Dom & Liz's Yardsale Adventures

Tokyo Game Action Auction [06.06.09]

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 15:26:00 -0400

We attended the Tokyo Game Action auction in Winchendon, MA this morning. A sad day for arcades. After nearly six years in operation, TGA had to close their doors due to a combination of flood damage and financial troubles. More details on their website. The owner had no choice but to liquidate the entire business: every arcade machine, every piece of japanese "swag", every fixture, every sign, and even the property itself.

We estimated about 150 people attending (may have been more). It was a great turnout, but it was apparent that the owner was pretty devastated about the whole thing, and understandably so. Several people gave him and his wife hugs and kind words. We couldn't help but feel sorry for him, though. He had built this awesome arcade stuffed with games of which most are only available in Japan. Tons of Bemani, several Astro City cabinets (only found in Japan), and even 4 brand new Street Fighter IV machines. Truly a loss for the arcade world.

So what did we buy?

Nada. We came away with nothing, but it was a great experience. We even bid and ultimately lost on a few arcades. People got some pretty sweet deals (see image right), but we just weren't ready to drop several thousand on arcade machines today. Though there were a lot of "would've been nice to have" items (e.g. any of the DDR's, Pop 'n' Music, Marvel vs Capcom 2, etc), it was clear pretty early we'd be leaving empty-handed.

It was a lot of fun though, and worth it for the experience (not to mention making a pilgrimage albeit rather late to TGA). It was our first auction, and boy do those guys really get your heart thumping! Fast-talking, synchronized shouting when someone makes a bid, the auctioneer convincing people to make another bid - it was really exciting. Suddenly a few thousand bucks doesn't seem like much if you let yourself get lost in it. Dom and I looked at each other several times, torn as to whether we should bid. But we kept our heads and passed on some great deals (just too much for us to spend right now).

Below are some pictures I took prior to the auction.

Week 4 [05.23.09]

Sat, 23 May 2009 13:36:00 -0400

Day Total: $6.00
Sales Visited: 11

1 Ogre Battle 64 (N64, cart only)
1 Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64, cart only)
1 Jet Force Gemini (N64, cart only)
1 Kirby 64 (N64, cart only)
1 Command and Conquer (N64, cart only)
1 Mario Party 2 (N64, cart only)
1 Mario Tennis (N64, cart only)
1 Star Craft 64 (N64, cart only)
1 Total Carnage (SNES, cart only)
Paid: $4.00

1 Game Boy Color
1 TMNT 2 (GB, cart only)
1 Scooby Doo Classic Creep Capers (GBC, cart only)
1 Powerpuff Girls Bad Mojo Jojo (GBC, cart only)
1 Pooh & Tigger's Hunny Safari
1 Game Boy Color carrying case
Paid: $2.00

First real outing of 2009.

The N64 bundle was difficult to get, but it was worth it for Ogre Battle 64. We had to ask for videogames at this sale, and they brought out a bin from inside the house. They had about 25 games total, but everything was in pretty rough shape. All of the games were covered with dirt, Blockbuster rental stickers, scratches, you name it. We offered $2 for the bin, but were immediately rebuffed. We haggled back and forth a bit, but they were having none of it.

At this point, we cherry-picked the good stuff and offered $2 for that. Another round of haggling, including all of the famous lines. "Gamestop will buy these for more", "Ebay", "I paid a lot of money for these", etc. I finally had to point out that the games were in horrible condition, and that they were almost 15 years old.

We somehow managed to get away with what we did for $4, but it wasn't easy. Ah well, it's always good practice.

There were a decent amount of sales for a nice Memorial Day weekend, but we decided to cut our trip short and go home early. I think we're getting old...

Week 3 [04.25.09]

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 19:27:00 -0400

Day Total: $0.25
Sales Visited: 1

1 Pac-man card game
Paid: $0.25

While spending a getaway weekend in New Hampshire, we came across a decent-sized yardsale on the side of the road. Unfortunately no videogames, but we spotted the Pac-man game under a pile of other games. We hadn't seen this particular game before, and offered a quarter which the seller accepted without hesitation.

Just being there, looking around at the various items, rummaging through bins, got us geared up for this season. We got bitten by the yardsale bug again, and we're looking forward to this season. It's later than we've started in previous years, but sales have been slow to get started around here. We're planning on heading out next weekend, so here's hoping for good weather and lots of sales!

Week 2 [03.22.09]

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:22:00 -0400

Day Total: $0.00
Sales Visited: 1

1 Bondi iMac G3 (Rev. B) with tray-loading 24X CD-ROM (233 mhz, 32mb RAM, 4 GB HD, OS 8.5)
1 Bondi Apple USB Keyboard
Paid: FREE

Our second vintage Mac also comes from Freecycle!

We haven't seen any other old Macs listed on Freecycle since the last one we picked up, so we haven't missed out on any. It doesn't seem like they're listed too often either.

Unfortunately, this iMac didn't come with its original puck mouse or power cord. Ah well, can't beat the price!

Week 1 [02.16.09]

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:52:00 -0400

Day Total: $0.00
Sales Visited: 1

1 Graphite iMac G3 with slot-loading CD-RW (700 mhz, 320mb RAM, 60 GB HD, OS 9.2)
All manuals and backup disks, including Mac OS 9 installer
1 Pro Keyboard with Mouse
1 Mac OS 9 for Dummies book
1 Mac OS 9: The Missing Manual book
1 Mac USB hub
Paid: FREE

Our first find of 2009 comes from Freecycle, which brings us our first piece of legacy Mac hardware.

Overall, we've both had fairly limited Apple experience. Liz had an Apple IIc growing up, and we've both used older models in school a little bit, but that's pretty much it. We've both been Windows users for as long as we can remember, and never had any inclination to "switch" to Mac.

Last year, we started looking into the iPhone, and were thoroughly impressed. We bought iPhone 3Gs soon after launch, and we use them all the time. Last month, we both bought MacBooks, and have been equally impressed. It turns out that Apple has been pretty busy since the IIc, and Mac OS X is a very nice operating system.

This kind of led us to start reading up on all of the Macs that we missed out on in the past 10-15 years, and there's a lot of cool stuff out there! Our love of old technology doesn't exclusively belong to videogames, and old Macs have that certain panache that scratches our collector's itch. We never really expected to be Mac aficionados or anything, but sometimes life can surprise you.

Consider this the first vintage piece in our new Mac collection.

Japan [10.21.08 - 11.02.08]

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:44:00 -0400

This entry is long overdue! We spent two weeks in Japan for our honeymoon back in October 2008. It was awesome - words cannot describe what an amazing time we had! We spent most of our time in Tokyo, but also visited Kyoto and surrounding for a few days. Below are pictures of everything we bought (photos taken while still in Japan). Though we wanted to buy everything in sight, we had to restrain ourselves, knowing it would've been impossible to get it all home. It was quite a feat just getting the video games home.

Read on to see all the cool stuff we bought in Japan!

Most of these video games (and the manga) were purchased at the Akihabara Book-Off, which had a jaw-dropping used video game section. At first we were cautiously optimistic, acknowledging the fact that there was a great selection of games, but not expecting to buy much, thinking it would be too expensive. As we got closer and began inspecting the games, we were shocked to discover all the ¥50 ($0.50) and ¥100 ($1) price tags. We filled 3 baskets of cheap games (ranging $0.50 to $5 each), which resulted in 5 stuffed bags and many looks and stares from the locals. We had to go back to our hotel (in Asakusa) to drop everything off! After a quick lunch, we came back and bought a few more things we had left behind, then located Super Potato. While not as cheap as Book-Off, it was definitely an awesome place: 2 cramped floors stuffed to the brim with used video games, and a small arcade on the 3rd floor. We picked up some more games here and at a few other gaming shops in the area. Here are some pictures of Super Potato, just because it was so awesome:

Yes, these are the limited edition Megaman Energy Tank energy drinks. We were specifically hunting for these, knowing that they were going to be tough to find and likely even discontinued. Surprisingly, we found them in the back of a comic shop and picked up a bunch. Good thing, too: we never saw them anywhere else. How do they taste, you might be wondering? The best comparison we can make is flat Sprite.

Second trip to Akihabara, a week later. We grabbed some more video games and manga from Book-Off, then returned to Yodobashi for some gifts for the family. The little green edamame is Mame-shiba, which was a just beginning fad when we were over there (only one store in Akihabara had any merchandise). There a lots of Mame-shiba (half edamame, half dog) who give you advice... well, best to just see for yourself . This is just one of 9 commercials (so far), each featuring a different Mame-shiba.

These were actually our very first merchandise purchases in Japan. In Asakusa, the fake sushi from a shop on Kappabashi-dori ($40!!). In Odaiba, we bought the DS games, Hetera figure, and the Smile Slime from the Toys R Us at Aqua City, the Rilakuma magnet and t-shirt at Decks, the paw keychain at Cats Livin', and the unchi (poop) capsule toys at the Pallete Town arcade. At Seibu in Ikebukuro , we bought the YMCK CD, the edamame keychains, the Rilakuma calendar, and the postcards.

Plushie haul from Kiddy Land in Harajuku.

Mame-shiba plushie scored from a UFO Catcher machine at Taito Station arcade in Asakusa.

Dom's hat, purchased near Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto.

Week 11 [09.20.08]

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:32:00 -0400

Day Total: $6.00
Sales Visited: 39

1 Monster Party (NES, cart only)
1 The Goonies II (NES, cart only)
1 Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach (NES, cart only)
1 WWF Wrestlemania (NES, cart only)
1 Stack Up (NES, cart only)
1 American Gladiators (NES, cart only)
1 BurgerTime (NES, cart only)
1 Duck Hunt (NES, cart only)
1 Pinbot (NES, cart only)
1 Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt (NES, cart only)
1 Super Mario Bros 2 (NES, cart only)
1 Gauntlet (NES, cart only)
1 Skull & Crossbones (NES, cart only)
2 Batman (NES, carts + 1 sleeve)
1 Spot (NES, cart only)
2 Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES carts + 1 manual)
1 Nintendo World Cup (NES, cart only)
1 Magic of Scheherazade (NES, cart only)
1 Star Tropics (NES, cart only)
1 Super Mario Bros. (NES, cart + manual)
1 Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (NES, cart only)
1 Jeopardy! (NES, cart only)
1 The Adventure of Link (NES, cart + case)
1 Double Dragon III (NES, cart + case)
1 Dr. Mario (NES, cart only)
1 Clash at Demonhead (NES, cart + sleeve)
1 Kickle Cubicle (NES, cart + sleeve)
1 Wheel of Fortune (NES, cart + sleeve)
1 Little League Baseball Championship Series (NES, cart + sleeve)
1 Final Fantasy (NES, cart + sleeve)
1 Dragon Warrior (NES, cart + sleeve)
1 A Nightmare on Elm Street (NES, cart + sleeve)
1 Tetris (NES, cart + sleeve)
1 Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular (NES, cart + sleeve)
1 Donkey Kong Classics (NES, cart + sleeve)
1 Q*bert (NES, cart + sleeve)
1 Megaman 6 (NES, cart + manual + sleeve)
1 The Legend of Zelda (NES, cart + 2 manuals + case)
1 Gyromite (NES, cart only)
1 Baseball (NES, cart only)
1 Championship Pool (NES, cart only)
1 Game Genie (NES, cart only)
1 Spy Hunter manual
Paid: $5.00

1 Virtua Fighter (32X, cart only)
1 Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (GB, cart only)
Paid: $1.00

1 Donkey Kong Country Exposed (VHS)
Paid: FREE

Our town held its biannual townwide yardsale, so we decided to venture out, knowing this would probably be the last chance we'd have this season.

The NES score came at one of the last sales of the day. The son, who was about our age, said he had N64 and NES games when we asked, and we said we were interested in anything he had. He only brought out the NES games, which we were glad of. We've picked up a lot of N64 games, and are really more interested in NES stuff. Anyway, we offered $5 for everything. He was hesitating, and sort of countered with $10. We stuck to the $5 offer and finally he said ok. In the car, we took a quick look over everything and saw a good chunk of titles we didn't own yet, which made the score even better. And the per game breakdown worked out to be 12 cents!

We scored the Donkey Kong Country video at the second sale of the day. We had asked the woman running the sale if she had any games, which she apologized and said she didn't. As we were walking back to the car, she called after us and came down her driveway with the video. She said she just saw this and thought we might be interested in it. She said we could just take it, and handed it to us. We thanked her and wished her luck for the rest of the day. Back in our old haunts, that would have never happened. The plus with the video was Liz had it back in the day - it was a preorder bonus for Donkey Kong Country - which at one point was donated or given away. It's always nice when things come back again. This happened back in 2006 with the free Nintendo Power magazines.

We had a fun morning and it was nice to be out yardsaling again, especially that we didn't come home empty-handed! Now the plan is to start getting our game room going. We'll probably start sometime in January (once we get through the wedding, honeymoon, and holiday season).