so i am at about 650 games and now i cant find any games in the wild anymore, it really sucks.   it has been a few months since i even got a  common game.  has this happened to anyone?  anymore i usually buy mario 3 or contra's and resell them and then use the profit to buy a game on ebay.  not as fun, but at least im moving forward...and its better than not getting them at all.  

Here in the states, the "season" is pretty much over for now. Yard sales are done, people pack their things away for the season. It's been tougher around here for me in philly area since I found out the DKOldies runs his ebay store 10 minutes away from where I live. Talk about stuff drying up, 2nd biggest reseller on eBay's working out of my backyard :/ I've been looking to eBay a lot more. You can always try posting your needs list here or on a similar board, if you're around 100 carts left it won't be too hefty to post. I'm only just over 400 now, it'll be a while until I'm anywhere near that point

dangevin wrote on 14. Sep 2006 at 12:39:

Here in the states, the "season" is pretty much over for now. Yard sales are done, people pack their things away for the season. It's been tougher around here for me in philly area since I found out the DKOldies runs his ebay store 10 minutes away from where I live. Talk about stuff drying up, 2nd biggest reseller on eBay's working out of my backyard :/ I've been looking to eBay a lot more. You can always try posting your needs list here or on a similar board, if you're around 100 carts left it won't be too hefty to post. I'm only just over 400 now, it'll be a while until I'm anywhere near that point

i am from the burbs of philly, where are you from?  i usually go to the qmart and jakes fleamarket.  really, dkoldies is from pa...had now clue.

I hit a big wall a while back...all the thrift stores around me are now barren (I know from nonchalant conversations that various employees from each grab any video games that come in before they hit the shelves).  The Flea Markets were empty due to swarming Hot Topic kids.  No retail stores in my area carry them anymore...it is indeed quite rough.

coinheaven wrote on 15. Sep 2006 at 01:59:

i am from the burbs of philly, where are you from?  i usually go to the qmart and jakes fleamarket.  really, dkoldies is from pa...had now clue.

Pottstown, 1/2 hour outside. Q-mart is a source, really? There's a dealer in Zerns in Boyertown that I avoid...he wants $25 for every cart he has...every one's "rare" lol. It's a shame, because all dabblers around here pay the money too. I'm up by a-town often I'll try Q-mart sometime. Best I ever got there was a CIB Star Raiders for the 2600, but that was at least 6 years ago. Noplace in Philly huh...?
 I've been hawking ebay with a modicum of success, I guess I'll keep at it. I'm about to go door to door at this point. Maybe I can print up a shirt with a cart on it that says "Have you seen me?"

Limbofunk wrote on 15. Sep 2006 at 03:00:

The Flea Markets were empty due to swarming Hot Topic kids.

Mmmm....yes, the Hot Topic kids. Gotta love trends.

Around where I live there is NOTHING. And I literally mean nothing. I have to resort to forums and ebay. I did find a small store acrossed from a gas station that I was at up in Chicago this past Tuesday. They had a boxed Action Set but I didn't even ask for the price. I saw the prices on their old common gameboy games ($15 with a damaged label) and walked out.

Actually I find things much cheaper on ebay than the game stores,flea markets etc around here...And you have to expect there are quite a few games you will never find in the wild..

dangevin wrote on 15. Sep 2006 at 03:13:

coinheaven wrote on 15. Sep 2006 at 01:59: i am from the burbs of philly, where are you from?  i usually go to the qmart and jakes fleamarket.  really, dkoldies is from pa...had now clue. Pottstown, 1/2 hour outside. Q-mart is a source, really? There's a dealer in Zerns in Boyertown that I avoid...he wants $25 for every cart he has...every one's "rare" lol. It's a shame, because all dabblers around here pay the money too. I'm up by a-town often I'll try Q-mart sometime. Best I ever got there was a CIB Star Raiders for the 2600, but that was at least 6 years ago. Noplace in Philly huh...?  I've been hawking ebay with a modicum of success, I guess I'll keep at it. I'm about to go door to door at this point. Maybe I can print up a shirt with a cart on it that says "Have you seen me?"

im in hatfield.  the q mart isnt that great, mostly has alot of common stuff, i have been going almost every weekend for 3 years now and have NEVER found an unlicensed game.  but its close and im too lazy for garage sales.  

I'm sure there's someone intercepting them at Q-mart and ebaying then. I usually ask someone in charge what's up when I go to a place for 3 months and there's nothing. No matter what there's usually SOMETHING in that time, whether it's a goodwill, salvation army, pawn shop, anywhere. Even yard sales...if a month goes by and I see nothing I ask if anyone's been buying before you arrived, or even calling ahead of time from a newspaper ad and getting it before the yard sale.

Sometimes it's an employee, or a manager/owner who's intercepting them and reselling them on eBay, or even collecting them personally. Sometimes its an independent reseller that's hawking and getting in early to snap up everything. Sometimes that shop just doesn't give anything (I've seen $0.10 per cart offered) and people walk and do it themselves. But there's always a reason, and if you're a regular and you ask nicely they'll always tell you the story. I've been able to leave my number and get results at a few places just by letting them know that I'm willing to pay real prices to save them eBay fees. Of course that's only good so long as the person is still working there :)

But no matter what most carts that aren't r9's or r10's WILL turn up in the wild so long as poachers don't exist :)

wow coinheaven we are very similar in our quest lol. im down to needing 72 games and yea i hardly find any games that i actually still need at the flea or anywhere else realy. one thing that keeps me going though is collecting for other systems as well. that way if i dont find any nes stuff theres always other cool games to look for for all the other systems. this weekend i went to my local flea market and was able to find lethal weapon for the NES for 2 bucks (one of the games i still didnt have) and that was about it but i did manage to score some really sweet CIB genesis games for like 3 bucks a piece so it was a total waste. i got this awesome game i never played before call mazinsaga mutant fighter (or something like that) its freaking awesome. so id say broaden what you look for makes it funner,

parpunk wrote on 17. Sep 2006 at 23:40:

wow coinheaven we are very similar in our quest lol. im down to needing 72 games and yea i hardly find any games that i actually still need at the flea or anywhere else realy. one thing that keeps me going though is collecting for other systems as well. that way if i dont find any nes stuff theres always other cool games to look for for all the other systems. this weekend i went to my local flea market and was able to find lethal weapon for the NES for 2 bucks (one of the games i still didnt have) and that was about it but i did manage to score some really sweet CIB genesis games for like 3 bucks a piece so it was a total waste. i got this awesome game i never played before call mazinsaga mutant fighter (or something like that) its freaking awesome. so id say broaden what you look for makes it funner,

yea i hear ya, i am picking up anything for any system because it is fun, even though i wish it was a nes game i didnt have.  i even got atari 5200 and vic-20 games recently, cause, what the hell else am i gonna do?  and i refuse to buy the common games i dont have individually from ebay for 5.00 a piece.   oh well, ill just have to buy the commons in bulk from here or digitpress...and trade as much as i can.

dangevin wrote on 15. Sep 2006 at 03:13:

i There's a dealer in Zerns in Boyertown that I avoid...he wants $25 for every

Damn, hahaaha.  I never thought I would here someone talk about zerns on the net.   I can't believe that guy charges 25 a game.  I live in NC now, but I lived and grew up  in Spring City.  My parents still live there and I go back to visit.  What a small world.

Even last summer I would get a good haul every other week while yard saling.  This year it's rare for me to even find one game a week in the wild.  

It's gotten so bad that last week I picked up a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for 50 cents and was estatic...    :P

laynlow200 wrote on 18. Sep 2006 at 19:49:

dangevin wrote on 15. Sep 2006 at 03:13: i There's a dealer in Zerns in Boyertown that I avoid...he wants $25 for every   Damn, hahaaha.  I never thought I would here someone talk about zerns on the net.   I can't believe that guy charges 25 a game.  I live in NC now, but I lived and grew up  in Spring City.  My parents still live there and I go back to visit.  What a small world.

that place is so wierd, bunch of redneck hillbillies.  that really doesnt bother me, except for the wierd smells.  

I've noticed the same thing too, I know I am guilty of buying loads of games from yard sales, thrift stores, pawn shops, etc, but I do collect too (mainly Super Nintendo).  The flea markets here are a JOKE, I went to one last weekend, and this white trash family had around 100 NES carts.  I pulled out a few that I could sell for about 20 a piece (contra, zelda, etc), some super NES games (zelda, turtles IV), and I was like, how much are these?  And she was like, well the gold one is 25, contra is 20, zelda for snes is 30 and turtles IV is 15.  I was like, you know this gold zelda cart isn't real gold right?  And she just looked at me, I was like, that is WAY to high, those prices are outrageous and she told me "yeah they are probably too high for you"

hahaha.

but crappity smacking hot topic kids have RUINED yard sales, thrift stores, flea markets, attractive women.

The only luck I have been having is on Ebay, forums and sometimes a pawn shop. I stopped at a ton of garage sales and they say the same thing every time " we got rid of that at our last garage sale, last year" I'm a year too late what to do. I am goin to post a WANTED NES games at a few gas stations with my number on it and hope for the best...somehere here gave me that idea a few months back.

lol for the Rant on Zerns :) It is indeed a small world. The funniest thing is that the place with the overpriced games is called "Game Tapes Unlimited."

The last time I saw a game on tape was for the Atari 2600, and they're hella-rare. I think I used to boot games into my Timex Sinclair using audio tapes...Anyways I wonder if people really thought there was some kind of data tape in those little cartridges back in the 80's? I mean...I don't know how a nuclear reactor works, but I know there's some uranium, concrete, a whole lotta water...no tape though :)

TheFinalDayComes wrote on 19. Sep 2006 at 16:15:

The only luck I have been having is on Ebay, forums and sometimes a pawn shop. I stopped at a ton of garage sales and they say the same thing every time " we got rid of that at our last garage sale, last year" I'm a year too late what to do. I am goin to post a WANTED NES games at a few gas stations with my number on it and hope for the best...somehere here gave me that idea a few months back.

best thing to do is figure out where all the thrift stores are in your area and go there everyday.  that's how i pay my rent every month.  i buy old cameras, vintage clothes, video games, but it takes alot of time out of your day.  i have found tons of cool shit though :D

:-/

I don't want too get everybody depressed but,here in holland it's no beter,and i think it whil only get whorse because the games that come on ebay our in pawnshops are from people ho fore example clean their attic.

This can't go on 4ever !
I read on a internet site a story of a atari collector ho sead the consoles and games just disapeerd ,when the jears passed.

Whitin 5 jears the show is over and the games are spread under collectors worldwide :'(

coinheaven wrote on 19. Sep 2006 at 13:52:

laynlow200 wrote on 18. Sep 2006 at 19:49: dangevin wrote on 15. Sep 2006 at 03:13: i There's a dealer in Zerns in Boyertown that I avoid...he wants $25 for every   Damn, hahaaha.  I never thought I would here someone talk about zerns on the net.   I can't believe that guy charges 25 a game.  I live in NC now, but I lived and grew up  in Spring City.  My parents still live there and I go back to visit.  What a small world. that place is so wierd, bunch of redneck hillbillies.  that really doesnt bother me, except for the wierd smells.

you got that right.  Very weird smells

I don't think it's fair to blame "Hot Topic kids" for the lack of games found in the wild.  Retro Gaming has definitely gained popularity recently, but I think Hot Topic is only a small contributing factor.  If you want to blame anything, blame eBay, and blame technology.  People now can look up the value of their games on the internet in just a few minutes.  If somebody sees that their NES with 10 games they had as a kid sells for $50-60 on eBay, they probably wouldn't want to get rid of it all for $10 at a yard sale.  I think eBay and the internet is the main reason why you can't find games in the wild anymore.  And finally when they are found in the wild, it's people like Zerns wanting $25 per game.

lol for weeklong rant on Zerns :)

Anyways that "Hot Topic Effect" has worn off but the legacy lives on. Has anyone looked in a Hot Topic in the last 6 months? The last of the game tee-shirts has been cleared out at 1/2 price. Some current game shirts may exist when topical (resident evil) but the retro stuff is OUT.

It's because most of the yuppie-larva have grown out of it (again) and have moved onto other things like their skateboards, and heroin. Or something more addictive, like Magic: the Gathering.

Anyways there are a few that have elevated to "collector" level. And those are some of us. And that means we in part owe thanks to Hot Topic for introducing more contributing members to the hobby. A healthy market for games isn't something to lambast or lament. The games you already have are worth more, the deals you still eke out are sweeter, and the people who truly care will care despite the market anyways.

it's the sad truth that our beloved nes is going the way of the precrash.. (ie atario, colico, inteli). a lot of the kids that are into games today weren't even born yet when the nes came out, and some even when the last game shipped!

i noticed this 2 years ago here in Toronto.    :-[

dangevin wrote on 30. Sep 2006 at 08:04:

Anyways there are a few that have elevated to "collector" level. And those are some of us. And that means we in part owe thanks to Hot Topic for introducing more contributing members to the hobby. A healthy market for games isn't something to lambast or lament. The games you already have are worth more, the deals you still eke out are sweeter, and the people who truly care will care despite the market anyways.

That paragraph disturbs me - "collector level" ?  Are you implying that the more someone buys, the higher their 'level' goes up?  I grew up on the NES.  I loved to play it.  We would just get a few games here & there, but we played them all until there was nothing left to do.  I could recount nearly every game I had - I could look at any game on a store shelf & know whether I had it or not.

After joining these forums, I found myself buying more games without the time to play them.  I saw an NES game at Game Crazy & couldn't tell if I had it or not - that's when I stopped "collecting" .  Now I'm trying to catch up & play all the games that haven't even touched my NES.

To say the truth, it sickens me to see people in the Sellers & Traders forum all the time saying they need "this" & "that" & who often say "let me see if I have that" or "I need this variant" , & often end up Ebaying things, you know who you are. (not you, NGD)  Anyway, to all his own.

Like you said, to each his own. I guess to a nostalgic player, certain collectors can be disturbing. And I do think there are levels to the hobby. My level is, I want every game so that I'll always be able to play each one when I want to, and because I love the NES. And I can share that with my family when the kids are old enough. There are like-minded people who operate on, and understand my level. Some collect at a more intense level, some more casual. It's not a measurable scale, but I think if I had to quantify it since you seem to be searching for why I said "level" it has a lot to do with the time we spend on the hobby, and what we spend that time doing...whether playing or writing or searching/buying.

Collectors do not equal investors or resellers, as I feel your post implied (which disturbed me!). Perhaps your impression is colored by some people that you're referring to in another thread/forum... I just say this because you instantly equated sheer volume of purchase to collector level, where I drew no relation...the collectors here are the contributors to the hobby, and they range from players with a 23-game "essential" collection to ... well, Hounder, Dain and NGD :) But we all share a love, and that's what defines a collector to me really, with the NES. It's not even physical or financial really, some people post here and have only ever played on emulator!

What I was trying to say is a lot of the Hot Topic kiddies would get a bunch of games, then as soon as it went out of fashion, yard sale/ebay them. They're not collectors...we keep what we hold dear regardless of fashion. I don't think it has anything to do with monetary value or "gotta catch 'em all" in a lot of cases...if we were out for money we'd just work more hours or trade stocks instead of games, and that eventually would override our NES hobby...it's another reason why people drop out and it's sad but totally understandable. Depending on what the hobby is to you, if you can't afford it it's gonna give way to life. But I digress...

Yes, that "quantity" thing was a bad assumption on my part.  Now I know what you mean, but I still have my personal prejudices.  I can understand that some people want to collect every NTSC game or every PAL game & play them all afterwards.  But I don't think I will ever get there.  That's why I don't consider myself a complete collector.  It's nice to see that some people have their "specialties" like accessories, variants, factory sealed, protos, or simply US releases.  My specialty will probably be collecting CIB Famicom games, but collecting every single Famicom game is higly absurd.  I just like to keep things simple - it's disturibing to open my closet to find bags of NES games I haven't taken the time to look at yet.  I also have a bad tendency to keep whatever comes into my hands unless it's an extra.  I'll come across a misnamed auction that could make money on a resell, but I'll pass it because I know I probably won't resell it.

I used to think that collecting NES games would be a good investment, but realized that I'm not really in it for any money (although it's nice to estimate how much you've accumulated). ;D