How good of a deal did I pass one?

[8BitMonk]

Had a chance a couple days ago to buy 5 classics in one shot, Pacman, Donkey Kong, Dig Dug, Asteroids Deluxe and Zaxxon. All were in decent shape and running except Zaxxon, board was out. Some other minor cosmetic stuff, cigarette burns and melting on the DK control panel along with a broken joystick, missing coin door keys etc. but average condition.

He was asking $1950 for all and I just couldn't pull the trigger. How good (or bad) of a deal do you think this was?

[Ian]

Well, $1950 divided by 5 is about $390 a machine... I say that is a pretty good deal.

[BadMouth]

asking $1950=really asking $1800=will come down to $1600=$1500 for cash in hand no hassles just show up and haul everything away without him having to do any work.

I'll add that I sold a pacman in great condition for $300 because that's all I could get out of it around here.

[8BitMonk]

Funny you should mention it, I offered $1500.  He said if he sold them individually he thought he could get around $2300 so $1950 was the 'you take all of them and save me the hassle' rate. I was pretty firm at $1500, that was the price I felt I couldn't pass at.

Also factoring into my decicion was the fact that my game room is full with the 5 cabs I have so I'd have to pay to store them. Plus, while they're classics, they're not exactly my favorite games. If there had been a Robotron or a Joust in the mix I may have been more apt to take it.

I just know down the road when I have more room and am looking to fill in some classics I'll be kicking myself. That's about as cheap a price per game as you're going to find for those games if they're anywhere near operational.

[paigeoliver]

$1600 would be the max on that lot and that is basically paying full real-world price for every game there.

That is assuming average "survivor" condition games.

I have purchased plenty of games in that general class at $150 or less.

I could buy just about any time at the price that guy wants with a little asking around.

[8BitMonk]

That's what I was thinking, needed a sanity check.

Good to hear my valuation was on target.

[yotsuya]

Yeah, you didn't lose out on a mega steal or anything like that. I wouldn't fret.

[JDFan]

I'd agree with the others on this -- decent deal but nothing to lose sleep over - esp since you mention having to pay to store them if you had bought now rather than waiting till you have the room for them -- Figure at $50 a month for storing if you store for a year or two you've spent another $600 - $1200 just for storing and then the deal doesn't seem as good and you should be able to find them when you are ready for less than the $2550 - $3150 you'd have invested by then - So don't worry about missing the buy ! 

[pbj]

Price goes down as quantity goes up.  Anyone that wants those games already owns them.

[vwalbridge]

Well if you ask me, you missed out on more of an opportunity but not necessarily a deal per say.

For me, 4 of those 5 games are on my "want" list. (Never cared for Zaxxon much. That isometric view felt like having reversed angled joysticks)

I would have acted on it for sure. Not because it was a deal...but because I could have all those machines in a one buy. I'd just make sure I talked the seller down a couple hundred to make it worth the entire haul. I'd want to make sure that I could turn one of them around to someone else if I needed to. Your location makes a pretty big difference. I know that I would have zero problem selling those machines in my town.

[8BitMonk]

It seems I didn't miss the deal of the century... no 'YOU IDIOT!!' posts yet anyway. Valuation is tough with varying machine quality, size of the market you're in, delusion level of the seller. Case in point, who here thinks  this Ms. Pacman is worth $450? Not as bad as some I've seen but still steep for the condition it's in.

Well if you ask me, you missed out on more of an opportunity but not necessarily a deal per say.

The convenience factor definitely weighed in my decision but having to store them nullified that out for me. A little more space and little less money and I'd have definitely snagged them.

[vwalbridge]

Case in point, who here thinks  this Ms. Pacman is worth $450? Not as bad as some I've seen but still steep for the condition it's in.

That Ms Pac would be gone pretty quick in Denver. I have no doubt. I know that seems a little nuts but the market seems pretty hot right now for arcade machines in my area.

[yotsuya]

Yeah, but the AD would have sat there a while, and he may may as well give the Zaxxon it's own bedroom...

[vwalbridge]

Yeah, but the AD would have sat there a while,

and he may may as well give the Zaxxon it's own bedroom...

 

[paigeoliver]

That diagnostic board is worth $100 by itself. $350 isn't out of the question for a "player quality" Ms. Pac with an incorrect CPO. Last one I had was worse and I got a pretty nice Gyruss for it in a straight trade.

It seems I didn't miss the deal of the century... no 'YOU IDIOT!!' posts yet anyway. Valuation is tough with varying machine quality, size of the market you're in, delusion level of the seller. Case in point, who here thinks  this Ms. Pacman is worth $450? Not as bad as some I've seen but still steep for the condition it's in.

Well if you ask me, you missed out on more of an opportunity but not necessarily a deal per say.

The convenience factor definitely weighed in my decision but having to store them nullified that out for me. A little more space and little less money and I'd have definitely snagged them.

[8BitMonk]

Yeah, but the AD would have sat there a while...

Yeah they seem to be plentiful. I also already have an Asteroids and Asteroids Deluxe cocktail. I like the standup better though so I'd have kept that and sold the cocktails.

...and he may may as well give the Zaxxon it's own bedroom...

Haha, no kidding. That cab is pretty ugly too, no sideart and the wood grain laminate had a nasty color to it.

That diagnostic board is worth $100 by itself. $350 isn't out of the question for a "player quality" Ms. Pac with an incorrect CPO. Last one I had was worse and I got a pretty nice Gyruss for it in a straight trade.

Good to know, I had no idea about the diagnostic board. I didn't think the price was outrageous but the cab looks thrashed. Like I said price is tough to gauge depending on how long you've been in this hobby.

Not sure how good of a deal it is but I was extremely pleased to pick up a working Championship Sprint cab a couple weeks ago for $475.



It was one of my bucket list games so I wasn't as focused on price but I think it was a good deal. The medium res monitors are really getting hard to find (and are pricey when you can) so I figured that was almost worth the cost alone. The tube worked but was scratched up so I had to do a tube swap ($10 19" tv off Craigslist!) but I figure the chassis, yoke and game controls alone put me well over what I paid. Plus it had a relatively low production number ~2800 so I think it's a little more rare.

[leapinlew]

I don't think it's a bad deal. Some of you guys are talking about super awesome deals.

From a "is this a good deal" perspective, I'm betting you could have sold off the boards of 3 of the machines, mamed them, sold them to make your money back and kept 2 for yourself. So to me, the question is "Is a Pacman and Donkey Kong for free a good deal?"

All of my machines have been paid for using the proceeds from the sale of other machines. I fixed up and sold the machine I attached to fund the machine going into my collection.

[8BitMonk]

I'd feel bad mame-ing or stripping them down for parts, they're pretty classic titles. I think from a raw numbers standpoint it was a decent deal, by the time I stored and restored them I'm not sure it would've been worth it for me personally. I get your point as far as getting money back out of projects though, at least one of my Asteroids cocktails will be sold to fund other machines and I take that into account when looking for projects to buy.

[pbj]

Dude, you passed up the deal of a lifetime.  You'll always regret not buying those games.

[yotsuya]

No one said it was a BAD deal. The concensus was he was ok walking away.

[8BitMonk]

Dude, you passed up the deal of a lifetime.  You'll always regret not buying those games.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...

[yotsuya]

Dude, you passed up the deal of a lifetime.  You'll always regret not buying those games.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...

PBJ!!

[8BitMonk]

werd, pbj gotta pbj

[pbj]

Dude, you clearly want to self flagellate over this, I'm just helping you indulge your kink.  Tips are always appreciated via Paypal.

[8BitMonk]

Here I thought we were having a simple conversation about the value of some cabs but apparently there's a deeper meaning. 

You're wrong as usual, but just keep on pbj'ing.

[leapinlew]

He's starting to crack under the weight of his own failure and indecision PBJ. Be careful or he may snap.

[pbj]

I mean, at some point, you gotta realize that you'll never have these opportunities again.  I've been telling people for a decade that if you see a pinball you want and you can somehow afford it -  BUY IT.  You will never see that title for the rest of your life, and my path is full of many regrets.

We have entered that realm with these filthy arcade cabinets.  It used to be rare crap nobody ever liked such as Warrior but has crept to popular titles from our youths. 

But, hey, if you're cool playing those games on a grubby Xbox with those x-arcades....

 

[leapinlew]

I agree. If I look for Donkey Kong or Pacman now, I'd be lucky to find them in the $800 a piece range. I think the starting price was a good one. Not to mention if those are titles you are looking for, it'll be a while before you can get them again.

Sometimes getting a deal gets in the way of completing a transaction. I've done this to myself and lost out on some things trying to make the deal sweeter. How do you think you would have felt if he wanted $2,500 for all the machines and you offered him $2,000 and he accepted? Just curious.

Oh, and the offering of $1,500 probably would have went over better if you offered it at his house, after viewing the machines, with a vehicle big enough to haul them away.

Either way, sounds like the deal is gone. I would have passed on it because I don't have the time and not looking for any titles, but if I was still building/selling machines I would have grabbed that one pretty quick.

[eds1275]

Like my tattoo says, no regerts