Great way to

[theCoder]

Before I began my second project, I needed to give my wife the illusion that this hobby is not going to bust us financially.  Today I donated my first Cab to my children's school for their annual fundraiser auction.

In the U.S., you can write off donations to schools on your income tax.  I did a little research and determined that my cab is worth somewhere around $1,500 to $2,500.  The tax rate (again in the U.S.) is approximately 30%.  I

[M3talhead]

I'd be real careful about donating a functional cab with ROMS in it. Claiming it as a tax write-off might be construed as profiting by certain money-grubbing lawyers. I'm not saying your "tax guy" isnt telling the truth, I'm just saying he may be unaware of the legality of making money off MAME and any ROMS installed. This is a huge gray area and should be treaded lightly. Its a great idea though!

Just my 2c.

[IG-88]

I agree with M3talhead, be careful. What exactly did you have on there for games? What if you put something like those Atari Revival CD games on there only. Or whatever you could purchase at Wally Mart now. (Since Star Roms is gone) Would that be an "issue"?

[theCoder]

I pulled Mame off the box and loaded it up with commercially available stuff; the Atari cd (kmart for $9.99), Microsoft Pinball, ProPinball, and a few others.  No Mame sold here. 

BTW... It went for $1,250 in auction. 

Any comments on the resale value of a cab?  What do people get for these things?

[M3talhead]

I sold my first cab for $750 (no games) and was offered $1000 for my latest one (which included 4 YDKJ games and 3 home-made buzzers . I turned it down. If you can get over $1000 for a refinished cab, I'd say you did pretty well.

[IG-88]

I pulled Mame off the box and loaded it up with commercially available stuff; the Atari cd (kmart for $9.99), Microsoft Pinball, ProPinball, and a few others.  No Mame sold here. 

BTW... It went for $1,250 in auction. 

Any comments on the resale value of a cab?  What do people get for these things?

Got any pics of your cab? Just curious.

[jhanson]

Any comments on the resale value of a cab?  What do people get for these things?

So far, my Super Pac-Man conversion is worth $0.00.  I've tried selling it several times on here and craigslist, with no luck.  I have asked as low as $400 or best offer for it, with no bites. 

Here it is in the latest listing:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=53188.0

[M3talhead]

Any comments on the resale value of a cab?  What do people get for these things?

So far, my Super Pac-Man conversion is worth $0.00.  I've tried selling it several times on here and craigslist, with no luck.  I have asked as low as $400 or best offer for it, with no bites. 

Here it is in the latest listing:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=53188.0

The difficulty you've had selling your cab may be due in part to the fact that Super Pac-Man was not as successful or as widely known as the original.

On the up-side, you could always list it on eBay and label it "limited", "vintage", "rare", etc....

[jhanson]

Any comments on the resale value of a cab?  What do people get for these things?

So far, my Super Pac-Man conversion is worth $0.00.  I've tried selling it several times on here and craigslist, with no luck.  I have asked as low as $400 or best offer for it, with no bites. 

Here it is in the latest listing:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=53188.0

The difficulty you've had selling your cab may be due in part to the fact that Super Pac-Man was not as successful or as widely known as the original.

On the up-side, you could always list it on eBay and label it "limited", "vintage", "rare", etc....

Oh, I know that Super Pac wasn't the most popular game in the world, but to have no offers at all on a MAME machine with a brand new monitor and controls is kind of disheartening.

[Q*Bert_OP]

Any comments on the resale value of a cab?  What do people get for these things?

So far, my Super Pac-Man conversion is worth $0.00.  I've tried selling it several times on here and craigslist, with no luck.  I have asked as low as $400 or best offer for it, with no bites. 

Here it is in the latest listing:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=53188.0

The difficulty you've had selling your cab may be due in part to the fact that Super Pac-Man was not as successful or as widely known as the original.

On the up-side, you could always list it on eBay and label it "limited", "vintage", "rare", etc....

Oh, I know that Super Pac wasn't the most popular game in the world, but to have no offers at all on a MAME machine with a brand new monitor and controls is kind of disheartening.

If you were within 200 miles from me, it would have been bought

[theCoder]

I pulled Mame off the box and loaded it up with commercially available stuff; the Atari cd (kmart for $9.99), Microsoft Pinball, ProPinball, and a few others.  No Mame sold here. 

BTW... It went for $1,250 in auction. 

Any comments on the resale value of a cab?  What do people get for these things?

Got any pics of your cab? Just curious.

I wrote it up with many pictures at: http://home.comcast.net/~larmead/
Nothing fancy (compared to what's being built these days) but the mahogany control panel and marquee stand out.