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yinz findin games round town?

^^

I'm going to go to hell for this but, hey, I deserve to. Better screw my friends still in Pittsburgh who like games.

The Exchange, that's all I've got to say. Keep checking constantly (once or twice a week), particularly their larger stores, and don't let up. You can find GOLD there anywhere from 1 to 15 times a month, depending upon their traffic. I picked up some of the best Sega Saturn games there for just $1 apiece once upon a time, not to mention NiGHTS w/ 3D Controller (almost pristine condition) for $5. Sick.

Their anime section sometimes varies as well but quality lies there too. I've picked up some great DVDs for $4 apiece and got GitS: Innocence for $12 new the day it was released.

And keep your eyes peeled on the GBA, PS2, and XBox sections. You never know what you're going to find. I managed to grab a Zelda Collector's Disc (the one with Zelda, Adventure of Link, OOT, MM, and the demo of WW) for $5. Why? Well, the case was a little beaten up and the disc seemed scratched. One cleaning wipe later the disc looks practically new and I'm out a whopping 13 cents on a cleaning wipe. DAMN.

Otherwise...depends. If you have access to people at CMU have them check cmu.misc.market for you. Few people rarely do and few people rarely sell their stuff for decent prices but sometimes you luck out. Sometimes college students (especially CMUers) would rather jump at the latest tech and dump whatever they currently have without thinking twice. There have been a few people who have dumped their systems and games all for procuring a 20 GB iPod.

As for other places...hmmm...the EB in Robinson was AMAZING with their used classics section but that was well over a year ago and I think they cleared everything out. Same could be said of the EB in Oakland, where I passed on HERZOG ZWEI because I didn't want to spend another $5. Freaking idiot am I. Sadly, their classic sections are pretty much gone, which is a shame since they almost ALL had insane titles.

One of the greatest things about Pittsburgh is that everyone there still has far too many old systems and games on-hand, ready for trading in. However, it's getting to be where The Exchange is the only place to reasonably trade in games. They are going to make a KILLING soon enough due to this alone. Why? Because everything is alphebetized, everything is organized in the computer, they have stockplies of games waiting behind the counter to be shelved, they will cut prices of games they keep getting in (hence the reason I got Metroid Fusion for around $10 the second week of release since too many people were returning it), and they accept any and all games, from Atari 2600 and Colecovision up to what was released four hours ago. 80% of the time they beat EB's and GameStop's prices without a problem. It's just...heaven. Not bad for an independent Pittsburgh-based chain of "Used and New" stores. I guess great presentation, a great system, and some excellent staff really do make a difference!

God, I miss that store so damned much.

i live a block away from an exchange, and i know another cag works like 5 blocks away from it too.

Yeah, The Exchange is a great place there is not a thread long enough to discuss the deals I have got there over the years.

Originally Posted by ajh2298 Yeah, The Exchange is a great place there is not a thread long enough to discuss the deals I have got there over the years.

i feel like a sucker having only lived here for 2 years, thats 20 years i missed out on sweet deals at those stores!

I love the exchange as well, great deal, good selections, and good trade in value. I would usually go to the one in Squirrel Hill but the past the monroeville mall is bigger with a bigger selection

Originally Posted by Ikohn4ever I love the exchange as well, great deal, good selections, and good trade in value. I would usually go to the one in Squirrel Hill but the past the monroeville mall is bigger with a bigger selection

never been to that one, i regular southside and downtown, sometimes mcknight, and rarely dormont or robinson

Misc.market hasn't had that many great deals on videogames for a good while now. My roommate managed to get a GBA two years ago for $20 with some Wario game, only problem with it is the battery cover thing is busted and has to be held on with tape. I've managed to luck out with a few choice items, my best one being the Logitech MX700 Duo set for $20 in practically pristine condition when it's was going for well over double that on eBay. It's also a fantastic resource for buying textbooks if you're in a popular major (unforunately, materials engineering is not. :().

Where are there Exchanges located? I don't really get down to Oakland much, so I'm not familiar with the area. =/

Originally Posted by RacinReaver Misc.market hasn't had that many great deals on videogames for a good while now. My roommate managed to get a GBA two years ago for $20 with some Wario game, only problem with it is the battery cover thing is busted and has to be held on with tape. I've managed to luck out with a few choice items, my best one being the Logitech MX700 Duo set for $20 in practically pristine condition when it's was going for well over double that on eBay. It's also a fantastic resource for buying textbooks if you're in a popular major (unforunately, materials engineering is not. :(). Where are there Exchanges located? I don't really get down to Oakland much, so I'm not familiar with the area. =/

Oakland doesn't have an Exchange, although it does have a CD Connection or whatever it's called and what used to be Dave's Music Mine. CD Connection has crap and I've never found anything closely resembling a deal there, so that's a no-go unless you want CDs. Dave's Music Mine went out of business around April or May and, while they had some good DVDs once in a while, they didn't have any games. There's also the EB that's across the street from GCB (we used to refer to that place as Ghetto Chinese Buffet for appropriate reasons) and they tend to be alright but that's about all the action you get in Oakland. There's also the Video Game place across the street from the KenTaco Hut, above the coffee shop or whatnot. They tend to have rare stock and such but they know their prices. You won't be walking out with any deals but the people who work there are nice enough. I got a free magazine once because I apparently convinced one of the CEO's of some major corporation's son to pick up Final Fantasy Tactics.

Let's see...there are two game places Downtown but I wouldn't travel all that way for those alone. There's an Exchange if you take one of the 61 lines down and you continue on foot to around Regent Square or whatever it is called further down the road. They're fairly small but they tend to have some interesting stock and prices every now and again. There's also another game store (they also know their prices) that's basically a hole in the wall in one of the major office buildings. I don't remember what street it's on but I think it's on the same street as the Wendy's and the bus terminal (not Greyhound, the PAT bus terminal) is across the street and to the right. Small stock, usually high prices. Not bad, though.

There's an Exchange as mentioned around Monroeville past the mall but I never went there myself. Needless to say, Monroeville has a little bit of everything in the world so it's worth heading out there if you ever need anything. The EB and GameStop in Monroeville Mall can vary but the EB tends to have some rare games time and time again, same with GameStop. However, the GameStop got rid of their supply of old console games and most of their anime, last time I checked, so they have a massive storefront that just feels empty, sad to say. Also, if they finished the promenade at Monroeville Mall, then the mall is definitely worth checking out now. Don't forget to check out the Sears there. They tend to have great deals on cookware if you end up cooking in your dorm and apartment. Don't recall if they have a game section, though.

Robinson also has plenty of game places, although you DEFINITELY need a car if you want to get around there. You can make the GameStop and the mall itself on foot if you take a 28X out there but don't even think about getting to EB. The chances of living through a dash across those roads are pretty damn low. The GameStop is pretty good and you can probably hit the CompUSA in that shopping center as well, and the mall itself is gorgeous and spacious but it's sort of lacking in quality stores. I think they may have an EB in there as well (I want to say second floor) but I never really found anything outstanding there. The better one is the EB across the street from the Barnes and Noble complex. It's quite worthwhile, they have tons of stock, and the last time I was there they had around 65 NES Zappers in a bin for 99 cents apiece. I felt like buying ten of them just for a kick. It was quite a sight!

Otherwise...I think there's an Exchange around Southside or so but I could be mistaken. I never really spent much of my Undergrad time out there and the storefront seemed kinda small. Then again, Southside is mostly for eating, drinking, and mostly partying rather than game acquisition.

That's about all I can remember. Do hit the Squirrel Hill Exchange a lot, though. I think that, in all of my years in undergrad, I picked up at least 150 games from them for a grand total of maybe $800? $900? Sickening deals.

Better trade in deals at the Exchange, I never knew that. What conditions do trade-in's have to be in? Cash or Credit?

Originally Posted by daemons Better trade in deals at the Exchange, I never knew that. What conditions do trade-in's have to be in? Cash or Credit?

u get more for credit, which works because games/dvds/cds are cheap

Originally Posted by daemons Better trade in deals at the Exchange, I never knew that. What conditions do trade-in's have to be in? Cash or Credit?

As for better trade-in values, it depends on the game and the demand, really. So YMMV, of course. However, they still take back everything ranging as old as Atari 2600 and whatnot, although what they give for those sometimes depends. Last I checked I think they give, at most, a quarter for most N64 games and whatnot. Yet they still turn a large profit on most of those games...hmmm...

I went to the Exchange sometimes twice a week at one point until I was randomly thrown out of the one in Robinson for no reason. Those queers at the Exchange have told me over five times that they would look into my account to my face, including a district manager, and they still have yet to return a phone call or follow up with anything that they've said. I spent way too much money in that place and still they made a scene of a loyal shopper, myself, for reasons that I can only assume.Don't trade in too often guys, they'll flag your account and then watch you for possibly being banned from the chain.

Originally Posted by rywateska Those queers at the Exchange have told me over five times that they would look into my account. Don't trade in too often guys, they'll flag your account and then ban you from the store.

i trade in all the time, i read what happened to you, but i dont think its a normal happening

Originally Posted by rywateska I went to the Exchange sometimes twice a week at one point until I was randomly thrown out of the one in Robinson for no reason. Those queers at the Exchange have told me over five times that they would look into my account to my face, including a district manager, and they still have yet to return a phone call or follow up with anything that they've said. I spent way too much money in that place and still they made a scene of a loyal shopper, myself, for reasons that I can only assume.Don't trade in too often guys, they'll flag your account and then watch you for possibly being banned from the chain.

That's a bit odd, considering some people in the Squirrel Hill branch were prone to coming in with a backpack or a huge shopping bag full of VHS tapes, DVDs, video games, VCRs, and some systems at least once or twice a week without ever having a problem. Odd too since a few of them seemed a tad bit shady as well. Then again, the people who were usually caught stealing from the Exchange were usually "smart" enough to go across the street to EB and trade in the games 15 minutes later...with all of the labels still on the games and all. Same with EB going to the Exchange as well. Hoo boy...stupid rich neighborhood teens...

Well, hopefully your situation can be rectified and such. If not, well, you could always just give your stuff to a friend to toss in for you instead. Different name, different credit, all that junk. A bit more difficult but, hey, whatever works. They usually are quite relaxed when it comes to trading in stuff, though. I wonder why they would get all bent out of shape just based on volume alone?

Originally Posted by Kapwanil There's also the Video Game place across the street from the KenTaco Hut, above the coffee shop or whatnot.

Actually, none of those places exist anymore! KFC/Taco Bell/the Hut closed, and nothing has moved in. The game store (Video Game Center? I can never remember) and Crazy Mocha were torn down along with the vacant Burger King to make a "parklet." Crazy Mocha relocated to across the street from Fuel & Fuddle and Uncle Sam's, but the game store did not.

edit:

Originally Posted by Kapwanil Otherwise...I think there's an Exchange around Southside or so but I could be mistaken. I never really spent much of my Undergrad time out there and the storefront seemed kinda small. Then again, Southside is mostly for eating, drinking, and mostly partying rather than game acquisition.

There is, and I've gotten a few ok deals there. I got a good/fair copy of Fatal Frame for $8.

Agreed, this thread would be too long if I were to post the deals I've gotten at RE in the past 5 years. Here's one though, Mint Sega CDX w/all cables and manuals for $10. That was before they changed their pricing structure to the current one.

We've all mentioned the games, but the DVDs are amazing. The majority of our collection has come from there, the one in Ross Park is especially nice for rare and OOP stuff. Its also where I got my PSP. Looks stolen, never been opened and they threw in a spiderman umd and a 512 duo all for $270. God I love it there.

Originally Posted by chrisflyer Actually, none of those places exist anymore! KFC/Taco Bell/the Hut closed, and nothing has moved in. The game store (Video Game Center? I can never remember) and Crazy Mocha were torn down along with the vacant Burger King to make a "parklet." Crazy Mocha relocated to across the street from Fuel & Fuddle and Uncle Sam's, but the game store did not.

Thank god Kentaco Hut is gone. That place was vile all the way back in 2001 and it only got worse. There are just some things you shouldn't see while people prep your food...same went with the Burger King that used to be on the corner as well. Decent, at best, but the service was about 4x slower than a typical Burger King and it was pretty empty considering lunch hour and proximity to both Pitt and CMU.

Shame about the video game place, though. Problem is that their prices were usually far to high for what they should be and The Exchange just kept thrashing them with regular prices and markdowns.

As for the Exchange and deals...oooh, too many.

1) Two Wavebirds, very slightly used, $24
2) Two Sega Saturn Controllers (1st Party, different styles) :: $2
3) PS2/XBox/GC Controller Converter (Unmarked) :: $0.75
4) GBA to GC Connector :: $2.50
5) 3 Dreamcast Controllers, 4 VMUs (all 1st Party) :: $4.50
6) Scorpion Light Gun by Blaze (PS1, Laser Sight, "Recoil", Guncon Support) :: $5.00 [Had to toss these in my bag with the receipts so I didn't look like I was going to rob a store. These things are a bit too realistic if you can't see the cord...]
7) Lufia: Rise of the Sinistrals = $15

Glorious, magnificent store. It also helps a great deal that you can wait two or three days after a new movie release and find that title, in stock and barely used, for a whopping $6 to $10.

Even as good as "The Exchange" is now, the older days were incredible. I'm sure some of you guys remember when it was The Record Exchange and they could have given a crap about video games. This was before the South Side, Robinson and Squirrel Hill were around. The guys who worked there were like local band members at their day jobs. They played hard-rock music at bowel-loosening levels from open to close to the point you had to yell out what you wanted. People did trade alot of game to them back then too, but they really didn't want them there, so they would sell anything they didn't recognize (which was alot) with the magic 7$ price sticker. If you were really lucky, it got the dreaded (but actually kick-ass) black sticker, which meant it was .50 cents. There's too many things I took off of them at that price to mention, but I remember walking in there shorty after Heroes III for the PC came out to see a like-new copy on the shelf for 7.00, complete in box. Another great time to walk in is when they get a ton of retro games and the non-gamer employees don't want to have to price each item and shelve it. I grabbed about 40 Genesis games, all in box and complete in great shape for 2 bucks a piece. They were just traded in 10 minutes before I got there, and I could tell the chick working did not want them lying around (the Dormont store is the size of my bathroom, too) so she looked at it as a win-win situation. I overheard a week later from another guy that she was yelled at by the assistant manager (who is a big gamer) becuase she didn't put them aside for him to go through first to see if he wanted anything. Too bad, cause I got some good stuff like Comix Zone (with the Bonus music CD) and Warsong. So keep that in mind that the employees swipe most of the good stuff before you ever see it.

Another reason I go there is the game guides - another thing they don't want, even these days. The South Side store throws them on the floor and gives most games the 2.50 tag, no matter how new. I got a Morrowind game of the year edition guide and Zelda: MM foil guide for 2.50 a piece. I usually walk out of there with 20 guides+ in a visit. RE has been the main contributor to my collection of games and guides for years (I have around 320+ guides, thanks to them). Even with the mainstreaming that has gone on there in the past 4 years, I still love to go there. You never know when you'll chance upon an original Sega CD with everything for 25$

I make my rounds to each store at least once every week. I would have missed so much good stuff if I didn't.

I love the Squirrel Hill branch because I mostly go there for the old cart games and such. For the past year or year and a half the staff there mostly gave me odd looks whenever I would pick up something like SMRPG for $25 or a handful of NES carts for $1 apiece (including Bubble Bobble...DAMN!). They were shocked that I was so into games yet spent all of this money rather than using emus instead. Didn't matter to me though since their mentality meant that every other cart hit the shelves, including some sickeningly rare ones for good prices.

Man, the best thing about that store is that you never know what you're going to find. Pittsburgh residents have so many old games and such it's like having the garage sales and yard sales come right to the stores for centralization. I think the best times are when they get in import games. They just have NO idea what to do with them! I ended up with Super Robot Wars Alpha for the Dreamcast for $10 because nobody else could play it, not to mention Frame Gride for $5. I also got Tech Romancer for $2.50 because nobody recognized it in the store.

God bless the workers there...they're kind, helpful as can be, hilarious, and will just toss some games out on the floor with low prices because they don't recognize them. And the systems...the systems...where else can you pick up a system with a controller (sometimes two, if you're lucky), all of the cords and cables, and, if you're really lucky, a game still inside the system for $20 to $30 (the older systems)? DAMN.

The Exchange brings me joy like FuncoLand used to...only with better prices and stock. Good lord.