn.

i don't think it's even the internet's fault, because ebay was around for quite a few years before prices started skyrocketing. i think there's just been a general spike in interest surrounding all things "retro" and nostalgic over the past 5 or 10 years. top that off with video games becoming more accepted as a mainstream form of entertainment.

If the internet wasn't around things wouldn't be priced so high and people wouldn't think their games are so valuable and thus being so overpriced.  Every game would most likely be under $5.  Think about Goodwill prices before the internet, $2 or $3.  After the internet, I've seen some as high as $50, if you see anything at all.  Most of them are taken out of the store and auctioned off.

[MaterialHandlerMike]

I don't do thrift stores. If I had, had to compete with the guys locally, I would be driven to homicide.

LOL , Please explain  :-)

I am a shift worker, with a pattern for how my work days and days off line up. Most of the "super thrifters" around here, will get up at 6AM and try and beat everyone else, on weekend garage sales. When and if, I do go to garage sales, I am usually looking for every kind of collectible EXCEPT for games.

[xylaphone]

I've been having a bit of luck with thrifting to find decent cassette players, I found a sony walkman that supports type IV tapes and a cool Texas instruments program recorder. My biggest find (literally) is when I found a wollensak 3m 4775 cassette deck for only 30 bucks, not a bad price. This is it pre clean up, it sounds great but the record head either needs realigned or just more cleaning.

[one string]

There are about half a dozen charity shops within a short walking distance of my home and week after week they yield nothing of interest. But today, in one of them, I picked up five PS2 games, all CIB, and a boxed as new PS2 light gun.

All for just under £10 (about 14 USD).

Don't know what I'll do with the gun - I don't have a CRT TV!

[singlebanana]

There are about half a dozen charity shops within a short walking distance of my home and week after week they yield nothing of interest. But today, in one of them, I picked up five PS2 games, all CIB, and a boxed as new PS2 light gun.

All for just under £10 (about 14 USD).

Don't know what I'll do with the gun - I don't have a CRT TV!

Just curious, are CRTs plentiful in charity shops over there?  They have pretty much all but disappeared in my area. Nice finds on the PS2 stuff. Don't give up, good stuff will eventually show up for you.

[one string]

Just curious, are CRTs plentiful in charity shops over there?

No, they are quite rare. Many charity shops, especially the smaller ones, don't sell any goods powered by mains electricity at all - I believe this is because they don't have the means to test them for electrical safety first.

BTW, the PS2 games I picked up were Robot Wars (based on the BBC show), Star Wars Racer Revenge, Kessen II, Gladiator Sword of Vengeance and Dynasty Warriors 4. Not particularly rare games, but better than nothing.

[Ikariniku]

I just found a Nuon game (Ballistic) at a thrift shop. No Nuon, though.

CRTS are slowly filtering out of my local shops, as well, but recycling centers and Facebook/Craigslist are still full of them.