Beginning a Retro Video Game Collection

Author: Masamune

People start a retro gaming collection for many reasons. Some want to re-live their childhood; others were given a retro system as a gift from a friend or older sibling; then there were those that by chance found an old system in the garbage!

Whatever reason they may have, one reality stands. Prices for many retro games are quite intimidating, especially SNES games. Earthbound cartridge only routinely goes over $100 on Ebay and Amazon. A Chrono Trigger cart will set you back at least $70. There are many other examples.

For the beginning enthusiast who just wants to start up a small collection of games to play, the financial barrier to entry could seem overwhelming.

Don’t fret. There are methods of building up your collection at a fair price. What is described in this article are practical, common sense suggestions that won’t break the bank. Though the ideas here may seem obvious, it’s nice to have a visual, structured representation of them. Without further adieu …

Step 1: Garage Sales and Flea Markets

These two little gems are the source of the biggest bargains because many sellers don’t know the value of the items they’re selling. The selection is totally random, and you may have bad luck and find next to nothing, but when you’re starting a collection and are looking for a lot of games, the odds are in your favor.

You do, however, need a basic grasp of prices. Generally, if any game is $4 or less, you might as well buy it since you won’t be able to get it much cheaper anywhere else. If a game is $10 or more though, you’ll want to have some idea of what it is. It may be wise to learn some benchmark prices of very common games, such as Super Mario World and Donkey Kong Country. Then you can quickly use those benchmarks to evaluate any seller and see if their prices are reasonable. Alternatively, bring a mobile phone so you can price check anything that seems suspicious.

It’s not currently garage sale season in North America (early spring and summer are the times for them), but some flea markets are still operating. For those of you that don’t know, a flea market is a predetermined place where several vendors set up shop to sell or trade their secondhand goods. Check Google or community newspapers to find local flea markets near you. It even may be worth your while to travel to the closet big city if you live in a small town to partake in a flea market or two. If not, and you don’t want to wait, go straight to step 2.

Step 2: Local Retro Game Stores

The next best source of bargains are local stores that sell retro games. Find nearby Play n’ Trades and search the phonebooks for any other local retro stores (if you go to flea markets, some dealers may also tell you that they have storefronts). Their selection will be superior to what you’ll find at a garage sale but the prices will be a little higher, though still generally less than Ebay.

As before, you’ll want to carefully check the prices on anything you buy, but you can likely assemble the major part of a collection by raiding a few stores and you’ll save a lot of money doing it. Listed below is a list of retro gaming stores around the United States, Canada, and Europe courtesy of diddles_mcbean & the Nintendo Age community. If you know of one not listed, let me know and I’ll add it to the list:

ALABAMA

• 2nd and Charles (Hoover)
• Gamer’s Paradise (Madison)
• Replay’s (Hueytown, Anniston, Gadsden)
• Retro Gamer (Huntsville)

ARIZONA

• Bookman’s (Phoenix x2, Flagstaff, Tuscon x3)
• Fallout Games (Phoenix x2)
• Fix and Play (Avondale)
• Game Traders (Tuscon)
• Game Zone (Phoenix)
• Metro Gnome Music (Tuscon)
• Zia Records (Phoenix)

ARKANSAS

• Game Room Trading Post (Malvern)
• GameXchange (Little Rock, Benton)
• Mammoth Game Vault (Mammoth Springs)
• Premiere Video/GameXtreme (Pocahontas)
• Vintage Stock (Rogers, Fayetteville)

BRITISH COLUMBIA

• China Steps Retro Emporium (Nanaimo)
• Fascinating Rhythem (Nanaimo)
• GameDeals (New Westminster)
• Gamers Choice (Maple Ridge)
• Heritage Sound Music (Nanaimo)
• Johnson St. Pawnbrokers (Victoria)
• Mostly Music (Port Coquitlam)
• Play N’ Trade (Duncan)
• Press Start (new Westminster)
• Willow Video (Langley)

CALIFORNIA

• A&J Games (Los Angeles)
• Cali Games (Lawndale)
• Game World (Barstow, San Jose)
• Gamedude (North Hollywood)
• Gameshop (San Jose)
• Luna Games (San Diego x2, College, Ocean Beach)
• M&M Games (Murrieta)
• Open Box Games (La Mirada)
• Phoenix Games (Concord)
• Play N Trade (Clairemont San Diego)
• The Game Shop (Lakeport)
• The Video Exchange (Redding)
• Trader Dans Video (Roseville)

COLORADO

• AZ Games (Lakewood)
• Buy Back Games (Aurora, Thornton, Lakewood, Denver, Englewood, Fort Collins)
• Doc’s Video Games (Aurora)
• Entertainmartt (Colorado Springs)
• Game City (Monument, Woodland Park)
• Game Force (Aurora, Boulder, Commerce City, Westminster)
• Game Source (Littleton, South Colorado Springs, Fountain)
• Gamers Ahoy (Loveland)
• GameXChange (Branford)
• Games Xplosion (Aurora)
• Level 7 Games (Denver x2)
• Level Up Games (Federal Heights)
• Level Up Gaming (Westminster)
• Play N Trade (Longmont)
• The Leechpit (Colorado Springs)
• Video Game Exchange (Colorado Springs)

CONNECTICUT

• Bottomless Pit of Treasure (Putnam)
• FYE Games (Waterbury)
• Gaming Source (Southington)
• GameXChange (Wallingford, Orange, Bridgeport, Waterbury)
• Play N Trade (Danbury)
• Retro Games Plus (Westport)
• The Toy Vault (Waterford)

FLORIDA

• B&W Pawn (Gainesville)
• Collector’s Cards and Games (Boca Raton, FL)
• E-Trade Post (Brandenton X2)
• Games & Movies (Winter Park, Castleberry)
• Gamers Inc. (Orlando)
• Game Over! Video Games and More (Yulee, Pecan Park)
• Game Swap (Green Cove Springs [Jacksonville])
• Game Trader (Sanford, Orange City, Port Richey)
• Gamers HQ (Belleview, Inverness, Gainesville)
• Games 4 Less (Tallahassee)
• Gorilla Games (Jacksonville)
• Hecspc (Port Richey)
• Play N Trade (Ocala, Ocala East, Orlando, Palm Harbor, Riverview, Tampa, Cape Coral, Oviedo, Lake Mary)
• R U Game (Brandon, Tampa, Gainesville)
• Saint Augustine Flea Market (Saint Augustine)
• USA Flea Market (Port Richey)
• Video Game Mania (Auburndale)
• Warp Zone Games (Daytona)
• Cybertron games (Mascotte)
  

FRANCE

• Maxxi Games?(Paris)

GEORGIA

• CC Gaming (Kennesaw)
• GA Gamers (Carrollton)
• Game Over (Kingsland)
• Gamers (Villa Rica)
• Gamez Zone (St Marys)
• Play N’ Trade (Woodstock, Canton, Columbus, Tucker, Greenbriar Mall-Atlanta)
• Plug ‘N Play (Dublin)
• Power Up Games (Albany)

HAWAII

• Toys N Joys (Waikiki)

IDAHO

• VIP Gamestore (Boise)

ILLINOIS

• Disc Replay (Decatur, Downers Grove, Countryside, Orland Park, Skokie, Elgin)
• Exile on Main Street (Champaign)
• People Play Games (Chicago)
• Play N Trade (Cicero, Chicago, Crystal Lake, Geneva)
• The Exchange (Belmont Red Line & Wicker Park, Chicago)
• Tyton Games (Villa Park)
• Video Games Ect (Moline)
• Video Games: Then and Now (Norridge)

INDIANA

• B&N Games (Lafayette)
• Books, DVDs, Games (Terre Haute)
• Disc Replay (Fort Wayne, Highland, Lafayette, Merriville, Terre Haute, Mishawaka)
• Game Insane (Lawrenceburg)
• Game X Change (Kokomo)
• Orbit Music (Mishawaka)
• Shallow Grave (Valparaiso)
• Used Michiana Media (Mishawaka)
• Video Palace (Hobart)

IOWA

• CD Tradepost (Council Bluffs)
• Gamers (Ames, Iowa City, Mason City)
• Jay’s CD and Hobby (Des Moines)
• VG Exchange (Cedar Rapids x3)
• Video Games Ect (Davenport)

KANSAS

• CD Tradepost (Topeka x2, Wichita)
• Game On (Hutchinson)
• Game X Change (Wichita)
• Vintage Stock (Topeka)

KENTUCKY

• Book and Music Exchange (Louisville x 3)
• Cherry Bomb Games (Radcliff)
• Disc Replay (Lexington)
• Game & DVD Exchange (Louisville)
• GameForce (Louisville)
• Games N’ More (Ashland)
• Game King (Lexington)
• Gamer’s Paradise (Paducah)
• Half Price Books (Lexington, Louisville)
• Monkey Punch (Hazard)
• Page 3’s Game Zone (Pikeville)
• Pop’s Resale (Lexington)
• The Great Escape (Bowling Green & Louisville)
• Toy Crazy (Louisville)

LOUISIANA

• Dibbz (Metairie)
• Game X-Change (Shreveport)
• Gameware 1 (Baton Rouge [Mall of LA])
• Gameware 2 (Baton Rouge [College Drive])
• Play N Trade (New Orleans)

MAINE

• Game Citadel (Bangor)

MANITOBA

• Microplay
• Play N’ Trade
• PNP Games (Winnipeg x2)

MARYLAND

• CD Game Exchange (Silver Spring, Frederick)
• Pandora’s Cube (College Park)
• Power Gamer (Glen Burnie Mall)

MASSACHUSSETTS

• Comically Speaking (Reading)
• Family Treasure Chest Resale (Tewksbury)
• Game Underground (Framingham)
• Game Zone
• Never Grow Up (Athol)
• Stateline Video Games (Feeding Hills)
• Sudden Impact (Winthrop)
• That’s Entertainment (Fitchburg, Worchester)
• The Time Capsule (Seekonk)
• The Toy Vault (North Attleboro)
• Welfare Records (Haverhill)

MICHIGAN

• Destiny Games (Canton)
• Disc Traders (Lansing)
• Disk Replay (Flint)
• Epic Electronics & Gaming (Grand Rapids)
• Game Headz (Inkster, Dearborn, & Melvindale)
• Game Hits (Lansing)
• Game-On (Flint & Davidson)
• Game Play (Livonia)
• Gamers Avenue (Garden City)
• Get Your Game On (Ann Arbor)
• Guild of Blades (Madison Heights)
• Jellybean’s (Flint, Owosso)
• Media Replay (Flint)
• MediaSuperExchange (East Lansing)
• Mind Games (Shelby Township)
• Play N’ Trade (Norton Shores)
• Replay Entertainment Exchange (East Lansing)
• The Gaming Warehouse (Holland, Grand Rapids)
• Topp’s Trade Center (Benton Harbor)
• Toy Box & Treasures (Waterford)
• Video Game Connection (Lapeer)

MINNESOTA

• Discland (Bloomington)
• Echo Games (Northfield)
• Game Central (Edina, Burnsville, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka)
• Games N Go (Minneapolis, Roseville, St. Paul)
• LevelUp Games (South St. Paul)
• We Got Game (Mankato)
• World of Games (Lakeville)

MISSOURI

• CD Tradepost (Coumbia)
• Gaming Grounds (Jackson)
• Next Level Games (Springfield)
• Play N Trade (South County, St. Louis, Ballwin)
• Rock N’ Sports Entertainment (Warrensburg)
• Slackers (Columbia)
• The Game Trader (St. Charles)
• The Gaming Center (Perryville)
• Trade N Games (Fenton)
• V-Stock (Chesterfield)
• Vintage Stock (Kansas City Metro Area x3, Joplin)

MONTANA

• Snow Day Games (Bozeman)

NEBRASKA

• CD Tradepost (Omaha x3, Bellevue)
• Gamers (Omaha x3, Lincoln x2)
• Game Vault (Omaha)
• The Gameroom (Lincoln x2)

NEVADA

• Game Haven (Las Vegas x2)
• Game Repair (North Las Vegas)
• Game World (Las Vegas)

NEW HAMPSHIRE

• Core Gaming (Salem)
• Level Up Games (Manchester)
• Play N Trade (Londonderry)
• Video Game Exchange (Plaistow)

NEW JERSEY

• Cash 4 Games (Newark)
• Cash Converters (Brick)
• Comics N Toys (Riverdale)
• Digital Press (Clifton)
• Game Trader (Quakerbridge Mall) (Lawrenceville)
• Next Level Videogames (Blackwood)
• Play N Trade (Jackson, Mt. Laurel, Middletown, Mahwah)
• Trade-A-Tape Trading Post (Trenton)
• Video Express (Yardville)
• Video Game Trader (Brick)
• We Got Freakin Video Games (Hamilton)

NEW MEXICO

• Gamers Anonymous (Albuquerque x2)
• High Score Games (Ruidoso)
• Noble Collectibles (Albuquerque x2)

NEW YORK

• 8 Bit and Up (St. Marks Place)
• Almost New (Corning)
• GameCraze (Carousel Mall, Syracuse, Cheektowaga, Buffalo)
• Game Players Unlimited (Batavia, Brockport)
• Gamerz Haven (Dunkirk, Lakewood, Jamestown)
• Granny’s Attic (Elmira)
• Infinite Lives (Watertown, Oswego)
• Jay St. Video Games (Crossgates Mall & Colonie Center, Albany)
• MicroGames (Clay)
• Oogie Games (Tonawanda, Depew, Williamsville, Lockport)
• Pastime Legends (Scotia, Albany, Troy)
• Play N Trade (Tonawanda, Yonkers)
• Replay Games (Rome)
• St James Games (St. James)
• Video Games New York (NYC)
• Voltage Games (Syracuse)

NORTH CAROLINA

• Ed McKay’s Used Books (Greensboro, Raleigh)
• G2K Games (Morganton)
• Game Giant (Wilmington)
• Gamexcape (Asheville)
• Gamer’s Alley (Cramerton)
• Nexus (Sylva)
• Save Point Video Games (Charlotte)
• The Last Word (Charlotte)
• Video Games (Greensboro)

NOVA SCOTIA

• The Last Game Store (Halifax)

OHIO

• Arcade Legacy (Cincinnati)
• Big Fun Toy Store (Cleveland Heights, Cleveland)
• Buybacks (Mentor, Elyria, Cuyahoga Falls, Columbus x2, Lakewood, Cleveland)
• Capital Games (Gahanna)
• Cards & Games (Painesville)
• CD/Game Exchange (Cincinnati x2, Maple Heights, Cleveland Heights)
• Endless Electronics PC’s & Gaming (Niles)
• Game Depot (Lancaster, Circleville, Pickerington, Grove City, Chillicothe, Hilliard)
• Game Haven (Riverside)
• Game Rack (Akron)
• Game Swap (Amelia, Kettering, Cincinnati x2)
• Games Galore (Cincinnati)
• James’ Games (Lakewood)
• Level 1 Games (Tuttle Mall-Columbus)
• Play It! Games (Lewis Center, Columbus, Hilliard)
• Play It, Trade It (Columbus x3)
• Play N Trade (Milford, Willoughby)
• POP! (Sandusky)
• Pulp Reality (Lancaster)
• Star Pop (Cleveland)
• Super Game Team (Columbus)
• The Exchange (Medina, Willoughby, Solon, Cuyahoga Falls, Parma, Kent, Elyria, North Olmstead, Lakewood, Sandusky, Canton x3, Akron)
• Ultimate Video Game Connection (Reynoldsburg)
• Video Game Connection (Cleveland)

OKLAHOMA

• B-Villains Games & Movies (Bartlesville)
• Fantasy Castle (Muskogee)
• Game X Change (Oklahoma City x2)
• Gardner’s Used Books & Music (Tulsa)
• Thrillhouse Games (Tulsa)
• Vintage Stock (Oklahoma City x2, Moore, Norman, Tulsa)
• Wynn’s Buy and Sell (Thrift Store) (Ponca City)

ONTARIO

• 1up Games (Hamilton)
• A & C Games (Toronto)
• Chumleighs (Belleville, Peterburough, Ottawa)
• Fantastic Flea Market (Mississauga)
• G.A.M.E.S.  (Oshawa, Courtice, Pickering)
• Gamerama (Yonge, Eglington)
• Games Exchange (Kitchener)
• Hi-Tech Electronics (Markham, Eglington)
• Microplay (Guelph, Cambridge, Kitchener)
• Toyratt (Milton) toyratt.ca
• We Got Games (Brampton)
• KW Vintage Games (Kitchener)

OREGON

• Bald Guy Games (Portland)
• Game Stars (Portland x8)
• Game Trader (Beaverton)
• Video Game Wizards (Portland)
• Vintage Connection (Portland)

PENNSYLVANIA

• BuyBacks Entertainment (Greensburg)
• Classic Game Junkie (Glenside)
• Elite Games (Lewisburg)
• Exchange (Pittsburgh X’s)
• Game Again (White Oak)
• Game Fix (Philadelphia)
• Game Masters Realm (Pittsburgh/Beaver County)
• Gamer’s Arena (State College)
• Game Mania (Cranberry Township)
• Game Zombie (Bristol)
• Hobby Shop Multi Stop (York)
• Lame Gamer (Williamsport)
• Musical Energi (Wilkes Barre)
• Press Start Games (Hanover)
• Seven Star Gaming (Sayre)
• The Game Station (Hanover Township)
• The Video Game Post (Wilkes Barre)
• The Video Game Store (Wilkes Barre, Scranton)
• Waynes World (Pittston)
• Zern’s Flea Market (Gilbertsville)

QUEBEC

• Canada Pawn (Gatineau)
• DD Jeux Video (Quebec City)
• Jeux et Plus (Gatineau)

RHODE ISLAND

• The Time Capsule (Cranston)
• The Toy Vault (Warwick)

SOUTH CAROLINA

• E Squared Gaming (Mt Pleasant)
• Game Cavern (Taylor)
• Goodwill Computer Works (North Charleston)
• Pixels and Pawns (Columbia)
• Video Game Cavern (Taylors)
• //dotgames (Charleston)

SWITZERLAND

• Mix-Image (Lausanne)
• Virtual Dreams (Geneva [Plainpalais Square], Nyon)

TENNESSEE

• Blasted Machines Tech Shop (Cleveland, TN)
• Buybacks (Madison)
• Checkouts (Columbia)
• D-Tel Games & More (Chattanooga)
• G2K Games (Johnson City, Kingsport)
• Game Galaxy Arcade (Antioch)
• Gamehaven (Maryville, Knoxville)
• Game Trader (Murfreesboro, Madison)
• Games Plus (Memphis)
• Geeks, Etc. (Tullahoma)
• McKay’s Used Books (Chattanooga, Knoxville)
• McKay’s Games and Books (West Nashville)
• Media Rerun (Murpheesboro)
• Packard’s Video Games (Kingsport, Knoxville, Maryville, Oak Ridge)
• Play N’ Trade (Murpheesboro)
• The Great Escape (Madison & West Nashville)
• The Score (Franklin)

TEXAS

• 3D Toys & Games (Katy [Katy Mills Mall])
• All-Star Video Games (Alvin)
• Borderland Games (Texarkana)
• CGX (Plano)
• Console Game Exchange (Temple)
• FX Game Exchange (College Station, Waco, Bastrop, Early, McKinney, Plano)
• Game Fellas (Austin)
• Game & Movie Traders (Granburgy, Cleburne)
• Game & Skate (Alvin)
• Games n Things (Waco)
• Game Over (Austin, San Antonio, Houston)
• Games Plus (Houston X’s)
• Game Posh (Houston)
• GameXchange (Texarkana, Copperas Cove, Denton)
• Microplay (League City)
• Play Again Classic Video Games (Corpus Christi)
• Play N’ Trade (Dallas-Fort Worth Metro Area)
• Player 1 Video Games (Friendswood)
• Propaganda Video (San Antonio)

UNITED KINGDOM

• Level-Up Games (Canterbury)
• M&M Games (Croydon, London)
• Retro Game Base (London)

UTAH

• Game Hub (Salt Lake City)
• Mario’s (Provo)
• Video Game Exchange (Saint George)
• Worlds Game Store (Salt Lake City)

VIRGINIA

• Cool Stuff (Virginia Beach)
• Estarland.com Showroom (Chantilly)
• G2K Games (Abingdon, Marion, Cedar Bluff, Norton)
• Oldskool Video Games and More (Portsmouth)
• Play n Trade (Front Royal, Colonial Heights, Richmond)
• Replays (Virginia Beach x2)
• The Record Shop (Happy’s Flea Market)  (Roanoke)
• The Tech Exchange (Roanoke)
• Video Game Exchange (Wytheville)
• Video Game Heaven (Chesapeake)

WASHINGTON

• Al’s Music & Games (Tacoma, Federal Way, Seattle)
• Amazing Heroes (Kirkland)
• Another Castle Video Games (Edmonds)
• B&I (Tacoma)
• Buy Backs (Tukwila)
• Classics (Kelso)
• D-Pad Retro Gaming (Burien)
• Dig D’s Toys (Port Orchard)
• Gamers Edge (Vancouver)
• Game Freaks (Lacey)
• Game Lobster (Federal Way)
• Half-Price Books (Lynnwood, Seattle x2, Bellevue, Tacoma, Everett, Redmond)
• Keefe’s Comics and Collectibles (Tacoma)
• Legendary Games (Vancouver)
• Legends (Centralia)
• Monroe’s Game Haven (Monroe)
• Monster Gaming (Burien)
• NW Toys (Tacoma)
• Pink Gorilla (Seattle x3)
• Play N Trade (Kirkland)
• Reset Games (Tulalip, Bellingham)
• Sunken Treasures (Richland, Yakima)
• Super Smash Games (Tacoma)
• The Toy Box (Lacey)

WEST VIRGINIA

• The Game Exchange (Morgantown, Fairmont)
• Vintage Video and Games (Morgantown)

WISCONSIN

• Colosseum Games (Kenosha)
• GB Games (East & West Green Bay)
• Gaming Generations (Central Wisconsin)
• Game Store (Rhinelander)
• Game Trade (De Pere)
• Half Price Books (Appleton)
• Johnny Cee Cards (Wausau)
• Mega Media Xchange (Appleton, Green Bay, Greenfield, Milwaukee)
• Mojo’s Electronics (Shawano)
• Music & Sports Collectors World (Appleton)
• Pawn America (Appleton)
• Pre-Played (Green Bay)
• Pre-Played East (Madison)
• Pre-Played West (Madison)
• Video Game Star (Appleton)

Step 3: Online

You’ll use Ebay, Amazon, game trading sites, and fan forums to round out the rest of your collection. Except in rare instances, you’ll usually end up paying top dollar here for the convenience of getting what you want when you want it. If you’re patient, you can sometimes find people liquidating entire collections one game at a time and score some good bargains there. In addition, you’ll want to only stick to buying from reputable sellers who don’t charge an arm and a leg for shipping. Make use of combined shipping discounts where you can; it’s one of the only ways to get good deals here.

Finally …

So now you have some ideas of where to get games, but which ones should you look for? If you aren’t seeking any particular games, allow me to suggest a few. You should be able to find the following games for $20 or less cart only. Coincidentally, reviews are available on this site for each game mentioned below:

Super Punch Out!!

I sincerely hope someone benefits from the article. If you follow these tips, you should be able to get a fairly large collection for a relatively low sum. As always, discussion is encouraged, so please share any comments you may have. A special thank you goes out to Terotrous for help with the article. You can check out his site at http://terosclassicgaming.blogspot.com

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