Thrift Store Thread 2011

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I've kind of given up on goodwills but as winter rolls around and i'm not yardsaling i'll probably get back into settling for browsing their overpriced crap.

What other major thrift store chains are there that you guys look out for? I only ever seem to see goodwills, a really, really crappy salvation army, and a few value villages around here.
 
[quote name='Indigo_Streetlight']Maybe they should sell them for less since they don't have to pay anything for them! Any other business might have to pay $3-5 for each $10 game they sell.[/QUOTE]

I think that selling it for $150 is kinda crazy, but I think more than $4 is completely ok. I would be interested to know how log it stays there at that price.

It really comes down to the reason the store is there. Is it to sell things cheap so that poor people can afford it? If so, why don't they only let poor people shop there?

In the case of goodwill, the stores exist to raise money for their job training programs, so they sometimes have what I consider to be crazy prices. That's why I rarely buy books, CDs, or DVDs at GW unless they're on sale.

To get back on topic, yesterday I found KOTOR, Morrowind III, megamind bluray combo pack, and Star trek elite force 2 for $4 each. Over the weekend, my wife found a complete copy of "Stravinsky: the recorded legacy. Since it was a big set the manager gave it to us for $12.50. :)
 
Kinda of a funny story, the other day i go to one of my local SA that usual has nothing. So, im looking around and see....nothing. Then i see some shopping carts full with stuff their putting out, when i spot a cart full of VHS tapes.

So i'm looking at it, and all the way at the bottom i spot what looked like a VHS tape that says Double Dragon, so i'm like hmmm. Well it ends up being a Genesis Double Dragon, mint and complete with manual marked $2.99. I had it in my hands and said to myself, i dont think i have this, but knew i had it for NES and its not rare nor valuable. So i end up leaving it cuz ive paid $3-4 bucks on crap before taking a risk and its ends up being junk. Long story short, i get home and look it up and its going for a decent amt. and is a freaking 6 on Digitpress, i was like dammit wtf!! LOL...

So i said screw it and drove back (7 miles) and luckily it was still there, yay! I'm just happy cuz its a nice addition to the collection and i haven't found crap there in awhile.
 
[quote name='jer7583']I've kind of given up on goodwills but as winter rolls around and i'm not yardsaling i'll probably get back into settling for browsing their overpriced crap.

What other major thrift store chains are there that you guys look out for? I only ever seem to see goodwills, a really, really crappy salvation army, and a few value villages around here.[/QUOTE]

We've got a couple of church-based thrifts, and one for the American Cancer Society. I haven't been in either so I can't speak to the quality.

My best finds have been in the local Goodwill and a Value Village that's about 10 minutes out. It's the luck of the draw, but the individual store is also a factor. Seems like the Salvation Army never gets anything good in, but their prices are great when they do. Value Village has been a crap shoot - they priced a copy of Yoshi's Island at $20, but they priced Mega Man 4 and 5 at $5 each.

Seems like the Goodwill down the street has been best for hardware - if something is donated as one solid piece, it's sold as one solid piece. This is how I got a model 1 Genesis, Sega CD and 32X all together for $12. :D

But, of course, YMMV, because the individual stores seem to set the prices.
 
[quote name='yourlefthand']I know what you're getting at, but it is too bad that your goodwill is leaving that much money on the table, so to speak. I suppose that you think if someone donates a roll of silver dimes there they should sell them at less than face value?

I have come to think of finding the underpriced gems as the thrill of the game. one of my thrifts has started pricing things higher than I like in general, but I can still beat their system without too much trouble.[/QUOTE]

Silver Dimes= Money, duh has obvious value.
Links Awakening= Some old Gameboy game that noone opened, probably worth nothing in most peoples eyes.

Who seriously goes to thrift stores with the mindset of "ill gladly pay Goodwill retail price or what its worth because they looked it up on Ebay."???? Not many, most are looking for good deals. Personally I hate when I see nothing but $4 sports games by the cds but in the glass case theres $20 SNES and N64 games and $40 systems. Its like they went to the gamestore next door and copied their prices.
 
So, the Link's Awakening I saw yesterday had a piece of paper with the price and "facebook" written on it, curious I tried finding that goodwill on facebook and found that goodwill's region's page.
Another store has an Optimus Prime toy priced at $600.
They seem to be finding the most expensive listings on ebay and cutting them in half or so. :lol:

The one good thing about Link's Awakening being that price, it won't be bought by someone who'll go home and open it... like this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTTDxPu77K4
 
One of my local GW are insane they are pricing fatboy ps2 some with cables and one controller and some with nothing at all for 49.99. I use to be able to catch deals there all the time. Now they are a rarity/
 
finally found a few good things at the local thrift store at decent prices. Saw zelda a link to the past on the snes and a genesis system for 11 bucks each. Today was half off day though, so got each of them for 5.50 each which isn't that bad in my mind.
 
[quote name='CAG90210']I saw an xbox with two controllers and cable hookups for $67.50 today... :O[/QUOTE]

wow what a ripoff, i leave $30 xboxes all the time. they always look like theyve been opened (all the screws on the bottom are visible). Could be a good thing if its got an awesome mod but then again it could be broken.
 
I saw an original Xbox with no controllers, but all the cords for $40.

Only thing I got today was Pokemon Blue for $3.
 
[quote name='juangrande386']wow what a ripoff, i leave $30 xboxes all the time. they always look like theyve been opened (all the screws on the bottom are visible). Could be a good thing if its got an awesome mod but then again it could be broken.[/QUOTE]

Crazy thing is...I saw this on Sunday evening, went back yesterday and it was gone! I certainly hope nobody bought it for $6x.xx!

I went back to see if the sealed Sim City 2000 Diamond special edition was still there (it was there on Friday, and Saturday morning, but stupid me didn't think of picking it up) and when I finally went back to pick it up on Sunday, it was gone :cry:.

Also, there was the Super Scope 6 accessory for the SNES that I saw with a minty box on Friday and it was still there on Saturday, but when I went back on Sunday, I saw that it was gone, so I assumed it was sold. But when I drop by again today, I saw it -- without the box. I guess GW people threw away the box to make space :roll:
 
[quote name='CAG90210']Crazy thing is...I saw this on Sunday evening, went back yesterday and it was gone! I certainly hope nobody bought it for $6x.xx![/QUOTE]

I saw someone buy one for $80.
 
[quote name='Survivalism']I saw someone buy one for $80.[/QUOTE]


that's nothing, theres a goodwill here that has an original xbox in a showcase bundled with cords and one controller, looks dirty as hell, and 10 horrible games which only 2 have the original artworks, rest are gamestop cases

guess how much?..................$299.99 (this was about a month ago)

went yesterday and of course it was still there except this time there was a printout on the showcase that said "50% off all items in the case"
too bad even at $150 plus tax is still an insane rip off

goodwill is just absurd on pricing these days
 
Totally depends on your store, and you might consider these people have no idea what something is worth. They might see an "Xbox" and, not knowing any better, think "Xbox 360" or something like that. On the same token, if they know they have something of value it's perfectly within their right to price it accordingly, imo.
 
[quote name='Jerry-kun']Conversely, I found a Gamecube Zelda Collector's Edition at Goodwill today for $3.99. :D[/QUOTE]

Nice find! I think the most recent (if not the best) deal I found at Goodwill was a N64 with two controllers plus 5 games: mario kart 64, super smash bros., donkey kong 64, diddy kong racing, and paper boy for $26.xx last friday.
 
A goodwill near me had a Wii with 2 controllers for $199! it was there for a week before some sucker bought it.

i had couple good finds
Xbox SW Battlefront 2 $8
NES Megaman 6 $5
NES Metroid $5
 
I stopped at my hit or miss GW an hour ago and it was a definite miss today. They had a PSP 1001 with a cheap set of headphones and no games for what I thought was $14.00, but looking again there was a third zero, to the left of the decimal point. $140 for a used, beat-up PSP... seriously?? Only $80 too much for it to even be a "fair" price, Goodwill.

Last week we picked up a Target room divider, (this exact one here) for $30. The manager we talk to sometimes had just marked it down from $80 to $40, and he kept badgering me to buy it. We told him if he goes down to $30, we'll take it right now. He really wanted it gone, since it's huge and heavy, so he accepted. For the first time in my experience, haggling at GW actually worked.

As you can see in the link, it's regularly $230. The box was opened, but all of the pieces were still bundled and wrapped in foam. I was expecting a piece or two to be missing, but everything was there. As a bonus, it fit PERFECTLY (to the centimeter) where we planned on putting it.
 
[quote name='schuerm26']Found yu-gi-oh the complete 3rd season at a goodwill today. holy s--t it is apparently worth quite a bit of money.[/QUOTE]

But you can get up to a $6.00 Amazon gift card! :lol:
 
Saw a 250 GB Hard Drive for the 360 Slim but it was for 50...around the same price I could get it on Amazon. If I was in the market for one, I would have bit but as it is, I'm good now.
 
[quote name='sp00ge']I stopped at my hit or miss GW an hour ago and it was a definite miss today. They had a PSP 1001 with a cheap set of headphones and no games for what I thought was $14.00, but looking again there was a third zero, to the left of the decimal point. $140 for a used, beat-up PSP... seriously?? Only $80 too much for it to even be a "fair" price, Goodwill.

Last week we picked up a Target room divider, (this exact one here) for $30. The manager we talk to sometimes had just marked it down from $80 to $40, and he kept badgering me to buy it. We told him if he goes down to $30, we'll take it right now. He really wanted it gone, since it's huge and heavy, so he accepted. For the first time in my experience, haggling at GW actually worked.

As you can see in the link, it's regularly $230. The box was opened, but all of the pieces were still bundled and wrapped in foam. I was expecting a piece or two to be missing, but everything was there. As a bonus, it fit PERFECTLY (to the centimeter) where we planned on putting it.[/QUOTE]

The price you paid was okay, but how can Target charge $230 for wood composite? Is there some sort of New York fashion thing going on that I'm not aware of? o_O
 
[quote name='Indigo_Streetlight']The price you paid was okay, but how can Target charge $230 for wood composite? Is there some sort of New York fashion thing going on that I'm not aware of? o_O[/QUOTE]

Composite or not, this thing isn't flimsy like other composites. Even the backings are solid wood, not cheap nail-on cardboard. The thing is 67x32x13 and weighs 100lbs.

While $230 is pretty steep and more I'd ever pay, for the quality, it's not too horrible a price.
 
Haven't posted here in a while, but here are my gaming pickups from Aug-Sept
DSC05286.jpg

The most I paid was $4.99 for COD:MW2, everything else 1-3 bucks at Goodwill.

I also found these for about $20 total
DSC05282.jpg
 
Found a lot of books today (Think it's time for another lowball)

Castlevania Symphony of the Night Survival Guide
Jet Force Gemini
Super Mario Sunshine
Super Mario Advance
Super Mario 64
Perfect Dark
Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow
Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island
Ratchet and Clank: Up your Arsenal
Dark Cloud 2 (complete)
Super Mario World (game only)
The Sword in the Stone (DVD)
Resident Evil 3 case: I was a bit bummed the CD wasn't in there. Savers employee said they would just toss it when I told them but I talked them into letting me buy the case since it had the manual and all. They agreed so I got that for 30 cents.
Yu-Gi-Oh Hot Wheels car

Most I paid was for DC2 which was 6 (meh) everything else was 2 bucks or less. Most of the guides were 30 cents.

Man I wish there were more thrift stores on Broadway. Money says probably but I was only going as far south as Littleton Blvd.
 
GW1 and GW2- nuttin but $4 sports games and overpriced glasscase stuff

GW3- the winner yet again. This time was alot cheaper than last weeks Xbox360 Kinect bundle. For $23.73 I got a SNES mini with composite cable, 2 controllers, Super Mario World, Mario Allstars, and Donkey Kong Country. No power plug though. Games and system were $4 apiece and controllers were $3 apiece. Cheapest SNES Ive gotten from a GW.
 
[URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/823/dclot.jpg/]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/URL]Picked up the following for $20 total.

I probably overpaid on the lot. But it's the first time I've seen a dreamcast ($12) around here, it's the 3020 model, and inside it has a burned game, so I thought it might be able to play cd backups. But i have no way of testing since I don't have any AV cable at home.

Paid $1 each for Hyperzone and Clay Figther, thought they'd be worth something but I guess not. As for the game genie, I've read here some it's semi-valuable, so picked that up, along with RE2 (comes 2 extra games inside, colony war disc 1 and a MOH games for ps2), the two dreamcast items for $4.
 
I took a break from visiting thrift stores for the past month or so. I decided to go on a thrift store run today. I was pretty lucky. Here is my haul:

photo-14.jpg

N64 controller with official rumble pack and some used batteries $2.99
:wii: Mario Party 8 $3.99 :hot: (complete and disc has 1 scratch)
:gc: MarioKart, Mario Power Tennis, and Pikmin $3.99 each (all are complete)
:ps2: Dr. Muto $3.99 (brand-new)
PS1 Monster Rancher 2 99 cents
There were official :gc: memory cards (1 gray, 1 black) in the game cases for MarioKart and Mario Power Tennis. Also, a copy of MVP Baseball 2005 in the Mario Power Tennis game case.

photo-18.jpg

new Ipad case $4.99 (This was obviously a Target clearance item.)
Super Smash Brothers $4.49
Super Mario All-Stars $2.99
 
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Continued from the flea market thread...
Not pictured is a platinum Gamecube in ridiculously good shape, which I switched out for my pretty beat up one, and a brand new pair of slip-on canvas shoes, which I've needed a new pair of. My girlfriend found a lot of great stuff, too, including a few DVDs and books she's been wanting, and she got my old cube, so she was pretty happy. Glad I talked her in to stopping :p
DSCI0061.jpg

Everything is complete except Harvest Moon and Shadow, and everything is in fantastic shape. The games were $2.99 each, the cube was $5 (no power cord), my new shoes were $4, the manga was $1 and the tiny mini fridge was $10. I wouldn't have seen ANY of the game stuff if I hadn't been looking at the fridge. They wheeled a new bin right up next to me as we were about to leave. I spotted the AV cables sticking out of it and we both started digging :p
 
Stopped at a Savers and Salvation Army after work today. First at Savers, which this one in particular never seems to have any games I see these 2 first, wrapped in separate plastic bags and stapled with 2.99 price tags.

poke%252520and%252520ramp.png


I hang on to them and see 3 crap NES games with clear snap cases on them 2.99 / 3.99 each. Wanted the cases only so I pass. Also pass on a grey NES gun for 4.99. A dirty Dreamcast for 14.99 and 3 controllers for it priced separately for I think 3.99 each. Also pass.

Walk towards the register and pass the children's toys for some reason and see 2 bags like this hanging up:

bundle.png


Sweet. The other one has Glover, Pokemon Stadium (which appears to be physically damaged), Tony Hawk, Cruis'n USA, and some star wars game but for whatever reason is marked 5.99.

This bundle had the following:

bundle%2525202.png


So I settle on this and the 2 other games. Ask the cashier if she can make the first 2 games cheaper given the bundle, she says "seems like they're supposed to be a dollar each" and rings the others $.99 a piece. Awesome. I ask if she'll sell me the plastic cases from the NES games without the games themselves for cheap but no, can't win 'em all I guess.

On to Salvation Army:

gun%252520and%252520marvel.png


Marvel Game - $1.99
Gun - $1.89

Good day for me, wahoo.
 
nice work on the N64 bundles. I have a store that does those bags of junk too but I always pass them by because they're usually just dirty silverware and broken electronics.
 
I wouldve been all over them N64 games at those prices, unless they were sports crap. Those games here would be at least $3 apiece. The Goodwill here right by a used gamestore would slap $20 stickers on the Mario and Pokemon stuff probably.

Edit- of course I got a find to post. Boxed (even though its a beatup and ripped box) Kinect camera with complete Kinect Adventures!!! $37 after tax. Works perfectly. Im killing at this GW lately. Now I have a Kinect for myself and I can put the other one back in the 4GB 360 bundle I got a couple weeks ago. MS says its being shipping back already, wasnt reading discs if you missed my original post about it.
 
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First time in a while that I stopped at Good Will, ended up buying a couple things:

Nights for Sega Saturn
:pc: Star Wars KOTOR II
:pc: Star Wars Battlefront

Nights was kind of disappointing since I figured a Saturn came in with it and I missed it. I've always wanted one. One day I'll find one. Both of the PC games were brand new. All together with discount from donating it was $7 out the door.

I passed on Metal Gear Solid VR Missions (missing booklet, plus I already have it) and :pc: Quake II.
 
Strange find at Goodwill today, in amongst a lot of junk in the display case was a copy of Star Fox 64 3D for 3DS. Looked like one of those closeouts from Target. It was $15, so it would have been a better score if it was cheaper, but I should have no trouble at least doubling my money by flipping it on Amazon. Too bad I already bought it at K-Mart when it came out and thus have a copy, or I would have been even happier with this one.
 
Awesome find today. A little pawnshop/thrift store place that has PS3/Xbox 360 games set at $10 each no matter what. Picked up a brand new copy of Dead Island for PS3 for $10. I'll probably check it again this weekend.
 
Stopped into a thrift store and found a Sega Saturn for $5. Came with one third party controller, and found a second of the same brand at goodwill for $2. One problem - no AV cable, so I have no way to test if it works. It powers on though. Will hit ebay for a cable at some point if none of my friends happen to have one around.
 
[quote name='C0dy']Stopped into a thrift store and found a Sega Saturn for $5. Came with one third party controller, and found a second of the same brand at goodwill for $2. One problem - no AV cable, so I have no way to test if it works. It powers on though. Will hit ebay for a cable at some point if none of my friends happen to have one around.[/QUOTE]

Sweet grab man. Best I can find for a saturn anywhere around here is 30 bucks at the local play n' trade
 
Got some pleasant find today at goodwill.

original gameboy (black)
Legend of Zelda: Link's awakening
Super Mario Land 2
Tetris
Roadster
---$7, the gameboy works, though the gameboy is a bit dirty, but can be cleaned. All the games works also.

Snes games:
Killer Instinct
Legend (by Seika?)
Robocop vs. Terminator
---$6

TI 86
---$2, doesn't turn on even with new AAA batteries, it could be that the internal (round) battery is dead, I'll get one to replace it and see. Hopefully it works

Mac OS X Leopard Family Pack
---$2

Not a back day, and to thought that I was thinking of skipping goodwill today.
 
I gotta get a cell phone so I can get on the internet to check prices on the fly on games I find in thrift stores.

I passed up TWO copies(one black label, one GH) of Digimon World for PS1, as well as a copy of Digimon World 3 earlier today. All were $2.99 each. They also had some other Digimon games, including one that's worth at least $6-7 according to VGPC.com.

While I may have been stupid for passing those up, I did NOT pass up a seemingly factory sealed copy of Packy & Marlon for the SNES. All eight corners of the box show wear and don't appear to be sealed, but the rest of the game IS sealed and it does look like a factory seal. That's worth $16.25 according to VGPC. So I definitely scored there.

Maybe I'll try n take a run back to the further off SA I noticed those Digimon World games at and see if they're still there on Monday. Thankfully SA is CLOSED on Sunday.;)
 
Another day of meh... actually only one good find. I found a creative inspire t7700 7.1 system (missing a speaker :cry:) for $6 today. It may be a bit dated, but I hooked it up and it sounds AMAZING. Just what I needed for my office computer.
 
7qsts.jpg


I'm sure this is barely worth the paper it's printed on, but it was too cool of a find to leave behind. For a 17 year old book, it's in downright immaculate condition. The sad thing is I can legitimately use it, because I've been playing Doom for as long as I can remember and I can still manage to get lost.
 
Stopped by Salvation Army and Goodwill and although the people at those stores (especially the former) creep me the hell out, I found some pretty decent stuff...


All of the below NES games were about $1 each. Tak was around $4. These all came from Goodwill except for Pro Wrestling:
thriftstoreneshaul.jpg

The board games below were just over $1 each. The one on the left is from SA while the one on the right is from GW. Both are complete; in fact, the one on the left still had all of the pieces sealed:
tokillabossinapickle.jpg
After getting In A Pickle home, I noticed that I had inadvertently stolen something that was probably stuck in the box by a kid. It's a deck of "bible hero" flash cards that promptly burnt my flesh. I was going to throw them away or give them to my wife's churchy mom, but I might actually keep them because they're freakin' hilarious (unintentionally so). They're probably not much interest to anyone else, but I can post pictures upon request.



Clearly, I didn't find as much at SA, but they did have some Dr. Seuss books for a dollar each, so I got those for my son. They also had some awesome mint-condition blackspoitation movie posters (Sugar Hill, Petey Wheatstraw, and Black Frankenstein) that I really wanted, but they were $15 each. I'm really glad I passed on them because it looks like they are actually reproductions and I just found them cheaper online.

There was also an awesome old milk crate that I wanted, but it was $30. I loved the look of it, but $30 is too much for a dusty piece of wood and metal that will just take up space. Oh well, at least I found some cheap overalls for my son's Halloween costume; we're both dressing up as Mario.

I didn't find any amazing, but I'm pleased with how the day went. And best of all, I didn't over-pay for anything, so that makes me happy. On a side note: I found an excellent copy of Yar's Revenge (2600) on eBay and, much to my surprise, the seller accepted my offer.
 
I've seen those mystery jigsaws at thrifts before, I always wanted to pick one up but I'd only ever buy a jigsaw puzzle at goodwill if it was sealed.
Not much is worse than finishing a jigsaw and find that you're missing a piece. :bomb:
 
Found these games at two different Goodwill stores the last couple of days
DSC05329.jpg

These were $3.99 each all complete

DSC05331.jpg

These were $1.99 each. The sports games are replacements for my disc only copies

DSC05332.jpg

Also $1.99 each
 
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