My View on the Different Sources of Retro Games

I've tried most methods of getting hold of retro hardware and software for gaming purposes and want to give my thoughts on all aspects of these.

eBay
It's rare to get a bargain on eBay these days and if you do manage to spot one you'll be outbidded within minutes. eBay is an unsatisfying way to sell hardware and software and a minefield if you buy. The only good thing is that as a buyer you have a fair amount of protection.

Amazon
I have never seen a piece of retro gaming less than the market price on Amazon. It may be a good source of hardware or current tech but you won't find any bargains on Amazon or its sellers.

Retro-Gaming Shops
While these kind of places are considered the backbone of the gaming community in reality they are commercial operations that are only as good as their current stock and the relationship they have with their customers. Sadly both of these are wildly different.
Most retro shops that do well engage their customers via Facebook and Twitter. Stock ranges from the expected and routine hardware and software to some genuine gems. Most commonly these items are snapped up by serious collectors and rarely get into the hands of an average collector. It's almost as if the best stuff is already earmarked for an existing customer and a casual visitor is lucky to get anything half decent. It's almost as if the stock in the shop is the leftovers the hardcore collectors didn't want.

CEX & Game
You won't find anything retro here. The PS2 games they stock are the most common ones and the odd Gamecube games they have aren't worth looking at. There will come a time shortly when they will out all their "retro" games and all that will remain retro in these shops will be PS3 and XBOX360.

Friends, Family and Word of Mouth
If you haven't already you should at least ask, but in reality your mum and dad would long ago sold anything you left behind after you moved out.

Car Boot Sales
Private traders and the odd lucky strike are your only hopes for these kind of places. It doesn't take long to burn out on these as greedy collectors and existing car boot traders scour the early visitors buying up any stock and reselling quickly.

Facebook Groups
I recently joined one of the many Facebay groups and it's rare to get any retro games or consoles here. You may get lucky with a CRT TV but in reality the "big" collectors are already posting "wanted" ads and most people who sell here are clearing out old Wii crap.

Gumtree & Craigslist
I recently found out that Gumtree is part of the eBay network so while I have found the odd bargain most of it is overpriced and like Craigslist can be mostly discarded as who wants to sift through hundreds of daily adverts for that one bargain.