Thinking about producing and selling bartop arcade cabinets

[processedmeat]

One of the main reasons I'm considering this business is because I love video games, arcades and building cabinets (since this adventure started with building my own full size cabinet for private use).

I think when a hobby becomes a job, you might not love it as much regardless of what it might be.  The nice thing about the hobby is that when you get tired of doing something e.g. sanding, painting etc. is that you can just stop and come back to it later.  Whereas for a job, you might not be able to do so.

[Niels Arcade]

Yep. Dudes here blow $200 on LEDs and want to use a $5 controller for their joysticks.

wow talking about form over function 

[Niels Arcade]

I might have taken this thread seriously if you actually had experience and a track record for building multiple cabs of good quality. You lost me once I saw that you've only built ONE damn cab along with making mention of kickstarter. Lack of experience and personal funding are the two main ingredients that make up a hearty "fail salad".


good day.

I can understand your doubts regarding experience and that would be my challenge to come up with something that proves to be worthy. With regards to your Kickstarter remark, this has nothing to do with a lack of financial resources as I've explained a few posts back:

To be clear my main motive for a kickstarter campaign is not to get a bag of money before I build my products, but more so the scope of reach and awareness a good kickstarter could generate. It would also be a great tool to determine the consumer interest and set a minimum Euro/Dollar total pledge target so I know I can only continue if there is enough demand (since just selling a few units is not economicly viable as a business, also because of purchasing quantities). If the pledge level is not reached people would not get billed.

[jennifer]

One of the main reasons I'm considering this business is because I love video games, arcades and building cabinets (since this adventure started with building my own full size cabinet for private use).

I think when a hobby becomes a job, you might not love it as much regardless of what it might be.  The nice thing about the hobby is that when you get tired of doing something e.g. sanding, painting etc. is that you can just stop and come back to it later.  Whereas for a job, you might not be able to do so.

  That is an old wifes tale....Jen hates this hobby multiple times a day, every day, constantly, It has taken everything, It gives nothing, It consumes and feeds off itself, It takes your family and friends. I eat popcorn, it eats steak. Yet quitting or even doing something else has never even crossed my mind....IT IS NOT A OPTION.

[pbj]

Go for it, these forum clowns hate on everything

[Nephasth]

I wonder if you'll get the EuroPuetz as a customer...

[nitrogen_widget]

As someone who got the bright idea once to fix PC's on the side I say run away.
imagine the dumbest thing someone could possibly do to a piece of electronics to hose it then go dumber.

[barrymossel]

I sell bartops.  In kit form, flat packed, mainly just the wood & plastic, T-molding, power inlets, etc. 

Even that can be time consuming.  Could I support my family on the income it generates?  Not even close.  Is it fun?  Sure.  And it gives me money to fund this arcade habit without going broke.  Lol.

The other day I shipped a built bartop (no monitor or PC) and packing that securely for shipping took the better part of a day.  I way undercharged on that one.

Thank you for your input! Is it safe to assume you also have another dayjob? Do you think it might generate enough income if you would work full time on it? My wife has a pretty good job with a decent salary, I don't need to make a giant income, but a few hundred euro's a month wouldn't cut it either.

Again, put your current cab on Marktplaats (bidding) and see what the demand is and what people want to pay for it. Only then you will know whether you can make money of it (and how much you will get paid per made hour).
And really, if your really want to do this, just do it. No real risk in it, right. Just don't quit your day job yet.

[yotsuya]

I sell bartops.  In kit form, flat packed, mainly just the wood & plastic, T-molding, power inlets, etc. 

Even that can be time consuming.  Could I support my family on the income it generates?  Not even close.  Is it fun?  Sure.  And it gives me money to fund this arcade habit without going broke.  Lol.

The other day I shipped a built bartop (no monitor or PC) and packing that securely for shipping took the better part of a day.  I way undercharged on that one.

Thank you for your input! Is it safe to assume you also have another dayjob? Do you think it might generate enough income if you would work full time on it? My wife has a pretty good job with a decent salary, I don't need to make a giant income, but a few hundred euro's a month wouldn't cut it either.

Again, put your current cab on Marktplaats (bidding) and see what the demand is and what people want to pay for it. Only then you will know whether you can make money of it (and how much you will get paid per made hour).
And really, if your really want to do this, just do it. No real risk in it, right. Just don't quit your day job yet.

He’s doesn’t have a day job to quit, that’s the issue.

[Le Chuck]

Learn to juggle. Devote hours of your day to juggling. Juggle balls, then clubs, then rings, then knives, then chainsaws. For the next six months do nothing but juggle.

After six months go out to a market corner, put out a hat, and start juggling your ass off. In an afternoon you will have more net money than you would have made in the first six months of this arcade venture of yours.

Take those earnings and buy a unicycle. Now learn to unicycle and juggle.

Now you have a full time job, two neat-o tallents that you've cultivated, and can probably make pretty decent scratch doing something that gets you out of the house.

Or, you could try to compete with China for cheap arcade cabinets. 

[barrymossel]

I sell bartops.  In kit form, flat packed, mainly just the wood & plastic, T-molding, power inlets, etc. 

Even that can be time consuming.  Could I support my family on the income it generates?  Not even close.  Is it fun?  Sure.  And it gives me money to fund this arcade habit without going broke.  Lol.

The other day I shipped a built bartop (no monitor or PC) and packing that securely for shipping took the better part of a day.  I way undercharged on that one.

Thank you for your input! Is it safe to assume you also have another dayjob? Do you think it might generate enough income if you would work full time on it? My wife has a pretty good job with a decent salary, I don't need to make a giant income, but a few hundred euro's a month wouldn't cut it either.

Again, put your current cab on Marktplaats (bidding) and see what the demand is and what people want to pay for it. Only then you will know whether you can make money of it (and how much you will get paid per made hour).
And really, if your really want to do this, just do it. No real risk in it, right. Just don't quit your day job yet.

He’s doesn’t have a day job to quit, that’s the issue.

Then he should just start selling arcades, whoohoo!

Learn to juggle. Devote hours of your day to juggling. Juggle balls, then clubs, then rings, then knives, then chainsaws. For the next six months do nothing but juggle.

After six months go out to a market corner, put out a hat, and start juggling your ass off. In an afternoon you will have more net money than you would have made in the first six months of this arcade venture of yours.

Take those earnings and buy a unicycle. Now learn to unicycle and juggle.

Now you have a full time job, two neat-o tallents that you've cultivated, and can probably make pretty decent scratch doing something that gets you out of the house.

Or, you could try to compete with China for cheap arcade cabinets. 

Almost pissed myself.

[Ian]

Learn to juggle. Devote hours of your day to juggling. Juggle balls, then clubs, then rings, then knives, then chainsaws. For the next six months do nothing but juggle.

After six months go out to a market corner, put out a hat, and start juggling your ass off. In an afternoon you will have more net money than you would have made in the first six months of this arcade venture of yours.

Take those earnings and buy a unicycle. Now learn to unicycle and juggle.

Now you have a full time job, two neat-o tallents that you've cultivated, and can probably make pretty decent scratch doing something that gets you out of the house.

Or, you could try to compete with China for cheap arcade cabinets.

This is the best advice I ever saw on this site.... I wish I would have read this before building my machines...

 

[05SRT4]

Give optional Pi, Slim Flat pack with included fish tank and I am sure people will be lined up for miles...

[rovingmind]

Give optional Pi, Slim Flat pack with included fish tank and I am sure people will be lined up for miles...

Only if the tank includes a coupon for a real live fish home delivered.  Otherwise who wants to make a trip out to get the fish?

[Tragically Geek]

I am not sure how valuable my 1.67c will be [$0.02 CAD] but I have pondered the viability of making and selling bartops for quite a while, and made the following observations in my research.  You are only going to have 3 target customer markets, A) People who want a cheap arcade cabinet, cheap. B) People who want a cabinet but are unknowledgeable or unwilling to do the wood work.  C) The impulse gamer who wants a 100% working product with zero setup.

People in the community like Haruman take care of (B) quite easily.  It is important to note that the individuals in column (B) are already committed to own a cabinet, and are fully willing to go through the work of either the PC or Pi setup to fill the cabinet, as well as the expected wiring and component purchased to go with it.

The lines blur a little between (A) and (C), to elaborate, (A) customers are familiar with MAME and arcade cabinets, but do not want to go through with assembly.  They expect a bartop, wired with joysticks and buttons, and for either a fresh loaded PC or Pi to be present and will expect no os on the Pi, and no roms/frontend on the PC, if there is a front end, great, added bonus.  Customers in the (C) catagory expect to purchase a unit they can bring home, plug in, turn on and start gaming.  To elaborate, they don't care about the legality of pirated ROMs, they expect it to just 'work'.

You may be thinking "There are plenty of people that don't quite fit into A, B or C", the issue with that statement, while accurate, is that those people either don't want an arcade, or they are the type currently reading this forum post, who want an Arcade, but will either want to build it themselves, or have VERY specific things they want it to do. (LED buttons with LED blinky, U360 controllers with custom maps etc).  While there is a market there, it is VERY small, and is for completely custom built cabinets on a 1 by 1 basis with customization (Paradox comes to mind) and really, they fall into the void between A and B.

Beyond that specific situation, which I anticipate would get very few orders, especially due to shipping costs, left me with the only remaining viable option (which others have mentioned), enjoying the hobby enough that you start making bartops for fun, become proficient at it, and sell them on Kijiji, Craigslist, E-Bay or your local Farmers Market / Flea Market.  You will have to decide on the moral dilemma (or legal depending where you live) of building these with ROms present or not.

While there is a lot here, I think this will be the non condescending version explaining some of the other previous short, but to the point replies you have already received.

{While I have lurked on here for eternity, how is that for my second post ever }

[Nephasth]

{While I have lurked on here for eternity, how is that for my second post ever }

TL;DR

[jennifer]

I am not sure how valuable my 1.67c will be [$0.02 CAD] but I have pondered the viability of making and selling bartops for quite a while, and made the following observations in my research.  You are only going to have 3 target customer markets, A) People who want a cheap arcade cabinet, cheap. B) People who want a cabinet but are unknowledgeable or unwilling to do the wood work.  C) The impulse gamer who wants a 100% working product with zero setup.

People in the community like Haruman take care of (B) quite easily.  It is important to note that the individuals in column (B) are already committed to own a cabinet, and are fully willing to go through the work of either the PC or Pi setup to fill the cabinet, as well as the expected wiring and component purchased to go with it.

The lines blur a little between (A) and (C), to elaborate, (A) customers are familiar with MAME and arcade cabinets, but do not want to go through with assembly.  They expect a bartop, wired with joysticks and buttons, and for either a fresh loaded PC or Pi to be present and will expect no os on the Pi, and no roms/frontend on the PC, if there is a front end, great, added bonus.  Customers in the (C) catagory expect to purchase a unit they can bring home, plug in, turn on and start gaming.  To elaborate, they don't care about the legality of pirated ROMs, they expect it to just 'work'.

You may be thinking "There are plenty of people that don't quite fit into A, B or C", the issue with that statement, while accurate, is that those people either don't want an arcade, or they are the type currently reading this forum post, who want an Arcade, but will either want to build it themselves, or have VERY specific things they want it to do. (LED buttons with LED blinky, U360 controllers with custom maps etc).  While there is a market there, it is VERY small, and is for completely custom built cabinets on a 1 by 1 basis with customization (Paradox comes to mind) and really, they fall into the void between A and B.

Beyond that specific situation, which I anticipate would get very few orders, especially due to shipping costs, left me with the only remaining viable option (which others have mentioned), enjoying the hobby enough that you start making bartops for fun, become proficient at it, and sell them on Kijiji, Craigslist, E-Bay or your local Farmers Market / Flea Market.  You will have to decide on the moral dilemma (or legal depending where you live) of building these with ROms present or not.

While there is a lot here, I think this will be the non condescending version explaining some of the other previous short, but to the point replies you have already received.

{While I have lurked on here for eternity, how is that for my second post ever }

  You forgot "D"...The people that want it, agonize over every detail, and then take 3 weeks to decide on a color, the most perfect awesome color that man has ever seen, whine and moan about copyrighted material, and finally take another 5 months creating some art nobody with scruples or morals could or would legally print and then finally refuse to pay for it because it cost to much. I would love to think it would be viable, and people like H/man, myself, and a handful of others could take a rightful place in history, (as far as cabs, and restorations go) But reality is more like barley keeping the shop open, and deferring any profits back into the hobby in which we love .... Jennifer can (and has) cloned entire machines quite quickly and effectively, but that's just not where the money is. Home consoles killed the industry friend