*Crickets*

[dawolv]

Hey guys,
I am just getting into this and had already started constructing my cab. Its a slimmed down version of my orignal version (thanks to the wife  )
Ive been trying to get some items for the cab but its eerily quiet everywhere Ive been.

So many of the links are dead and gone.
I ordered some items from Happ but my order has just been sitting there,  I emailed about when the items will ship and no response.
I would like to buy some things from Groovy Game Gear; Novagems and LCD Lighting to start..both have been out of stock since I got started so I emailed about when the items will come in stock but no responses there. I was also curious on the correct size connector for the micro-leaf since there was some discussion if the .187 was too big..again no response there either. BTW - Anyone know the actual size of those?
I emailed Mamemarquees (Game on Graphics now) but again no respsonse.
I asked about using Knievels layout but no replies. Though Im a total noob to graphic design. I eventually figured out how to design it with Paint Shop Pro (if anyone else needs help with it..30 day free trial of PSPx3) 

Anyone else having these problems?
These look like great sites and seem to be recommended by the community....I just dont get it

Me and my merry band of crickets are getting kind of worried.

[CheffoJeffo]

Welcome!

Re: Happ -- NEVER order directly from Happ -- They aren't set up to properly manage individual orders. You're going to get reamed on price and shipping. Order from a reseller like divemaster and get better prices and service.

Re: GGG -- maybe a spam filter got you, but Randy has posted here that he is waiting on things for the Novagems and once they are available I'll bet he posts about it here.

Re: GoG -- if you read around, you'll see that Scott has problems managing his email.

Re: Knievel -- I haven't heard from him on or off board in a long while. I expect that he's moved on to another hobby.

It's tough, but have patience ... or find other suppliers -- there are a bunch listed in the Vendors section of the wiki.

[TOK]

Cheffo nailed it. Its like you picked the perfect storm of bad vendors (easy there Randy, I'm talking about Happ) and people that aren't around.

I'd use the time you spend waiting for supplies productively by making your wifes life a living hell. 

[RayB]

dawolv, sounds like you might have an email problem?

[mwong168]

HAPP - I was going to order some parts directly from them but I like to know what I am paying for shipping before I actually commit and pay.  I tried to checkout but I was at the 2nd last step before I click on the final pay step and no idea what shipping costs were so I ended up finding my parts somewhere else.

GGG - RandyT always answers emails pretty fast or within 24 hours.  You can always send him a PM on here and he will reply if he is online.  I even sent him a PM once at 1:30am and he responded 

Connector - If you are referring to a standard microswitch like this one then you want .187


MM or Game on Graphics - I was hoping with the new name change would come a new level of customer service.  Scott has been known to a take a little longer to reply to your emails and sometimes he doesn't reply due to your email being sent to his spam folder.  On his new site there is a live chat option and sometimes there is someone online so you could try to communicate that way.  I would like to say his work is worth the wait but sometimes the frustration of waiting to hear back from him is very discouraging.

Another good source for arcade related parts is Lizardlick.com, Chad is a great guy to deal with and very prompt at replying emails.

[FrizzleFried]

Recommended vendors:

www.mikesarcade.com
www.tornadoterrys.com
www.videogameparts.com
www.gamestencils.com
www.mamemarquees.com (or whatever his new url is)
www.phoenixarcade.com
www.quarterarcade.com
www.tntamusements.com
www.emdkay.net
www.ultimarc.com
www.grooveygamegear.com

Vendors I avoid at all costs and why:

Arcadeshop - The owner has lied to me more than once.
Artwork Doctor - The owner is a liar and he produces god awful product.

I will go on record as saying the Arcadeshop does sell quality product... but I refuse to buy (been about 2 years now) because I don't take to kindly to being lied to... that is my only beef with them.

[milkit]

Artwork Doctor - The owner is a liar and he produces god awful product.

thats good to know....

(from my email today)

A package with a Click-N-Ship&#174 label created on usps.com containing the following information is scheduled to be shipped on 05/18/2010.

From:   
ARTWORK DOCTOR



I bought a cocktail marquee on ebay.. didnt know thats where it was from and have never dealt with them before

[FrizzleFried]

Joe produces TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE product.  AVOID.

He's been booted off ebay so now he goes by something else.

Dudes name is Joe Pastucci or something similar... absolutely the worst quality ink-jet printed product I have ever ordered.  He claims he backs his product 100%... HA!  I had to charge back my credit card on the purchase because he refused to send me a re-print.  I ended up giving the crap he printed away for free and it was so bad the guy who got it for free decided not to use it.

[milkit]

Joe produces TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE product.  AVOID.

He's been booted off ebay so now he goes by something else.

Dudes name is Joe Pastucci or something similar... absolutely the worst quality ink-jet printed product I have ever ordered.  He claims he backs his product 100%... HA!  I had to charge back my credit card on the purchase because he refused to send me a re-print.  I ended up giving the crap he printed away for free and it was so bad the guy who got it for free decided not to use it.

ya.. thats the name listed under artwork doctor on the shipment. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260601152735&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT was the auction I bought.

I guess I won't judge until I get it.. He did take a best offer of $20 off asking price and he shipped pretty quick... Maybe ill order a backup overlay just in case. hopefully it doesnt look too horrible

[dawolv]

Wow thanks guys!
Its definately a buyer beware out there for this stuff 
Its cool you guys are all on first name basis with everyone that speaks volumes.

Good news with Happ I finally got ahold of someone and took the advice from here and canceled everything. They were not going to ship anything until next month ... I had no idea, they never let me in on that detail.
I gave Divemaster aka Arcade Emulator (http://arcadeemulator.net/) a shout about a bezel and got a response back in lightning time...I will be definately ordering from there thank you for the link!

After some digging around here, I found out that GGG is coming out with Novagems 2...they look freaking hot!!
And with real leafs! WOW! I dont know if I could ever handle the *click* *click* *click* of the cherry/sanwa switches, I remember the soft button presses back then not a clicky click button.
I wonder what the difference is like with the true leafs versus the lever Micro Leaf switches.
Anyway I will have to wait for those to hit his site. You can check what I found here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=101030.40

So far Ultimarc (http://www.ultimarc.com) has been phenomenal! I recieved my u360 like extremely fast, love that Joystick! I will be ordering another one as well as the utrack and ipac2.
I think it needs a restrictor plate either square or octagon, Im new to all this so dont know what each would feel like.

Bezels seem like a pain to get in from anywhere, I really like the look of the Happ one.
Im wondering if I could create a bezel like it with some scrap poplar?

[jasonbar]

I've got 22 GGG Micro Leaf Switches available for sale: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=99497.0

 

Thanks,
-Jason

[92greenyj]

Speaking as someone who deals with Happ regularly (I get all my parts from them here at my work) They really aren't too bad to deal with most of the time. Most of the major game manufacturers get and use Happ parts to build their games with, so for me, its cheaper to order replacement parts straight from the source rather than the manufacturer. Usually their shipping is fast and efficient. Most of the time when I order, if its in stock and I order early enough I get the parts the next day as they ship from Vegas. The snag is when they are out of stock on something. Thats when shipping times get long. They do allow you to choose what to do if a product is backordered though. they can hold it until everything comes in and ship it all at once, or ship it as things are in stock. this of course can mean multiple shipping charges though. The way I do it is if its a part I need right away, I select ship as things are available. if its just tools or maintenance stuff I usually have them hold and ship complete. This system works well for me usually. longest I've had to wait for a part I really needed (new power supply for my Dog Pounder redemption game) was 2 weeks from when i ordered it to when it arrived.

I have had great luck with buttons, button parts, lights, etc. Matter of fact, I have to place a part order today now that I think about it. trying to stock some spares up before my summer rush starts hitting. (another way to avoid waiting for parts. order extras ahead of time when its something you know you will probably need)

[milkit]

Good news with Happ I finally got ahold of someone and took the advice from here and canceled everything. They were not going to ship anything until next month ... I had no idea, they never let me in on that detail.
I gave Divemaster aka Arcade Emulator (http://arcadeemulator.net/) a shout about a bezel and got a response back in lightning time...I will be definately ordering from there thank you for the link!

just FYI, i stopped ordering from arcadeemulator.net after multiple issues. For one, I was getting annoyed they took 5 days to ship usually once I placed an order. I'd email to ask about the delay and get annoyed.

Then I had an order missing some push buttons and a few were wrong colors. I made it work and figured it was a 1 time then.

Then the next order it took something stupid like 9 days (i believe 6 business days) for him to ship my order. He emailed back that time saying that the website says 5-7 days to ship which i still have never been able to find.

So then my order finally does arrive and its missing a joystick handle, a trackball mounting plate, and some buttons. It wasnt even that big of an order.. just one machine worth of parts. like 1/4 of my order was totally missing. he did send the missing pieces without any hassle but it delayed me finishing a machine for a week.

I dont see how you miss that much of an order after you had 9 days to get it right.

That was my last order needless to say.

[WhereEaglesDare]

Thanks for the notice, I will follow.

[milkit]

i got my order for the cocktail underlay from artwork doctor as mentioned above.

the print itself is decent not as vivid or glossy as I'd have hoped but its fine for under a cocktail top.

however, compared to 2 others I have from gameongrafix and phoenix arcade, its trash. its much thinner. literally printed on a roll of pretty thin paper with no lamination of any kind. When i say on a roll, i mean its not even cut out! theres white inside where the monitor cutout is AND all around the outside.

[:oj]

Arcadeshop - The owner has...

Please specify which arcadeshop you mean, there are two of them in this small world. One with TLD .com and one with TLD .de, which cannot be lumped together (different owners).

[CheffoJeffo]

He means .com.

[hfdpro]

sorry wrong forum