I'd like to buy an NES console in good working condition.
What are good ways to do that?
I see a number of choices on eBay but I don't know if there might be a better resource than just buying one that looks good from a random seller there.
I'd be shipping to the US and while lower price is always good it doesn't have to be the cheapest if it's good in other ways.
Let me know if there's additional information I can provide that helps in answering the question. Thanks friends.
I'd go with ebay. Specialized shops promise you that they have looked the unit over, but they'll jack up the price. On a personal preference, i'd avoid units that have had their cartridge connector replaced. The tighter grip of those is unpleasant and might wear down the contacts on your cartridges eventually.
If you're in the US and getting an US-sold unit, i think there's nothing in particular to look out for. By comparison, in europe; different countries had differently sized barrel plugs on their power inlets (german and french units have bigger inlets than uk and scandinavian ones, at least), and french units were additionally altered to work with SECAM tellies.
That’s super helpful. Thanks very much!
Just remember, if you buy something from someone who isn't a collector, disregard whatever they say about condition.
Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Perfect, Good, Flawless actually mean Poor or Fair.
Look at the pictures, see what you're getting, and realize then that it's probably worse than the pictures show anyway.
And you might want to give them some advice on how to package them. I've bought plenty of games and consoles that have arrived with no packing, poor packing, tape on game labels, literal dog poop.
Most transactions are fine but the issues do happen so it's important to try to mitigate them as best you can.
The problem with eBay is that you're always paying the highest price the market will bear.
If you're in the U.S. and are patient, you may have better luck watching Craigslist and visiting garage sales. You'll always get the best deal from a local person who just wants to get rid of their junk.
Try to get one with the original power cable and 2 controllers.
You can pick up loose controllers from used stores. It's harder to find original power supply (very heavy), which is superior to the cheap Chinese, light as a feather, ones.
gauauu wrote:
visiting garage sales
I'm a little envious of this option
FrankenGraphics wrote:
gauauu wrote:
visiting garage sales
I'm a little envious of this option
They're harder to find than they were 10 years ago. But you can still find them occasionally. I picked one up for $20 last fall.
I found craigslist to have worse prices than ebay.
You might try
https://www.shopgoodwill.com/
gauauu wrote:
The problem with eBay is that you're always paying the highest price the market will bear.
I never see any places selling video games stuff cheaper than eBay. On eBay sellers are competing with everyone, and when they eventually manage to drive prices up, it reflects on every other store.
Buying an NES console locally will often cost at least twice as much as the typical cheapest going price on eBay.
I'm of the same experience, though i think i'm comparing to the rare occasions where you still might find a unit or some cartridges at a country fair (i think country fair culture is more equally present here compared to n. american backyard sales or east european flea markets.. googling the english term for country fair doesn't quite look like the institution i'm thinking of here). Anyway, these vendors are expecting to turn a profit, so it's always higher than someone just selling on ebay (or tradera, the local filial) to get rid of old stuff. It used to be a lot easier finding interesting stuff at a decent price at these fairs.
It sounds weird and I haven't tried myself, but I've often heard of people getting good results from simply boiling the OEM connector in water (use distilled if you have hard water though). That would probably be better than using one of the replacement connectors. Probably 99% of the time, if a front-loading NES isn't working it's just the connector.
If it comes with controllers, you'll also want to be sure they're legit ones and not some $1.50 knockoffs. I haven't used any of the NES clone controllers, but the SNES ones I've tried are awful.
Memblers wrote:
If it comes with controllers, you'll also want to be sure they're legit ones and not some $1.50 knockoffs. I haven't used any of the NES clone controllers, but the SNES ones I've tried are awful.
I made the mistake of buying a clone controller for my backup NES. It's terrible.
Pubby wrote:
I found craigslist to have worse prices than ebay.
Craigslist is weird because half the people are there to try to make money, and a few are there just to dump their stuff. To get a good deal, you have to keep an eye on it, and jump on the good deals as soon as they show up. It also helps if you're willing to drive 40 minutes out to the small town in the middle of nowhere.
I have an NES I'll sell you. Shoot me a PM if your are interested.
Another buy-used-stuff website I've used (within the US) with excellent success is Swappa. Not sure if they'd have classic consoles, but anything is possible.
It doesn't look like OP is coming back, but I've wanted to share a bit of my experience here.
I would not recommend looking at yard sales for an NES in 2019 unless you don't value your time. Your chances of finding one are slim, and if you do, the seller is going to pull out their smart phone to look up what it sells for. That is the way of the world today.
If you were to buy a refurbished console, realize that the consoles were in the worst possible condition before they were repaired. If a seller is buying consoles to repair and sell for profit, they are not buying the most expensive, nicest units. They are not buying boxed consoles and refurbishing them. They're buying cheap consoles. They are buying the ones that they can make the most money from.
Craigslist, I also consider to be a waste of time. Any good deals are gone immediately, so unless it's worthwhile for you to sit there and stare at Craigslist listings for days on end to save ten dollars, you're going to be paying eBay prices on Craigslist too.
It makes more sense to me to spend 5 minutes clicking, buying, and then going on with your life.
Personally, I feel like I've wasted a lot of money trying to save money. It's really disappointing to buy something that you think is going to entertain you for years to see it die in a month, or not work at all. I've come full circle in my collecting to the point that I would rather pay more to have a minty boxed console that was barely used. I guess I decided that if I'm going to pay the money to buy something for my own personal entertainment then I'll be happier having one that I'm excited about owning, rather than one that inspires frustration. I get more for my money that way. It's supposed to be a fun hobby and fussing with a broken machine is not fun to me. When you go to share an awesome game with your friends and your "iffy" console decides not to cooperate, that's not fun. Especially when the realization that your beloved console has died sets in, that can put a damper on the fun you're trying to have.
Front-loader NESes are kind of a dime a dozen though and didn't work well when they were brand new. Personally, I see no reason not to get an AV Famicom, but I'm not a hardware expert. I've added pressure to the ZIF slot pins on front-loaders before and that works okay, but it's still a far cry from the reliability of a top-loader, and you don't get expansion audio. Even if you buy a minty NES front-loader in box with bags and everything, the pins could use some work. I was around in the 80s and even then front-loading NESes were spotty.
If you do want to buy one in person, there are some advantages to buying from a local store. You can look at it in person before you buy. You can return it if something goes wrong. You can browse their other titles. But maybe the best part is that you can socialize about games and hopefully make some friends. I've spent a lot of time hanging out in game stores whether I was buying anything or not. If somebody's going to make some money off you, then you might as well find a local business that you want to support in your community.
As someone who's bought probably 100 consoles (not all for myself) and has spent a lot of time trying to save money, I think it's important to realize that you may actually be costing yourself in the long run to try and snag that good deal.
Especially in lieu of what darryl.revok just wrote: is there a particular reason
buying an AVS isn't a more feasible option? Sure, it's not "the real thing" (which might matter depending on what you're trying to do), but it also isn't an Retron 3 or 5 (those are just glorified ROM dumpers + emulators) so it's a bit more like the real thing but with an HDMI hookup.
@darryl.revok I’m here!
There’s lots of great advice here. I especially appreciate the idea behind paying more for less headache and having a good quality console. A big reason for me asking in the first place is because the only console I have is my childhood console and I don’t want to be stuck without an alternative if it fails.