Your Best Pickups: on NA, in the wild, on ebay

[doner24 | 1,195]

NA would probably be a 400 plus NES CIB and sealed lot for $5000. I kept about 300 boxes I needed, upgraded lots of other stuff and sold the extras off for about $10K in profit. 
 

I’ve found tons of nice deals on eBay but nothing sticks out, maybe a Super  Nintendo superbrite sign for $100?

 

 

In the wild, I would say it was a deal where I met a guy that had some magazines for sale, NIntendo Power and Game Informers mostly. Asked him if he had games for sale and bought everything including minty cibs, carts, manuals, guides and the original magazines for $300. otherwise a free Aerofighters cart was cool too on another trip. 

[LifeGame | 760]

NA would be my graded FF, its been a while but i think i paid 225$ for it.

And Ebay has to be this graded Legacy of the Wizard, i paid 12$ for it, yes 12$ !!

[final fight cd | 186]

wild:

late 2000s I found a factory sealed double dragon II at a goodwill. only paid a couple bucks for it.  I would love to know what it i sold for back then.

Late 2000s found a cdx and bunch of CIB sega cd games at an indoor flea market.  The standout game was snatcher.  Seller wasn't keen on selling at that moment, as he didn't have anything priced out yet.  It was around an hour drive away so i didn't make that same flea market run for another couple weeks.  When i finally did, surprisingly, everything was present BUT snatcher.  even though he had to price it out, i still got everything dirt cheap.  snatcher was probably only a $100-150 game at that point, so making that run definitely wasn't a priority.  If that was today, i would have been much more persistent haha

 

Ebay:

late 2000s picked up a CIB copy of keio for the sega cd for a BIN of $75.  I forget prices back then, but it was probably a $125-150 game at that point.  Got it cheap because the CD had a very small crack on the edge, which didn't effect game play at all. 

A couple years ago i picked up a sealed copy of lunar eternal blue for the sega cd for only $200 BIN.  The game was probably $100 at the point for a CIB.  A working designs RPG in very fine condition - crackless case, no rips in wrap - was an amazing deal to me.  That is what dreams are made of and why I still check ebay daily.

 

NA/SA

N/a

Edited February 11, 2021 by final fight cd

[DaddyMulk | 64]

Too many to list them all, but here are a few of my favorites:

Arcade Cabs:

$60 for a pretty minty Gauntlet that I mentioned in another thread, thanks to the storage site owner just wanting it gone.

$1 (yes, $1) for a Nintendo Vs. two-sided cab with a dead monitor on one side (the side they showed during the auction, LOL) that had been converted to JAMMA. It had a Wild West C.O.W. Boys of Moo Messa PCB inside that I flipped for around $200. (I got a second Vs. cab that day with the same board and good monitors for around $75 and still have both of those)

eBay:

I started buying the Genesis games I didn’t have but had always wanted around 2008. High on my list was that weird looking Link to the Past-type game from Atlus. I snagged a minty CIB copy for $39, which seemed like a lot back then. But it’s a pretty cool game I guess. I wonder how much it goes for today? /s

I won an auction about five years ago for a mixed lot of Genesis games that looked like they might not all be ordinary consumer products. And, sure enough, it included four prototypes and two Accolade Test Cartridges (the same as the games released AFAIK, but still pretty cool). I made enough selling back the non-prototype stuff to recoup what I spent to win the auction.

Pricing Errors:

About 10 years ago, I found a boxed Dreamcast broadband adapter at a local gaming convention for $8. I’m pretty sure they didn’t check the package and just assumed it was the regular modem (which was never sold separately to begin with AFAIK).

Around the same time, I found a 32X Pitfall cart for $2 at a game store (the price sticker said “Genesis”, so it was likely what they had listed as the price for that version of the game).

Miscellaneous:

One of my favorite purchases from my time in Japan was a pretty sizable PC Engine collection I got at a flea market (around 1999).

I saw all these games lined up from a distance in a big cellophane-wrapped package and went over to take a look. It was priced at around $400, and I was already about to take out my wallet when the guy running the booth said, “How about 30,000 yen?” ($300) Well, yeah!

There wasn’t anything too rare or valuable in there, but it was a solid collection for that price: A boxed Core Grafx, a briefcase unit (original PC Engine + CD-ROM in their dock), a PC Engine GT, lots of controllers, and around 80 CIB games (lots of Shmups and very little junk). I’m pretty sure I still have every piece from that sale to this day.

[T-Pac | 7,539]

I haven't had any crazy exciting pickups over the course of my collecting, but there's a couple memorable ones...

On NA:
I was never a member of NA. Just a lurker haha.

In the Wild:
As a kid, I was hanging-out with my neighbors one day and saw they had a copy of Bubble Bobble for Gameboy sitting in a drawer of random odds and ends. I think they said it was from their aunt, but they never played it because they didn't even have a Gameboy (I think their only game console was the Gamecube). Anyway, I traded them some random quarter-machine toy for it, and it's still my favorite GB game to this day.

On Ebay:
In college I was going after a bunch of cheaper PAL-versions of some rare NES releases. One of the titles I wanted most was Solomon's Key 2 [Fire 'N Ice]. That game isn't always easy to find on Ebay, especially loose, but I eventually came across a promising listing. I was going to be in class when the auction ended, so I assumed it would get sniped while I was away from the computer, but I placed a conservative bid anyway. To my surprise, I checked the listing after class and I had won! Solomon's Key 2 ended up being one of my top 3 games for the NES, and an interesting showpiece for my collection considering it's a European release.

-CasualCart

[LutherDestroysTheGond | 690]

On NA:

Did quite a few transactions there but the one that sticks out the most is trading a bunch of common, but desirable, N64 games for the only known vinyl banner of Super Punch-Out!!.  It was all my duplicate games like Mario Kart, Yoshi's Story, Mario Party trilogy, etc.  This was like 5-6 years ago. 

I also traded a copy of the first 5 Pokemon Gameboy titles plus Mario RPG for CIB Magic Knight Rayearth with stickers.

 

On ebay:

Probably my World of Nintendo sign for $100 free shipping. 

I've also gotten several lots over the years and kept 1-2 titles and sold the test to break even or sometimes at a profit.  Lately, not so much.

 

In the wild:

Too many to count.  The majority of my collection is from thrift stores, garage sales, flea markets, Craigslist, etc.  Here are the highlights:

Found a boxed Turboduo at a flea market with about 20 games for $150.  Lot included Soldier Blade, Lords of Thunder, Vasteel with map, etc.  This was 2007 or so.

Free post on craigslist in like 2012 for consoles and games, it was about a 3 minute drive and saw it like 5 minutes after it was posted.  Showed up and there were 3 bankers boxes with SNES/NES/PS1/GEN consoles and about 60 games.  Included was Mario RPG, Secret of Mana, Turtles in Time, CIB Ghouls N Ghosts, Mario's, Zeldas, all 3 DK Countries, almost all CIB PS1 Final Fantasies, etc.  

In 2008 I moved to college and found a pawn store nearby with old games at $2 each.  Found lots of SNES RPGs and NES/N64 games there.  I remember getting Duckstles 2, Final Fantasy 3, all 3 NES Castlevania games, Conkers, Majoras Mask, both Banjos, Mario Chrono Trigger, tons of GBA Pokemon titles, etc.  Was a great spot for me for 2 years until someone tipped them off that old games were getting expensive then everything got marked up above ebay.  

In 2017ish at a thrift store I found a lot of like 20 CIB games for $4 each mostly PS2/PS1 games.  All 3 Fatal Frames, some Silent Hill titles, Fire Emblem Path of Radiance, Einhander, etc.  Great haul

Summer 2020 there was an estate sale nearby but it was during my work hours so I sent the wife.  In pics posted I saw Eternal Darkness so that alone was worth the trip out.  My wife got there and it was $0.25 for it.  Also, it was sealed.  Ended up flipping that for $225.  She also got some sealed ds games.

Little Samson saga - When I was still in high school (2005ish) I found a bunch of NES games at garage sale for $0.25 each and included in the lot was Little Samson.  I held onto it because it was so much fun and eventually saw it was getting expensive.  In 2010ish (2009?) I was at college and a local game store had Little Samson in for $90 and it was going for $200 online.  I scrounged up some games to trade in and picked up an extra server shift to get cash for it and bought it.  It was an upgrade of my copy and I sold my old one for $225 online and used it to help with textbooks/rent iirc.  Fast forward to 2016 and my wife and I are expecting a child.  We had some unexpected medical bills and we also wanted to pay off an auto loan before our kid was born.  I sold the $90 Little Samson for $1250 on Nintendoage and it helped immensely (sold several other high-end titles).  Selling my Little Samsons helped me in times that I needed the help.  I am established in my career and much better off financially so I may pay up to replace it but I am holding out hope that the Little Samson gods smile upon me one more time and I can find a cheap copy to keep.

There are several more that I cant remember atm or don't want to type out.  Not many great finds lately but I will add ones I remember if I think to come back to this thread.

Edited March 1, 2021 by LutherDestroysTheGond

[Enternal | 15]

NA Sealed Caltron 6 in 1 that I traded a Zelda Twillight Princess CD with Master Sword and Shield Set for

Ebay, this one is a little difficult I have my copy of musha that I paid 60 for, a 130 mint space adventure.. but they werent huge saving for its time, just deals.  I'm probably skipping better deals but off the top of my head right now maybe Little Samson for 225 when it 350.

Wild. This was Earthbound for 75 cents but over the years is now a high grade sealed copy of pokemon gold for 3 dollars at a salvation army.

[snes_collector | 56]

I have had a bunch but this one stands out the most- Years ago (probably 2006-2007) a local GoodWill had a bunch of Sega CD games in the glass case, I didn't own a Sega CD at that time and prices were nothing compared to now so I just kinda glanced and moved on. On the way out my dad asked if I was gonna get any of them so I decided to take a 2nd look- to my surprised I had completely overlooked a complete copy of Keio Flying Squadron! I knew it was desirable back then so I decided to pick that one up for $5. Probably the best single game find I've ever had and a reminder to take a good look at any games you run across in the wild.

[Bonanza125 | 55]

In the Wild I got Stadium Events at Funcoland years ago for $4.99. I also remember getting 1200 NES, SNES, and Genesis games for $2500 from a store that was just looking to get rid of video games all together. Landed up being $18,000 worth of stuff. 

Ebay I got a collection of Super Nintendo games for $275 worth $3000.

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

NA: Only had one or two transactions, nothing important. I did get Clay Fighter Sculptor's Cut from a guy on RFGeneration for $100 many moons ago though.

eBay: Lots of stuff back in the day. Large lots that I pillaged for what I needed then resold to recoup. I can't remember a lot of specifics. I do recall getting Fire & Ice for $19 on Amazon in say 2007 or so. Also Dragon Warrior II for $8 that same year from Amazon and it showed up complete in box.

The wild: Lots of great finds. Final Fantasy VII misprint in pristine condition for $3.99 at Goodwill (before they dropped in price). Snow Brothers NES for .50 cents. Complete in box Virtual Boy for $29.99. 

Edited February 15, 2021 by CodysGameRoom

[Super Nintendo Chalmers | 53]

NA

Only bought the one item and it was a Donkey Kong Country demonstrators safari vest and cap, I think it was around the $80-$100 mark from a really nice NA member. Was at least 5 years ago.

eBay

Too many bundles and ridiculously cheap games to mention in great detail. It'd be too boring of an answer! Snagging this Super Mario World chair on an eBay BIN in 2019 for $80 would be my pick, the seller was 30 minutes away from me:

Wild

Again some nice bundles and cheap games that I could mention, but a personal favourite where a fellow collector helped me out big time (arranging meet up from seller and then posting to me) to get me an Aussie Donkey Kong Country 3 retail promo poster:

 

Edited October 27, 2021 by Super Nintendo Chalmers

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

Removed.

Edited January 4, 2023 by FenrirZero

[DarkTone | 984]

Anyone changed theirs since posting last?

[Naked Warrior | 288]

Only a Lurker on NA  

EBay:

There are a ton I feel like I could mention here (like 95% of my collection is from eBay/Amazon), but I would say most of them weren't really "Great pickups" at the time, but exploded in value later...The higher dollar amounts would be stuff like Kid Dracula, Mega Man V, and Shantae for around $500-600.  I bought a lot of ~50 CIB N64 games for like $1,000 that included mint-ish copies of games like Paper Mario, Conker's, Carmageddon, Starshot, and 46+ other non-sports games...gotta be worth 3x that (at least) now.  But for pure value the day I bought it, I'm going to go with this New In Box Pearl Blue GBA AGS-101.  I got it for $60 about a year and a half ago because the listing was a stock photo with the description of "New - Blue Gameboy Advance"...worked out!

In the wild:

This is an easy one...I started my collecting in 2016 by hitting up local Goodwills/Thrift Stores - There was a thrift store near where I was working and I went in there a couple times and found some neat stuff (JSRF for Xbox, Nights for Sega Saturn) so I started broadening my search.  About 3 months later, I walked into a Goodwill that had a ton of PS1 games that had just been put on the shelf.  I got them for between $2.99 and $3.99, so the total spend was $111.  I call it "The Jackpot". At the time, they were worth around $700, but now I don't even know...I think Persona 2 is pushing $300 on its own!  Funny thing is I never really planned on collecting for Sony consoles...but when life gives you PS1 RPGs, you make a PS1 collection 

[twiztor | 850]

in the wild:
worked at a place where people could trade in video games for cash/credit. a guy brought in a bunch of Gamecube games, including Zelda Collector's Edition. for some reason we couldn't accept it, so the worker helping him handed it back to him. He said he didn't want it and just left it there. after the customer left, the worker gave it to me since he knew i was a Zelda fan. i didn't even have a gamecube at the time, but i think it sparked me to rebuy one.

Not NA/VGS, but another forum:
Bought a complete set of Nintendo Fun Club News / Nintendo Power Flash from a guy in Germany. There were tons of duplicates that he had amassed. I think i paid around $150-$200, but after selling all of the dupes, i basically got a complete set for free. 

eBay:
WAY back in the day, i bought Contra Force for $25. The seller only lived like 20 minutes away from me, which is really why i remember the transaction. I had no idea the game was rare, i just wanted it since it said "Contra". turned in to a pretty damn good deal in the long run.

semi-related, i remember wanting Bubble Bobble Part 2 way back when, but $50 for an NES game just seemed insane. i think i waited a full year before i finally picked one up for that price. What a surprise when i looked at current prices a few years later!

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

NA - Too many good ones, but I'm gonna reach back to the pre-NA days for my personal favourite, at least at first.  I traded a Trolls on Treasure Island proto for a CIB Action 52, loose Raid 2020 and a sealed Shockwave.  Later, when I decided to go loose carts, I sold off the box, manual, sleeve, and all inserts separately on NA for significantly more than the CIB would have gone for, and then turned the money into multiple carts I needed for my collection.  The kicker - I got the proto for a loose Super Valis IV cart that ended up being given back for free because the recipient didn't like it, and he didn't care enough to get compensated.  So basically I got multiple carts, including Raid 2020, Shockwave, and Action 52, plus others that have been lost to time, for FREE.

The Wild - That prize goes to my Little Samson cart, by far.  Found it at the flea market one week for $80 (slightly above the going price at the time), but didn't have the funds.  The following week, it was still there, but the seller had marked the price DOWN to $40.  Easy pickup, and it's definitely stood the test of time!

eBay, well, that's a tough one, because I don't really go for deals per se, just pay retail usually.  But there WAS the time I got two SNES mail-in guides for a whopping $12 shipped.  One was the Wizardry V guide I have in my collection.  The other was AD&D Eye of the Beholder, which I held onto for YEARS, only parting ways with it when I was offered a deal I considered fair for something so rare.  But since that deal goes back into the NA category, I'm gonna leave that one a mystery

[DarkTone | 984]

Anyone changed theirs?

[phart010 | 1,707]

Pretty much anything bought before 2018

[final fight cd | 186]

On 2/11/2021 at 12:00 AM, doner24 said:

NA would probably be a 400 plus NES CIB and sealed lot for $5000. I kept about 300 boxes I needed, upgraded lots of other stuff and sold the extras off for about $10K in profit. 

 

holy shit. Did the seller need quick money or something? A $10k profit is insane. 

[AirVillain | 488]

I'm sure I've posted this, in it's own thread even, but found a couple fun pics to keep boosting this thread....

There was a thrift store in a small town (1,500 ppl) I used to drive by ALL the time (~2015, fuck me I didn't realize how long ago it was). I stopped once and the person said "my boyfriend has games, come back next week."

Come back next week.... Buddy comes out with one box with a Retro Duo piece of shit and Battletoads & Battlemaniacs on SNES says "I just sold a bunch of Sega stuff in the city but here's some Nintendo stuff."

"Well..." I think to myself "At least that's not too bad..." but then buddy comes back with a box literally FULL of SNES & NES games. 

I see Mega Man 1-6 and I'm like.... " Well you know, I'm just trying to get to work and don't have much time to go through all the games, how much do you want for them all?"

"I don't know"

"Well... I have $120 cash right now. But then I gotta split to get to work."

He agrees and I leave as fast as possible. Now... this was a few years ago, so I wasn't ripping him off as hard as it would be now, but it's not MY job to price his shit, they have a store so they UNDERSTAND they gotta price second hand shit themselves, and they literally JUST told me they brought Sega games "to the city" to sell there....

So yeah.... $120 later I'm bombing down the highway reaching into the back seat of the car looking at these games and absolutely shitting my pants....

Filler: (Which I ended up trading for a Zombie Nation Cart & Box)

Killer:

 

[portabello | 99]

That’s a crazy haul! ^^
 

NA - Star Keeper (regular edition) $60

Wild - Clay Fighter Sculptor’s Cut in a system bundle lot for $75.

eBay - probably a mint OG Game Boy Pocket AC charger in box for $0.99 + $5 shipping.

Free - OG Xbox with 20 classic games and 2 controllers… inside an apartment complex laundry room

 

[MegaMan52 | 2,445]

In the Wild 

Difficult decision. I'll say this Coleco Telstar Pong console is one of the better items I've found in the wild. I didn't expect to find it in the wild with its box. Other top finds in the wild would be my Japanese copy of Mega Man 4, Ms. Pac-Man Plug and Play, and a Super Mario Bros. 3 poster.

On eBay 

Again, a really tough decision as I've bought numerous items on eBay over the years. But I'll go with my Super Mario Bros. 3 McDonald's toy display. My Mega Man CES 1990 hat, sealed GameCube Component cable, and Mega Man X Controller are also contenders.

For Free 

I didn't buy anything on NintendoAge, so I'll mention my top free pickup instead.

A friend gave me his Sega Master System collection for free. Well actually, I traded him disc 1 of Tales of Symphonia (he had disc 2) and a Wavebird Controller w/Receiver. So if that doesn't count, then I guess my top free pickup would be a Super Mario Bros. 3 bootleg cartridge which the same friend decided to just give to me.

Edited April 15, 2023 by MegaMan52

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

On 11/14/2019 at 8:03 AM, broncofantd793 said:

On the same day from different garage sales, I found Cubivore for $5 and Einhander for $0.50.  Also, a beat up Turok Rage Wars Grey cart for $5 in the wild about a year after the craze started jumps out in my mind.

I've had some good lot finds or good groups of minty games, but the best values vs prices paid are above.

That Turok grey is supposed to have 01 stamp on the back? I had found one for $7 at the local brick and mortar but sold for $125 before the crazy spike

[AirVillain | 488]

I went to 5 garage sales last weekend. 

Not one single game. Garage sales are officially dead. 

I'll never be able to purchase another video game in my life. 

For real though... Garage Sales have been dead since... 2008-2012?

I'll stop at one if I come across it (same with a thrift store) but I will rarely go out of my way anymore like I did last weekend.

Was kind of fun, but also kind of awkward and sad seeing people sell their stuff. I asked about some shelves and the guy said "I don't know, they were my sisters" in an incredibly sad voice.  It was awful. 

I just wish people would post their phone numbers so I can just call and ask if they have any Nintendo stuff 

 

[Hammerfestus | 3,837]

Once in the before times I picked up a PSX lot on eBay that had a system, controllers, about 10+ good long box games (including among them psychic detective and silverload off the top of my head) and about 20 loose games.  It was like $50.