[Originally posted to rec.games.video.classic.]
Well, I've had another good weekend. I looked in the new phone book and discovered there were some thrift stores I hadn't been to yet. On the way, I stopped at a couple yard sales and got a Bentley Compuvision. It's not much different from another pong system I already have, so I'll probably get rid of it. Anyone interested?
I finally got to the thrift store. With a little digging, I came up with Sky Jinks, Keystone Kapers, and . . . James Bond 007! I got the owner to sell me just the cartridges for $1 each, rather than buying yet another system.
I also found some copies of Microsoft Arcade cheaper than normal. I finally bought one for myself, now if I only had a computer good enough to run it on. 8( I tried it out on a friend's computer and it works fine. I have two copies for sale: $20 each, postpaid. As best I can tell, it's about $38 in the stores. If someone has seen it cheaper, please tell me.
Sunday, I went to a nearby town and happened to stop at a wholesale outlet store. It's basically a store full of damaged, discontinued, and overstock merchandise. They had stacks of boxed Space Jockey cartridges, cheap. On the other hand, they wanted $4.98 for Space Invaders! Anyone want Space Jockey? I've got three extras available now. If there's sufficient demand, I might go back and get more. Make me an offer, money or trades accepted.
Can't wait for yard sale season to get into full swing!
[This post was so old, I actually wrote it with indented paragraphs. I late quit that and started separating them with blank lines because it was so much easier to edit them with vi that way.
I think I've still got that Compuvision. It turns out they're rather common and nothing special, so no one wants it.
I honestly don't remember which thrift store the "new" one was any more, but the wholesale outlet store was in Decatur where Sears used to be on 6th Avenue. Unfortunately, I've forgotten the name.
I believe the copies of Microsoft Arcade came from Bud's, a remainder chain that primarily disposed of old Wal-Mart merchandise. (Bud was Sam Walton's brother.) It was in the shopping center at N. Memorial Parkway and Mastin Lake Road. It's space has since been torn down and rebuilt as a Lowe's.
I don't recall if anyone took me up on my Microsoft Arcade offer or not. I think one person might have. And I did wind up going back to pick up several copies of Space Jockey, some of which went to Jerry Greiner, a major collector of the time who also sold games. — 1 July 2010]
14 March 1995
04 March 1995
This week's finds [SwordQuest: Fireworld, Super Cobra, & Star Trek]
[Originally posted to rec.games.video.classic.]
Well after being out of the country for a month, I came back and started reading this newsgroup and caught the fever again, maybe worse than before I left. I hit as many thrift stores as I could this weekend. I came up empty mostly, except for one store.
This particular store is run as a business, not a charity. Apparently, the owner had just recently gotten an Atari 2600 & games in. They were all in wonderful condition, almost like they were new. Most of them still had the manuals in great shape, too. Unfortunately, the selection was small and I had most of them. I ended up buying three: SwordQuest--Fireworld, simply because it had the manual & comic in almost perfect condition; Super Cobra; and ... STAR TREK, complete with the manual and joystick overlay! They were $2.50 each, well worth it.
I am very pleased with Star Trek. It's a rather incredible translation of the arcade game for the 2600. Of course, it's not perfect, but I don't think it could have been much better. Thank you Sega and Lady Luck!
Well after being out of the country for a month, I came back and started reading this newsgroup and caught the fever again, maybe worse than before I left. I hit as many thrift stores as I could this weekend. I came up empty mostly, except for one store.
This particular store is run as a business, not a charity. Apparently, the owner had just recently gotten an Atari 2600 & games in. They were all in wonderful condition, almost like they were new. Most of them still had the manuals in great shape, too. Unfortunately, the selection was small and I had most of them. I ended up buying three: SwordQuest--Fireworld, simply because it had the manual & comic in almost perfect condition; Super Cobra; and ... STAR TREK, complete with the manual and joystick overlay! They were $2.50 each, well worth it.
I am very pleased with Star Trek. It's a rather incredible translation of the arcade game for the 2600. Of course, it's not perfect, but I don't think it could have been much better. Thank you Sega and Lady Luck!
28 February 1995
Interesting find in Oz
[Originally posted to rec.games.video.classic.]
On my recent trip to Australia, I spotted a few odd cartridges. There was this guy at a "flea" market called Paddy's market selling brand new Atari 2600 hardware & games. Amongst his games were a pirated copy of The Empire Strikes Back called Star Warriors. The front was simplistic artwork of an AT-AT firing at the Millenium Falcon & an X-Wing. The back had a screenshot, so I knew what it was. I didn't make note of the supposed co. that made it.
Another interesting item was a set of 4 Activision games all sold in one box. I don't remember all the titles now, but I didn't have any of them. One was Plaque Attack, I think. I also saw a game by Atari I'd never heard of called Motorodeo. I noticed that the boxes were the same as the boxes the last few games Atari release came in, including the "Winners don't use drugs" message from the FBI. I checked a non-shrinkwrapped copy to be sure it was PAL. There was a big P sticker stuck to the bottom of the cartridge.
Now that I'm back, I discover Motorodeo is rated ER by VGR! Furthermore, I find that PAL games MIGHT have worked on my system, just with screwy colors. I'm going to be kicking myself for a long time for not buying those games! Oh, well, at least I got my joypads (see separate message: Joypads found in Australia!).
[Fifteen years later, I still wish I'd had more money to buy Atari stuff while we were in Australia. —March 7, 2010]
On my recent trip to Australia, I spotted a few odd cartridges. There was this guy at a "flea" market called Paddy's market selling brand new Atari 2600 hardware & games. Amongst his games were a pirated copy of The Empire Strikes Back called Star Warriors. The front was simplistic artwork of an AT-AT firing at the Millenium Falcon & an X-Wing. The back had a screenshot, so I knew what it was. I didn't make note of the supposed co. that made it.
Another interesting item was a set of 4 Activision games all sold in one box. I don't remember all the titles now, but I didn't have any of them. One was Plaque Attack, I think. I also saw a game by Atari I'd never heard of called Motorodeo. I noticed that the boxes were the same as the boxes the last few games Atari release came in, including the "Winners don't use drugs" message from the FBI. I checked a non-shrinkwrapped copy to be sure it was PAL. There was a big P sticker stuck to the bottom of the cartridge.
Now that I'm back, I discover Motorodeo is rated ER by VGR! Furthermore, I find that PAL games MIGHT have worked on my system, just with screwy colors. I'm going to be kicking myself for a long time for not buying those games! Oh, well, at least I got my joypads (see separate message: Joypads found in Australia!).
[Fifteen years later, I still wish I'd had more money to buy Atari stuff while we were in Australia. —March 7, 2010]
Joypads found in Australia!
[Originally posted to rec.games.video.classic.]
G'day, mates! I'm back from a month long trip Down Under. I had a wonderful time. I didn't bother to do much searching for classic video stuff because they use PAL-B equipment. I had a very fortunate incident, though.
I went to a "flea" market (Not exactly, but I don't know what elese to call it.) called Paddy's Market in Sydney. After we'd gone almost all the way around, I came upon a gentleman selling Atari 2600 games & hardware, including 2600 Jr.'s WITH CX-78 JOYPADS! Needless to say, I was excited. He had a package deal: One 2600 Jr. system with two joypads, a cartridge, and a 7800 joystick (CX-24) for $25 (Australian, of course); all brand new! I grabbed one up, quick! That's about $19 US! Best Electronics was selling joypads for, what, $15 EACH? I also needed another 7800 joystick because one of the ones that came with my system has a broken button. (Okay, so I don't really need another joystick since I have the joypads now. It doesn't hurt.) I'll be saying goodbye to wrist strain now!
In case you're wondering, the game I got was the Atari version of BMX AirMaster. It's still shrinkwrapped in a slightly squashed (due to being in luggage) box. I haven't decided what to do with it yet. Anyone want to make a ridiculous offer (or trade) for it? Remember, it's PAL-B.
As for the system, I'll sell, for shipping cost only, the PAL-B 2600 Jr. with cord & Australian adapter (220 volts, slanted plugs) in the box with all documentation. Note it does not come with any controllers or games.
[I did have someone respond and pay for shipping the PAL-B 2600 Jr. to him. While it would have been an interesting addition to my collection, I can't keep everything! —March 7, 2010]
G'day, mates! I'm back from a month long trip Down Under. I had a wonderful time. I didn't bother to do much searching for classic video stuff because they use PAL-B equipment. I had a very fortunate incident, though.
I went to a "flea" market (Not exactly, but I don't know what elese to call it.) called Paddy's Market in Sydney. After we'd gone almost all the way around, I came upon a gentleman selling Atari 2600 games & hardware, including 2600 Jr.'s WITH CX-78 JOYPADS! Needless to say, I was excited. He had a package deal: One 2600 Jr. system with two joypads, a cartridge, and a 7800 joystick (CX-24) for $25 (Australian, of course); all brand new! I grabbed one up, quick! That's about $19 US! Best Electronics was selling joypads for, what, $15 EACH? I also needed another 7800 joystick because one of the ones that came with my system has a broken button. (Okay, so I don't really need another joystick since I have the joypads now. It doesn't hurt.) I'll be saying goodbye to wrist strain now!
In case you're wondering, the game I got was the Atari version of BMX AirMaster. It's still shrinkwrapped in a slightly squashed (due to being in luggage) box. I haven't decided what to do with it yet. Anyone want to make a ridiculous offer (or trade) for it? Remember, it's PAL-B.
As for the system, I'll sell, for shipping cost only, the PAL-B 2600 Jr. with cord & Australian adapter (220 volts, slanted plugs) in the box with all documentation. Note it does not come with any controllers or games.
[I did have someone respond and pay for shipping the PAL-B 2600 Jr. to him. While it would have been an interesting addition to my collection, I can't keep everything! —March 7, 2010]
28 November 1994
Finally found my gold mine!
[Originally posted to rec.games.video.classic.]
As is so common in this newsgroup, I thought I'd relate my recent flea market experience. First a little background. I live in Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.A., the third or fourth largest city in Alabama. I've been searching for an Atari 7800 for a few months now, hitting yard sales and thrift stores, with no success. I haven't had time to search Birmingham (the largest city & where I'm originally from) yet. My searches have added to my rather respectable Atari 2600 collection, though.
This weekend, for the Thanksgiving holiday, my wife & I visited her parents down in Mobile, AL. While we were there, we drove over to another little town. We stopped at a flea market on the way. I only found one guy that had an Atari 2600-A in the box and an RCA Studio II. I passed on it at first, but went back just before we left since we didn't find anything else. I talked to him and ended up buying the RCA Studio II since it was cheap. I figured I could try it out and if I didn't like it, sell it on the net. He said he had more games for it and a bunch of 2600 games that he could go get during lunch. I told him I'd be back.
We went on and returned that afternoon. I'm not sure if it was a misunderstanding on my part or what, but the guy wasn't there. I was miffed, but as we were leaving, we drove by some buildings that were part of the flea market. The back was just more dealer stalls, mostly closed, which was why we passed on them the first time. However, around front in the corner was a shop full of electronics stuff! I'd finally found a gold mine like I'd heard about on the net!
The store had stuff scattered all over the place. Towards the back, I found a big box full of cartridges. Then I found a 7800 console! I was excited. First, though, I started digging through the box, sorting the carts. There were 7800, 2600, 5200, Odyssey^2, Texas Instrument, and Intellivision cartridges, but most were 2600 & 5200. I ended up with 34 2600/7800 cartridges. Then we started looking for the 7800 power supply and controllers. It turned out the guy had them behind the counter, although he had to search for them and didn't know what controllers went to what. I recognized them when I saw them. While we were searching, I found a second 7800 console. That meant choosing between an original with the expansion port and the next model with just a hole. I couldn't decide which was in better condition, until finally I tried pressing the power button on the first one (it wasn't plugged in). It didn't press. I put a lot of pressure on it and it moved. The other three switches pressed much easier. All four of the switches on the second seemed to work fine, so I took it. (Oh, well, no expansion port.)
I ended up buying 34 cartridges at $1 each, plus the 7800 system (we found the two controllers, power supply, a switch box (that was easy) and even an RCA cord). He sold the whole thing for $45. He said he usually sold the systems for $25, but gave me a break for buying so many cartridges. Needless to say, I was happy and hoped my wife wouldn't kill me. She didn't seem too upset when I told her. I think it has something to do with the fact that I'm actually selling my duplicate stuff in an auction right now, so she knows I can make money at this if I feel like it.
I basically bought everything he had that I didn't. Some of the stuff I had never HEARD of before, so I checked VGR's list. Here are the games I got that he lists as Rare: Star Ship, Stampede, Beany Bopper, Deadly Duck, Pitfall II, Sneak 'n Peek, and Burger Time. Here are the games he lists as Extremely Rare: Mines of Minos, Tapper, and Piece O' Cake. I also bought a labelless Parker Bros. cartridge, but it turned out to be a copy of Frogger. We went back to my in-laws and I borrowed their little black and white TV to test my treasures. The 7800 system works fine, but one of the joystick buttons is broken. Some of the carts didn't work, but I think it was a combination of the tight fit in the 7800 & dirt. I've since cleaned some of them & gotten them to work in my 2600. I still need to go through and clean most of the rest of them and try out the 7800 on our color TV.
Now, can anyone tell me how to play Sneak 'n Peek or Mines of Minos? Also, how come Mines of Minos is about 1 1/2 times longer than any other Atari 2600 cartridge??? That one was the weirdest of my finds, by far.
Oh, yeah. At the end of the weekend, my brother-in-law dug out all his Atari stuff and just gave it to me! This included the game Up n' Down, which VGR rates ER! And before anyone asks, no, this stuff is not for sale. 8) Now I'm beginning to wish I bought the Atari 5200 & games that were at the store, too. Maybe I'll go back next time we're down there.
[On 19 Apr 1999 I posted the following about this event to rec.games.video.classic.]
Alas, I also passed up a 5200 Death Star Battle because I wasn't collecting for the 5200 and didn't know how rare it was. ... When I'd gotten back home, my copy of VGR's list (the only rarity list available back then) said Up 'n Down was unreleased! But then I checked the 'net and he'd updated it to ER since I'd last downloaded it. Man, that was a rush, thinking I'd found a game believed to be unreleased.
[Mines of Minos is a CommaVid game and they're all longer than standard 2600 cartridge cases. Just to make them stand out, I'd guess. The "8)" is a smiley indicating I wear glasses.
This was a find for the ages. I never found such a great stash of so many 2600/7800 games in one place again and unfortunately on return trips I never caught the store open again. —28 May 2009]
As is so common in this newsgroup, I thought I'd relate my recent flea market experience. First a little background. I live in Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.A., the third or fourth largest city in Alabama. I've been searching for an Atari 7800 for a few months now, hitting yard sales and thrift stores, with no success. I haven't had time to search Birmingham (the largest city & where I'm originally from) yet. My searches have added to my rather respectable Atari 2600 collection, though.
This weekend, for the Thanksgiving holiday, my wife & I visited her parents down in Mobile, AL. While we were there, we drove over to another little town. We stopped at a flea market on the way. I only found one guy that had an Atari 2600-A in the box and an RCA Studio II. I passed on it at first, but went back just before we left since we didn't find anything else. I talked to him and ended up buying the RCA Studio II since it was cheap. I figured I could try it out and if I didn't like it, sell it on the net. He said he had more games for it and a bunch of 2600 games that he could go get during lunch. I told him I'd be back.
We went on and returned that afternoon. I'm not sure if it was a misunderstanding on my part or what, but the guy wasn't there. I was miffed, but as we were leaving, we drove by some buildings that were part of the flea market. The back was just more dealer stalls, mostly closed, which was why we passed on them the first time. However, around front in the corner was a shop full of electronics stuff! I'd finally found a gold mine like I'd heard about on the net!
The store had stuff scattered all over the place. Towards the back, I found a big box full of cartridges. Then I found a 7800 console! I was excited. First, though, I started digging through the box, sorting the carts. There were 7800, 2600, 5200, Odyssey^2, Texas Instrument, and Intellivision cartridges, but most were 2600 & 5200. I ended up with 34 2600/7800 cartridges. Then we started looking for the 7800 power supply and controllers. It turned out the guy had them behind the counter, although he had to search for them and didn't know what controllers went to what. I recognized them when I saw them. While we were searching, I found a second 7800 console. That meant choosing between an original with the expansion port and the next model with just a hole. I couldn't decide which was in better condition, until finally I tried pressing the power button on the first one (it wasn't plugged in). It didn't press. I put a lot of pressure on it and it moved. The other three switches pressed much easier. All four of the switches on the second seemed to work fine, so I took it. (Oh, well, no expansion port.)
I ended up buying 34 cartridges at $1 each, plus the 7800 system (we found the two controllers, power supply, a switch box (that was easy) and even an RCA cord). He sold the whole thing for $45. He said he usually sold the systems for $25, but gave me a break for buying so many cartridges. Needless to say, I was happy and hoped my wife wouldn't kill me. She didn't seem too upset when I told her. I think it has something to do with the fact that I'm actually selling my duplicate stuff in an auction right now, so she knows I can make money at this if I feel like it.
I basically bought everything he had that I didn't. Some of the stuff I had never HEARD of before, so I checked VGR's list. Here are the games I got that he lists as Rare: Star Ship, Stampede, Beany Bopper, Deadly Duck, Pitfall II, Sneak 'n Peek, and Burger Time. Here are the games he lists as Extremely Rare: Mines of Minos, Tapper, and Piece O' Cake. I also bought a labelless Parker Bros. cartridge, but it turned out to be a copy of Frogger. We went back to my in-laws and I borrowed their little black and white TV to test my treasures. The 7800 system works fine, but one of the joystick buttons is broken. Some of the carts didn't work, but I think it was a combination of the tight fit in the 7800 & dirt. I've since cleaned some of them & gotten them to work in my 2600. I still need to go through and clean most of the rest of them and try out the 7800 on our color TV.
Now, can anyone tell me how to play Sneak 'n Peek or Mines of Minos? Also, how come Mines of Minos is about 1 1/2 times longer than any other Atari 2600 cartridge??? That one was the weirdest of my finds, by far.
Oh, yeah. At the end of the weekend, my brother-in-law dug out all his Atari stuff and just gave it to me! This included the game Up n' Down, which VGR rates ER! And before anyone asks, no, this stuff is not for sale. 8) Now I'm beginning to wish I bought the Atari 5200 & games that were at the store, too. Maybe I'll go back next time we're down there.
[On 19 Apr 1999 I posted the following about this event to rec.games.video.classic.]
Alas, I also passed up a 5200 Death Star Battle because I wasn't collecting for the 5200 and didn't know how rare it was. ... When I'd gotten back home, my copy of VGR's list (the only rarity list available back then) said Up 'n Down was unreleased! But then I checked the 'net and he'd updated it to ER since I'd last downloaded it. Man, that was a rush, thinking I'd found a game believed to be unreleased.
[Mines of Minos is a CommaVid game and they're all longer than standard 2600 cartridge cases. Just to make them stand out, I'd guess. The "8)" is a smiley indicating I wear glasses.
This was a find for the ages. I never found such a great stash of so many 2600/7800 games in one place again and unfortunately on return trips I never caught the store open again. —28 May 2009]
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