Charity Shops

[Megamixer]

^ We've got a PS2 in at the moment...

[/strokes chin]

...I wonder...

If it's a phat then just check the back to see if the large sticker is split, indicating that it's been opened up. If it has then it could have been a simple repair attempt but you never know

[shiftytigger]

The biggest downside to charity shops is when you find out that some of them just chuck old computers / consoles / games in the bin. I have been offered several items before they went in the bin - for a simple 'donation'. That way they didn't need to test them (the very reason some places throw them away is because they dont have a trained electrical tester or the facility to do so) plus they get money for something they would otherwise have sent to landfill

I have never needed to haggle as even if the price was a little higher than 'normal' it is going towards a good cause as they still put it through the till on my insistence. yes i have had some bargains (Saint Francis Hospice (as mentioned for selling on ebay a few posts back) sold me a Snes with 40 games for £15 - they had assessed it and that was their price) - a near mint Suikoden on Ps1 for 50p for examples. I dont see charity shops selling on ebay as a problem as it shows they are at least moving with the times , I do however think that they need people pricing stuff in the shops that at least check what things actually sell for not what they are listed at.

It is always worth checking charity shops for bargains - as they are one of the last places still selling the stuff.

[killbot]

The biggest downside to charity shops is when you find out that some of them just chuck old computers / consoles / games in the bin. I have been offered several items before they went in the bin - for a simple 'donation'. That way they didn't need to test them (the very reason some places throw them away is because they dont have a trained electrical tester or the facility to do so) plus they get money for something they would otherwise have sent to landfill

I have never needed to haggle as even if the price was a little higher than 'normal' it is going towards a good cause as they still put it through the till on my insistence. yes i have had some bargains (Saint Francis Hospice (as mentioned for selling on ebay a few posts back) sold me a Snes with 40 games for £15 - they had assessed it and that was their price) - a near mint Suikoden on Ps1 for 50p for examples. I dont see charity shops selling on ebay as a problem as it shows they are at least moving with the times , I do however think that they need people pricing stuff in the shops that at least check what things actually sell for not what they are listed at.

It is always worth checking charity shops for bargains - as they are one of the last places still selling the stuff.

It's not just charity shops - a lot of car boot sellers and market stalls now base their prices on eBay. Which is unfortunate because most eBay sellers are knowingly asking batshit crazy BIN prices and thereby driving up prices everywhere. A guy on my local market the other day wanted £25 for a copy of Sonic Adventure on the GC because he said he'd researched online and found that was what it was worth. Pound to a penny the 'research' amounted to finding some chancer on eBay trying to ask £25 for a game that's actually worth about a fifth of that.

[simes]

When I was pricing games (and any sci-fi / retro gaming items up), while ebay was one of the sources I used as a reference point, it was never based on listed prices as there are a lot of sellers who claim that items are "rare" and try to ask ridiculous prices for games that are easy to pick up. We found the same with CDs and vinyl that was being sold for 5-10 times it's actual value so I usually used the final typical selling price and then undercut that so we still raised a good sum for the store and not offering games for a pittance, but still offering gamers great deals so everyone was happy.

It started to fall apart when I was forced to leave and some games ended up being reduced for "quick sales" to 49p for things like 40 Winks for the PS1, and the same with a couple of the Konami dance games (even though I put them in a bundle with a dance mat!), so a lot of my work there was undone in a matter of days and now most of the fresh donations seem to be 101 copies of FIFA again...

[Space_turnip]

I've tried volunteering for local charity shops but my job makes it difficult to guarentee days to work there. At the moment, I'm itching to get in there and sort it out, as their prices have gone from underpriced (the N64 lot I bought was worth a few hundred, cost 30; 50 pence a Dreamcast game, 99p for all other games) to ludicrously overpriced. Real world Golf on the PS2 - £30. PS2 games, a fiver each. Toy Racer on Dreamcast; £8; Big Boxed PC games: £15 each.
I don't mind high prices in charity shops, I've spent more than I wanted to on several occasions, but they really have no idea and when I mention it to them, they look at me as if I'm trying to scrounge pieces for nothing.

The very worst was the loose Game Boy they had in one. Was interested, was quite happy paying a decent price for it. When they asked for £25, I stared at them for a little while and tried to explain it wasn't worth that much. The woman then argued with me that on ebay they go for £50 and that they could stick it on there and get double what they're asking in shop. I did ask why they didn't do that then, but I got glared at.
Oddly, it was gone next time I went in there, so I guess someone will always buy these things.

Same charity shop then decided to stick loads of Star Wars boxed figures on sale. Not original ones (if they had they'd of gone by now!), but Phantom Menace ones. Prices started at 20 quid, and went up to the hundreds. Checking on ebay, auctions ended at around a tenner at most. Not entirely sure how they priced them up....

[killbot]

I've tried volunteering for local charity shops but my job makes it difficult to guarentee days to work there. At the moment, I'm itching to get in there and sort it out, as their prices have gone from underpriced (the N64 lot I bought was worth a few hundred, cost 30; 50 pence a Dreamcast game, 99p for all other games) to ludicrously overpriced. Real world Golf on the PS2 - £30. PS2 games, a fiver each. Toy Racer on Dreamcast; £8; Big Boxed PC games: £15 each.
I don't mind high prices in charity shops, I've spent more than I wanted to on several occasions, but they really have no idea and when I mention it to them, they look at me as if I'm trying to scrounge pieces for nothing.

The very worst was the loose Game Boy they had in one. Was interested, was quite happy paying a decent price for it. When they asked for £25, I stared at them for a little while and tried to explain it wasn't worth that much. The woman then argued with me that on ebay they go for £50 and that they could stick it on there and get double what they're asking in shop. I did ask why they didn't do that then, but I got glared at.
Oddly, it was gone next time I went in there, so I guess someone will always buy these things.

Same charity shop then decided to stick loads of Star Wars boxed figures on sale. Not original ones (if they had they'd of gone by now!), but Phantom Menace ones. Prices started at 20 quid, and went up to the hundreds. Checking on ebay, auctions ended at around a tenner at most. Not entirely sure how they priced them up....

I find people in charity shops fall into one of two categories - one who hasn't a clue how much a game is worth and so will stick a boxed Mario RPG up on the shelf for 50p and those who think they are clued up and know what they're doing but in fact go the other way and massively overvalue everything based on the fact that it's old so it must be a collector's item. It's hard to criticise them too much since they're giving their time for free to a good cause, though.

I would imagine what happened with the Star Wars figures was that someone caught an item on TV stating boxed figures change hands for hundreds of pounds but didn't do enough research to realise that there's a distinction between the old 70s/80s figures and the newer ones, and that the latter are worth a lot less. But, y'know, who goes into a charity shop with £100 burning a hole in their pocket anyway?

[simes]

I remember we had one of the Discworld games in for the PS1 and I think I'd priced it up at £19.99 even though similar ones had been going on ebay for £25-£30. One of the other volunteers looked at me and laughed saying that it should have been £1.99, pretty much dismissing me thinking that I didn't know anything about the gaming side of things. Within 48 hours, one of my regulars came in, spotted it in the display cabinet and bought it without hesitating because of the "low" price! lol

[Zagrebo]

Today I picked-up the "future classic" from this month's Retro Gamer, Balders Gate: Dark Alliance, for £2 from a charity shoppe.

[James A]

Two examples of the good and bad charity shops in Leamington Spa today....

First store picked up the Ghostbusters game for the PS3 for £1 and a couple of Hardback books for 50p each. Good

Second store they had a tatty Game Boy Advance with 8 very tatty boxed games. I had a look around the store and noticed three old Oxo tins with a £40 price tag on them marked up as genuine 1940's vintage. Having a closer look they weren't that vintage as they had bar codes on them and were modern remakes . Anyway had a laugh about that and went to the counter to see how much the GBA was to be told it was £129.99 . I was seriously gob smacked and asked the woman at the counter who came up with that price. She told me that they have an assesor come in to price stuff up. I told her that it was no way worth that ammount to which she asked me what i knew about them and went on to say i only wanted the price down so i could put it on ebay or sell it on. In the end i told her to take a closer look at the vintage 40's Oxo cube tins that her assesor had expertly priced up and to take note of the amazing 1940's bar codes which must add to rarity being so far ahead of the time. At this point i got asked to leave the store.

So yeah i would love to know where they get these assesors from

[jcdentont1000]

The women in one of my locals calmly explained to me today that they get in 'old games machines' all the time (three or four a week) but as they 'can't test them' they throw them away. They, again very calmly, explained that they are only worth a pittance anyway as everyone owns xboxes nowadays and 'old games machines go for a pound each on the internet'.

Their prices are; £2.50 for 'small games (ps2, ps1) 'and everything older gets thrown away',
£3.00 PER DISC for 'big games' (big box PC games) - but only when they remember.

There is no point in doing as the above poster did and explaining to them the reality of the situation because a) it makes you, the buyer, look either greedy or cocky which volunteers HATE and b) many of the old dears who work in the shops aren't in the mood to be told what to do by young whippersnappers who may or may not be 'hoodies'.

[James A]

The women in one of my locals calmly explained to me today that they get in 'old games machines' all the time (three or four a week) but as they 'can't test them' they throw them away. They, again very calmly, explained that they are only worth a pittance anyway as everyone owns xboxes nowadays and 'old games machines go for a pound each on the internet'.

Their prices are; £2.50 for 'small games (ps2, ps1) 'and everything older gets thrown away',
£3.00 PER DISC for 'big games' (big box PC games) - but only when they remember.

There is no point in doing as the above poster did and explaining to them the reality of the situation because a) it makes you, the buyer, look either greedy or cocky which volunteers HATE and b) many of the old dears who work in the shops aren't in the mood to be told what to do by young whippersnappers who may or may not be 'hoodies'.

Must add that was the manager of the shop that i spoke to.

[jdanddiet]

feel some sympathy, having worked in a charity shop I know you do get a lot of chancers and smart arses.

[Roo]

I still think my find of FIFA 12 on Wii for £2 in Marie Curie last Friday will be as good as it'll get for me. I might as well wave the white flag at that, as the entire town (that's five charity shops in one main road) only had two other games: Vice City and Tiger Woods PS2 for £3 each.

[GigaPepsiMan]

The guy who priced the GBA must have been looking a the 2001 eiditon of the argos catalog to come up with that value.

[Space Holiday]

I found a copy of Road Avenger for the Sega Mega-CD in really good condition for like £1.50, it includes a demo of Soul star... Can anyone clarify if this is considered 'gold' cause it doesn't really go for much on eBay, but it was kind of an odd game to find