Buttons & Sticks - is this a good deal?

[RedSquirrel]

Been looking through ebay and found this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3232985255&category=13718

Its the x-gaming buttons and joysticks. What are the quality of these like? Do the buttons fit 3/4 MDF? And what are the joysticks like?

Just wondering as this would cost half of what my other place would charge.

The only thing that worries me is you have to assemble the buttons yourself. Normally they come fully made right?

[Edgedamage]

The buttons have a cheap clicky feel to them and I used them with 3/4" mdf and if was not for my push button wrench I would be screwed because 3/4" wood is just about too thick for the buttons. As for the sticks they are close copys to happ supers but made out of lighter plastic.

[AlanS17]

They're Happ clones from what I understand. They're probably worth the $20, but they won't be as nice the real Happs. Of course the real Happs will also be twice as much.

I'd probably buy these for a Playstation controller or something, but I think I'd prefer the real deal for a cabinet. (personal preference)

[AlanS17]

They say you can make the buttons fit in 3/4" MDF if you turn the screw upside down and use it that way.

[Paul Olson]

I bought these and they seem to be pretty good.  The buttons are as fully assembled as they can be, you can't put on the microswitch, or screw on the nut until the button is mounted.

They work fine with 3/4 MDF.  I only have these for now, so I can't compare quality with other buttons or sticks.  I  have read on this board that they are almost identical to Happs.

The only thing I don't like are the switches.  They are loud, and the pitch of the click is different on each one.  Again, I haven't tried others, so this may be the case with Happs too.

Overall, I'm glad I bought them.  I will buy others in the future to find the ones I like best.  For now, these work great, and the price is good.

Shipping was fast too, 3 days to West Coast.

Paul

[Spaced Invader]

I have these as well as Happ sticks/buttons (Wico too). They have a bad reputation around here, but, from my experience, it is largely undeserved. The real difference between the Xgaming and the Happ stuff is in the microswitches. The switches Xgaming uses have a "clicky feel"--which some of my friends prefer by the way. Happ uses Cherry switches that are unarguably better quality and have a less pronounced "click."  So if you put the Xgaming microswitches in the Happ sticks/buttons you get the same "clicky feel" that the purists seem to love to hate. In short it ain't the stick it's the switch!

My advice to you is to buy the Xgaming stuff and try it (you may love 'em). You can easily swap in some Cherry switches later to see what all the fuss is about. Above all, have fun!

[traknfieldSUPAstar]

I bought that deal a couple months ago from the same dealer... At the time I was trying to save as much money as I can for my destop cp project... the amount of money i spen for the sticks and buttons (+shipping) cost almost as much as the rest of the materials I bought (wood, screws, 2 playstations controllers... however, the next time I will definitely buy authentic happ or wico buttons and joysticks for any future projects...

[RedSquirrel]

I think Im gonna just order the authentic stuff rather than the x-gaming stuff.. just to make life easier. Thanks for all the replies.

[Grasshopper]

Although the X-Gaming stuff on Ebay is cheaper you would be importing it from the USA so you'll be paying a lot more for shipping and possibly also customs charges. This will wipe out a lot of the savings.

However Happ have a branch in the UK so although they charge more for the joysticks and buttons you'll be paying less in postage.

The cost of joysticks and buttons represents only a small fraction of what you'll be spending overall so I would say it's a false economy to penny pinch on what is after all the most important part of your cabinet.

[Spaced Invader]

Oh, you're in the UK! Now I feel goofy.  

Grasshopper is right...no savings there.

[RedSquirrel]

Yup Im from the UK. I probably will order all my stuff from ultimarc.com as it probably makes things easier. The only thing Im not to keen on is paying #1.70 each for the buttons (which is like $2.20 each).