chris25810
Well-known member
The trick is to junk several hundred games, rebuild/sell a couple thousand monitors and invest in real estate. It's worked well for me.
How do you guys do it?
- Thread starter Deadly
- Start date
Chris, do you have any video of your Journey machine up on Youtube? I would love to see it.
Braido...
sohchx
Active member
I built my collection on a budget of $200 max per game I was also able to do this because they are not highly sought after titles. Took me 2 months to acquire them all.I have nothing to brag about
OP
OP
Deadly
New member
You played with my multiple personalities:
First one cried feeling bad for you
Second one laughed and appreciated the honesty
RyDawg
New member
I've been in it about 4 years or so now - I've owned maybe 30 games in that time and 5 pins. I nickel and dime my way around - which works for me. Although more often than not, I end up spending more than I would with an immediate purchase of a 'working' game - it seems more justified to spend $100-$200 a month or so.
One month I might get a stargate cabinet that has been completely painted over for $50. I might find a CPO or control panel a few months later, I might spend $50 to re-do the monitor, etc etc.
When you nickel and dime it - you still collect a lot of stuff fast. It just depends what you are willing to hold on to, how long until you want to play it, and how long you are willing to have something sit in your garage not working.
One month I might get a stargate cabinet that has been completely painted over for $50. I might find a CPO or control panel a few months later, I might spend $50 to re-do the monitor, etc etc.
When you nickel and dime it - you still collect a lot of stuff fast. It just depends what you are willing to hold on to, how long until you want to play it, and how long you are willing to have something sit in your garage not working.
IvanTT
New member
Well I think it has to do more with priorities than anything else. I don't have tons of games but I do have a few other reduculously expensive hobbies that consume alot of my cash and for me it is a priority thing.
shardian
New member
I have bought several non-working junkers, fixed them up and sold them. I've adopted a policy of offsetting my gameroom costs, and trying to maintain $0 investment, or as close as possible.
To do that I have fixed up a few dedicated games for sale, and I have sold a few generic jamma cabs as 48/1 machines. I've also bought bulk lots of parts cheap to sell off individually. That can become a headache real quick though. I've done a ton of transactions where I might make $1-$2, and invested an hour or more in. It adds up though.
I've ran across my share of excellent deals. I also hit a few money pits. It can also be frustrating to not just run out and buy whatever you want brand new. Real life doesn't work that way though.
As for pins, if you get good deals and learn to work on them, you can get yourself into a constant upgrade situation. Buy cheap, fix, sell or trade for a nicer pin that might need some work. Lather, rinse, repeat. Your games get nicer over the years, and your game fund might even grow a bit.
To do that I have fixed up a few dedicated games for sale, and I have sold a few generic jamma cabs as 48/1 machines. I've also bought bulk lots of parts cheap to sell off individually. That can become a headache real quick though. I've done a ton of transactions where I might make $1-$2, and invested an hour or more in. It adds up though.
I've ran across my share of excellent deals. I also hit a few money pits. It can also be frustrating to not just run out and buy whatever you want brand new. Real life doesn't work that way though.
As for pins, if you get good deals and learn to work on them, you can get yourself into a constant upgrade situation. Buy cheap, fix, sell or trade for a nicer pin that might need some work. Lather, rinse, repeat. Your games get nicer over the years, and your game fund might even grow a bit.
I'm not rich by any stretch. Not even close to 6 figures.
I've been collecting since 2001. The first three or four years my job kept me on the road so much that I put everything in storage and banked most of my check. I was able to get a few that way and in some cases spent more than I should have. I probably got 10-15 of my machines during that time.
I hate debt so I'm reluctant to charge stuff, although I had to make an exception a few weeks ago on my Taxi. This was only my 2nd pin. My first one I got 5-6 years ago. They definitely are more than I can spend.
I don't have any car payments. I hate them. One car is 8 years old and the other is 11. Both have over 100,000 miles on them. If at all possible I'll be driving those for another few years.
I don't spend much money on other things since this is my primary hobby. So while I am quite frugal, I do sometimes spend more than I should on games & parts / supplies.
I think part of it is manageing your money well and setting priorities.
I've been collecting since 2001. The first three or four years my job kept me on the road so much that I put everything in storage and banked most of my check. I was able to get a few that way and in some cases spent more than I should have. I probably got 10-15 of my machines during that time.
I hate debt so I'm reluctant to charge stuff, although I had to make an exception a few weeks ago on my Taxi. This was only my 2nd pin. My first one I got 5-6 years ago. They definitely are more than I can spend.
I don't have any car payments. I hate them. One car is 8 years old and the other is 11. Both have over 100,000 miles on them. If at all possible I'll be driving those for another few years.
I don't spend much money on other things since this is my primary hobby. So while I am quite frugal, I do sometimes spend more than I should on games & parts / supplies.
I think part of it is manageing your money well and setting priorities.
UnkulBuck
Well-known member
John (blkdg) puts in the time, but I'm convinced he's also robbing banks, or he's scamming people with the old "excuse me kind sir, I'm from the Mushroom Kingdom and I have a request that could finacially benefit both us" scam email. This guy is bringing in Whirlwinds, Trons, etc and on my side of the river my only working game is a Jakks.
TheBasement
Well-known member
I have personally found a lot of collectables in the $100 to $200 range. The ones that cost more, I sell games I pick up on the cheap to fund larger purchases. I almost never use family money which keeps the wife happy. Basically my hobby funds itself, a little at a time.
7146aaron
New member
I'm not rich by any stretch. Not even close to 6 figures.
I've been collecting since 2001. The first three or four years my job kept me on the road so much that I put everything in storage and banked most of my check. I was able to get a few that way and in some cases spent more than I should have. I probably got 10-15 of my machines during that time.
I hate debt so I'm reluctant to charge stuff, although I had to make an exception a few weeks ago on my Taxi. This was only my 2nd pin. My first one I got 5-6 years ago. They definitely are more than I can spend.
I don't have any car payments. I hate them. One car is 8 years old and the other is 11. Both have over 100,000 miles on them. If at all possible I'll be driving those for another few years.
I don't spend much money on other things since this is my primary hobby. So while I am quite frugal, I do sometimes spend more than I should on games & parts / supplies.
I think part of it is manageing your money well and setting priorities.
I've been collecting since 2001. The first three or four years my job kept me on the road so much that I put everything in storage and banked most of my check. I was able to get a few that way and in some cases spent more than I should have. I probably got 10-15 of my machines during that time.
I hate debt so I'm reluctant to charge stuff, although I had to make an exception a few weeks ago on my Taxi. This was only my 2nd pin. My first one I got 5-6 years ago. They definitely are more than I can spend.
I don't have any car payments. I hate them. One car is 8 years old and the other is 11. Both have over 100,000 miles on them. If at all possible I'll be driving those for another few years.
I don't spend much money on other things since this is my primary hobby. So while I am quite frugal, I do sometimes spend more than I should on games & parts / supplies.
I think part of it is manageing your money well and setting priorities.
chris25810
Well-known member
The journey is in restoration mode right now so i could only show you a pile of parts.
It's no secret that owning, maintaining and restoring these things is extremely expensive. Your garage full of $50 great deals loosely translates into thousands of bucks if you want them to work right and look good. I've been doing this for 7+ years, i've restored many and scrapped hundreds just to get my collection where it is and in the overall view, it's not impressive by any means, it's just expensive.
Lukenatme
Active member
I'll answer honestly, since I've acquired most of my games this year. I had a large console video game collection--NES, Genesis, SEGA Saturn, Xbox 360, Wii, PS3 and realized that I never played them and really had no desire to play them. It was time to switch to a different hobby and I had always wanted a few of my favorite games in arcade form like Paperboy, Punch-Out, Burgertime, and NFL Blitz. Most of my desired games happened to pop up within a 200 mile radius and here I am now.
sohchx
Active member
no problem lol
sohchx
Active member
Back in the late nineties I too was a collector of consoles and games, mainly NES. I was attempting own every NES game ever made. After some thinking and realizing my collection would never get that far I stopped at 618 cartridges. I decided to sell all of them at a huge profit and put all of them on my PC as an emulator instead. Saved me a ton of storage space and it was free. I also grew annoyed having to switch through 20+ consoles all hooked to one tv every time I wanted to play something different. I will say this I had tons of fun hitting flea markets,pawns etc. and coming accross a game I had been searching for forever. It was like striking gold. Oddly I don't get that feeling when I find cabs though.
Jlannoo
Well-known member
I'm poor as hell lol, about 33,000-35,000 a year So my hobby moves SLOWLY 
I only collect Atari released games now to limit myself and still have fun with you guys. I have gotten lucky on a few of my games price wise and only want say 3-4 more. Then it will be about maintenance and preserving them.
Its a fun hobby with great people, You just have to scale it to your budget.. luck doesn't hurt either in acquiring them. Also stick to what you want. Don't waste money on junk just cause its cheap.
Oh and if you have a compulsive problem with the hobby where you cant stop buying cabs and there is junk all over . I recommend Paxil. Its has done wonders over the last year or so at curbing compulsive behavior in me. Thats just a lucky side effect as I'm not taking it for that
I only collect Atari released games now to limit myself and still have fun with you guys. I have gotten lucky on a few of my games price wise and only want say 3-4 more. Then it will be about maintenance and preserving them.
Its a fun hobby with great people, You just have to scale it to your budget.. luck doesn't hurt either in acquiring them. Also stick to what you want. Don't waste money on junk just cause its cheap.
Oh and if you have a compulsive problem with the hobby where you cant stop buying cabs and there is junk all over . I recommend Paxil. Its has done wonders over the last year or so at curbing compulsive behavior in me. Thats just a lucky side effect as I'm not taking it for that
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havok69
Active member
Blkdog7 is a male on male gigolo, and since he lives in Mass (one of the gay states), business is good...
Spyridon
Well-known member
Yes
That is, I make enough money to afford to do what I'm doing which includes:
- Not buying good deals for the sake of the deal (which leads to #2)
- Not having a storage shed ($$$) filled with games I can't play
- Only buying games I want to keep
- Understanding that games are a hobby and other expenses have to come first
- Understanding that other people will have much better collections and game rooms then I, and using that as inspiration
OP
OP
Deadly
New member
Yes
That is, I make enough money to afford to do what I'm doing which includes:
- Not buying good deals for the sake of the deal (which leads to #2)
- Not having a storage shed ($$$) filled with games I can't play
- Only buying games I want to keep
- Understanding that games are a hobby and other expenses have to come first
- Understanding that other people will have much better collections and game rooms then I, and using that as inspiration
1: - lesson learned ~ 3 years ago
2: - Nope
3: - YEP!
4: - Exactly
5: - yes - I did mention the word "jealous"
Maybe I should've used the word envious instead .... ah well carry on
