Tabletop Game Store Owner looking for advice in arcade industry.

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Tabletop Game Store Owner looking for advice in arcade industry.

Hey guys,
At the title states, I own a Tabletop Game Store, and I'm interested in getting into having arcade machines in my shop, and eventually looking to open up a second business that would resemble an arcade / bar model. I'm still learning, and learning a lot.

My biggest hurdle has been finding out what I should be paying for machines. It seems like there is a big dependency. I hear from vets that I should be paying sub $500 for almost everything that isn't super popular. But I'm not seeing those prices online on the eBays or CLs of the world. I found a Maximum Force / Area 52 Duo cab working for $800 and it was suggested to me that those would go for around $200 on here. I spoke with the gentleman and he said he bought it for $450 not working and spent $100 to get it working again and would be willing to part with it for the $550 he spent on it. I really feel like it's something where if I'm patient I could find great deals, but I'm not in the business of being patient, I would rather have the revenue generation now. I also live in South Eastern Washington State and even just browsing here for listings in Spokane, Seattle or Portland, there are slim pickings... I'm just not totally sure on how to go about the whole process the right way.

Looking for any advice. Thanks!
 
Tabletop Game Store Owner looking for advice in arcade industry.

Go to wanted to buy thread and post where you are located and want to buy in bulk. If you buy 1 or 2 at a time you will pay full retail....you will also need to be able to repair/replace common parts on games to keep your costs down. Like power supplies, monitors and art.
 
Well, it's always going to be a big range based on title, location, condition and time (and luck).

And on Klov, there are some people that think their non-working pacman with a live rabid skunk trapped inside is worth a million and others who think the rarest prototype signed by the pope, Abe lincoln AND Eugene Jarvis isn't worth more than $40 (and they SWEAR that's what they paid for a nicer one in 1993...)

So here's what you should do. Post something in the Price Checks section that asks for what a game or 2 should cost. Then also post in the Wanted section the list of games you're looking for and where you are (zip code or city) and see what people say.

You may need to drive to Idaho to get the game you want at the best price, but so what? Idaho is a nice drive! And it's potato harvest season soon...

Good luck finding some games and don't let the haters get you down. And also maybe you want to get some mini/cabaret sized games or even some countertop/bartops to fit your store's theme...
 
CL isn't the best spot to look for deals, although they DO come around once in a while. There's a $450 Asteroids semi-near me, that, if I had the funds... I'd jump on. That's a deal, as it's working and looks good. By contrast, there's several nice looking Pac-Man cabinets where the asking price is in the $1200 range. Someone gonna be sitting on those a while.

You'll get better deals on machines that are NOT working, but complete. But only go that route if you're able to invest a little time to fix them back up.

You'll also want to look at the "licensing/fees" associated with having multiple machines in a "money making" environment. Check especially if your area defines ANY coin operated game as a "gambling device". Many areas are still using 40 year old laws in that regard.
 
What is a "Tabletop Game"?

He likely has a shop that specializes in Magic the Gathering, Pokemon and Yugioh cards.

If you are like most shops like that you already have tables that people can come and play for free at any time, to entice people to hang out at your shop and spend money.

I would operate the arcade games under the same model, that is they are there to draw people to your shop. The fact that you have a free play Pac-Man and a free play Tetris could easily make the difference between Timmy deciding to hang out at your shop or your competitors.

I suggest concentration on titles that aren't going to disrupt the card and D&D players, so no dance games or deluxe simulators. I would also suggest putting a price tag on every game when you install it. Just add $300 or so dollars to what you paid. Some day one of the Timmy's will trade in all his cards and buy the Pac-Man. Then you just buy another one to replace it.
 
He likely has a shop that specializes in Magic the Gathering, Pokemon and Yugioh cards.

If you are like most shops like that you already have tables that people can come and play for free at any time, to entice people to hang out at your shop and spend money.

I would operate the arcade games under the same model, that is they are there to draw people to your shop. The fact that you have a free play Pac-Man and a free play Tetris could easily make the difference between Timmy deciding to hang out at your shop or your competitors.

I suggest concentration on titles that aren't going to disrupt the card and D&D players, so no dance games or deluxe simulators. I would also suggest putting a price tag on every game when you install it. Just add $300 or so dollars to what you paid. Some day one of the Timmy's will trade in all his cards and buy the Pac-Man. Then you just buy another one to replace it.

This is great advice and exactly what a shop here in town does. He has tables everywhere for the D&D, Magic, etc... and glass cases with items for sale, he also sells pop, chips, etc... and has Arcade games all along one wall with titles like Gauntlet Legends ...
 
You are asking operating advice in a [mostly] collector's forum.

I would also be prepared to deal with lots of repair work, even
if you purchase "fully working" games. If you are not already
skilled at this, you can end up paying a lot for a proper tech.

More have failed at this venture than prospered. Be careful.
 
I'd definitely start off slow, adding a game or two to your existing store, and see how it goes.

I'm not in the business of being patient, I would rather have the revenue generation now.

I'd also take another good look at your plan... overpaying for games so they can "make money now" isn't necessarily a great idea. How much do you expect it'll be played per day? Ignoring power costs, the $550 Area 51/Max Force takes 1100 plays @ 50 cents to break even. Overpaying by $200 requires 400 plays @ 50 cents for "revenue generation" to outweigh the price you overpaid. If the game breaks and you have to get someone out to repair it, it can easily be $150 or so to get it back up and running.

If you only have one or two games, they might get played, just because it's something different... but if you get 10 or so games, you'll probably get about the same total number of plays, just spread across more games (and some "duds" will probably sit unplayed). And the more games you have, the more repair costs you'll have.

Basically... there's a reason that arcades aren't everywhere anymore. If you have a way to get games cheap, have a place to put them to make money, and have the skills to repair tham... then maybe it's a good idea. Otherwise, I'd start slow, expect that you might be throwing away any money you spend on it, and if it goes well, then maybe you can grow into it as a business.

DogP
 
Hey guys,
At the title states, I own a Tabletop Game Store, and I'm interested in getting into having arcade machines in my shop, and eventually looking to open up a second business that would resemble an arcade / bar model. I'm still learning, and learning a lot.

My biggest hurdle has been finding out what I should be paying for machines. It seems like there is a big dependency. I hear from vets that I should be paying sub $500 for almost everything that isn't super popular. But I'm not seeing those prices online on the eBays or CLs of the world. I found a Maximum Force / Area 52 Duo cab working for $800 and it was suggested to me that those would go for around $200 on here. I spoke with the gentleman and he said he bought it for $450 not working and spent $100 to get it working again and would be willing to part with it for the $550 he spent on it. I really feel like it's something where if I'm patient I could find great deals, but I'm not in the business of being patient, I would rather have the revenue generation now. I also live in South Eastern Washington State and even just browsing here for listings in Spokane, Seattle or Portland, there are slim pickings... I'm just not totally sure on how to go about the whole process the right way.

Looking for any advice. Thanks!

1. First decide what era games you want. 80's , 90's or even newer

2. If it's 80's buy a Defender,Centipede, Asteroids and Pacman or Ms Pacman. This will give you different types of games so you can learn to work on them. If it's 90's you want, then buy a driving game, gun game and fighting game. This will give you variety and teach you how to fix different types of games. When and only when you can keep those games going will you be ready to open a barcade.

Signed,
Full time operator/technician
 
I'd definitely start off slow, adding a game or two to your existing store, and see how it goes.



I'd also take another good look at your plan... overpaying for games so they can "make money now" isn't necessarily a great idea. How much do you expect it'll be played per day? Ignoring power costs, the $550 Area 51/Max Force takes 1100 plays @ 50 cents to break even. Overpaying by $200 requires 400 plays @ 50 cents for "revenue generation" to outweigh the price you overpaid. If the game breaks and you have to get someone out to repair it, it can easily be $150 or so to get it back up and running.

If you only have one or two games, they might get played, just because it's something different... but if you get 10 or so games, you'll probably get about the same total number of plays, just spread across more games (and some "duds" will probably sit unplayed). And the more games you have, the more repair costs you'll have.

Basically... there's a reason that arcades aren't everywhere anymore. If you have a way to get games cheap, have a place to put them to make money, and have the skills to repair tham... then maybe it's a good idea. Otherwise, I'd start slow, expect that you might be throwing away any money you spend on it, and if it goes well, then maybe you can grow into it as a business.

DogP

Good advise here.
 
I still say buying 2 machines at $300 each to put on free play to attract the Timmys will work better than actually trying to get coin dropped in them.

As someone who actually does cards I wouldn't be all that inclined to drop coin on a game that I might not get to finish because the next round ends up starting.

Buy a couple games, put them on freeplay and mark them up for resale. Now granted you might have to reach out to sellers and collectors to get games at $300 each, but they are definitely out there. Right now my local craigslist has Trophy Hunting at $400, Lock N Chase at $450 and Commando at $350.

Say you buy trophy hunting and Commando, and pay $650 total. Put those in with $700 and $650 price tags and they will likely both sell within the year and will have been drawing Timmy to your store instead of the other store the whole time. You clear $700 with no need to have bought any coin op licenses. It is unlikely you would clear $700 in coin drop with those same two machines in that same year (assuming that like most card shops you have 2 big days and the place is mostly dead the rest of the time).
 
I have operated a Tabletop gaming shop/lounge for 7 years. I have 5 games in the shop, all of them get a lot of play, and all of them are on free play.

They represent another attraction to get people in the building to spend money on consumables and events. My Magic crew has crossover with the local fighting game community, and will often spend time between rounds playing Third Strike. In a region with small game stores opening up seemingly every other week, this makes my location stand out in the community.

If you put them on coin op, unless you have a very different customer base, I don't believe you are going to to see enough coin drops to even make back the electricity cost. Use them to solidify your store as "the one with the awesome arcade games on free play" and use it to drive business in, rather than scalp a few bucks in quarters a month.
 
I realize this isn't exactly generating revenue for you directly, but another option you can go with is to talk with your player base and see if any of them have arcade games they'd be willing to locate with you on free play for some amount of store credit per month.

I have four machines at the tabletop shop I play at on free play for credit and it ends up being a win-win-win for all sides:

It's a win for the customers because they can play some cool video games between rounds. The shop I have stuff in right now has a 60-in-1, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Dragon Ball Z 2: Super Battle, and 19XX. I tend to swap games around every couple months as well.

It's a win for the store because it makes them distinct from their competition, much like Evewalker said. The owners of the shop I'm in love having the games in because people go around telling other table top players about the cool place that has arcade games you can play between rounds. It ends up being an indirect (but powerful) revenue generator. Plus they both love playing the games on their downtime. And if it's dead, they can just leave the games off and save the electricity.

It's a win for me because I get some store credit, it's four machines not being stored, and since it's free play there's no licensing to deal with. I get to do a couple of FNM's for free every month, and the location is awesome about letting me know if there's a problem on top of being open late enough for me to get there to work on the things that do go wrong.

If you go this route, you can also learn some of the maintenance techniques without sinking any money into games before you're ready to transition into going a barcade. Who knows, it may help you pick up a partner in the barcade.
 
well ill tell you i play magic, and the table top shop near me is huge.
they sell alot of soda, candy and play alot of games in betweens drafts and duels.
the owner bought his machine outright and set it for quarter play.
he didnt put it there to make money, he put it there so people waiting to play can
kill time.
 
Welcome to KLOV!

Hope this helps clear things up a bit, games are only worth $200 when you're buying but $1,000 when you're selling so you have to find something in between if you're casually looking but not actively searching. If you're looking to actively buy then you'll end up with something in the $1,000 range but when casually looking you'll find a good deal at half the price of what they're asking.

Please understand that I'm breaking the collectors secrets by disclosing this so please print this or screen cap before it's deleted and I'm banned for posting this. You usually have to be collecting for several years before these secrets are shared or disclosed so I hope you appreciate what I've done here.
 
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