Local Game Shops - Why Do Business with Them?

Why should you do business with a local game shop?!
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[@PatTheNESpunk]

How has your experience with local game shops been? Fair trade-in values? ✅Support the podcast @ patreon.com/cupodcast ✅More #CUPodcast vids: bit.ly/1pOBDVH ✅Follow on twitter @ twitter.com/patthenespunk & twitter.com/pxlsicle

[@howdears2114]

Pat the NES Punk That grandad blanket tho !!! 👴🏻

[@NJNOTMJ]

Pat the NES Punk I have had negative luck with every single retro game store within 50 miles. The worst one had no prices on anything and a 6x eBay price mark up.

[@8ByteBrian]

I lost count of how many game stores near me try to screw people. For just trade credit *only* 1 store I now only sometimes go to offered my $10 for a GameBoy Pocket & 3 complete Game Cube titles(I can't remember exactly but one of them was Pokemon XD)which is an abysmal offer for trade credit! It's because he's closed on Sundays goes to flea markets, so he feels he can say "fuck you" to anyone trading anything in while he's out scalping deals like an asshole. Another store had a TMNT IV in their showcase with a *handwritten label on a piece of notebook paper in black marker* & still had the nerve to ask $75 (25% over Ebay!) My point is while gamers know we should get 50% value in trade & 25% Cash, there's no set bar at stores or conventions. Sellers hold gamers hostage by nitpicking games apart, "*because I've got a business to run*" so they can get uncommon/rare games for practically nothing. Trade in values should be set like back in the day with FuncoLand with their trade-in sheets, or hell even baseball or comic books with their value guides. Having a seller look at their computer & lying to you that your game you are trading in only sells for $5 when I'm sure it say $15 on their screen is bullshit. There needs to be more protection for gamers who have a rare or uncommon title, so you're not screwed on the value when you trade it in just because you're not as "big" as a local game store.

[@nesmandan1037]

Pat the NES Punk PrideButcher here. There are 3 different game shops in my area north of Orlando. Off the top of my head examples of games for sale: Zelda $45, Contra $50, SMB3 $40. NFL football $7 Ikari Warriors $12. Now I brought some games in for trade (duplicates off som eBay lots) and none were copies in stock to all 3 stores: Popeye, King Fu, LifeForce, Little Nemo, Snakes Revenge, Bards Tale, Dragons Lair, elevator action, T2, and Legacy of the wizard. All games were in good condition - no label rips, no stickers, no sharpie, cleaned pins with an eraser and isopropyl. I was offered between $22 to $25 for all 10 games at each location. Ian hit it for one store as it just celebrated 2 years. These stores are littered with multiple copies of the same common filler titles. Bases loaded, NFL football, baseball gyromite, you get the idea. I figured with different titles I could get more, but nope. Traded all games locally on Facebook boards.

[@nesmandan1037]

Pat the NES Punk PS Keep up the good work. Didn't mean to make it seem loaded, I'm just desperately looking for a reason to keep these stores staying in business, but I really can't with poor cash, trading, and selling practices.

[@RealisticFishing]

Ian's first answer was the best. 😆

[@savadaflava1120]

Put down the bar, Pat!! Tell 'im, Ian!

[@shawnwax9576]

I would if my local game shops didn't charge more than ebay...fuck em'

[@DuelingDragonAdventures]

The only game store in my home town is run by a guy who doesn't even play retro games, doesn't really give a shit about them. He manages the store from a different state and hires employees who wouldn't be able to pick Wario out of a lineup. Now they're closing; good riddance.

[@siphotos3282]

accaris a lot of stores will be closed soon , the online world is killing brick and mortar game stores

[@RarefoilB]

Always support the independent, unless they're being stupid or are too inconvenient or they don't have what you need.

[@itchyisvegeta]

I quit doing business with my local game store on the west side of Portland, because I caught them printing repro box art for DS, Genesis, and Xbox games, to pass them off and sell them as used.

[@supergeoff]

Put the candy bar down ,candy bar is for closers😂😂😀

[@JRRSantore]

One of my local shops Jay Street Games sucks. They charge waaaay too much for games and they give you fuck all in credit for things and end up selling it for LOADS more than it is worth. I swore them off when another local shop moved in town called Vortex Games. They always have great stock, amazing prices (usually cheaper than ebay too!) and they give you amazing trade in credit

[@christopherwhitney214]

SonicHeadK240 is that at berchsire mall in Massachusetts?

[@JebberGamingJaws]

There is a shop around me that used to be good, and now they charge over ebay 🤷‍♂️. No point to go when I can order from my couch on my phone and have it delivered to my door. There is another store that I frequent because they generally are at ebay or slightly below. Even though I can’t always find what I want there, I generally check there first, then go to ebay. Love to support local, but when I feel like I’m getting ripped off I’m not about that. Another thing that Some shops do that peeves me, is not putting price stickers on their games, and then looking everything up right at point of sale. It makes me feel like I am there to do their research for them: like I pull out the good games, then they look them up and realize they are valuable. If there aren’t stickers on games I don’t even bother anymore.

[@Lily_Valentine]

Where I work, we have a program that collects data on sales of used items on eBay, and it takes the lowest, or near lowest, listed prices of sold items, and marks it down 15%, that's what we sell it at. We then cut that by 50%, and that's what we offer in cash, or we offer 15% more with store credit. If a customer isn't happy with the offer, and we feel that the price could be adjusted, we double check on Gamevaluenow or Pricecharting, and use the three different sources to pinpoint our absolute lowest possible sale price, and absolute highest buy price. In situations where we buy consoles, we take whatever Game Stop offers and shave about $20 off on sale, and buy them for $10 more than they offer. On older consoles, same way we come up with a value for the game.

[@johnf9710]

Stores are dying because the experience is dying. At one point, going into a store offered the pleasure of interacting with people who share a passion. "Picking that one up? Ah, dude, have you tried Game X? I might have one over in the case if you want to check it out." Now you go into a store and the kid behind the counter on his phone or watching anime on the store TV and looks at you like you're from space if you want more interaction than handing them your credit card to check out. Frankly, I get more warmth from eBay sellers thanking me for the purchase with a stock e-mail. The customers that a store wants to maintain are those who are willing to pay more in order to have an experience. It's the same reason that Circuit City died. They stopped paying commission and suddenly the knowledgeable people that were once there were replaced with glorified stock boys who would read boxes to you. Competition with online outlets over availability and price is a losing battle. If you don't plan on reaching a specific clientele through the creation of an experience, don't bother opening up shop anymore.

[@otaking3582]

I wish I had a mom-and-pop video game store in my area...

[@MLSNYC88]

Ian's insight on this was really interesting.

[@waterbottle3482]

My last nes lot purchase had a yellow card board funcoland case in it , made me smile

[@spiderjerusalem100]

There's no local game stores in my city in the UK, only big chains like Game and CEX which is a shame because that means i have to buy my retro games off the internet. I collect PS1 and PS2 games and CEX does sell PS2 games but 99% of the time their selection is piss poor.

[@Nemesis2K]

Serpico's Beard cex near me sell Saturn, Ps1, nes, snes, master system, mega drive, mega cd and dreamcast. Sometimes their price is great too.

[@stickeerich7153]

:)

[@RyuHayabusa06]

I went to a local toy mall today and one booth had a loose Super C cart marked "rare" with a $70 price tag. It's not always like that but so many of these small shops ask above EBay prices. Sometimes the items aren't even great shape but they ask premium prices.

[@Ridge8516]

There's a couple game shops where I live and both tend to have inflated prices on a majority of the games, sometimes you can find a deal if a game is obscure enough but not one of the known hard to find titles.

[@cyborgfranky3871]

Keep the videos coming guys 👍👍

[@WolfestoneManor]

In certain areas, the only way these stores stay open without charging crazy rates is to also sell Magic and comics.

[@beatzguy]

The majority of game stores in the DFW area are overpriced. $120 for a Super Mario World cart? I might as well buy it online.

[@AdFZe]

120$ for a 7$ game?

[@ajtstvandmusicarchivechann1585]

Alex Rincon that cant be the price theyre aaking.

[@iPervy]

I live in the tyler/east texas area and have never seen a DFW store selling SMW so high. Honestly most of the stores are pretty darn fair price wise.

[@SkulShurtugalTCG]

I've been to five retro stores in DFW and the most I saw SMW was $70, average was $30. I don't know where YOU go...

[@mountaindewslave]

if you're talking about a complete in box SMW it's possible, as it's somewhat uncommon to find w/box/manual as it was usually a pack-in game. If you're talking loose- then you're full of it, or better yet provide some links or photo evidence. No one is asking above like 20$ for a loose SMW

[@skabcat242]

There used to be this small game shop at my local flea market.These guys sold slightly under ebay value. Then they moved and got taken over by some guy who overprices everything.

[@Pozorrogo]

Places like that really exist. In my old town about 5-ish years ago they had 1 retro video game store and I kid you not.. for a copy of Dragon Warrior they wanted $39.99 and it was just the cart. They wanted $30 just for a copy of nes Mario Bros/Duck Hunt. Needless to say they didnt last more than 3-ish years. I visited that place probably 5 or 6 times and everytime I left empty handed. The prices were ridiculous. Oh and did I mention prices were NON NEGOTIABLE!? They didnt even want to talk about making deals. Signs saying 'prices are non-negotiable, no bulk deals' plastered on every single wall and shelf

[@WolfestoneManor]

Our local shop always made it a point to keep an FF7 and a Chrono Trigger in stock just because it made people look around the store, he would coyly do the "Oh THAT's not for sale I'm afraid" and he would only sell it at a moderate premium.

[@sweetfeathery]

I'm still small enough at my location to diversify: I'm slowly building my inventory up while selling in other different avenues. Once I get enough channels for trades and inventory it is then that I will make space for it on the sales floor.

[@oopsimdead2578]

i refuse to shop at my local game shop because they charge way too much and treat customers like they're assholes.

[@OtterWarlock]

In Syracuse at the huge ass mall, there's a retro game store trying to sell loose copies of Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt for 30 fucking dollars.

[@DaGameNerd]

I did business with a local shop once (one I won't mention) but they aren't getting more from me, long story short either they lied to me or they're lying to potential customers. I sold them a brand new copy of Pocket Monsters Yellow and Leaf Green which they claimed was "used"/"played once" but I still took it at the time because I didn't want it and needed the $. 1 week later they're putting it for sale as brand new, I ask if it's ever been used & get "nope, 100% brand new". P.S. manager is the one who did all this, not an employee.

[@TheCreepypro]

I haven't seen anything like this in my local stores excluding game stop but my local mom and pop stores are pretty fair but they have also been there for a while so that may be why

[@chriskessaris8985]

50% markup sounds about right. There's a place in Salem, MA like that. No thanks!

[@xHobbsGoblins]

Ive been there to. I dont like the prices.

[@gamerguy425]

they're not the WORST. what I don't like is they seem to just round up all their prices to multiples of 5 dollars lately. starting at $10. After the death of Play N Trade I feel like nothing has filled the void

[@McMeatBag]

My local game store has very high prices. It's unfortunate, because I would rather give a local place my business than buy online.

[@SupraViperhead]

When it comes to dealing in a Retro Game Shop, SOMEONE is going to feel like they're getting screwed. Either the person selling the game to the shop owner is going to feel the offer is too low, the person buying the game from the shop owner is going to feel the price is too high, or the shop owner is going to feel like the profit margin is too small.

[@cliffjumper1984]

My local retro store is on point most of the time. I never see crazy prices

[@PsychoIncarnate666]

There is a local shop here that also used to host smash competitions. They seem to have matched the prices online from what I've seen so I don't have that problem. But I've never tried selling a game.

[@gamewizardks]

When my shop was open, I was paying up to 80% of eBay price because it was so hard to get stock. I wouldn't say I priced the stuff above eBay, but it was right at about eBay price for some games. In the end, It wasn't that I wasn't making money, it's just that I wasn't making enough money after I paid my bills. That's why I closed my store. I cleared out my remaining inventory on eBay in the months that followed and got back most of my initial investment in the store. In the end, over a 3 year period, I broke even.

[@CandisClassicGameShrine]

I like to buy from Digital Press every now and then because of how interactive in the community they are. They generally have competitive prices and the convenience of the trade-ins for cash or w/e is great as is the convenience of going to a store for retro games. Other retro stores I cringe when I enter. It all depends on how the place carries themselves.

[@deezy81]

Candi's Classic Game Shrine Digital Press is awesome..

[@CrimsonWarriorX]

My local game shop charges with prices comprable, and most of the time superior, to eBay. Because of this, as well as their excellent customer service, I give them all of the business I can up to and including taking my friends there so that they can spend their money too. I feel very fortunate for this situation and I'm sad to hear that there are independently owned game shops that charge exorbitant prices.

[@xpd13]

In my area stores sell retro games at a minimum of 150% eBay value. Usually 200%+. Just not worth it to me to go, as much as I'd prefer to go to brick and mortar stores.

[@mountaindewslave]

the only time I ever notice something like that will be at maybe a pawn or thrift store where they're just selling video games on the side in low quantities. It's fairly uncommon for a dedicated game store to do that as with the internet today every other person is just going to price check on their phone

[@bigburgerstudios]

I have 4 dedicated retro gaming shops around me and I visit each one several times a month. Nobody that owns a brick and mortar is going to let eBay undercut them, they wouldn't be around if they did that, use your head, it's suicide. I think that you are seeing random games at goodwill and comic shops, and you are spreading bad information. Go to a real retro gaming store, then join the conversation.

[@g1nobleteam]

I remember when I just wanted to get rid of some games I sold my copy of Marvel Super Heroes Vs Street Fighter for the PS1 for about 5 bucks to a local game store, since I was hesitant to sell it myself back then. I check on their Facebook page later that day, and they had the game listed for 45 which alongside basically wasting money to get the battery replaced on a Snes game, expect it still didn't save pretty much sour my opinion on a local game store alongside the prices they had.

[@itachi9kitty]

The closets game shop other than Gamestop is 60 miles away, so my games come from online, Bestbuy and Gamestop.

[@misterkeebler]

I try to support just because i enjoy the fact that retro game shops exist, but there's a HUGE difference between the ones that are more corporate in nature, and the mom & pop's that are more in tune with the scene in general. The franchise i have in town is one i basically use for window shopping when im bored, or solely during their sales promotions. I'll occasionally find a lesser known gem that's low priced, but any game halfway known in any sense is always unjustifiably overpriced, and that's with me allowing a brick and mortar premium. My favorite mom and pop though is just right outside town, and i find a great deal almost every time i go. Sometimes it's a great price, sometimes it's just a rare find at a fair price. But it's always a good experience. To support them in particular, i buy something literally every time i walk in. Even if it is something cheap like a 5 dollar NES title, i figure every sale helps, and i get to try a new game.

[@TantNJess]

This is pretty standard for popular games - my local game store does this. Offered me $8 for Pokemon Red and they regularly sell it for $40. It's because they can't keep the items on the shelf - they sell regardless (pokemon, mario, etc.) so they just charge more because it's free money for them.

[@yoyoc1]

Both of my local shops are outrageously priced. For example, both are charging $40 for Super Mario Bros 3.

[@koolaidman531]

There's a local shop that sells on the higher end sometimes over ebay, but they also clean the carts exceptionally well and take great care of their inventory. That's a price I'm willing to pay for the service. Other buy sell trade stores around me are right on par with ebay but do a buy 5 get 1 free so I always get my money's worth.

[@willeysingleton3057]

My problem with local stores is there trade in policy. I'm a frequent shopper at one in town. And if I'm there buying games all the time they get to know there customer. But after 3 years of giving them buisness I'm not sure I want to do business with them any more I'm still deciding. I came into a bad situation were I was out of work for a few weeks and needed money for food and bills. Granted I neverike selling my old stuff but it was desperate times. So I sold them a working well taken care of 3do. With two wireless controllers. Wing commander 3 still in box still had directions booklets and promos. All cd's were mint. I sold them lost Eden In box booklet mint condition. Roadrash in box no booklet but in great condition. As well as night trap in box booklet all cds in great condition. Plus 7 more top tear or low tear games from the 3do library in boxes mostly. All in working condition They only gave me 120 bucks for all of it. I asked for 220. They did not budge and said they would never make there money back. I fought for the 200. At least and they still said no. I was broke and made the worst decision and let them take it....about a month and a half later I go shopping there and see the wireless controllers on sale 55$ the 3d0 was 130$. The games oh boy did this light me up 80 for lost Eden 140 for wing commander 3 and 60 bucks for night trap. That's not including the other 6 or 7 games I sold them and they were way over my 120 price they paid me. I got jipped. Could have sold all of it for lot more on eBay. I was mad mad mad But still bought a ps1. From them that day bitting my lip. Got home and the ps1. Was broken. WTF. Do yea to get my business back there going to have to make better business discussions. And not let me see how badly I got ripped off.

[@gamerguy425]

I would say in their defense that those might take a very long time to sell, but FFS they made their money back on Wing commander alone. Selling video games to stores just seems like a unanimously terrible idea no matter how inflated this market gets, like there's no way to have a price the seller is happy with, the store can make a profit on, AND make the buyer happy at the same time. Not to mention certain stores might not offer cash, tack on a fee for cash, or not be able to offer cash on things they have too much inventory of

[@willeysingleton3057]

William good point. It be nice if they gave me the chance to buy it back at a highigher rate say 25% more then what I sold it for. Kinds like pawn shops used too. But I see the fact in how long is it going to take them to sell a 3do. With those games. But making almost 300 dollars off a customer that all ready gives them a lot of business is a little sad. Then to sell them a busted PlayStation the next visit. Just think they need to rework there policy is all. Considering they have s lot of commador 64 games. And I might be one of the only people that shops there that will buy that product. Intelligent gamers want to be treated like intelligent customers. You give me enough for my well taken care of system . I'm probably going to spend more money there on other products instead of being turned off buy feeling burned. But I do see the business point.

[@sentientist]

my local store in louisiana does 100% markup over ebay on all decent titles

[@TheBlogger]

So I'm pretty sure the shop you used for the thumbnail is one of my locals!!

[@victortrevino3989]

That is some sound advice Ian.

[@Seriona1]

I hate admitting this but the reason why I support local game stores is because they can't afford to piss me off so I feel like I am getting more honestly and in a lot of ways, more realism.

[@nickwii777]

I know a retro game shop that sell games as expensive as ebay and a bit less than ebay. The first and the best retro gaming shop I have been too... the store is open still 2013. They give us about 1/3 of the value

[@oppyh]

I don't understand how any game stores stay in business. My favorite used game store(1995-2015) went out because the owner only pushed the very uncommon to rare titles, and those became fewer and far between because he could only give a fraction what they were worth. People got wise to the fact that E -Bay was the way to go to sell their rarities.

[@slueshyslueshy2176]

I once went to a game store to trade in my Emerald Version (Just the game) And all they would give me in cash was $2.50. $5 in store credit. I just took the game home then.

[@BENLINUZ]

My local shop has been in business for like 20 years and honestly they charge like over Ebay and they are mean and really it just makes me want to sit at home and order off Ebay.

[@SparksNZeros]

you meet nice people, they give you access to games that might otherwise not end up on ebay, you can play and exchange games you don't like or have doubles of more conveniently. it helps the local economy too

[@keanusadventures91]

I'll pay an extra $10 to avoid shipping costs/inevitable delays, test the game, and support my retro game store.

[@IanSane]

Historically it was like the people wanting to unload their old videogames and those wanting to buy them had a different perspective on what they were worth. It was the old "one man's trash is another man's treasure" situation. So the guy showing up at the game store to unload the box of his games he used to play as a kid just wanted some money for what he would otherwise have thrown in the garbage. The store was the middle man between the guy selling his garbage and the retro gamer wanting the game. The markup was the convenience of the customer not having to find the guy selling his junk themselves. But how does this model work today when everyone is computer savvy and suspects their old junk might be worth something on eBay? Everyone is now aware that their trash is potentially not actually trash. If both parties feel the item is valuable then how does the store sell it without either lowballing the seller, overcharging the buyer or doing a bit of both?

[@MrNicholas7]

I've been to a shop that goes against what Ian is describing. They've been open for years and still charge well above eBay. They also have a huge storage room full of stock, so that's not an issue. I fail to see how they stay afloat.

[@MotoMechzorz]

I frequent 3 different places that are close to my house. Generally they all mark up about 10-20% over ebay buy it now prices. I go there if I want something random right now and suck up paying a premium for it. 2 of the 3 have been around for ages, maybe the third has been too but I'm not sure. It's just how it goes unfortunately. Even goodwill around here is only like 20% under ebay, and 90% of the time they have pure garbage.

[@FinalBaton]

Here's my take on retro game shops : I don't sell/exchange games there because they pay a lot less than what an Ebay or craigslist sale would earn me. But I still like to buy a retro game there every now and then, to support them. I love having them around since it's such a fun experience to stroll around a store filled with retro games and enthusiasts. I love that hobby and it needs to be celebrated, and retro store do that in a certain mesure (of course they're there to make money. I'm not naive). But the most support I give them is by : buying modern games there! they're no more expensive there than online, so I buy all modern games there. In fact I just bought Ys VIII from my local retro shop this week! Now I can guarantee you that Ys VIII wouldn't have been in stock at the nearby EB Games!

[@SomeOrangeCat]

I love giving local businesses my...business. But they have to actually carry what I want to buy.

[@enz9982]

I whole heartily agree with supporting your local business. I do it all the time when I buy books, records, video games. But it's a two way street. They need to support the local shopper as much as they want us to support them. It's a fine pricing balance. Just be fair.

[@shawnwax9576]

120 dollars for green label castlevania SOTN ...ya...no thanks. Crash and burn.

[@sangan3202]

Shawn Wax honestly its better to not have stores at all if the only ones you have are those

[@1980sGamer]

Even a black label one isn't worth that.

[@pjbrown4736]

Shawn Wax that is ridiculous.

[@dcsniper4637]

I bought mine on psn network for $19.99 it came with SOTN and Rondo of Blood.

[@spottheturtle9568]

There are three local game shops in my area. Two of them are shit. The one I go to is awesome. The owner/operator is a great guy. He sells much lower than the other two and gives you much more on sales and trade. He's an all round good dude. I feel very grateful to have such a shop near by. I've bought games controllers and even a few TV. On the rare occasion there was a problem with the product he totally took care of me. He doesn't even deal in those 500 dollar novelty classic games. He is just a cool guy who plays games and is a movie buff and takes care of his loyal customers. He's also really cool when I bring the kids in. If he sells my younger son a game he tells him, "hey buddy, if you don't like this game I'll give you a full refund". I couldn't ask for a better shop to deal with. He always sells 10, 15, 20 percent or more below game stop and eBay. I love shopping there.

[@spottheturtle9568]

Jerry Mclaughlin no doubt... He's got a lil one of his own and is always cool with the kids that come in. I've also bought a 40 something inch Samsung 1080 TV with computer monitor out for my other sons PC for like 90 bucks. I never shop anywhere else. Hell, I was looking around for a Sega Genesis. Everywhere else wanted too much. He got me a gen 1 Genesis with two controllers and Sonic 2 for 15 bucks.

[@jd-py5nm]

the local store i use gives me fair prices for purchases and better prices than gamestop for trades also the service is top notch and the sense of community

[@lukelaporte2808]

Keep in contact with those stores because I bet those owners will dump in bulk when they can't sell those games. It's just a waiting game now to get this stuff back into the wild.

[@Roughman123]

finally a good video.

[@SuperGojira2001]

Unfortunately I've never seen a game store/pawn shop/flea market seller etc. that would dare to go below Ebay prices. I can't really blame them, Ebay sellers are milking the shit out of retro games and are skyrocketing the prices. It's really sad...

[@ganiman]

How about shops that have owners that are also collectors? I find that to be a big problem. In my experience, those are the guys who are charging above eBay and don't offer fair trade in value. It isn't necessarily that they don't have inventory or aren't getting their inventory cheap enough, but they are using the shop to fuel their own hobby and making the local community pay for it.

[@timusforlife]

My local game store in Canada charges on par with ebay sold listings and sometimes cheaper, reading these comments I'm shocked there are SO many shops that charge way more than ebay

[@ahnthonycataldo3232]

The bottom is dropping out folks. I have been selling off my collection on eBay for 3 years and sales are way lower then last year. The sky is falling the sky is falling

[@timf7413]

The answer is the same for virtually all businesses. A local specialty business (at least a well run one) is likely to offer better and more knowledgeable customer service and a greater likelihood of offering genuine merchandise in a market flooded with counterfeits and bootlegs. As far as trade ins, yeah you can potentially get more money on Ebay, but you also have to factor in that you have to be willing and able to put the work in to list, sell and ship it.

[@S_Evenwar]

And give Ebay like 15% at the end of the month. And if you forget you owe it you will get surprised when that time comes.

[@cesariojpn]

I have none nearby.

[@deezy81]

Swap video game store in Edison, New Jersey is the shit!!!!

[@Mariojinn2]

I love u guys ❤

[@Mariojinn2]

As Pat shoves his face lol

[@cosmiccowboy9358]

You are paying for quick accessibility and to support having something local sometimes it's not realistic to compete with eBay someone who has no overhead employees etc

[@lady1kaka]

Pat the NES Reseller

[@BawesomeBurf]

Luckily the shops here in Green Bay offer pretty fair prices most of the time. The problem I come across is that this really isn't the greatest area for retro games. Sometimes there will be some gems at the shops, but most of the time, I struggle to find stuff worth buying. I suppose it doesn't help that I'm generally looking for RPGs, shmups, and imports.

[@nesmandan1037]

BawesomeBurf PrideButcher here. I used to live in Appleton and Fond du Lac. I agree. I actually miss Game Xchange and their 20 copies of Bases Loaded and John Elway selling for $4 each. There is also a place in downtown Oshkosh that is pretty good as well - they were loaded with Atari when I was there in July. Don't expect any good game souvenirs if you come to Orlando. It's all Disney priced. Side note, it's amazing how we have all these attractions here, but I would love to ride the Zippin Pippin again at Bay Beach. :)

[@JustJunuh]

So.... random question. Why does the guy on the left have a blue blanket on his lap?

[@user-op8pf3uf8s]

My local mom and pop store gives you less in trade credit than gamestop does cash. Also they reseal boxed games. Fuck them

[@Cornerdweler]

Unfortunately there is still Millions of people who still don't shop online. Thats why.

[@brandonreed5006]

Guys, would SMB 3 (NES), Pokemon! Snap (N64) and De Ja Vu (NES) worth more than $13.50? Vintage Stock offered me that and I was wondering if I could get more elsewhere

[@KalaVerag]

I try but they always sale the games over ebay prices if the game is 30 dollars on ebay they sale it for 40

[@turtle_soda]

Never deal with small businesses unless they have something you absolutely can’t get anywhere else. eBay is usually the way to go. The amount of times I’ve bought broken consoles from local game shops is staggering; I’d have better luck going to a flea market. I think the only time a store had a good deal was when I bought persona 4 golden for $17 and now it’s 60.

[@jimmifett]

Store nearby selling reasonable prices, my go to shop. Store down the road 3 blocks wanting CiB prices on loose carts. No idea how they sell anything. Not even talking good labels, just average. Convinced they are a front.

[@jellyboy123]

How did Ian get his job in luna video games.??

[@dewdutv]

I'd like to support local business, but the incentives that larger retailers are able to afford to earn my business are too good to pass up.

[@ZERO_42069]

I always support a local shop thats not fuckin people over with ridiculous prices

[@RobertGuido]

What I also think is ridiculous is when a game store basically over prices things just to keep it in for eye candy. I like collecting the Jaguar system and it's inherently a little bit expensive but I've been to some stores that seem to double the price on that or Super Nintendo Mega Man games or something just to have eye candy. Isn't the point of this to sell your stuff to keep the inventory moving? I've been into a few game stores that basically just stuck because they have nothing but nice to high and pieces but the prices are outrageous that nobody in their right mind would even think of pain $300 for a loose DuckTales2 I don't think so

[@Mulerider4Life]

My store does buy 2 7.95 games or less get one free.

[@AxlTheScourge]

Pat i have to say what if you to a local video game store and you find an old retro game for a very low price? should you go for it? i dont see why i wouldnt i meannot ALL local stores are bad i found a lot of good ps2 games for cheap and they were near mint

[@Aj-me8mo]

I'm what you guys call a casual gamer and whenever I try to buy a "retro" game I always get raped on the price and don't find out until later 😫

[@jasonflores1732]

my local resale shop sells records and collectibles on top of games. They've been around for over 10 years. I've never sold items there but I'm curious how much they would give for a game like super smash bros 1(64) & 2(melee) as they sell them for $70$ that's a price example on a high demand product there (which aren't many) sure it is an insane price but most other things in that shop don't sell fast enough or at all to keep them in business I think. I went there when I didn't have a computer for music or a bank account for ebay and gladly paid the price for games and music that would be otherwise unavailable to someone in my means. Now that things have changed and I have those things I don't go there much cause I can save the money buying online. It's a choice. Up to you to know the difference or plead ignorance. Or you can support them for being local. It's like supporting your local skateshop if youre a skater, you can choose from multiple options online and save but you could maybe help a dying breed of shops in your town while they're still around.

[@Violent_Ed_1317]

Down at Luna we Luna big time Luna with Luna. I mean Luna doesnt Luna a Luna unless we Luna at least one Luna except when the Luna has some Luna. Not only does Luna have the least Luna but Luna sometimes relies on Luna to Luna our Luna.

[@575forza]

Ians so right. Its tough to get stock now. people know what they have. I wouldnt open a store now. My local spot offers a good price for trade in cash per pricecharting, and they sell at retail... per pricecharting. But they can because theyve been there for a while and they are a RETAIL store. Its pretty straight forward. I love it. I have a bigger problem with the dipshits that sell on craigslist way above retail. Im just like, dude, you have no store, you have no overhead, I have to go to you to buy it, and rising tides dont raise all boats. What I mean is I see: I have Super Mario World valued at $20, and I have 4 other shovelware sports titles, soooooo SNES LOT 5 GAMES $100.

[@omikronweapon]

Was this question about doing business with a specific shop with outrageous prices, or was this a question about doing business with shops in general while citing some made-up figures? Seemed like the latter to me.

[@theawkwardking2700]

0:25 reminded me of a store called GameRave that I see at comic conventions. I'm surprised they're still in business

[@pxpin89]

Local store that recently went under in my town had mario kart 64 for 50 bucks. Loose cart $50 bucks. >__> Now its a vacancy in the mall. :P But its the only shop we had so people would pay.. Then they found ebay and didnt XD

[@iPervy]

Honestly i'm alright with paying a little bit more like 10 to 15% (not including tax) to buy it locally just so I can have it there and then instead of waiting for shipping. That said nowadays I honestly have a majority of the games I've wanted to play besides the high dollar ones. So, most of the time I go to stores just to look around unfortunately and feel bad leaving without buying anything haha.

[@Lily_Valentine]

It's also better to see a game in person before buying it, if you are concerned with it's condition.

[@iPervy]

Very true haha. I always like to buy games with the manual as well, and is the worse when you buy online and the case is caked with stickers, wear, and no manual.

[@gamerguy425]

lately I used to end up just browsing the entire store up and down for 30 minutes just to buy one PS1 game for ten bucks and find its mediocre crap when I get home :-/ seriously, fuck dis market, thank god I likewise got most of my collection when contra hard corps was $16 not $56

[@mrtoon6115]

Let him eat! Wtf?!? LoL

[@willmistretta]

1. Getting out of the home feels good. Fresh air, exercise, and not being a general shut-in troglodyte rules. 2. Supporting local small business supports actual local identity. Great if you'd prefer your home to not just be a wasteland of interchangable corporate strip malls. 3. You might actually get to meet and interact with other retro gamers outside of a forum or a Facebook group.

[@nesmandan1037]

Will Mistretta PrideButcher here. That's the only reason I ever go to them. Just to show my son around (experience), general discussion with other shoppers, and support non corporate. I don't mind buying the occasional game there that has a 15 - 20% markup over eBay, gotta pay for the lights, but only getting $2 for a game to be on the shelf for $12 the next day... nope.

[@jasonflores1732]

totally. I dislike gamestop lol