|
Well, it's nearly time for the Hunting season to begin. Not really (Michigan still has about 2 or 3 months of cold/snowy weather), but it's certainly not too early to start preparations. For me, diet and technique are key to a successful Score season.
I've honed my Hunting abilities over the years, and have augmented them with information I've gleamed from the original Retrogaming Times and the articles and forum posts from this great website. I'd like to share some of my advice, in the hopes that it can be further chipped, molded, and built upon. It all came out in a bit chunk, so it may seem a bit rambley. Please bear with me:
Diet: You have to be early and ready. This means a good breakfast, whether that be that morning, the night before, or a couple nights before. Daily vitamin supplements are also key, along with a carrot or two for supreme eyesight. There's nothing like the ability to spot items in a garage sale drive by, and carrots are the key to that. Every now and then I also enjoy a good chili. I personally make Goldstar with a few additions (cajun spices and more chili powder), but if I have some extra funds I'll visit a reputable Coney Island (Leo's, or Mr. Mike's) and take in a bowl or two. An energy bar would be great, but stay away from anything with an excessive amount of fiber. Trust me on this one, getting off the beaten path for a Number One is one thing, but having to stop for a Number Two is something else. And when you are on the hunt, bring plenty of water.
Technique: Basically you need a plan. Are you going to hit garage sales, thrift stores, flea markets, or a combination of both? Which ones, and by what route will you take? These are all valid questions that must be addressed before leaving. Also think about money. If you plan on hitting a lot of garage sales, it pays to carry a variety of money on your person in various denominations. Nothing sucks more than finding a great haul for $5 and the person telling you they can't break a $20, which translates as either buy more crap you don't want, or give up your loot to the fool watching the exchange from behind the greasy George Formans. That actually brings to mind the other part of technique: the other folks on the Hunt. My theory is that there are three groups of people who get tons of good loot, and you should both familiarize yourself with each group, along with the individuals themselves. You should know and classify your competition, and learn their general look and exactly what to do when you spot one:
The first group are the Plunderers. These folk basically hit every garage sale/thrift store/flea market within reach, with no regard for the look of the place or reputation for items. The Plunderers are systematic and devastating; buying all good and interesting items in their path. If you see a Plunderer at work, I advise you take a quick inventory of the situation (pertaining to items) and exit rapidly. You need to get to the next place before they do. Plunderers can often be spotted driving either fuel efficient vehicles or pick-up trucks with caps on the back to put their phat loot in.
The second group I like to call Raiders. A Raider has a very specific game plan, and is a creature of habit. They will generally hit the same places, at the same times, during the same days. What makes these folk dangerous is their focus. They will know their territory so well that they can often walk very quickly through a store and take a accurate inventory without stopping. While you will not likely be able to outrun one, you can beat a Raider by just going back a different day. It sounds too easy, but it will work. Raiders can be easily spotted by their quick walk (almost a walking-run) and their confident look.
The last group are Tourists. These folk leisurely walk about garage sales, thrift stores, and flea markets, often appearing to be casually taking in the sights. They never start early, never go on the prime days (such as Wednesday for garage sales), and will, at any time, quit and go to lunch. Nevertheless, you need to watch these ones. Why? Many Tourists have a large amount of luck, almost to the point that I will postulate that many of them are latent psychics. They can be spotted by their out-for-a-stroll-on-Sunday look, and can be seen pulling complete Vextrexs' and CDXs' out of giant cardboard boxes filled with shoes. The only consolation here is that if they hit one too many bad sales or empty stores, they will give up.
Well, that's it for now. I'm off to bed, but first a bit of unfinished business: I've discovered that many old games can be played on PC using Virtual PC 2007. Mechwarrior 3, here come!
My name is bombatomba. Every two weeks I make a run down the gauntlet of thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales in my area, dragging my 4-year old along for the ride as well as a crash course in proper hunting techniques . This is the Thrift Store Score.
This is the blog entry of Thrift Store Score. I also have a forum entryhere. The link is the same entry, though without the pictures. Sorry about the quality of the pics, but this is my first time using html to do this. If you like one entry over the other please post a comment.
This week I would make my West-East Gauntlet Run, with a stop at approximately 30 garage sales for sake of the hunt. The only passable flea market around here is open on the weekends only, so I decided to start with the garage sales and drive east, then hit the thrift stores on the way home. My son and I left at 11 am with full stomachs and empty floorboards.
When I hit garage sales, I tend to pick a main road and stick exclusively to it. While I may miss many sales, this technique saves gas consumption and allows me to focus on the hunt. In the past I went with my father-in-law, either him or I riding shotgun while calling out/writing down street addresses. On these trips we would drive down several main roads long distances (sometimes as much as 20 miles). These days even hardcore garage salers generally don't bother with sales, which is no doubt due to the huge drop in item quality, as well as the almost non-existence of good finds.
For a change, I drove down Ann Arbor Trail, which is a bit more rural and twisty than I normally like, but then I never have any faith that my garage saleing will yield results. Again, there was nothing. I stopped off for lunch and began trekking east along the Gauntlet.
The first store yielded nothing. There were large bags of action figures, but surprisingly my kid wanted nothing to do with them. We left drove to the next one, which was had a nice haul. It the state of the shelves made it look picked over, but I immediately spotted two Atari VCS boxes,each marked $.99. I snapped them up and was surprised to see they were unopened! The boxes were a tiny bit crushed but other than that they were is fairly good condition. Almost as quickly I found Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade for PC (CIB) marked $1.91, which I have learned is the alternative box, featuring a shot of Connery and Ford. A few moments later I found Civilization II Gold Multiplayer for $1.91, which was also CIB with the Tech Tree map and a massive booklet. I grabbed a few thinks for my kid (Charlie Brown Halloween VHS and a micro radio controller boat), paid and left.
[img width=640 height=512]http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/1922/atarigames1.jpg[/img]
[img width=640 height=512]http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/5617/indya.jpg[/img]
[img width=640 height=512]http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/8848/civ2w.jpg[/img]
The third stop was mildly good, with a loose copy of Rush 2049 for N64 for $3.03 and a strange little handheld/table game called Foto-Electronic Bowling for $3.93. I didn't bother with the Rush game, but I did pick up the
bowling game. There was no copyright on it, although I guessed the date to be from 1976 to 1982 (turned out to be 1978). I also found a CIB copy of King's Quest V for PC for for $3.93 hidden behind some other games. Snap. Before I left I spotted a Virtual Boy behind the counter, which was marked $15.81. It was missing the tripod, but had six games. The problem was that I really want a Nintendo 64 system, so I passed on the Virtual Boy, paid for the other items (along with a Thomas the Train whistle for my kid), and drove to the last stop.
[img width=640 height=512]http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/3590/tbwl1.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=560]http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/5420/kq5v.jpg[/img]
For those of you not familiar, St. Vincent de Paul is a massive chain of thrift stores that will sometimes contain new items, as well as collector items. The only problem I ever had is that the prices are severley skewed. You can find loose PSX games for $3.03, but there are also PSX systems marked $59.99 that are clearly broken. There are also seventy year old typewriters ($100), junk televisions from the early eighties ($40), and very old Lionel Train sets ($250). Most gamers would do well to avoid these places, as they are really more than a waste of time. However, I remember seeing N64 systems at a local location, so I went there with a vaguely optimistic attitude. I let my son pick out a toy first (a 15-pack of Ultimate Muscle for .99), and went looking for the N64, which I managed to find. It was dirty, and both the jumper pack panel and the bottom panel were missing, but the fragments of a price tag suggested it might be about $5 (I could see 4.9). I hunted up a controller and a power pack, and hunted around for an employee. The manager told me it was $30 (!) and would not budge; regardless of the price tag, the horribly dirty shape of the system, and the possibility that the item might not work. I told her to shove it, paid for my kids toy and left. I hate that place.
So I could end this episode on a high note, I went back to the last store and bought the Virtual Boy. It works fine and the games turned out to be Virtual Boy Wario Land, Red Alarm (2 copies), Mario's Tennis, Golf, and Teleroboxer. It also gave me a headache. Oh well, still a good days hunting!
[img width=640 height=512]http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/614/img0032gqa.jpg[/img]
I head to the register and pay, satisfied that another good score can go into the books. Till next time!
|
|
|
This is bombatomba's Blog.
View Profile | RSS  |
|
So I'm an odd ball. So I am usually the last to post on a blog/forum. So I only post about weird games on weird platforms. So I have a strange relationship with commas and parenthesis. So what? Hey, at least you don't have to car pool with me to work, right? So have a heart, eat a blueberry, and don't forget to drop the empties in the box on the way out. I get deposit on those. |
|
Blog Navigation
Browse Bloggers | My Blog
|
|
Hot Entries
|
|
Hot Community Entries
| |
|
