JAMMA pcb trading cirlce?

smalltownguy2

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Just bouncing ideas around my head this morning. I was reading Kstillin's thread about an arcade cooperative, and this idea came to me. Not sure if this has ever been discussed, but what about some kind of PCB trading circle? I, like many others here, have a bunch of JAMMA pcbs, both in use and in storage. Why not let some others enjoy some of the pcbs?

Here's what I think:


  • Each member offers some number of JAMMA pcbs for circulation.
  • Every 3 months, each member will receive a new JAMMA pcb. Once the new pcb arrives, they will forward their current pcb to the next member on their chain.
  • PCB rotation continues indefinitely, as long as members keep moving pcbs around and adding new ones to the mix.
  • Each member of the group pledges a completely refundable contribution to a de-centralized fund, to cover damage or loss of a pcb. Should a member's pcb be lost or destroyed, the fund will pay to repair/replace the pcb.
  • Should a member wish to withdraw from the trading circulation, they can either retrieve their pcb, or pull their damage $$ money, whichever they wish.


So here's what I see: every 3 months, you get a new JAMMA pcb to play with. After 3 months, you receive another pcb and send the one you have along to the next person in your chain.



If a person fails to send off a pcb (break the chain), then they will forfeit membership, lose their damage waiver, and whatever pcb(s) they donated to the chain. To get back in, they'll need to pony up another damage waiver.


Obviously we would want to work with JAMMA titles that aren't terribly rare or expensive to repair, to prevent shipping disasters. We'd also need to tag serial numbers to track who's got what in the circle. It would also be nice if we could get a pcb repair guru in the mix as sort of a 'pit stop' for board in need of repair - this person doesn't have to put up a damage waiver, as long they are willing to stand in line and offer repair services in exchange for membership in the circle.


I think if we had about a half dozen people who would be Angels to get this started, it could work. I know I'd be willing to donate a few pcbs and waiver to circulation as seeds.



What does everyone think? Is this idea even worth considering?
 
I don't think this would work, too much of a hassle. The titles people want to play are the rarer $250+ PCB's anything else and most of us can just go out and buy.
 
I don't think this would work, too much of a hassle. The titles people want to play are the rarer $250+ PCB's anything else and most of us can just go out and buy.

Yeah, I thought about that. But then I got to thinking about titles like Bubble Bobble, Raiden II, R-Type, Rally Bike, and so many others that I'm sure I haven't heard of. Games I'd probably never own, but would love to try. I DO have a MAME cabinet, but many here do not, and could probably try a JAMMA horizontal or vertical board in a cabinet.

IDK..just kicking ideas around.
 
A somewhat related idea I thought about was an Arcade PCB 'public library' of sorts. In this scenario, a curator takes care of a collection of pcbs, and members are allowed to 'check out' a pcb. Same premise applies: damage waiver up front, and donation of a pcb required to gain membership.

Sort of a 'mail order pcb of the month' club. LOL

I just hate that I have a bunch of PCB's here just sitting and collecting dust. I'd rather let them be enjoyed by someone who might like to try one out for a bit. When they're done with it, they can hold it until someone else in the library membership requests it. Think of it as a decentralized virtual library.

Maybe I'm crazy.
 
I might be down for something like this but I'd most likely only do it with people local to me. I don't like the added cost of shipping, not to mention the strong possiblity that someone along the chain fails to package things as well as others expect.


Also, were you around for the Joysticks DVD trek? Many people held onto that DVD for months, far longer than they were supposed to, and it greatly extended the length of the transaction.
 
The idea and intention behind this is good. However, I can see this only going so far as what people are willing to put into the circle. Common titles that aren't worth a ton and are easily replaceable are the only ones I can see coming in here. Bubble Bobble, Raiden II, etc. I can't see making it in the rotation.

The other problem I can see is abusing bullet point #5. Someone offers up a common title that they're willing to part with, and on their turn to receive a lucrative title they were hoping to get on rotation, they cut their losses and just exit the group, keeping the PCB they wanted for themselves. If there's no way to 'police' against that, it's going to be a hard sell for contributors.

Trading PCB for PCB or for PCB + other stuff, etc. would be more of something I'd be interested in, and there are a few opportunities for this type of thing coming up in the near future.
 
Another consideration to take into account would be screen orientation. Only have a horizontal monitor cab? Hope you don't get a vertical playing game for the next rotation.
 
I just hate that I have a bunch of PCB's here just sitting and collecting dust.
Call me captain obvious but if they're collecting dust and not being used why aren't you just selling them or trading them on here? And to answer your question about if you're crazy, I'd say your crazy if you think people are going to put the time, effort and money into sending strangers their valuable treasures. It's a commendable idea that just isn't going to happen outside of a local group of friends in my opinion.
 
Call me captain obvious but if they're collecting dust and not being used why aren't you just selling them or trading them on here? And to answer your question about if you're crazy, I'd say your crazy if you think people are going to put the time, effort and money into sending strangers their valuable treasures. It's a commendable idea that just isn't going to happen outside of a local group of friends in my opinion.

Yeah, you're probably right. I bought a bunch of boards several years ago because I thought it'd be cool to have a collection, and now they just sit there. I've played them. I'm bored with them. But I don't really want to go through the hassle of selling them.

It's too bad postage is killer these days. I can remember the days when I could mail a pcb for under $7. Now it's nearly $20 to get it out the door to any zone more than a couple hundred miles. Not to mention the fact that damage seems to be more prevalent now than it was in the past.

Oh well. Both good ideas, but probably not something that I could pull off.
 
I like the idea, but in practice I think the shipping would kill it for me. You would basically be paying a little over 100$ a year in membership dues (from shipping).

Throw in the issue that some of us have a hard time getting to the post office before they close. I usually have to set aside a good chunk of my day to get to the post office before they close.

If it was something local I could see it working pretty well, but I would be more apt to share out harder to damage pcbs (MVS carts, CPS2, etc) than the bare PCBs.
 
Tell you what... There are two alternatives coming up soon, for smalltownguy2 and anyone else in the Wisconsin/Illinois area.

1) [PENDING] Bring boards you want to sell/trade to the Midwest Gaming Classic (www.midwestgamingclassic.com) in Brookfield, Wisconsin at the end of March. I may be able to organize a spot downstairs to do some buy/sell/trade of boards and maybe even combine it with a KLOV meetup session Saturday the 23rd or Sunday the 24th. I have the designated space to do this, but I have to make sure I can designate the time, since I'm helping organize what's going on in the room(s) for those two days. If there's enough interest, I will try to set it up.

2) There will be future swap meets held at Galloping Ghost Arcade (www.gallopingghostarcade.com) in Brookfield, Illinois where you can buy/sell/trade arcade boards, console games, etc. They had one already a few weeks ago and it was successful enough to merit another. I can find out when, and update anyone interested, or in this thread.
 
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