Forums

Topic: New to retro gaming. Help & advice needed!

Posts 1 to 20 of 28

JCnator

I'm going to preorder a RetroN 5 and purchase a SNES controller online soon, and I own a fairly small amount of GBA games at the moment. There's almost no retro gaming stores that are close enough to my home town because people in there are generally much less interested on video games than you would normally expect. Outside of the likes of eBay and amazon, online retro gaming store that are at least located in Canada are pretty scarce.
The nearest and only point of interest as of now still have a handful of SNES games for sale. If I get one (includes a average condition box and a manual), it'll be $5. There's also a deal that if I buy 3 games, I'll have to fork out $10. The games that caught my interest the most out of the bunch of underwhelming sport and tank games is The Ignition Factor (which Nintendo Life already gave it a good enough rating), Super Tennis and the "so bad it's hilarious" Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball.
If you guys can recommend any Canadian website that sells retro games (NES, Famicom, SNES, SFC, Genesis, Mega Drive), I'd be grateful. Since I'm new on retro gaming, could you share some important advice on using both eBay and amazon?

JCnator

supermario182

im not sure about canadian online game stores specifically, but i always check places like kijiji/craigslist, and all the local thrift shops and pawn shops. theres even a local music store that also takes games and they sometimes get cool stuff.

"Be excellent to each other." - Bill S. Preston, Esq.
my website
play my games and demos here!!

Twitter:

Ryno

Really the only advice I have for retro games is to be patient. Prices are all over the map so check multiple sources for current market value. I don't settle for a particular game but I keep my eyes out for multiple games from multiple sources. I prefer to pay for games under market value but then again I collect and don't just buy a game to play so I'm not in a big hurry. Check garage sales and flea markets when those pop up around you.

Edited on by Ryno

To blessed to be stressed.
80's music makes me feel fabulous.
What Would Duane Do?
Rynoggery

Nintendo Network ID: Choryzo

the_shpydar

Retro gaming can be rough these days (money-wise), since the market has really spiked. One good tip is to try and buy in lots (especially on eBay) if you're not necessarily looking for one specific game, since you can typically get better value for your purchase.

Before you buy, it helps to do a little research on game prices/values, since a lot of times you will find games being overpriced by sellers (again, due to the spike in the market for retro games). Pricecharting is a helpful site, but keep in mind that the prices there are not necessarily the "actual" value of the game, but instead a trending indicator of what the game has sold for on eBay or Amazon auctions, so it will give you a good idea if an asking price is at least fair.

The Shpydarloggery
She-Ra is awesome. If you believe otherwise, you are clearly wrong.
Urban Champion is GLORIOUS.

Switch Friend Code: SW-5973-1398-6394 | 3DS Friend Code: 2578-3211-9319 | My Nintendo: theShpydar | Nintendo Network ID: theShpydar

Tasuki

Well the only tips I can offer with Ebay and Amazon look for sellers with high positive ratings and read the reviews from other buyers that way you can be sure you are getting the genuine things rather then copy. Stay away from places like China since that is where alot of the bootleg games tend to come from. As the_shpydar said know your prices that can keep you safe from a scam cause if you find a particular rare game for alot of money else ware but alot cheaper from one seller it's probably a fake or something. As the saying goes if its too good to be true it probably is.

As for local retro buying options thrift stores, garage sales, and flea markets are great places for retro hunting.

RetiredPush Square Moderator and all around retro gamer.

My Backlog

Nintendo Network ID: Tasuki311

8BitSamurai

Always hit the thrift stores regularly. It's luck of the draw, and you might not always see a good haul, but it's one of the best ways to end up with a good deal. My thrift store marks every game as $3, and might even just charge them as 1 or 2.

If you're out shopping and see some retro games, if you have a smart phone or the like it might be handy to use it to check values if you're not sure.

Also, if you see controllers for a good price, pick them up even if you don't need them immediately. It's never a bad thing to have a back-up if one ever bites the dust.

As for eBay, be patient and look for lots for systems you're into. Especially on auctions, good deals can be had with lots, and is the cheapest and easiest way to get a good library started for a system you're new to.

Edited on by 8BitSamurai

"rare download" Assistant

3DS Friend Code: 2320-6175-1689 | Nintendo Network ID: 8BitSamurai

ogo79

keep in mind its gonna be a chore finding much at thrift stores these days. get up early and pack a lunch. more and more people are hunting for games and just as many people are finding out they can make money off our hobby. then again, yer reading someone who has 5 games left to get on his personal list

the_shpydar wrote:
As @ogo79 said, the SNS-RZ-USA is a prime giveaway that it's not a legit retail cart.
And yes, he is (usually) always right, and he is (almost) the sexiest gamer out there (not counting me) ;)

MAB

Also I will let it be known that you will be out there hunting for months, most of the time years so never rely on milk

MAB

RancidVomit86

I recommend going to flea markets and garage sales. If you go up to garage sales don't be afraid to ask if they have any games they want to sell off you don't see any as you will be surprised how many people have them but don't think they are worth anything. Also at flea markets ask vendors if they know of anyone with video games there as you can be tipped off really well that way. Don't only Check thrift shops but also antique stores. Antique stores are really surprising many of them will have old games hiding away. Also while hunting always check what looks like DVD and CD stacks because people will just put games in there too. I have a tendency to also find boxed Genesis games put in work VHS tapes at garage sales.

ALWAYS HAGGLE.

Edited on by RancidVomit86

Battle.net - Dayman
Steam - RancidVomit86
PSN - RancidVomit86

Where my friends and I usually get stupid:
https://www.twitch.tv/MUDWALLHOLLER - Come by hang and visit our Discord. The link for Discord is on the Twitch page.

Let's Go Buffalo!

Tasuki

ogo79 wrote:

keep in mind its gonna be a chore finding much at thrift stores these days. get up early and pack a lunch. more and more people are hunting for games and just as many people are finding out they can make money off our hobby. then again, yer reading someone who has 5 games left to get on his personal list

Yeah I can say this is true since I work at a thrift store. People who we call "flippers" cause they look for stuff that they can buy cheap and resell at a higher price thus flipping it, usually line up at the door before we open. A few of them do come in to check what games we have and if we do have some, buy them up if we have any unique ones or ones that will go for a higher price on auctions sites or whatever.

Sadly much to their dismay I do work in the department that prices the games so I know which ones are worth more so I price them accordingly. Heck the other day we got a game in and after looking it up it went for $180 on Ebay, so yeah needless to say I priced it at a more appropriate price then the $3 that we usually price games at.

But yeah if you are going to go hunting in thrifts stores make sure to hit them early.

RetiredPush Square Moderator and all around retro gamer.

My Backlog

Nintendo Network ID: Tasuki311

JCnator

Thanks guys! I'll be taking your advice into consideration whenever I hunt for retro games. Looking forward testing the waters sooner or later!

RetroN 5 let us save the data from cartridge to a SD Card, basically eliminating the need of a battery replacement. I'm still worried about the battery leaks that could potentially render said cartridge non-functional, should I leave the battery unused for quite some time. I remember having left AA batteries fully discharged on my Wii Remotes untouched for months, only for some white-ish particles to spawn on the negative side of each battery. Thankfully, I got rid of the batteries and the controllers still work.
With that being said, should I consider getting the battery out from cartridge or replacing it once the game decides to not save my data anymore?

JCnator

RancidVomit86

@JCnator honestly I've been collecting for some time now and have never had any batteries go out on me.

Battle.net - Dayman
Steam - RancidVomit86
PSN - RancidVomit86

Where my friends and I usually get stupid:
https://www.twitch.tv/MUDWALLHOLLER - Come by hang and visit our Discord. The link for Discord is on the Twitch page.

Let's Go Buffalo!

Super_Gravy

Does its have to be Canadian website? I know one flea market is very good in East Canada if you live in Nova Scotia or somewhere in that area. If you live GTA then you should try the store called "New to You" since they usually sell old games.

Umm… Care to have some gravy?

ogo79

JCnator wrote:

RetroN 5 let us save the data from cartridge to a SD Card, basically eliminating the need of a battery replacement. I'm still worried about the battery leaks that could potentially render said cartridge non-functional, should I leave the battery unused for quite some time.
With that being said, should I consider getting the battery out from cartridge or replacing it once the game decides to not save my data anymore?

good question, and i reply, i have never seen, or opened a game that had a leaked battery in a game cartridge. anyone here correct me if im wrong.
otherwise yer good to go

the_shpydar wrote:
As @ogo79 said, the SNS-RZ-USA is a prime giveaway that it's not a legit retail cart.
And yes, he is (usually) always right, and he is (almost) the sexiest gamer out there (not counting me) ;)

the_shpydar

ogo79 wrote:

JCnator wrote:

RetroN 5 let us save the data from cartridge to a SD Card, basically eliminating the need of a battery replacement. I'm still worried about the battery leaks that could potentially render said cartridge non-functional, should I leave the battery unused for quite some time.
With that being said, should I consider getting the battery out from cartridge or replacing it once the game decides to not save my data anymore?

good question, and i reply, i have never seen, or opened a game that had a leaked battery in a game cartridge. anyone here correct me if im wrong.
otherwise yer good to go

Same here, I've never had it happen before. I think that the type of batteries used are much less likely to "explode" (they don't really explode per se, but that's a common term used to refer to when a connected battery ends up leaking out that whitish discharge) than your standard AA alkaline-type batteries.

And not only that, but my original Zelda and Zelda II carts still save perfectly.

The Shpydarloggery
She-Ra is awesome. If you believe otherwise, you are clearly wrong.
Urban Champion is GLORIOUS.

Switch Friend Code: SW-5973-1398-6394 | 3DS Friend Code: 2578-3211-9319 | My Nintendo: theShpydar | Nintendo Network ID: theShpydar

ogo79

i will add that the sega genesis is so powerful that some of their games are backed by an actual car battery. splatterhouse 3 comes to mind

the_shpydar wrote:
As @ogo79 said, the SNS-RZ-USA is a prime giveaway that it's not a legit retail cart.
And yes, he is (usually) always right, and he is (almost) the sexiest gamer out there (not counting me) ;)

MAB

Untitled

How can anyone argue when you're dealing with 144-BITS of raw blasting power awesomeness

MAB

VidyaGaems

visit a nearby Play&trade, maybe you'll find something for a good price.

VidyaGaems

Super_Gravy

@MAB: You really enjoyed posting that don't you? XD

Umm… Care to have some gravy?

ogo79

Super_Gravy wrote:

@MAB: You really enjoyed posting that don't you? XD

thing is, hes absolutely right.

the_shpydar wrote:
As @ogo79 said, the SNS-RZ-USA is a prime giveaway that it's not a legit retail cart.
And yes, he is (usually) always right, and he is (almost) the sexiest gamer out there (not counting me) ;)

This topic has been archived, no further posts can be added.