2014 Yardsale thread

I was on the road at 6:30 this past weekend, but I'm only out that early if there's a sale happening at 7. Most weekends I'm up at 7 and out the door by 7:20 (my wife wouldn't be caught dead waking up early on weekends). I could get up earlier to hit up the flea markets and sales in southeast Baltimore, but that area is super competitive and you have to be up around 5 to get anything good down there.

 
It really depends on your area. I'm at the first sale I want to go to before it opens. The time I start varies on the advertised sales. My competition is so bad that it isn't fun for me anymore (but I have been doing this for over 20 years). Everyone shopping knows that games have value, so they buy everything and sort it out later (much like I do).

That's why I've tried new routes (like my post above) to buy games. The fact that "retro game stores" have popped up all over the place doesn't help either.

 
It does depend where you live. In my area if you got up at 5-6 AM you'd be wasting your time. Most sales here start at 9 AM, with a very select few starting a bit earlier at 8-8:30. Even leaving an hour early is iffy since half the people won't be set up and the other half will actively turn you away.

 
Yeah here most sales start at 10am, if you go out earlier you are just wasting your time, as most people simply aren't ready for customers until 10am as everyone wakes up very late here. Retro game stores have been popping up here as well, which is a big problem for me.

 
Well the bar has been set. There was an advertised sale with Legos and people were there over a hour early today. I went after the rush and found a few non video game things of value. I hit an unadvertised sale and asked about video games. The girl running it said that she didn't have any and that another person asked about games earlier...It seems my competition is stepping their game up. If this continues it will be an ugly season. I may actually have to venture out into other areas, which I typically don't do.

Yesterday I had a pretty awesome lot though that I am still cleaning up. The super lot isnt photographed yet and it may be growing, so that will be delayed until I know if there is anything else that goes with it.

 
SaraAB said:
Yeah here most sales start at 10am, if you go out earlier you are just wasting your time, as most people simply aren't ready for customers until 10am as everyone wakes up very late here. Retro game stores have been popping up here as well, which is a big problem for me.
Click to expand...
If they're brick and mortar stores they probably won't last long. The cost of rent and payroll usually sinks them. Most retro shops are either run by passionate gamers with no business sense or clueless 50-somethings who know nothing about games. I know that isn't always the case, but that pretty much describes the retro shops that have closed en masse around me.
 
Today was ok. I did a lot of driving and didn't see many sales. I got a few decent deals though.

This lot of Pokemon cards and Yugioh cards, along with a bunch of Pokemon Topps cards was $20. It's got auite a few super rare cards in it.

BVJYq6D.jpg


WesVE6A.jpg


I also got this for $1. Not sure yet if it works. I wonder what its value is. Came with manuals too.

PQB2G0F.jpg


 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hit a sale in my neighborhood before work this a.m. They were just setting up and I found a few things.
Wii Dead Space Extraction and Madworld. Concert DVD's Clapton Crossroads Festival and Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble live in Austin. Those two Wii games bring my total of "Dad" games for the Wii to three. Eight dollars total.

Hit one sale on lunch break last Friday. Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack. 25 cents.
 
Doomstink said:
If they're brick and mortar stores they probably won't last long. The cost of rent and payroll usually sinks them. Most retro shops are either run by passionate gamers with no business sense or clueless 50-somethings who know nothing about games. I know that isn't always the case, but that pretty much describes the retro shops that have closed en masse around me.
Click to expand...
The 50-something is so true. There is a guy around here who has a store. I have no idea how he stays in business (been like 4+ years). He has like 1000's upon 1000's of things in his store. Like rubbermaid containers full of N64s, etc.

Then his ads are hilarious.

I got$ the mario$, earthbound$, final fant$yS, pokemon$, $illy bands, ZUZU pets, etc. etc. etc.

He tried to buy stuff off me a few times on eBay but it never worked out. He said he would give me lots of $$$$ though.

 
Dokstarr said:
The 50-something is so true. There is a guy around here who has a store. I have no idea how he stays in business (been like 4+ years). He has like 1000's upon 1000's of things in his store. Like rubbermaid containers full of N64s, etc.

Then his ads are hilarious.

I got$ the mario$, earthbound$, final fant$yS, pokemon$, $illy bands, ZUZU pets, etc. etc. etc.

He tried to buy stuff off me a few times on eBay but it never worked out. He said he would give me lots of $$$$ though.
Click to expand...
This is what I have to look forward to. All I need is for my age to catch up. I already have the bins of "pokmans and marios". If anyone needs beanie babies I have a couple of rubbermaids of those too. ;)

 
Hit 2 sales today, one was a complete strikeou. The other was awesome as it advertised older stereo equipment and rock records on Facebook under a local sell board.

Got there at open, few cars already there. Browsed the records first. Most were $1 with some up to $5. Looked through the 45s, had some good titles but condition was about 4/10.

Only thing I purchased was This is the End on bluray for $3.

Had some other $3 blurays like Gamer and Zero Dark Thirty but I passed. First time seeing such low bluray prices. $5 has been pretty standard if I see any at all.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My first post in this thread.
Found a garage sale yesterday that had some games. Another guy grabbed a red 3ds I was mildly interested in for $80 while I was considering how much I wanted to haggle. The dude seemed breathless as he talked him down from$100. I literally got anxious just standing near him as he talked this 10 year old down.
I do have my up grabbing a couple ds games zombies vs plants, fossil fighters and some Barbie game for $1. Not sure how the guy missed them as they were right next to the console he bought.
But I ended up getting a bin on beyblade tops for myself and the kids for $10. These things are pretty fun, and have already easily entertained us $10 worth.
 
I had a great first day of the season.

At the first garage sale.

I paid $50 for everything, so a little less than $2 a game. Unfortunately they guy moved from Atlanta and threw out the cases for most of the games. They were stored in a binder that looked like it was designed for that purpose. fits the manual on one side and the game on the other side of the page.



[url=https://flic.kr/p/nbLc3b]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/ndP5EH]



At the second sale.

I paid $9 for everything. I did miss out on an Atari lot though. meh

[url=[URL="https://flic.kr/p/nbM6ss"]https://flic.kr/p/nbM6ss
]
13905455482_e7bebbc27a.jpg


https://flic.kr/p/ndPzwZ]
13928573153_6325af24ea.jpg

 
kermit036 said:
I had a great first day of the season.

At the first garage sale.

I paid $50 for everything, so a little less than $2 a game. Unfortunately they guy moved from Atlanta and threw out the cases for most of the games. They were stored in a binder that looked like it was designed for that purpose. fits the manual on one side and the game on the other side of the page.



[url=https://flic.kr/p/nbLc3b]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/ndP5EH]



At the second sale.

I paid $9 for everything. I did miss out on an Atari lot though. meh

[url=[URL="https://flic.kr/p/nbM6ss"]https://flic.kr/p/nbM6ss
]
13905455482_e7bebbc27a.jpg


https://flic.kr/p/ndPzwZ]
13928573153_6325af24ea.jpg
Click to expand...
elf quest comics!!!! woohooo!

 
Doomstink said:
If they're brick and mortar stores they probably won't last long. The cost of rent and payroll usually sinks them. Most retro shops are either run by passionate gamers with no business sense or clueless 50-somethings who know nothing about games. I know that isn't always the case, but that pretty much describes the retro shops that have closed en masse around me.
Click to expand...
Dude that used to have a local store was like that. He knew valuable stuff, but I made out like a bandit on easier to get items. He would sell PS2 games w/o cases for $1 or $2, but would give at least $3 for any complete PS2 game except sports.

Kinda sad the dude moved, I enjoyed the store because he always had good new stuff for me to trade 1 for 2 on.

 
Finally had some good luck at a yard sale. I got lucky bnc this guy posted on CL about his yard sale saying it was mostly vinyl and music equipment. Bottom of the post mentioned snes games. I wasn't expecting much, but I think I made out ok for $15.

qhPiwz8l.jpg


Also hit another sale and grabbed these for $1 a piece.

Ze0oLpu.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm afraid to even go to a sale in the area next week.

It is in the more hipster area and it lists music equip, vintage games, 80's 90's action figures, etc etc etc.

Everytime I go to those sales in that area I leave unhappy because there will be probably 20 people there an hour before grabbing boxes out of hands. One of the last sales of the year last year happened like that. I got there early already 25 people there standing in the drive way grabbing handfuls of stuff as the guy carried it out. The guy was yelling at people to please give him some room to put  stuff down. It was insane.

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/vgm/4429833131.html

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Only went to one yard sale today, and I am hoping it is not a sign of what is to come this season. It was a house 4 streets down from mine, and while they had a 360, Wii, PS3 and a 3DS they were all what they originally cost in stores ($250 on the 3DS!)

When I was asking prices I noticed they were scratching their arms and noticed track marks all over there arms, and then when I said I was all set they started begging me to buy something because they had someone coming to their house at 2 that they needed $400 for or they would be "Shut down".

I know that is on the rise around the country, but still creeps me out it is just down the road from me.
 
In more positive news, while it wasn't a yard sale the Over Flow Valve on my boiler went flooding part of my basement and ruining some VCRs, receivers and DVD players I picked up over the years but due to their low value never put the time in to test and sell them.

Since they were soaked it was obvious they were junk so I brought them to my towns recycling center, and when I went to throw them in the electronics dumpster I saw Super Mario Sunshine sticking out. I asked the attendant if it was OK to grab things out and they said of course, so I started rummaging through. Ended up finding:
Gamecube:
Super Mario Sunshine
Need for Speed: Underground
Namco Museum
Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2
Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2005 Adventures
1080 Avalanche
Bionicle
Bionicle Heroes
Avatar
Tales of Symphonia (missing Disc 1)

Wii:
Just Dance 2
Drawn to Life Next Chapter
Super Mario Galaxy (Disc has a puncture to it like someone stabbed it with an knife)

and a White Wii console!!! No wires, Wii Remote or anything and it doesn't read discs (likely why everything was junked) but inside the disc tray was a very scratched copy of Super Smash Bros Brawl.

Pretty cool to find for free, probably once in a lifetime kind of find but I may take a peek in when I dump off my weekly scrap shipping boxes.
 
Thought it was going to be really good today. Had to call it quits early when I saw some jaguar cd games. Stuffs bad omen.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
ferant316 said:
In more positive news, while it wasn't a yard sale the Over Flow Valve on my boiler went flooding part of my basement and ruining some VCRs, receivers and DVD players I picked up over the years but due to their low value never put the time in to test and sell them.

Since they were soaked it was obvious they were junk so I brought them to my towns recycling center, and when I went to throw them in the electronics dumpster I saw Super Mario Sunshine sticking out. I asked the attendant if it was OK to grab things out and they said of course, so I started rummaging through. Ended up finding:
Gamecube:
Super Mario Sunshine
Need for Speed: Underground
Namco Museum
Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2
Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2005 Adventures
1080 Avalanche
Bionicle
Bionicle Heroes
Avatar
Tales of Symphonia (missing Disc 1)

Wii:
Just Dance 2
Drawn to Life Next Chapter
Super Mario Galaxy (Disc has a puncture to it like someone stabbed it with an knife)

and a White Wii console!!! No wires, Wii Remote or anything and it doesn't read discs (likely why everything was junked) but inside the disc tray was a very scratched copy of Super Smash Bros Brawl.

Pretty cool to find for free, probably once in a lifetime kind of find but I may take a peek in when I dump off my weekly scrap shipping boxes.
Click to expand...
You know that Wii that won't read discs is still fairly useful, right?

 
burritoman said:
You know that Wii that won't read discs is still fairly useful, right?
Click to expand...
It depends on what the firmware is, right? The last time I messed with that (admittedly, it's been a few years since I hacked mine), you needed Smash Bros. Brawl or some other game to run the exploit on firmwares 4.3 and up.

 
pitfallharry219 said:
It depends on what the firmware is, right? The last time I messed with that (admittedly, it's been a few years since I hacked mine), you needed Smash Bros. Brawl or some other game to run the exploit on firmwares 4.3 and up.
Click to expand...
The Homebrew hack is one of the greatest things that you can do to your wii. It lets you install some pretty awesome channels and tweaks, change color, sounds, playing GameCube games on
a flash drive. The emulators for it work really well too.The install is actually really easy too, all you really need is an SD card and you're set.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Not a windfall weekend, but certainly not a bad one for me.

First sale I hit up mentioned "games and electronics," but it was just board games. I picked up "Goth," a horror trivia game, for $1. There was a guy across the street having a yard sale, too, so I checked that out. Saw a PS1 game sticking out of a box so I asked if he had anymore and he brought a PS2 with cords and controllers, a Dreamgear wireless controller, some PS2 DVD remotes, and about 25 or so CiB games. The games were mostly sport and racing titles, but it did include Crash Bandicoot Warped and Star Wars Battlefront 1+2. Got it all for $30.

Hit up another nearby sale, but all I got was a bag of A/V cables for $3. Not a great find, but a useful one for MAGFest (we always need more cables).

Third sale was one I e-mailed and negotiated with ahead of time. The deal was for a Genesis, N64, and some games for PS2, Genesis, and N64 for $45. Typically more than I want to pay but the games included Mario Kart 64, which people have been requesting for MAGFest for some time now. Went to pick up the lot and found there was also a copy of Majora's Mask in there! With that included I ended up feeling pretty good about the whole thing.

Stopped at a few other sales after that but didn't really find anything, so I headed back to have lunch with the wife. :)

 
pitfallharry219 said:
It depends on what the firmware is, right? The last time I messed with that (admittedly, it's been a few years since I hacked mine), you needed Smash Bros. Brawl or some other game to run the exploit on firmwares 4.3 and up.
Click to expand...
Its improved since then. Even a year ago or 2, you really don't need a game any more as long as the wifi is working

 
nixmahn said:
Its improved since then. Even a year ago or 2, you really don't need a game any more as long as the wifi is working
Click to expand...
Ah. Well, I think the last time I messed with one, besides installing updates, was my red Wii I got when it launched, so that would've been 2010.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Doomstink said:
If they're brick and mortar stores they probably won't last long. The cost of rent and payroll usually sinks them. Most retro shops are either run by passionate gamers with no business sense or clueless 50-somethings who know nothing about games. I know that isn't always the case, but that pretty much describes the retro shops that have closed en masse around me.
Click to expand...
These are B&M stores, these guys are ruthless, they set themselves up in plazas here that are located right next to thrift stores. I honestly don't even know who runs the place, or what their tactics are but I can only observe their location. This is also an EXPANDING chain of video game stores here, every time I go to a different city around here, I see one of these stores. I have no idea how these guys make any money, but my friend told me the owners are rich so they obviously have money to blow on setting up a game store here. But yes I have seen quite a few game stores close here, mostly because they have prices that are 40% higher than ebay.

I can tell you that I haven't seen a customer in the store since it opened, and I drive by often, and I can see right through the doors and its always empty, but I doubt this shop will be closing up anytime soon due to factors mentioned above and the fact that everyone who plays retro games in my town I can probably count on one hand and they would be very stupid if they shopped at this store. Also no one in my town has money for retro games..

I have a feeling that people won't like the trade in values or cash, so I probably still have a chance to get some stuff at sales..

 
Last edited by a moderator:
To put the retro store into perspective...There is a store that sells games at about $5-$8 over amazon price for everything on average and people pay it. A kid brought in a Super Nintendo game (some junk sports game) and they paid him 9 cents for it. The guy working there even said: "Are you sure you want to trade it in, we are only giving you .09?" and the kid said "Yes that's fine". That's how they stay in business...A "healthy mix of the rich and the ignorant". (PS: that last quote is from the simpsons)

----

OH, the super lot, got little more super today...and it is still (hopefully) growing as the lady I bought it from finds more stuff. ;)

I've been in a buying blitz lately, so I can't keep up with pics. I also have C2E2 (comic convention) this weekend and free comic book day next weekend, so I am going to fall even farther behind.

 
slowdive21 said:
To put the retro store into perspective...There is a store that sells games at about $5-$8 over amazon price for everything on average and people pay it. A kid brought in a Super Nintendo game (some junk sports game) and they paid him 9 cents for it. The guy working there even said: "Are you sure you want to trade it in, we are only giving you .09?" and the kid said "Yes that's fine". That's how they stay in business...A "healthy mix of the rich and the ignorant". (PS: that last quote is from the simpsons)

----

OH, the super lot, got little more super today...and it is still (hopefully) growing as the lady I bought it from finds more stuff. ;)

I've been in a buying blitz lately, so I can't keep up with pics. I also have C2E2 (comic convention) this weekend and free comic book day next weekend, so I am going to fall even farther behind.
Click to expand...
Stop teasing this lot, ya killing me now.

There was a B&M store in my old hometown, and I swear it was just a money laundering operation. I went in one time and this semi older guy was reaming the "owner" a new a-hole about selling stuff. It was really funny, because the dood was a shady type. Now, he post the "entire store inventory" on craigslist for like 10,000. At one point the store expanding into two neighboring towns in different counties, and the one "caught fire"...

 
SaraAB said:
These are B&M stores, these guys are ruthless, they set themselves up in plazas here that are located right next to thrift stores. I honestly don't even know who runs the place, or what their tactics are but I can only observe their location. This is also an EXPANDING chain of video game stores here, every time I go to a different city around here, I see one of these stores. I have no idea how these guys make any money, but my friend told me the owners are rich so they obviously have money to blow on setting up a game store here. But yes I have seen quite a few game stores close here, mostly because they have prices that are 40% higher than ebay.

I can tell you that I haven't seen a customer in the store since it opened, and I drive by often, and I can see right through the doors and its always empty, but I doubt this shop will be closing up anytime soon due to factors mentioned above and the fact that everyone who plays retro games in my town I can probably count on one hand and they would be very stupid if they shopped at this store. Also no one in my town has money for retro games..

I have a feeling that people won't like the trade in values or cash, so I probably still have a chance to get some stuff at sales..
Click to expand...
They always end up closing when they start hemhorhraging inventory. It's only a matter of time as even rich people can succumb to the drain of rent and payroll - especially if no products are moving. Keep your eyes on the stores as they'll probably pull what the stores in my area did - a flash 50% off sale with no context or warning and then closed for good on the very next day. One of the stores in my area actually ended up getting shut down by the landlord for missed rent payments!
 
4-18-14

Here is a quickie: CIB 500 GB PS3 Gran Turismo Bundle with extra Red dualshock and games

Paid $175

More than I normally would pay, but I was able to trade in fifa and LoUs for $60 in credit when they had that Wal Mart promo. I wanted to retire my LE Metal Gear gunmetal 40gig PS3, so this one took its place.

Both dualshocks feel brand new (no stick wear at all). One of my neighbors was selling it and she said her son didn't play it much.



:bouncy:

More to come...

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I just got something insane for free! You guys will not believe me, but I swear it it's legit. I'm sending this from Burger King. I'm so excited!
 
slowdive21 said:
I just got something insane for free! You guys will not believe me, but I swear it it's legit. I'm sending this from Burger King. I'm so excited!
Click to expand...
I love free stuff. Your excitement has my interest. Please do tell. I once was given a N64 console only no cords at a sale. I ended up buying 12 records at 25 cents a piece. I think I made out okay on that deal.

 
Invicta 61 said:
Food poisioning? /eating BK as I type.
Click to expand...
I did just get diarrhea, but that always happens with BK. ;)

4-23-14

Most people that know me in real life know that I rarely lie. I swear this story is true and I did get this stuff for free.

long story short. A woman contacted me and let me know she had an old playstation. I told her I would be interested in seeing what she had for sale.

She responded: "[SIZE=12pt]I'll go down and see if I can figure out where it is. . . it's yours for the taking - we were going to pitch it. There are 2 joy sticks & a power cord. It worked last time my husband played it but that was years ago[/SIZE]"

Me: "[SIZE=12pt]I would be interested in it. I live in xxxx, but I could meet you to pick it up.[/SIZE]"

Her: "[SIZE=12pt]Sorry, slow, between working full time and 4 kids, I can't commit to meeting anywhere. If you're ever down by xxxx, I can leave it on the front porch for you."[/SIZE]

Then she sends me these pics:





At this point I nearly jizzed my pants and I thought either:

A: someone is trolling me

B: Someone else is going to pick it up off her front porch.

C: It is a set up and I am going to be robbed or

D: It is a cop's house and I will be shot for trespassing

Fortunately for me none of those were true as when I pulled up I saw a bag sitting on her front porch.

FREE





Oh and you know that Castlevania SOTN in her pic? Turns out it is still factory sealed!!!!



:whee:

MORE TO COME!!!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
slowdive21 said:
I did just get diarrhea, but that always happens with BK. ;)

4-23-14

Most people that know me in real life know that I rarely lie. I swear this story is true and I did get this stuff for free.

long story short. A woman contacted me and let me know she had an old playstation. I told her I would be interested in seeing what she had for sale.

She responded: "[SIZE=12pt]I'll go down and see if I can figure out where it is. . . it's yours for the taking - we were going to pitch it. There are 2 joy sticks & a power cord. It worked last time my husband played it but that was years ago[/SIZE]"

Me: "[SIZE=12pt]I would be interested in it. I live in xxxx, but I could meet you to pick it up.[/SIZE]"

Her: "[SIZE=12pt]Sorry, slow, between working full time and 4 kids, I can't commit to meeting anywhere. If you're ever down by xxxx, I can leave it on the front porch for you."[/SIZE]

Then she sends me these pics:

At this point I nearly jizzed my pants and I thought either:

A: someone is trolling me

B: Someone else is going to pick it up off her front porch.

C: It is a set up and I am going to be robbed or

D: It is a cop's house and I will be shot for trespassing

Fortunately for me none of those were true as when I pulled up I saw a bag sitting on her front porch.

FREE

Oh and you know that Castlevania SOTN in her pic? Turns out it is still factory sealed!!!!

:whee:

MORE TO COME!!!
Click to expand...
Lucky motherfucker, this would never happen in California

 
Mike_TV said:
Did you leave a card with this woman at previous yard sale or is this from a post you had up on CL or something?
Click to expand...
I occasionally run an ad saying I buy video games and I mention that I am interested in broken systems, instructions, etc. I won't post the exact ad here because I've already had one douche in my area steal my ad and try to pretend he is me. (People call me by my first name or "The game guy" or if I am at a BB I am known as "The Penny guy" ;) )

He basically copied my ad, added a few sentences, then added a line that says "Yep, I am that guy. The game guy!"

For those of you that read the thrift store thread, he is the guy that tried to fight me at SAVERS (I'm pretty sure I wrote out that story).

TLDR: Yes she responded to my ad, then I chatted with her on FB (because some people don't like giving out their email addresses, but they are completely fine with others seeing their FB page containing their photos/everything about them. Seems backwards to me, but I try to accommodate people).

PS: This isn't "The Super Lot" and I won't have time to post until after the comic con this weekend (maybe not until the week after that FCBD). But I am also waiting to hear back about more stuff to add to the lot.

PPS: Sorry MasaTFC :whistle2:

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Oh: And I do have a card, but I've found that people are more likely to follow through if I write the information down by hand or if they give me their information.

Short story:

I was picking up part of "the super lot" and there was a woman there that was picking up something that she had bought from the same seller. She kinda looked like "Dallas" from Suburgatory (Cheryl Hines). She was all done up, wearing pink and black VS yoga pants and was showing plenty of cleavage. She asked if I was the game guy and I told her, "yeah I'm one of them" jokingly and she told me she saw my ad and she has some stuff for me. We talked for a while and her husband(?) went to the car carrying the leaf blower they bought. She wrote out her name and phone number and gave it to me and told me to call her as she walked to their SUV. I'm still not sure if she was just looking to sell games or if she is a swinger or what, but I haven't called her yet. Whether I get locked up in her sex dungeon or I get N64 games it'll totally be worth it. ;)

(BTW I am not delusional and I know she is most likely someone looking to sell some video games)

 
Ah, interesting. I've used cards and writing things down, but so far neither has really done me any good. I also run a craigslist ad for MAGFest advertising our free pass for a system deal, but don't really get anything out of that either. For the amount of effort it takes me to keep these things up I figure I might as well continue in hopes of it paying off someday.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top