Fair price on a Q-Bert.....

Syngefinger

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I've found someone that has one of my most wanted games, Q-Bert. He claims it's in nice shape, and fully working. What is a fair price in todays current market? I haven't seen pictures of it yet, so I don't have a clear idea as to how nice it is, but he says it's been in storage since 1998. Opinions?
 
Exidys price guide values them at $400. However, these games are hard to find in 100% running condition. Make sure you check all joystick functions, check to make sure all the speech is there, that the knocker is working, and no sprite issues. Almost always the power supplies are drifting or going bad and you will have to repair them at some point. If you want the knocker to work, you won't be able to throw in a switcher. I believe the sound circuit uses a weird voltage also.

That being said, if it was 100% working in decent condition, I'd value the game at $500 ~ $600. Personally, I wouldn't let mine go for under $700 but thats because I had to shotgun the power supply and I know I wouldn't find another working one around my area.

Now as far as an offer? Offer the guy $400, but know that you can pay upwards to $600.
 
I would see it first, if everything works then start off around $200ish. You can always raise your offer later. I wouldn't go much more than $350 for one just pulled from storage (even if nice). It probably isn't REALLY 100 percent (or may not stay that way if it hasn't been run in years), and why pay $450 for a possibly wonky one when you could likely buy one that someone on here has already gone over for not that much more money.
 
If it has been in storage for 14 years. There is a good chance it was put there for a reason. I find that people put games away for one of two reasons.

1. They run out of space
2. Game stopped working and they never got it fixed

Either way ask the seller why it has been sitting there for so long. Make sure you can plug it in and try it. Ask the seller for a ball park figure that they are looking for. 90% of the time a seller knows what they want for something but is afraid to put it out there. So if there is no price given it is could be a high price.
 
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If it has been in storage for 4 years. There is a good chance it was put there for a reason. I find that people put games away for one of two reasons.

1. They run out of space
2. Game stopped working and they never got it fixed

Either way ask the seller why it has been sitting there for so long. Make sure you can plug it in and try it. Ask the seller for a ball park figure that they are looking for. 90% of the time a seller knows what they want for something but is afraid to put it out there. So if there is no price given it is could be a high price.

Thanks for the responses! The game has been in storage for 14 years, since 1998. He was an operator from 1978 to 1998. He claims to have a large warehouse full of his games, which is rather exciting, that he's had in storage since getting out of the business. Hopefully, I'll make the trip this weekend to see what he has and see the Q-Bert in person.

I've already told him that I won't pay the inflated prices that people seem to put online for these. (Currently there is some asking $2,250.00 for a dusty looking Q-Bert.) Probably gonna be listed for a LONG time at that price. He says he's only looking for what the fair, current market price is going for. When I see it in person I'll make a judgement call, based on condition. Your input gives me a lot to base my decision on. As usual, you all are a wealth of information!
 
see if he has a satans hollow for me :)
I'll check for you, Fudd. From one of his earlier e-mails to me "What games are you looking for? Call me with your list. I most likely have all the ones you want." I am supposed to call him at 1:00pm. Keep your fingers crossed for a Satan's Hollow. :)
 
I didnt metion this but i paid $125.00 for mine and sold it for $500,it was working when i bought it.
 
FWIW, I picked up mine about 6 months ago for $300 I think it was. It's in very nice shape cosmetically and was partially working. A quick rebuild of the power supply brought it back to fully working status in no time (the day after I got it to be precise ;) ).

Added the multikit of course :) ...

Jon
 
I paid $600 for a decent one, fully functional, monitor has a lot of burn and needs a cap kit. CPO was OK, but I'm replacing it. Bezel art a little flaky at the bottom, but repairable. One scratch in side art.

I'm happy with it. They are just too hard to find for me to argue with the price.
 
If it is fully working and in nice shape $500 is not out of line. Speaking of fully working, you should check for the following:

1) Working sound including speech (the speech chip is getting harder to find).
2) Working knocker
3) Correct joystick
4) Working power supply (vs. a switcher). It there is a switcher there is also a good chance that the wiring harness was hacked. I am not a fan of using a switcher in this game and I would have the original rebuilt.
5) Fully working original PCB. Put the game in test mode and run the diagnostics. Also play a few games and see if there are any issues with foreground or background graphics.
 
These threads are always kind of misleading. Condition and location are really important. I've seen them go from less than $300 to over $1000. And when you buy a $300 Q*Bert, you're likely to get something that needs some work and you'll end up sinking more money into it than you paid for it. By the time you buy a CPO, sideart, paint, other parts (and don't forget shipping on all those items) and then dump hours and hours of labor into it, it ends up costing you. If cosmetics don't matter to you, then I wouldn't pay more than $500. But if you want a nice minty Q*Bert that doesn't need any work, you wouldn't be unreasaonable pushing $1000 or even more depending on where you are located and how much you want one.

It's UNLIKELY that you'll be getting a mint Q*bert from this guy though so $500 might end up being the right price, or even less than that.

And remember that $300 in a location far away from you might as well be $700 because it needs to be shipped, and shipping is expensive.

I'm not saying I disagree with the other posters here, but I think it's a little more complex than just saying "Q*bert is worth $500" and then having you go away feeling that paying anything more than that is a ripoff or that if you pay less than that then you've somehow made a great deal.
 
These threads are always kind of misleading. Condition and location are really important. I've seen them go from less than $300 to over $1000. And when you buy a $300 Q*Bert, you're likely to get something that needs some work and you'll end up sinking more money into it than you paid for it. By the time you buy a CPO, sideart, paint, other parts (and don't forget shipping on all those items) and then dump hours and hours of labor into it, it ends up costing you. If cosmetics don't matter to you, then I wouldn't pay more than $500. But if you want a nice minty Q*Bert that doesn't need any work, you wouldn't be unreasaonable pushing $1000 or even more depending on where you are located and how much you want one.

It's UNLIKELY that you'll be getting a mint Q*bert from this guy though so $500 might end up being the right price, or even less than that.

And remember that $300 in a location far away from you might as well be $700 because it needs to be shipped, and shipping is expensive.

I'm not saying I disagree with the other posters here, but I think it's a little more complex than just saying "Q*bert is worth $500" and then having you go away feeling that paying anything more than that is a ripoff or that if you pay less than that then you've somehow made a great deal.
Very valid points JamBurglar. Most of the value depends on condition and the amount of restoration needed. It all cost $.

Just got off the phone with him. He is a little over 2 hours away from me, so it's a nice short day-trip for me. He claims to have 2, if not 3 Q-Berts in good shape. He says he'll pull the best one out and get it fully working. If there is a board issue he'll send it out to get it fixed properly. He says the knocker is still fully functional. He's booked for the next 10 days, but I am to call him the end of next week and make arrangements to go over and see it.

Oh, I also made a list of games that I've been looking for and every one of them I asked him about, he claimed to have. And it was a BIG list. Oh, and Fudd, he says he DOES have a Satan's Hollow!
 
I would rather buy it at a discount as-is, then have him work on it. The hardest thing to repair on Qberts is battery corrosion, check the board for that.

Most of the time you can get lucky and it's either the filter board or power supply that prevents the game from running.

Lastly- if you do get the game, I'm almost sold out of 10 in 1 Multi Qbert kits:

Ordering link:

http://revengeofthenerdsv.blogspot.com/2011/12/grand-finale.html

Project overview:

http://revengeofthenerdsv.blogspot.com/
If I do get this I will be contacting you about ordering your kit. Thanks for the tips, Mike!
 
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