Sunday, May 1, 2011

#696 & 697 Bomberman 2 & Donkey Kong Jr Math


Games #696 & 697
Bomberman 2 & Donkey Kong Jr Math
Paid $10
4/30/11 - Sunny Flea Market

Flea markets are awesome. Usually there are a many 'ordinary' people there to clear out attics, closets and storage units - much of their stuff is of the garage sale variety and they just want it gone. Having several of them all together in one place to save you the hassle of driving around sketchy neighborhoods and getting lost trying to follow posterboard signs sure is convenient. Almost all of the sellers are willing to haggle a little bit, so I don't feel bad talking their initial price down a couple of bucks, even when I'm picking up rarities like these.

Most flea markets also have semi-permanent tenants that are there every weekend to peddle whatever wares they specialize in. Power tools, dresses and makeup, jewelry, etc. can be found en masse along with at least one or two video game resellers. Often they will have a good selection, but generally higher prices than the normal folks. Don't worry, they'll bargain with you just the same. One thing I have noticed is that ANYTHING with Mario on the cover automatically commands a $15-$20 price. Even common as dirt SMB/Duck Hunt carts. You should never pay more than a dollar for one of those.

The Houston area has several flea markets within a short driving distance. This was my first (and likely last for a long time) visit to the Sunny flea market located in a not-so-great part of town on the north side. While there were many vendors and booths set up and a couple of other fleas next door and across the street, the video game finds were sparse. Only maybe 6 booths (out of several hundred) had video games, mostly PS2/Xbox. I was able to snag these games for $5 each, and that made the trip entirely worth it. Bomberman 2 is uncommon and in demand - online copies go for $50+ and the only one I've seen in a brick-and-mortar store is going for $35. DK Jr Math is an uncommon 'black box' game - a subset that I prefer to collect in the original boxes. The half dozen games in the set that I still need are incredibly expensive to collect in the box, so a cart only of this educational game is fine by me, especially at this price.

One more quick thing to note about this flea market - it had a Dinosaur Land. Smack in the middle was a little courtyard with dinosaur statues and some benches. No, you weren't allowed to climb on the dinos. Very strange...


So there - after a couple of $20 pickups (boo) and an Easter gift (yay) a real bargain find to share with you. Only 3 more to go before hitting the 700 mark!

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