Getting Started With Game Collecting

I got started game collecting years back and though I do not keep up with it as much as I used to, I still managed to obtain a decent collection and I am capable of adding to it whenever I feel inclined. Game collecting can also be a source of extra income where you find great deals and then turn around to sell them for profit, I would label myself both a collector and a seller. The main thing that I would recommend for a person looking to get involved in any form of collecting is to know what you are collecting, specifically are you focusing on a particular franchise, genre, platform, etc. I am going to list a variety of places that you can use to buy/acquire games, I will only discuss methods that I myself have used so understand that there are always more options at your disposal.

• Large Retailers(Target, Walmart...): The Pikachu 3DS XL is one of my favorite items in my collection and I picked it up at a Target store when it was on sale for $160, including tax I paid a total of $176. I never opened my copy and just a couple of days ago one sold on Ebay for a total of $400 including shipping.
• Ebay: Not only is Ebay the best idea of what a game is actually worth, you could also come across a great deal. Some people that list on Ebay do not know what they are listing and can miss out big time, that particular game Earthbound will sell for over $130 all day.
• Pawn Shops: I have scored great finds more frequently at pawn shops than anywhere else, they tend tend carry current releases as well as older games but if you do not know what you should be paying for a game you could easily overpay. I have managed to pick up older consoles and games complete in the box and rare gems that I would have had to pay 10x more had I gotten them anywhere else.
• Yard Sales: Second to only pawn shops as far as where I have gotten the best deals, you may need to get there early but you can always negotiate(what would be the total price if I bought all of the games?) and you may have to ask specifically if they have games for sale, some people look at those old things and tell themselves that nobody would want to buy them.
• Thrift Stores(Salvation Army/Goodwill): Recently I have been having the most luck here, you can find all sorts of unique items and I recently picked up a brand new in box NES "dogbone" controller for a couple of dollars.
• Friends/Coworkers/Neighbors...: There are probably more people than you realize that are currently sitting on a bunch of old games collecting dust. Given that these are people that you personally know, you should offer to buy the games, especially if your intent is to turn around and sell them.

I want to stress that no matter what any game collecting website may say, your item is worth exactly what a person is willing to pay for it and nothing more. If a website tells you that your copy of BMX XXX is worth $10 but I can readily pick one up on Ebay for $2, your copy is actually worth $2. If you do intend on selling on Ebay it's best to have an existing history of buying/selling there and make sure you have positive feedback but I will get more into selling successfully on Ebay at another time.