on any number of other forums, i run into threads where folks encourage each other to buy classic games at hundreds of dollars “before the price gets worse” etc and i get it, but fear buying like this only feeds resellers…that said, nearly a decade back i recall refusing to rebuy MUSHA for like $80 because that number felt crazy at the time (you only paid nearly $100 for really rare shit, like snatcher or PDS etc) and i’d just wait out the spike, the same way i did that weird one in 2008 when FF VII was nearly $100. likewise, i talked a friend at the time down from paying $100 for little samson for similar reasons
i really like seeing good deals go down these days, but it’s rare. so i wanted to celebrate the times we got stuff for dirt cheap! ive known folks who grabbed earthbound when clearances were happening for < $40, i recall buying golden axe warrior as a kid for like $20 when toys r us was dumping master system games, etc. let’s hear those stories!
here’s my best craiglist hauls from about a decade ago, right before resellers ruined what had been years of great hunting
late 2012
drove a half hour to pay $30 for a woodgrain Atari 2600, multiple controllers and over a dozen boxed games (some having the pricetag and receipts!), was super happy. i still can’t yet replace my older brother’s Atari 400 mom dumped when i left but this was a great start!
early 2013
$30 craiglist, less than 10 minutes away - i caught it right when it went up, a young couple needed garage space for an in-law moving in and didn’t care what was in the box. one NES had double dragon 2 inside. i was so happy, i gave out the extra hardware to local retro game friends for christmas
fall of 2013 - $50. i reached out early when i got off work, mostly wanting to replace the model 1 sega-cd i had at launch growing up….by then the unit was known to have problems, but he’d barely used his, and outside of some rate audio drops, it still works great. i traded boogerman for a few games a few months later but still have the rest, the six button sticks get heavy rotation
late december 2013 (toward the end/before the bubble ruined shit)
a kinda friend of mine mentioned this one from craigslist, and i was working the graveyeard shift - it was literally $30 for these, and even at the time, that was stupid cheap. i mostly wanted sega AGES and that alone was like $50+…said friend said he’d meet them up late on sunday, and i insisted it’d be long gone.
employing questionable ethics, i hit said seller up early sunday morning when i got off work - they already had numerous offers, and i said i’d come through immediately with $40 instead. they accepted, and i took the games.
i don’t even talk to that former friend anymore (they ended up siding with gamergate back then), so i have zero regrets here. i even enjoy vittua hydlide, and it’s not a good game
other favorites include this one seller back on nintendoage who sold me snatcher + FF antholody for $140, then panzer dragoon saga + shining force CD (sans manual) for $240. i didn’t wanna spend that much on either back then, but looking back, i’m glad that i did
oh! retrocollect back then had a guy who took $40 on elevator action returns (saturn), still one of my favorite games. man was that a good day.
so what about you, what were some of your best ones? what retailers did you catch dumping gems for dirt cheap, or sellers for a good haul before the bubble got bad? let’s hear/see em!