Once when I visited my local Goodwill,I was surprised to see 10 Transformers in the toy section.I ended up buying beast machines Optimus Primal (transparent blue version),
transmetal 2 Jawbreaker w/sword,Goldbug w/one door,BM quickstrike,BM mirage,and BM airraptor.My brother bought BW seaclamp,and my sister bought BM jetstorm.
I ended up leaving BW cicadacon and BW prowl.The best part is,each Transformer was 29 cents!    

 

Wow, I never thought to check goodwill for toys.

Oh and welcome to the very small circle of Lansing Trans-fans.

As for cheap hauls, I finally found those cheap DVDs at Walmart. Among them "Defenders of Space", you know the one that has Inferno in it. I had no idea these were located in the freaken toy isle. I kept checking the $1 DVDs near the registers. No wonder I could never find the damn thing. Also picked up the very genericly titled "Protectors of the Universe" and "Space Thunder Kids". $3 for what I'm sure are 3 absolutly horrible cartoons. They should be at least good for a laugh.  

 

I picked up a Supreme Starscream for $11.24 at Target last week. I only wish they had a sale on OP and/or Megatron.

And, I have seen a few TFs at the local Salvation Army Thrift Store. The figures were mostly broken, however, I did get G1 Wheeljack's launchers, G1 Jazz's accessories, and Grimlock's launcher for 25¢ a pop. Now that I think about it, I'm going to start hitting up more of the Salv Army/Goodwill places.

 

I've found a near complete Perceptor at a thrift store When I was a youngin.. got it for $5.. ah those were the days...

 

The cheapest hauls that I got was 2 Supreme Star Screams for $11.24 each. Before that when Alt. Wheeljack just came out, I found him on clearance at Wal-mart for only $7.00.

 

Alt Decepticharge in a really nice box for $4.94 from Target

 

I've found a few TF's in salvation army stores - most recently I found an old beat up G1 Crankcase for 50 cents. Once I found a G1 Dragstrip, First Aid and Groove for about 50 cents each.

 

Armada Jetfire for a buck and some change at a Toys R Us. A kid had taken it apart and the parents returned it. 2 minutes in the parking lot later, he was as good as new.

 

4 of the 5 Aboninus figures (missing rippersnapper), and a really good G1 ratchet with no paint chips that was only missing the red post for about $5 on e-bay is my best buy to date.

 

Complete G1 Quickswitch for $5...
Complete G1 Reissue Rodimus Prime for $5...
Complete RID Air Attack Optimus Primal for $15
G2 Gobot Prime for $5
G2 Gobot Megatron for $4
BM Nightscream complete for $2
Several toys "free" (traded for boxes)

 

I got a G1 Wheelie, Bonecursher, and Mixmaster at Good Will for under a doller for all of them together, havent seen any TFs at Goodwill since.

 

goodwill? salvation army? jesus christ, people. the stuff at those stores are for people who cant afford much else. you know, little kids whose parents cant afford to go to target or TRU and buy them a new toy. those toys are for THEM.

 

Dude's got a point, there. I'm all for getting things cheap...but not that way.

 

The Goodwill Stores and the Salvation Army stores are there to collect money, to help the needy. Besides, where else is somebody suppose to find that rare G1 figure? I have SEVERAL of those stores where I leave, around here they are called; 'The Poor People Retail Store'. Put it this way, it's just like going to a garage sale, but you don't have to drive around. And in fact some of the stores are actually more EXPENSIVE then the garage sales.

 

From here, in Santa Cruz, where we've got a lot of homeless people, I've oft met a needy person who'll buy clothing, blankets, etc, from a Goodwill because they're cheaper.

It sounds snide, but eBay? Garage sales? Flea markets?

I understand what you're saying, and I'm guilty of checking Salvation Army etc for rare G1s as well...but as with all my shopping for toys, I'd rather a kid have it before I do. And that's more likely to happen at Salvation Army than at a flea market, etc, where there are collector/vendors who are looking to sell to both kids and collectors alike.

I love cheap hauls, too...but I think a poor kid is more likely to get (quality) toys from places like Goodwill and Salvation Army than a flea market or garage sale (I say quality, because there are cheap crappy toys that are a dime a dozen).

 

yes, I understand that. but the things for sale there are for the "poor people". they are priced low so that people with less money will be able to afford them.

as for getting the figures that turn up there? ebay, junkion exchange, tfauctions.com, there are a lot of choices.

I've donated a lot of stuff (including transformers) to these stores. I did it so that kids would be able to get the stuff, not some greedy adult. Who do you think would get mroe enjoyment out of the dirt-cheap minibots that show up at these places? an adult trying to save a buck or two over ordering it online, or a little kid who thinks transformers are really cool, but cant afford to buy the new ones from the store?

 

I usually go to Goodwill once a week to see what they have( they usually have something that catches my eye),and I always worry that if there is something cool there, it's going to be snatched up by an adult collector whose got enough money to buy it online, and then puts it on eBay for a profit.   This is because I'm a kid who buys Transformers to enjoy but also has a very small amount of money to spend.( Right now,I have 7 dollars on me,more than usual   )

 

its fine for a kid to do that. hell, they are there for kids.

 

Cheap hauls, lessee now...
G1 Star Saber. Missing his accessories, but the two main parts were there. £1.
Action Master Elite Double Punch. £1.50, with a Skyhopper, which I subsequently traded away for a little more than £1.50.
Predator Skyquake, missing a few bits, in a lot with another half-dozen bots including a beat up Gaihawk, £14 the lot.
Predator Skyquake, this one complete and MiB with all inserts, weapons and missiles, £10.
I'm sure there were a few others I got for cheap. Those stick out as the best deals, though.

 

Star Saber for one pound? where, and how?

My best "cheap haul" was G1 Fortress Maximus at a yard sale for 60 dollars. only thing he was missing was gasket/grommet, and one of his side guns was broken, but still there.