Hello CAG's; I honestly do not know what to do about my deal-searches. I've been disappointed with most of the videogame/JP-esque hunts in my area of re-location (moved to a new home a few months back). One of the flea markets I've gone to here carried a pretty bad experience with it (as in, multiple weeks-long), so I've come out to avoiding it, & I now do not know what to do. I'd really like to find some more deals, but the people in my area seem to never have anything that I'm looking for, & if I try to branch out more, it seems even more so. I've looked in Good Will stores a good many times before in my life, & never found anything there. I haven't gone to many pawn shops before in my life, so I don't have many experiences with them that can give me an idea of whether they're a good place to go towards or not...but the times I have gone to them, it didn't really seem like so.

I would buy the stuff I want online, but besides the issue of money, I want to enjoy the experience of pillaging through boxes for other people's stuff for video-game booty. I think that I'm missing some sort of small details or tricks that can really reel in some deals, but I don't know what it could be. Any veteran bargain-hunters out there who could give me a few tips?

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if your looking for older vintage stuff, fleamarkets/garage sales/pawn shops/thrift stores are it. Current gen. are plenty to be had at reasonable prices and/or price mistakes every week from retailers (BB/Amazon/Newegg).

People get discouraged when they go to flea markets and thrift stores and pawn shops because they don't find anything right away, but those are the exact places you should keep looking. You just can't expect to find something, you can only go and see what they have because you'll never know. I go to the thrift stores a few times a week and rarely ever find anything, but then you find something cool and it makes you want to try your luck again tomorrow.

Originally Posted by nixmahn if your looking for older vintage stuff, fleamarkets/garage sales/pawn shops/thrift stores are it. Current gen. are plenty to be had at reasonable prices and/or price mistakes every week from retailers (BB/Amazon/Newegg).

Thank you for replying; I get both of the things you mentioned, but I mean particular search tactics. I think I either overlook potentially good garage sales, or need to go to some other nearby town to find better sales.

Originally Posted by Survivalism People get discouraged when they go to flea markets and thrift stores and pawn shops because they don't find anything right away, but those are the exact places you should keep looking. You just can't expect to find something, you can only go and see what they have because you'll never know. I go to the thrift stores a few times a week and rarely ever find anything, but then you find something cool and it makes you want to try your luck again tomorrow.

Yeah, I mean, I thought the flea market was interesting, but in reality; the majority of the dealers were poorer immigrant families trying to make end's meet. Most of the stuff I found was either in a real bad condition, way overpriced, or even more likely, a combination of both (but I'm betting a more domestic-based flea market might be easier on that sort of thing), & they all really didn't know what any of their stuff they were dealing was. It's really bad when you treat a flea market stand like a poorly-managed retail store, you know?

As for thrift stores & pawn shops, again; haven't gone to too many (at least not pawn shops). I've gone to a good few before, but that was also in my old town/around in cities near my old town...which is an hour away (I got some good stuff from garage-sale hunts over there, though). I don't expect to find a bunch of stuff when I go on hunts; I really don't, but I also don't suddenly act pessimistic about not finding anything when hunting either. I know the feeling when, as you said, you find something just really nice; it's damn wonderful. I think I just need to get to know some of the ropes of yard-sale hunting...that I don't handle as much anymore as I used to.

Do any of you guys go out of your towns sometimes for garage/yard sales &/or flea markets? I think that would change a lot for me.