I know better, I do! But it always shocks me to go into a Salvation Army that has given me video games for 39 cents and a Gameboy Color for 59 cents, to see a WALL of NES games for $3 each. Call me spoiled, call me crass, but I almost refuse to pay more than $1 for cartridge based video games anymore. I will, on occasion, buy a game I really want for more, but that is from a resale shop such as Disc Replay or something like that.
Salvation Army literally had a wall of NES games today, maybe 30 or 40 games, all lined up on a shelf. Most of them were mint, in the black sleeves and most had their manuals. But $3 each!? Come on! Sure there were great titles, and I snagged most of them, but still they have no overhead on these. They didn't buy them off Frankie five fingers and need to earn the profits before the fuzz show up.
Today though, was my mistake. In my haste to make a deal I settled on $1 each if I bought more than 10. I should have asked if I bought them all could they do it for $20, if there were really 40 games.
I searched the building for an NES and came up empty handed, probably mostly due to my desire to cut and run with the deal I had gotten! I'm not sure how many other game hunters or maybe resellers go to that store, but it seems that systems and games that I pass up don't last long. I truly hope that I can get more of those games, as I was mainly picking through and just taking what I wanted right away.
If I can't find them again, at least it was a good experience to have, and I got a great deal on some really good NES and SNES games. Though I can hope that I was the first to pick through them, I probably wasn't, and I can assure you that I won't be the last. What games did I miss, I'll never know. Hopefully more things like this will occur and I will get more and more games.
Showing posts with label Thrift Stores. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thrift Stores. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Funny how that works out, huh?
When I bought my Nintendo Gamecube I only had 3 games; Mario Kart Double Dash, Donkey Konga and the Gameboy Player boot disc (sans the actually Gameboy Player), which isn't even a game. The first of which was too scratched to play and the other, well its Donkey Konga! I really had nothing to play so my Gamecube sat dormant in it's box for quite a while.
There was a copy of Madden 05 sitting in a Salvation Army for what had to be 4 months, untouched, but only recently did I decide to check it out. The game was complete and everything looked great, until I turned the disc over. The disc had a noticeable scratch on it, so I was afraid it wouldn't work. Even though it was $1, I passed it up.
After a week of sitting and wishing I had a game to get my Gamecube up and working, I decided I would just pull the trigger on the Madden and get things rolling. What happened next may amaze you but its a simple fact of life for myself, the game was GONE. I've seen this happen with numerous items I've picked up, pondered over, placed back down and walk away from. It seems no matter how long the item(s) in question sits on the shelf, after I pick them up and later decide I want them, they're gone.
Now there are a few different outcomes of this that I have personally experienced. First, I will probably find the item at a better price somewhere not long down the road. Second, I will never find the item ever again. Or the third and final outcome is that will free up money for me to make another purchase.
Funny how that works out, huh?
So after missing out on Madden, which didn't break my heart in the least to be honest, I decided that I wasn't going home empty handed and headed to Disc Replay. The first one had barely any Gamecube games, so I went to another one. This one had just what I was looking for... Animal Crossing! I popped the case open and there was the manual! I figured for $3.99 I would just go for it and cut my losses, just to give my Gamecube something to do!
So in this case outcome number three came into play, so all wasn't lost and I've been playing the hell out of this game. I will be writing another article soon about Animal Crossing, with a little backstory to why I wanted it. Keep your eyes peeled!
There was a copy of Madden 05 sitting in a Salvation Army for what had to be 4 months, untouched, but only recently did I decide to check it out. The game was complete and everything looked great, until I turned the disc over. The disc had a noticeable scratch on it, so I was afraid it wouldn't work. Even though it was $1, I passed it up.
After a week of sitting and wishing I had a game to get my Gamecube up and working, I decided I would just pull the trigger on the Madden and get things rolling. What happened next may amaze you but its a simple fact of life for myself, the game was GONE. I've seen this happen with numerous items I've picked up, pondered over, placed back down and walk away from. It seems no matter how long the item(s) in question sits on the shelf, after I pick them up and later decide I want them, they're gone.
Now there are a few different outcomes of this that I have personally experienced. First, I will probably find the item at a better price somewhere not long down the road. Second, I will never find the item ever again. Or the third and final outcome is that will free up money for me to make another purchase.
Funny how that works out, huh?
So after missing out on Madden, which didn't break my heart in the least to be honest, I decided that I wasn't going home empty handed and headed to Disc Replay. The first one had barely any Gamecube games, so I went to another one. This one had just what I was looking for... Animal Crossing! I popped the case open and there was the manual! I figured for $3.99 I would just go for it and cut my losses, just to give my Gamecube something to do!
So in this case outcome number three came into play, so all wasn't lost and I've been playing the hell out of this game. I will be writing another article soon about Animal Crossing, with a little backstory to why I wanted it. Keep your eyes peeled!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Here we go again...
I have a love hate relationship with thrift stores. This may be due in large part to the fact that thrift stores never cease to amaze me with their seemingly endless supply of either don't give a fuck, or don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. You may already be able to sense the anger, and trust me it probably won't get any better!
My Tuesday, as many of my Tuesdays are, was filled with thrift store hopping. What did my eyes happen to see inside one Salvation Army but a Sony Playstation 3. The box was pretty damaged, but it otherwise looked to be closed. After I saw the price tag I didn't care to continue looking at it to see whether or not it had been opened.
There are a lot of factors that go into this, and to be honest I don't care! Was it new or used? Was it a fat or slim? What size hard drive was it? Was it a refurb? Was it factory sealed? How did Salvation Army acquire it? I have no answers for any of those questions, but they wanted $200 for it.
Ok, I understand that Salvation Army is entitled to ask whatever they want for their products and they deserve to make a fair profit, keying in on fair. There is a reason Salvation Army is a thrift store, you never go into the place and expect to walk out ready for a magazine photo shoot wearing Salvation Army clothes, although I'm not saying that is impossible. You go into a thrift store and expect to get a good deal because they have no overhead on products, all profits are 100%.
Lately I've noticed that quite a few local Salvation Army stores have a plethora of laptops and cellphones in the glass cases, I'm assuming these are probably overstocks. But what warrants Salvation Army to ask retail prices on all these items? Even if these items are brand new and never used, Salvation Army really shouldn't be asking these prices for these items.
Salvation Army should learn to cut someone a deal. It isn't like little Timmy saved up his lawn mowing money all summer and went to Salvation Army to buy himself a PS3 and 10 games, he would go to an electronics store for that. In this economy some thrift stores have decided to up their prices (on everything!) to make more profit off the demand for lower priced goods, that just seems like a greedy business practice to me, but I digress.
Keep in mind that with that price tag at other places you get a guarantee that if the product is bunk in any way, you can return it for an exchange or refund, not so with Salvation Army. The Salvation Army policy is, in short, once it leaves the store, you can't bring it back anymore. (Clever rhyme there huh?) So while you're paying $200 for a PS3 at Best Buy or where ever, if it craps out you're not out of luck. With Salvation Army you just have to fork over that much cash and take it on the chin of it breaks down.
I've made quite a few good deals at Salvation Army stores, more so than any other thrift store, so I can't be too harsh on them. But from time to time I notice a shift in pricing, sometimes they just tag it for small change and put it out, while other times they'll mark everything for way more than it's truly worth. Oddly enough most everything sells, I've went back looking for overpriced items just to own it and it's gone!
I guess this is a supreme case of taking the bad with the good. While I can pickup video games for anywhere from $2 and under, the PS3 that I don't want to own, but still feel offended by their asking price, has to sell for $200 with no promise of it working and no return if it doesn't.
My Tuesday, as many of my Tuesdays are, was filled with thrift store hopping. What did my eyes happen to see inside one Salvation Army but a Sony Playstation 3. The box was pretty damaged, but it otherwise looked to be closed. After I saw the price tag I didn't care to continue looking at it to see whether or not it had been opened.
There are a lot of factors that go into this, and to be honest I don't care! Was it new or used? Was it a fat or slim? What size hard drive was it? Was it a refurb? Was it factory sealed? How did Salvation Army acquire it? I have no answers for any of those questions, but they wanted $200 for it.
Ok, I understand that Salvation Army is entitled to ask whatever they want for their products and they deserve to make a fair profit, keying in on fair. There is a reason Salvation Army is a thrift store, you never go into the place and expect to walk out ready for a magazine photo shoot wearing Salvation Army clothes, although I'm not saying that is impossible. You go into a thrift store and expect to get a good deal because they have no overhead on products, all profits are 100%.
Lately I've noticed that quite a few local Salvation Army stores have a plethora of laptops and cellphones in the glass cases, I'm assuming these are probably overstocks. But what warrants Salvation Army to ask retail prices on all these items? Even if these items are brand new and never used, Salvation Army really shouldn't be asking these prices for these items.
Salvation Army should learn to cut someone a deal. It isn't like little Timmy saved up his lawn mowing money all summer and went to Salvation Army to buy himself a PS3 and 10 games, he would go to an electronics store for that. In this economy some thrift stores have decided to up their prices (on everything!) to make more profit off the demand for lower priced goods, that just seems like a greedy business practice to me, but I digress.
Keep in mind that with that price tag at other places you get a guarantee that if the product is bunk in any way, you can return it for an exchange or refund, not so with Salvation Army. The Salvation Army policy is, in short, once it leaves the store, you can't bring it back anymore. (Clever rhyme there huh?) So while you're paying $200 for a PS3 at Best Buy or where ever, if it craps out you're not out of luck. With Salvation Army you just have to fork over that much cash and take it on the chin of it breaks down.
I've made quite a few good deals at Salvation Army stores, more so than any other thrift store, so I can't be too harsh on them. But from time to time I notice a shift in pricing, sometimes they just tag it for small change and put it out, while other times they'll mark everything for way more than it's truly worth. Oddly enough most everything sells, I've went back looking for overpriced items just to own it and it's gone!
I guess this is a supreme case of taking the bad with the good. While I can pickup video games for anywhere from $2 and under, the PS3 that I don't want to own, but still feel offended by their asking price, has to sell for $200 with no promise of it working and no return if it doesn't.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Not again!
It seems to be a recurring theme with this one Salvation Army of how they over price stuff so drastically that it just frustrates me to no end! I can understand a few things here and there, nobody knows everything about everything, but it is almost always a consistent issue with them.
To be fair, I have scored some things from that Salvation Army at pretty low prices, but not nearly the same as I have other Salvation Army stores. Which brings me to another point; I've never paid over $1 for NES games at ANY Salvation Army store, ever! They usually range between 50 to 99 cents, but this one wanted $4.
$4?, you may be asking yourself, yes $4! Whats wrong with that for NES games!? Just as I said, I've never paid more than $1 for NES games at any other Salvation Army, including a CIB Fester's Quest (yeah yeah!).
I wouldn't be so pissed off if they were more open to accepting the fact that they over priced the games, but I know they'll just look at me like I'm trying to make trouble. Again, Salvation Army is a thrift store, it isn't retail and all profits are 100%. So why can't they accept the fact that these games are $1 at most and let me buy a handful of them?
To be fair, I have scored some things from that Salvation Army at pretty low prices, but not nearly the same as I have other Salvation Army stores. Which brings me to another point; I've never paid over $1 for NES games at ANY Salvation Army store, ever! They usually range between 50 to 99 cents, but this one wanted $4.
$4?, you may be asking yourself, yes $4! Whats wrong with that for NES games!? Just as I said, I've never paid more than $1 for NES games at any other Salvation Army, including a CIB Fester's Quest (yeah yeah!).
I wouldn't be so pissed off if they were more open to accepting the fact that they over priced the games, but I know they'll just look at me like I'm trying to make trouble. Again, Salvation Army is a thrift store, it isn't retail and all profits are 100%. So why can't they accept the fact that these games are $1 at most and let me buy a handful of them?
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Strange Score!
Can you tell me what exactly is going on in the image you see above? There is a perfectly logical explanation, and that is why we're here today! This is an extremely rare find. NO! Not Madden 11, but the fact that I found Madden 11 in a thrift store!
If you'll notice there are two price tags on the front of the case, one ($24.99) is from a local game and DVD resale store called Disc Replay. The other (purple $.99) is in fact from my favorite Salvation Army. There may be a few of you who still don't quite understand just why this has become such as find, so let me explain even further.
I'm not a huge fan of Madden, although I do play them and still prefer the earlier SNES/Genesis versions to their modern day counterparts. I understand that the Madden series is released annually and that the numeric of each Madden is a year ahead of the actual year in which it is released, so that is to say Madden 11 was release in the year 2010. Also, Madden 11 is, as you'll noticed, an Xbox 360 game, which is an extremely rare thing to find in a thrift store, at least around here.
Given that Madden 11 is barely a year old, originally cost someone $25 at Disc Replay and was found (COMPLETE) in a Salvation Army thrift store, I have to say this qualifies as an extremely odd and rare find. Again, I am not saying the game is hard to find, I'm merely saying that under these circumstances, this item wouldn't normally be found.
The game does have a noticeable scratch where the previous owner had put their Xbox 360 up vertically, and the laser moved up and scratched the disc. I'm unsure if the game even works in it's current state, but I am sure it can be resurfaced to work for a couple bucks at the same store the game was originally purchased from. So you think I paid a measly $1 for this game? No! As it was my favorite Salvation Army, I got the senior discount, total $.52!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Sam's Newfangled Scores: First Edition
My last entry inspired me to start up a cousin series to my Sam's Scores over at TVG. One that I can fill with more modern scores that don't fit the criteria of vintage gaming, but are still things that I found at cheap prices and were excited to have found. With all the being said, this version will be further and fewer between than the original, because I don't purposely seek out modern gaming items, but if I run across them I will pick them up, if they're cheap enough.
In the inaugural post will be a lot of Playstation 2 games that I picked up at varies Salvation Armies. At one store I found a huge stack of PS2 RPGs, with titles like Shadow Hearts, Wild Arms, Suikoden and many more. I went through the stack and sorted out which ones had their original slips, manuals and games and which ones didn't. Naturally I lean toward buying the complete games rather than the ones missing manuals and having fake Shamestop cover arts, as I just prefer it that way! After sorting through them and doing a little price checking online against what Salvation Army wanted for them, I picked up a handful of them (Dawn of Mana, Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, Tales of the Abyss and Xenosaga 3). If I had the money, I would have snagged them ALL at the price they were asking.
Part two is some miscellaneous PS2 games that I picked up at the other Salvation Army I frequent. It wasn't much, but I saw them and decided they were cheap enough that I may as well pick them up and see if I could use them. First was Backyard Baseball, child's game yes, but still a video game none the less. I also found Mafia, which I have for the Xbox but was missing the map, since the PS2 copy had the map I have since made a complete set for my Xbox and have just the game and case for the PS2.
But then one of the guys from Salvation Army asked me if I was looking for PS2 games and ran back to grab some he had just found. In a melted Gran Turismo case, there was Midnight Club Street Racing all by itself, in the wrong case! The cashier was just going to throw the game away if I didn't want it so Midnight Club, which I know I love part 3, was a freebie!
Backyard Baseball -$1
Mafia -$1
Midnight Club Street Racing -$Free
Dawn of Mana -$2
Kingdom Hearts -$2
Tales of the Abyss -$2
Xenosaga 3 -$2
What I bought (left) and the stack that I passed up, but someone ended up with (right).
In the inaugural post will be a lot of Playstation 2 games that I picked up at varies Salvation Armies. At one store I found a huge stack of PS2 RPGs, with titles like Shadow Hearts, Wild Arms, Suikoden and many more. I went through the stack and sorted out which ones had their original slips, manuals and games and which ones didn't. Naturally I lean toward buying the complete games rather than the ones missing manuals and having fake Shamestop cover arts, as I just prefer it that way! After sorting through them and doing a little price checking online against what Salvation Army wanted for them, I picked up a handful of them (Dawn of Mana, Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, Tales of the Abyss and Xenosaga 3). If I had the money, I would have snagged them ALL at the price they were asking.
Part two is some miscellaneous PS2 games that I picked up at the other Salvation Army I frequent. It wasn't much, but I saw them and decided they were cheap enough that I may as well pick them up and see if I could use them. First was Backyard Baseball, child's game yes, but still a video game none the less. I also found Mafia, which I have for the Xbox but was missing the map, since the PS2 copy had the map I have since made a complete set for my Xbox and have just the game and case for the PS2.
But then one of the guys from Salvation Army asked me if I was looking for PS2 games and ran back to grab some he had just found. In a melted Gran Turismo case, there was Midnight Club Street Racing all by itself, in the wrong case! The cashier was just going to throw the game away if I didn't want it so Midnight Club, which I know I love part 3, was a freebie!
Backyard Baseball -$1
Mafia -$1
Midnight Club Street Racing -$Free
Dawn of Mana -$2
Kingdom Hearts -$2
Tales of the Abyss -$2
Xenosaga 3 -$2
What I bought (left) and the stack that I passed up, but someone ended up with (right).
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Well this is odd...
Normally I post all my scores over at TVG, but today's score is a bit too modern for that. Let me first start out by saying at least 75% of the gaming items I have bought within the past year have been due to (in no small part) 2 men who work at a local Salvation Army. I won't tell you their names, in case their superiors are busy working and happen to find my blog.
These guys understand the fact that although Salvation Army is a business, they're a resale shop and not some over the top boutique of pre-enjoyed wares. I've managed to haggle, which is an extremely rare feat these days, and get a lot of good stuff. Its simple fact that if you please a customer by giving them a good deal, in the long run, you're going to make more money because that customer keeps coming back for those good deals!
Twice a week, and sometimes more if I see something that keeps me awake at night telling me to go back and pick it up, I do my thrift store rounds to keep tabs on what they have and what I might want. As any hunter will know, it all depends on the day. Sometimes I go in and find absolutely nothing, while other times I go in and wish I could buy everything and have to walk away disappointed that I couldn't afford to purchase it all.
Most of the time I keep an eye out for the vintage stuff, but I also keep an eye out for the more modern stuff as well. Today, I thought the whole day was a wash until I walked into that Salvation Army. The very first thing I do is I always check the main glass case for systems, wires, controllers,etc. I saw a couple N64 style RF adapters and a Gamecube power supply, nothing special so I went about my bric-a-brac hunt and found nothing.
I asked the usual guy what they had and he told me they had some random wires and nothing much else, when he picked up a Nintendo Gamecube and said it all came with this, but the system doesn't work. Being the hunter I am, I had to prove it to myself so he plugged it in and the light popped on, but the door wouldn't stay shut. After analyzing what all might need fixed with the system I asked him how much he had to have for the whole bundle (Gamecube, AC brick and AV cables). After a bit of haggling I felt secure with a price.
After I got the system home, I thoroughly cleaned the inside tray where the disc goes to make sure that wouldn't later become an issue with gooing over the reading lens. Then I took a Q-tip and some rubbing alcohol to the lens and simply hoped that it would work, not knowing whether it would or not. I popped in the closest Gamecube disc I had, a Gameboy Player boot disc (which I also bought at that Salvation Army!) and it worked, although it told me no Gameboy Player was attached to my system.
I took a moist cleaning scrub to the whole system and made it shine like brand new, despite its few battle scars. Overall the system works (for now at least) and I tested it as thoroughly as I possibly could with Donkey Konga and Mario Kart Double Dash, which itself needs resurfaced. Other than the door release button being stuck everything else was well worth the price! I used to own a Gamecube that needs the laser replaced years ago, but after many failed attempts at adjusting it myself, I toss it in the trash, sadly throwing the AC brick away with it as well.
I wished I had kept the 2 games I had for my old Gamecube, but I sold them to get more vintage games a while back, I did however keep the memory card! I don't have a Gamecube controller, but I do have an adapter that allows me to use a Playstation controller. Want to know how much I paid for the Gamecube? $4+tax! It even came in a Shamestop Gamecube box, which is kind of cool.
These guys understand the fact that although Salvation Army is a business, they're a resale shop and not some over the top boutique of pre-enjoyed wares. I've managed to haggle, which is an extremely rare feat these days, and get a lot of good stuff. Its simple fact that if you please a customer by giving them a good deal, in the long run, you're going to make more money because that customer keeps coming back for those good deals!
Twice a week, and sometimes more if I see something that keeps me awake at night telling me to go back and pick it up, I do my thrift store rounds to keep tabs on what they have and what I might want. As any hunter will know, it all depends on the day. Sometimes I go in and find absolutely nothing, while other times I go in and wish I could buy everything and have to walk away disappointed that I couldn't afford to purchase it all.
Most of the time I keep an eye out for the vintage stuff, but I also keep an eye out for the more modern stuff as well. Today, I thought the whole day was a wash until I walked into that Salvation Army. The very first thing I do is I always check the main glass case for systems, wires, controllers,etc. I saw a couple N64 style RF adapters and a Gamecube power supply, nothing special so I went about my bric-a-brac hunt and found nothing.
I asked the usual guy what they had and he told me they had some random wires and nothing much else, when he picked up a Nintendo Gamecube and said it all came with this, but the system doesn't work. Being the hunter I am, I had to prove it to myself so he plugged it in and the light popped on, but the door wouldn't stay shut. After analyzing what all might need fixed with the system I asked him how much he had to have for the whole bundle (Gamecube, AC brick and AV cables). After a bit of haggling I felt secure with a price.
After I got the system home, I thoroughly cleaned the inside tray where the disc goes to make sure that wouldn't later become an issue with gooing over the reading lens. Then I took a Q-tip and some rubbing alcohol to the lens and simply hoped that it would work, not knowing whether it would or not. I popped in the closest Gamecube disc I had, a Gameboy Player boot disc (which I also bought at that Salvation Army!) and it worked, although it told me no Gameboy Player was attached to my system.
I took a moist cleaning scrub to the whole system and made it shine like brand new, despite its few battle scars. Overall the system works (for now at least) and I tested it as thoroughly as I possibly could with Donkey Konga and Mario Kart Double Dash, which itself needs resurfaced. Other than the door release button being stuck everything else was well worth the price! I used to own a Gamecube that needs the laser replaced years ago, but after many failed attempts at adjusting it myself, I toss it in the trash, sadly throwing the AC brick away with it as well.
I wished I had kept the 2 games I had for my old Gamecube, but I sold them to get more vintage games a while back, I did however keep the memory card! I don't have a Gamecube controller, but I do have an adapter that allows me to use a Playstation controller. Want to know how much I paid for the Gamecube? $4+tax! It even came in a Shamestop Gamecube box, which is kind of cool.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thrill of the hunt and the murder of the hunter!
As an avid video game hunter, I enjoy watching other people make videos of what they've found during their hunting adventures. Its something I wish I could do for both TVG and just for my own personal finds that don't really fit the criteria for TVG. Youtube is rife with people uploading weekly, monthly or just the occasional video of what they've found in flea markets or thrift stores. Even Gamester81 seems to have caught the bug and now has his own finds videos.
But last night, while on my usual youtube "finds" rounds, I saw a video that made something clear that I had never really thought about before. PenguinNintendoAge said he found an SNES game at Goodwill, but it had been a long time since he actually saw a video at Goodwill since they started using their online auction site, because they send all their games to be sold on there. His sentence only sat on my brain for mere seconds before it completely clicked. Goodwill has dried up because they do send all their stuff to be sold online!
I've found very few and far between deals at Goodwill and extremely rarely have I seen vintage games. Recently I bought some NES games from one Goodwill, some Gameboy and GBA games at another, and even a Genesis game at another! But for the most part they are over run with overpriced PS2 and Xbox/360 games. I do understand that it all depends on what is donated, and trust me throughout my adventures I've learned that no matter what you find on a shelf that doesn't mean you're going to find anything more than just that (such as an N64 controller doesn't mean the system or games were donated as well, etc).
Here is where this turns from frustration to anger. Goodwill gets all the good stuff! I'm not even joking, when I started watching ShopGoodwill.com there wasn't a single week go by that they didn't have at least 1 NES 2 (aka Top Loader) listed and sold it for an insane price. So it breaks down that people just dump boxes off at Goodwill and Goodwill makes a huge amount of money off of these things. (100% profit, remember?)
I am dying to get my hands on some pretty rare things that just don't show up in places like Disc Replay or even flea markets, without there being a hefty price tag alongside them. I thought Goodwill was going to be my ticket past this nightmare and I guess I was wrong. In life there are no free rides and nothing comes cheap, Goodwill is really proving that everyday with their business practices.
I have no choice but to keep my eyes open and go to as many Goodwills, and other thrift stores and flea markets as possible, in the hope that I can find what I'm looking for. Now when I look at the lack of video games I'll browse through ShopGoodwill.com and wonder how much of that stuff (sold locally) may have been at my finger tips, had it not been for money hungry Goodwill and their ebay rip off.
But last night, while on my usual youtube "finds" rounds, I saw a video that made something clear that I had never really thought about before. PenguinNintendoAge said he found an SNES game at Goodwill, but it had been a long time since he actually saw a video at Goodwill since they started using their online auction site, because they send all their games to be sold on there. His sentence only sat on my brain for mere seconds before it completely clicked. Goodwill has dried up because they do send all their stuff to be sold online!
I've found very few and far between deals at Goodwill and extremely rarely have I seen vintage games. Recently I bought some NES games from one Goodwill, some Gameboy and GBA games at another, and even a Genesis game at another! But for the most part they are over run with overpriced PS2 and Xbox/360 games. I do understand that it all depends on what is donated, and trust me throughout my adventures I've learned that no matter what you find on a shelf that doesn't mean you're going to find anything more than just that (such as an N64 controller doesn't mean the system or games were donated as well, etc).
Here is where this turns from frustration to anger. Goodwill gets all the good stuff! I'm not even joking, when I started watching ShopGoodwill.com there wasn't a single week go by that they didn't have at least 1 NES 2 (aka Top Loader) listed and sold it for an insane price. So it breaks down that people just dump boxes off at Goodwill and Goodwill makes a huge amount of money off of these things. (100% profit, remember?)
I am dying to get my hands on some pretty rare things that just don't show up in places like Disc Replay or even flea markets, without there being a hefty price tag alongside them. I thought Goodwill was going to be my ticket past this nightmare and I guess I was wrong. In life there are no free rides and nothing comes cheap, Goodwill is really proving that everyday with their business practices.
I have no choice but to keep my eyes open and go to as many Goodwills, and other thrift stores and flea markets as possible, in the hope that I can find what I'm looking for. Now when I look at the lack of video games I'll browse through ShopGoodwill.com and wonder how much of that stuff (sold locally) may have been at my finger tips, had it not been for money hungry Goodwill and their ebay rip off.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Oh thrift stores..
Thrift stores and I used to have a wonderful relationship. Back when they all smelled like moldy cheese under your 400lb Uncle Lou's fat rolls and I was too young to understand the value of a dollar, everything was great! Thrift stores personified the old saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure!", but over time they've lost touch with reality and think they're bigger than they truly are.
Now, I'm sure we all know how a thrift store operates, but let me quickly refresh your memory. All items within the stores are donated at no cost to the desired thrift store and priced to sell to help keep the store afloat and help a worthy cause. Goodwill used to boast they were helping the mentally challenged and these days the only mentally challenged people I see in Goodwill are the ones who are mentally challenged through faults of their own. Throughout the course of this entry you will need to constantly bear in mind, no thrift store ever pays a cent for the items they sell, this is resale and not retail.
Locally, there are three main choices of thrift stores, I assume only two of which are big names throughout the rest of the United States; D.A.V., Goodwill and Salvation Army. As often as possible Goodwill and Salvation Army will use their causes to get you to donate, and as long as these causes are in fact being aided I see no problem with helping them help the cause, as long as prices are fair. Oh, but fair pricing shouldn't be a problem, after all every single sale is 100% profit, so why wouldn't pricing be fair?
Goodwill
Goodwill is seemingly everywhere! I frequent about 5 or 6 Goodwill stores locally and on occasion possibly up to 7 or 8. Goodwill offers a weekly 50% discount on all items with a certain tag color, as well as every first Saturday of the month everything is 50% off, this is a great idea to help clear the shelves to make room for new items. Now, Goodwill has a complete and utter lack of knowledge of what they sell and nothing is tested, it simply gets priced and tossed out on the shelves. This can play into and out of some people's favor, as you might find a great deal on something that was way under priced, yet you're most likely to find items are extremely over priced.
With Goodwill, there is absolutely NO bartering, they will simply refuse to sell you the item, so you either pay the price or take the chance on waiting for it's discount time to come around. I've personally found quite a few great deals in Goodwill, but there have been times I have just flat out refused to pay their prices for some beaten down, broken, over priced junk. The tag it and shelf it policy really annoys me, because it shows they take money more importantly than they do trying to help the consumer and give them the best value possible.
Goodwill also offers their own version of online auctions. Most of the time these auctions are packed with really great items, yet everything starts at $5 and there is also a handling fee tacked on for them simply touching the item, the most literal sense of handling. If your local Goodwill's auctions are different, that is because I only check my local Goodwill's auctions because shipping is always twice as much as it should be, plus the handling fees, causing most auctions to exceed, beyond a reasonable amount, what those items should be worth.
Through my frequent trips to Goodwill I would say they're hit or miss with their value, but I can't say it has been all bad because I have gotten quite a few good deals there. Goodwill is trying to become the Macy's of thrift stores and it may be only a matter of time until their prices reflect just that. Goodwill does offer a return policy, but it is so stringent that its almost not even worth the effort to get a Goodwill gift card with your money on it (no cash back FTW)! The careless attitude and letting uninformed employees go wild with a pricing gun really brings down my respect for Goodwill, nothing in Goodwill is the holy grail, no matter how much they wish it were.
Salvation Army
It seems Salvation Army does do a lot of good for communities and that is something I can respect. Sure the stores aren't as brightly colored and tidy as Goodwill, but that means lower overhead and more reasonable pricing. Much like Goodwill, Salvation Army also offers a weekly colored tag discount as well as miscellaneous holiday discounts on certain types of items. Overall, Salvation Army is my favorite thrift store, even so that isn't to say they're not without their own set of problems.
There are only a handful of Salvation Army thrift stores that I frequent, and they all vary wildly from store to store. Generally there is a religious undertone, different to my own, that gives you the sense of a friendly, painless thrift store experience. Most of the time I find my trips to Salvation Army to be a very good experience and everything is quite hassle-free, but at one particular Salvation Army it has been nothing but a waste of time. This store refuses to offer much leeway in their prices, even though any profit is 100% profit (did you remember?)!
Salvation Army doesn't check their donations, so they too have the price it and shelf it policy I hate so much. But sadly, Salvation Army goes one step further and doesn't offer any guarantee on their items, nor will they allow you to return the items! Once you've finished paying for your items, they're your's and your's for good! No backsies!
I can't let just one store ruin my whole view on the company, and I don't! Salvation Army has been fair to me and offers extremely good prices on most items, as well as friendly staff (all but that one store!). I highly recommend Salvation Army out of all of the thrift stores around here, obviously with the exception of the one store every visit has been fun, even if I didn't buy anything.
D.A.V.
DAV is a tiny thrift store (only 1 left open locally) but they still offer great deals. DAV offers 2 discount colors per week, one is 50% and the other is 30%, so you have an even better chance of finding a good deal. There isn't much bad I can say about DAV, they've always treated me well and I've never seen anything in their store that made me want to shout "WOW! THATS A HIGH PRICE!". Although I did hear directly from one employee they rent the name, which probably means they're not so much associated with the Disabled American Veteran organization.
DAV offers a lot of holiday discounts like Salvation Army and with each trip it is either hit or miss in the manner of finding anything worth buying. Sometimes I wait for things to go on discount and end up losing them, but that doesn't mean they were overly priced. To be quite honest, DAV has some things that are over priced, but it is a rare occasion that I am shocked at how much they want for something.
I'm not aware if DAV offers a return policy, so I assume that once again your purchases are now your's. Even so, the pricing tends to be fair enough that you don't sweat the whole way home hoping you're not stuck with a broken pile of junk.
In conclusion, I love shopping at thrift stores. Most of the time thrift stores are my only outlet to finding the vintage gaming items I really want to own, or else I could just pay an arm and a leg to find them online. I've found great deals, I've found ok deals and I've found total and complete rip offs, but usually I find things that I want to own and that is why I still search thrift stores. The thrill of the hunt!
Now, I'm sure we all know how a thrift store operates, but let me quickly refresh your memory. All items within the stores are donated at no cost to the desired thrift store and priced to sell to help keep the store afloat and help a worthy cause. Goodwill used to boast they were helping the mentally challenged and these days the only mentally challenged people I see in Goodwill are the ones who are mentally challenged through faults of their own. Throughout the course of this entry you will need to constantly bear in mind, no thrift store ever pays a cent for the items they sell, this is resale and not retail.
Locally, there are three main choices of thrift stores, I assume only two of which are big names throughout the rest of the United States; D.A.V., Goodwill and Salvation Army. As often as possible Goodwill and Salvation Army will use their causes to get you to donate, and as long as these causes are in fact being aided I see no problem with helping them help the cause, as long as prices are fair. Oh, but fair pricing shouldn't be a problem, after all every single sale is 100% profit, so why wouldn't pricing be fair?
Goodwill
Goodwill is seemingly everywhere! I frequent about 5 or 6 Goodwill stores locally and on occasion possibly up to 7 or 8. Goodwill offers a weekly 50% discount on all items with a certain tag color, as well as every first Saturday of the month everything is 50% off, this is a great idea to help clear the shelves to make room for new items. Now, Goodwill has a complete and utter lack of knowledge of what they sell and nothing is tested, it simply gets priced and tossed out on the shelves. This can play into and out of some people's favor, as you might find a great deal on something that was way under priced, yet you're most likely to find items are extremely over priced.
With Goodwill, there is absolutely NO bartering, they will simply refuse to sell you the item, so you either pay the price or take the chance on waiting for it's discount time to come around. I've personally found quite a few great deals in Goodwill, but there have been times I have just flat out refused to pay their prices for some beaten down, broken, over priced junk. The tag it and shelf it policy really annoys me, because it shows they take money more importantly than they do trying to help the consumer and give them the best value possible.
Goodwill also offers their own version of online auctions. Most of the time these auctions are packed with really great items, yet everything starts at $5 and there is also a handling fee tacked on for them simply touching the item, the most literal sense of handling. If your local Goodwill's auctions are different, that is because I only check my local Goodwill's auctions because shipping is always twice as much as it should be, plus the handling fees, causing most auctions to exceed, beyond a reasonable amount, what those items should be worth.
Through my frequent trips to Goodwill I would say they're hit or miss with their value, but I can't say it has been all bad because I have gotten quite a few good deals there. Goodwill is trying to become the Macy's of thrift stores and it may be only a matter of time until their prices reflect just that. Goodwill does offer a return policy, but it is so stringent that its almost not even worth the effort to get a Goodwill gift card with your money on it (no cash back FTW)! The careless attitude and letting uninformed employees go wild with a pricing gun really brings down my respect for Goodwill, nothing in Goodwill is the holy grail, no matter how much they wish it were.
Salvation Army
It seems Salvation Army does do a lot of good for communities and that is something I can respect. Sure the stores aren't as brightly colored and tidy as Goodwill, but that means lower overhead and more reasonable pricing. Much like Goodwill, Salvation Army also offers a weekly colored tag discount as well as miscellaneous holiday discounts on certain types of items. Overall, Salvation Army is my favorite thrift store, even so that isn't to say they're not without their own set of problems.
There are only a handful of Salvation Army thrift stores that I frequent, and they all vary wildly from store to store. Generally there is a religious undertone, different to my own, that gives you the sense of a friendly, painless thrift store experience. Most of the time I find my trips to Salvation Army to be a very good experience and everything is quite hassle-free, but at one particular Salvation Army it has been nothing but a waste of time. This store refuses to offer much leeway in their prices, even though any profit is 100% profit (did you remember?)!
Salvation Army doesn't check their donations, so they too have the price it and shelf it policy I hate so much. But sadly, Salvation Army goes one step further and doesn't offer any guarantee on their items, nor will they allow you to return the items! Once you've finished paying for your items, they're your's and your's for good! No backsies!
I can't let just one store ruin my whole view on the company, and I don't! Salvation Army has been fair to me and offers extremely good prices on most items, as well as friendly staff (all but that one store!). I highly recommend Salvation Army out of all of the thrift stores around here, obviously with the exception of the one store every visit has been fun, even if I didn't buy anything.
D.A.V.
DAV is a tiny thrift store (only 1 left open locally) but they still offer great deals. DAV offers 2 discount colors per week, one is 50% and the other is 30%, so you have an even better chance of finding a good deal. There isn't much bad I can say about DAV, they've always treated me well and I've never seen anything in their store that made me want to shout "WOW! THATS A HIGH PRICE!". Although I did hear directly from one employee they rent the name, which probably means they're not so much associated with the Disabled American Veteran organization.
DAV offers a lot of holiday discounts like Salvation Army and with each trip it is either hit or miss in the manner of finding anything worth buying. Sometimes I wait for things to go on discount and end up losing them, but that doesn't mean they were overly priced. To be quite honest, DAV has some things that are over priced, but it is a rare occasion that I am shocked at how much they want for something.
I'm not aware if DAV offers a return policy, so I assume that once again your purchases are now your's. Even so, the pricing tends to be fair enough that you don't sweat the whole way home hoping you're not stuck with a broken pile of junk.
In conclusion, I love shopping at thrift stores. Most of the time thrift stores are my only outlet to finding the vintage gaming items I really want to own, or else I could just pay an arm and a leg to find them online. I've found great deals, I've found ok deals and I've found total and complete rip offs, but usually I find things that I want to own and that is why I still search thrift stores. The thrill of the hunt!
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