Here is my take on this topic since its clear I been mentioned in this thread.
I am a firm believer if something is not to far gone it can be restored. There does come a point tho when a machine is not worthy of a restore or rebuild. In recent times I have seen perfectly good cabinets (retro unique cabs not generic jamma cabs) be completely gutted to make way for newer technology (multicades) to take their place. I find that to be very wrong. But then on the flip side of the coin the story of why they are gutted never is asked. I tend to play life in the neutral zone and try to understand all angles before I pass judgement. A little story I seen play out years ago was a Star Wars cab that was turned into a multicade. I was kinda taken back because it being such a unique game to rip apart for a mulitcade, one which doesn't even include the game in question. Just another 60-1 conversion. I asked the seller at the time what the story was behind the cabinet and he informed me that he had purchased it as a conversion already......to a Capcom bowling. So some operator back in the day took everything out of the cabinet and put in a regular monitor and put a bowler in a classic game. He tried to track down the guts and couldn't get everything within his price range. For what he had in purchasing it , restoring it was out of the question. He had the right intent but became overwhelmed with the process to restore it. He said he couldn't possibly sell the cabinet because he would take a loss. It sucked to see the potential in the cabinet but I understood where he was coming from. Then you have cabinets that have been destroyed for whatever reason and complete guts that can be used to help another person fix their project. What it all boils down to is we all chose our battles in life and money happens to be something that everyone has to deal with. We all chose to spend our own money however we want and people tend to need to make money sometimes on losses due to unforeseen issues.If a cabinet being parts out wasn't an option then we would all have to look for doubles of games we may own to fix one. Sometimes its better to sacrifice one to save another and that's what drives people to seek out help to fix their own games. Its better to come to a place like this with like-minded people and offer up whatever you may have then to list in a more open enviroment like ebay and craigslist. I feel this is the perfect place to not only help a fellow collector but to make friends in a hobby that has in most ways died. It hasn't died in the hearts and mind of collectors like us but the business hasn't been the same since the 80's and 90's with home video game technology really taking away the interest of the new generation. Now to address myself.
Well, how times have changed. When I joined this hobby, community, and forum it was filled with the warmest people I have had the pleasure to talk to. Honestly, it was a family atmosphere. In the short time I started on here I got quite the collection in such a short time. I purchased all sorts of projects and very few fully working machines. Most projects required more then one issue to be addressed. Very few required just a slight rebuild of a power supply or a cap kit on a chassis. It was my drive to find these machines that were in dire need of some care and bring them back to life. It was FUN. I would come here to ask stupid questions that might have been asked a million times and i rarely was taken over the coal for asking them. I would pm users and have awesome conversations about the most rediculous aspects of this hobby. It came to a point where I had to just walk away. When you start running out of room and actual games you want you tend to need a break, which is what became of me. I went cold turkey, I didn't sell any of my stuff thou. I returned here and was kinda bullied in a way. I have thick skin but it was a shock to see what seems like quite a change in the culture here. I was being told I was wrong for parting it out. It was implied I wasn't selling the parts for a friend, but using that as a excuse to sell them myself and not get grief. I was even told I don't even have the machine in question. Being in the mindset of how it used to be playful on here I seen someone share a gif of Christian Bale and Kermit nodding at each other. So I went and took a picture of myself with kermit in front of the very cabinet in question. This lead to bewilderment. The fact is as of this writing the friend i am helping move these parts for and myself agreed the cabinet isn't worth saving. The base is non existent, the side panal are rotted and roached out. I didn't think i needed to explain that in my thread but maybe I am wrong. I didn't post prices because quite honestly since I been out of the hobby I don't know what the rates are for many of these things. I figured those who are in need of parts would contact me and throw their value on those specific piece. Once again maybe I am wrong. Being the middle man I been taking those offers thou and letting my friend make the final call on sales. I may be wrong for doing that as well.
I am not angry with anyone. Your all entitled to your opinions on all different matters. Just everyone needs to remember were all on this forum for a reason. We all have a similar interest. This is a family. With this one machine being parted out it will be helping a dozen people restore their own. I don't see anything wrong with that. If the machine wasn't rotted out I would have certainly convinced him to restore it. Its what drove me to this hobby. Be peaceful everyone. Arcades back in the day brought people together. Whether it was a battle to get the highest score, working along side a friend to take out a common enemy, or challenging someone else in a fighting tournament, it brought people together. That's what these forums are for and how they should be used.