Is this a Good price for a Cab?

[kelemvor]

Well,

I found an Amusement type place today that has a cab for sale.  I stopped to look at it but it was mixed in with lots of other things in a warehouse setting so coudln't look ti over in fien detail.

Anyway, guy said it's a Ninja Turtles cab that was painted/converted to be a Golden Tee machine.  He said he would keep the monitor but leave in the glass that covers it.  He'd keep the control panel but woudl leave in the coin doors.

Overall the cabinet looked fine.  He was asking $100 for it.

Id have to make my own control panel (which I was going to obviously do anyway), and would need to find a TV or something to use since the opening is bigger than the Monitor I was going to use.

Would you say this is a good deal?  This will be my first cabinet so I just dont' want to get screwed.

I don't think it had any artwork on it at all either....

[leapinlew]

$100 is fair if it's in good condition - it's actually cheaper than I've seen some people spend. It would cost you around that much to build that yourself. Ultimately, it comes down to what you think. Since you asked me, I'll say it sounds like a good deal!

[gamecreature]

If he left in the CP, then definitely it would be a bargain. But like Lew said, it's a fair price.

[RayB]

What area is this in? 
What condition is the coin door in? Does it come with the coin mechs or not?
Does it have a "back door"?
Locks or no locks? (if yes, with keys?)
Marquee or no marquee?
Wiring still in there? Jamma Harness?
Power supply still in there?

Without a monitor, the value of a big wood box is... well... worth about as much as a big wood box.

[leapinlew]

What area is this in? 
What condition is the coin door in? Does it come with the coin mechs or not?
Does it have a "back door"?
Locks or no locks? (if yes, with keys?)
Marquee or no marquee?
Wiring still in there? Jamma Harness?
Power supply still in there?

Without a monitor, the value of a big wood box is... well... worth about as much as a big wood box.

This is true... but, if time is an issue some extra value can be found in the amount of time saved converting vs building. Not to mention the tools required to replicate a box. I converted my first cabinet with pretty much a circular saw and drill. My second cabinet required a router, router bits, clamps, and saw horses.

If you have the tools and would enjoy spending the time to build a cabinet then... well, then I don't think you would be asking the question of "worth".

[kelemvor]

What area is this in? 
What condition is the coin door in? Does it come with the coin mechs or not?
Does it have a "back door"?
Locks or no locks? (if yes, with keys?)
Marquee or no marquee?
Wiring still in there? Jamma Harness?
Power supply still in there?

Without a monitor, the value of a big wood box is... well... worth about as much as a big wood box.

Since I didn't put that in the OP, assume the answers are no and it's just a big wooden box with a working Coin Door and a piece of glass to cover the monitor.  It looked like it had a faded GOlden Tee Marque but don't know if he'd throw that in but I don't really want it anyway.  This is in WI.

And I figured if I go for it, I'd offer him $80 and see what he says.

And yes, the main reason I woudl buy this is just to save the time of having to build one from scratch.

[FunWithFire]

Even a faded Golden Tee Marquee might fetch a couple bucks on eBay. And if it does have anything else on it that could be sold, you would easily come out on top. Even at $100, I would say go for it.

[RayB]

If you have the tools and would enjoy spending the time to build a cabinet then... well, then I don't think you would be asking the question of "worth".

Yeah I would, because people often give away cabs with no guts, no monitors for anywhere between FREE and to $100.  So his location matters in considering the value of this stripped and panel-less box.

$100 is a bit expensive in my opinion unless the condition is very good. So that's why I asked the series of questions. In my area, there's auctions. My bro in law just got a working Dungeons & Dragons (capcom, 1993) cab with 25" monitor, joysticks, everything working, for $125. People in the local "network" of collectors give empty cabs away for free all the time. Sometimes they even chop them up and take them to the dump because nobody wants them.

[kelemvor]

Yeah I would, because people often give away cabs with no guts, no monitors for anywhere between FREE and to $100.  So his location matters in considering the value of this stripped and panel-less box.

$100 is a bit expensive in my opinion unless the condition is very good. So that's why I asked the series of questions. In my area, there's auctions. My bro in law just got a working Dungeons & Dragons (capcom, 1993) cab with 25" monitor, joysticks, everything working, for $125. People in the local "network" of collectors give empty cabs away for free all the time. Sometimes they even chop them up and take them to the dump because nobody wants them.

Yeah,

I think I'll wait since we have the SUper AUctino coming up in a few weeks.  See if I can get a steal there.

[Wade]

If you have the tools and would enjoy spending the time to build a cabinet then... well, then I don't think you would be asking the question of "worth".

Yeah I would, because people often give away cabs with no guts, no monitors for anywhere between FREE and to $100.  So his location matters in considering the value of this stripped and panel-less box.

$100 is a bit expensive in my opinion unless the condition is very good. So that's why I asked the series of questions. In my area, there's auctions. My bro in law just got a working Dungeons & Dragons (capcom, 1993) cab with 25" monitor, joysticks, everything working, for $125. People in the local "network" of collectors give empty cabs away for free all the time. Sometimes they even chop them up and take them to the dump because nobody wants them.

I agree with everything you say, and I have give away cabinets before, especially those with some wood rot, were really dirty, etc.   *BUT*...

I built a cabinet from scratch, and spent far more than $100 just to build the bare cabinet, and I even had tools!!  I'm SURE a lot of other people on this board have, too.  Slickstick and other companies sell bare cabinets for several hundred dollars.  Cabinets with working monitor and such often sell for not much at auctions, true, but a lot of them are in really poor condition, and it also can require sitting at the auction ALL DAY, then having to pay another 20%+ in fees and taxes as well.

So, just to offer another opinion, I agree with what RayB says, BUT I think a nice cabinet is easily worth $100 especially if someone is about to build up a MAME setup.  If I were going to build up some games, I'd be willing to pay that, but hopefully I've built all the games I'm going to build (I'm all project-ed out).

Wade

[leapinlew]

RayB has a point, but I still believe that $100 isn't too much to pay for a wooden box.

Even stripped of everything - if it's the 4 player turtle cab, and the cabs in decent shape - it's a good deal in my book. Ultimately it comes down to what you think is a good deal. If the cab will still be there after the auction - you should have a good idea on what you think a good deal is.

Do us a favor and reply to this thread once you've made a decision and let us know your thoughts. I'm curious which way you'll go.

[kelemvor]

This place gets stuff in all the time so if I don't take this one, I'm sure they'll get another similar one later.  I'm defintiely going to not buy this one until after the auction just in case I find some amazing deal at the auction.

I'll keep everyone posted.

[Lilwolf]

I would say its all up to the side art.  You can commonly get a cab for less then a hundred.  For that price -> 200 I would expect a monitor... for 200 - 400 I would expect a whole working cab.

The big thing is that most mame cabinets end up with visible side art... If you like the looks of the cabinet itself its worth 100 bucks.  If the wood is rotten in areas... if its been painted black (and a crappy job of it).   If you just don't like it... it aint worth squat..

find out about the control panel.  That might be the selling point...

[FrizzleFried]

Here in Boise Idaho I puchased a Bad Dudes / RoboCop type cabinet,  which included the 19" Electrohome monitor (minimal burn-in),  functioning control panel with 2 players and 6 buttons,  JAMMA harness with power supply, etc.  It was converted to Street Fighter 2: CE,  when I got there,  he demonstrated the game worked,  pulled out the SFII PCB,  and sent me on my way.   I even got the carboard SFII bezel (ugly).   I got all that for a cool $100.

He also had basically what you are being offered,  but much smaller...a Taito wood-side type cabinet...gutted...for $20.

Personally...for what you are getting,  it doesn't sound too appealing.  Maybe $50 at most if it were me.

[Mark70]

weigh what you can get against what you would have to spend.

You'll have to spend more than 100 in MDF to make a cab the size of a TMNT.  But you may be able to get other gutted, or junk cabs from local clubs or routers for less.

Also, how important is crispy new and clean vs. original vs. labour savings, vs. time savings vs. freedom of design vs.  your handiness factor...

There's no one equation that fits everyone.  Your cheapest functional cabinet IMO will be to buy a crappy working title locally for about 200-300.  Including a monitor, some controls, and coin door.  Then budget 100 or so for replacemnt controls and interfaces like the ipac or arcade/vga cards and another 50-200 for a trackball if you want one and can fit one in.  Paint, graphics, tools....

You're looking at 200-500 cheapest way with results varying by available raw materials, time invested, and scavenging ability.

Join a local arcade collector's club.  There's one where I live and guys are often giving away stripped cabs, parts, or selling them cheaper than you can get them off ebay.

[CheffoJeffo]

It comes down to patience ...

I don't think that $100 for an empty big Midway is a rip off, but I know that you can do better (heck, one of the posters in this thread has a fully working Centipede cabaret that has cost less than this big wood box will cost you).

If you build from scratch, it will likely cost more that $100.

If it shaves a week or more off of your "completion" date, it may be worth it.

If you are patient, then it likely isn't.

Cheers & Good Luck.

[kelemvor]

Join a local arcade collector's club.  There's one where I live and guys are often giving away stripped cabs, parts, or selling them cheaper than you can get them off ebay.

Know of any clubs like this in WI?  I haven't been able to find anything.