Observations from the Indy Coin -Op auction

[slug54]

I attended the U.S. Amusements coin-op auction in Indianapolis. Here are some general observations I made.

* Nearly every machine there used leaf switch buttons. - They had a completely different feel then the micro switch type. They were springy and had a lot of travel. Most used leaf sticks also.

*People will pay a lot for Porn & Poker machines. - People were paying $,$$$ for these multi-game touch screen machines that were about the size of a microwave. I saw people paying over $600 for these that didn't even power up. I thought I might be able to snag one of these just for the touch screen for about $40 but that wasn't going to happen.

* My Act Labs light gun looks way cooler than the guns on most arcade machines. - I quit going to arcades about 1983
so I never really saw any of the gun games. My gun may look like a futuristic ray gun ,But I like it better than the over sized pink and blue squirt guns that were on 95% of the arcade machines there.The only gun I saw there that was half way decent was a metal Colt style gun on a game called Lethal Enforcer.

* There are places you can go where the Mullet is still the dominant hair style.

* Classic 80's games cost big bucks. -  Games like centipede ,defender and galaxian were drawing $800 and up, even with major screen burn. The first Defender I saw go didn't power up at first and the bids went to $400 after they fiddled with it and got it to come on the bids soared to around $1300.

* Some arcade machines had huge screens. - Tekken and NFL Blitz had huge monitors that looked awesome.I had never seen these games before and I was blown away by the screen size.

* If your thinking of cutting up a classic cab for mame don't - If you have managed to get a hold of a classic cab for cheap some where, my advice is take it to one of these auctions and sell it for $800+ to some one who really wants it. This should give you enough cash to buy your wood, P.C. , controls, circular saw , router ,drill ,jig saw and just about any thing else you would need. Plus when your done you will have all the tools for other projects.

They spent the first 3 hours of this auction selling single game boards , marquees, power supplys and other small stuff. So by the time they were selling the full sized cabs
I could only stay for about another hour. Prices may have came down on the later machines when people were running out of money. I wanted to get a bar style dart board or maybe a pinball, but it was going to be a few hours before they got to those and the prices would be out of my range.

                             Slug54


 

[brandon]

Cool!  Thanks for the info Slug54.  Have you ever checked ebay for prices? and if so, how did they compare to the Indy auction?  I would think they would be higher at the real auction since nobody has to pay $200+ for shipping, but I could be wrong.  How much were the more recent 90s games like Mortal Kombat selling for?  I would think dirt cheap since they arent classic and there are so many out there.  

[Rocky]

* There are places you can go where the Mullet is still the dominant hair style.

What's a Mullet?  

[dhansen]

[url]/http://www.ratemymullet.com/[url]

[dhansen]

http://www.ratemymullet.com/

oops

[slug54]

What's a Mullet?  

A mullet is basically a haircut where it's short in front and  real long in back some examples are Joe Dirt , Billy ray cyrus
Homer simpson (when they flash back to his younger days) and just about any country music singer.

For the full list of alternative names such as
"Tennesee Tophat", "Mud flap" and "camaro cut"
visit         http://www.mulletlovers.com/

                          Slug54

[Brax]

 
* If your thinking of cutting up a classic cab for mame don't .*

I totally agree, but you can't stop with classics. There's plenty of people chopping SF2, Mortal Kombat, Marvel vs Capcom cabs..... These are tomorrows classics people! Basically if the game is popular it's going to be a classic. Just because it isn't Pacman doesn't mean it's ok!

[MrArcade]

I am not sure what you saw....I was there...and I have been going to the auctions for a few years....no Defender sold for $1300

most classics bring between $300 and $600.  Ms Pac and Galaga often bring more.  

Here is a list with some of the winning bids...

Gorf #1 - $175
Galaxian - $400?
WWF Wrestlefest - $55 (junk)
Defender #1 - $575
Stargate - $550
Galaga mini(new) - $1400
Gorf #2 - $350 (sweet monitor)
Galaga #1 - $625
Defender #2 - $625
Centipede #1 - $375
Ms Pacman - $675
Asteroids(nw) - $275  (I tried!)
Rampage - $65 (junk)
Double Axle - $100
Galaga #2 - $575
Galaga #3 - $500
Star Wars(nw) - $220 (I tried!)
Q-bert(very clean) - $450
Galaga #4 - $700
Gauntlet - $350 (junk)
Centipede #2 - $275
Eyes - $45
Golden Tee 2002 - $3200+