Inside The Vault #4-April 2025

 

WELCOME TO ISSUE #4!

Welcome one and all to our fourth issue of "Inside The Vault", a monthly look at Nick D's Video Game Vault and all the comings and goings within! 

Spring is most definitely in the air, and for us that means yard sales, flea markets, and other outlets for us to obtain the items you, our loyal customers, crave! 

While we certainly appreciate each and every item that comes through our doors that we get from all of you, it will be nice to return to the "open wilds" of video game hunting, as we call it.

 In April's issue we're going to talk about where our store is headed with some necessary updates, how we price out the items we buy, so you know just how we do things, as well as a nice little story about our owner's favorite birthday memory (he turns 44 on May 1st!)

So strap in tight, settle in, because Issue #4 of "Inside The Vault" is ready to roll!

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UPDATES FOR YA FACES!

That's right, folks, some updates on our store from us to you!

-The long awaited touching up and redesign of our walls is indeed happening. We have sections already designed as to what is going to go where. This is still slated, if at no other time, at some point this summer.

-The same can be said about our Master Sword themed front window, which is going to be transformed into something far less bland and more so fitting of what sits in the front of that window. We'll be providing updates in the weeks and months to come.

-Next month we will be accepting applications for our 2nd year of monthly pop up vendors, which will begin in June. Only two vendors per month from June to December, so that means only a dozen slots will be available to be filled. Keep tabs on our Facebook page as an announcement on those applications will be coming very, very soon.

-The TMNT arcade cabinet is slated to be repaired very soon, and after that, we will be looking at updating and revamping our RetroVerse Lounge a little bit in the coming months. 

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SO, HOW DO YOU GUYS DO THAT?

So perhaps no other question is asked for us more than "How do you price out and determine how much we get for an item we bring into you?"

The truth is a lot of factors go into how much we pay for a particular item or items, but I feel it is super important to start with the basic premise.

We operate on a sliding scale of percentage, meaning the percentage of an item's worth varies in what we pay out, and the most fundamental way of explaining this is that percentage is initially determined by the worth of the item. The less an item is worth, the less we pay out for it, starting at 30% and going to 50%. For us, at this time, it truly doesn't make business sense for us to go any higher than 50%. Could that change? Certainly, and everyone will know when and if that happens.

Additionally, how complete an item is, and the overall condition of it, dictates how much we pay out. This is particularly true of any discs brought into us in very poor shape. If we decide to take the disc, we are taking all the responsibility in making sure it works, so regardless of how much the item is worth, a disc with many, many scratches on it, especially towards the center of the disc, is going to get the lowest possible pay out because of how much responsibility we are taking into our hands.

In over 12 years of doing this, this process has not changed much, if at all, and we think our honesty with this makes many of you comfortable in selling to us, and we certainly appreciate it, but we feel the need to express here that if you're trying to sell an item, and you have a magic number in mind of what you'd like to get for it, we, and all other small businesses like ours, are not going to be the best avenue to take in obtaining that magic number.

While you can certainly ask us, on the phone, or in person, we felt the need to post this here after so many questions on this.

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THE MOST AMAZING BIRTHDAY EVER.

Picture it, Dickson City, May 1990. Your resident video game owner/operator was turning 9 on this particular day, and invited all my friends to celebrate at the best place one could go turning 9 at the near midway point of 1990, Top Dog!

If you're reading this and you're not from the area, or more unfortunately, were born after the untimely demise of what was a Business Route 6 institution in the 80s and early 90s, I'm giving you a pass. Top Dog was a stellar arcade with good (cheap!) food, and drinks that were mandated to either come in Top Dog cups, or those cups with what is now called the official design of the 90s, you know, that purple and teal number. 

On this particular day we were not only celebrating yours truly turning 9, but also his love for video games and most specifically as many kids my age tended to have, a love for the famed Heroes In A Half Shell, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 

The video games, loved them. The cartoon show, the bomb. The toys, I couldn't get enough, and this is why I will always remember this day in my life, more than any other birthday, because 9 year old me was going to get his first full set of TMNT action figures! That's right, the kid who could barely obtain one every 3-6 months, was going to be blessed by his dear friends with a full set of TMNT action figures, but not just any set mind you, the TMNT Undercover Series set!

Behold! The greatest invention since sliced bread and the lava lamp! Who cares why our TMNT friends needed to go so specifically undercover as things like a samurai (that's a far reach, Leo), a detective (did Don steal Ralph's gear from the movie?), a surfer dude (again, not much of a stretch there, Mikey) and..an astronaut? (I get that Raph was the emo one that wanted to get as far away from people as possible, but really? Cape Canaveral let him in?) 

All that mattered to me was that I had them. I remember spending my time throughout the rest of my party, between bites of hot dogs, challenging The Mega Bucks on WWF Superstars, and clinging to Super Hang On for dear life, checking the back of these boxes for all that sweet, sweet Turtle info. 

I've had many great birthdays, surrounded by some amazing people in my life, but this one still stands out to me, some 35 years later, all because of a gift that really brought me such joy. Turning 9 was a stellar moment for me, all because of the mystic gift of what we call Turtle Power!

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SEE YOU NEXT MONTH!