when you sell a game.....

kerri369

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do you factor in the money you laid for shipping when you got it in the selling price? what about money you spent on repairs while you owned it?
 
do you factor in the money you laid for shipping when you got it in the selling price? what about money you spent on repairs while you owned it?

You've started this hobby with the incorrect mind set. These are not to be treated as investments. As much as I hate to say and admit, it makes ZERO difference what you paid and/or how much money you've sunk into it. Fair market value is what it's worth and that term in itself is highly subjective.
 
do you factor in the money you laid for shipping when you got it in the selling price? what about money you spent on repairs while you owned it?

Shipping no, but repairs? Maybe.

I think the only time I may consider it is if I were to replace a monitor. Either way, like Deadly said, these ain't investments, yo!
 
No shipping is a sunk cost and shouldn't be considered. As far as what the game is worth, well that is what your local market will pay. Personally, I try to break even on average. Some games I lose money on and some I make money on but it always seems to work out overall.
 
do you factor in the money you laid for shipping when you got it in the selling price? what about money you spent on repairs while you owned it?

I am not assuming you are taking the stance you elude to above. but, if you are....
I suppose you would factor in all the free games you played at .25 cents a pop as well.
 
whoa hold on! let's not jump to conclusions! i am a collector not an arcade dealer! the question was posed because i was interested in a game that was for sale locally and the SELLER was incorperating the shipping and repairs into the cost of the game, not me! i thought it was outrageous! just wanted your opinion!
 
Ask him how he sells his used cars... or old electronics... this no different.

I only factor in what I think it's worth considering what condition it is and what it's worth given the economy etc. I just sold a Defender I got for free but fixed by combining with a water logged dead Defender and a Bezel I got for $50. It got fixed and cleaned up. I also capped the PS just for good measure. The monitor was beautiful... New buttons all around.

After all of that I thought that it was only worth about $250... only cause the cab was painted black to cover up a hack job of a restoration. It went to a good home so that's that.

Shipping offsets the opportunity costs of getting that machine. It doesn't add value to the machine at all.
 
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The long knives certainly seem to be unsheathed around here 24/7 as of late! :) Sorry you got stabbed.

Like you, I think it's absurd to incorporate all those rolling costs in at the time you try to sell. There's a reason why it's a hobby and not a investment portfolio!

Similar to arcade games, there's probably not a classic car collector in the United States that is able to recoup what they have into their rides when they go to sell them (I know I'll be losing thousands and thousands of dollars the day I sell my MGB.)
 
sounds like hes just trying to justify a high asking price. I can see the price of repairs if were talking about the difference between working and non working, but any previous shipping/ect is just gouging
 
It depends, really.

Scenario #1:

You buy a Joust for $100, pay someone to fix the monitor, you rebuild the power supply, put in a new boardset, t-molding, restencil, etc. Parts, repairs, shipping, etc add up to $700. After owning it for a while, you decide to sell it. But Joust's typically sell for about $300, and new stencils MIGHT add $200 to that. This is the type of thing where you do it for yourself, knowing that you'll never get what you put into it.

Scenario #2:

You pick up a Tempest for $50 with good artwork. You fix the monitor yourself, rebuild the bad power supply, and have a nice working Tempest for about $125 in parts and labor. After owning it for a while, you decide to sell it. Are you going to ask $125 because that's all you have into it? Not a chance. Nice Tempest's typically sell for $600-800 (sometimes higher). That's what you're going to ask.

Scenario #3:

You buy a game for $50 for the sole purpose of fixing it up and selling it. You figure out what the "going rate" is for the game in good condition, and in average condition. You decide what it will cost to get it to either condition, and then decide which is most profitable considering the amount of work you have to do.


No matter what scenario you go with, the current "going rate" of a game determines the asking price, not what was put into it or what the seller originally paid for it....
 
do you factor in the money you laid for shipping when you got it in the selling price? what about money you spent on repairs while you owned it?

You can't. The game is worth (and will bring) whatever the market will bear. If you want to sell a game, there's no harm starting out on the high side and letting yourself be bargained down.

When selling, you should CERTAINLY mention any work done recently, especially replaced parts like monitors and power supplies. Your objective when selling honestly is to give the buyer the best impression of the game possible, consistent with reality. The rarity and desirability of the game will have large effects on the price.

When buying, you have to factor in: How much do you like the game? Does this one look solid? Hows the monitor? Does it look like it's going to get home and still work? How often do these come up for sale? What did the last few I heard of go for?


It's somewhat like buying/selling a house: The market for houses doesn't give a <bleep> about what you 'need' to get for your house. Your house is worth what someone will pay.

Things like a recently replaced roof help a little, but if you think you're gonna jack up the price 12K because you spent that on a roof 18 months ago, then you need a reality check.

Similarly, the fact that a seller replaced the monitor 6 months ago does improve the value of a machine, but a Mrs. Pac is still a Mrs. Pac and it's value isn't going to change that much.
 
you've started this hobby with the incorrect mind set. These are not to be treated as investments. As much as i hate to say and admit, it makes zero difference what you paid and/or how much money you've sunk into it. Fair market value is what it's worth and that term in itself is highly subjective.

+989888776356
 
It depends, really.

Scenario #1:

You buy a Joust for $100, pay someone to fix the monitor, you rebuild the power supply, put in a new boardset, t-molding, restencil, etc. Parts, repairs, shipping, etc add up to $700. After owning it for a while, you decide to sell it. But Joust's typically sell for about $300, and new stencils MIGHT add $200 to that. This is the type of thing where you do it for yourself, knowing that you'll never get what you put into it.

Scenario #2:

You pick up a Tempest for $50 with good artwork. You fix the monitor yourself, rebuild the bad power supply, and have a nice working Tempest for about $125 in parts and labor. After owning it for a while, you decide to sell it. Are you going to ask $125 because that's all you have into it? Not a chance. Nice Tempest's typically sell for $600-800 (sometimes higher). That's what you're going to ask.

Scenario #3:

You buy a game for $50 for the sole purpose of fixing it up and selling it. You figure out what the "going rate" is for the game in good condition, and in average condition. You decide what it will cost to get it to either condition, and then decide which is most profitable considering the amount of work you have to do.


No matter what scenario you go with, the current "going rate" of a game determines the asking price, not what was put into it or what the seller originally paid for it....

Well put. A game is worth what someone will pay for it, period. If it just so happens that its worth exactly what you have into it (including shipping and repairs), that's just coincidence (or, basically, you didnt overpay).

My question is, if you sell it for that amount, your only breaking even, so whats the point?
 
Shipping is on you and should have no factor in the price of the game... sunk cost. Repairs maybe depending on what you did to it, meaning did you get it cheap and not working or wasit working when you bought it, big price difference...
 
You will rarely ever make a much of a profit off any game you restore.<Insert typical "I'm in it for the enjoyment,etc" comment here>:p

Seriously though,to be able to restore a game and sell it to someone who will appreciate and cherish it for years to come...that is indeed priceless.
 
I figure my time at 50 an hour when fixing something and 25 an hour when driving to get something. So when I drive to saint louis to pick up a game... should I add 200 to the price I think its worth... Heck No. I chose to drive it. I have picked up games for other because I have the summer off. I charge them 25 an hour + actual gas and 10 bucks for lunch. In addition to that I scan craigslist before I go:D

He is on the chronic...The game is worth what it is worth...

But repairs are worth something...Never underestimate the value of a nice monitor. Add 50 to 75 to the average price for that.

Nice cabinets and parts are a bonus... but if YOU can't appreciate the value such as travel time... what difference does it make? He could have picked it up 10 minutes away or from Europe... That makes no difference in the cost of the item.

What game is it and what is the condition? I want to know how much this guy is asking and what the game is ?
 
In the mid 90s when I got in to the hobby, I always thought in terms of I can buy this for X and sell it for Y. Today I just consider it money gone once spent. Much easier that way...
 
In the few games I have sold I have never considered shipping in the price. In fact I think I have only shipped one game. As far as what I put into the game as others have stated you will never get the full price for all the time put in. I look at what the average price is, and lately it has gone down the shitter. I simply try to get a fair price for it, but I also try to be realistic. Good luck.
 
I always start out thinking that I want to break even selling the game, but I don't always have the patience. when I decide to sell a game, it is because I need either immediate money or immediate space. That doesn't put me in a position to get top dollar, or even close sometimes. I paid $75 to ship my Tempest, and I usually add that to the cost of the machine in my head, but I wouldn't think that a seller would care about that.

I am going to drive 900 miles round trip to pick up a couple of games pretty soon, and I am not going to count that towards the cost of the games. That will be my longest game pickup trip so far though.
 
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