How many have knowingly overpaid for a game?

[Paul Olson]

My very first cab was a Tekken 2 in a 4-player Konami cab. It looked like a good candidate to use for a MAME cab, and all I could find locally was a $500 empty cab. I ended up paying $700 after shipping. Turned out to be the cheap part of the MAME project. It is still nearly my most expensive purchase price. I payed $750 for a High Speed pin a couple of years ago which is the current price leader.

 

[pipcade]

I bought a JAMMA Dynamo cab last week for $100 to use for my multi PCB. Way more than I could pay at an arcade auction but i wanted it now and it was local.
http://www.thebrokenjoystick.com/arcade/new-cabinet-for-multigame/

I paid $800 for my Star Wars which was a lot for me at the time but I still don't feel like I overpaid

 

[tron guy]

I paid like $900 for my tron cocktail plus shipping.

but they were all selling for around 700-1000 at the time, and I thought
the cocktail was more unique. plus my wife let me have it in the house.

I think the bigger deal was me getting $750 back out of it when I sold it a few months back.

 

[savit4l8r]

*raises hand*

 

[pudluther]

as long as it's something you like and something you really want, it's hard to "overpay."



i realize i'm probably in the minority on this, but i'd rather pay an extra $100 for a game that i want and get it now rather than search around for a cheaper one and get it a year down the road.

also, depending on what it is you're looking for, it might be one of those games that only comes up every so often...that's worth more to me as well.

 

[enjoyvelvet]

I would overpay for particular games. For example I would pay $1000 for a nice Burgertime.

we need to talk

 

[TheDrewster]

I personally try to avoid anything over $250. The most Ive spent on a game at base price was $250 for a Defender that needed work. Spent around $20 for new RAM and it was back in buisness. It is now in MikeBetz's collection.

I spent $50 on my Donkey Kong, add the cap kit, t molding, some new artwork and a new fixture and I end up with a near mint DK for about $150.

I spent $200 each on my Centipede and Paperboy from the same person. Centipede needed virtually no work, just a new TB housing which I got from r5g (thanks!!). I put about $100 into new artwork and handlebar parts.

I paid $100 for my Burgertime that was stuck on self-test mode. Cabinet and artwork is cherry mint. Flipped a couple dip switches and soldered a couple coin door wires and a minty BT was mine.

I most recently paid $150 for a beat-to-hell PacMan. Poor thing had been raped in several stages throughout its life. I spent $65 for a new board and about $100 in new parts. This is probably the most expensive game I have owned in the long run. I still need to pop $50+ for a new monitor bezel.


So take it from me. If you want a game really bad, the key is patience and a little determination. I have 4 out of 5 minty games and I have spent no more than $1500 for all of them.

 

[shardian]

I paid $100 for my Burgertime that was stuck on self-test mode. Cabinet and artwork is cherry mint. Flipped a couple dip switches and soldered a couple coin door wires and a minty BT was mine.

I think you need some quotes around "stuck".

Even my morals would have kicked in on that one....okay maybe not.

 

[MtZRcade]

If i interpet the question right, then most of your stories dont qualify here.

have you knowingly overpaid, means that, you knew it was to much, not that you were uneducated on the price at the time, . So if you didnt know the value ofthe game at the time, then you did not "knowingly overpay"

Also, Adding the shipping cost into the item doesnt count, IMO, The value of the game doesnt change just because you were not close to it

 

[shardian]

If i interpet the question right, then most of your stories dont qualify here.

have you knowingly overpaid, means that, you knew it was to much, not that you were uneducated on the price at the time, . So if you didnt know the value ofthe game at the time, then you did not "knowingly overpay"

Also, Adding the shipping cost into the item doesnt count, IMO, The value of the game doesnt change just because you were not close to it

Oh I knowingly overpaid for the pacman...I could have had it complete (minus pcb)with a busted neck board for around $150. It was the wife who was uneducated and only allowed me to get the cabinet for free after it was violated and parted out. She now agrees I should have just bought it outright

 

[clanggedin]

I've overpaid for my Multi-Williams. The cab was free and the monitor was good, but I spent $200+ for a MW board and an additional $150 for artwork buttons and joysticks.

I'm in this game more than any other game I have purchased complete and working and it's still not all together.

 

[ScumBum]

I think overall you break even on games as you buy some cheap and some not so cheap.

Yeah I was thinking this the other day , it all balances out . The cheap deals make up for the pricey games .

 

[nuterpacman]

I fixed 4 games for a guy and paid him also a $100 for a Wizard of Wor upright,but that was my favorite game when i was a wipper snapper. I saved him a big bill having to send the boards in but still he wanted $100 extra,but i wanted that for my collection. Yes, i over paid with the work but these dont come around in great condition so i went for it.

 

[HFK]

Yes, just a couple of weeks ago for a Tron. I overpaid but it was 20 minutes from me. Non-working (mostly), slight bottom damage, extra boardset though.

Who knows when I'll come across another one local and what shape that one will be in.

 

[Paul Olson]

If i interpet the question right, then most of your stories dont qualify here.

have you knowingly overpaid, means that, you knew it was to much, not that you were uneducated on the price at the time, . So if you didnt know the value ofthe game at the time, then you did not "knowingly overpay"

Also, Adding the shipping cost into the item doesnt count, IMO, The value of the game doesnt change just because you were not close to it

I will agree with the first part, at the time I bought that cab, I had no idea it was a conversion. I disagree about adding in the shipping cost though. If I bid on something on ebay, I decide what I want to pay for it, then subtract the shipping cost. That total will be my snipe. Especially on a cab when the shipping can be more than the purchase price.

I recently bought a Tempest (with a bad board) for $200, then it cost me $75 to ship it. I still payed $275 for the game. I don't see the difference in that, or paying the $275 locally. If I can't fix the board, I will probably have $400 into it. I don't think it would be accurate after that to say it was a $200 game. My decision to buy it at $200 took the other costs, and potential costs, into consideration.

In hindsight, I would have been better off spending the $500 for the empty cab from the local operator. The only real difference is the Tekken 2 board, and that is not worth much. It is actually still mounted in the cab, untouched for 6 years now. Of course, now I probably wouldn't pay $100 for either, but KLOV has cheapened...err...enlightened me since then.

 

[cleverlyj]

the one i would say i overpaid for off the bat was a pac i bought in '00, for $750. before there was really much info on the net (that i could find) so didn't know any better. the most i've had into a game all together was my tempest, which i had somewhere around a grand into including cost of games traded and restoration parts.

 

[shawnbo42]

*Technically* not a "video" per se, but I did knowingly overpay (I felt) for my Theatre Of Magic pin. $2500 local, and the funny thing was, I found out about 2 hours before the purchase it was the same cabinet I used to play when I worked in my local arcade 10 or so years prior. At that point, it was a definite buy. I didn't even try to talk him down any, just showed up and paid my dues.

Video game-wise, yes.
$950 (shippind included) for a dedicated MKII. But who cares, I had the cash (ahh, life before children....money everywhere!), wanted the game, and figured if I didn't get it, I'd end up hating myself. So, I bought it. It was actually a 3 when I got it, re-converted it back to 2 (except the run button). But it's ok, b/c now I can play all of my MK boards on the same cab.

Other than that, I really don't think I've overpaid on anything.

 

[videodan]

I overpaid for my first game, Mat Mania, after the fact. But, I didn't care due to the fact that I really wanted the game.

On the flip side, I KNEW I paid too much for my Tempest cabaret. It wasn't working, yet the seller didn't bother to tell me that the bottom of one side of the cab was chewed up. I gave it a little TLC by way of Bondo, and had the board reparied. Now, this thing runs like a champ!

 

[demogo]

You know, IMO there's a time and place to overpay.

If you really want it and have the cash then it's not the worst thing in the world.

In my case I wouldn't mind overpaying a bit for a game that I was sure was in excellent condition because every "cheap" game that I've bought has chewed up vast sums of cash restoring it. Sometimes more = less in the long run, a lesson I've learned several times now.

 

[noice87]

I've over paid for several Moppets before I knew they were more common. One I bought (Tug Boat) and my grail came up for sale (Pirate Treasure) and had to sell the Tug Boat before I even unwrapped it.