Sam’s Scores VIII
Well everyone, after this article I will be doing more of the new video format than written articles. Today’s Sam’s Scores is going to have more than usual. I’ve had all these items for quite a while and I feel its time to get the old stuff written up to make way for the new stuff!
8) – Bag of Atari 2600 Games
For some reason thrift stores love to use plastic bags and my favorite Salvation Army is no exception. Normally I check the bags for signs of old happy meal Nintendo toys, etc. but this time there happened to be 10 Atari games: Adventure, Combat, Air-Sea Battle, Asteroids, Casino, Football, Air Lock, Missile Command, Space Invaders and Warlords. Even though my 2600 isn’t working, I couldn’t pass it up!
7) – 3 Vectrex Games
In the same thrift/consignment store I found the Atari Jaguar in, were 3 Vectrex games. I checked high and low for the system, but I only found the games. I’m assuming there had to have been a system there, but I prefer to think there never was. These are the first Vectrex games I’ve ever seen, so I had to snatch them up!
6) – Blades of Steel Red Label
Blades of Steel for the NES isn’t a rare game, in fact I’ve had a handful of them. What makes this version harder to find (as I don’t think it is “rare”) is the fact that it has a red label and was re-released with a handful of other games late in the NES’s life. I found this at Disc Replay, where I believe 2 others were eying it before I was, but I asked for help at the case first!
5) – Resident Evil 2
Ever since I played a demo for this game, I’ve always wanted to own it. Disc Replay has it in stock on occasion, but $10 is a bit on the high side for me. Ever the one to hold out hope of finding it in the wild, luck and persistence finally paid off when I found this in the CD bin at Salvation Army. The case is cracked in some areas, but its complete and the discs are in good shape.
4) – N64 Memory Expansion
When you buy an N64, the first thing you should check is the memory expansion slot in the front. If you see a memory expansion, you’re good to go. That isn’t to say the jumper is bad, without the jumper or memory expansion the N64 won’t even display video! I found this memory expansion at a flea market, just sitting on a table and since my N64 needed one, I bought it. (Being displayed already installed into my system.)
3) – 3 N64 Games
My favorite Salvation Army does some insane pricing variations on their cartridge games, it ranges from super cheap or super expensive. This case just so happened to be a super cheap day, and I ended up getting DK64, Rayman 2 and Star Wars Episode 1 Racer, extremely cheap.
2) – Zelda 64: Majora’s Mask
I will admit that this isn’t one of my better scores, but the price still isn’t bad. Half Price Books was marking their games at a standard rate, and this one just so happened to slip through at a decent price.
1) – Vintage Donkey Kong plush
If its video game related, I’ll buy it cheap. Plush gaming characters are fairly easy to find, but when I saw this sitting on a shelf looking at me, with no rips or tears, I had to own it.
Sam’s Scores II
It’s that time again! Sam’s Scores is back with another set of scores from my thrift store adventures! Also, thanks to Will once again, I have a new logo and a small layout change! Lately the thrift stores haven’t had much to offer in favor of holiday decor, which is odd because after all it is Christmas time! I’m hoping after the holidays all the good stuff hits the shelves so I can continue to bring you great scores. But mostly I just enjoy getting cool stuff cheap!
8)
I’m not a PC gamer by nature and even less of a D&D fan, but I did know enough about Baldur’s Gate II that when I saw it in a toy bin at a local thrift store, I checked it for all the discs and make my purchase! Now this might seem a little questionable for TVG, but lets not forget Baldur’s Gate II has a large following in the RPG community and it’s 10 years old.
7)
The day I bought my Nintendo 64, all I had to play was Zelda: Ocarina of Time so I decided it was time to hit the thrift stores! That day I found three more games: WCW/NWO Revenge, Automobili Lamborghini and Top Gear Rally. Needless to say, I wasn’t bored that night!
Automobili Lamborghini -$.99 cents
Top Gear Rally – $.99 cents
6)
When I’m out hunting, I always keep my eyes open for anything with video game branding on it; Atari, Nintendo, Sega, etc. I especially love finding things other gamers might overlook, like carrying cases. This is a rather large Gameboy Advance SP carry case. It holds the system, charger, about 6 games and still has some room! This one was in great shape and was a great price!
5)
Although game controllers maybe getting harder and harder to find, it’s not impossible if you look in the right places. I happen to find what I originally thought was an NES Quickshot. Essentially it is (it even says so on the PCB) but this one was built for Radioshack. It’s a joystick with integrated A and B buttons, start and select on the base as well as a turbo switch!
4)
Lately ebay is a scary place, so I try to avoid it all together. But earlier this year I purchased an NES Advantage and my experience both re-enforced my fears and worked out in my favor due to seller error (I’m being liberal with kindness here). The seller didn’t send out my package until almost 3 weeks after I made payment, so to make up for it, I got 2!
3)
This is another rare purchase from Craigslist. The seller was accepting offers for an NES Power pad and Track Meet game cartridge (with case). I sent the seller my offer and after speaking with them for a bit, they threw in an NES controller and Super Mario/Duck hunt cartridge!
2)
Some of the local thrift stores have glass case, in which they keep items they assume to be the most valuable. Sometimes it’s rubbish and other times it’s pretty good! When I saw Mega Man 3 in a Nintendo sleeve I have to own it, now I do…
1)
As you may have seen previously, I purchased a complete in box Zelda: Ocarina of Time for extremely cheap! Again, I found another Zelda game complete in box, this time it was The Legend of Zelda for the NES. Everything inside the box was near mint, all that was missing was the shrink wrap and the box has slight shelf wear.
Sam’s Scores [Top 5]
Here at TVG they call me a bargain master, the truth is I simply do my best to make sure I get the item(s) I want for the lowest possible price. Sometimes I’m successful and other times I either pay full price, because it was already a bargain anyway, or I end up losing the item waiting for it to go on sale. In my bargain hunting guide I promised to share with you some of my recent scores and in 2010 I have to say, I have been pretty lucky with the scores I’ve managed! I have (painfully) narrowed it down to my 5 favorite scores of 2010. This is by no means all of them, just the best!
5)
As always, a day at a local thrift store yielded number 5. I walked in and just behind the front counter I saw four NES games, I couldn’t tell what they were because they were sitting sideways on the shelf. I asked for assistance and at first I didn’t see any price tags but whatever the price was it was 50% off because they all had the 50% off discount colored tag on them. The games were: Operation Wolf, Jeopardy, Super Mario: 3 in 1 and Super Mario/Duck hunt. It turns out Super Mario/ Duck Hunt did have a price tag on it, which set the price for all four games…
4)
Number 4 came from Craigslist, an interesting place despite my items wanted posts always being removed. I only try to acquire things from Craigslist if I feel the seller and I can agree on a reasonable price. I had been searching Craigslist for vintage systems, games, etc. when I found a Nintendo 64 being sold very close to where I live. The ad was for the system, all the hookups, a controller, a memory card and a rumble pak, all fairly cheap. Still, I had to bargain so I sent the seller my offer. As a bonus score, I recently found an official red N64 controller at a thrift store…
3)
While documenting an outing for my hunting guide, I found an NES in a local thrift store for a very reasonable $7.98. Since there was no way to test it’s full functionality and this store has a no return policy, I walked up to the cashier and asked if there was any discount we could work out. The tag was orange which was not part of the store’s weekly discount colors, but I ended up with a discount anyway…
2)
Earlier this year I made a sizable score which included an NES with 14 games and multiple controllers (including a Beeshu Zipper and Wico Commander). Also an Atari 2600 with a few game manuals and the original AC adapter, although there we no games or controllers. Everything was in really good shape but needed some serious cleaning, which I’m not afraid of! The NES and games worked perfectly and until recently the Atari went unchecked, the original AC adapter was dead and I’m still unsure if the system works or not. All these items were…
1)
Last but certainly not least is the Zelda: Ocarina of Time score, this is my favorite score (thus far)! I didn’t even own an N64 at the time, yet I knew enough about Zelda to know that I needed this game when I saw it! I was looking through a rack of VHS tapes, because sometimes game boxes are confused and placed amongst them, when I seen a golden box that said Zelda on it. I picked up the box and I knew right away there was a game inside, it was the limited edition Ocarina of time. Inside the box was the manual and the gold cartridge, all three were in good shape! I also picked up 2 Sega Genesis games at the same time, both in their boxes with manuals (NBA Jam and Triple Play ’96).
Sega Games – 50 cents each
Zelda: Ocarina of Time – 90 cents!
