Where do you find games?

oh i forgot to say ... the easiest way to get games is to steal them and murder the (previous) owners

......sensei......

EDIT: and my answer to the original question is: I don't have to look. Dey already e'rywhere. :O
 
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guys ... don't just sell someone an arcade game ... give them the gift of a special memory ...

jef4.jpg


Don't forget to leave a body part in a game you sell so someone will have a funny story to tell on KLOV
 
Where do I find games? They find me. They sense I have free space and they just show up.
Whittier had zero games. It was empty empty empty the day before yesterday.
Today there are 4 arcade machines there laughs.

I suspect more will be showing up soon.
 
Working it into general conversations with people helps too. I once got a golden tee from a dumpster for free because one of my customers knew I was into games. I also got an Elektra pinball, Outrun and Galaga for $400 total because my wife mentioned to a game store clerk I was a collector.

This happened to me at a church flea market..
I helped one of the nuns adjust a lawnmower she had for sale so it would be easier to sell (running) and mentioned arcade machines,, she told me she had a pinball machine
in the basement.. a gorgar lol.
wtf is a gorgar doing in a nuns basement?
 
Where do I find games? They find me. They sense I have free space and they just show up.
Whittier had zero games. It was empty empty empty the day before yesterday.
Today there are 4 arcade machines there laughs.

I suspect more will be showing up soon.

This can happen in a 24 hour span. I had to bring 3 machines to the back burner room (my second storage) before i shot this video . its a JAM-boree.
https://youtu.be/ZNj0TDCzN_U

And i have 5 more machines coming by this weekend.
 
The people who have a hard time finding or buying games these days normally its because they think everything should be priced like 10 years ago...

I won't pay more than 200 for a game and I have no issues finding games. This was pretty much my rule in the 90s also.
 
Networking is key.

Don't be afraid to mention the hobby when you meet new people. Some people might think it strange (f--- them), but a bunch will find it cool. Better yet, some will know of machines that have been in basements, garages, storerooms, etc. of friends and family and will gladly offer that information up. Found my Funhouse, Swords of Fury, and just last week my Tapper (the one I used to play on location!!) that way. Also got in to a few operator stashes like that as well. Never hurts to mention it to people.

Get to know the collectors in your area. The cool ones will give you a heads up if they see a machine they know you are looking for. The ones that become your friends will put up the money to get that machine for you and bring it to their house.

On the subject of operator hordes/stashes/warehouses, they're still out there. At least around here. Obviously not as many as there were 5/10/15/20 years ago, but some second and third generation ops are still sitting on a bunch of stock. It's out there.

This is huge. Let everyone know. You have to be serious about it. Have cash on hand and be willing to take a game on a moments notice. If you don't have a vehicle to transport it have an emergency plan. You really never know when the next one is around the corner. You don't know what your neighbor has unless you have been in his house and saw that he/she has no games. The guy down the street might be moving and looking to unload a cabinet (I just heard this one from a very seasoned collector, he got a game for free, had no idea the guy down the street had a cabinet).

You don't know who knows the local OP, if there is one, you may be able to connect with them easier than you think, they might be looking to get rid of something for a good price. If you get invited into a warehouse try not to freak out too much, it can be overwhelming, you gotta stay calm and hold it back then you can go home and freak out. If you meet an OP you gotta be prepared, cash in hand as someone else said and make it quick, its all business and these guys don't like to be bothered most of the time. Even if the prices are too much you can decline and bow out, but its always worth a try.

You may think the hobby is dead as soon as you think its dead something comes up, I haven't added one console game to my collection of console games in years due to rising prices and my town being invaded with fleamarket resellers that somewhat recently got displaced due to a flea market nearby closing, then I went to a garage sale and someone handed me a whole box of games and consoles for free simply because they did not want it. I also found a pile of dreamcast games for 50 cents each at another sale 5 min before the box of free stuff happened. This is after 3-4 years of nothing. The same week an arcade game showed up for sale in my town, and it was something I had no idea someone over here would even think about owning.. You just never know.

When someone has to get rid of a large amount of something or something that is very big it becomes a problem, it may have value to you but it has no value to the owner other than the fact that its taking up space.. communicating and networking is key. If you have a good local group behind you then that makes it even better. Don't forget to help out someone else if their holy grail comes up and you know about it. If you find the local guys are a group of idiots, just fly solo, but you gotta try to make friends with the locals before you assume this. Even if its a big group of idiots you can usually pick a couple people of the bunch that are cool. This happens in every single hobby, and I can think of much worse than here. You can make friends in other places in the USA and they can still help you out if this is the case.

Sara
 
This thread, minus a knuckle head or two, has really good advice. Maybe it'll help me see more in the state, since random searches don't pull anything but the overpriced multi game crazies. Thanks!
 
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This thread, minus a knuckle head or two, has really good advice. Maybe it'll help me see more in the state, since random searches don't pull anything but the overpriced multi lard crazies. Thanks!

Yeah, another tip I heard a long time ago from someone was to find a phone book from the 1980's for the area you are looking to buy a game in (a local library might have one) and look up the operators in it and see if any are still around, if they are around find them and see if they have any old games they are looking to get rid of. A bit of grass roots hunting.. If you can find someone from back in the day maybe have them direct you to someone who might have games for sale if they don't have any. Sure the stash might be picked over but you also might get lucky, its worth a try.

The random searches don't do much, neither does craigslist unless you can be faster than the next guy. there's also a lot of information out there, if you can get some names and numbers then you can take that a long way these days.
 
Yeah, another tip I heard a long time ago from someone was to find a phone book from the 1980's for the area you are looking to buy a game in (a local library might have one) and look up the operators in it and see if any are still around, if they are around find them and see if they have any old games they are looking to get rid of. A bit of grass roots hunting.. If you can find someone from back in the day maybe have them direct you to someone who might have games for sale if they don't have any. Sure the stash might be picked over but you also might get lucky, its worth a try.

The random searches don't do much, neither does craigslist unless you can be faster than the next guy. there's also a lot of information out there, if you can get some names and numbers then you can take that a long way these days.

This is good advice. I saw a Mortal Kombat in a diner with an operator tag on it. I called them and asked if they had any machines they wanted to get rid of. I got a (non-working) Galaga for $100.
 
Is there an ignore option on klov? Man would like love to mute or ignore certain people automatically. Would be great if their posts didnt even show if you put them on ignore.

thegleek christened my ignore list here on klov. I quickly bored of him on the Fluke 9010 club thread.
 
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