A Visit to 2nd and Charles in Woodbridge Virginia

[EvilEvoIX]

Hello all.

   I wanted to point out a store chain that I discovered in Gainesville FL known as 2nd and Charles and there are now locations all over the east coast and mid west.  It's a former book store that still sells books but now trades in new and preowned electronics and has a healthy selection of classic games and systems and sub eBay pricing.  They also carry a ton of Star Ways/Marvel stuff, a entire library of game guides for real low cheap, musical instruments, and clothing.  Great store and cannot recommend it enough.


Link to the store:  http://2ndandcharles.com/

[NecroPhile]

They've got taste!  There's but one Vita game and it's Akiba's Trip. 

[Warbucks]

They have a lot of stuff, that ShaqFu though 

[wilykat]

None like that here.  The closest I've had were Video Game Connection but they closed last fall.  Disc Replay in Flint has many classic stuff but nowhere near as much as your pictures.

PS please tell me you bought that $1.99 CIB Magical Chase I saw in the picture!!!

[EvilEvoIX]

None like that here.  The closest I've had were Video Game Connection but they closed last fall.  Disc Replay in Flint has many classic stuff but nowhere near as much as your pictures.

PS please tell me you bought that $1.99 CIB Magical Chase I saw in the picture!!!

No, I offered $1.25 but he was firm at $1.99 so I walked.  I did pickup 13 copies of Sewer Shark though for $55

[ToyMachine78]

We have one here in Cola Sc. The selection here is ok. More PS2 stuff than anything else. The last time I visited, the pricing was pretty comparable to EBay. Definitely not going to get any dealz there.

[EvilEvoIX]

We have one here in Cola Sc. The selection here is ok. More PS2 stuff than anything else. The last time I visited, the pricing was pretty comparable to EBay. Definitely not going to get any dealz there.

I went to the one in Columbia as well.  Don't remember buying anything.

[xcrement5x]

There are some of these in the Denver area and I've heard of them but never gone. 

[wildfruit]

I wish I had a shop like this I could just go in and look round. Woe is me.

[bartre]

I always appreciate a clean store with good prices.
downside is, they never seem to have anything I want.

we've got 5 places that deal with retro games around me.
#1 - half price books, it's a crapshoot. sometimes it's great, sometimes it's awful.  plus, it's nowhere near me.
#2 - Gamer's, was great until 2010 or so. now anything good gets ebayed right out the gate.
#3 - GameVault, owned by a guy who worked for gamer's and got fed up.  nice store, nice guy, usually has something good.  but their prices are usually at least gamestop level on modern stuff, and a lot of games are ebay BIN prices.
#4 - Pop culture Exchange, not exclusively games, but they've got a decent selection for good prices.  but I never really find anything i want.  Too bad, I really want this place to succeed.
#5 - Game Zone, the creme de la creme.  clean, nice folks, good prices, decent stock.  I've been going for nearly a decade.  this is the place I like.

[crazydean]

I see an N64 Controller Pak in the case. Seems unnecessary. What are those, like $4?

[ToyMachine78]

I see an N64 Controller Pak in the case. Seems unnecessary. What are those, like $4?

The one here places anything older than ps2 era in the case, or if it's worth more than $10. Pretty stupid.

[EvilEvoIX]

I see an N64 Controller Pak in the case. Seems unnecessary. What are those, like $4?

Easy to steal, easy to pocket.

[Enternal]

When were you at 2nd and Charles in Gainesville, it hasn't been opened that long. I live next door to that one, we could have hung out and thrown rocks at people.

The good and bad of 2nd and Charles, since its not a dedicated game store, they will miss variants or different versions of a game. They also do a quick check at prices when they scour the internets that can cause them to price things high or low. They have a free bin, so if they can't get something to work etc, and the person doesn't take it you might be able to find some nice games that need and alcohol wipe or a rebuff.

You can trade in books/cds/movies. My dupes/various items that don't get traded online or sold online ill funnel to 2nd and Charles. However they don't itemize your trade value, and its real easy for someone to scam the system. Lets say you bring 15 items in trade, the person taking in the trade will offer the value of 14 items and the employee will keep the 15th item for themselves.

From the Gainesville one ive gotten good deals on some sega master system, and mispriced wii/ps1 games.

I went to one of the stores near Atlanta and it had a lot of good things. Best bet is to trade in junk to get something good even if it is ebay price.

[EvilEvoIX]

When were you at 2nd and Charles in Gainesville, it hasn't been opened that long. I live next door to that one, we could have hung out and thrown rocks at people.

The good and bad of 2nd and Charles, since its not a dedicated game store, they will miss variants or different versions of a game. They also do a quick check at prices when they scour the internets that can cause them to price things high or low. They have a free bin, so if they can't get something to work etc, and the person doesn't take it you might be able to find some nice games that need and alcohol wipe or a rebuff.

You can trade in books/cds/movies. My dupes/various items that don't get traded online or sold online ill funnel to 2nd and Charles. However they don't itemize your trade value, and its real easy for someone to scam the system. Lets say you bring 15 items in trade, the person taking in the trade will offer the value of 14 items and the employee will keep the 15th item for themselves.

From the Gainesville one ive gotten good deals on some sega master system, and mispriced wii/ps1 games.

I went to one of the stores near Atlanta and it had a lot of good things. Best bet is to trade in junk to get something good even if it is ebay price.

I was there right after it opened.  I was visiting UF and it was right down the road.

[technozombie]

There is one of these in my area. It's a nice store. When they first opened about 2 years ago I could find some pretty good deals, but now their prices are in line with eBay and sometimes more if they know it will sell.

[jeffhlewis]

Half-Price books around me is generally only good for the occasional LaserDisc...games are crazy high-priced. We have a regional chain called Mega Media Xchange here in Milwaukee (and Chicago, too if I remember correctly) who generally have really reasonable prices and goods for PS1/2/3, Wii, XB/XB360, PSP and whatnot. I can routinely go in there and pick up stuff like Godhand, Rez, Valkyria Chronicles, Final Fantasy for like $10 or less.

Aside from that these days - eBay + patience seems to be the cheapest route to acquire stuff (outside of buddy deals).

[VenomMacbeth]

There's a 2nd and Charles in Columbia, SC on Harbison.

[Enternal]

From the Gainesville store.

Pricing CIB at cart only prices

[EvilEvoIX]

WOW!!!

[roflmao]

When I lived in Fayetteville, NC, the 2nd & Charles there had a pretty sweet selection of classic games, but not like that! I picked up most of my Genesis library from that place because every Genesis game was $5. And they had Earthbound for $8. I moved away a couple of years ago, but I bet they've caught wind of the madness going on in classic game collecting and have adjusted their prices accordingly.

[DragonmasterDan]

I got a Black Sega Sports Dreamcast with matching controller at one in Napervlle IL for 50.00 last year. Beyond that though their prices were not so great in any of the visits I've had.

[Enternal]

Our Gainesville 2nd and Charles send a bunch of stuff off to two more opening stores another in Virginia and one in Detroit, they said next in Florida will be Jacksonville but a year away from starting that .