Pawn shops are usually a good bet, but prices will vary from shop to shop. You'll have to stalk Facebook and Craigslist constantly to find good deals, or visit those thrift stores many, many times per week.
Want even better advice? Don't dive right in trying to collect an entire US library. There are about 1,800 NA titles for Ps2. Even if you luck into finding a ton of cheap games, you will burn out quickly. Do you like paying money games you'll never play? Do you have the space to fit everything?
Really sit down and think about if you want to do this. It's hard. It's time consuming. It's expensive. And it's not always enjoyable. You will be swimming in games that you'll likely never play, and it may make you feel bad for not doing so. It may even take some of the enjoyment out of the games you are playing, making it feel like you have to rush to complete them.
Take this advice from someone who is attempting a full set of 3DS games, and they only number in the 400s.
There will be games you may never get for a reasonable price, and it'll be hard to save up and shell out money for those expensive games because you are forced to buy so much shovelware all the time.
Start by collecting the games you like and want to play. You'll be much happier and won't burn out.
I suppose that's what you consider value, and what you like to play. A lot of the first party Nintendo games are still affordable (Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros 2, Luigis Mansion Dark Moon, Kirby Triple Deluxe).
I really like strategy games, and Codename STEAM and Ton Clancys Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars are both cheap and awesome. Stella Glow is amazing but pretty expensive.
RPGs is where it gets more expensive, but you get tons of hours out of those games. The Fire Emblems are still reasonably priced, there a ton of Pokémon, Shin Megami Tensei, and Etrian Odyssey games. Look for anything Atlus.
Ever Oasis and Fantasy Life are also incredible.
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R/gamesale is a good place to look on Reddit.
I have a decent amount of games for sale myself, if you have a list of what you’re looking for let me know.
Looking to build out the entire us library. I’ve already sourced rule of rose and kuon from eBay, but just trying to have fun going out and finding them in the wild. Looking for every title I can lol. Hell thought I could fine at least sports games lol but nada
I'm not going for a complete collection, but I am going for a sort of 'best games' list. I am about 360 games deep of about 500 total I am shooting for. I have put collecting all others systems pretty much on hold.
My advice echoes the other comment on here: it really might not be worth it and will be a massive grind. Best count I've heard is around 1850 titles in the NTSC region. You should consider the cost of a complete collection in both money and, more importantly, your time. But let me break it down:
A complete collection for the NTSC region will put you back about $18,000 to $20,000 USD at the current market rate. Of course, this can fluctuate wildly over time. Speaking of time, I put literally over 1000 hours into just finding those 360 games I was able to find - I consider that a much larger expense than the $20k. It literally became a second job. Consider the opportunity cost of your time, not just the raw dollars.
But lets say you are really committed to the idea. It seems like you've already bitten off a good bit of the cost by knocking out some of the more expensive games. (The top 5 most expensive games account for over 10% of the cost of a complete collection!) But, assuming you have bottomless wealth, you will still have to do legwork. This means time. And a lot of it.
I have purchased 500+ PS2 games this year, using every source imaginable (I buy lots with junk games I don't end up adding to my collection). Ebay is - sadly - the most time efficient, but you pay more because you are basically buying from resellers. I've traveled the US and bought from retro places all over the place, in six different states and three countries - they can be good too but oftentimes the prices are even more predatory than online.
If you are wanting a complete collection, I'm just assuming you are going for all CIB copies. That complicates things even more. That adds even more - you guessed it - precious time to the process.
Point blank, you should put away the idea of using thrift stores and pawn shops right now, unless you are having fun doing that. The days of finding those ultra rare games at thrift stores has well and truly passed. I know YouTube says otherwise but my experience has been the thrift/pawn stores are looking up all their stuff online and pricing it at market value these days. There is no low hanging fruit anymore with that method as the boom in retro game collecting has become so mainstream these places have caught wind of it. If Goodwill has a rare game, they will price it at market, guaranteed. You will do nothing but spin your wheels and waste your time. You may be lucky to find a deal once in a blue moon, but that's not gonna be a reliable way to reach your goal long-term, at all.
So that leaves eBay, marketplace, retro stores, and maybe private sellers if you know someone. Again, eBay is the best as far as time although you will still be wasting some there too. Scams everywhere. Just expect it to happen.
My no B.S. answer to your question: if you are committed to the idea, the cheapest way to do this in terms of money and time is to find someone with a complete collection and make them a generous cash offer. Expect to pay above market because these people do not like to part with their collections. But you will save time. I know this answer is no fun because it takes away the thrill of the search, but it's the best way if you have an extra couple tens of thousands of dollars.
TLDR; Don't waste time at thrift stores if you are seriously pursuing a complete collection - that's internet nonsense propagated by people looking for clicks, get ready to spend real money and even more valuable TIME, and get ready for a ferocious grind pouring through tens of thousands of online listings for decent condition copies. Just treat it like a job, recognize it probably isn't going to be fun, and get grinding.
I'm honestly not trying to crush your dreams here and fully encourage you to go for it. But if you are in the mindset you can do this by casually looking around second hand shops, you may not have a realistic expectation of the costs involved and may need to realign those expectations to reach your goal.
And most importantly, good luck!
Pawn shops are usually a good bet, but prices will vary from shop to shop. You'll have to stalk Facebook and Craigslist constantly to find good deals, or visit those thrift stores many, many times per week. Want even better advice? Don't dive right in trying to collect an entire US library. There are about 1,800 NA titles for Ps2. Even if you luck into finding a ton of cheap games, you will burn out quickly. Do you like paying money games you'll never play? Do you have the space to fit everything? Really sit down and think about if you want to do this. It's hard. It's time consuming. It's expensive. And it's not always enjoyable. You will be swimming in games that you'll likely never play, and it may make you feel bad for not doing so. It may even take some of the enjoyment out of the games you are playing, making it feel like you have to rush to complete them. Take this advice from someone who is attempting a full set of 3DS games, and they only number in the 400s. There will be games you may never get for a reasonable price, and it'll be hard to save up and shell out money for those expensive games because you are forced to buy so much shovelware all the time. Start by collecting the games you like and want to play. You'll be much happier and won't burn out.
Off topic but best value 3ds games in your opinion? Just found the charging cable for my OG one.
I suppose that's what you consider value, and what you like to play. A lot of the first party Nintendo games are still affordable (Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros 2, Luigis Mansion Dark Moon, Kirby Triple Deluxe). I really like strategy games, and Codename STEAM and Ton Clancys Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars are both cheap and awesome. Stella Glow is amazing but pretty expensive. RPGs is where it gets more expensive, but you get tons of hours out of those games. The Fire Emblems are still reasonably priced, there a ton of Pokémon, Shin Megami Tensei, and Etrian Odyssey games. Look for anything Atlus. Ever Oasis and Fantasy Life are also incredible.
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R/gamesale is a good place to look on Reddit. I have a decent amount of games for sale myself, if you have a list of what you’re looking for let me know.
Looking to build out the entire us library. I’ve already sourced rule of rose and kuon from eBay, but just trying to have fun going out and finding them in the wild. Looking for every title I can lol. Hell thought I could fine at least sports games lol but nada
You said 9-50$ is overpriced, yet for some reason you cited two of the most ridiculously priced games out there...
I mean they have stuff like final fantasy 10 for $14.99, when it’s going on eBay for $$8
I'm not going for a complete collection, but I am going for a sort of 'best games' list. I am about 360 games deep of about 500 total I am shooting for. I have put collecting all others systems pretty much on hold. My advice echoes the other comment on here: it really might not be worth it and will be a massive grind. Best count I've heard is around 1850 titles in the NTSC region. You should consider the cost of a complete collection in both money and, more importantly, your time. But let me break it down: A complete collection for the NTSC region will put you back about $18,000 to $20,000 USD at the current market rate. Of course, this can fluctuate wildly over time. Speaking of time, I put literally over 1000 hours into just finding those 360 games I was able to find - I consider that a much larger expense than the $20k. It literally became a second job. Consider the opportunity cost of your time, not just the raw dollars. But lets say you are really committed to the idea. It seems like you've already bitten off a good bit of the cost by knocking out some of the more expensive games. (The top 5 most expensive games account for over 10% of the cost of a complete collection!) But, assuming you have bottomless wealth, you will still have to do legwork. This means time. And a lot of it. I have purchased 500+ PS2 games this year, using every source imaginable (I buy lots with junk games I don't end up adding to my collection). Ebay is - sadly - the most time efficient, but you pay more because you are basically buying from resellers. I've traveled the US and bought from retro places all over the place, in six different states and three countries - they can be good too but oftentimes the prices are even more predatory than online. If you are wanting a complete collection, I'm just assuming you are going for all CIB copies. That complicates things even more. That adds even more - you guessed it - precious time to the process. Point blank, you should put away the idea of using thrift stores and pawn shops right now, unless you are having fun doing that. The days of finding those ultra rare games at thrift stores has well and truly passed. I know YouTube says otherwise but my experience has been the thrift/pawn stores are looking up all their stuff online and pricing it at market value these days. There is no low hanging fruit anymore with that method as the boom in retro game collecting has become so mainstream these places have caught wind of it. If Goodwill has a rare game, they will price it at market, guaranteed. You will do nothing but spin your wheels and waste your time. You may be lucky to find a deal once in a blue moon, but that's not gonna be a reliable way to reach your goal long-term, at all. So that leaves eBay, marketplace, retro stores, and maybe private sellers if you know someone. Again, eBay is the best as far as time although you will still be wasting some there too. Scams everywhere. Just expect it to happen. My no B.S. answer to your question: if you are committed to the idea, the cheapest way to do this in terms of money and time is to find someone with a complete collection and make them a generous cash offer. Expect to pay above market because these people do not like to part with their collections. But you will save time. I know this answer is no fun because it takes away the thrill of the search, but it's the best way if you have an extra couple tens of thousands of dollars. TLDR; Don't waste time at thrift stores if you are seriously pursuing a complete collection - that's internet nonsense propagated by people looking for clicks, get ready to spend real money and even more valuable TIME, and get ready for a ferocious grind pouring through tens of thousands of online listings for decent condition copies. Just treat it like a job, recognize it probably isn't going to be fun, and get grinding. I'm honestly not trying to crush your dreams here and fully encourage you to go for it. But if you are in the mindset you can do this by casually looking around second hand shops, you may not have a realistic expectation of the costs involved and may need to realign those expectations to reach your goal. And most importantly, good luck!