New Arrivals!

I'm back! I wanted to give a quick run-down of what's been going on.

Youtube: I've been posting episodes daily of my Let's Play for Suikoden and Harvest Moon. This has taken a lot more time than I expected. I really enjoy doing this and will continue to do so. You can find my channel here.

Ecrater: My store is still active! The process of cleaning, testing, pictures, descriptions and promoting has taken any remaining time. Trying to then get a blog post up has become more difficult. I just put up an SNES console along with some great titles like Final Fantasy III, and Secret of Evermore. There will soon be an Atomic Blue N64 Console/Controller pack along with a number of games. I also won a small set of SNES games today!

Anyway, thanks for checking out my blog and such and I hope to try to do a better job staying updated.

Don't Forget My Ecrater Store Is Updated!

Don't forget to check out some deals I have at my Ecrater store!

You can find a near mint copy of Shenmue, a boxed Sega Genesis, Pokemon Stadium and the Banjo games as a start!

New Games!

Hello! I have updated my Ecrater store with roughly 20 new games! I'll share some pictures and give you a list as I have before!

List of finds:

ToeJam & Earl (Genesis)

NBA Jam T.E. (SNES)

Super Punch Out

Fifa 96

Super Wrestlemania

Tecmo Super Bowl III

NHL 96

California Games

Super Mario Kart

Super Mario World

Tecmo Super Bowl x2

Pilotwings

Ken Griffey Jr's Winning Run

Street Fighter II Turbo

Madden 94

Donkey Kong Country

The Legend of Zelda Link to the Past

Earthworm Jim

Madden 97

Strike Out!

Giving an update for today! I went to my usual stores/places today and struck out! I ran into a few SNES and Sega Master games but they were all sports games! Gah. Well, I'll be trolling Ebay for deals today and using Craigslist as well.

I've been messing around with Fraps and emulators but it is causing huge slowdowns when I go to record. My computer is ~1 year old so I'm not sure why. I'll try and figure it out. Thanks for viewing and don't forget to check out my new stuff in my store!

Nintendo 64 Games Arrived!

Hello! My Nintendo 64 games that I won from Ebay arrived and I now have them on my Ecrater website. I'll share with you some of the pictures that I took and list them for you again! Enjoy!

List of finds:

Pokemon Stadium 2 

Banjo-Tooie

Banjo-Kazooie

Bomberman 64

Flying Dragon

Batman Beyond Return of The Joker

Diddy Kong Racing

My Ebay Finds

My Ebay stuff has finally come! Well, three out of the four packages have come but I wanted to get something up. I won't show every picture but I'll give pictures of some notable games and then provide a list for you of each game!

This game has such an odd story!

C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER

So hard, but I love this game

RUN TO THE HILLS!

I could never beat this game :( CIB!

From downtown! Love this

Those were just a few games I got from Ebay. I still have some more to come but I wanted to at least get these up for you to enjoy! All my games are listed on my Ecrater store!

List of finds:

The Lion King (Genesis)

Mortal Kombat (Genesis)

Toejam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron (Genesis)

Ghouls 'N Ghosts (Genesis)

NBA Jam Tournament Edition (Genesis)

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Genesis)

Desert Strike Return to the Gulf (Genesis)

Aladdin (Genesis)

Jak II (PS2)

Spiderman (PS2)

The Sims (PS2)

Jak and Daxter The Precursor Legacy (PS2)

God of War II (PS2)

Gran Turismo 3 (PS2)

Brothers in Arms Earned in Blood (PS2)

Super Game Boy (SNES)

Tiny Toon Adventures Buster Busts Loose (SNES)

Illusion of Gaia (SNES)

Pilotwings (SNES)

Killer Instinct (SNES)

Wrestlemania The Arcade Game (SNES)

Family Dog (SNES)

Spiderman Xmen Arcade Revenge (SNES)

Robocop VS. The Terminator (SNES)

Mickey Mania (SNES)

Cool Spot (SNES)

The Lawnmower Man (SNES)

Saturday Flea Market Finds

Well the flea market came and went today. Found a few things but not a lot. Enjoy!

My girlfriend and I arrived at the fairgrounds around 8:45AM. Little early, nice. The admission guard directed us to the side parking lot where there were only handicap parking. We sat and realized this parking lot was too small. More people began to arrive and started to form a line, blocking others. Great, this is going to be a headache I thought. At 9, they opened the main gates and the line of cars began pulling into the fairgrounds. Damn. After the line went, I was able to pull into the main gates.

Some of the vendors were still setting up shop but most were ready. It was about 35 outside, nice and cold. We started going down the line of vendors outside and quickly gazed at the offerings. VHS, baby stuff, old tools, more VHS, hats, books. Outside was a bust in 5 minutes. Not looking that great.

We went inside the first of three buildings. Sweet, sweet heat. I started scanning each booth. Jewelry, hand made stuff and more tools. I stopped at one booth and saw 3 video games sitting there! Sports, damn, sports, damn again and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas for a good price! Score! I checked the case and CD and found nothing but wear and tear. I had to silently put it down, knowing some poor kid would buy a CD that would probably not work.

Moving on to the next building, I began my Speedy Gonzales look around. I walked inside someones booth and spotted:

A small find but a complete in box is always a nice grab. I also bought an NES controller but, sadly, the buttons do not respond.

Off to the next building and my girlfriend quickly spotted a vendor with consoles sitting out. NES, SNES, N64 and a PS1 all sitting there for the taking. Well, when they are quite overpriced, you'll always pass. Saddened, I asked if they had any games, to which he said they did! They had a very small collection of mainly PS2 games and PS1 but I did manage to grab:

I was happy with that one. Looking through the rest of the building I was able to find more games offered but all were sports games, or very high priced sports games. Sorry, I'll pass.

We visited another thrift store after and I made a mad dash towards the CD/game section. Struck out again! I walked down towards the electronic section, hoping to find something misplaced.

Oh, hello! A complete in box Sega CD game (also came with a newspaper for the game) and a boxed Sega game. Gotta love misplaced stuff!

I have added many, if not all, on my Ecrater store. Hopefully my Ebay wins will arrive next week and I can share more with you!

List of finds:

1x CIB RBI Baseball 3 (NES)

1x Tiny Toon Adventures (NES)

1x Pokemon Stadium (N64)

1x Sherlock Holmes Vol II CIB (Sega CD)

1x Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends (Sega Genesis)

Ebay and Fleas!

I wanted to give a quick update that I won some Ebay auctions! I should receive the games early November. I'll have pictures for you to look at and have them on my Ecrater store after they are tested.

I have a larger flea market to attend tomorrow morning along with other places. Hopefully I'll grab some gems and have a good story.

Wishing everyone a great weekend!

Updates and Upcoming Plans

I wonder how many times I can have a post title that has two "u" words...Anyway back on topic.

I made a couple small changes on the site. The background I have changed because I did not like the light blue color. Bleh. I added a twitter feed on the side (follow my twitter!) and a feed for my Ecrater store.

I also added a couple more items on my Ecrater store. You can find the cart for Pokemon SoulSilver and Grand Turismo 2 added. Check them out!

I found out this weekend, the county I live in will be sponsoring a large flea market. I plan to hit that the morning it starts and look for any great bargains I can find. Hopefully I'll find some great stuff and have a good story I can give.

Selling Retro Video Games, Is It Viable?

One thing I have heard from others I know, and online, is the question of, can retro video games be sold online for a profit? This is certainly an honest question. To even begin, if I did not feel it was viable I would not be doing this. I am going to try and point out why I feel this market has potential.

With the Internet, a person can download a ROM and play many of their favorite classics on their computer now. It's even possible to play many on an Android phone too. Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft all offer many older games for sale on their own online market. Why would someone want to buy these physical copies then? First, online distribution, while popular, has not overtaken the physical realm yet. Ask a person who wants a video game and I would place a bet that they would prefer a physical copy over a digital copy of a retro game.  What are some reasons why someone would want a physical copy?

The average age of a gamer is getting older. Some recent surveys, which I can't find right now, shows that the average age of a gamer is in their 30's. What do people have when they are in their 30's? Kids. Many parents love to share with their kids. For your kids birthday, would you rather give them a digital copy of Chrono Trigger, or the physical copy that you were able to find to buy? Everyone loves opening a present or even a box to find their treasure inside. Sure, many people will just download a digital copy of a game but many love the feeling of opening something or giving gifts.

Nostalgia can sometimes be described as rose colored glasses. Many people look back on their earlier years and remember the great times they had with their old games. Being able to have a real copy of a game is a great way to relive those moments.

Many people are collectors. To be a collector is to find original copies of games in as great as condition as possible. Would a collector take a digital copy and say they are expanding their collection? I very highly doubt. Many of these people look for bargains. It can be tough selling to these people, but not all the time.

Probably the biggest issue to overcome is exposure. Go to Ebay, Ecrater or type in Google for video game stores and see all the lists. How does one overcome this mass amount of people? My answer, persistence and quality. Be persistent and not give up and you will start to rise above others. Have quality products and this will bring referrals to you. Use twitter and other social tools to help bring in people and provide a way for people to interact with you. Have a blog, like this one! It will be slow at first but it will help. Find forums for people with relevant interests and, if possible, relay your store or blog or twitter. Do not spam people on forums as that is considered very rude.

These are all reasons that selling online can work. There are many hurdles, and I only touched on one. If you really wish to be successful, you must be willing to accept it will be very difficult at first.

Ecrater Store Updated

Since I acquired my first set of merchandise for sale, I have updated my Overstock Retro store. Though there is not much up (yet), I wanted to let everyone know! I'm going to go enjoy the rest of my day and hope, if you are reading this, you have a great day too!

Garage Sale Story

Today was my first day out shopping at local garage sales and Thrift Stores for merchandise to sell online. Overall the day went okay. It is getting colder outside so the amount of garage sales are limited but I felt I did okay overall for my first day. Let's recap how the day went.

7:30AM: wake up, look at the alarm clock and wonder why I am up this early again. Look over to my girlfriend and tell her it's time to get up. She makes her usual grunt at me that indicates "If you wake me up I will murder you where you stand and hide your body in the lake." Make breakfast and get ready to leave by 8:30.

I hit the first sale at 9 at a nearby church with a rummage sale. We walk in and the smell that you get when you walk into an old church fills my senses. Look around and there are about 4 tables set-up with mainly clothes and miscellaneous items. Because I don't want to feel like a jerk, I look around with my girlfriend. I see they have some huge alien head-ware that you see in beauty salons. Nothing at our side, we leave.

We start out towards our next destination on the other side of town. We stop at a Volunteers of America thrift store. This is not a small thrift store but a very, very large one. We're talking Wal-Mart size big now. I get out of the car and the cold air is bringing in the smell of the local fast food joints. I never stop enjoying that smell. Inside, I make a quick run towards the area with CDs and electronics. One tip in any thrift store, look for the CDs if you want to score video game related items; most thrift stores just put these with music CDs and have no clue. I look through the stack and quickly spot two items.

Not the greatest finds but it is a start. I have to remind myself that I can't just stock the rarest, greatest items. I can't let MY tastes decide what I buy. I have to learn based on making mistakes what will sell and what won't.

We leave and heads towards another rummage sale at a local church. We parked in the front and walk up to the front door and we see a sign that says, "Please use back door for sale." Damn. We walk around, the cold air letting up a little bit and go inside. Everything 50% off! Great! Hopefully they have a gem hiding. We pick up a couple things we could use around our apartment, extension cord, light, but I don't notice anything related to video games. Strike 2 for rummage sales.

We head to a local goodwill next and strike out there. These larger thrift stores are either hit-or-miss. When I've shopped at these in the past you can find great stuff, or nothing. Today, it's nothing.

We head to another larger thrift store and find, in my opinion, the greatest board game I have ever seen in my life! Conglomerate is a board game that my accounting heart will love. I'll be playing it tonight with the girlfriend. She will feel my wrath!

After getting groceries we head to a place for lunch because we have a gift card. We plan to eat there and hit a tiny locally owned thrift store. Am I glad we got there soon after they opened...

Now that is what I like to see! We found a boxed Sega Genesis, a non boxed Sega Genesis with controllers and a near mint copy of Shenmue! Now that I like to see! I love this little thrift store. We have obtained a few other things there at real great prices. I do feel this place will be my little gem where I find great deals.

I decided that we should try and look at a local pawn shop. These places can be seedy but can have great finds as well. I remember seeing a local pawn shop online that had pictures of a lot of video games they had but could not remember where they were. After driving around looking downtown, we decide to stop at another pawn shop that I believe is not the correct one (I was right). We get there 10 minutes before they open and the guy opens the door and lets us in anyway. Well that's cool, I can't say that wasn't nice. We look around and see, gun, gun, gun, tv, tv, jewelry and more jewelry. I spot, near the back, a little stack of new and older video games. Swish! I ask to look at the older games because I can't see the titles. After looking at them I grab two games.

It's always great finding these older games out in the market. We get home a little later and I start testing everything out and everything seems to be in working order. Always good to know everything is working. We get all the pictures taken and I get everything added to my Overstock Retro Ecrater store after a little work and I feel good.

Did I find a lot today? Not a lot. What did I find out? I found out today that I will need to expand where I search to find games. I will need to use other sources to keep stock flowing in to add to my store. I have a paltry amount right now and I will need to grow. This is a good first step though.

Ecrater: My Online Store!

So I mentioned in my first post that Ecrater would be the home of my store. Why did I choose this over the traditional Ebay route? Like most things in life, it comes down to price!

Ecrater advertises themselves as free! Free you say? Surely there must be some kind of catch or limiting factor to this. There really is no, what I consider, major drawback. The only thing Ecrater requires is that you bring people to your store. With Ebay, they are focused on the buyers. With Ecrater, they are focused on the seller. I find that perfect because Ebay has, as I'm sure you're aware if you sell on there, been increasing their fees over the last few years. Finding a site that allowed me to set-up a store that is free with decent traffic is what I wanted.

This means that I need to promote my store and bring people in though. Can I do that? I hope so. I guess as the months go by and either fatigue or my impatience catches up I will discover if I really can do it.

Welcome! What is this?!

First, I want to thank you for visiting my blog! So what is this blog and why should you read it? Well in all honesty, I don't think even I know what this blog is!

I guess I should introduce myself. I'm 26, I work for a company doing their office and accounting work. I know, very exciting. I've always had a dream to work for myself. Where I can wake up and have my own schedule! Sure, having your own schedule as a business owner is generally not too realistic, but having my work be for my business is something I need. This blog is one step towards that dream. How?

This blog will, hopefully, detail my journey from just starting out with my business to being my own boss. My business will, as of now, revolve around my Ecrater store Overstock Retro. 

As time goes on, I would love to include reviews for older games for people to get nostalgic.

That's the plan (some plan huh?). It will take work (damn!). Shortly I'll plan on adding a blog detailing my plan for acquiring inventory to sell. Enjoy the site!