Canadian Arcade parts distributor

[menace]

I just received an email from starburst coins in Mississauga, Ontario that confirms that they carry a large inventory of arcade controls for those of us north of the border.  

According to the parts guy, you basically supply them with a list with part numbers and they will get you some pricing--I have no idea what the comparison is to dealing with Happ directly, but it is in canada so shipping will be reduced as well as lousy brokerage fees as it crosses the border.  Still have to have the gov't take (taxes) in there but what are you gonna do??  Just thought some people would like to know.

[mattreynolds]

I used Starburst Coin for my MAME cabinet parts as well and found them quite pleasant to deal with.  Everything went smoothly.

One thing to note is that while their costs on most parts (in my case almost exclusively Happ parts) is fairly good on smaller/common items (e.g. less than the US->CDN conversion equivalent), more expensive/less common items was fairly high -- in my case, I ended up only getting two P360s because Starburst was selling them for $70CDN/each!  Supers were $16CDN/each.  A 3" Happ trackball (blue translucent) was $130CDN.

T-molding was cheapish there (50' of 3/4" black smooth was $17.50 or $.35/ft).  Buttons were $2CDN each.  Start buttons were $2.50CDN/each.

So, not *cheap* per se, but the hassle saved getting it across the border was worth the bit extra I had to spend on some of the parts.  From the time I ordered to the time I could pick it up was about 5 days -- and I had some odd parts which they had to order -- so I was happy with that.

Hope this info helps.  I'll be putting all my sources for parts onto a website when I'm done my cabinet (specific to the Kitchener-Waterloo/Toronto area) which might help other Canadian folks.

Matthew

[zero-one]

I've had the same great experience with Starburst Coin. Walked in, went to the parts counter got my joysticks and buttons (all Happs parts), paid, and walked out within minutes with a big geeky grin.

[Scott84]

So people that go to Starburst Coin! Where are you located?

Im in mississauga, 20 Mins from Starburst Coin!

[menace]

burlington here

[Brax]

Hamilton.

My buddy that I just got into Mame is 3 blocks away. Can you say, "Auction Storage Facility!!" hehe

[bionicbadger]

I'm in Canada.  I ordered my stuff from Bob Roberts.  Cheap, fast, sent with post office, and was never stopped, so didn't have to pay any brokerage or GST.

[zero-one]

Markham here. Driving to Starburst is a huge pain but it's still better than paying brokerage fees. Plus I get near instant gratification.

I'll try Bob Roberts if I ever need to. Avoiding the taxes and the brokerage fees sounds good to me.

[Scott84]

So the best bet for me to buy happ parts is Starburst Coin since im so close? I could just avoid the postage and everything and get it anytime i want.

[menace]

I'm in Canada.  I ordered my stuff from Bob Roberts.  Cheap, fast, sent with post office, and was never stopped, so didn't have to pay any brokerage or GST.

This is the exception, not the norm--both me and my brother have ordered from bob roberts a couple of times and every time--dinged with PST and GST--LIKE THE F#$KING CDN GOV'T HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE SHIPMENTS!?!?  sorry--I sometimes forget thats its legal for the canadian gov't to steal from people  On the last order bob put the price at half the actual price (without me asking so the taxes were reduced as well as the "handling" fee)

[Druin]

I'm in Mississauga 10 minutes from Starburst, I bought my Rotary joysticks, 4player coin door, Marquee retainer, many buttons, trackball....