The clerk’s hand runs along a shelf of translucent green Nintendo 64 consoles, each tagged with a bright paper starburst, as the burned in captions lay out his pricing: the cracked ones are at 75, “they’re pretty cosmetically flawed,” and the ones with “scratches and dents” are at 100. Then he reaches further along the shelf. “Then I have two very pristine,” the captions read, and he carries them to the counter.

The clip was posted by @retrojakesvideogames, the account of the Retro Jake’s video game store whose name is on the wall sign behind the shelves, and it is filmed from the clerk’s own point of view as a customer waits at the glass case. The caption says simply: “He grabbed one of the most sought after Nintendo consoles.”

At the counter, the clerk sets the two clean consoles side by side and points out the difference between them. One comes “with the Expansion Pack,” and the captions name Donkey Kong and Perfect Dark; the other is “one without an expansion.” The customer picks one, and the captions read “I’ll take this one.”

What follows is the rest of the order, built piece by piece. The clerk holds up a zip bag of parts: “Let’s have a matching” Nintendo 64 power cable and an AV cable. The captions then show him offering a game or 10 dollars off, and the customer points into the glass case at a Donkey Kong cartridge. From a wall of newer consoles the clerk adds a PlayStation 4, “1 terabyte slim model,” noting “that is the last,” along with its power cable and a link cable for charging. At the register a yellow Nintendo 64 controller joins the pile, “set with another 64 controller,” and the captions read “$10 off.”

The total shows in the captions as “4 0 1 21,” and one commenter wrote it out as 401.21 and called it fair for two consoles and a few games. The clip ends with the customer holding two black store bags as the clerk lists “your cables, controllers and game 64,” and the last caption reads “you are ready.”

What the Expansion Pak actually adds

According to the Centre for Computing History, the Nintendo Expansion Pak dates from 1998 and adds 4MB of memory to the console, taking total RAM to 8MB. The museum lists Donkey Kong 64, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and Perfect Dark as the games that needed it, and notes that many other games could use the extra memory for sharper visuals or smoother play.

The clerk named Donkey Kong and Perfect Dark when he set the consoles down, and both titles are on the museum’s list, so a buyer who wants either one needs a console with the Pak installed.

One commenter raised a practical question about the Pak: whether the small lid on top of the console still closes with an Expansion Pak fitted, adding that if it did not, the commenter would have asked for the lid from the other console. That is worth checking at the counter.

How to check a used Nintendo 64 before you pay

Look at the shell under good light, top and bottom, and ask which condition tier it is priced in. This store split its green consoles into cracked at 75 and scratched or dented at 100, with two pristine units alongside, so ask what each tier means before you choose.

Lift the memory lid on top of the console and see what is in the slot. If you plan to play Donkey Kong 64, Majora’s Mask or Perfect Dark, the slot needs an Expansion Pak, and the Centre for Computing History’s figure of 4MB extra is what you are paying for. Check that the lid is there and closes.

Make sure you leave with the power cable and AV cable, as the clerk bagged them here. Ask for a controller too, and push the analog stick in every direction before you buy it, feeling for looseness or a stick that does not spring back to center.

If you are buying several items, ask about a bundle discount the way this sale went: the clerk offered a game or 10 dollars off, and the $10 came off at the register. Keep the receipt with the console in case anything fails when you get it home.