This is the traditional weekly thrift and bargain finds list.
These lists may start empty but as always: add your items.
Put in what you consider a bargain, tell us how much you paid and the place you got it from. Bargains can be thrift store finds or any second-hand purchases or discounted games bought new. Don't forget to add your encounters with the Thrift Store Irritant Squad™ and any other embellishments in order to make it even more interesting.
Our GeekGuild: The Ancient and Loyal Order of Thrifters. Enter the halls of thriftdom at your own risk. Do mind the stacks of prized games. Don't mention the musty smell and try not to sneeze. Be sure to bow before our King, EvilTimmy I, and pay your due respects to last year's King, Blackwind I. http://www.boardgamegeek.com/guild/193
Found a very nice Go board, measures 48x48 cm. No stones included, the rules however are still there, and it's all in the original box. Paid 3 euro's for it.
Another find, only 50 cents at another thriftstore. Content of the box: new and complete. Box itself has shelfwear, but not much. One of the games I was hoping to find.
Found an old original dutch scrabble box (red) for 1 euro. My mom used to have this version, but it was mauled and consequently thrown away a few years ago. I gave this to her to replace her old one, and she was quite happy with it. I'm pretty sure she'll be playing this soon.
Game itself all complete and in very good condition.
And the last one, a version of the new Mousetrap in Dutch "Muizenval". Cost 2,50 euro. Only the 2 balls were missing, otherwise it's complete and in almost unplayed condition. I picked it up since I used to love the commercials for this on TV when I was a kid, but decided afterwards that it's better to donate this to the kindergarden my mom works. Hopefully, some kids in school will be as thrilled with this as I was with The Amazing Labyrinth, and will want to play boardgames when they get older because of it.
My mom already knew things to replace the 2 balls with, so it will be playable again.
Continuing my trend of finding LOTR a mate of mine picked this up for £1.25 in a thrift store in Wrexham. I persuaded him to give it to me It's complete including the stickers and in excellent condition
Found in the GoodWill store for $2. An unpunched, unplayed, complete copy of aMAZEing Labyrinth. We have been enjoying it with our grandson each of his visits.
Thrifting yesterday, the little girl (3 years old) and I spotted a couple of tiny little bicycles. She tried to hop onto one, but it was a tad too big for her. It also lacked training wheels. I hemmed and hawed about it before finally leaving it behind.
So today, what do I see? A tiny (maybe a bit smaller) little bike with training wheels. It's definitely in a girls style, with the tassels on the handle bars and everything. And it's in purple, the indisputable, no questions asked, favourite colour of all little girls living in my house. And at the price of $8, could I refuse a bike that was verily placed here for me to find specifically for my daughter? Of course not. Incredible find, if I do say so myself.
Oh, and I picked up Lord of the Rings - The Search in shrink for $1. All at the Salvation Army Thrift Store.
My wife--while on a short road trip with her mother and her daughter over the weekend--found this (looks like the edition shown) in an obscure thrift shop in Kennewick, Washington. They were actually shopping for clothes when she came across a toy section.
Obviously knowing how much time I spend in the local thrift stores, she eyeballed the games and called me. "Do you want Break the Safe?" she asked. "No thanks. Can't get rid of the one I have."
"You want any trivia games? There's a load of trivia games."
"No trivia games, thanks." I said with much patience while awaiting the inevitable questions about Operation, Sorry or a Jig-saw Puzzle Mystery. But That didn't happen. Instead, I heard, "How about one called Senet?"
"Huh...what?" I asked. "Say that again..."
"Senet, s...e...n...e...t. Am I saying it right? Hey, there's a really neat drawer in this board!"
I smiled. "Yes, my sweet. You're saying it perfectly."
Senet. $3.00. Great find for us. Some light wear on the box, but the game is in perfect condition. A keeper.
You can always find cheap versions of this game along with chess and checkers. The thing that caught my eye this time was it was still in a box. I pulled it out and its a vinyl carry case version. Open that up and find that the magnetic chips are still sealed in the plastic manufacturer's bag. Dice are still in a tiny zip-lock. I've been meaning to pick up a copy of Backgammon and a brand new travel edition for $2 from Deseret Industries was just too hard to let pass by!
Yeah, those games were really a travesty. I think a lot of us have been suckered into picking up those games - and they are usually in almost-new condition go figure.
I actually dismantled the one I picked up (The Two Towers) and put all the cardboard and appropriate plastic into a recycling bin.
Posted On: 2008-05-05 18:06:57
