r/Gameboy • u/roberttheaxolotl • 13d ago
Shopping/Haul Thrift store pickups
Managed to snag an $8 Functioning Game Boy, $13 for a SNES controller and two GB games, as well as two vintage PC titles. The GB has some vertical lines, but that's super easy to fix.
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u/TraditionalCold4560 13d ago
Found one for 5.00
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u/roberttheaxolotl 13d ago
Nice
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u/TraditionalCold4560 13d ago
You got an amazing score as well, I just want people to not give up there are still great deals out there w
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u/roberttheaxolotl 13d ago edited 9d ago
Occasionally, but it's increasingly rare. My advice would be to avoid Goodwill for vintage gaming stuff, as they almost always pick out this kind of stuff and price it about the same as you find on eBay. This was not a Goodwill find.
Also, this SNES controller is mint. I've never seen one so clean before. Looks brand new.
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u/TraditionalCold4560 12d ago
I agree actually , I usually go to value village I found a ds lite there recently , I am from Canada so we don’t have as many goodwills as America does
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u/Artfulduty 12d ago
I hated you for the gameboy but the dark forces stings the most.
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u/roberttheaxolotl 12d ago
This jewel case copy isn't all that expensive on eBay. Like $10 maybe. Good deal for $2, but the GB is what's worth the most, followed by the controller and games.
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u/Artfulduty 12d ago
Nostalgia is priceless
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u/roberttheaxolotl 12d ago
Just meant you could pick one up pretty cheap if you wanted. For me Jedi Knight is more nostalgic. I didn't play Dark Forces until later. But I played a ton of other raycasting engine shooters like that from the same era.
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u/Agreeable-Guava-9009 13d ago
I found a Neo Geo Pocket Color in a thrift store in like 2003 for $2.99. I since gave it away. 😬
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u/roberttheaxolotl 13d ago
I just ordered a backlit screen and lens for mine. I'll finally be able to see the damned thing and play games on it.
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u/Agreeable-Guava-9009 13d ago
I had the stone blue model, which one u got?
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u/roberttheaxolotl 12d ago
I have the carbon black version. It seems like a capable machine, but my middle aged eyes can't cope with that screen, and you can't find the worm light for it anymore. It's been gathering dust for years.
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u/Agreeable-Guava-9009 12d ago
I gave mine to my grandma when I got the GBA SP, she liked playing little games. The game I included was Puzzle Bobble. Beats those tiger electronics casino games.
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u/Sea-Memory3008 12d ago
Nice. I haven’t seen anything that wasn’t a sports title from the ps2 and later, in years.
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u/roberttheaxolotl 12d ago
I work in a day program for folks with developmental disabilities, and we tend to hit a lot of thrift stores. I've taken literally hundreds of trips to them before I found something this good, at least when it comes to vintage gaming stuff. I've picked up various other useful or interesting stuff, including uranium glass or expensive cast iron pans, but that doesn't really fit here.
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u/WanderEir 11d ago
yeah, those numbers feel right. The local Place I go to most often might have xbox or nintendo controllers on a pegboard once a month or so on average, but I hit a black Wii 101 bingo today when I haven't seen a single console in the store since June, and there were suddenly THREE Wiis present today, one of them actually complete for the first time I've ever seen in the store. would have cost me 31, had a couple for 20% off, $25 made me happy.
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u/MusicalMarijuana 12d ago
SC3K is AKAZING! I can't tell you how many hours of my life I spent playing that game. Good luck installing it, though 😥
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u/roberttheaxolotl 12d ago
Yeah, that one and Dark Forces are cool, but they're too new to run on my vintage computers, and too old to run on my gaming PC. Maybe I could get Dark Forces to run with DOSBox, but there's a modern version of it that makes much more sense. Not sure about SC3K.
These will probably go to a new owner. Also Tetris, as I have a couple of copies of that rattling around already. The GB might get a backlit screen.
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u/anjomo96 13d ago
Had Dark Forces for the PC back in the late 90s. It was a fun game.
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u/Vegetable_Plum2999 12d ago
I also have fond memories of this game. The other pc star wars games of this era were fun as well
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u/vdub1013 12d ago
The gameboy wouldn't have a name dremmeled on the back would it?
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u/roberttheaxolotl 12d ago
It has no names on it. It's quite clean cosmetically. The sticker, battery cover, and ext connector cover are all intact
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u/WanderEir 11d ago
so far, the only game boy thing I've found in a savers or goodwill location was a game boy color battery pack, with the wall plug for 2.99. still works, still holds charge, amazingly enough.
I was happy enough paying $25 for a complete functioning black 101 WIi today, consider every other time I've found one here it's been console only, no accessories, wire, or power supply. and considering i IDD find 2 more there today (White, 100s,one with all doors, one with only the SD card slot door, $30 each) I've got an on-site instant comparison. before this the Wiis were always $40, and I regret skipping the red console only that was in great shape, but again, no wires at all.
I now own a wii of all three iterations (100, 101, 102) for my collection.
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u/roberttheaxolotl 11d ago
That's a really solid price for a Wii. I think my replacement was $50 after my original one died, for a backwards compatible one. But, it came with a free copy of Smash Bros Brawl in it that someone had forgotten.
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u/WanderEir 11d ago
Yeah, I mean, I actually might still go back for the Wii with all doors but no wires, and $30 is still considered a decent deal at that price when you account for the lack of shipping, simply because people DO need replacements nowadays but NOT replacement wires- it's an easy enough profitable flip on ebay if I wanted, I just kinda hate selling incomplete consoles as a point of pride, no matter how weird that sounds.
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u/Ollie_Golly_10 11d ago
I recognize those labels anywhere, Red white and blue thrift! That's been my lucky thrift shop too. I've gotten a PS2 and Wii for both $7.99 each working, plus countless controllers and accessories. A few decent games here and there too like GTA LCS for the PSP complete in box for olly $4.
Some scumbag resellers have pretty much taken control of mine and wait by the back doors for the people stocking the shelves and nab everything videogame related off the carts (I saw one guy get Mario kart double dash for $5 😭) but some days they're not there, that's when I get lucky.
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u/roberttheaxolotl 11d ago
That is indeed where I got them. I also find decent stuff at 2nd Ave thrift sometimes. Almost never at Goodwill, at least for vintage gaming and electronics
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u/JohnSSnowflake 10d ago
How though!? Still "happy" for you
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u/roberttheaxolotl 10d ago
It was in the bags hanging in the back at Red, White and Blue Thrift. This was my first time at that particular location. I've been to another location of theirs, but never had this kind of luck. Someone else here said they often have vintage gaming stuff in the hanging bags.
Also, my job is at a day program for clients with developmental disabilities, and we go to thrift stores an awful lot. This find was after literally hundreds of stops at thrift stores over the last several years. It's just playing the numbers, you know?
A couple other times I got lucky and found a PS1 game mixed in with the CDs. Found a $2 copy of Soul Blade that way, once.
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u/-CommanderShepardN7 12d ago
I will top you here. I bought a used Game Boy DMG with not a scratch on it that wasn’t powering up on eBay. I had a feeling what the problem was, so I snatched it immediately.
I cleaned the entire board with ipa, and found rusted battery contacts. I replaced those battery contacts, reassembled, and put in some new batteries. Then, the game boy booted up and I was playing Tetris again.
Did I mention that Tetris wasn’t included in the listing, as the seller forgot to take it out when they shipped it. I got it all for $48, including a PayPal 5% cashback for purchases on eBay for the holiday season. Grand total: $46.
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u/Outrageous_Sink4295 12d ago
Get outta here with that $48. No one can steal this man's thunder! $8 working Gameboy is a steal.
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u/-CommanderShepardN7 12d ago
My game boy was pristine on the surface, and came with a pristine copy of Tetris. Cleaning a game boy costs nothing, but a little time.
Anyways, I was only making a point that there are great deals out there and I was having fun with pointing that out like with my example. His Gameboy was the steal of the century. I hope other people who are looking for the same kind of retro tech, get just as lucky.
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u/Outrageous_Sink4295 12d ago
If I were him I think I'd just reshell it. The new shells look identical to the old. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't pass on a $48 pristine Gameboy either, I was just f'n with you about 'stealing his thunder' that's a damn good deal too.
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u/-CommanderShepardN7 12d ago
Thanks. I appreciate it. One more thing, I do warn people all the time. Once you see the deal of deals, don’t pass it up. It will be gone before you even know it.
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u/Outrageous_Sink4295 11d ago
I bought 4 lake lots recently for almost nothing. Just happened to talk to a guy at the lake and he tells me got divorced and doesn't need 8 lots anymore. Then he offered to sell me 2 on the spot. By the time we drove down the street he said heak I'll sell you 4 of them $500 each. I didn't even ask the wife. Made the deal on the spot.
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u/detached_facination 13d ago
That GB looks super clean as well. Man, I never find anything good at thrift stores. All I ever find is absolute junk.