Hey guys, just doing a daily post. I was doing some searching around for games; (my typical way to spend a weekend
) and I came across two similar but different eBay listings. One for a re-done Atari star wars stand-up with all original parts, but artwork and levelers and misc. stuff all fixed up; and another that was a prototype cockpit. they are asking for around 3700.00 for the stand-up, and around 5,500 for the cockpit. the stand-up is also offering free shipping,and a free tech service that is available around the clock in case there is something that goes wrong that needs fixing and I may lack the capacity to fix.This goes without saying though because I feel I have learned a lot and am getting close to a point to where I don't even need around the clock service as I would rather figure it out myself and fix it myself, but it does seem like a nice luxury to have. Like I said, it seems like a good deal, especially if you use the bill me later function and make payments on it (they are offering 18 months interest free). The cockpit on the other hand seems WAY overpriced even for a rare, hard to find prototype cockpit. They are not even offering free shipping or any kind of tech service if something goes wrong. My problem is while it is totally nice, it is expensive and not cost efficient and also goes against what I have learned arcade collecting is truly about. My experience is that as a collector, I typically buy games at a fair to low price range, typically with a few things that are problematic, and learn to fix them up. The process is rewarding and it is a good way build stories to share with other collectors.The problem I have encountered though is sometimes it can be hard to find parts or artwork or even the game for that matter as some are rare;which makes it seem sometimes like buying a game that is already "finished" seem more and more rational. I guess this is where I get confused. One route is the quick and easy, one is the hard and long but worthwhile. These games "seem" rare because I don't find many listings, and when I do, the prices are always jacked up. games that are valued around 1000-1800 are sold for 3500 or higher, etc. I want to buy these games at lower prices and take risks fixing them, but also can be very time consuming and my arcade will take a lot longer to get together. right now I only have 3 games. I know patience is part of this, but for my "list" it would certainly be nice to have one of the "top" games crossed off. What do you guys think? I am interested and look forward to your input. Thanks for your time and help, - Phil



