Retro Shopping UK

Brian CivilEng

Heading to the UK next week, Preston, Blackburn and Warrington. I keep hearing of people getting great old stuff in retro shops for 1p over in the UK, any place in particular I should look out for in these cities?

*Dreams about arriving home with a stack of NES, SNES and MD games, maybe even a Speccy*

Atavan-Halen

Haha that was probably me :P

Not sure about Preston and Blackburn but I was in Warrington. Lots of places to pick up stuff there. There's a big pawn shop called Cex with gamecube onwards stuff, so nothing overly retro there. Theres another pawn shop with a few games but nothing much. In the Warrington market there's a tiny game shop that does retro, but it really is tiny and reeks of bleach. There's about 5 charity shops around so be sure to check them out. In the shopping centre there's a Gamestation which usually does retro but had sweet feck all when I was there. There's also anothe game shop there which does some retro but I thought it was expensive.

Of course all the stock in these shops changes all the time so you never know!

Butch Cassidy

I think that was actually me! I got MD games for a penny and Syphon filter for a penny



Gamestation should be your first port of call - http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=gamestation&sll=53.774689,-2.58728&sspn=0.339234,1.234589&ie=UTF8&split=1&rq=1&ev=zi&radius=25.21&hq=gamestation&hnear=&ll=53.785238,-2.357941&spn=0.339148,1.234589&t=h&z=10&iwloc=B

I've gotten some Xbox games, N64 games, PS1 games and of course Mega Drive games out of them. I've seen Gamecube bundles, Xbox, SNES, MD, SAturn and Dreamcast second hand bundles there.


It's worth trying Cash Converters - http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=Cash+Converters&sll=52.709675,-0.664673&sspn=1.391152,4.938354&ie=UTF8&split=1&rq=1&ev=p&hq=Cash+Converters&hnear=&ll=53.602285,-1.367798&spn=1.362528,4.938354&t=h&z=8

I've seen Xbox, Gamecube and PS1 games in there before - I got X-Files the game out of it . Erm the one I was in used to have some Saturn football Games as well as some MD along with a few old controllers but they either sold them or chucked them and I ain't seen any since. But it's worth a look.


CEX is also worth a look but I found them to be a bit expensive. Well, sort of. They basically price stuff in line with Ebay prices so you won't find Twin Snakes for cheap basically!



Aside from them the only other one I know of is GAME. They have a unilateral policy on trading so you won't find any rogue manager who has taken in some PS1 games or anything but you might find a shop that was clearing out an old press and found some games. At the least you could find good PS2 games!

There'll probably be some local games shops or even an electronics shop selling games so just keep your eyes peeled and whatever you do GO TO EVERY CHARITY SHOP YOU CAN FIND!!! Charity shops over there are great for nuggets and leave ours to shame.

Atavan-Halen

I got Super Mario Kart, Mario All Stars, Super Street Figher 2, Super Mario World, Sonic (on the MD) and an american football football game for the game gear for a penny each

Butch Cassidy

I got Sonic 3 for a penny. It was the cart only but I'm not a collector.

Atavan-Halen

Butch Cassidy wrote: »

I got Sonic 3 for a penny. It was the cart only but I'm not a collector.

Exactly, I'd rather play the game tan have it sit on a shelf. Unless I can get 2 sealed copies or whatever, cart only or semi-complete stuff wouldn't bother me. However, consoles on the other hand...love to have them boxed

o1s1n

atavan-halen wrote: »

Exactly, I'd rather play the game tan have it sit on a shelf. Unless I can get 2 sealed copies or whatever, cart only or semi-complete stuff wouldn't bother me. However, consoles on the other hand...love to have them boxed

I dunno..I was always of the same opinion. However once Jack Burton rolled up with his CIB Megadrive game only policy I'm starting to change my mind. Everything I'm buying now has to be CIB. Just seems like it's missing something if the book isn't there.

Atavan-Halen

o1s1n wrote: »

I dunno..I was always of the same opinion. However once Jack Burton rolled up with his CIB Megadrive game only policy I'm starting to change my mind. Everything I'm buying now has to be CIB. Just seems like it's missing something if the book isn't there.

In all honesty though, do you RTFM? :P I would if it has nice artwork, otherwise no. I take the man approach: Fling the manual out the window and go into a game guns blazing mashing buttons like nobody's business!

o1s1n

As I am male, no, I have never read an instruction manual. Be it for a game, assembling a computer, lego, putting together a unit. Us men don't need them

But ah...you open up the case, there's the cart..but there's a big empty space where the booklet should be. The cart looks..sad. Lonely. It needs the booklet!!!!

Anyway, if you think I'm bad, wait till Jack Burton comes in with his 'Hanging tab only' policy. :pac:

Jack burton

CIB with hanging tabs is the only way to go! Come on people!

I have my fair share of carts bit A box and a manual are needed, I dont want orphans of all my games.

Even though the PAL MD manuals are crap ( check out the japanese ones ****ING COOL ) You just need them.

Some games arrived the other day and I was kinda of disapointed



Not tab on demolition man, and whats worse is that it was clearly ripped off, some of its shreaded remains are still on the top ( cant see it in the pic ) if it were an early MD game i would undertstand, they can be annoying but on the blue label boxes theres and extra bit of plastic for them to tuck under WTF! and i dont want to change the case because its an Akllaim case but i will have to, theres dirt on the plastic aswell.


and before anyone gets on my back, yes i know i am a wierdo

Brian CivilEng

Manuals are for reading on the bus home from the shop with your new purchase, to keep you going until you reach your living room.

o1s1n

Awh that's a shame. I was a bit weird with swapping cases first, but don't really mind anymore after swapping lots. Apart from 3rd party cases, there really isn't much of a difference between them at all. Not that I've noticed anyway.

My Wiley Wars came with no hanging tab. Was very quickly swapped to a clean clamshell with one! Same with Ecco Jr and a few other of my more interesting games.

Jack burton

Ah i dont mind swapping for generic case but for example all my Konami ones have Konami stamped on the inside of the case, which really completes it I think, well for my good games anyway, Like rockt knight and zombies.

Butch Cassidy

o1s1n wrote: »

I dunno..I was always of the same opinion. However once Jack Burton rolled up with his CIB Megadrive game only policy I'm starting to change my mind. Everything I'm buying now has to be CIB. Just seems like it's missing something if the book isn't there.

The book's always ****e. You should be able to find scans and artwork online. The Sonic collections released a few years were great cause they had loads of artwork in them. Nah, life's too short to be faffing around with manuals.

Though I do kinda get a bit ticked when I buy something in Gamestop and the manual's missing let alone the bleedin cover!! What the hell do people be doing with the stuff!! I've got Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on PS2 and there's feckin much on the case! MUCK!

Jack burton

Would you buy a car if it was missing its back seats?

they're not essential to the car and what difference would it make to you, you'll be driving anyway!

I think not! manuals are part of the game and if there not there it is incomplete, just think some manual is in a bin or possibly in ashes somwhere longing to be in its plastic castle once again right next to its father cartridge

o1s1n

Jack burton wrote: »

Ah i dont mind swapping for generic case but for example all my Konami ones have Konami stamped on the inside of the case, which really completes it I think, well for my good games anyway, Like rockt knight and zombies.

I did not know that about Konami cases! Feck. Wish you hadn't told me!

Butch Cassidy wrote: »

Though I do kinda get a bit ticked when I buy something in Gamestop and the manual's missing let alone the bleedin cover!! What the hell do people be doing with the stuff!! I've got Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on PS2 and there's feckin much on the case! MUCK!

I haven't a clue. It's weird. Some people even binned games cases and just kept the cart. As if the clamshell was an extension of the exterior packaging. That one always boggles my mind

Atavan-Halen

Yeah I never understood why so many MD games ended up unboxed. I can understand NES and gameboy boxes, I threw them out myself back in the day, but plastic cases?

o1s1n

I remember someone else before mentioned ex rentals. Which would be responsible for a certain amount of unboxed games..but there are too many of them for it to just be that.

If the Nomad was released here that could also have been the cause. As many Nomad auctions I've seen have a load of unboxed games.

Hmm, seems morons just flung them out!