When people first get started with old school or retro gaming they often have trouble finding the gear they want. I get plenty of questions about how to find this or that but unfortunately I can only tell people some basic broad advice, and I’ll share that with all of you loyal readers right now.
Not all retro gaming deals will be this obvious!
First off there’s no magic bullet, if you’re looking for something really particular it’s probably going to take a little while to find it. That’s okay though because the good news is you most likely will be able to find it eventually, just hang in there. Now where should you start your search? Well personally I think your locally game store is your best but not everyone agrees.
Some people will tell you that it’s a waste of time to try the game store because if you find what you’re looking for the price will be too high. This is just ridiculous to me; think about how much time you can save by finding what you’re looking for at the local mall! Isn’t your time worth something?!? I know my time sure is and I value it quite highly to be honest. I’m willing to pay a couple extra bucks to save hours of time searching but that’s just me.
Where else can you look? Well there are always the online auction sites, and these do have a very wide variety of gear but you have to be careful! If you decide to go this route try to avoid auctions with buyers who have little or no feedback. It’s all to common for people to be ripped off on even the most prestigious site and it’s always going to be a bit of a buyer beware situation so read the fine print on those auctions. I have had good luck though you just need to be aware of the dangers and try to be careful. I recommend making smaller purchases at first to be sure you’re getting legitimate sellers.
The gold mine
Check out this haul! All from weekend yardsales.
amThe best place, by far, though is your run of the mill garage or yard sale. I’ve found more azing deals in yard sales than anywhere else. A lot of times people just want this “junk” out! You can get a sweet deal sometimes just by buying the entire lot, it’s almost too good to be true! I know it can seem pretty dorky but I’d recommend stopping at those garage sales from now on, you never know what you might find and for just a couple bucks you could end up with some sweet gear and games. It only takes a couple minutes and you can thank me later for the tip.