Arcade Games at Flea Market

NoahsArcade

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So my gf and I took a little weekend getaway north of STL on the river road. The main attractions in this small little town are wine tasting and antiquing. They have a big flea market here twice a month and it seems to get a lot of foot traffic. I was there today and a guy had a bunch of slot machines for sale. The venue that holds this flea market is owned and operated by a friend of mine. She was telling me that the guy who sells slots does very well and that I should consider bringing some of my machines up sometime for sale.

For those of you that dont know I have a side biz that buys, sells, and rehabs arcades and coin operated machines. I usually have around 30-40 machines sitting in my warehouse. Since I started my new job in December I have been too busy to tackle a whole lot of "resale" projects so I have some inventory that I would love to unload. Was curious if anyone thinks selling machines at a flea market would be worth the hassle. For a Friday/Saturday showing I could get a space that would be able to show around 10 machines for 50 bucks. I sell a lot of custom multicades so my thinking was even if I didnt sell anything maybe it would be worth the word of mouth advertising. Then again my warehouse is 50 miles from here so that would be 100+ miles in my un-fuel-friendly box truck.

So any opinions? Anyone flea marketers out there ever see coin op stuff for sale at these things?
 
I thought it was a great idea, BUT most people are really just look-ahoo's and touch-ah-wants on the arcade machines. So I stopped bringing them since they are so bulky and get beat up going to and from the flea market. mine were specific games not multi's not sure how they would do but more people will be interested im sure. if you end up trying post about it, im curious now
 
Hey my initial thought process was bringing one of my custom MCs and an assortment of classics. Ms Pac, Galaga, Defender. Maybe one or two popular titles from the 90s and then bringing some of my cheaper $100-$150 games just to try and unload.

I sell most of my stuff at what us klovers would refer to ass "retail" prices. Mainly because I have the space to hold onto stuff for a while. I dont know how well that sort of pricing would work at a flea market. Then again it does seem like a lot of people post close to retail pricing on old sports memorabilia, beer signs, and old toys. I suppose it works. I spent $75 bucks today on stuff for my bar at home when I could of found the same things on ebay at a lesser price. lol
 
I think it is worth a try at least one time to see what happens. You already have a good idea that the slot guy does well. The one thing your going to lose is a weekend if it doesn't work out.
 
Its worth a shot... try it for a month (twice) and see ifyou sell anything, like you said it might be good for advertising... bring business cards too...
 
Well when I say "retail" prices I mean top dollar plus 25% :)

Basically the exact opposite of what us klovers expect to pay for anything! lol
 
I would just be very careful with those multicades; Nintendo crackdowns very hard on people reselling bootlegs nintendo systemes with built-in games in malls; of course its not the same kind of operation, but watch out!
 
Clearly list that the games are for sale but also set them on .25/play to offset some of the fee and gas charges and to cut down on the number of players abusing the games. Maybe raffle off a game at $5/ticket.

And let me know if you do take games there, I live near that market and will try and stop by to check it out.
 
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