Anyone sold cab for tons $$$$

[Green Giant]

Been wondering if people actually buy these cabs that I see jumping up on craigslist all the time.

I mean a Ms.Pacman for $1000, MK II with a broken monitor for $800, a 60in1 multicab for $1500, Asteriods for $700, and more.

Does anyone else find these offers funny or have you seen even worse ones.

[spacies]

Something is worth what someone wants to pay for it.

Not what you or I think it is worth.

I don't know much about the original machine market in the US but I do know that building a brand new machine using top quality gear isn't cheap and some of those machines can  command serious $$$.

[TOK]

I was offered 1300 by a friend for my horizontal cab... Being the sucker that I am, I declined and helping him to build his own. 

PS: I didn't vote in the poll, since I didn't sell.

[somunny]

No, but I built one for tons of $$$$. 

[Malenko]

I bought a horribly converted Mortal Kombat back in the day, I ended up redoing the control panel, new buttons, new cherry switches, new CPO,etc I sold it on ebay for like.... $275, I ended up losing like $100 on the deal but I wanted a dedicated MKII not a bad conversion MK1.

If I ever did sell my MAME cab, I'd just try to at least recover my expenses, I'd be more concerned with the cab going to place where it'd be enjoyed over making a profit. Im actually considering selling my MAME cab so I can MAME my dedicated MKII lol.

[mccoy178]

I don't think I could sell my cabinet for a remote profit if I tried.  They don't seem to bring much.

[bluevolume]

Something is worth what someone wants to pay for it.

Not what you or I think it is worth.

That's exactly right.  With some of these classic games (Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, etc.) its a matter of people wanting them and having trouble finding them.  If you've been looking for a rare or popular game in good condition and one pops up, it could seem reasonable to drop $1000 on it.  The "game room" is getting more popular now that the home theater boom is cooling off, and the college kids that wanted arcade machines in their dorms are now the 30 and 40 somethings with a lot more money and real estate to play with.

I think all the guys that stockpiled arcades and pins that they picked up at auctions by the truckload 10 - 15 years ago are finding that their investment is ready to show a return.  There's a guy that lives near me that has probably 400 machines crammed like sardines in these three old barns behind his house.  His wife probably thought he was nuts, but now that they are going out the door for $250 - $1500 a piece, he might be a genius.

[spacies]

I was offered 1300 by a friend for my horizontal cab... Being the sucker that I am, I declined and helping him to build his own. 

PS: I didn't vote in the poll, since I didn't sell.

Hey TOK, have you checked out my Defender build?

[TOK]

Something is worth what someone wants to pay for it.

Not what you or I think it is worth.

That's exactly right.  With some of these classic games (Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, etc.) its a matter of people wanting them and having trouble finding them.  If you've been looking for a rare or popular game in good condition and one pops up, it could seem reasonable to drop $1000 on it.  The "game room" is getting more popular now that the home theater boom is cooling off, and the college kids that wanted arcade machines in their dorms are now the 30 and 40 somethings with a lot more money and real estate to play with.

I think all the guys that stockpiled arcades and pins that they picked up at auctions by the truckload 10 - 15 years ago are finding that their investment is ready to show a return.  There's a guy that lives near me that has probably 400 machines crammed like sardines in these three old barns behind his house.  His wife probably thought he was nuts, but now that they are going out the door for $250 - $1500 a piece, he might be a genius.

Games were going for THOUSANDS 10 to 15 years ago.

The list of games that are more valuable now then they were 10 years ago can probably be counted on one hand. If you wanted to make a small fortune in arcade games, the way to do it was to start with a large fortune.

[TOK]

I was offered 1300 by a friend for my horizontal cab... Being the sucker that I am, I declined and helping him to build his own. 

PS: I didn't vote in the poll, since I didn't sell.

Hey TOK, have you checked out my Defender build?

Oh yea! PM sent.

[Green Giant]

Just seems like a few days worth of work and maybe 200 or 300 invested could produce a cab that could go for 1500 easily.  Most buyers don't understand mame so all they want is a jamma pcb original game.

Yeah they went for several thousand in decades past, but back then the technology inside of them was state of the art.  Did you ever buy a computer in the 90's, when I think about my first it was so crappy for the money we paid.

[leapinlew]

Just seems like a few days worth of work and maybe 200 or 300 invested could produce a cab that could go for 1500 easily.  Most buyers don't understand mame so all they want is a jamma pcb original game.

Yeah they went for several thousand in decades past, but back then the technology inside of them was state of the art.  Did you ever buy a computer in the 90's, when I think about my first it was so crappy for the money we paid.

$200-$300 invested is hard to do.

Selling for $1,500 is hard to do.

This reminds me of my 2nd girlfriend. Hard to do.

[bluevolume]

Just seems like a few days worth of work and maybe 200 or 300 invested could produce a cab that could go for 1500 easily.  Most buyers don't understand mame so all they want is a jamma pcb original game.

Yeah they went for several thousand in decades past, but back then the technology inside of them was state of the art.  Did you ever buy a computer in the 90's, when I think about my first it was so crappy for the money we paid.

That's what I was talking about.  And while these games certainly were worth more in their glory days, there was a period of 5 years or so where they were almost worthless, being sold by the truckload at auctions.  This applies to pinballs even more so, and if you were able to grab a bunch and put a little time into them, you stand to make a hefty profit today.

[More Cowbell]

I've done a couple of MAME cabs for $300 or so and sold them for $750-$800. Buy a $50 gutted cab and throw in a $20 monitor and a $30 PIII, then all of the other little things that add up. It depends on where you are located too. I live in a suburb of Chicago that is full of people with too much money and not enough motivation to shop around. They see something that interests them and they go for it. I also sold both of those around Christmas time which helps.

[shardian]

I haven't tried to sell any, but I sure would like to find an uneducated, rich person to buy one of mine for a nice price to fund the rest of my projects.

I've listed the Top Gunner I have fixed up for $400 on Craigslist just for the hell of it. If it don't sell, then that's fine. I already have the jpac, avga, and pc ready to turn it into a 2player vertical cabinet.

[Dervacumen]

No, but I built one for tons of $$$$. 

Exactly.