View Full Version : Ms Pac Man?
GOLDEN KEYS
08-13-2009, 11:00 PM
So, maybe this should go in the "What's it worth?" forum but I wanted to get responses from the arcade enthusiasts on this site.
My favorite arcade game is Ms Pac Man and I've been trying to track an actual machine down for awhile, now. They come and go on my local craigslist pretty frequently and right now there are two up. One is $600 and the other is $750. I emailed the $750 guy right away and asked if he would do $350 and got no response. A week later I ask if he can do $500 and he says sure. The machine looks great and has the authentic paint job, inserts, marquee, etc.
I haven't contacted the other guy yet because they didn't list an email address, just a number.
Do you guys think $500 is over priced? I never see them cheaper than that. This would be my second arcade unit... the first being a Ninja Gaiden machine that was just left at my house when I moved in.
MachineGex
08-13-2009, 11:05 PM
If you offered $500, I think you should do it. If its in good shape, get it. On a bigger note, I think you should only do offers if you are going to 100% follow through.
GOLDEN KEYS
08-13-2009, 11:13 PM
If you offered $500, I think you should do it. If its in good shape, get it. On a bigger note, I think you should only do offers if you are going to 100% follow through.
oh, don't get all high and mighty now... i didn't necessarily say anything to the effect of "I'VE GOT $500 CASH NOW IF YOU'LL SELL IT".
i just asked if he'd consider it.
considering the fact that he ignored my last email and offer, i didn't even expect a response.
but yeah, there is a very good chance i'm going to buy it.
GOLDEN KEYS
08-13-2009, 11:17 PM
oh, maybe this part threw you off...
I emailed the $750 guy right away and asked if he would do $350 and got no response. A week later I ask if he can do $500 and he says sure.
when i say a week later, i mean i emailed him yesterday and he replied and said "sure" today. it's not like i asked him about this a month ago and then just ignored him.
Well if it is in good shape, and is local, I would say go for it. Back in my earlier teenage years, I really wanted to buy an arcade machine but the ones I wanted were always $3-400 and then several hundred shipping costs, so just remember that it is a lot cheaper than if you tried to get it shipped.
GOLDEN KEYS
08-13-2009, 11:23 PM
Well if it is in good shape, and is local, I would say go for it. Back in my earlier teenage years, I really wanted to buy an arcade machine but the ones I wanted were always $3-400 and then several hundred shipping costs, so just remember that it is a lot cheaper than if you tried to get it shipped.
yeah, that is why i want to buy now while there are a couple available locally. $500 seems pretty fair but at the same time the one thing that would deter me from buying would be the condition... i think it's understood when dealing via cragislist that no offer is 100% until the item is verified to be in the condition as described in the listing.
MachineGex
08-13-2009, 11:48 PM
You did state you offered $500, just replying to your post. Sorry if it wasn't what you wanted to hear. I did say if it was in good shape, get it. If you are getting it to play, you can't loose. You will get your money out of it. If you are getting it to resale and make a quick buck, now isnt the best time to do this.
GOLDEN KEYS
08-14-2009, 01:10 AM
You did state you offered $500, just replying to your post. Sorry if it wasn't what you wanted to hear. I did say if it was in good shape, get it. If you are getting it to play, you can't loose. You will get your money out of it. If you are getting it to resale and make a quick buck, now isnt the best time to do this.
haha, are you serious?
first of all, as i stated, NO OFFER on craigslist is 100% until the two parties meet and the condition of the item is verified to be as described in the ad. are you telling me if i ask a guy if he'd take $2500 instead of $3000 on his '95 toyota corolla via email, i'm obligated to buy the car no matter if i find it to be a total piece of broken down shit when i go to see it? you'd have to be a total idiot to follow that logic.
as far as me buying it to "resale and make a quick buck"... i mean, seriously... did you even read the first post where i said ms pac man is my favorite arcade game???
ms pac man is my favorite arcade game???
Oh I got to play one of these at the rental place that I am staying at tonight...too bad I always suck badly at this game.
But yeah, if the condition is good and this is your favourite arcade game and you have the money (and aren't planning to move to a different flat soon...), then I think its good to act now.
Flack
08-14-2009, 02:24 AM
Ms. Pac-Man is one of those "top tier" games that seem to hold its value no matter what. Centipede, Donkey Kong, Dig Dug ... all those early classics are worth a good chunk of change, but Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga are constantly up there in price. Both have dropped a little with the proliferation of 48-in-1's, but $500 is still a good deal for a Ms. Pac, especially if the cabinet and monitor are in good condition. At auctions I still see Ms. Pacs go for anywhere from $400-$800.
GOLDEN KEYS
08-14-2009, 03:20 AM
Oh I got to play one of these at the rental place that I am staying at tonight...too bad I always suck badly at this game.
But yeah, if the condition is good and this is your favourite arcade game and you have the money (and aren't planning to move to a different flat soon...), then I think its good to act now.
haha, yeah... ms pac man is apparently a lot of peoples favorite arcade game. i find them in restaurants a lot. last week i was playing one at a pizza hut and then a few weeks before i was playing one at a local burger place called "lennys".
TheDomesticInstitution
08-14-2009, 06:31 AM
Expect to wait a while if you want to find one under $500. Like others have said, I'd pay that for it if it's complete, working, and in decent shape.
MachineGex
08-14-2009, 08:29 AM
Listen ass....I never said if the game is in shitty condition you have to buy it. I was saying if you offer something, you should be prepared to go through(obviouly if it is a pile of shit you arent going to buy).
You sounded like you were second guessing your offer, and I am not for people wasting time making offers and then backing out. You sounded like you were doing that, in your first post. If you werent, fine, but dont get all pissy at me for calling it like YOU posted it.
Flack
08-14-2009, 10:14 AM
I don't know exactly where this went wrong, but let's drop it.
GOLDEN KEYS
08-14-2009, 03:06 PM
(I already ended this, don't restart it. -Flack)
InsaneDavid
08-14-2009, 04:06 PM
LOL Man, this is why I quit listing big things like arcade cabinets on craigslist. I'd end up just waiting until we had a yard sale (or someone close did) and just wheel the large item to the curb. Much less back and forth.
As has been said, $500 for a working, good condition, original classic era cabinet is a good price. Common as they may be, the Pac-Mans, Galagas, Defenders, etc. hold their value because they're the games and machines that the majority of people have connections to. Heck, they still make money on route, which is why a lot of them (in anniversary configurations) are still produced.
Howie6925
08-14-2009, 06:44 PM
So are you or did you buy it??
GOLDEN KEYS
08-15-2009, 02:04 AM
So are you or did you buy it??
i haven't bought it yet but am setting up a time to look it over. i'll post pictures if i end up getting it. 8-)
Videogamerdaryll
08-16-2009, 02:30 PM
i haven't bought it yet but am setting up a time to look it over. i'll post pictures if i end up getting it. 8-)
Good luck.I'm looking forward to seeing the pics if you get it..
I bought my Ms Pac cocktial at a flea market for $250.00 it needed work but it works perfectly now.
My brother has a fully restored standup Ms Pac that before restoration he was selling(almost sold) for $500.00..
Now it looks brand new..
Sadly,many years ago I could of snagged a good condition(dead Monitor) stand Up Ms Pac Man machine for $25.00 out of a closing arcade..but I had no way to get it and no where to put it at the time..
Mine
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v21/Chris1/Misc%20Pictures/th_Fleaspt2607.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v21/Chris1/Misc%20Pictures/?action=view¤t=e2b3b0f4.pbw)
GOLDEN KEYS
08-18-2009, 11:34 PM
Good luck.I'm looking forward to seeing the pics if you get it..
I bought my Ms Pac cocktial at a flea market for $250.00 it needed work but it works perfectly now.
My brother has a fully restored standup Ms Pac that before restoration he was selling(almost sold) for $500.00..
Now it looks brand new..
Sadly,many years ago I could of snagged a good condition(dead Monitor) stand Up Ms Pac Man machine for $25.00 out of a closing arcade..but I had no way to get it and no where to put it at the time..
Mine
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v21/Chris1/Misc%20Pictures/th_Fleaspt2607.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v21/Chris1/Misc%20Pictures/?action=view¤t=e2b3b0f4.pbw)
very nice sit down machine and a sweet deal, too!
the guy emailed me back today... it will be a couple weeks before i can go see it but as long as it's working and isn't beat up or anything i'm going to buy. he only posted one picture of it(camera phone quality) and plus it's all scaled down because of craigslist. it looks good and definitely all original from what i can see... maybe i can get him to send me some more pictures.
Videogamerdaryll
08-24-2009, 04:03 PM
very nice sit down machine and a sweet deal, too!
the guy emailed me back today... it will be a couple weeks before i can go see it but as long as it's working and isn't beat up or anything i'm going to buy. he only posted one picture of it(camera phone quality) and plus it's all scaled down because of craigslist. it looks good and definitely all original from what i can see... maybe i can get him to send me some more pictures.
Thank You..
Here's how it looks in my Kitchen...after the move
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v21/Chris1/TSMMR/SLOTS027.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v21/Chris1/TSMMR/th_SLOTS012.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v21/Chris1/TSMMR/?action=view¤t=9d4e1cab.pbw)
I'm looking forward to hearing that you got the machine and pics.
GOLDEN KEYS
09-03-2009, 12:56 AM
so, we're set to meet up on september 14... that's my birthday and i thought that would be a great present for myself \\^_^/
as long as the machine is in good working order and isn't banged up i'm getting it but i'm a little nervous after how this guy has been acting...
first off, he listed his add as a private seller and he said he was only getting rid of the game because he was moving out of his house. after perusing craigslist further, i find he has another listing advertising a store he owns. he has a business restoring and selling old arcade cabinets. i emailed him and he confirmed the ms. pac man would be coming from his store. i don't care where the game comes from, why not just be honest about that in the first place? :?
also, he won't give me ANY details about the machine but from the pictures i can tell he has multiple ms. pac mans in his store so hopefully i can choose which one i want. every time i ask for details he'll either ignore that particular email or he'll just respond to everything else in the email except for those questions.
at least i'll know where to find him if i have a problem with it. if everything goes smooth, i'll have a new resource for adding to my arcade collection.
i think it will probably work out fine and i'm excited to bring the game home. there have just been a couple red flags...
8bitnintendogames
09-03-2009, 01:36 AM
I would say $500 is on the average right now, sounds like there isn't a lot for buyers to choose from out your way... as long as it works and the screen isn't too badly burned, I would say do it as long as you plan on keeping it, which it sounds like you are...
GOLDEN KEYS
09-03-2009, 01:57 AM
yeah, i know it's not a great deal or anything but i think it's a fair deal.
that was one of the questions i asked, about burn in, and didn't get a response.
GOLDEN KEYS
12-12-2009, 05:37 PM
It is finally here!!
So, the guy stopped communicating with me back in September and we never met up. I assumed he changed his mind and decided he didn't want to sell it for that low. I've been keeping an eye on craigslist the last couple months to see if anything else comes up.
This past week I see a Ms. Pac-Man on craigslist being sold for $250 and immediately email the guy and ask for info on the machine. No response. A couple days later I send an email saying I have cash in hand and want to buy. He replies and guess what... it's the same guy from before.
Today I go down to his store and was blown away. There were at least 50 arcade games, some pinball machines and some slot machines. They also build the classics like Ms. Pac and Galaga from the ground up and sell them for $1500. They seriously look brand new, too. He did have a few other older Ms. Pacs too... I'm assuming the $500 one was in there somewhere.
Anyway, I paid for the machine and got it home a few hours ago. The front artwork was replaced, the right side artwork is rubbed off for the most part and the left side artwork looks pretty good, though several minor scratches. The overlays for the controls are pretty torn up and the overlays for the screen could use a replacement as well, though not as bad. The screen is beautiful and there is no burn in or anything, it looks new, as does the marquee. The marquee and the coin slots light up fine. There is no speed up chip which is okay but I do like having the option of using it, since I have never seen a Ms. Pac-Man without one in the wild and would enjoy being able to use it occasionally for practice.
I think that's about it. I will post pics or maybe even a video soon. Also, one question. Does anyone know if there is a power switch on this machine? My Defender cabinet has one, but the guy at the place was just plugging it and unplugging to turn it on and off and I didn't think to ask then. It doesn't seem good for it to do that...
TheDomesticInstitution
12-12-2009, 06:00 PM
As far as I know most machines place them on the top of the cab near the back. If there is a circular hole in the top anywhere, then it was removed or moved to another area.
Ed Oscuro
12-12-2009, 06:00 PM
$250 then? Good job. I don't mean to crap on the other posters in this thread; pricing "golden era" games isn't my strong point but I felt that $500 was pushing it unless it was close to straight outta a shipping container condition.
GOLDEN KEYS
12-12-2009, 06:14 PM
As far as I know most machines place them on the top of the cab near the back. If there is a circular hole in the top anywhere, then it was removed or moved to another area.
good call, you are totally right. haha, that was the only place i didn't look. my defender cab has the switch underneath the joystick panel/button panel.
GOLDEN KEYS
12-12-2009, 07:00 PM
$250 then? Good job. I don't mean to crap on the other posters in this thread; pricing "golden era" games isn't my strong point but I felt that $500 was pushing it unless it was close to straight outta a shipping container condition.
really? they had a nice looking mario bros cabinet there for $500. i might have to return for that one... i've never seen one come up on craigslist.
also, i'm going to be playing this a lot and i was wondering if it would be better to just leave the machine on for 5-6 hours a day so i can come and go as i want or to power it on and off for every session (probably 3-4 times a day).
Ed Oscuro
12-12-2009, 10:24 PM
Part of my problem, I guess, is that cabinets don't really turn me on so you probably could discount anything I say. With the old games you're often stuck buying the whole cabinet, but $250 or $500 for any game is really steep, from the standpoint of the game and not all the little aesthetic points around it. $250 is getting close to my most expensive PCBs.