I have a Hori Gameboy Player Controller I paid $10 for. A Wavebird I got free from one of the old EB managers conventions in Vegas (even luckier, I didn't have to manage an EB or go to Vegas to get it) and two wired pads so from the GC perspective I'm rolling in it.
I think for all those controllers, 2 component cables, and the Cube I paid less than $60. The Cube was only a year old when I got it but I got it free from a friend. Lighting took out the composite video but the sound still worked as did the digital out. So I just used my componant cable (which I got for free, the other one cost me $10) until I realized that it was still under warentee so I had it swapped out by Nintendo. The GBP controller was $10 at a chain called Game Crazy that I think no longer exists. I bought the other two pads used but in perfect nick.
Whole prices are sorta crazy now, GC was *deeply* unpopular and on clearance everywhere for a long time. It pays to be aware enough to get the good stuff when you can.
A few years ago I put my spare componant cable on eBay with a starting bid of $0.99, no reserve, and a $80 BIN but still someone paid $120 for it despite there being 10 others on eBay at the same time.
Right now there is a bunch of WiiU junk at Target that nobody wants because they are buying PS4 and iPhone crap. Those same idiots are some day going to want to give me $300 for my Zelda LE that I got on sale and I'm going to tell them to go f*ck themselves. You can't buy taste, but you can pay for it.