$2,000 for a working Paperboy.. Thoughts?

Not really what I meant. When I sold it, I got a fair price for it. It was playing, but with garbage on the sunscreen. The handlebars needed rebuilt. I am just surprised he got tired of it so quickly. I feel that 2000 is a good price in this market. Right or wrong the value of Paperboy is through the roof right now. I am not angry. I got the funds to finish several projects. All I am saying is the dude was super stoked to get this machine from me.
 
Many more collectors + limited pool of parts + plus limited pool of games + age + collectability factor + condition + free market = ever increasing higher prices

Guys its simple math. I said it before, and I will say it again. This hobby is just like any other hobby, ie. stamps, coins, comics, console games, antiques, vintage radios, records, ghetto blasters, etc. you get the picture. Values go up depending on the factors above.

So get used to it.

Stop the price policing, and get used to the climbing prices, or continue to wait and see if that deal you want eventually comes around.

But like I also said, sometimes you might wait for YEARS before the one you want comes along. Then you might have to restore it and more time goes by. Some people would rather just pay the going rates and enjoy playing the games while we are still breathing :)
 
Many more collectors + limited pool of parts + plus limited pool of games + age + collectability factor + condition + free market = ever increasing higher prices

Guys its simple math. I said it before, and I will say it again. This hobby is just like any other hobby, ie. stamps, coins, comics, console games, antiques, vintage radios, records, ghetto blasters, etc. you get the picture. Values go up depending on the factors above.

So get used to it.

Stop the price policing, and get used to the climbing prices, or continue to wait and see if that deal you want eventually comes around.

But like I also said, sometimes you might wait for YEARS before the one you want comes along. Then you might have to restore it and more time goes by. Some people would rather just pay the going rates and enjoy playing the games while we are still breathing :)

^ this.

there shouldn't even be any further conversation after that. that was a "/mic drop" post! :)
 
Stop the price policing, and get used to the climbing prices, or continue to wait and see if that deal you want eventually comes around.

Price Policing is only applicable in the FS section on this forum. I don't think many think highly of the forums that ban or restrict price discussions.

It's just a price discussion, which may get old for some topics, but overall isn't a bad thing. I'd rather see those posts then the repeated posts of hey guys anyone heard of this, is it rare, can I flip it?
 
I bought a Paperboy this year from a fellow Klov'r. It was fully restored within the last few years and included a Championship Sprint kit - panel, marquee, PCB, etc. I paid $2,250 plus had it shipped. Felt like i got a decent deal considering.

This game will never be cheap again so if you want it buy it. You could wait years to find a cheap one. I'd rather pay a bit more and play it during that time.
 
Price Policing is only applicable in the FS section on this forum. I don't think many think highly of the forums that ban or restrict price discussions.

It's just a price discussion, which may get old for some topics, but overall isn't a bad thing. I'd rather see those posts then the repeated posts of hey guys anyone heard of this, is it rare, can I flip it?

I agree with this . It's not policing or shaming - it's a discussion . Everyone has contributed good points . No need to get upset about gathering opinions and no for sale thread was harmed in the making of this discussion .
 
Price Policing is only applicable in the FS section on this forum. I don't think many think highly of the forums that ban or restrict price discussions.

It's just a price discussion, which may get old for some topics, but overall isn't a bad thing. I'd rather see those posts then the repeated posts of hey guys anyone heard of this, is it rare, can I flip it?

This. Most of this discussion is about the pricing of Paperboy in general, not any specific paperboy. It's not in the for sale section... nor in the thread advertising a Paperboy.

Explain how this would be price policing...
 
Ugh..I wouldn't even pay 800 for paperboy. I get the reasons, people willing to pay, blah blah blah...I think Arcadenut nailed it though..that is the value for a flipper, but a collector, not so much.

people keep applying age and rarity to the value of a machine, which is BS..neither of which in this hobby denote value. I watched an auction a few weeks back..a nice working tempest sold for 500 bucks....Mortal Kombat in a Dynamo went for 950.

EM pins sell for pennies compared to more modern machines...

stop trying to apply the age / rarity model, it doesn't apply.
 
Ive been in the collectibles industry my entire life which is how I make my living (not selling arcades but other collectibles).
It doesn't matter if its coins, stamps, comic book, trading cards, beanie babies, bottle caps, mineral specimens or some other crap(the same basic economic rules apply).
Like it or not arcade collecting is a growing market and if you look at demographics and the limited supply of product it should continue to do so.

Unlike most industries, with vintage collectibles there is a limited supply of product. Its not like you can call a factory and order more. Whats out there on the market is whats out there on the market. The tendencies to skew trends generally are a result of a few things. One example is that hoards are found, I.E. a warehouse raid where they find a large group of games could temporarily depress the price of a certain product is there is too much of a specific item released in a market in too short of a time period. However the tendency is that once those are absorbed into the market the price will begin to climb again. Another factor would be games that are brought back to life and restored would raise the population of certain games, but still that is a finite number as well.

Now the demographics in my opinion is the real factor. Right now there are a lot of people in the late 30s-50s that are working professions that make good money and have discretionary income to spend (or have already made a bunch of money). This is the main age group that grew up playing games and is drawn by the nostalgia factor. Instead of needing to spend their money on school, mortgage payments, car payments, kids, or whatever they can afford to spend more on their hobbies (whatever that may be). If you take that age group into account then basic math would dictate you that in theory arcade collecting should have another 30+ year run in it. Compare that to something like stamp collecting which was big in the 50s-60s and practically dead now due to an aging collector base and no new collectors coming into the market.

The comparison between pinball and arcades I think is a fair analysis. Once again if you look at the demographics of pinball collectors compared to arcade collectors I think you will find that the average age of the pinball collector is greater than that of the arcade collector. Pinball was big decades before arcades hit the scene and began to decline with the invent and introduction of arcade games. I would even venture to bet that if you tracked the rising price of pinball on a timeline with the rising price of arcades that it directly mirrors the age groups of people who played them as a kid and now have the discretionary to spend on them. Its only a matter of time.

By the way in my industry when someone quotes a price from several years ago to use to compare to todays pricing they are generally out of touch with reality. We have a saying for this and call it "old price disease". Anyone that is not willing to pay todays prices thats fine, you don't have to. If trends in other markets transcend this one then I will tell you this. Other people will be willing to pay those prices and are clearly doing so. What happens in other markets is that the new buyers that are willing to pay current prices collections continue to grow while people who are stuck in the pasts collections remain stagnate. They either adjust with the times and being paying within the new price structure, or their collections remain the same without new acquisitions or even further they become sellers. Either way thats the circle of life in collecting anything. Collectors come in and out all the time.

BTW. Anybody that says a working paperboy is only worth $800 in nice condition with a clean monitor and control panel in this market in my opinion has "old price disease". Please sell me your paperboy at that price. In fact, I would like to place an order with you for 10 of them at that price as long as the quality is right.

Ok, one more cup of coffee and I'm off to work.
Cheers
 
I wouldn't pay that much for one but based on the market, if I had one, I wouldn't sell if for under $2K.

The market is really crazy lately. $150 Zaxxon's now sell for $600. $300 Gyruss' are now $700. It's a good time to be a seller...not such a good time for buying.
 
Could just be buyers remorse.

Paperboy is pretty original and has a cool concept but its one of those games... fun to play once in a while when one is around but generally not a game that is going to get a ton of serious play when you own one.

Game is 90% gimmick and 10% gameplay like so many others. Its more of a "collectors" game then a player.

I disagree with you I own one I play it a lot.I like it just as much as Zookeeper.
 
For what it's worth, I sold my restored Paperboy two months ago here on klov, this was the post:

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=383805

I listed it at $3000 for a fast sale and got multiple offers immediately which means I could have sold it for more but I needed to make room quick. Value is all relative, I wouldn't pay $50 for an EM Pinball machine but to some they are worth a lot whereas I'd easily pay $2000 for an arcade machine depending on condition. To each their own.
 
I collect guns pins and arcades, never lost money on any of these. I really enjoy seeing some game appreciate in value after I've been told I paid to much though. I do like that these games are finally getting their due since for the last 20 years only the pacs and galagas were the expensive sales to the average collector. I do agree also that some Pinball collectors are coming into the arcade market since they are being priced out of the hobby, I love my pins but sometimes look at them all lined up in the basement and see 40k collecting dust but remind myself they are still gaining value and this way I can play with my money!
 

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