How to Shop for a Gamecube

The Gamecube was released in 2001 and sold millions of systems. But if you never had a chance to own one yourself they can be hard to find. Nintendo has stopped manufacturing the system and many stores no longer sell them. So how do you find Gamecube? How much will it cost? And how do you make sure you get a good deal? Below are five things to keep in mind to make sure your Gamecube shopping experience is as easy as possible.

1. Don't Spend More than $50 Total - The prices vary from one store to the next, but you can find Gamecube's for less than $50 even with shipping included. Many stores still sell them for $70-80, only a little bit less than the final retail price of $99. If you spend a little bit more time, you can definitely save yourself a lot of money.

2. Buy Used - Nintendo stopped making the Gamecube in 2006 so stores don't carry new systems anymore. Thankfully, Nintendo built the Gamecube very well so hardly any have reliability issues. The Gamecube isn't like the original Nintendo NES where you have to blow into all old systems and have just the right technique to get it working.

3. Don't Shop in Retail Stores - You will most likely be wasting your time. All major retails and most used video game stores have stopped selling Gamecube systems. They have switched over to the next generation of systems and don't have room for the Gamecube anymore. The best retail location to find a Gamecube would be independent video game stores or pawn shops. Most retailers only sell a few Gamecube games but don't sell the systems anymore.

4. Shop Online - The best place to find a Gamecube is from an online stores or Ebay. You can search Google or shopping comparison websites and find quite a few available. And like everything else in the world, you can find Gamecube systems on Ebay too. Be careful when shopping online to make sure you don't over pay for shipping though. Many retailers have a low list price of $29.99 for the system, only to charge $40 for shipping.

5. Watch What is Included - Out of the box the Gamecube came with one controller, an AV cable, and an AC Adaptor. You need all three of these for the system to work so be sure any sites where you shop explicitly say all three of these are included. You don't want to think you got a good deal on a system only to find it didn't include a controller, which will cost you another $15 to buy separately.

If you keep these five things in mind when shopping for your Gamecube you should be able to find a great deal and save yourself a lot of hassle. Now go find your Gamecube and start enjoying one of the greatest systems ever made.