Bargain Bin Discoveries.

[Matchstick]

Great topic, TPG! I would have replied sooner if I had seen this before now. What are some of the "discoveries" in your own collection?

One of my favorite things about my [relatively small] collection is being able to recognize all the games and consoles I've picked up over the years that fit your criteria - things I stumbled across when I least expected. It's getting late, but I'm staying up and unpacking some moving boxes, so let me take a look across the room...

EDIT: My first post went on far, far too long. Sorry! But for a total cheap-ass like me, this is a fun topic. I've since whittled this down to my "top three."

My copy of Road Rash II for the Sega Genesis cost me $1, complete, at a St. Vinnie's in Springfield, OR. The cartridge had been chewed on by a dog, and the game didn't have a price, so the cashier sold it cheap as she was afraid it wouldn't work. It does. And looks totally rad with its battle damage.

The Toys R' Us in my hometown of Louisville, KY, had its own bargain bin treasures. I got Castlevania Bloodlines and Contra Hard Corps for the Genesis brand new for $5 each, around the year 2000. Actually bought a few copies of them so I could give a few to my friends. I also bought both NES Startropics games and Wario's Woods for $3.99 a piece a few years prior. And around 2008 or so, Gamecube games were on clearance, so I bought Fire Emblem and both Baten Kaitos titles for $5 a piece.

The Blockbusters in Louisville were always selling used N64 games, especially once the PS2 era hit. I bought Starcraft, Paper Mario, Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, and Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine for around $10 each, all complete in box. Sure, they have that annoying "Property of" sticker on them, but I just don't care.

(As a bonus, I kick myself for passing up on getting a Virtual Boy for $20, when Kay-Bee had about 30 of them overflowing in a bargain bin along with games and accessories. Like DocHix and the Vectrex stash, that still stings when I think back to it, too.)

[VideoGameCritic]

If I could only go back in time, I think I would stock up on those 32X's being sold for $19.95 each.

Hey this might make a fun new thread!

[Verm3]

One of my most recent bargain bin discoveries was finding a boxed copy of Pokémon black for DS in a charity shop for £1.

Admittedly I'm not a fan of Pokémon, but I couldn't resist.

[TheEagleXIII]

Back in September 2001 my local Electronic's Boutique had a sudden influx of preowned Sega Dreamcasts - so like half a year after it was discontinued? They had 10 of them stacked up randomly in the middle of the floor - all priced at £69.99 (Google tells me the launch price was £200.) Info was courtesy of a buddy of mine who bought one, and he said his was practically like new. They had four left the next day when I went to pick one up, and like his it looked good as new. Probably never would have owned or played the system otherwise.

Can't help but wonder if they were actually preowned or just shifting old stock.