Back saving a bit or money so I can get some deals at my next car boot adventure. This time I traveled to Waltham Abbey which seemed to be promising on the outset but when I got there, the hope quickly dropped. We were in a big field but unfortunately there was only two lines of sellers when the doors opened. I don't know if the usual sellers got scared due to the forecast of rain or if it like this every week. For an early start and 3 quid entry, it seemed a bit of a rip-off. Nonetheless, I was going to see if there was anything worth buying today.
Straight away, I picked up the PS2 game Escpae From Monkey Island for a pound, a decent game for a very decent price. Though as I was distracted with the game, a boy picked up a PSP from the seller next to us for only £3. I don't know if it was working or not but at £3, you would take the risk.
Next I came across a game re-seller who had mostly PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii games. He did however have a few Sega games so I bundled up a few to get a cheaper price. I got Streets Of Rage, a three in one game (both Complete In Box) & Krusty's Fun House, a great puzzle game that I used to play a lot with my cousins, all for a tenner. Not to bad when you consider Streets Of Rage goes for a bit more online. This seller told me that he had tons of games at home and comes to this particular car boot sale every two weeks, I tried to cut out the middle man and said I was willing to meet up somewhere else so I could look through his stuff but sadly he wasn't having none of it. Doubt it I will make it every couple of weeks just in case he has something special, there are other bargains to find.
Straight away, I picked up the PS2 game Escpae From Monkey Island for a pound, a decent game for a very decent price. Though as I was distracted with the game, a boy picked up a PSP from the seller next to us for only £3. I don't know if it was working or not but at £3, you would take the risk.
Next I came across a game re-seller who had mostly PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii games. He did however have a few Sega games so I bundled up a few to get a cheaper price. I got Streets Of Rage, a three in one game (both Complete In Box) & Krusty's Fun House, a great puzzle game that I used to play a lot with my cousins, all for a tenner. Not to bad when you consider Streets Of Rage goes for a bit more online. This seller told me that he had tons of games at home and comes to this particular car boot sale every two weeks, I tried to cut out the middle man and said I was willing to meet up somewhere else so I could look through his stuff but sadly he wasn't having none of it. Doubt it I will make it every couple of weeks just in case he has something special, there are other bargains to find.
Opposite this seller was a young family stall and they had some DVDs as well as games. They were still setting up but people were surrounding their table as they had some good stuff on show. I was only there for a couple of seconds when the mum placed two DVD box sets on the table. Normally I wouldn't take notice but these two sets were Ducktails and Chip N' Dale Rescue Rangers. Had to get them. 3 quid each. I know I can download them for free but sometimes the boxed goods are more than worth it. I later popped back to their stall as the mum said she might have another box set of Chip N' Dale so I went looking. They didn't have it but they had a few more items which I purchased. I got myself a red DS Lite (with a damaged touchscreen, will fix that), Xbox games Voodoo Vince, Genma Onimusha, Jade Empire, Black Stone Magic & Steel, PS2 games Street Fighter Alpha Collection & Xenosaga Episode 2 Collectors Edition and a PSP case for 30 quid. Was a good find as there are some usual titles in this bundle.
The next vendor had a host of really old stuff and I was intrigued by the Arsenal 1971 picture frame he had as I would have bought it for my Dad. When I learned he was selling it for £30, I quickly stepped away from the photo and looked down to his other items. What I saw shocked me as I have never come across it before. It was a BBC Microprocessor computer, a primitive computer made by the BBC to combat the Amstrad and the Spectrum in the UK. It was a bit of a flop and not any were sold. It Included the tape deck and a number of games as well. The only only thing missing was the lead to hook the computer to a monitor and instead the guy had a lead for the Commodore 64. He said he was going to bring the C64 next week which will include the lead. In the meantime I managed to bag everything around the BBC Microprocessor for a fiver, nice!!
Near the end of the car boot sale were some seller who were late for the beginning and now were getting all of their items for sale out sharpish. A 12 year old kid was selling all of his stuff in order to save up for something. He had a bunch of toys and musical equipment but I was interested in the ice cream box next to the car. When I picked it up, I knew there would be games in there because that's where I stored mine when I was a kid but I didn't think I would find the jackpot. Pokemon Heart Gold & Soul Silver, Mario DS, Kirby Superstar Saga, The Sims & Cooking Mama 2 just to name a few. He said he was selling for 50p each so I asked how much for the lot. He replied a fiver. Pay the boy, done deal.
The last seller I encountered was another late comer but instead of creating his own stall, he tagged with another seller who already had his stall set up. He had bags and bags of games to sell and I was just watching and waiting to see if there was anything of interest. I told him I'm after obscure and rare games and he dived into his bags to find one he thought was quite obscure. It was Thunderbirds on the PS2. I haven't seen this game before and neither did the seller. I picked it up along with a Taito collections game for the PS2 and a Perfect Dark Zero Collectors Edition for the Xbox 360 for £6. Not too bad I thought.
I'm saving the best to last though as my best find at a car boot sale occurred that very Sunday. As you probably know, there are a bunch of sellers who just sell DVDs and CDs. They put a stock price on them for a pound or so and some DVDs are quite good. At this one box I saw a few PS2 games which caught my eye instantly but to no avail. Then I spotted some PS1 games. First there was Tomb Raider 1 then there was Tomb Raider 3 and The Last Resolution next to it. At that moment, I noticed a PS1 game on its side and thought, 'oh great, Tomb Raider 2 (NOT!)'. Instead, I discovered a reasonably rare game on the system, Tombi 2. I couldn't believe it. I asked how much, '£1' the lady replied. Paid her and got out of there. It felt like I was robbing her as the price was so cheap. I got out of there quickly after that.
After a clean sweep, I was pretty happy with my day at Waltham Abbey Car Boot Sale. It could have been better with more stalls but the overall return was better than expected. The sour note would be that DS Lite as I should have really bargained that down a bit more because of the damage. I have since fixed it however so it's not the worst thing in the world.
I managed to go there the following week to see if the guy I bought the BBC Microprocessor from to get the Commodore 64 he said he would bring but sadly he didn't. Instead, I bought three Xbox 360 games (Gears Of War 2, The Darksiders and Section 8), a PS2 game (Myth Makers Super Kart GP), one SNES game (Pilotwings), one Wii game (Resident Evil 4) and a number of Sega games (James Pond 2, Risky Woods, The Pagemaster, Talmits Adventure (all CIB) Dragons Revenge & Hardball). All very good prices which shows that Upshire Road is a consistent place to go for retro game chasing. Can't wait to go again very soon.
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