DKOldies

DKOldies is an American e-commerce company focusing on retrogaming and video game collecting.[2] It sells most consoles from the second generation of video game consoles to the eighth. It sold almost $3 million worth of vintage games online in 2016.[3]

DKOldies
TypePrivate
IndustryE-commerce
Founded2003[1]
FounderDrew Steimel
Headquarters
Morgantown, Pennsylvania
ProductsRetro video games

History

DKOldies was founded in the early 2000s in Morgantown, Pennsylvania.[4] Its owner, Drew Steimel, began his E-commerce career by selling NES games online in the early 2000s.[1] In 2017, DKOldies on eBay brought a sealed rare copy of Super Mario Bros. for US$30,000.[5][6][7] It was the most expensive game DKOldies and in the history of the internet ever brought until the record was broken in 2020 when Super Mario Bros. 3 was sold for $160,000.[8] In 2022, American rapper Lil Yachty brought multiple video games from DKOldies.[9]

Products and services

Products
Screenshot of the DKOldies website

The DKOldies website sells games, consoles and Amiibos.[2] The earliest console available on DKOldies is the Atari 2600, and the latest is the Xbox One.[10][11] They pay more to buy in stock at times of high demand and pass the extra cost on to buyers.[12] Consoles such as the PlayStation, Wii, and Nintendo 64 are included with unofficial 3rd party controllers. To get an original OEM controller with a console, shoppers would have to pay up to $60 to obtain one. This practice has been criticized.

The most expensive game for sale on DKOldies is Little Samson at $2,799.99.[13] Little Samson[lower-alpha 1] is a 1992 platform game developed by Takeru and published by Taito for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in North America on October 22, 1992, and at the time went virtually unknown with little promotion and it initially selling very poorly. As a result, the North American version of the game has since become an expensive collector's item.[14][15]

Headquarters location

DKOldies' headquarters in Morgantown, Pennsylvania is only for shipping games out to its customers, and business.[16]

Marketing

DKOldies markets their products though YouTube Shorts and TikTok.[17][18] They also made Google Search ads, with taglines such as "No One Beats Our Prices" and "1 YEAR WARRANTY that nobody can beat!"

In 2021, DKOldies created their TikTok account and began posting videos from there. In one of their videos, they made a clip about a lesser known feature of the Sony PlayStation.[17][18]

Criticism

Although DKOldies does do sales and discounts their item prices for a limited time,[19] criticism has become widespread as many of retro game collectors began to notice the many overpriced items in the store. For example, Adrian Morales, from Gamerant noted the many overpriced refurbished items including the Wii Console with Wii Sports bundle priced at $349.99.[20][21]

When YouTubers TronicsFix and Jacob R purchased consoles from DKOldies in 2023, they reported issues with the units including broken pins, accumulated dust and dirt inside the consoles.[21] DKOldies has stated multiple times that they do refurbish their sold consoles, but they still received criticism from the videos they've posted.[22][21]

Notes
  1. Also known as Seirei Densetsu Lickle (Japanese: 聖鈴伝説リックル, Hepburn: Seirei Densetsu Rikkuru, lit. "Holy Bell Legend Lickle") in Japan.

References
  1. "About Us - how DKOldies Started and Where Are They Now". DKOldies. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  2. "Retro Video Game Store: Buy Used Games & Consoles". DKOldies. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  3. "A blast from the past inside Japan's retro gaming shops". Bloomberg News. 2017-08-16. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  4. "Is DKOldies a Scam?". DKOldies. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  5. Gilbert, Ben. "A rare copy of the original 'Super Mario' game just sold for over $30,000 on eBay". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  6. "Unopened Copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 Fetches for $156,000, Breaking Record". PC Magazine. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  7. "Sealed Copy Of Super Mario Bros. Sells For $30,000". Kotaku. 2017-07-27. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  8. Hanlon, Mike (2021-07-10). "World auction record price for video games smashed twice in three days". New Atlas. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  9. Beeler-Beistad, Lauren (2022-12-29). "Lil Yachty Makes Big Gaming Purchase from Controversial Retro Games Store DKOldies". Game Rant. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  10. "Atari 2600 Products For Sale". DKOldies. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  11. "Xbox One For Sale, Buy Games & Consoles". DKOldies. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  12. "Why are your prices so high?" Joey answers on Live Stream., retrieved 2023-03-22 – via YouTube
  13. "Little Samson - NES Game". DKOldies. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  14. Plasket, Michael (24 September 2011). "Little Samson". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  15. Claiborn, Sam (2009). "Top 100 NES Games - 93. Little Samson". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  16. "DKOldies.com · 2846 W Main St #5A, Morgantown, PA 19543". Google Maps. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  17. Piedra, Xavier (2021-01-28). "This PS1 Trick Resurfaces After Years Of Being Forgotten". SVG. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  18. "DKOldies (@dkoldies)". TikTok. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  19. "you won't believe this price - DK Oldies". deal.town. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  20. Morales, Adrian (2022-12-28). "Controversial Retail Gaming Store DKOldies Explained". Game Rant. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  21. Osborne, Mary (2023-03-07). "The Shady Side Of DKoldies". SVG. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  22. Vergara, Jaime. "The DKOldies Drama". CCHS Oracle. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
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