What is your greatest find at Goodwill?

tddlny

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2008
Messages
642
Reaction score
19
Location
Plainfield, Indiana
C'mon admit it, we have all been there because we all are looking for that hidden treasure that somebody donated and didn't know what it was worth. At one of the Goodwill outlet centers here in Indianapolis I found a big box of ATARI 2600 game cartridges, probably about 50 of them. Since the outlet centers charge you by the weight, I think I paid 6 bucks for the whole box..... You have to dig and fight off the foreigners when they bring a fresh table out, but you can find some gems....

Ted
 
i got a red 1968 fender bronco electric guitar in mint condition for $100 back in '95...
 
Literally, the "Goodwill" store: About 15 years ago, A Fairchild Channel F. Wanted $20 for it which was high but only one I've ever found.

At other 'thrift' stores around the same time: A box of ColecoVision boxed cartridges with manual and accessories: $40 and had about 50 games, 15 of which were quite rare. Otherwise just numerous Atari 2600, 5200, 7800 cartridges, systems and accessories, nothing spectacular.

Best find ever: At a pawn shop, who wanted $5 a cartridge for years for a tote with nothing but Combat, Pac-Man and other common 2600 titles most missing labels, suddenly got a new 2600 deck pawned with the plastic storage case. Under the deck was a whole bunch of new carts. My eyes popped open and jaw dropped....

Snagged about 10 of them at the normally high price during a 20% off sale. In the batch: Atari 2600 Springer.... Atari 2600 Q*Bert Cubes.... Intellivision Pac-Man...... Intellivision Test/Demo cartridge, and .................. Atari 2600 Chase The Chuckwagon! <SCORE!> :) Never found a better single day score of any home system parts before or since.
 
Literally, the "Goodwill" store: About 15 years ago, A Fairchild Channel F. Wanted $20 for it which was high but only one I've ever found.

At other 'thrift' stores around the same time: A box of ColecoVision boxed cartridges with manual and accessories: $40 and had about 50 games, 15 of which were quite rare. Otherwise just numerous Atari 2600, 5200, 7800 cartridges, systems and accessories, nothing spectacular.

Best find ever: At a pawn shop, who wanted $5 a cartridge for years for a tote with nothing but Combat, Pac-Man and other common 2600 titles most missing labels, suddenly got a new 2600 deck pawned with the plastic storage case. Under the deck was a whole bunch of new carts. My eyes popped open and jaw dropped....

Snagged about 10 of them at the normally high price during a 20% off sale. In the batch: Atari 2600 Springer.... Atari 2600 Q*Bert Cubes.... Intellivision Pac-Man...... Intellivision Test/Demo cartridge, and .................. Atari 2600 Chase The Chuckwagon! <SCORE!> :) Never found a better single day score of any home system parts before or since.

Nice score on the 2600 carts -- I never located a CtCW in all my years searching! Back when I WAS collecting 2600 et al I would regularly have great rare finds (never at Goodwill though) but absolutely my best was 3 NIB Coke Wins (Pepsi Invaders) and a no label cartridge that also happened to be Coke Wins.

All of the thrifts on my regular route home from work at the time have since been demolished or repurposed :(

I did pick up a VERY nice, fully working Zaxxon at a DAV thrift store for $100 on 50% off green tag day many years ago ;) The guy who brought it out to the loading dock snickered when he saw me back up my Isuzu Rodeo to get it and then stood there stunned as the SUV swallowed the game up. That vehicle could handle most any game.

Chris
 
Latest, was a Midway Ms Pac Man that I got working in 10 minutes for $35.00.

Biggest all time score was a box of over 200 vintage travel posters from the 20s to the 50s that I sold individually at auction for just over $14,000.00.

When I was collecting Atari a guy rolled in and sold me the contents of his conversion van full of home video games for $85.00 (Lots of OEM boxed junk I had never heard of). I sold it all for about $4000.00. Same guy came back a month later with his van full of WW2 stuff he'd won in a mini storage auction. I bought all his guns and bayonets for $250.00 and sold them at a gun show for a profit of around $3500...

I've been junking for 15 years.
 
my latest goodwill find was a gameboy DS lite for $4.99 in perfect condition (price tag fell off and the guy working the check out didnt even know what it was so he said 4.99 i said ok lol), my best finds were a sears super pong IV for $5.00, a pacman, q bert, and tmnt board games for $1.99 each, and a sears tele games II in a game center with 40 games for $20.00, the thriftstores just arent what they used to be anymore
 
C'mon admit it, we have all been there because we all are looking for that hidden treasure that somebody donated and didn't know what it was worth. At one of the Goodwill outlet centers here in Indianapolis I found a big box of ATARI 2600 game cartridges, probably about 50 of them. Since the outlet centers charge you by the weight, I think I paid 6 bucks for the whole box..... You have to dig and fight off the foreigners when they bring a fresh table out, but you can find some gems....

Ted

This

for $30. Plus Tax.

Oh Yeah... I got the Robotron in this pic for $200 at a Thrift store.

me3small.jpg
 
Last edited:
I found a very nice hardcover book named Viruses from the Scientific American Library. Very neat stuff.

If you're talking arcade stuff, well, it wasn't a Goodwill, but an Antique Mall on the other side of the street from Goodwill..

There was an old Galaxian in the corner for months. A few people told me about it, but it was $300 and didn't work.

No long story. I finally got it for $100 plus tax. Decent looking. Just needed some adjusting. It has a 25" G02 in it. They didn't make many like that. Well, how about you don't SEE many like that. It's still in the garage, but the monitor let out some smoke last Summer...

k
 
a red tent for 5 bucks
3 copies of the caltron 6-1's for the nes (1 was sealed)...... over the years
fender guitar amp
random game n watches
space invaders taito (cab was sadly converted to a time pilot)
tons o' atari, coleco, nes, snes, genesis, turbografx games

goodwill/salvation army/savers rule!
 
i got a late 60s ludwig black diamond pearl 22" bass drum at a thrift store for $3 a few years back. immediately sold it on ebay for $225.

recently i picked up a 45rpm single by "the shivvers" at a junk store for $1 and later got $350 for it on ebay.
 
I haven't been to a Goodwill in several years. I use to go to a couple different ones looking for old records and I've seen a dead 720 for $350, a Track n Field {trackball version} for like $400, a Phantom of the Opera pin for $500. I did pick up a Phoenix for $100 at a Hialeah Goodwill. Centuri Inc. I believe was in Hialeah too? I sold that one years ago though
 
I got my first arcade game at a thrift store. A friend of mine called me and said there was a non working MOON PATROL for $25 at the thrift store near his house...and his wife would not let him get it. I ran down there as quick as I could and picked it up. Took it home blew out all the dust and dirt, replaced the fuses... removed and reinserted any chips I could find .. and it fired right up!!!
 
My best thrift store score: 3 Asteroids UR, missing the PCBs but otherwise complete. $25 each. All worked when I put in new boards.

My best thrift store miss: 1 working Tempest UR. Unknown condition. $50. The worker told me about the Tempest that had been sold a little while before I took the Asteroids.

That was in Jan of 2001 and I haven't found anything like it since.
 
I have never seen any arcade games at a goodwill before just junk around me. The only thing I have ever picked up was NES games. I Did see one of those big ass old school video cameras that took full size VHS tapes in a plastic carrying case with all the attachments for $50. I thought it would be fun just to get it and mess with it but I didn't want to spend $50 for it next time I went it was gone. I have hit up at least 5 different Goodwill's in my area on a monthly basis and find nothing. I guess no one around here ever gets rid of their crap. Actually there was and old Gi Joe jeep the real old Gi Joe toys but some woman beat me to it like 5 min before I got there.
 
1) A Frogger upright from Salvation Army for $20 that needed a working boardset which I already had as a spare for a Frogger CT.
2) $3 Vectrex carts that left me wondering where the actual Vectrex ended up.
3) A complete working MS Sidewinder force feedback USB joystick Mark II that went for $4. Even had the power supply.
4) A complete bowling bag/ball/glove that I am sure came from an estate sale (meaning to former owner passed away I believe) that was a) my weight preference and b) finger holes were perfect. $5.
5) I am currently piecing together a home stereo system that includes a Sharp RP-117 linear tracking turntable and dual tape player, CD player - all from the 1980's - just need a stereo amp and speakers to complete it and only have $20 in it.

I'm a Goodwill junkie.:D

Worst mistake I made was passing up a complete Colecovision system for $30 - I got the reds because they were selling the cartridges separately.
 
I just saw a box of Atari 2600 games and NES games the other day. They were carts only, and had $2 stickers each. Meh...

The other day I found a roomba with 2 wall units for $3. It looked newer than mine, so I got it to resell on ebay. I figured I would make $30-$40 easy. Turns out that model apparently sucked and was older. They were selling nearly new in box on ebay for $10. Damn...
 
Back
Top Bottom