thoughts on buying retro systems from thrift stores? and a little story of mine.

[DJPlace]

what's everyone's thoughts on it. i saw a PS2 for 30 dollars was going get it but i was broke. i could not see if it had the hookup's or not they also had both PS1 models old model was 20 the new model was 24 and a shocker right here was a dreamcast. for 50 dollars a shame i was broke.... would of picked up that PS2

 

[FAST6191]

As a general principle then fine.

Each of them varies so much as to price (some are massively overpriced, some are fair, some are fair but I can spend a while on the internet or car boot sale or something and find one going for "I want it gone" money), quality of goods, warranty/level of testing beforehand and whatever else that I can't say more than that really.

They were once often far better deals than they are today but when they can convince the people doing sorting* (if you were a teenager during the NES you are probably in your 50s so not like game consoles are a new concept) that game consoles = valuable so check ebay or this list of ours and price accordingly then yeah most of it is sports games and super popular titles you can find anywhere and a couple of expensive things in a glass cabinet at the front.

*to say nothing that one dress looks like another to me and while I can check labels and see if it is one of a few dozen fancy ones then meh, and books are similarly endless, as it kitchen gear, but all in all there are what 50 game consoles/game playing computers what you plug in your telly at very best and usually more like 20 you might see in anything like common rotation, and that is also more like 15 or even 6 as 16 bit stuff and older stuff is rare as anything right now, and most Nintendo consoles since the SNES have failed.

At the same time I did buy my Wii the other yeah with a whole bunch of mostly good games, wiimotes and other stuff for £25 or something a year or so back.

In the same town (or might have technically been an outlying village) I did see an original xbox marked and priced as a xbone. That amused me.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Sure, just be aware that while you can find good deals at thrift stores sometimes things are overpriced, so be aware of what stuff is worth, also, I think electronics sold at thrift stores are largely untested, so no guarantees whether something is in working condition, but generally speaking things do tend to be in working order, or at least mostly working with simple fixes that can be done. And if the cables are not included make sure that you can find them for a low enough price that it's still a good deal.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Nearly all my retro consoles I've bought in the last few years have come from thrift stores, the key is to make sure you're not overpaying (don't go by like Gamestop or eBay pricing, they're way high for most things), you make sure it's at least tested to power on before deciding to buy it, and make sure to clean it up when you purchase it cuz thrift stores usually do a shit surface job and that's it.

I usually open them up when i buy old stuff and double check the condition on the internals before giving something hardcore use, too, to make sure there's nothing that'll burn out on me shortly after purchase, but thats more me being extra cautious than anything.

 

[Flame]

if a person wants to buy consoles or games used. as long its clean and working its fine imo.

its the people who sell they console soon as next gen is released is the one's i worry about.

 

[Ryccardo]

CeX (pretty funny to call it an "independent" but there are only 5 in the whole country, unlike in the UK, and here it started in the nearby big city) almost always has ridiculous prices, on both the high and low sides - and pretty much every console I've bought in the last 4 years (way too many) came from there; the better deals were the first Xbox (just because they're unpopular) and the 45 € gamecube that came with a free RGB cable because that's how it was sold to them

Game$top is Game$top the world over

What common people call "thrift stores" around here don't deal with electronics unless you mean a classic audio system or battery powered toys, and even then hardly anyone would think of selling them there

 

[Deleted User]

i once saw a megadrive for 100 uyu (at the time, a little over 3 dollars) at my country's only thrift store, my mom did not let me buy it because we could not test it, plus, the power suply was 140 uyu (and i forgot they probably would have sold me the games and controllers sepparately too, and she didnt trust i could fix it if it did not work, i still nag her to this day about it

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

CeX (pretty funny to call it an "independent" but there are only 5 in the whole country, unlike in the UK, and here it started in the nearby big city) almost always has ridiculous prices, on both the high and low sides - and pretty much every console I've bought in the last 4 years (way too many) came from there; the better deals were the first Xbox (just because they're unpopular) and the 45 € gamecube that came with a free RGB cable because that's how it was sold to them

Game$top is Game$top the world over

What common people call "thrift stores" around here don't deal with electronics unless you mean a classic audio system or battery powered toys, and even then hardly anyone would think of selling them there

nah mate, here gamestop is worse than in the rest of the world, 120 usd for games you'd atually want to play, the highest prices of any console (they sold a switch at 700 when it usually goes for 540-640) and i asked for how much a 3ds charger was, no joke 50 dollars for an unnofficial charger that i had to go to one of their other stores to pick up, i obviously delined everytime, though when i was younger i fell for their tricks, there i bought for 50 dollars a copy of club penguin game day, and 40 dollars panasonic headphones