Great places to find carts
mcf...@u.washington.edu
It sounds like the Seattle situation is somewhat different than elsewhere.
Some of you post about swap meets and flea markets where it sounds like you
can dig through hundreds of carts in a day -- it's not like that here, as
far as I can tell. Maybe I'm missing something. Anyway, here's where I go
to prowl for my carts:
Thrift Stores: Salvation Army has come under some criticism in this group,
but I've gotten 2 7800 systems from the local Salvation Army (the second,
thankfully, about a week after the first just died one day). Their "as-is"
annex, when it has stuff, has very reasonable prices. It's the first stop
after the goods reach the collection centers, so whole systems sometimes
appear -- intact-- in a cardboard box and at a ridiculously low price.
The Thrift Stores here are my main places to look, both the chains
(Salvation Army, Goodwill, and the more upscale (if a thrift store can be
upscale) Value Village) and the little independent places. I don't think
I've ever found any classic games at the St. Vincent de Paul or Children's
Hospital Thrift stores. Cart prices vary with no rhyme or reason (size,
day of the week, cycle of the moon?) often changing from week to week
within a store, from clerk to clerk at a store, and from store to store
within a chain, from 19 cents to $4.50. Usually they're a buck or 2, and
rarely have anything other than the loose cart. (Intellivision is an
exception).
Garage sales: probably about the same as anywhere else. Nothing at
most sales, and then, once in a while, a gem or a whole goldmine. My
Vectrex came from a garage sale, and was quite a deal.
There. That's it. Thrift stores and garage sales. I've gone to a few
"swap meets", but all they've had is Combat and Pacman for $5 each.
These are the type of sales where people rent a booth and sell stuff --
many people come back week after week with the same stuff -- dirt-cheap
no-name car electronics, beauty aids, whatever. A few vendors have what
basically amounts to a permanent garage sale. These are the guys with the
carts.
I don't get it! Other than the FBE deal, where are you people finding
mint games in boxes? Where are you finding mint games? I don't think
I've ever seen any shrinkwrapped games, or even games with instructions,
at any of these locations, yet some of you seem to come up with these
really uncommon titles in perfect shape at great prices on a regular
basis! Am I missing something? Tell me! I'm up in Seattle --I won't
invade your turf, out-of-staters! Of course, JerryG just down the road
in Portland seems to have mint copies of every game ever made -- maybe
he'll give me a hint or 2! :)
Michael J. Novak Jr.
In a further example of the fact that I'm not territorial, I would
like to suggest that you check for closeout type stores in your area.
Also, sometimes I find shrinkwrapped games at flea markets.
Michael J. Novak Jr.
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Ted Drude
>I don't get it! Other than the FBE deal, where are you people finding
>mint games in boxes? Where are you finding mint games? I don't think
>I've ever seen any shrinkwrapped games, or even games with instructions,
>at any of these locations, yet some of you seem to come up with these
>really uncommon titles in perfect shape at great prices on a regular
>basis! Am I missing something? Tell me! I'm up in Seattle --I won't
>invade your turf, out-of-staters! Of course, JerryG just down the road
>in Portland seems to have mint copies of every game ever made -- maybe
>he'll give me a hint or 2! :)
- Liquidator stores (Toy Liquidators, Big Lots/Odd Lots, etc.)
- Toy stores having closeout sales (Toys R Us, Kaybee, Circus World, etc.)
- Mail order game sellers (Telegames, Video 61, etc.)
- Other collectors
I have bought games from all the above sources in the past few years.
I have never seen new games in a yard sale, thrift store, or flea market,
but I have heard that others have.
- Ted Drude
Bruce Tomlin
>I don't get it! Other than the FBE deal, where are you people finding
>mint games in boxes? Where are you finding mint games? I don't think
Sometimes you get lucky. I've found shrinkwrapped Indy Jones, 7800 Galaga
(which I've since found in an FBE set) and 400/800 Demon Attack in my
regular searches. Sometimes you find a stack of 1-4 different games, as
I did when I found the Bally carts. (In those cases, the best option is
if the price is good and you CAN get them, GET THEM. Don't forget to try
a little haggling if you plan to buy them all.)
Scott Butler
[snip]
>I don't get it! Other than the FBE deal, where are you people finding
>mint games in boxes? Where are you finding mint games? I don't think
>I've ever seen any shrinkwrapped games, or even games with instructions,
>at any of these locations, yet some of you seem to come up with these
>really uncommon titles in perfect shape at great prices on a regular
>basis! Am I missing something? Tell me! I'm up in Seattle --I won't
Radio Shack still sells a number of Atari 2600 and 7800 games, brand
new in the shrinkwrap, for $10 each through their Express mail order
service. There's also a place called Video 61 here in the Twin Cities
area that sells a ton of Atari stuff - 2600, 5200, 7800, and 8-bit - that
are still shrinkwrapped (although their pricing is pretty steep).
There are places overseas that still sell a lot of stuff. I believe an
outfit called Telegames in the UK still actually produces and sells a
number of 2600 carts. Hell, *Atari* still has a limited number of 2600
and 7800 games in stock that it sells.
So, there are still places that sell these. You've just gotta know where
to look!
Scott
WardShrake
maybe friendly but maybe also incompetent local Radio Shack has them. They
just don't know they have them, because their "Express order" mail order
catalog section is so screwed up! Only one Radio Shack out of the three I
go to, knows they can get them, and actually has a list of what carts they
have. (In section 3, software, in their onfloor catalogs for customers ...
its a one-page long list, added in to the catalog.)
Check your local radio shack store, and if they give you the run-around,
and / or claim no knowledge of what you're talking about, here's an idea
to get Radio Shack on the ball... a letter writing campaign! Top
management, I'm sure, thinks everything is fine, and why doesn't anyone
order 2600 carts. Well, because (frankly) some of the idiots behind the
counter never updated the catalogs, and have no idea where anything is or
what they have for sale! (One store, for example, had customer catalogs
buried in their back room, on a manager's desk, in the store operations
catalog. Sigh. Like I can really read it there, guys. Morons.) So, while I
like the idea of Rat Shack having cool stuff, I don't like the
incompetence and ignorance aspects of how they run things. You get the
idea, if you're experiences are anything like mine, dealing with them.
Here's the address to write to, once you go to a store near you, and if
you too get the run-around...
Mr. Leonard Roberts
President, Radio Shack
1900 one Tandy Center
Fort Worth, TX 76102
The sad thing is, it took four tries to get that address through Radio
Shack's people in Texas. I tried three tries / phone calls to get ahold of
whoever was in charge of the Express Order mail order catalog department,
to tell him / her personally. No one there, (naturally?), had any idea who
that person was. I finally quit trying, and asked for the president's
address, which I got with no problem. Sigh. I'm trying to throw my money
at these people, and they won't take it. I try to complain, and help them
let customers know they have cool stuff, and they won't let me. What can I
say, besides that?
Oh well. Try it yourself, and write them a short, polite letter, I guess.
By the way, they want ten bucks each for carts; keep that in mind. Brand
new, though, but still. Just for what its worth!
Ward Shrake
wards...@aol.com
Michael J. Novak Jr.
I would like to add to what Bruce already said:
If you find shrinkwrapped stuff like that, pick it all up. You can always
use it to make trades. And, its better than going back for more and finding
it all gone!
Michael J. Novak Jr.
Video 61
1-612-462-2500
22735 Congo St. N.E.
Stacy, MN 55079
Michael J. Novak Jr.
P.S. They are a tad on the expensive side.
Patrick Wickwire
>service. There's also a place called Video 61 here in the Twin Cities
>area that sells a ton of Atari stuff - 2600, 5200, 7800, and 8-bit - that
>are still shrinkwrapped (although their pricing is pretty steep).
>
I've never even heard of them. I have been out of collecting for a while
though and haven't been looking. Is their number in the phone book?
Patrick Wickwire
wick...@gold.tc.umn.edu
Charles E Rick Taylor IV
>Where do you all find carts? Not specific locations, but types of stores.
I find a lot of carts at the grocery store, although plugging them
into my 7800 is a bit of a challenge.
;)
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