Is selling fully built arcade machines profitable?

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Howard_Casto:
Well if your water heater is in the attic it's just poor house design. Then again it is Texas.... so my condolences.

Titchgamer:
It was pretty common to install hot water storage tanks in the attic over here but not the actual boilers lol
these days everyone uses combis much better :)

As for the op though I dont think anyone has ever made a profit on these things selling to mates.

It just takes to much time and effort not to mention buying quality parts.

I love it as a hobby but I know I will never get the £0000's ive spent back!

ark_ader:
Well it all depends on time and resource. Personally, mame cabinets are a luxury item and should be treated as such. Also grandiose designs are all well and good, if you are using the thing on a regular basis. Odds are you will not, so it would be better to create a market for a niche product. I tinkered in this idea for a while and like the above comments, there is a small margin (if at all) to make profit.

Unless you have a shop or have access to an unemployed cabinet maker, then production runs will be expensive. If I was stupid enough to try this venture out, I would make tiny or small cabinets. Unfinished or finished, with monitor, PC with linux. I would not make anything too fancy. Just big enough to put in the closet.

The buyer to supply the games or you could do it as a freebie with robby roto on a CD.

I have a source where I could get my hands on some dell 15 inch monitors and SFF units, but it is a dog with fleas. Better to get the client to supply his or her own gear, that way you do not have to "support the electronic stuff you sell" and shipping is cheaper. I always point my clients to ggg for the hardware. Randy is awesome for customer service. :applaud:

Anyway, I would price the unit out at $60 + shipping for an 'Ikea-esque' flat pack. All the client would need is a screwdriver. Profit would be about 60-75% minus costs per 100 units. I would start selling them in October.

Time to get your thinking hat on.

ChadTower:

--- Quote from: Howard_Casto on June 06, 2017, 02:26:47 pm ---Yeah and the thing is water heaters aren't that expensive to begin with. Hell as long as it isn't a super big one I don't even understand why you would pay someone to install one.... go to Lowes, throw it in the truck, unscrew the old one, screw the new one in. Of course you almost always have to fiddle with pipes/mounting because the new tank is inevitably a slightly different size than the old one, but it isn't that much work really. I've done several over the years and while I usually need a hand as they are heavy/awkward, it doesn't take more than a couple of hours.

Plumbers must be for muggles or something as I just don't get it.

--- End quote ---

Bit more complicated than that as ours run on oil here. New England winters don't work with electric heating of any sort unless you want a $1000 monthly bill over the winter.

yotsuya:
The only way I think it would be worth it is if you build it first and then sell it as is, like the flippers do. Any sort of custom or commission work usually results in headaches.

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