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Best place to buy refurbished original nintendo?

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puma1552

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Original poster
Nov 20, 2008
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Seeing lots of places online to buy a refurbished original Nintendo console, but not sure what I should be looking for specifically in the refurbishment (some mention a new 72 pin connector to avoid blowing on games/blinking red light) or where the best place to buy is, since there seems to be many.

Also what is needed to make an original Nintendo work with today's modern big screen flat panel LED/LCD TVs? I saw one source that included some kind of adapter pack to make sure it worked with any and all TVs, new and old.

Any suggestions?
 
I’d keep an eye out on Ebay, lots of classic Nintendo equipment. Garage sales will turn up on video game gear too. I picked up a pretty clean Atari 2600, controllers (sticks, paddles), about 50 games for like $10. I have no idea why :D

Old consoles are going to have composite out (that single, usually color coded yellow RCA connector) plus RCA left/right audio (white/red RCA).

A modern TV _might_ have composite, depends on the model, though most sets lost that input type. It’s more likely it would have component, which is the 3-RCA RGB connector (analog, like composite).

Same for AV receivers, you might have analog inputs, and some even scale and convert to HDMI.

Otherwise, if you want to run HDMI into your TV, there are boxes from sources like Monoprice, that will convert a composite, analog signal into a digital HDMI out, then you’re home free.

Of course the source isn’t native res, plus there’s all sort of AD conversion, etc., so I’m not sure how spectacular the results will be, but we’re also talking ol’ school graphics, so the source fidelity isn’t staggering to begin with :D
 
The Disc Replay (it's like a GameStop) by me is always selling NES. They're not refurbished, though. But they're almost always in excellent cosmetic/working condition.
 
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My original one still works. Probably got it in '88 or '89. I do normally have to put a second cartridge in on top of the one I'm playing to hold it down all the way. My 4 year old actually just played it a couple days ago.
 
I dunno, eBay?

A few months ago my girlfriend and I tidied up her old SNES. It's easy to do; you just need to open it up, remove all the electronics, bathe the case in soapy water and put it all back together again. Planning on doing it to my NES soon too.

You don't need to buy one that has been refurbished. Maybe pick up a refurb controller (those things can get nasty) but you wouldn't need to do the whole console.
 
puma1552 said:
Also what is needed to make an original Nintendo work with today's modern big screen flat panel LED/LCD TVs? I saw one source that included some kind of adapter pack to make sure it worked with any and all TVs, new and old.
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I have no experience with modding consoles or using adapters. Most modern TVs that have composite input (i.e. what the NES outputs) will not work very well, if at all, with old school consoles since they're not designed to support 240p. If you get a picture, it might shake back and forth rapidly. My new'ish Samsung LCD TVs do this with all my old consoles. It's makes it unplayable IMO. My old Sony XBR2 LCD TV works fine with my old consoles but it's still not the same as a CRT. You can also run it through an up converting A/V receiver.

To be honest, I wouldn't bother using a real NES if you're going to use a modern TV. If you really want to go retro, then I suggest you do it right and get a CRT. These days, I pretty much stick to the Wii Virtual Console for the convenience of easily being able to play them on modern TVs although I do sometimes wish I could use the original controllers with the Wii (especially for N64 games). If I had the room, I'd definitely go with a CRT and my old consoles.
 
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blesscheese said:
Sniff, what a beautiful relationship! :D
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Ha, well it's just I always wanted a SNES as a kid. A friend had one but I only ever played it a few times. Had loads of SNES magazines though. Honestly it was kinda sad. And my girlfriend had one stored away in her parents house, it was disgusting and we had to buy everything but the system itself. But it was a fun project, went crazy and bought a load of games, replaced the batteries in them so they'd last another 15 years. I mod Gameboys too. There's a lot of fun in these old machines :)
 
I was just at my local used video game store; they actually had an NES there for $40. Now that I think of it, a used store like GameDude is showing a listing for it, maybe they still have some in stock?
 
Dagless said:
We're using each other, she wants my NES!
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Just saw this...too funny! At least you both have something in common!

BTW, I have to give you some (expletive redacted).

After reading your post about cleaning up the old SNES, I thought, "Gee, I haven't pulled mine out to play for a while..." Anyway, that just instigated a rather large ebay run on some more old SNES games...sheesh :eek:
 
Depends on where you live. I have a cousin in Pittsburgh, and they have these stores called "The Exchange" where they sell all sorts of used consoles, tested etc. Basically any "used" electronics store should have whatever you want/need
 
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