Chasing Retro: A Trip to Crowemag Toys
Back in 2021, I went to the Fayetteville Comic Con for the first time where I encountered a booth for Crowemag Toys. I bought a couple of Star Trek: The Next Generation figures and drooled over some old TMNT and Ghostbusters figures. The guy running the booth asked me if I was local, and when I responded with I was from Raleigh, he handed me a card. They have an actual brick and mortar store in Raleigh full of vintage goodness.
It’s taken me over a year to finally get out there, but today was the day. To make things even more exciting there was a toy swap meet going on which meant the parking lot was jammed full of tables that wrapped all the way around the building!
My wife and I made our way inside the very busy store where we browsed for ten minutes or so. I easily could have dropped HUNDREDS of dollars in there. Instead, I exercised some restraint and walked out with two of my favorite Ghostbusters figures that I once owned: Granny Ghost Gross and the Fright Figure version of Ray Stantz.
I had a least a dozen different Ghostbusters figures growing up and these two always stood out. Priced at $10 for Granny and $15 for Ray, I just couldn’t pass them up. Here’s a few random shots of the store and it maybe shows 1/8th the size of the store.
One table, had a box of VHS and when I glanced inside it was a goldmine for me. Four of the classic Turtle tapes I used to rent from the video store were in there, along with a big box Superman, a clamshell Ghostbusters, and re-release cover for the live action Turtles film. Ten dollars got me all of the tapes and that’s when I kept eyeballing the Nintendo he had on the table.
Priced at $60, I paid $50 with all the cords, a controller, and a Zapper Gun. It was in great condition, with no discoloration or damage. My wife was interested in buying it just for display, but I knew if I walked away with this Nintendo I would clean it up and find some games. About ten years ago, I got into retro gaming big-time, but I realized I just couldn’t afford the hobby at the time. I know the prices are even higher now, but I make more money and hopefully I can find a way to curate my collection and keep it reasonable.
I still had tool kit I had put together for disassembling consoles, so I when I got home I immediately went to town on disinfecting and cleaning the NES. I’ve also ordered a new power cord, AV cables, and a new 72 pin. Now, I just need to find a game.
While out browsing, I stopped by the Limited Run Games store. They sell some used NES games as well as lots of new ones. Unfortunately, I stopped there BEFORE the toy swap, so that didn’t help me much. I tried to take a picture of the awesome window display they have, but it didn’t turn out due to the glare. I would have taken pictures inside the store, but as cool as the store is, they stalk you and it’s arguably a bit uncomfortable. I understand they have all their merchandise on the shelves, but sheesh, a little breathing room would be nice.
It’s been a while since I’ve gone out thrifting/toy hunting, so today was a lot of fun. I squeezed all this in between house hunting, so it was a great way to break up the day and I’m really happy about all the loot I snagged. I may have to dust off another old blog name for a new series on here: Chasing Retro.
