Personally I don't see the point of monitoring CL around the clock to luck into purchases solely for resale, but I'm not going to condemn those who do. I have no problem with the concept of flipping (ie. selling something for a profit), however it gets old real quick when you see the same person reselling an item that you were interested in initially.

Though I'd rather see someone flip a game for a profit than to part it for a greater profit FWIW.
 
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I flip games to break even with the hobby. I have DK jr, tmnt, turbo, Merc cab, and a Rampage cab. I have restored and sold a DK, DK Jr, Pole Position (for parts/no money), and a Frogger. I don't feel hot about it but if I bring some games back from the dead, I think I've done good in the hobby. I don't go to the extreme of selling a game for 10x what I pay unless it's a good deal or I put a lot of time into the restore.
 
What makes you think they are the same game? Do you really think someone bought a game with red flipper rubbers for $200, then pulled them off to replace them with old yellow flipper rubbers and ask $2000 for it?
 
I will flip games to cover costs on my own expenses in the hobby. I get in on deals of games that I will purchase with full intent on only cleaning and fixing just to turn around and selling it at 200% profit, and then another project game is paid for. Self perpetuating hobby I suppose.

Anyone in the pinball collecting hobby will tell you the same, its even more popular to do there where the popular games are $3-5k rather than $300-500.
 
I flip games all the time. Theres nothing wrong with having a hobby you can profit from. Its really fun to take a machine clinging to life, putting some time and money into fixing it and selling a quality machine to someone who wants a kickass game for their gameroom. Ive only purchased 4 games this year, kept two of them and flipped the other two. Spent $550 combined, add about $50 in parts, countless hours of labor, and sold both machines for $2300 combined. It paid for the other two I bought and put some cash in my pocket to use on future arcade endeavors.

Out of the 70+ machines I have had since I started in 2008, I have only lost money on one game, Zaxxon. I have broken even or came out positive on everything else except the keepers of course.
 
I flip games (mostly pins) all the time. What is dishonest about it?

I try and find good deals on CL or at the auctions, and then I go through and completely shop and restore them to the best quality I can. Yes, often that pin does go from $650 to $2800, but I consider my time and expertise worth something. I can't speak for others but some of us do put a lot of time and effort into the machines before reselling them. Not to mention providing a 6 month warranty on them for the new owner.
 
No worries, with the $2000 asking price it won't sell anyways so it's going no where soon. :rolleyes:

Although I think Mod's right, don't think it's the same machine. The flippers do look different as far as condition and the right instruction card is warped in the one and not the other one.
 
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What was an already great deal here: http://kenai.craigslist.org/ele/3065950525.html

Get to this: http://anchorage.craigslist.org/tag/3141755394.html

Why people can't just be honest I do not know!

Yeah, I'm on the 'it's not the same machine' train too.

But that being said, I'm not sure I understand your premise here. So you think it would be honest if a seller gets a great deal on something that they feel compelled to pass said great deal to everyone else?

You do understand commerce, right?
 
No worries, with the $2000 asking price it won't sell anyways so it's going no where soon. :rolleyes:

Although I think Mod's right, don't think it's the same machine. The flippers do look different as far as condition and the right instruction card is warped in the one and not the other one.

Yeah, at $2k its a never sell. I don't think road kings is even a $750 pin.
 
I also don't see anything wrong with it and I have been on the wrong end of missing out on a great deal a few times. Sucks, especially since I want it for myself as I am fairly new to the hobby and I don't have much of anything. ;)

But that is the way the world turns, company/person buys at a cheaper value, turns around and resells it for more money. Don't forget to factor in time/etc. What is low when someone resells the machine to someone else right there on the spot in front of you (heard that has happened).

At least the games are being bought, the original seller could think that there is no market and simply haul it to the junkyard.
 
After seeing quite a few people pay for the hobby by flipping games, I figured I would try it. Turns out that I would rather just pay for the games I want. Flipping games is a lot of work. It does suck when you miss out on a deal, but that is just part of the game. I deal with the flippers here pretty often these days. They don't pay a lot for games, but I can clear out some garage space in a hurry. :) I even had Drew sell a pin for me on commission because he is just better at it than I am. I have had around 55 games, and sold 43 of them. I think I made money on 4 of them. I have lost money on quite a few.

You don't always have to compete with the flippers for deals. Drew and I have been pointing out games to each other for a few years now if we know the game is on the others want list.

Arcade games were always about making money. Those of us who choose not to make money on them are actually the weird ones.
 
I make my living basically flipping games. I buy my games from people on here, CL, ebay, and through random phone calls. Everyone of the machines I buy is below what I sell it for obviously. Besides our new games we make a good amount of pinballs and arcades.



If I sold cars would you be mad that I am buying cars and then upping the price to sell them?

Or any other commodity.

Cash4gold???
 
I know I'm a new guy here, but I gotta weigh in on this one too.


My point is simply that craigslist is NOT for commercial enterprises to take advantage of. When your fulltime job is hunting craigslist, you've crossed a very important ethical barrier, and you ARE violating the rules; they have specific sections for businesses to post in.
 
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