Is selling fully built arcade machines profitable?

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JDFan:

--- Quote from: Dragonman73 on June 06, 2017, 08:12:17 am ---Just curious, I had a guy I used to work with approach me and said he knew I dabbled in arcades a little and if I had any for sale he would buy one for his man-cave he just built.

--- End quote ---

People will always say that but when it comes down to actually doing it they always expect it to be done and fully supported for life for $200 - $400 !! And then they are messing with it every month or so and breaking it and calling you to come fix it for nothing. (IF you decide to try it make sure they know upfront what the cost is and what support cost runs (ie. $50/hour + parts or whatever you want to charge ) - and don't lowball yourself thinking you can do it for $500 as that includes nothing for your time and any unforseen mistakes ( ie. how many coats of paint does it take and what happens if one of the joysticks doesn't work when it gets there - will they wait for a replacement or will you have to buy another one right away to get it done on time and !) YOu'll find most people think it can be done in a matter of days and that hardly any of them want to include any labor cost. :dunno

ChadTower:

I've had a couple of people ask me to do it for them and they'd act like I was trying to rip them off if I said anything over $500. When I said something like "you asked for custom artwork. You do realize that even standard artwork costs the builder a couple hundred bucks just to purchase, right? So custom artwork costs a lot more than that? And that's only the artwork. We're not even talking wood, monitor, computer, or control devices yet." And they still always go with "well I see them on CL with 60 games for $500 all day". So... go buy that one? "Well, no, I want a custom machine."

Mike A:
The last thing I would want to do is turn my hobby into a job.

ChadTower:

That's exactly why I didn't do it. There is a bit of opportunity once you become decent at repairing things. Especially for pinball. It's just not worth destroying the enjoyment of the hobby. I've seen many guys go down that road in various hobbies and the disillusionment rate is high.

Dragonman73:

--- Quote from: JDFan on June 06, 2017, 10:47:00 am ---
--- Quote from: Dragonman73 on June 06, 2017, 08:12:17 am ---Just curious, I had a guy I used to work with approach me and said he knew I dabbled in arcades a little and if I had any for sale he would buy one for his man-cave he just built.

--- End quote ---

People will always say that but when it comes down to actually doing it they always expect it to be done and fully supported for life for $200 - $400 !! And then they are messing with it every month or so and breaking it and calling you to come fix it for nothing. (IF you decide to try it make sure they know upfront what the cost is and what support cost runs (ie. $50/hour + parts or whatever you want to charge ) - and don't lowball yourself thinking you can do it for $500 as that includes nothing for your time and any unforseen mistakes ( ie. how many coats of paint does it take and what happens if one of the joysticks doesn't work when it gets there - will they wait for a replacement or will you have to buy another one right away to get it done on time and !) YOu'll find most people think it can be done in a matter of days and that hardly any of them want to include any labor cost. :dunno

--- End quote ---
Yeah that's kind of where I am at, he said he was "interested" in one for his home...but we never discussed price. I feel like if I tell him I had one for $800-850 he would have a coronary or something

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