Some people want to much for their JUNK (Another Mario Bros Tragedy)

[barrel_hopper]

Linkage Shortened
Ok this guy is asking tooo much for the condition. His auction starts at $800 hell for that much this thing better be fully restored with warranty.

It does not even have side art.

It is people like this that ruin this hobby.

I take satisfaction in the fact I am pretty sure this auction will not get a single bid and if it does....well "there is one born every minute"

I hit refresh and he dropped the price to $699

still a bit to much.

I have seen machines like this go for less than $300

[CheffoJeffo]

It is people like this that ruin this hobby.

While we may not like high prices, I don't think that it is 'people like this' that ruin this hobby.

This machine is available and being returned to the community (a good thing) -- none of us may like the price, but that is a separate issue (it is worth what someone will pay, which may well be more than someone with experience will pay).

How many machines are ignored / rotting / tossed / burned/ badly converted / MAIMed each year ?

It is curious to see what people think of as ruining the hobby -- I've seen a good number of collectors lament falling prices as ruining the hobby. And, as we have here, other folks lament high prices as ruining the hobby.

FWIW -- I think that his prices are out of line with the market value, but I've seen people pay $1000 for a $25 cab with a 48-in-1 board while ignoring the $400 MAME cabinet, so who knows.

EDIT: As for what is really ruining this hobby -- it should be obvious by now -- weak link-fu ! 

[leapinlew]

I agree with you Cheffo -

Furthermore, I wouldn't go so far as to call it "JUNK". I loved mario bros.   

[barrel_hopper]

I guess I can be taken out of context to easily. I know you guys here don't know me personally, but when I say "ruining the hobby" I don't mean literally. Nothing upsets me more when someone is selling something thats pretty beat or just average for a few nickels less than something that is restored and has a 30 day warranty.

When people like this guy "go fishing" for suckers it really messes it up for the rest of us. At least thats how I feel.

As for the second fellow. I am not saying Mario Bros is junk. It is one of my all time favorite games and also on my short "to own" list. Why else would this be so upsetting to me?

When I say junk I mean this cabinet really needs some TLC and this guy I selling it like it is a perfect cut diamond lol.


Please don't take me to seriously guys...specially when the time stamps on my posts end it am lol. I gotta stop posting right out of bed. It is kinda like drinking and driving sometimes.

Anyway I was just appalled when I saw this machine for $800 originally. It is his machine and he can list it for what ever he wants but come on.....

The price is a little bit better now but still to much.

[CheffoJeffo]

Relax ... I didn't think poorly of you -- *I* don't like the price either. But, at the same time, the trend of lower prices has also "ruined" things for collectors (there have been eleventy threads on RGVAC on this topic over the past several years). For some of those folks, they aren't going to get their investment back, so can't be bothered to turn machines over as they once did.

Pretty much everything remaining on my want list is a big ticket item where I know I will now likely have to "overpay" to get less than I want.

I see the guy who tries to sell his machine for more than we think it is worth as much better for the hobby than the guys who
- leave the machine in the leaky shed / storage space / basement
- smash them up (although sometimes they really aren't worth saving)
- don't pick up the give-away cabinet
- convert it for Wii
- take a classic and MAIM it

But, we typically don't single out all of these folks -- 'coz it's easier to pick on the greedy guy ('coz he is keeping us from getting what we want at the price that we want).

[barrel_hopper]

It is a real can of worms indeed.

I am willing to pay good money for something that is in awesome shape.

But I don't expect to pay much for average or worse.

You have some really good points.

I guess I should relax. For every over priced machine I am sure a good deal to be had.

It is easy to pick up a skewed view when you here about guys finding their "diamond in the rough" in a trash pile or paying $20 for a cabinet.

One can sit around and stew "Where is my good deal?"

Truth is deals like I mentioned above probably rarely happen. 

I cant wait to get to my first auction in June. Maybe if I score a treasure or two....

[wbassett]

I found this site and forum AFTER I started down the road of making my cab.  Prior to finding this site, there were a lot of things that honestly... I just didn't know what was a realistic price.

People see these $3K arcades at Sears, SamsClub and other places... and let's face it, an arcade machine is a bit exotic to most people... so the uneducated first impression is they are all expensive as hell.  eBay usually doesn't help matters because I too have seen junk sold for top dollar.

I deal mainly with people doing Home Theater setups and I'm trying to show them they can add an arcade to their 'theater' a lot easier and cheaper than they ever thought.  Some never even gave it a second thought because of the price of the prefab multi-game cabs are just too expensive to justify.  Think about it... to many a $2K 1080p projector is expensive... a $3K cab is crazy... but then they see something on eBay for $800 like in this case and they think it must be a good deal.

To me eBay is eBay... there are some good deals and some bad deals.  The greedy people hope and pray that someone doesn't know what they are getting, or doesn't 'shop around' and buys their over priced item.  What I dislike more than things being over priced are those sellers that jack up the shipping way beyond actual shipping charges just to pad their profit.

[CheffoJeffo]

I guess I should relax. For every over priced machine I am sure a good deal to be had.

It is easy to pick up a skewed view when you here about guys finding their "diamond in the rough" in a trash pile or paying $20 for a cabinet.

One can sit around and stew "Where is my good deal?"

Truth is deals like I mentioned above probably rarely happen. 

I cant wait to get to my first auction in June. Maybe if I score a treasure or two....

I dunno if the frequency is that high, but there are good deals to be had ... unfortunately they seem to evade me most of the time. 

And, yeah, the tales of "found" treasures and warehouse raids are really annoying. In the past year or so, I have seen folks get working pins for free, a working Computer Space for next-to-nothing, etc. It's maddening.

About the closest I have come to a found treasure is when member here found a non-working Atari Football cocktail at the curb and took it home. At the time, I mentioned that if he ever wanted to get rid of it, he should call me. And, a year later, he did -- it's now sitting in pieces in my basement.

Good luck at the auction.

 

[wbassett]

I'd love to go to an auction sometime.  I'd also love to know where the guys that sell things at the auctions get their stuff!

I realize many are in the arcade business in some mannor or another, so I know I won't ever be able to get things the way they do, but still it would be awesome to find someone that says 'Take it or I'm just throwing it out!" Maybe someday...

[Jdurg]

Heh.  A lot also depends on the area of the country you're in.  In some areas, there aren't a great deal of "enthusiasts" around so people that do have Cabs want to get their money back from what they spent on them.  They have no idea that like a used car, the price of a used cab really plummets once it's taken out of the "factory".  So they think they're selling it cheaply for $800 when in reality nobody in their right mind will pay more than $300 for it.

I'm also of the belief that if you buy cabinets looking to make money off of it, then you're in the wrong business.  I'm actually a little annoyed at people who buy things with the only intention being to turn a profit.  That's what the stock-market is for, not a hobby where people actually want to enjoy the items but aren't able to because "collectors" have jacked the prices up in order to make themselves more money.

It's akin to the people who buy affordable housing only to do some work on the place and resell it at a price far outside of what most people can afford.  As someone who was in the market to buy a house last year, I fell victim to quite a few of these people.  They'd buy houses that were in my price-range at a slightly higher price than I could afford, do some work on the place, then quickly re-sell it at a price nearly $150,000 higher.  All that did was take a house that I liked and could afford and put it way outside of my price range.  It sickens me seeing that, and when those people lose money on a project like that it makes me happy as can be.   

[CheffoJeffo]

Heh.  A lot also depends on the area of the country you're in.  In some areas, there aren't a great deal of "enthusiasts" around so people that do have Cabs want to get their money back from what they spent on them.  They have no idea that like a used car, the price of a used cab really plummets once it's taken out of the "factory".  So they think they're selling it cheaply for $800 when in reality nobody in their right mind will pay more than $300 for it.

BUT, on the other hand, there may be good deals that folks are just too lazy or improperly-equipped to take advantage of. As I said in the other thread, I have seen a number of good deals in your area (within, say, 50 miles), so your particular "depends on the area of the country" argument falls apart (not to mention the fact that these cabinets haven't been in the factory for freaking decades, so that analogy doesn't apply).

I'm also of the belief that if you buy cabinets looking to make money off of it, then you're in the wrong business.  I'm actually a little annoyed at people who buy things with the only intention being to turn a profit.  That's what the stock-market is for, not a hobby where people actually want to enjoy the items but aren't able to because "collectors" have jacked the prices up in order to make themselves more money.

I am of the belief that if you want somebody to hold your hand and personally deliver a pretty cab that will fit nicely in your basement, with a warranty, tied with a pretty bow and has the noisy installed, then you are in the wrong hobby.

 

EDIT: I guess I am a grumpy old man ...

[stan2323]

Heh.  A lot also depends on the area of the country you're in.  In some areas, there aren't a great deal of "enthusiasts" around so people that do have Cabs want to get their money back from what they spent on them.  They have no idea that like a used car, the price of a used cab really plummets once it's taken out of the "factory".  So they think they're selling it cheaply for $800 when in reality nobody in their right mind will pay more than $300 for it.

I'm also of the belief that if you buy cabinets looking to make money off of it, then you're in the wrong business.  I'm actually a little annoyed at people who buy things with the only intention being to turn a profit.  That's what the stock-market is for, not a hobby where people actually want to enjoy the items but aren't able to because "collectors" have jacked the prices up in order to make themselves more money.

It's akin to the people who buy affordable housing only to do some work on the place and resell it at a price far outside of what most people can afford.  As someone who was in the market to buy a house last year, I fell victim to quite a few of these people.  They'd buy houses that were in my price-range at a slightly higher price than I could afford, do some work on the place, then quickly re-sell it at a price nearly $150,000 higher.  All that did was take a house that I liked and could afford and put it way outside of my price range.  It sickens me seeing that, and when those people lose money on a project like that it makes me happy as can be.   

You make your own life and you can make it better if you work at it.

What I mean is that if it makes you mad that you can not buy the house you want do something about it, find another, pay for it, or build your own.  There are a lot of houses on the market every where I go. 

I have a hard time finding any cabinets in my area.  It took me 6 months to find the ones I have.  I am still looking for 2 in particular.  I know where I can get one for $1800 + $275 shipping.  I have seen the one I want go for $900 on Ebay.  Am I whining about it NO.  I am continuing to look.  In a couple of years If I have not found one I may pay that much but not now or buy then it may be gone.

I guess I am a grumpy old man too.

[Jdurg]

I found a house and eventually bought it.  I'm not paying the prices around here that people simply demand for their cabs.  I'm buildng my own.  I'm just stating that it's not so easy to just suddenly find a cab for nothing.  If you are especially looking for a specific type of cab, you might never find it in your area.