[Peanut]

You picked an awful time to get in. SNES prices are/have been skyrocketing for about a year. Stuff that cost $20-$30 a few years ago costs $70-$80 now. Stuff like Earthbound regularly go for upwards of $200+ these days. CIB games are starting to get out of the question. Again, CIB Earthbound is well over $300.

Also, don't bother looking for stores around Toronto. I've been banging that drum for awhile now and the scene is awful. Over-priced and no decent stock. I'm assuming there's a re-seller out there snapping stuff up from around smaller places (Value Village etc) because I've had almost no luck in the last few months finding sh*t. Most stores around here also price according to eBay, which is an absolute sh*t show. Even the closer flea markets, like Pickering, are an absolute joke. I was there on the weekend and was pretty f*cking frightened by the prices. We're talking Kirby Superstar for $80 and anything that wasn't a sports game hitting $30 without question. Your best bet is camping eBay auctions, but unless you're totally committed you're going to get trounced, because competition is huge right now.

My first piece of advice is to look into Super Famicom eBay auctions. SuFami games like the DKC 2-3, Mega Man X and Super Metroid go for waaaay cheaper and the language barrier isn't an issue with games of the sort. In case you weren't aware, the SNES can indeed play Super Famicom games and requires very little work to do so. There are two little tabs inside the cart slot of the SNES that are easily removed with a pair of pliers and they're the only things stopping Super Famicom games from fitting in the slot. Easiest mod in history.

My second piece of advice is to focus! Focus in on what you want, set your price and drive for that one thing. If you constantly wait for "a better price" for games you really want you'll almost never get them. I floundered on the SFC Parodius games and could never pull it off until I sat down and said "I want these. I'm willing to pay $40+ for a CIB of these games. F*ck it!" and I bid super aggressively.

Good luck to you, sir. It's not an easy (or cheap) collection to begin. I'm here to help, though.

Edit: If you're looking for cheap good stuff, there's very little out there now that doesn't command dumb prices, but there are a handful that are still reasonable. Stuff like Star Fox, Super Punchout, Super Ghouls n' Ghosts, the Star Wars games, the first DKC and Super Mario World can be picked up for $15 or under. Past those few things really start to ramp up. Maybe if you gave me a price range you're looking for I could give you a better list of good stuff to find, but cheap simply isn't an option anymore. Unless you want old sports games or bad licensed sh*t no one wants.