Turns out I had to return a game to a pawn shop...so I picked up more games! This time focusing on the 360!

Wii Sonic and the Secret Rings - Free (CIB, it was free because it replaced the game I returned)
360 Street Fighter IV - $2 (CIB)
360 Sonic Free Riders - $2 (CIB)
360 Deadrising - $5 (CIB)
360 Dead Island Riptide Special Edition - $10 (CIB, I think? No idea what the "special edition" included)
360 Gears of War - $10 (CIB, has everything)

And very epic find..Max Payne 3 Collector's Edition for PS3. I nearly missed it because it was sitting up very high...I think everyone missed it lol. The lady said it was $20, but when it was brought down it turned out to be like marked at $30? Or $40..I'll have to check. I think it's all there, the game is still sealed. The outside box is a little worn but not too bad and I think the statue is ok but again need to recheck because I think I saw one of the little bullets on the "floor" was broken off..maybe. But big thing for me, because while I've never played Max Payne games, I have never owned a video game statue so I'm very excited to have one..even if it's for a game I've never played lol.

It's amazing how many Xbox 360 gamers there are around here compaired to like..Nintendo gamers or even Playstation gamers...I keep finding Xbox stuff.

Yard sale #1:

Xbox Jade Empire Limited Edition - $5 (CIB)
360 Fable 2 - $5 (CIB)
360 Fable 3 - $5 (CIB)
360 Assassin's Creed - $5 (CIB)
360 Kameo Elements of Power - $5 (CIB)
360 Bioshock - $5 (CIB)
360 Phantasy Star Universe - Free (CIB)

Thrift Store #1 (One I've never been too and we're never around to go to lol):

First a small story. So usually I head right for where they keep the games in all these places, and when I got there...they had exactly 30 games...all fucking sports games. They even had five of the same fucking game ffs. So at this point I was like "Oh goodie another useless thrift store". Then I remember sometimes if they get old games in they put them in the front. And lo and behold there it was shining like a holy grail (which it wasn't but after months of seeing sports games and nothing "retro"..it was a holy grail), a NES with all the plugs, two controllers and 4 games...priced at $60. Over the top price..but yeah. So I was only interested in the games, and well guess what, it's all a "bundle". So after talking with the manager and convincing her she would make more money selling the games to me and then pricing the NES at $40, she finally gave in. I only bring this up because for me to talk to anyone and sort of "demand" anything like that...it's a big step. My shrink was telling me the other day I have to practice speaking up for myself and well...I sorta did..so yeah.

Anyways the games.

NES Adventure Island - $5
NES Paperboy - $5
NES Super Mario Bros. 3 - $5
NES Infiltrator - $5

Always good to hear the whole story on how you found your stuff. Thanks for sharing!

When the Xbone and PS8, or whatever one we are on now, came out I theorized the Microsoft console will do better because people seem to be dumping their 360 games and consoles while PS3 games are as uncommon as ever (perhaps they are planning on keeping it instead of replacing it). I've seen thousands of 360 games at a single flea market. Vendor after vendor with multiple large boxes of games. And several vendors with 10+ 360 consoles (although at least 75% of them were probably dead or banned). Apparently its a good time to be a 360 fan.

^ Exactly. I finally got tired of seeing all these cheap games for the 360 and just caved in and got one so I can buy some games lol. Every yard sale I'd go to I'd find tons of Xbox games..not just the 360 stuff but the original one too. I'm not a fan of the Xbox at all, and I don't know enough about the 360 to say if I like it or not. So I was always pissed off that I could never find Playstation gamers or retro gamers. More mad about the retro stuff...so hard to find lol.

Today was a meh day...the one sale that had game stuff started at 10 but people came really early so they started letting them in..I was late. Some jerkass reseller bought most of the stuff they had..did manage to dig up a few things.

Yard sale #1:

PS2 Slim - $5 (No idea if it works, no plugs or anything)
PSP 2001, with 3 UMD movies and manual/information packet - $30 (No charger, it's a little beat up and no idea if it works)
360 Kinect - $15 (No idea if it works)

Interesting thing on the PSP, the lady I asked said it was sold. I went and asked a guy there if he knew how much he sold it for (so if it was over priced I wouldn't feel so sad), he said he didn't sell it and went to go look at it. I finally got him to tell me a price on it. So no idea if it was sold or not...just happy I got it and got the hell out of there before that one lady realized what happened.

I expect because this weekend is "Easter weekend" or as some people call it the "holy week" that a lot of people might not be doing yard sales. That being said I wonder if this is the perfect time to hit up our only flea market around. I have a lot more luck at it when it comes to finding the retro stuff.

You did well on the ps2 slim, but I think you should had haggled on that psp for an cheaper price, since they couldn't verify if it worked or not & beat up condition. That would suck if it was broken.

Yep...more so now because I'm not getting it to read UMD movies...I'll try a game but somethings wrong with it. It's gotten to the point where I'll take what I can get..resellers and scammers are everywhere grabbing anything that gives them a chubby. While I'm 10 minutes late to the party.

Hit up a rummage sale that was a "make us offers, we have no prices". And I struck...well copper not gold lol.

Rummage sale:

All of this for $15 bucks.

Little mario ball (needs some TLC and maybe a little touch up with a black marker)
PS2 Castlevania Lament of Innocence (case and manual only, the game was DMC 3)
NES SMB 2
Old Nintendo Gameboy carrying bag
2x PS2 Slims
PS2 Multitap with 3 memory cards
PSP battery
Purple Gamecube controller
Small leather pouch full of DnD dice (not a DnD fan but meh)
Nyko Intercooler for PS3 (someone has to tell me if this thing is safe to use on my PS3)

And...best of all...a PS3. Not even shitting you. Of course...it isn't screwed shut..so someone fiddled with it. No clue if it works but hey it was worth it. If nothing else I can resell it on ebay for parts.

Thrift store:

N64 Toy Story 2 - $4

loving that rummage sale haul, especially the d and d dice.

Regarding the psp...I have one with a busted umd drive, however I can still play games, videos etc. off of the memory card with no problem. Hopefully this is the case for you, there are loads of free demos on psn to download and tool around with.

I got the d&d dice mainly for crafts...I've seen some cute nerdy things done with them.

Yeah some people have told me to softmod it and I think that's what I'll do. I just need to figure out if mine can do it...I don't think it's a slim and it's a 2001..also I have to make sure the firmware isn't too new. I'm not the best person to undertake this..

Oh and the haul woulda been bigger but I passed on two original xboxes and two PS2's...I guess I just figured I had to many systems at the moment and it's true..I really need to sell some of these...

Took a little trip to Yelm of all places and remembered there was a Goodwill there so got my parents to stop at it.

Yelm Goodwill:

CIB Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape up or Slip out - $3 (I got it just for the hell of it, it's complete as far as I can tell and pretty old..floppy discs after all lol)
PS1 Frogger - $3 (CIB, I know I have it but this one is in better condition)
PS1 Critical Depth - $3 (CIB)
Xbox Blinx The Time Sweeper - $3 (CIB)
PS3 Rockband - $3 (CIB)
N64 NFL Quarterback Club 98 - $1.50 (50% off so why not)
NES random baseball game that has no title? - $1.50
NES Track & Field 2 - $1.50

Secret Codes for Handhelds guide - $2
Princess Peach toy car from Mario Kart DS (I think) - $0.49 (She needs some TLC..)
Tron Sam Flynn action figure in box - $10 (I have a soft spot for Tron stuff)
Harry Potter Die-Cast figure: King's Cross Station Trolley - $3 (Also have a soft spot for HP stuff..and it was in the box)

Not horrible but nothing epic. Can't wait for my PSP cable to come in the mail...I really want to start modding that PSP..

Hit two church rummage sales, the first one was crap but the second one had a bunch of games and such (to bad the seller was a complete bitch and wouldn't move on her fucked up prices). Also got my PSP to PC USB cord in the mail today so yay!

Rummage sale:

Angry Birds Tee - $0.50
Pokemon Heartgold & Soulsilver Versions Volume 1 & 2 guides - $4 (No maps and well used)
Elder Scrolls Oblivion & Skyrim guides - $8 (Skyrim has map, Oblivion has damage)

Now the games

PS3 Valkyria Chronicles - $20 (CIB)
DS Pokemon Platinum Version - $23 (CIB, was supposed to be 20 but the dumbshit at the "checkout"; even after I told her 2 times it was 20 bucks; rang me up at 23)
GBA Sonic Advance - "Free"
DS Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time - "Free"
DS Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Darkness - "Free"

So an ok haul..just not a lot of games.

An odd mix of places hit today..most was free style not Craigslist..also I need to write prices I pay down because I forgot some of the prices all ready.

Yard sale #1:

2x Wii Far Cry Vengeance - $2 (One is CIB, the other is missing manual)
Huge lot of Pokemon cards and card collecting binder with sheets in it - $13 (Anyone still collect these things? I'm most likely going to be selling some off because it's a huge collection.)

Yard sale #2:

Atari 2600 Pole Position, NES Rad Racer, N64 WWF No Mercy, Gamecube Zelda Wind Waker disc and paperwork, PS2 GTA Vice City disc only, 360 Halo Reach disc and manual, two NES controllers. Plus small dagger. - $5

Yard Sale #3:

2x NES controllers, Sega Genesis controller, SNES controller, Game Genie for SNES - $5

Yard Sale #4:

Gamecube XIII disc only - $0.25
Street Fighter movie - $0.25

Very happy about that Zelda and game genie. Out of the corner of my eye I saw it in a tub of junk on the ground..so I started digging and found all those games. Pays to dig I guess lol. Only downside is how nasty the paperwork is..no idea what happened to it but I need to replace it ASAP.

You may not have found a large pile of gold yet but you are finding stuff daily where as most of us spend months hunting every day and find only damaged PS2 Madden games for $10 each because of the over saturation of resellers or living in the middle of nowhere.

Keep it up. If you put the time and effort in you may one day find a box of CIB SNES games or a Neo Geo with a stack of games for $5, or a Genesis for $40 that comes with 20 games with one game worth $40 on its own, or who knows what randomness!

The digging thing has been a large internal debate for me lately. I've found so many good things spending an hour digging through an auction unit seller's junk (Conkers, Tales of Destiny, etch), but that's at the cost of hundreds and hundreds of hours of finding nothing.

If you're enjoying it though, that makes the decision easy.

I'd rather go months dry and find gold then everyday finding something. Seriously I want the rare stuff or the really popular stuff at least. To this day I have never played a Megaman game...because all the games are over priced because it's a "popular" game.

I love when I find Zelda or Mario games because they might not be rare but I love them just the same..plus if I have it all ready the games are popular enough I can always turn a profit to fund me buying a game I need or want.

idk I just get so frustrated when I look at my collection and see a pile of junk I've spent way to much on. I want to get those lots everyone gets of amazing items and tons of games.

I would like to go months dry then find gold too. More realistically its months dry, then find junk, then more months of nothing. When I started, and spent 30 to 50 hours a week hunting, I would find gold twice a year, then once a year, now a few years have passed without finding gold.

I get the feeling you're doing the same thing I did when I first started hunting, which is why I find your posts entertaining.

I use to buy every game I ran across, almost. I loved it at first because I got a lot of hidden gems (along with a lot of trash, see my trade list o.O) and the hunt was a thrill in its own. Eventually that changed and now I'm a lot happier passing on good common low value games, in the rare occasion when I find them, to instead buy games for full price off ebay. But if I bought everything off ebay I would have a quarter of the game collection I have so overall I'm happy with the time I wasted hunting... except when I think about the hundreds of hours a month I wasted. And I use to be able to get deals off ebay too.

So yeah. I guess my point is hunting for video games is awesome, except when it isn't, which is most of the time, but may still be worth it eventually, unless it isn't, which means my point is I have no point.

^ Confusing but I get it. I don't buy everything...some of the common stuff I buy I actually want like Frogger for the PS1 for instance..I love that game and I got multiples because one had a cracked case/green label but the other one was a nice black label and good case. If I buy something more then once it's to upgrade...always upgrading.

Speaking of...I hit up a yard sale.

Yard sale:

360 Final Fantasy XI Online - $10 (CIB, has a nice slip cover)
360 Tomb Raider Legend - $10 (CIB)
360 The Darkness - $10 (CIB)
360 Otomedius Excellent - $10 (Sealed)
360 Ninja Blade - $10 (CIB, case is a little damaged)
360 Batman Arkham City - Free (CIB, case is badly damaged)
360 Quake 4 - Free (CIB, with poster)

Also stopped at a drug store and picked up a few toys:

Super Mario Figure Princess Peach - $4.19
Minecraft Creeper Figure - $10
Minecraft Enderman Figure - $10
Beanie Baby My Little Pony Pinkie Pie - $7 (Because she is the best pony :3 )

Oh the heaven have finally shined upon me! At least a little ;3

Yard Sale #1:

N64 007 Goldeneye - $3
N64 Tom and Jerry in Fists of Furry - $3
Genesis Ranger X - $2
Genesis Ecco Jr. - $2
Genesis Street Fighter II - $2 (Cartridge is missing a chunk...guy said it works so why not)

Yard Sale #2:

PS2 Ratchet & Clank Going Commando - $1 (Missing manual, case is damaged)
PS2 Sonic Heroes - $1 (Missing manual, case is damaged)

Rummage Sale:

Telstar Alpha - $8 (Box is pretty banged up, missing antenna switch, one of the knobs and any paperwork)
PS2 Stuntman - $1 (Case is generic, no manual...meh but cheap)
Odd Yoshi toy - $0.50 (If you press on the red spot on his back, music comes out of him?)

Yard Sale #3:

Wii Babysitting Mama - $5 (Missing manual but did come with stuffed baby "controller")
Xbox Oddworld Munch's Oddysee - $1 (Missing manual)

Yard Sale #4:

Xbox 007 Nightfire - $2 (CIB, case has heavy water damage so the artwork is trash)
Princess Peach toy - $0.50 (I think shes a pull back or wind up toy?)

Yard Sale #5:

GBA Castlevania: Circle of the Moon - $2
GBA Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones - $2
GBA Yugiuh Worldwide Edition: Stairway to the Destined Duel - $2

Yard Sale #6:

PS1 Lunar Silver Star Story Complete - $1 (Yep a buck..take that. Jewel case and game discs plus bonus discs only, so nothing fancy like the map, sleeve or nice manual but still!)
PS1 Panzer General - $1 (CIB)
PS2 The Legend of Alon Dar - $2 (CIB)
PS2 Soul Calibur III - $2 (CIB)
PS3 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - $3 (CIB, Not for Resale..supposedly it's rare?)
Dungeons & Dragons The Dragon's Den - $10 (Why not..kinda want to learn D&D)

Yard Sale #7:

SNES Batman Returns
SNES Batman Forever (Front label is damaged)
SNES Pitfall (Front label is damaged)
SNES Wicked 18
SNES Super Mario World
SNES Monopoly (Front label is faided)
SNES Paperboy 2 (Front label is faided)
N64 WWF War Zone (Box is in good shape, no manual)
GC Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets (Disc only
GC Mario Golf Toadstool Tour (No manual)
GC Ribbit King (CIB)
Wii Samba De Amigo (CIB)
Wii Epic Mickey (Sealed)

All for $65.

And bonus yard sale had a big plush Pinkie Pie for a buck...snatched her up :3

Most happy about the Telstar, Lunar and Castlevania. Almost didn't get the Telstar because some guy picked it up before me but I followed him just to make sure he was going to get it...he put it back down and left...mine! The guy who sold me the Lunar and other Playstation games has a lot of them in storage...his prices are great and he had a modded PS1 too..I might be getting some "rare" titles. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it resellers, I got lucky this day..you didn't.

nice find. also, if i'm right, that odd Yoshi toy was a Wendy's kids meal toy.

Ah I was figuring it was Mcdonalds or something...it sort of looked like he was hugging the air? Maybe he went onto something idk...very odd.

i'm an idiot. it is a mcdonald's toy. found some images online and it has a Mc'D's copyright on the bottom of the feet. it is a "tag and run meter", whatever that means.

^ Mk...maybe it's supposed to run? Who knows...cute but odd lol. Thanks for figuring that out for me.

Another day, another epic score...man those resellers must be losing their edge...

Thrift store:

Playstation 1 in box, box is a bit damaged but still good, missing controller and console has seen better days - $20
PS1 007 Tomorrow Never Dies - $8 (CIB)
PS2 Sly Cooper and The Thievius Raccoonus - $8 (CIB, needed another copy to replace my crappy one)
PS2 Fight Club - $4 (CIB, it was on sale)
PS2 Trigger Man - $3 (CIB, got it because it looked mafia related and I love those games)
DS Legend of Spyro A New Beginning - $5 (Game only)
Viewtiful Joe Vol 1 DVD - $1.50

Yard Sale #1:

DS Cooking Mana 3 Shop & Chop - $10 (CIB)
DS Kirby Mass Attack - $10 (CIB)
DS Mario Party DS - $5

Yard Sale #2:

360 Skyrim - $5 (CIB, and oddly enough came with a nice quality map? Not originally I think..)
360 LOTR Battle for Middle Earth II - $5 (No manual)

Yard Sale #3:

PSP LocoRoco - $1
PSP Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep - $1
GB TMNT Fall of the Foot Clan - $1
GB Batman - $1 (This needs a good cleaning..ick)

Rummage Sale:

Sim Tower - $0.75 (CIB as far as I can tell...big box Mac game)
Starlancer - $1 (CIB as far as I can tell, came with Doom II in a jewel case)
Xbox Azurik Rise of Perathia - $4 (CIB)
Xbox True Crime New York City - $4 (CIB)
Xbox GTA III - $4 (CIB)
Gameboy Printer with Manual and roll of paper - $5
Gameboy Color carry bag - $0.50
My Little Pony Rarity toy - $0.50 (Needs some cleaning and mane help)

Yard Sale #4:

PS3 Resistance Fall of Man - $2 (CIB)
PS3 DJ Hero - $2 (CIB)
PS3 Resistance 3 - $2 (Missing cover art)
N64 Gold Controller - $10
N64 The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Collectors Edition - $2 (CIB! >:3 It's minty as hell too! Also came with a N64 plastic case for the game and manual)

My prize today was that Zelda...god damn. It was like the heavens opened up and angels started to sing when I found it on top of a pile of xbox garbage. The gameboy printer and skyrim with map were nice finds as well but nothing will beat that Zelda...unless I find a CIB Earthbound in mint condition...it might not be so impossible...since people still sell popular and collectible items at very low prices. See she didn't know what it was worth, it was her friends stuff...I didn't feel at all bad when she said 2 bucks. I felt wonderfully good.

All game store re about the same.  yes a few prices vary buy 5 bucks of so, yes they may have that one waaaaay overpriced item.  I personaly dont care.  I would rather go to a game store a help a local business than support some guy on ebay selling shit just to make room or get a quick buck. I went to Al's in FW the other day when I was in the area (I go to the tattoo shop next door to it).  They had o.k .stuff.  prices were not bad.  The old guy behind the counter was a dick.  I said hi and waved, smiled.  He hardly up from his magazine, grunted then went back to reading.  I asked if he knew if they had a PS1 game.  He said "The PS1 games are there, go look."  I just said "wow thanks for the help" and walked out.  I almost called him an asshole but decided against it.  On another not I have yet to hit up Game Lobster. Also have any of you been to D Pad gaming in Des Moins?  I heard it was decent but have yet to stop in.  They are also closer to me as I live in SeaTac.

Congrats on the scores! Especially that Zelda. Kirby Mass Attack is one of my favorite Kirby games, and has tons of robust minigames. I hope you love it too!

Sadly I think D Pad closed. Last time I was in Des Moines I looked for it but it was no longer there? No idea if the moved or not...never got to go there because I only learned about it a few months ago.

@Roostwick Hehe thanks...yeah Kirby games are usually good stuff. I collect them because I love Kirby. I think I have all the DS games for Kirby...I do still play Kirby games but I'm trying to collect all of his games for like a timeline..kinda what people do for Mario and Zelda games.