Is $50 a good deal for just about any "ol'" arcade game?

[Wiibound]

I think I might get this one arcade game, honestly not sure if it's Donkey Kong or digdug (prayin for it to be DK) but apparently the monitor isn't working and just needs one thing soldered up (is it safe if you somehow discharge the monitor?). Haven't seen it yet, is this a good deal?

[shardian]

Yeah, $50 is a good price for a generic jamma cabinet. You can't even buy the wood for that price hardly.

[Wiibound]

True
I'm not sure if it'd be jamma though?

[Wiibound]

How credible do you think this "just needs something soldered" thing is? I can solder.. tons of solder experience.. but never on a monitor.

[CheffoJeffo]

$50 you're willing to put up with an issue or two.  Monitor problem is pushing it.

At what price point should he be willing to cut it in half with a rechargable saw and mount it on the top of his car ? 

To the OP: When a seller says something to the effect that it is "just a fuse" or "an easy fix" or "one wire that needs to be soldered", you can dismiss that 100% of the time. If it were that easy, they would have already fixed it themselves to generate a higher selling price. (Having said that, I HAVE gotten a deal that really WAS just a fuse, but I wouldn't bet on that being the situation for you).

[CheffoJeffo]

Sounds like this guy is telling you you need a cap kit.  Cap kits only fix a limited range of problems. 

Since there is no clear indication of whether it is DK or DD, I would presume that it isn't actually playing blind (they sound different), so not necessarily a capkit to solve (and, if it was just a monitor issue on a classic like DD or DK, how many sellers who would be qualified to say "just a capkit" wouldn't actually do the capkit to jack the price ?).

I could be wrong, but if it were just a simple monitor problem, there would probably be some indication as to what game was in there.

I'd approach this deal as, "is this cabinet still worth $50 to me even if the monitor is worthless"

Agree, but add "even if the game board is useless".

[SavannahLion]

How bad do you want the cabinet?

At $50, I would expect to convert it to MAME or pour way more than $50 to restore it. If nothing else, you might be able to gut the remains and sell it off to recover some of the $50. Hope for an easy fix, but make your plans accordingly for a worst case scenario.

Like someone said, you can't even buy $50 worth of lumber to build your own. So this would be pretty reasonable for a cab.

[FrizzleFried]

I just paid $50 for a Mr. Do! with non-working monitor....

$50 ain't squat folks... 3 good pizzas.... 3/4 of a tank of gas... a TJ BJ...

Come on.  Who has to ask if $50 is too much to spend on a cab?  GO GET IT...sheesh.

[Wiibound]

I AM pretty excited about it. My cousin assures me it is a Donkey Kong (he hasn't seen it yet either) so I consider it a classic... can't convert it, must restore for sure.
Should be fun
It's weird, the things that people will throw out for free or as trash are the things i so desired as a kid

[ChadTower]

Yep, if you want it, buy it, it's that simple.  $50 is almost nothing nowadays.

That, and for many people, it's not about the money and what you get back from it.  If you get a $50 game and pour $350 into it, that's just the cost of the hobby... for many of us it won't dictate whether or not we restore the game.

[Barry Barcrest]

Well you're not clear on if the cab is a dedicated cab or a generic cab. I only say this because you say you want to restore it, but if it's a generic cab there isn't really anything to restore. The reason i don't think it's dedicated is because you would know what it is from the design of the cab, artwork etc. I'm assuming it just has a standard marquee and no/generic artwork on it in which case you might be better off just using it to make a mame cab. If you do that you can put a TV in there and not even worry about the monitor. If the boards do work you could sell those and recover some of you money.

Either way like Frizzle Freq said it's only $50

[shardian]

$50 ain't squat folks... 3 good pizzas.... 3/4 of a tank of gas... a TJ BJ...

I thought you were married...

[ChadTower]

Seriously, that figure should be a lot higher if he's married.

[shardian]

Either that or Frizzle was forced to choose between her or the games.
Good Choice Frizzle!

[vintagegamer]

I just paid $100 for a TRON machine missing the PCB and sound boards, and actually thought that was a steal.  In my area the days of getting a $50 machine are thin.

If it's something you like, buy it.  Good luck-

VG

[FrizzleFried]

$50 ain't squat folks... 3 good pizzas.... 3/4 of a tank of gas... a TJ BJ...

I thought you were married...

OK...OK...I don't know much about the TJ BJ nor would I... but I ASSUME thats about the price?

[FrizzleFried]

....actually...since the wife went back to work,  we've had a little extra disposable income.  PLUS 2 days a week I get until 11pm to work on or play my games...no interruptions...it's nice (but don't tell her that).

The bad part is I now have to do housework.  When she wasn't working that was her job....but now she's working 32-40 hours a week I have to help out around the house...

It's a worthwhile trade off.

[Wiibound]

hey Frizzle who is that in your avatar?

[SavannahLion]

$50 ain't squat folks... 3 good pizzas.... 3/4 of a tank of gas... a TJ BJ...

I thought you were married...

OK...OK...I don't know much about the TJ BJ nor would I... but I ASSUME thats about the price?

I see TJ BJ recommened alot around here. What's the story?

[FrizzleFried]

hey Frizzle who is that in your avatar?

...my wife??

 

[bfauska]

$50 ain't squat folks... 3 good pizzas.... 3/4 of a tank of gas... a TJ BJ...

I thought you were married...

OK...OK...I don't know much about the TJ BJ nor would I... but I ASSUME thats about the price?

I see TJ BJ recommened alot around here. What's the story?

Well.... TJ is the abbreviation for a border city in Mexico known for some of it's um... shady business... women.

and BJ is ..... ummmm my first two initials.  But I don't think that's what it means here.

[Wiibound]

hey Frizzle who is that in your avatar?

...my wife??

 

Very cute but it's the motion that is awesome
is she saying yup or stop? lol

[ChadTower]

It appears she is saying SEGA.