auction coming up - cabs available.. advice?

[tristan]

I guess appeal would be up to the individual.

The cab I was talking about; the control panel unlatches, and the entire inside pulls out via the front of the cab. Makes it real easy to change games or work on the cab without moving it.

[Wetworks]

To Tiger-Heli..
A little off the subject
Wow man you can complete Tiger-Heli on one credit! I used to play this at college too!! Probally to much! It is still one of my all time favourite games.. Couldn't and still can't get through it!
Congrats!

[CheffoJeffo]

Tell me more about this dynamo cabinet.. that sounds interesting...

Generally speaking are there some cabinet types that are more appealing?  I guess so.

The Neo-Geo cab I have has this really cool curved metal playfield that opens outward.. made of steel instead of wood.  I really liked that.. UNTIL I had to cut a 2.5" hole in the steel for a trackball (what a nightmare that was).

Do me a favour ... stay away from the RB cockpit ...

Cheers.

[XtraSmiley]

I stopped reading after some of the responses were a little bit snippy, so sorry if this is a repeat.

Depending on what you pay and if they are working or not, the Simpsons and RB will bring money in with collectors.

The S&C is one of my favs, but if it's not a nice dedicated you prob won't get much.  It's also not a heavily wanted one, but find the right guy and you could get $600.

SFII is junk, but if non-collectors are there the price will be driven up due to nostalgia. 

Hope this helps.

If you get the S&C and can get it to MD, let me know.

[dax]

What's wrong with the RB cockpit?  Is this related to the classic x-y monitor problems?  Is there some way to tell how bad the monitor may be?

I had a feeling the SC machine would be scarce.  I have no idea what the prices these machines will go for.  If I can get it for $50 or under, I'll hold on to it if anyone here wants it and wants to figure out a way to get it, but you never know, someone could bid it up, or (more likely) it's a POS that had the roof fall on it in the hurricane.

I never thought the Simpsons game was that great... I know that collectors can have weird tastes, but um... what do I know...?

[APFelon]

Tekken, High Impact Football, Street Fighter II, Skull & Crossbones, Simpsons, Toki, Knockout, Arch Rivals, Red Baron (cockpit), X-Men, Lethal Enforcer II

I will try to rate these from least to most valuable, and I'll try to explain why I believe as I do. Unfortunately, arcade game markets vary WILDLY from one region to the next, from what I have seen.

Toki- I'm willing to bet that this is a conversion from some other game-- JAMMAtized and bastardized. The PCB is probably worth less than the small squirt of shampoo you use in the shower.  The game reeks. Unless this is a conversion of a Quantum cabinet with all of the cab art  hidden in pristine condition under some gently laid formica, if you pay 20$ you paid too much.

Street Fighter II- A common early fighter.  No dedicated SF2s exist... the one pictured is in a generic Dynamo cabinet which was common to see a SF2 in. When I say this game is COMMON, I mean COMMON. Only get it if you are a die hard SF2 buff, or you want to MAME it. I'd pay 50$ for one.

Knock Out- An Amadar clone / ripoff? Not sure of the value of this, but I'm willing to bet it's more than a SF2 or a Toki. Depending on its condition, I might pay 75$ (but I am unfamiliar with the game and the cab... dedicated cabinet I might go higher if it's unique anough).

(TIE) Arch Rivals / High Impact Football. Not popular enough to be considered "classics" but decent games in their own right.  I'd expect to pay around 125-150 for one in good shape.

Tekken- I remember this cabinet to be quite ugly and unapproachable. The first Tekken was the worst Tekken, especially compared to a VF2 sitting right next to it. I'd go 150-175 on it.

Skull and Crossbones- Cool dedicated cabinet, if I remember correctly. Boring game, though.  Interesting to some collectors because of its unique cabinet style. I'd give 150-175 for one in reasonable shape.

X-Men- I am going to assume that this is the 25" 4 player cabinet. Some people loved this game. I am not among them.  However, it is a licensed title, and the comic book geeks would likely have an interest in it... thus raising its price.  200-400 dollars, depending on the cabinet style and condition.  I would NOT MAME this cabinet, as the value lies in its art.

The Simpsons- Many operators still have this beastie on location.  Another game people love, but I find it kind of boring. However, for the same reasons above, the subject and licensing, not to mentionlthe 25" monitor,  boosts its pricea bit. I'd say anywhere from 200-450 depending on who is at the auction. Another cabinet I wouldn't MAME.

Lethal Enforcers 2- This is a tough call. I almost want to rank it below X-Men and The Simpsons, but gun games, even as old as LE2, earn on location. If you have an operator at your auction, expect this one to go fairly high if it works and is in decent shape. 150-600

Red Baron Cockpit- Operators will NOT be interested inthis one, as XY monitors are generally a headache, the cabinet is too big and it looks like a fossil. Collectors, on the other hand, may take an interest. I wouldn't be shocked to see this one go as high as 600-1000. Stranger things have happened.

Hope that helps.

APf

[dax]

Wow, thanks APF for the great comments!

I never thought much about whether or not "operators" would be at this auction.   I have no idea what kind of formulas they use to determine profitability, but it does make sense.

If the cabinets are non-working, are there any components in any of the cabinets that are worth cannibalizing?  I don't get the impression there's really anything unique hardware-wise in the lot.

[XtraSmiley]

Wow, thanks APF for the great comments!

I never thought much about whether or not "operators" would be at this auction.   I have no idea what kind of formulas they use to determine profitability, but it does make sense.

If the cabinets are non-working, are there any components in any of the cabinets that are worth cannibalizing?  I don't get the impression there's really anything unique hardware-wise in the lot.

Well, the S&C pcb and maruquee.  RB, any parts that work!

[APFelon]

I never thought much about whether or not "operators" would be at this auction.   I have no idea what kind of formulas they use to determine profitability, but it does make sense.

If the cabinets are non-working, are there any components in any of the cabinets that are worth cannibalizing?  I don't get the impression there's really anything unique hardware-wise in the lot.

Well, there is no set formula to determine whether a game makes a profit or not other than "does this game make me money". Games that provide a gaming experience that can't be had at home typically do better than old videos (no matter the video). The only exception I can think of is Ms. Pac Man, but that game doesn't compare earningwise to gun games etc.

As for cannibalizing... it depends. If you go to a Superauction where there are 200+ games and 400 people there, prices will generally go low and you could consider parting a machine out after buying one for 50$ or so. However, there are a couple of variables at the auction you plan to attend that are yet undefined such as:

How many people will be there looking to buy those handful of games? How publicized is the auction? If you have 200 people show up to bid on 10 games or so, expect them to go HIGH (Even Toki) which would make parting them out not cost effective. I had one guy on this forum get all bent out of shape for announcing the local MOMA auction here on BYOAC. Smaller attendence means lower prices.

Is the auction in a urban or rural setting? Is it far from home for most people? This will affect attendence and price. Urbanites will typically spend more for such luxuries than ruralites. For example, a going rate for a S.T.U.N. Runner in Minneapolis is around 300$. I picked one up in St. Cloud for 150$ due to a smaller market and less demand (Adam Smith at work, LOL).

Who will be there? Operators have pretty deep pockets. The last Minneapolis auction had an op who was willing to spend an obscene amouts of money for JAMMA junk, halfassed conversions and 15 year old garbage, thus edging out collectors, hobbiests, MAMErs and those of us on a smaller game budget. 450$ for a Road Riot conversion that looked as though it had been dropped off of a truck, etc.

Good luck at the auction. Let us know what that stuff sells for and their condition... I for one would be interested to know.

APf

[MYX]

Check this out. It is a guy who went to many auctions and actually took the time to write down all the results. The auctions that he lists are several years old but seem to be somewhat close to today's prices.

Another variable is weather. If it is really cold and rainy, some folks will not want to go out to an auction. This is great for you as it means less competition.

[Tiger-Heli]

What's wrong with the RB cockpit?  Is this related to the classic x-y monitor problems?  Is there some way to tell how bad the monitor may be?

I think Cheffo Jeffo's post is in relation to this comment at the start of the thread:

but the Red Baron cockpit must be kinda rare - although I assume the x-y monitor there wouldn't be MAME-compatible, the notion of a cockpit MAME cab is kind of appealing.

As AP felon states, of all the games mentioned, the RB cockpit is the one game listed that I see as a true collectible with some intrinsic worth.

If you want to buy it and preserve it as a RB in your gameroom, and/or if you want to buy it for $250 and try to get $400 for it on E-bay, I don't have any qualms with it, but I myself, I think Cheffo, and probably a majority of the board would be upset if you bought it, and painted the sideart over to blue with a galaxy scene, threw a raster monitor in it, and added swappable SF and car racing CP's .  .  .

[Tiger-Heli]

To Tiger-Heli..
A little off the subject
Wow man you can complete Tiger-Heli on one credit! I used to play this at college too!! Probally to much! It is still one of my all time favourite games.. Couldn't and still can't get through it!
Congrats!

Well - if it makes you feel any better, I only did it one time (ever).  The game is largely pattern repetition and memory (everything always appears in the same place), and there was a guy there at the time that was much better than me, and I would watch him play before I had a turn, so I had some prewarning of what was coming up.

OTOH, my avg. scores back then were in the 250,000 range with 3 ships.  Avg scores on MAME are around 150,000 with 5 ships, and the fast response dipswitch setting.

BTW, I am not blaming the arcade controls or MAME's accuracy for this.  It is three things:

1) Less practice:  I would play at least 30 minutes of T-H a day, three to five days a week back in the day.  Now I have RL, jobs, etc, so it gets played for maybe 45 minutes to an hour, every other month or so . . .

2) No real incentive:  Okay, it was only a quarter a game back then, but four games were still the cost of a McDonald's hamburger, so you didn't just mess up and figure you would make up for it with the next game.

3) More distractions:  The student center had Tiger-Heli, Top Gunner, Ikari, and a handful of other games I didn't care about.  T-H was my fav, but the other ones would get played if I didn't feel like waiting.  Now I have all three, plus Asteroids, Defender, Centipede, Galaga, Gyruss, Time Pilot, Pac-Man, BattleZone, and 2500 other fun games I never even heard of, plus PC games to choose from when I am bored and get free time, neither of which happens often.

[dax]

Ok, I will take pictures and report back on this.  Thanks very much for the info.  I agree that restoring the RB would probably be better - I will look at the condition.  Personally, I was never a big fan of that game.  I'd rather have battle zone.. but I'm sure BZ was more common - is it possible that this is a BZ cab with RB artwork over it? 

The last time I went to one of these auctions there were about a dozen people there.  I have no idea what to expect now, especially in the wake of the hurricane and the whole area economy in shambles.

[Witchboard]

...is it possible that this is a BZ cab with RB artwork over it?

No.

[CheffoJeffo]

As AP felon states, of all the games mentioned, the RB cockpit is the one game listed that I see as a true collectible with some intrinsic worth.

If you want to buy it and preserve it as a RB in your gameroom, and/or if you want to buy it for $250 and try to get $400 for it on E-bay, I don't have any qualms with it, but I myself, I think Cheffo, and probably a majority of the board would be upset if you bought it, and painted the sideart over to blue with a galaxy scene, threw a raster monitor in it, and added swappable SF and car racing CP's .  .  .

Yep ... and the whole "metal playfield that was steel instead of wood" and "nightmare" hole-cutting revelation wasn't generating a lot of confidence that dax has the patience (one can always acquire expertise, but the patience must be there first) to deal with a classic X-Y cockpit (they're big, there is the whole vector issue and it is an old game) without doing something blasphemous.

It would be a crime to MAME that unless it was already loaded on a truck on the way to the fire or landfill.

No offense intended to dax -- if you want to restore or resell, that is GREAT, but it would be a crime to do anything else (and owning an old  vector can be frustrating to the point where you will want to MAME it ... I have had 3 issues with my Asteroids in the past 3 months).

Cheers & good luck at the auction.

Apologies for being so obtuse ... I was channeling Cabernet and trouble shooting a Joust sound board at the time ...

[Tiger-Heli]

It would be a crime to MAME that unless it was already loaded on a truck on the way to the fire or landfill.

Still be a crime even then, judging by the pictures Dax posted.

[Witchboard]

Yeah, even KLOV only has a pic of what looks like a to be a scan out of a magazine or flyer for the cockpit version.

Actaully it is.  Flyer=KLOV