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  • Joined: 06 Dec 2019
  • Posts: 4
  • Location: Australia
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Restoring my Collection
Post Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2020 10:31 pm
Hello all. I’m a long time reader and first time poster.

I’m an ex-Master System owner who, I’m sure like many of you, stupidly parted with my SMS for a few dollars back in the late 90’s and have regretted it almost ever since.

I’ve finally embarked on my quest to restore my collection to its former glory and introduce my children to the wonderfully innocent world of 8-bit gaming.

It would appear that my only practical prospect of restoring my collection any time soon would be to use ebay. This is fine, and despite being auction based it seems you can still find the odd bargain on there if you’re patient. For some reason, and it’s probably nostalgia based, I would love to find myself an old collection at a garage sale.

This leads me to my question: in this day and age, decades after the peak of the SMS and when supply is limited and demand increasing, does anybody still have luck finding SMS items that aren’t advertised online? I would love to hear your own recent success stories to inspire me – especially if you’re from Australia!
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  • Joined: 01 Feb 2014
  • Posts: 849
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Post Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2020 7:22 am
I had no such luck with SMS items, but I did find beautifully preserved copies of Mega Drive games at a flea market just last year. I paid 15 € for Probotector MD, and I could have gotten Rocket Knight Adventures for another 10, but I already had that in my collection.
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  • Joined: 14 Aug 2000
  • Posts: 740
  • Location: Adelaide, Australia
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Restoring my Collection
Post Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2020 7:57 am
ebay is probably the best source. These days it's slim pickings at pawn shops like Cashies. I gave up hunting at markets and garage sales ages ago because any Sega items were few and far between.
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  • Joined: 08 Sep 2018
  • Posts: 270
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Post Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2020 5:52 pm
The old game store I sometimes go to and one of my friends runs would sell SMS games for like 1$ loose, 5$ if it was at least in box. Didnt matter the title since they rarely sold them and they have never had an SMS in store. Though they actually got an SMS 2 and have that thing at 200$ no controllers no hookups about a year ago and to this day it still sits gathering dust. Just keep looking my dude things are always bound to pop up!
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  • Joined: 29 Mar 2012
  • Posts: 879
  • Location: Spain
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2020 8:59 am
IllusionOfMana wrote
Though they actually got an SMS 2 and have that thing at 200$ no controllers no hookups about a year ago and to this day it still sits gathering dust.


Wow!, in my city, one boxed complete SMS II is at a pawn shop for around 60 $... Loose would be something like 35$
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  • Joined: 05 Sep 2013
  • Posts: 3763
  • Location: Stockholm, Sweden
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2020 10:25 am
some 5 years ago I had found a complete SMS II (console, pad, gun, power adapter, cables) at a flea market for 5 (FIVE) € and I didn't buy that because I had exactly the same thing at home.

I'll regret that forever.
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  • Joined: 29 Mar 2012
  • Posts: 879
  • Location: Spain
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2020 10:48 am
sverx wrote
some 5 years ago I had found a complete SMS II (console, pad, gun, power adapter, cables) at a flea market for 5 (FIVE) € and I didn't buy that because I had exactly the same thing at home.

I'll regret that forever.


Shame on you xD
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  • Joined: 05 Sep 2013
  • Posts: 3763
  • Location: Stockholm, Sweden
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2020 6:19 pm
kusfo wrote
Shame on you xD


yeah!

the story behind that is kind of funny, anyway.

I was ordering the mess that is my room, and it was one of those days when you realize you've got WAY too many things, that you never do much with 99% of your things, that many people in this world don't even have clean water, that the very important things in life you can't buy, etc. etc... you know.

so I went out for a walk, and I stumbled in a small flea market / car boot sale and there it was. I asked if it was working - the guy said it was - and the price - 5 Euros

I turned it around in my hand for a minute, then said thanks and went away.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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  • Joined: 06 Dec 2019
  • Posts: 4
  • Location: Australia
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Post Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2020 10:15 am
Thanks guys. I thought that was the case, and shouldn't be surprised considering it has been 30 years since the peak of the SMS. I'm still keeping a look out though. I can't resist poking my head into op shops anyway.

Sverx I can definitely relate to your thoughts regarding worldly possessions and how superfluous they are when compared to what really matters. Do you think it's bad to have a desire to collect a few things (obviously in my case that's SMS paraphernalia)? I sometimes think about that as well. I have so many interests, children to raise, a career to focus on....meanwhile should I just forget about indulgent pursuits such as this?! Maybe a question for the philosophers reading this.
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  • Joined: 05 Sep 2013
  • Posts: 3763
  • Location: Stockholm, Sweden
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Post Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2020 10:25 am
tipsy_m wrote
Do you think it's bad to have a desire to collect a few things (obviously in my case that's SMS paraphernalia)?


I think it's fine as long as you know what is really important for you in your life. Who I am to answer this anyway? ;)
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  • Joined: 10 Aug 2005
  • Posts: 79
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Post Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:21 am
FB marketplace and garage sales really are you only bet to get "deals" on games but yeah, costs are pretty prohibitive now days. Every now and then though, very very rarely I will encounter something that I had not seen before, in terms of posters etc. Awhile back I was at a regional town in an old video rental shop and they had a SMS Sonic poster, they wouldn't sell it to me.
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  • Joined: 22 Feb 2020
  • Posts: 51
  • Location: Washington, DC
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Post Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2020 12:07 pm
I look on craigslist... still rare to find stuff.

We had a Music and Gaming Festival here in the US that had 20,000 attendees. Whole convention center full of 100s of free-to- play arcade and pinball machines, a hall dedicated to indie games, one dedicated to board games, and one dedicated to consoles. You check out games like a library and they have a LOT. This year there were no Master Systems at all in the console hall. Tons of NES and Genesis, PSX etc, but no SMS. They did have a Mark III in the "vintage" area, but only one game in it.

They also have a hall dedicated to merchandise. A bunch of people selling new and retro games. Some had SMS games, but they were only a VERY small selection compared to all the other systems and the prices were higher than Ebay... also, no good games.

I brought in some doubles I had to trade and the vendors had no interest. Not even in the Space Harrier 3D complete with box/ manual. They didn't even off me $1 for it. Ebay is where to go.

Most of my collection I had from childhood, I never sell my games. About 15 years ago I started to reminisce and ended up getting unique games that use the peripherals i already had (3d glasses/ light phaser). Only very recently (a month or so ago) did I learn about FM sound embedded in games ive had since childhood so I got the itch again. Id like to experience those games as they were meant to be played.
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