Is it worth going to flea markets/garage sales to look for rare NES games?

morbidboy

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Is it worth going to flea markets/garage sales to look for rare NES games?

Hi, I was wondering as a novice NES collector (got around 100+ so far), is it worth it in this day and age to check out local flea markets and garage sales for NES carts?

So far I've been either buying off ebay (buy it now for $3-$10 or buying big collections for cheap) or when we buy a collection for the store (my wife and I own Rusty Quarters Retro Arcade & Museum in Minneapolis, MN), I'll tend to keep the instock doubles to fill in my holes in my collection... but I know I'll never see a copy of Snow Bros or Little Samson come through my door.

I already kinda gave up on thrift stores. All I find is sports games and I can't get there early enough to beat the regular collectors/resellers. But I've never got up in the early weekend mornings to venture out to any local garage sales to look for games.

What my big question is it worth it to try or is there just too many NES collectors the strategically planing their weekends to hit as many garage sales, flea markets, etc. as they can just to find that diamond in the rough?

Also with internet shows like Pat the NES Punk and AVGN that promote game collecting, is the chances of finding any rare games at all just a pipe dream?

Any suggestion on websites or online info that lists garage or game sales other than craigslist?

I would like to hear peoples thoughts on this subject.

Thanks,
Sage
 
Well, you never know. You have to weigh the time investment more than anything. How many hours do you have to put into searching versus just buying the game online?

If you're in it just for the collecting and don't particularly care about traveling around looking to maybe find something gaming related, you're probably better off just spending the money for the game where you know you can get it.

I think it's less hardcore collectors swooping in on stuff and more the fact that those games are just getting too old for what most tag sales typically contain. At least in my area I suspect a good portion of that stuff has already been liquidated over the years. As time goes on you can expect more PS1 and even PS2 era stuff to show up, as the kids who played those are growing up, wanting cash and moving out of their parents houses, where as many of the NES kids have probably already gone through that phase.
 
You would only do it for the fun of it. Totally up to yourself. Thanks to the internet everyone pretty much knows what everything is worth. I don't think your gonna find many rare games for a common price.
 
Flea markets no, Garage sales yes. Flea Markets, unless they are those random ones (not the ones that are open every weekend) maybe ok. The regular ones tho, there are usually at least 1 video game vendor there and would have cotton-picked any good cheap games/parts already.

Thrift stores can be good, but its often good to know when their stocking days are. ;)
 
I say 'Yes' hit the garage sales. There still TONS of great deals to be had on old gaming merchandise that people have collecting dust. You just never know when you'll find a rare item that you could re-sell in your store that you can pick up for a quarter, too.

I picked an Omega Race cocktail cab from a garage sale last summer. Thing was damn near HUO. A little TLC and off it went to a collector, who gave it even more love than I did.

Thursday mornings are the best.....
 
I'd say yes and sometime you never know what you'll find....maybe some old people who just have a box full of games and don't know the value. I swear that quite a few rare games get picked up this way...
 
yes, mos def go for it!

between work and the kids.... i have very little time for the swap meets and thrift stores anymore BUT i always make time on my lunch break to hit up some of the local thrift store shops. im very lucky to have some shops close to work.

i dont find as much stuff as i used to BUT i still get occasionally lucky on my lunch break runs. over the years ive found some nes caltron 6-1's (one sealed), a ps2 dev kit, arcades, earthbounds, other rpgs, tons of star wars toys, and on and on....
 
Business expense? Seriously, I own Backstage Hobbies & Games in Ludington MI and from May to mid September I'm on the road two days a week with my dad (an antique dealer) looking for stuff. I find arcades, consoles, games, memorabilia (Mario shirts, trays, toys, a PSP wall clock last summer for a quarter, toy chests, etc). If you're selling it in the store, do it up as a business expense. Every once in a while I do find an awesome too cool to let go and buy it for myself, but otherwise its a great way to stock my store. At one sale, paid $150 for a huge box of CIB NES, SNES, and Playstation 1 jRPGs and gear. Kept Mario RPG, Earthbound, and a couple little ones out of the lot and still sold the rest for close to grand, with some nice extras still in my display case for the store.
 
I would say its always worth getting up early and heading to boot sales/flea markets, remember the early bird catches the worm. Here in the UK, I make sure I get there before it is scheduled to start, as all the evil traders do, you have to pretty much play their game to beat them. Usually any retro games here get hoovered up the moment they are put out for sale. I do a quick speed run around the site, then a slow walk round double checking I've not missed anything, haha. Nothing is more satisfying than beating one of the traders to a honey pot and buying it up in front of them, they are ruthless give the sellers pitance then take all the goods over to their own stall where they put huge prices on them.
 
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