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As collectors, we all face the inevitable scenario of duplicates. Some of us insist on keeping everything just in case something happens to the other one, but most of sell or trade off one of the others. I don't know about the rest of you, but I scrutinize both pieces and first check for any variations; assuming they're both the same, I keep the higher quality one and sell the lesser one. However, with my recent acquisition of a near mint boxed Power Pad, I've come to a serious dilemma. See, the problem is that I already have a boxed Power Pad, though the box is in poor condition.
So now, you're probably wondering what the dilemma is. Keep the near mint one and sell the crappy one, case closed. But here's the kicker; the poor condition is the one from my childhood, yep the same Power Pad little 3 year old NES_Rules used to play World Class Track Meet on, also the same pad I learned that you can "run" with your hands a hell of a lot faster than you can with your feet.
So, this week's dilemma is: what to keep, the treasured childhood memory or the near mint treasure that looks a lot nicer on the shelf. So, members of RF Generation, which would YOU keep? Of course, one could just keep both, but for the sake of argument, let's say you can only keep one.
Saturday was an awesome day of sales, there was simply too many to get to them all so we had to hurry at each one to get to as many as we could. In total, we drove 50 miles of garage saling. But it was worth the $8 in gas for all the stuff we got. The very first house we stopped at had this stuff:
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9803.jpg[/img]
The Captain N and the Double Dragon next to it are still sealed. Everything was marked $1 each, I got my normal 6 for $5.
It was kind of funny getting that stuff, the guy had boxes of VHS tapes, PC games (mostly edutainment), and books. I just happened to see the Sonic R and then the Battletoads VHS so I dug a little deeper and kept pulling out the video game related VHS tapes. Oddly enough though, he didn't have any other video games.
There was a neighborhood sale in the same area but they had one a few weeks ago and it was expensive junk then so this week it was 1/2 off junk. We didn't even stop at the majority of them.
It was a while before I got anything else, but it was worth the wait. For $2:
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9809.jpg[/img]
There's actually 3 copies of Sewer Shark, I have no idea why though. The other game in the jewel case is Sherlock Holmes: consulting detective vol. II. The Genesis games are all CIB and I have no idea what that USB cord is for. I paid asking price on that one. The lady was nice and friendly so I didn't feel like ripping her off more than she already was.
We went to another sale that I knew we have been to before (had nothing the last time) but we were already there so I went up to it anyway and came back with these:
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9804.jpg[/img]
Nothing amazing, but it was only $2 for it all.
Next up was a huge neighborhood sale, two streets long and nearly every house was participating. Of course a lot of it was junk but I managed to find a couple treasures.
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These were actually from two different houses. Both are factory sealed although the GBA game is missing some of it's shrink-wrap. I paid the asking price on Trouballs at $1, I offered $1 for the other, we settled on $1.50. Once I got home and peeled off the Trouballs price sticker there was a $0.75 sticker under the $1 sticker. Wish I had known that before, I would have peeled off the $1 sticker.
Also from that neighborhood sale:
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9808.jpg[/img]
Paid asking price of $1 each.
At one of the houses, as we walk up to the garage the woman asks "are you here for the garage sale" we tell her yes, expecting her to say it was closed. But she said that everything in a large pile was free and there was more at the curb. So I went and got the truck and we filled it up with boxes and bags of kids toys. Some of it will go to my niece but we'll probably sell the rest to a guy at the flea market for a few bucks. There was a couple things in there for me as well. The video game related stuff:
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9800.jpg[/img]
Most of the toys are circa 2002 but the Luigi on the cloud is from 1989.
Unfortunately, half way through this neighborhood sale, my mom called us. We had to take some stuff to a golf course for an outing we were having. So we stopped and left my dad's truck (which was pre-packed the night before) there and we continued our expedition.
On the way back to the sales, there was a small unadvertised yard sale but it didn't look like much so my dad wanted to just drive by, and I agreed until I saw a small black fabric case on the table and some cords hanging down. I know I've seen N64 system/game cases before and I just had a hunch that that was what this was. So I backed up to the sale and took a look. The cords turned out to be an old walkman and the case wasn't an N64 one. I was so disappointed that it didn't say N64 on it, I almost didn't see "Sega Game Gear" embroidered onto it. I asked the price, he said $10, that's what I paid.
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9812.jpg[/img]
[img width=599 height=800]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9813.jpg[/img]
The games:
T2: the arcade game
the lion king
dynamite headdy
Ecco the Dolphin
Batman Returns
Greendog: The Beached Surfer Dude
Pac-Man
RoboCop versus Terminator
Star Wars
Taz-Mania
Sonic the Hedgehog 2: Sonic and Tails
Fatal Fury Special
IN noN video game related finds, I got some other goodies too.
For $1 I got this sweet trench coat:
[img width=599 height=800]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/DSCN9811.jpg[/img]
Should be perfect if deer hunting season is as rainy as it was last season.
For $2.50 I got this sizeable box of miscellaneous wires:
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/DSCN9810.jpg[/img]
She was asking $3, I offered $2, we settled on $2.50. I still have to go through it all. There's a lot of composite cables (some high end gold plated ones too), coax cables, and speaker wire.
CDs were from a couple different sales but were all $1 each.
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/DSCN9802.jpg[/img]
And for $0.50 I got this antique coax switcher.
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/DSCN9807.jpg[/img]
Will be perfect for my Genesis and 2600, no more unplugging and switching for me.
The flea market today wasn't spectacular but better than it has been in recent weeks. I'm seeing more and more vendors specializing in overpriced classic games though.
I did manage to get this off a woman for $4:
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9816.jpg[/img]
When I asked the price she whispered $4 and I thought she said $40 but when I asked her to repeat it, I heard her say $4, so I bought it for that. I was prepared to pay $5 for it though. The box is in excellent condition with just minor shelf wear and the pad itself is like new. Now I have to decide if I should keep this one or the one from my childhood which is not as nice condition. She also had what appeared to be a CIB Genesis 2 Core System, but it was $20 and boxed Genesis systems seem to be everywhere.
A few spots away was a guy with a bunch of random stuff but I spotted a PS1 with a couple games, he said $25 for it, I passed on it. But then I saw Caveman Games for the NES sticking out of a box, so I looked inside to see a pair of Genesis systems, a tangle of wires, and a few games. He said the whole box was $2, I didn't even bother looking to see what all the games were.
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9814.jpg[/img]
I guess this weekend was good enough to make up for the deplorable one last weekend. There wasn't anything one thing that was spectacular, but it was all priced very good and I managed to fill in a few holes in my collection so I guess it was a successful treasure hunt.
Well, this is my first blog post as a staff writer and I wish it could be more interesting than it is. However, this weekend was dismal for treasures, so I guess this post will be to show that even I have bad treasure hunting expeditions.
Well, without further ado, my treasure from this weekend's garage sales:
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9789.jpg[/img]
Yep, just two loose games, common ones too.
I paid $3 for both.
Non-gaming related finds weren't much better either:
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/DSCN9790.jpg[/img]
The records were $0.25 each. The Bob Dylan CD was $1 and everything else was $1.
The sale that had the records also had a N64 with about 10 loose commons for $20 but I passed on it, if I had known this weekend would be so bad, I would have bought it.
What really bothers me is that I have no idea why the sales were so bad either. The weather was great, we shopped from 8:00-2:00, and put nearly 75 miles on the truck. There just wasn't anything good, there wasn't even much stuff at high prices. I fear the area is drying up.
The flea market today wasn't any better. I saw a couple Genesis systems with 1 game for $5 but I'm sick of seeing those things. I almost bought a sealed Mega Man 64 for $15 but decided against it. Another woman had a box of PS2 games (around 60) that she wanted $4-5 each for, I offered her $100 for the box full but she declined. One of the usual game vendors had a SMS with hookups and 2 loose games for $42, I really wanted it but that's just too much for me to spend on a system I know I can find for a few dollars eventually.
And to give a little more flesh to this post. I've decided I'm getting rid of all my duplicate games and systems in one fell swoop. I've got a potential buyer for it now for $1000 but if that doesn't work out I'm going to offer the deal to some of the flea market vendors. I think it's a really good deal considering it's over 300 games and 35 systems. But I just need to get rid of it and have more space.
Like last week, this weekend was another one for the record books. I didn't get a whole lot of games, but a lot of hardware instead. Including another system I never thought I'd actually find.
The day started off really, really bad. The first 5-10 houses were a walk up to the garage, see piles of baby/kid's clothes/toys and walk away. Neither my dad nor I found anything worth even looking at. Luckily, things got better for us both.
My first find of the day was a stack of PS2 games, there wasn't much I really wanted, but the prices were good, they were marked between $0.50-1.50, I didn't feel like adding it up and I don't think the woman selling them did either so I offered $10, there was about $14 worth as marked.
Continue reading Treasure Hunt Chronicles #13
After a horrible weekend of hunting last week, I got some amazing deals this week. Before we left the house I wanted to go to sale that had video games listed in the ad but they didn't open for another hour so we went to some other ones first instead and I was just hoping the games would still be there.
The very first sale we stopped at had this:
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9742.jpg[/img]
It was marked $10, so I offered $5. He asked his wife who was thinking about it, and they agreed on $7 and I reluctantly agreed but they apparently didn't hear me and then said $5 was fine. The SNES and games are for sale, some of the manuals too.
We went to a few more sales and I didn't find anything at them, but by around 10:00 we stopped at the sale that advertised games, I saw some overpriced PS2, Xbox, and GameCube games and figured that was what was advertised, until I notice another box with the lid half closed "PC games $0.50 each, PS games $1 each" was written on it. I looked through them and there was nothing I really wanted so I offered $5 for everything, they too $10.
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9743.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9744.jpg[/img]
And since I don't collect PC games, they're all for sale if someone wants them.
Zoboomafoo (CIB)
NASCAR 2001 (CIB)
Disney's Dinosaur (CIB)
Formula 1 '98 (CIB)
dora the explorer: barnyard buddies (CIB)
jumpstart: wildlife safari field trip (game only)
rocket power: team rocket rescue (box only)
rayman brain games (CIB)
land before time: return to the great valley (CIB)
my disney kitchen (game, box)
Gex 3: dep cover gecko (CIB)
army men 3D Collector's edition (game, box)
land before time: great valley racing adventure (CIB)
disney's hercules (CIB)
mort the chicken (game, box)
destruction derby 2 (game only)
NASCAR 99 (CIB, plus an extra box)
007 Tomorrow never dies GH (manual, game)
Tigger's Honey Hunt (CIB)
Crash bandicoot (game only)
Some other small scores:
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9739.jpg[/img]
NFL Quarterback Club 99 is CIB and even smells new, the game is still in the plastic bag and there was a Controller Pak in the box as well (paid $1). Carrier is the first DC games I've bought in a LONG time, I almost didn't even recognize it as a game when I saw it (paid $0.50). The Mario figure was $0.25.
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9741.jpg[/img]
Paid $2 for everything. Anyone know if the PS2 remote is worth anything?
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9740.jpg[/img]
$2 each, would have been nice if it was FF7 instead of 8, but I'm sure I can sell it for a profit. Both those games are for sale.
And the best find of the day and probably the best find of the year, maybe even my best find ever. This sale had some electronics I was casually looking at but couldn't find anything I wanted, but as I was about to leave I notice a brown paper grocery bag on the ground with a piece of paper on it. The paper was folded over and all I could read was "Turbo" and "Gaming System". I couldn't think of what it could be so I looked inside the bag expecting an old Pong system, boy was I wrong. Inside was a thing of beauty: A TG16 with a bunch of games. I didn't even check to make sure it was all there or how many games there were. I took the bag to the woman selling it and offered her $10 for (it was marked $15). She accepted my offer.
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9745.jpg[/img]
[img width=700 height=524]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9746.jpg[/img]
alien crush (game, manual, jewel case)
blazing lazers (game, manual, jewel case)
blody wolf (game, manual, jewel case)
boxy boy (game, manual, jewel case)
bonk's revenge (game, manual, jewel case)
cadash (game, manual, jewel case)
devil's crush (game, manual, jewel case)
fantasy zone (game, manual, jewel case)
galaga 90 (game, manual, jewel case)
impossamole (game, manual, jewel case)
jack Nicklaus turbo golf (game, manual, jewel case)
JJ and Jeff (game, manual, jewel case)
keith courage in alpha zones (game, manual, jewel case)
legendary axe, the (game, manual, jewel case)
ninja spirit (game, manual, jewel case)
pac-land (game, manual, jewel case)
r-type (game, manual, jewel case)
sidearms (game, manual, jewel case)
silent debuggers (game, manual, jewel case)
sinistron (game, manual, jewel case)
splatterhouse (game, manual, jewel case)
super volleyball (game, manual, jewel case)
takin it to the hoop (game, manual, jewel case)
tricky kick (game, manual, jewel case)
tv sports football (game, jewel case)
veiguues tactical gladiators (game, manual, jewel case)
vigilante (game, manual, jewel case)
world class baseball (game, manual, jewel case)
final lap twin (game only)
parasol stars (game only)
cyber-core (game only)
dungeon explorer (game only)
In non-gaming finds, I got a really nice, big Jim Morrison/Doors poster for $1, I don't have any wall space big enough for it however.
Also got one of those backpacks that you put water in and it has the tube to drink from for $2, needs a good cleaning but a very good price regardless.
One sale had a REALLY nice Remington 870 Wingmaster for $300 that I would have bought in a heartbeat but it was only a 20 gauge instead of 12.
Not a bad weekend, although the garage saling ended quite abruptly on Saturday.
The very first house of the day didn't seem to have much at all, but I glanced at the rack of books to see there was something decent (I've never been much of a reader, but recently I bought a Zeppelin book to read during the slow times at work and have gotten 300 of the 400 pages read in a couple days, so I was looking for something new) when I spotted these marked $0.50 each:
[img width=650 height=486]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9599.jpg[/img]
I paid $1 for them all. I started reading one of them, but got bored by page 4.
A few houses later had box full of NES games marked "2 for $1", I looked through them and there was only a handful that I needed, but the others were good titles. I offered $5 for everything, she accepted (a little too quickly actually, I probably could have gotten it cheaper).
[img width=650 height=486]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9597.jpg[/img]
Amazingly, this would be the most expensive purchase of the day.
Everything in the top 2 rows except Mickey Mouse is for sale.
The next house had a few PS2 games on the table, mostly ones I had or I wasn't interested in all were $3 each. I only picked up one:
[img width=650 height=486]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9600.jpg[/img]
Under the table, though, was a box of N64 stuff marked reasonably at $35, easily $50 worth of stuff but I passed anyway. They also had a boxed PS2 for $30, passed on it too.
At one of the last houses, the woman said everything had to go, so I new we could make some deals, but there wasn't much left. All I got was:
[img width=650 height=486]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9601.jpg[/img]
All for $2 (The SNES/N64 RF cord was $2, everything else was $1 each). Again, she accepted my offer too quickly, I could have had it for less. I really need to start my offers lower.
Right before this sale, we picked up some free firewood along the curb and took it home before continuing the garage saling. After we unloaded it, we went back out for round #2, which ended quicker than I would have liked. We came out from a garage sale and when I turned the key, nothing happened. The damn truck wouldn't start.
Now, this happened to me the other day when I was at the store, I had it towed home, my dad and I cleaned the connections on the starter and it started fine probably 100 times until this time. So, we had it towed again. My dad walked to another nearby sale because AAA said it would be an hour before the tow truck got there, but it was more like 5 minutes. So he had to run back before we left him.
Flea market on Sunday wasn't bad at all. There were a lot of people not at the flea market because it looked like it was going to rain, but it held off until after noon so I managed to get some deals.
For $2 each I got:
[img width=650 height=486]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9603.jpg[/img]
All stuff I needed, even some "rare" games in there. Strider is missing the manual unfortunately. Crystalis had some major dirt issues, but it's squeaky clean now.
For the first time in a couple weeks, the guy I trade with was set up while I was there so I was able to make a pretty good deal. I traded a loose Super Mario 64 for:
[img width=650 height=486]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/Mike_2_0_0_6/Game%20Collection/2008%20Scores/DSCN9602.jpg[/img]
Madden '93 is CIB, but the other is missing the manual but has the poster. I didn't really want the Maddens but I would have traded just for the other stuff so they were free in my eyes.
The dumbass that is Adam Anderson had to use some permanent marker that will NOT come off, and he just HAD to write his name on there twice too.
