Sunday Morning Score!

TheArcadeGeek

Well-known member

Donor 3 years: 2014-2016
Joined
Oct 15, 2014
Messages
1,407
Reaction score
118
Location
Frisco, Texas
I usually don't post pickup threads, but I thought this was a pretty lucky pickup.

Last night, the wife and I have plans to meet some friends for dinner. I'm waiting on her to finish getting ready (shocker) when i sit down and randomly search the "Video games" section of Craigslist. I usually only search CL when I get a notification that something was posted, so it was unusual for me to be on the site for no reason... I see this ad for a "Donkey Kong and Galga Games" listing. None of the usual search words in it. No arcade, no coin-op, nothing... The ad mentions that the DK doesn't work and the "Galga" works without sound.



I am leaving the house any minute and know I can't immediately drive over to pick them up, so I shoot the guy an offer a little above a normal starting point for negotiations - $300. The guy immediately responds "when can you pick them up". Score! Unbelievably he was only 5 miles from me so I tell him I can be there in the morning to get them. He calls me and tells me that works.

Unfortunately, the guy doesn't take down the ad, so I assume that someone else will email him and make a better offer. Shockingly he stands by my offer (even though he had emails for triple my offer that came in last night) and I just got back from picking them up.

These games are beautiful. Apparently the guy had a friend who had an arcade and when it closed in 1982, he just gave them to him. The only stickers on them are from 1982 so I buy it. They just sat in the guy's garage forever... They each have about 8,000 plays and immaculate artwork. All original... They even have the original keys.

The DK needs some T-Molding and the side art is missing. There is also a repair that is needed to the front as he apparently had it strapped down in transport and cranked it down a little too much - Chunked the wood. I suspect a power supply issue as there is no power going to anything right now. I've never tested a Nintendo PS, so I have a bit of research to do.

The Galaga has a new PS and a really nice picture. There is no sound as mentioned in the ad, but I'm pretty sure that will be an easy fix. I'll just take a stain pen to a few black sections and call it a day.

Here are the before pictures. I haven't even cleaned them yet.











 
what can i say that hasn't already been said? excellent score man!

and mad props to the seller for sticking by his word (despite financial temptations otherwise)
 
Given the time of year (and even neglecting that), I would have paid the dude more than the agreed $300 when seeing/picking-up those game in person. YMMV :cool:
 
Crazy cool story!

Gotta love that, nice pic up.
 
I agree, I would have given the guy a few extra bucks also, that always seems to bring good karma and more leads to even better games.....that has always work for me, now I need more room for the all the super great games that have come my way.....such is the luck of paying it forward...great score on some great looking games...
 
Man alive those are so clean and you haven't even "cleaned them up" yet!!!

Great story, I'd make those keepers even if I had the titles already in my collection.. Those coin doors are mint!
 
Wow! Amazing score. Looks like Santa came early this year. Congrats!
 
Geeze, all we have in the Chicago area are overpriced games, no where near as nice as that one.

Awesome nab!
 
At least you're showing us how you got it. What I hate is the folks who show us their "amazing pickup" and say nothing about how it came about because they have to keep it a secret or else other people are going to get the good games or whatever. I really dislike the secrecy and competitiveness of this hobby. It's not what I'm in it for.

Max
 
At least you're showing us how you got it. What I hate is the folks who show us their "amazing pickup" and say nothing about how it came about because they have to keep it a secret or else other people are going to get the good games or whatever. I really dislike the secrecy and competitiveness of this hobby. It's not what I'm in it for.

Max

Agree with this but sometimes there are reasons.
 
At least you're showing us how you got it. What I hate is the folks who show us their "amazing pickup" and say nothing about how it came about because they have to keep it a secret or else other people are going to get the good games or whatever. I really dislike the secrecy and competitiveness of this hobby. It's not what I'm in it for.

Max

Yeah, I never saw the point of a pickup post if it didn't have a story, photos and price paid. Even a pickup where you paid retail may have a good story.

Looking forward to digging into these games tomorrow. I have been hunting for a full size Galaga, to replace my cabaret, for a while so this one is a keeper for me. I already have a restored DK, so I may trade it for/toward another game.
 
I agree, I would have given the guy a few extra bucks also, that always seems to bring good karma and more leads to even better games.....that has always work for me, now I need more room for the all the super great games that have come my way.....such is the luck of paying it forward...great score on some great looking games...

He had just listed his house for sale and was only interested in clearing the garage of stuff. To him it was more than he thought he would get and he just wanted an easy, smooth sale. Setting a time and showing up on time were more important. My offer was made only seeing the one photo from the CL ad, so it was tough to say if it was a good one or not. :)

He actually had a ton of stuff in the garage that he was just trying to give away. Lots of water skis and wakeboards, pachinko and slot machine, etc... I just don't have room for it all at this time or I would have grabbed more. You can get a feeling for it all by seeing the photo in the ad.
 
Back
Top Bottom