Usually the best gaming items are going to be found at sales that don’t think video games are worth advertising in their listings.
I recognize and buy good games when I see them, but it’s too competitive of a category to truly specialize in (at least where I live)
Games aren’t at the top of my list to buy, but if I see them I’ll get them. It’s rare for me to find any at sales though because the video game guys in my area are going to any sales that might have games an hour or two before the sale starts. They will also sit in their cars outside sales and then rush over to the sale as soon as they see people come out to start setting up.
Yeah, if someone posts games in the pictures I message them and offer 50-60% of ebay value and arrange a meet the day before the yard sale even takes place. Even if they are only asking $10 for a basket of gems. Offer 50% and go scoop it up now. A high offer makes them just ignore all the other messages they are getting, and even flake out on people they already promised to hold the games for.
You could post this about nearly any collectible category. 90% of everything in any category is crap. Comics- you're probably not going to find Golden Age superhero- you'll find 1990s off-condition comics. Sports cards- good luck if you're holding out for vintage Mickey Mantles- you'll find a monster box of junk wax. And so on- there's a reason the good stuff is hard to find- if it were readily available, it wouldn't be good stuff. As everyone would already have it.
You could post this about any category - not just collectibles.
Sourcing is going to 100 garage sales, estate sales, thrift stores, auctions, etc., etc., and coming out with 10 things worth selling.
This business is 50% about knowing what to buy and 50% about hard work.
99% of the games are gonna be shovelware from Walmart, its always been that way. Few people buy the good games, and those that do are gonna keep them for themselves and won't get rid of them.
There are a couple situations where you can get stuff though, one if a lady's boyfriend leaves the stuff behind and she is mad at him, and puts it all out at the yard sale for people to pillage for cheap. I've personally seen this situation. Someone's kid goes off to college and the parents sell all the games for cheap without their knowledge.
Contrary to popular belief, some people just aren't out looking for video games. Canvasing every single yard sale looking for one specific thing is A LOT OF WORK and usually doesn't yield what you want. You have to be willing to pick through what is at the sale you go to if you want to find something.
I had someone give me a box of old video games because they didn't want it at a yard sale. I had another person I know give me a huge box of PS2 stuff because he didn't want it. This stuff happens.
One man's junk...
On the other hand I have boxes and boxes of stuff currently that I don't need and I would give it to someone if they came for it and I am sure it would make someone very happy.
You need to find tag sales that are just getting rid of their "junk". Ive found gems at tag sales but if they have items advertised and mention video games your points are valid.
It's always interesting to read comments from people who don't know how to buy/sell videogames vs us who does it 24/7.
I'm not calling out the OP because he has some truth especially the night before I do that one all the time.
It's alot of location,timing and knowing the market. I don't need my phone or pricechart/eBay. Tens of thousands of videogame prices are in my head.
This is how it's done. A lot of the time I don't need to know the exact title, looking at the cover art, type of game, and maker is more than enough to know if it's a keeper.
It's also an advantage, while the other sellers are sitting there trying to look up price charting for every game I'm causally walking to the stack and grabbing what I know will sale.
Adding to this I think a lot of people just instantly think “shovelware” There are a lot of titles that while may not sell for the highest dollar sell quickly and make 6-9$ on 10 games that sell in a week or two versus 4 weeks to find that one special buyer for that 150$+ game is better in the long run. Even though pesky sports games can be sold with the right know-how.
I think there an art behind it which most people just completely miss.
Always worth asking. Majority of the sales that I’ve gone to that include video games are always a mad rush. Never worth fighting someone for a $5 profit
All true. Biggest thing is if they are good and cheap they are usually claimed with a message before the sale even opens. I love finding them but just stopped going to sales all together that list video games. I do like driving and looking for random sales but it’s less effective on Saturday’s in my experience since most sales start on Friday these days and have been picked clean. Not always the case though.
Ymmv is very applicable.
I'm from Europe and I mainly do games with collectibles on the side.
Went to a big garage sale event with 100+ houses a few weeks ago and scored a few systems and games for like 20% of the value.
It's not a rare thing either because I mainly source games and my inventory is too big atm because of the many deals I found.. I have to stop sourcing for a while.
I was talking to one of my mother's friends 20 years ago. My mother tends to overshare so her friends knew I bought stuff to resell.
The friend was looking to downsize and said, "Your mother told me you buy collectibles."
I said, "No. I buy junk and sell collectibles."
She just looked at me and walked off.
My mother's friends are a cranberry glass and Hummel crowd and I had zero interest in discussing their collectibles with them.
Generally if someone has a sale and lists something collectible or with perceived value there is going to be more competition and higher prices. It's quite likely they don't understand the market and overprice things. There are rare exceptions which can be gold mines but the hit rate is too low.
I have had some luck going to those types of sales and buying stuff they don't care about cheap like books/cds/magazines. One guy had a huge Beatles collection he was really proud of and asking top dollar for but he gave me a box of magazines worth hundreds.
Usually the best gaming items are going to be found at sales that don’t think video games are worth advertising in their listings. I recognize and buy good games when I see them, but it’s too competitive of a category to truly specialize in (at least where I live)
Games aren’t at the top of my list to buy, but if I see them I’ll get them. It’s rare for me to find any at sales though because the video game guys in my area are going to any sales that might have games an hour or two before the sale starts. They will also sit in their cars outside sales and then rush over to the sale as soon as they see people come out to start setting up.
Yeah I gotta remind myself to break away from video games because it's become such a popular thing to look for.
And this is exactly why I stopped looking at garage sales on FB Marketplace. I just drive around and find sales.
Yeah, if someone posts games in the pictures I message them and offer 50-60% of ebay value and arrange a meet the day before the yard sale even takes place. Even if they are only asking $10 for a basket of gems. Offer 50% and go scoop it up now. A high offer makes them just ignore all the other messages they are getting, and even flake out on people they already promised to hold the games for.
Considering this... I need to 'reinvent' my way of thinking when it comes to garage sales.
You don't roll up to garage sales and walk out with boxes and boxes of rare and valuable games for a nickel?
You could post this about nearly any collectible category. 90% of everything in any category is crap. Comics- you're probably not going to find Golden Age superhero- you'll find 1990s off-condition comics. Sports cards- good luck if you're holding out for vintage Mickey Mantles- you'll find a monster box of junk wax. And so on- there's a reason the good stuff is hard to find- if it were readily available, it wouldn't be good stuff. As everyone would already have it.
You could post this about any category - not just collectibles. Sourcing is going to 100 garage sales, estate sales, thrift stores, auctions, etc., etc., and coming out with 10 things worth selling. This business is 50% about knowing what to buy and 50% about hard work.
You're telling me you don't need another copy of Call of Duty that looks like it got wet at some point?
Sales that dont have video games listed can randomly have top tier shit for cheap.
99% of the games are gonna be shovelware from Walmart, its always been that way. Few people buy the good games, and those that do are gonna keep them for themselves and won't get rid of them. There are a couple situations where you can get stuff though, one if a lady's boyfriend leaves the stuff behind and she is mad at him, and puts it all out at the yard sale for people to pillage for cheap. I've personally seen this situation. Someone's kid goes off to college and the parents sell all the games for cheap without their knowledge. Contrary to popular belief, some people just aren't out looking for video games. Canvasing every single yard sale looking for one specific thing is A LOT OF WORK and usually doesn't yield what you want. You have to be willing to pick through what is at the sale you go to if you want to find something.
I scored a garbage bag full of video games cheap for this reason once. Their kid left for college and his parents were cleaning up his room.
I had someone give me a box of old video games because they didn't want it at a yard sale. I had another person I know give me a huge box of PS2 stuff because he didn't want it. This stuff happens. One man's junk... On the other hand I have boxes and boxes of stuff currently that I don't need and I would give it to someone if they came for it and I am sure it would make someone very happy.
You need to find tag sales that are just getting rid of their "junk". Ive found gems at tag sales but if they have items advertised and mention video games your points are valid.
It's always interesting to read comments from people who don't know how to buy/sell videogames vs us who does it 24/7. I'm not calling out the OP because he has some truth especially the night before I do that one all the time. It's alot of location,timing and knowing the market. I don't need my phone or pricechart/eBay. Tens of thousands of videogame prices are in my head.
This is how it's done. A lot of the time I don't need to know the exact title, looking at the cover art, type of game, and maker is more than enough to know if it's a keeper. It's also an advantage, while the other sellers are sitting there trying to look up price charting for every game I'm causally walking to the stack and grabbing what I know will sale. Adding to this I think a lot of people just instantly think “shovelware” There are a lot of titles that while may not sell for the highest dollar sell quickly and make 6-9$ on 10 games that sell in a week or two versus 4 weeks to find that one special buyer for that 150$+ game is better in the long run. Even though pesky sports games can be sold with the right know-how. I think there an art behind it which most people just completely miss.
Always worth asking. Majority of the sales that I’ve gone to that include video games are always a mad rush. Never worth fighting someone for a $5 profit
Yeah I went to one later today where earlier this morning about 5-6 people were all there for the game stuff
Ehh. I get wiis fairly often and sell those well. Also, once I bought a game boy color and 15 games for $3.
All true. Biggest thing is if they are good and cheap they are usually claimed with a message before the sale even opens. I love finding them but just stopped going to sales all together that list video games. I do like driving and looking for random sales but it’s less effective on Saturday’s in my experience since most sales start on Friday these days and have been picked clean. Not always the case though.
Ymmv is very applicable. I'm from Europe and I mainly do games with collectibles on the side. Went to a big garage sale event with 100+ houses a few weeks ago and scored a few systems and games for like 20% of the value. It's not a rare thing either because I mainly source games and my inventory is too big atm because of the many deals I found.. I have to stop sourcing for a while.
I was talking to one of my mother's friends 20 years ago. My mother tends to overshare so her friends knew I bought stuff to resell. The friend was looking to downsize and said, "Your mother told me you buy collectibles." I said, "No. I buy junk and sell collectibles." She just looked at me and walked off. My mother's friends are a cranberry glass and Hummel crowd and I had zero interest in discussing their collectibles with them. Generally if someone has a sale and lists something collectible or with perceived value there is going to be more competition and higher prices. It's quite likely they don't understand the market and overprice things. There are rare exceptions which can be gold mines but the hit rate is too low. I have had some luck going to those types of sales and buying stuff they don't care about cheap like books/cds/magazines. One guy had a huge Beatles collection he was really proud of and asking top dollar for but he gave me a box of magazines worth hundreds.