People love retro games, whether it be the classics like Mario and Sonic or more modern retro favorites like Cuphead and Undertale. If it’s the former you’re looking for, then I got you covered with seven of the best places you can snag that elusive copy of whatever you’ve been thinking about. Let the hunt begin!
7. eBay
The first one is probably pretty obvious, eBay. A place that’s tailor made for people selling anything that’s considered vintage or old, like retro video games. You can buy a bunch of games in a lot or individually depending on what your looking for. And since typically these are individual sellers and not a company selling their goods, you’ll get actual pictures of the items to buy as opposed to a few stock photos that every third-party listing would have liked on Amazon.
Also on eBay, you can place a bid on many items as well. This means depending on the starting bid you can often get that copy of Super Metroid for cheaper than you would have thought. Of course, not everything is for bid, many you can buy it now only or have the ones for bid have an option to buy it now for a price that the seller has set. You can even make a lower offer on a game you’ve been eyeing that you feel is a little high in price and see what happens. Helpful tip: don’t make a low ball offer, like if something is $50 don’t offer $20. Often times the seller will get offended and not make a counteroffer for that kind of an offer.
6. Facebook Marketplace
The next is Facebook Marketplace where you can find older systems and games for decent prices much like eBay, only you can meet with the seller face to face. This means no pesky shipping charges to deal with like online shopping. You can message the seller directly on Facebook Messenger to make a lower offer, again don’t low ball them. You then meet them at a public place, or at their residence which I don’t recommend as people online aren’t always who they say they are so stay safe.
Another option that some sellers offer is having the item shipped to the buyer. In this sense, it’s more like eBay, some sellers even offer free shipping so it’s worth checking out. I would say definitely look at the pictures carefully for condition and know for certain that the games work. I have sold a bit on this platform as well as eBay and I always have either pictures or video showing that the games and games consoles actually work. So far, I haven’t had any problems with buying games that didn’t work except for maybe one time when I bought a PS3 console + games to flip and GTA 5 didn’t work. No matter how much iso alcohol I applied to the game disk and rubbed with a soft cloth, it simply would not boot up.
6. ShopGoodwill
Another site similar to eBay’s bidding centric platform. ShopGoodwill has some of the best bargains on mainly untested electronics, clothes, books, whatever your looking for. Of course, video games are plentiful here and they’re dirt cheap usually. You can buy something like a Nintendo Wii console with all the cables and a small pile of games for under $50 if you’re the winning bid. There are also options to buy now and pay 1 cent shipping on select items. Unfortunately, the games depending on the Goodwill store that these items are located go untested and the shipping plus handling costs can range from $15 and more.
Keep in mind that this stuff is donated to Goodwill’s all over the country and then sold online. There’s not enough staff to test all the electronics that come in, so it’s a bit of a gamble. But more often than not whenever I bought any games or systems from there, they all work just fine. All I needed to do was give the exterior of the consoles a good cleaning, including using a small vacuum made for electronics although any can of compressed air is fun to blow the dust build up from inside the console and the fan. I then clean the disk or cartridge with some iso alcohol and cotton swap for carts and iso and soft cloth for disks. In my opinion, the low prices here are worth the gamble of it potentially not working.
5. eStarland
Now if the thought of something not working scares you away from buying from ShopGoodwill, then eStarland may be a better solution. The online game retailer isn’t the only one, but it’s the one I personally prefer. For one, their prices are often cheaper than their competitors, and they have games ranging from Atari all the way to the current generation. They also have an in-house repair service for all your old systems. And of course, when you buy a game system from them, they have been refurbished under different grades. Grade A is the most thorough one that basically means that yes, what your buying will work and has been tested and has had parts replaced that needed it.
The only negative here is that they shouldn’t have differing grades of quality, they should just check everything the same way for each system that comes in. Also, if your looking at purchasing let’s say a Sega Saturn, don’t expect it to always be in stock. They only have so many older systems that get traded in which brings me to my next point. You can trade in your games and systems here. I can guarantee that they will give you more than GameStop would in my experience. One last thing is that you get free shipping for orders over $20. For any retro gaming collector, even ones on a budget like you and me, spending a minimum of $20 is easy to do.
4.Thirft Stores (Goodwill)
If you’ve bought from some shady people online, then maybe walking into a thrift store is the way to go for you. Although there are many types of thrift stores out there, mainly one that I have encountered that actually carries video games…the Goodwill. Bargain game hunters have discovered that Goodwill isn’t just the place where you can get previously owned designer clothes on the cheap, but retro games as well. You never know what you might encounter when searching the shelf or in the case of some Goodwill’s, behind the glass case like it was jewelry. Although some games can be several hundred dollars, Goodwill is definitely one of those places where you can find a diamond in the rough like Earthbound, or maybe some games you never heard of. Always ask the store associates how often they get games, and maybe even leave your phone number if something new comes in. And on your way out, grab some designer jeans that are your size, why not right.
3. Garage Sales/Flea Markets
This is something that no matter where you live, there is always one going on. Garage sales and flea markets, a place where some people sell their entire video game collections for less than what it’s worth. This could be your chance to get a bunch of classic games and some unknowns for a good deal. I’ve seen many selling their old CRT TV’s as well if you want the true authentic retro experience of what games from the PS2 and earlier were played on. At either garage sales or flea markets, people aren’t looking to get top dollar for their old stuff like a big-name chain store would, (i.e., GameStop, Walmart etc..) They just don’t have the room or time to store all this stuff and want to be rid of it. This is great for us retro gamers who are willing to take a stack of games and a system or two off their hands.
2. Retro Video Game Shops
Finally, a type of store that sells only Og games and accessories. But each store operates a bit differently when it comes to access to the games. For example, some retro stores may have all their games behind a glass case (even the under $5 ones) where you need an attendant to open it. Seriously what is this Walmart, I mean, you have cameras everywhere. While other stores may have everything but the expensive games out in the open to pick up and look at. I personally like the latter of physically picking up a few games and then walking to the counter instead of having to call a store attendant to get one Genesis game at one side of the store and then a PS1 game on the other side of the store.
With that aside, retro game stores have a wide variety of retro and newer titles as well. Usually, the prices are right where they should be, which may not sound like the best deal, but it’s the fact that it’s in stock and you don’t have to go online or hunt endlessly at garage sales and flea markets to find a certain game which makes it worthwhile. Not only that, but as you become familiar with the staff, they’ll let you know about new games that come in that you’ve been looking for. The best things about retro shops for me are the variety of not only games but stuff you wouldn’t normally see like stand ups of your favorite games and maybe even some TCG’s like Pokémon or Magic the Gathering.
1. GameStop
I suppose if all other options fail, then just go to GameStop. They may not all have games that are older than a generation or two ago, but they do run good deals on pre-owned games. At my local GS, they have PS3,360 and Wii games in a small area. I usually see a ton of PS4 and Xbox One games (not that that’s retro, at least not yet) for under $10. The key here is to check the website or ask the store about their pre-owned deals that are coming up. The staff in my experience is always friendly and likes talking about games like I do. And if you have a Power Up rewards card, you can save a little bit more. And once you’ve bult up enough points from purchases, you can cash that in to buy something awesome.
GameStop may have gotten a bad rep in recent years, but I never had a problem shopping there personally. The positive thing too is that their GameStop’s everywhere, so it’s easy to find one close enough to your general area. The bad is that their retro game selection is limited depending on store location compared to their newer games, which is where the company makes most of their sales. But still, I would say GameStop is good if your not looking for any games that aren’t too old and that are always being discounted, mainly the used games though. I just wish their store game cases that loose games come in were not so ugly.
End Game Credits:
So, there you have it, seven places to hunt for retro games. Whether online, in person or both, I dabble in both personally, you can find what your looking for and for a decent price too. I would try something like eStarland or even Lukie Games if you don’t want to deal with online bidding or in person interactions. Garage sales and flea markets are good if you want to be surprised at what gem you might find, yet don’t get your hopes up either as it could take years to find what your looking for just doing it that way. And when it comes to GameStop, I would use them as a last resort or not at all if you are looking for something earlier than the 7th generation era. One thing is for certain, if you love games and want to collect them, then go for it. Just make sure to keep expectations in check and of course to have fun with the thrill of the hunt.
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