Classic arcade party rental pricing ?

ArcRevival

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As you all know, I moved back to the Bay Area at the end of last year.

I started a business and I have a website in the works. I bought out an operator and have quite a few locations and I am about to get several more it looks like. I have been doing a fair amount of repair work for the general public, people that typically own one game and need it fixed and have one commercial account that does not have their own technician. I also plan to resume my LA Trips to haul games for people.
I am working on expanding on all of these fronts and now doing some party rentals.

I have been putting together a small fleet of classics for party rentals. I have Frogger, Galaga, Ms Pac, Centipede, Donkey Kong, Asteroids, Tron and Dig Dug and might score a photobooth. Still looking for a couple more ( Space Invaders for one ) but I feel I have enough of the A-list titles to get started. They are in decent shape, not what I would call collector quality but close, not route beaters that's for sure. I have my business license and I am almost all set to go.

The hard part I am having is deciding on prices. Now keep in mind, I am not targeting the average Klov cheapo bastard, I am catering more to the people that can afford to throw down to make sure their party is a hit ;)
Also keep in mind that I am in the San Francisco Bay Area and things are pricey here. There are a lot of affluent people that can afford to rent games.

Should I offer as little as one game for $175, 2 games for $275 and 3 for $350, 4 for $425 ? Too cheap ? Not enough ?
I am thinking a 30 mile one way max before I add on more for travel time.
I can easily fit 4 classics in my F150 long bed with the lift gate so it's pretty easy to haul 4 games, maybe even 5.

Figured I would throw this out there to the Klovers . I am not asking you what you would PAY to rent games, I am asking you what you would CHARGE to rent games. Does anyone here actually rent games ?
 
Sounds about right, I knew a guy in CT that did that years ago that charged $150 for 1 game a day or maybe for the weekend. Then if you rented more titles the price was lower on each game as you have. He also stated no stairs and had a written contract of some type for liability.
 
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I'm assuming that this would normally be used by things like corporate holiday parties or a big family event (graduation or reunions) etc. For these types of events $425 for 4 games sounds pretty reasonable.
 
There's guys in my area that do it....I can't remember what they charge, but it seemed like MORE than your stated prices....And this is Kentucky!

One guy I know got so fed up with customers NOT telling him about steps.....he added a section to his contract......the first 4 steps are free.....after that, every additional step is $45.....A STEP!

I think your too cheap.

Edward
 
Ive rented out some of my games to various events in the past year. Most them found me out through the SC3 website....

http://www.sc3videogames.com/

Im pretty cheap as far as renting some of my games. $75.00 per game and they are responsable for the truck rental and other packing expenses.

Good luck with the venture!
 
One guy I know got so fed up with customers NOT telling him about steps.....he added a section to his contract......the first 4 steps are free.....after that, every additional step is $45.....A STEP!



Edward

I've known DJ's who do this too as it's a PITA to haul heavy stuff up and down stairs.
 
Hey Dave,

I recently sold a multi to a rental outfit near Boston that was charging around $300 for a weekend rental of a 60-in-1. (I don't know how often that happens.)

If I were hauling games for rental, I would much prefer doing it for commercial locations like hotels, convention centers, etc rather than homes. At commercial locations, loading/unloading is easier, and getting power is easier too. Homes would be a bit more random.

I think if you raise your rates, you would primarily get rentals for office parties/corporate events, which would be easier for you. Lower prices would make things more affordable for individuals, but I bet it would be more annoying for you.

You would also be surprised how higher prices can sometimes help you. (We experienced this with the band out there in SF.). If your prices are too low, people may think you are a fly by night/flaky outfit. Raise them up a bit and they think you are more professional. It's strange, but in some cases it is true.

Best of luck to you!

I would raise em. If you get absolutely NO business, you could then rethink the pricing.
 
in seattle a guy has a cube truck setup with newer games,...he pulls up in the truck drops a step ladder with railing and game on, i see him all the time buzzing around town... I thought a long enclosed trailer with a couple a/c units ontop would do the trick also, drop the trailer and come back later.
 
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