How do you guys do it?

Deadly

New member
Joined
Feb 10, 2006
Messages
6,162
Reaction score
31
Location
Gresham, Oregon
I guess I could honestly say I'm jealous and confused and want answers.

Jealous - here's why:
I see guys that have been in this hobby half or less the time I've been in this hobby and they have a shit pot load of games and pins. Not junk or umpopular games but collectable and popular. Now long time collectors hell yes I can see that but am amazed at the new/newer members and how fast they've acquired games.

Confused - here's why:
I've been in the hobby for a mere (almost) 4 years. I have literally had a total of 15 games so far. I am now down to 9 and almost all have been restored. My wife and I make bank compared to a lot of people. We don't live outside of our means. We eat at home at leasts 5 times a week. Yes we have the "normal" bills such as house payment (which is very doable, two vehicle payments (very doable) and we don't owe anything to credit cards. Even with what we have for money theres no way in hell I can go out and spend the kind of money some of you guys do. I can "generally" only squeeze in a couple hundy to swing a deal. I don't spend money on anything else and luckliy I married a woman who is VERY frugal.



Here's what I do know:
Deals come along on arcades and in no time a person can have a room full - but not of popular titles unless you are extremely lucky. Not everyone pays $1200 for a Donkey Kong lol. However pinball machines are freaking expensive and while a good deal may come along that good deal is still a great deal of money.

Do you people make so much freakin money you can afford to do this or
are you guys living hand to mouth to just to be able to buy all this crap?
Seriously I'd like to know.
 
There are a ton of factors. Location of the buyer often makes games cheap. Willingness to buy in bulk and resell what you don't want can pay for games you want. I do repairs for people as well.

I don't understand your statements about your finances. You and your wife truely "make bank" but you only have a "couple hundy" to spend sounds like an oxymoron to me. My wife just got laid off, this cut about 1/3 of our total household income. I still have plenty of money to spend on games and I don't think my household makes much more money than the average for my area.
 
Well, I have a lot of games and a nice basement arcade but I am not swimmin' in it that's for sure.

I have no pins: too expensive for me.

I've slowly collected my games over the last 12 years; and for the most part I have waited for the "deals". $40 for my Asteroids Deluxe, $40 for my Robotron, $75 for a working jamma game, etc. In the early years of my collecting I worked 6 days a week. Always had overtime. From about 1998-2005 I did this. Had some extra cash then. I cut corners whenever I could and used parts/paint/wood(for everything and anything) that I had laying around in the garage.

I have not paid a lot for a game(except my EM Captain Kid $400) for quite some time.
 
I guess I could honestly say I'm jealous and confused and want answers.

Jealous - here's why:
I see guys that have been in this hobby half or less the time I've been in this hobby and they have a shit pot load of games and pins. Not junk or umpopular games but collectable and popular. Now long time collectors hell yes I can see that but am amazed at the new/newer members and how fast they've acquired games.

Confused - here's why:
I've been in the hobby for a mere (almost) 4 years. I have literally had a total of 15 games so far. I am now down to 9 and almost all have been restored. My wife and I make bank compared to a lot of people. We don't live outside of our means. We eat at home at leasts 5 times a week. Yes we have the "normal" bills such as house payment (which is very doable, two vehicle payments (very doable) and we don't owe anything to credit cards. Even with what we have for money theres no way in hell I can go out and spend the kind of money some of you guys do. I can "generally" only squeeze in a couple hundy to swing a deal. I don't spend money on anything else and luckliy I married a woman who is VERY frugal.



Here's what I do know:
Deals come along on arcades and in no time a person can have a room full - but not of popular titles unless you are extremely lucky. Not everyone pays $1200 for a Donkey Kong lol. However pinball machines are freaking expensive and while a good deal may come along that good deal is still a great deal of money.

Do you people make so much freakin money you can afford to do this or
are you guys living hand to mouth to just to be able to buy all this crap?
Seriously I'd like to know.

Let me translate this...

"Excuse me, Blkdog7 how the hell do you have that many awesome games in such a short time?"
 
I've slowly collected my games over the last 12 years; and for the most part I have waited for the "deals". $40 for my Asteroids Deluxe, $40 for my Robotron, $75 for a working jamma game, etc. In the early years of my collecting I worked 6 days a week. I have not paid a lot for a game(except my EM Captain Kid $400) for quite some time.
You're what I would deem as one of the long time collectors so I could easily see how you are where you are.

As far as spending a couple hundy - I believe in also having a little nest egg for when shit goes wrong. I used to live hand to mouth and when let's say a motor blows or a tranny blows not too many people have the extra scratch laying around to pay for it. We make sure we have our bases covered. Hope that explains it.

@ Jow - hah hah awesome
 
Location location location. I happen to live in a location where prices are down. Great for buying. Not so great for selling.

Lets see... i've had 4 pins total. $700, $300, $300, and $250... now what I'd call massive amounts of dough (though the $700 one was special...and I won't be buying that expensive of a machine anytime soon again).
I've never had a video game that came close to a grand... even when all was said and done...fully restored...it didn't hit a G note.

Many/most of my games came in under $300...
 
Let me translate this...

"Excuse me, Blkdog7 how the hell do you have that many awesome games in such a short time?"

ha! Well, move to New England and hang with my brothers. We have a kick ass network of collectors and we all look out for each other and hook each other up. I also bought a lot of ghetto games and restored them too. So, it's a lot of hard work. I spent nearly every weekend in my garage working on stuff all summer. Painting, soldering, building, capping, cleaning, etc. Some games were had for $50 and $100 and even free. I wait for good deals then pounce. So, yeah...
 
Last edited:
You're what I would deem as one of the long time collectors so I could easily see how you are where you are.

As far as spending a couple hundy - I believe in also having a little nest egg for when shit goes wrong. I used to live hand to mouth and when let's say a motor blows or a tranny blows not too many people have the extra scratch laying around to pay for it. We make sure we have our bases covered. Hope that explains it.

@ Jow - hah hah awesome

I think it comes down to how much "extra scratch" you have laying around and how willing you are to use it for games. Some people are worried about FDIC insurance limits on accounts and others are not. I've been here for a few years now and my arcade is pretty rag-tag.... We all knew it was blkdog7 FWIW...

Edit: In light of Blkdog7's response... How much time you have for restores is also a big factor. :)
 
Last edited:
You're what I would deem as one of the long time collectors so I could easily see how you are where you are.

As far as spending a couple hundy - I believe in also having a little nest egg for when shit goes wrong. I used to live hand to mouth and when let's say a motor blows or a tranny blows not too many people have the extra scratch laying around to pay for it. We make sure we have our bases covered. Hope that explains it.

@ Jow - hah hah awesome


Oh yeah, and both our cars are 11 years old and long paid off; and we don't have any credit card debt because I'm very happy with my house, cars, possessions, etc....
 
I am new to KLOV but not to the hobby, I have been collecting games since 1996. I always wait for a good deal and try to never spend more than $400 on a game. I have friends that can and do spend that on a weekend on going out eating and partying, and have nothing to show for it. When we have family or friends over during holidays, Christmas etc.. everyone always ends up in the game room. Because of this my wife supports the hobby. We for and find a few games a year and now we have a nice collection but it did take us 13 years to build up.
 
Last edited:
Buy low and sell high. Or, sell some of your restored games to get more funds.

You say you have a couple hundred to spend, but...when? It sounds like you have your bills under control, and a growing savings account. Put $100/month in an "arcade fund" and buy yourself a nice pin somewhere down the line.
 
I always wait for a good deal and try to never spend more than $400 on a game.

I never understood the arbitrary limits people impose. Obviously, you don't want to spend more than you can, but a good deal is a good deal, regardless of your set limit. (ie, Medieval Madness for $1,000.)

The thinking I employ is "Can I sell this for more money than I'm paying for it?" If the answer is "yes", then it is worth buying. If it's "no" or "maybe", then I either walk away or negotiate it lower.

This applies to games that are not keepers...Obviously, keepers/grails may be purchased even if they fail this money test.
 
FWIW - this was not meant at John only. He falls into the category (lumped in I prefer to look at it like) and yes his post got me to actually post this thread - but there are several others.

And Frizz saying "location" yes sir I have to totally go with that. I see PA as being PRIME hunting ground for games. Why .... I still can;t figure out why PA seems to be the holy land for games?

Regardless - it's a good thread for people to share their stories and views. ;)
 
FWIW - this was not meant at John only. He falls into the category (lumped in I prefer to look at it like) and yes his post got me to actually post this thread - but there are several others.

And Frizz saying "location" yes sir I have to totally go with that. I see PA as being PRIME hunting ground for games. Why .... I still can;t figure out why PA seems to be the holy land for games?

Regardless - it's a good thread for people to share their stories and views. ;)

Every game i want at a decent price seems to be in PA...i don't get it either.
 
Doctor feelgood is here to the rescue.
Check out my "arcade" and you will feel better.
I am completely happy and blessed with what I got, to me it's a dream come true.
I been in the hobby for 4 years.
Yes but you can walk down to the corner "coffee shop" and buy bombastic weed. Bastard. ;)
 
I've wondered about this too. I just think there are quite a few people here who make a lot of money. That certainly does not include myself. I've been at this nearly two years and only have Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong 3, Crystal Castles, two Vs. cabs with Excitebike, Dr. Mario, Super Mario Bros, and Golf, two Mario Bros. widebodies, Popeye, Qbert, Frogger, Moon Patrol, Dig Dug, Kangaroo, Lady Bug, Ms. Pac-Man, and Burgertime. Several of these still need resto work done and they could all probably use some work, although I have purchased most of the artwork and whatnot I need already. I think having multiple well connected and well financed collectors in my area definitely makes it harder to get games and get them for a good price.
 
Last edited:
I never understood the arbitrary limits people impose.

I set limits because when i first started i would buy a game, over pay and then a short while later the same game would come up for far cheaper.

I have learned to set a Budget (arbitrary limit) per game and stick to it. I always find the game i am looking for, It might take time but i always find them. Living in Canada it's a challenge to find games and even more challenging to find them in good condition and at a fair price.

I have noticed in the last few years the operators with warehouses have started to loosen up as well. 5 or 6 years ago every game they were willing to sold would start at $1,000 now they sell them for a couple of hundred bucks or so. They are starting to realise there just isn't much demand for this stuff anymore.
 
Back
Top Bottom