Used Game Boys in Chicago typically sell for $54 to $270. Handheld collecting has grown sharply, and screen condition plus shell colour do most of the work in setting the price.
Selling a Game Boy in Chicago
Chicago has real winters and generous pre-war apartments, which is an unusual combination and it shapes what sells. Serious cold-weather clothing has a genuine local market, and the older buildings mean full-size furniture actually fits, unlike in the coastal cities.
Leases across much of the city turn over on common dates, which concentrates moving into a few weeks and floods the market at once. That is the best time to buy and the worst time to be selling something ordinary.
The L covers the city well and is how most small items move. For furniture, the alley behind the building is usually the practical loading point, and winter is a genuine obstacle — nobody wants to carry a couch through snow, so prices soften.
Chicago, in Illinois, has around 2.7 million people, which means a deep enough buyer pool that most things sell without having to travel far to hand them over. Joliet, New York and Los Angeles are close enough that a buyer there may well make the trip for the right thing.
Handing it over in Chicago
Distances are the real constraint. State plainly whether you will ship or collection only, because a buyer three states away will otherwise ask.
What Game Boys are worth
What lifts the price
- A clean, unscratched original screen
- Battery compartment free of corrosion
What pulls it down
- Battery acid corrosion on the terminals
- Missing battery covers, which are surprisingly costly
Working out what yours is worth
- Power it on and check the display for dead lines
- Open the battery compartment and inspect the terminals
Getting it ready
- Open the battery compartment and check for corrosion on the terminals, which is extremely common and must be disclosed.
- Power it on with fresh batteries and check the screen for missing lines, which is the classic Game Boy fault.
Photograph
- The screen straight on, revealing any missing lines or scratches
- The battery compartment, terminals visible
Put in the description
- Screen condition, including any missing lines, scratches or discolouration
- Battery terminal condition, and whether there has been any leakage
Small and cheap to post. Remove the batteries before sending — a leaking cell in transit ruins the console and the sale.
Listing is free and there is no selling fee, so the whole amount the buyer pays stays with you. You and the buyer agree the handover between yourselves.
Same region (Illinois)
Common questions
Where can I sell a Game Boy in Chicago?
Put it on WishThrift free and deal with the buyer direct. The L covers the city well and is how most small items move. For furniture, the alley behind the building is usually the practical loading point, and winter is a genuine obstacle — nobody wants to carry a couch through snow, so prices soften.
Has it been modded?
Backlit and recapped consoles are worth more to some buyers and less to purists. Either way, say exactly what has been done.
How much is a Game Boy worth in Chicago?
Most used Game Boys change hands for $54 to $270. Condition and completeness move that figure more than anything else.
More: selling a Game Boy across the United States, what Game Boys are worth, everything second hand in Chicago, or Gaming in Chicago.
Guide range converted from sterling at the 2 August 2026 rate, not a quote — sellers set their own price.