I Bought Earthbound for $8 From a Bargain Bin at Caldor
And then sold it for $20 to help fund my PlayStation purchase
I can remember it like it was yesterday. It was my 12th birthday, and my grandparents were taking me out for lunch at Friendly’s. They slid a wooden box across the table. I opened it to find $50. They told me they would take me to the mall so I could buy something with it. This is a tale of how I obtained a fantastic game for next to nothing, sold it for not much more, and still remain okay with it all.
I live in the Northeast US, a place that had a whole assortment of different department stores before Walmart and Target crushed the competition. The local mall at the time had two of them: Caldor and Bradlees. We entered the mall through the Caldor. I figured I might see if the comic shop had something I was yearning for.
However, as I made my way through Caldor, we passed the electronics’ department, and I happened to see a whole slew of games for the NES and SNES on display. I decided to go in, my grandfather followed behind. The new SNES games would all be too much, and I didn’t play my NES nearly enough to buy any of the games. I walked around and came upon the bargain bins.
This is something of an obsession of mine. I do this everywhere we go. If there’s clearance collectibles/electronics bin, I will dig through it to see if I can score an awesome deal. Most recently, in Akihabara, I found a series of different figures under 700 yen that I had been searching for. Score!
Anyways, I start digging. There’s a whole bunch of junky cameras, and Walkmans. Then, I feel something a little more boxy. I pull it up to uncover Earthbound for the SNES. Inside is the strategy guide (really, a walkthrough guide). I look at it, then at the price sticker. $49.99 marked down to $8.00 clearance. Sold. I had never bought a SNES game for that price before, new or used. My grandfather applauded my bargain hunting skills as we checked out, and then headed over to the comic book store to spend the rest on Magic Cards.
I unboxed Earthbound maybe a day later when I returned home and put it in to my SNES. I quickly descended in to a JRPG delight that is in my top 10 games of all time. One day, I’ll explain what Earthbound means to me, especially growing up and calling your Dad from time to time. There’s a lot that hits you in this game, but this isn’t about that.
As another year passed by, I was itching to get a PlayStation. They were marked down at Kay-bee Toys at the same mall, and I was ready to dive in. However, I was light on cash, so I started selling whatever I could. One of my neighbors wanted some SNES games, and was willing to buy some of mine. He picked up Earthbound and asked how much. I thought, $20, and I’ll give you the guide.
Deal.
He bought a few other games, and I had the money to get the PlayStation.
This is the part of the story where you expect me to probably be upset, and distraught that I could’ve had $500+ at this point of my life if I had held on to it. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I love Earthbound, and in fact, I own it now. I also bought the Super Famicom version of the game while in Japan this past January. The game has brought me weeks of joy in my life, but when I bought a PlaysStation, that also brought me so much joy with all the Final Fantasy games released for the system, as well as countless other titles that influenced my gaming preferences.
I’ll never forget the feeling of purchasing and playing Earthbound (FOR A STEAL!). It remains one of my better gaming memories, and is still just a fun story to tell to others. They always have a shocked look, and go “Do you know how much you could have made?!”
I always respond “My gaming journey has been so much more valuable than the money I could have made.”
Do you have a game bargain story? Let me know about it!
