Cabinet purchasing tips

[paigeoliver]

These are some in-general tips I am posting to help you guys find some cabinets and help reverse the increasingly negative opinion the general arcade community has about mamers.

#1. Don't ask for pictures of FREE cabinets or games. The person is already giving the machine away free. If they had pics they would have posted them. Just go get the freaker if it is in your range, otherwise ignore it.

#2. Do not contact people asking for FREE cabinets. Local posters on RGVAC and other boards are a good source for empties, but I instead suggest a short email asking if they have any games for sale.

#3. At this point I no longer suggest posts asking about free or cheap cabinets. A better post would just be "Looking to buy project games near INSERT LOCATION".

#4. Do not, I repeat do not "flake out". I don't know why, but arcadecontrols.com and mame guys in general tend to have a huge "flake out" rate. They say they are coming a certain day or time, and then don't show up. You alter your schedule so you can meet them and then they mumble and don't buy anything. They request changes to a cabinet and then vanish off the face of the earth after said changes are made (you KNOW who YOU are).

I actually raised my prices on empty cabinets because it was no longer worth my time to stay home all day and have a chance that someone MIGHT come over and then they MIGHT give me $20. Not worth my time, not worth the time of other people either. I always have a lot of cabinets because I know a lot of other collectors and I grab their dumpster bound stuff.


#5. Be sure and check klov.com and see what a cabinet looks like to avoid buying an unsuitable cabinet, or wasting someone else's time because you didn't realize that Pole Position was a driving cabinet.

#6. No one has free or cheap 4 player cabinets anymore. No one has free or cheap mortal kombat cabinets anymore. You guys drove the prices on those sky high to the point where the gutted ones sell for as much as ones that have games in them!  

#7. Be sure and have enough straps with you to tie down whatever you buy. (Really only matters if buying more than one game).

#8. Have fun!

[danny_galaga]

yay for paigeoliver!!! welcome back  

good tips  

[Lilwolf]

Have to say...

Your sounding a little bitter..

How many of those on your list come from your own experience.

[Sylentwulf]

"Hey, he said have fun...."

I was either gonna reply with that or...

"Have fun? Does that mean I can toy with you?"

[JoyMonkey]

I'm very dissappointed, Paige - you didn't even last one month away from this board.  
You are weak! I will destroy you!  

[Will]

I have to endorse craigslist.org as a great place for finding arcade games and cabinets.Since I bought my cabinet off there I have seen a few more gems for sale.You just have to check it daily and you may get lucky..

[RayB]

Maybe it's my fault he cameout of lurker mode. I PM'd him last night.

 

[Gunstar Hero]

Poor general arcade hobbists.  

It must eat them up that MAME is both keeping the hobby alive AND killing their resale values...

Talk about a catch-22.  

Honestly, everyone I know who collects arcade games is super cool, but tends to take things way too seriously.

C'mon guys, our hobby is VIDEO GAMES. Lets not be too damn "serious" about it!

The two best tips I just read were...

#7. Be sure and have enough straps with you to tie down whatever you buy. (Really only matters if buying more than one game).

#8. Have fun!

Amen to that.  

[Apollo]

And another tip for those that don't live in countries that have arcade auctions.
Go and visit your local arcade, tell them you have a game you need to get fixed and can you have the number of their cab maintenance guy. Call the guy and tell him what you want. They always seem to have old cabs, PCB's, NeoGeo carts lying around. You can get some good deals.

[slycrel]

Good post Paige.

My $0.02, This goes both ways as well.  At least in Utah where I am.  About a year ago I was looking around hard for a stripped cab for my first mame machine.  There aren't a ton of vendors swarming the area, so I didn't have a lot of places to choose from.  I made no less than TWO appointments with the local "professional".  I was stood up twice in a row, once meeting him at his warehouse, once meeting him at his office.  I finally found a guy who had a small route via the thrifty nickel want ads who was happy to help me get a cab.  In talking with him, it's a very tight industry around here and difficult to get your own arcade machine route.  Even he was suspicous of me once I said that it was a vague possibility of me placing a few machines locally in the future.  (He also misled me in regards to a tip about 3 pinball machines at $300 a piece locally.  Knowing what I do now, he has at least tripled his $$ on those particular machines, even just reselling them.  He told me it wasn't worth it.)  Anyhow, point is...  it took a LOT of hard work on my end just to get someone to take me seriously.  It goes both ways.  Respect other people, I guess, would be the moral of the story...  =)

[paigeoliver]

I don't even bother dealing with ops, as there are very few ops around that are still operating old 19" cabinets.

Good post Paige.

My $0.02, This goes both ways as well.  At least in Utah where I am.  About a year ago I was looking around hard for a stripped cab for my first mame machine.  There aren't a ton of vendors swarming the area, so I didn't have a lot of places to choose from.  I made no less than TWO appointments with the local "professional".  I was stood up twice in a row, once meeting him at his warehouse, once meeting him at his office.  I finally found a guy who had a small route via the thrifty nickel want ads who was happy to help me get a cab.  In talking with him, it's a very tight industry around here and difficult to get your own arcade machine route.  Even he was suspicous of me once I said that it was a vague possibility of me placing a few machines locally in the future.  (He also misled me in regards to a tip about 3 pinball machines at $300 a piece locally.  Knowing what I do now, he has at least tripled his $$ on those particular machines, even just reselling them.  He told me it wasn't worth it.)  Anyhow, point is...  it took a LOT of hard work on my end just to get someone to take me seriously.  It goes both ways.  Respect other people, I guess, would be the moral of the story...  =)

[SOAPboy]

i know i told a guy i MIGHT be interested in the a free cab if shipping wasent terrible.. but honestly, we never schedualed anything..

tho i agree, ive been screwed a few dozen times when someone said OK DUDE ILL GIVE YOU X# FOR THIS and them never showing..

 

[paigeoliver]

i know i told a guy i MIGHT be interested in the a free cab if shipping wasent terrible.. but honestly, we never schedualed anything..

tho i agree, ive been screwed a few dozen times when someone said OK DUDE ILL GIVE YOU X# FOR THIS and them never showing..

 

Oops, I forgot that one.

#9. Don't ask people to ship free cabinets. Shipping a game is a small nightmare that takes somewhere between 2 and 10 hours and between $10 and $100 of the person's own money.

[SOAPboy]

well i was going to PAY for AND arrange it.. no skin off his sack there..

 

[paigeoliver]

well i was going to PAY for AND arrange it.. no skin off his sack there..

 

Ah, much better than usual. Go search google for the story of the BYOAC member who kept emailing Todd at TNT Amusements asking him to ship free cabinets, and he expected Todd to pay for it. Of course this same person also has a habit of emailing people selling $900 games and asking if he can have it if they can't sell it.

[SOAPboy]

i understand the shipping thing.. its not cheap..

hell shipping a 2x12 crate guitar amp cost me 60 bucks and i had to box it.. i can imagine a arcade cab..