This past year, I started frequenting the Goodwill stores in my area, and ended up going at least a few times a week. Originally, I started going and looking just for games, not really looking at anything else. Then, slowly, I started picking up random things that caught my eye. Maybe a cool old camera to display on a shelf, or a book I've been wanting to read. Then it turned in to a hunt for cool old toys, or expensive items I could resell quickly. When before I was only searching for games I would often come home empty handed, rarely these days do I return home without a white and blue Goodwill bag.

It's a new year, and I thought that it would be interesting to keep a running list of all my trips to Goodwill. In this thread, I will be posting each and every thing I buy at a Goodwill store during the year 2014. Video game related items are my goal, but we will see a bit of everything. Now, I've decided to lower my visits this year, but I should be going to a number of stores a few times a week.
There are 3 different stores that I frequent the most (within a 10 mile radius of my house), 2 more less frequently, and 1 other even less often. I'll be assigning monikers to the stores, and note which items come from which stores. I will be posting the price of all items, and I will post a picture. I may track some other data, but we'll see.

Since it's not the first any more, My first post will contain everything I've bought between 01-01-14 and the present. From then on, each days purchases will be a new post.

Let's see what we can find

January 1st

Wii Games ($2.99 each)
Red Steel
Ghost Squad
Legend of The Dragon
Alien Syndrome
Ben 10 Protector of Earth
Tony Hawk Shred

GC Game
Over The Hedge ($3.99)

2x Darkstalkers Card Mats ( .99 each)
Power Ranger figure ($3.99)
TMNT Travel case ($3.99)

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January 3rd

10" Talking Incredible Hulk figure ($1.99)
Donkey Kong figure (.69)

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January 4th

Wii Gibson Guitar ($4.99)
NAMCO plug n play ($3.99)
2 older  TMNT Mcdonalds figures ($1.99)
1990 TMNT Puzzle ($1.99)
Transformers Power Bots Optimus Prime ($6.99)
Kodak Pleaser Instant Camera ($5.99)
Kodak Duaflex III Camera ($6.99)
Leonardo Da Vinci Acture Figure (.99)
1993 Tonka Fire truck ($2.99)
2005 GI Joe Vehicle ($3.99)

if every NA user had a thread like this, this site would be terrible. here ya go, chief...

http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/...

http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/...

Finally! I've been waiting for this. Your finds rival some A&E prime time shows lol.

Wouldn't this be better in Finders Keepers? I don't see anything stating that forum is only for games.

http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/...

Ok I don't know. I feel that finders keepers is for video game related items, considering there is a sub thread of non gaming related finds. My items would end up in both of those categories. I was going to be tracking all of this information for my own personal use offline, but I thought that maybe some others would find it interesting. This thread was not created to be a "Look at what I got" thing. It will be more a study of Goodwill hunting. The data collected could prove useful. I will be keeping track of store occupancy, what time of the day I go. Over a period of time patterns can emerge. You can see when certain items are more often found, what the best times of day to go. Its something i thought i could share.. If it's not wanted then a mod could lock.

Take pictures video game wise of what the store has to offer that you don't pick up.

Man, I'm jelly, you keep coming across power ranger Items. I did manage to score a huge haul yesterday though

I love those Darkstalkers mats.

You know I think this isn't such a bad idea if it's consistently updated with anything picked up there as it kind of shows a fun spread of what weird stuff shows up there of interest. I think I kind of remember that huge turtle floor puzzle and that is kind of cool, and also that $3 Alien Syndrome game is worth it and then come, surprisingly it's a solid game.

Anyone have an idea of the name of the GI Joe vehicle? I'm having a hard time finding it. I did find one on eBay, but it didn't have a name for it or a set series. The truck has controls in the back to make noises and fire rockets, says its made in 2005.

Congrats on your haul! I'm not even lookong for Power Ranger items, but there has been a surplus of them lately, and I haven't even picked up everything I've seen. There is a guy on craigslist that sells video games near me, and he always says he will trade for power ranger items among other things. Maybe he will come up with something I want and we can trade.

i'm gonna second this, and add in http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=10&am...  which is a thread for non gaming scores.  That TMNT floor puzzle is pretty sick though.

Well I'm going to lay this out there one more time (even though I value every ones opinion) that this specifc Topic does not fit in to those categories.

Concerning:

Finders Keepers (Main Category) - Finders Keepers is for large or exceptional scores of the gaming variety. $60 game for $1.99? Post it!  My finds may contain one of these items, but it is not specific to.

The eBay/Gamestop/craiglist/Amazon/Goodwill/ etc rant thread (Sub Category of Finders Keepers) - This is for a problem you have with one of these places. My thread is about findings, so it does not apply at all.

Finders Keepers--Non gaming edition (Sub Category of Finders Keepers). This is posting anything interesting you find in the wild, non gaming related. While this is the cloest fitting category to what I will mostly be posting, there are more factors to consider. The main purpose of me posting the items along with details is to study the workings of Goodwill through my own eyes throughout a years time. As I begin posting it may not show much beyond just what I got, but over time I will be compiling known data and looking for trends in various things. If this was posted sporadicaly among other posts in a mutual thread, then that information would be much harder to track. Hence it's own Topic in Everything Else, because it does not fit neatly any where else.

Just let the man post. Lol the gestapo are here to hijack your thread.

January 6th
Store B
Time: 5:03pm
Store Occupancy - 3
Special Note - Extreme cold temperatures.


Hannah Montanna Malibu Beach House ($19.99)

that's awesome, man. i take back my previous comments.

Please do share but this indeed should be in Finders keepers as your own personal thread. If you don't want it active there let me know and ill lock it.

This is a really cool thread! And lol I had no idea Hannah Montana had that kinda merch.

Thanks. At first I thought it was a barbie house, but I found it doing an image search. I could make an easy $100 on it, but I gave it to my daughter and she loves it.

January 8th

Store A
Time: 12:58pm
Store Occupancy: 8

Perfect Dark N64 ($2.99)
Logitech Joystick ($2.99)

Store B
Time: 2:00pm
Store Occupancy: 18

Kingdom Harts ($2.99)

You have found some pretty crazy stuff at Goodwill. My goodwill doesnt sell anything like this anymore, i think all the employees buy it before it hits the shelves or they sell it online.

What part of Wisconsin are you. If it's around the N.E.W area, by Appleton/Green Bay, then yes, they put all their game-related merchandise that's worth over $10, on shopgoodwill.com

Interesting. That would explain why i never find anything there.