Is there any money to be made in refurbing consoles? Mostly to support my hobby.

[SuperSonic]

Been buying console/game lots and refurbishing the system keeping the games selling the system. Now I am looking at buying some lots of systems to refurb and sell. Most of them come with no av or power supplies. Mostly I am just curious if any of you are currently refurbishing and reselling. If you have any tips.

I am also somewhat concerned that after I polish the connector pins the person who buys it has problems a month later. Probably from using dirty carts but still.

[needler420]

A lot of people restore consoles to resell. It's getting more and more competitive. Everyday I see on craigslist new people getting into console repairs and mod services.

I don't depend on it as a main source of income but it helps with growing my collection.

[SuperSonic]

A lot of people restore consoles to resell. It's getting more and more competitive. Everyday I see on craigslist new people getting into console repairs and mod services.

I don't depend on it as a main source of income but it helps with growing my collection.

Do you only buy a console if it comes with a lot of games you want?

[needler420]

Do you only buy a console if it comes with a lot of games you want?

No. It also depends on the price.

Just last week I got a N64 with just a power cord for $6 bucks. The reset button was jammed down but I fixed it in like two minutes.


I don't try to sell until I accumulate a lot. IMO it's not worth the effort trying to sell a few things at a time for a nickel and dime profit.

Just have to decide on what is and isn't worth it for you good luck.

[JakeM]

Itd be all about how much time and money you spend on each console and who youre able to sell it to. Id say you should seek out people who need repairs for their systems and have a good rate in mind already when they ask how much itll be, and see how much time their project would use up, then negotiate. Treat it like a business that maybe you could become a real pro at, never know right?

Maybe you should ask Luke Morse how much he charges for stuff or check out his channel? Hes just a repairer I like to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/user/lukemorse1

[SuperSonic]

Itd be all about how much time and money you spend on each console and who youre able to sell it to. Id say you should seek out people who need repairs for their systems and have a good rate in mind already when they ask how much itll be, and see how much time their project would use up, then negotiate. Treat it like a business that maybe you could become a real pro at, never know right?

Maybe you should ask Luke Morse how much he charges for stuff or check out his channel? Hes just a repairer I like to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/user/lukemorse1

I have watched that guys channel before he is really cool. He lives in japan too. There is this other guys channel I watch he is Australian I believe. Not sure how some of these guys find these deals but he bought two broken AES systems for 20 dollars and repaired them for pretty much nothing. This was off of ebay too.. I never find broken ebay stuff for that cheap. Another thing he was doing was picking up broken 3ds repairing them and trading them for store credit at gamestop lol.

Wow never mind I just won a lot of SNES Mini and SNES regular for 30 dollars shipped.. Thats a pretty good deal Id say if its a quick fix. The mini should net me 60 and prob a quick 45 for the SNES.

[Polygon]

If you're simply talking about repair and refurbishing old consoles, then I'd say no. Using Luke as an example, he has a day job and doesn't fix these things for a living, just a hobby.

[SuperSonic]

If you're simply talking about repair and refurbishing old consoles, then I'd say no. Using Luke as an example, he has a day job and doesn't fix these things for a living, just a hobby.

And I am guessing the money from current gen repair is going to shrink due to the fact the next gen is coming out in like 5 months.

[otaku]

I should get back into this as well, actually I never really did consoles unless selling my own but I did find hard to find and import games for people to make some money when the economy did well that and selling the games when done with them helped me afford to play things I otherwise couldn't have but sadly I've never done well enough to actually keep collections. Around here in cali there are many people who will buy and restore lets say 50 xboxes and then sell them I don't have the knowledge yet or I might try it

[wiggyx]

No. It also depends on the price.

Just last week I got a N64 with just a power cord for $6 bucks. The reset button was jammed down but I fixed it in like two minutes.




I recently got a N64 from a flea market for $6 dollars with the power cord. The reset button was jammed down and I didn't realize it in till driving home.

It took me like twenty minutes to get a cast good enough to take out the first 2 screws then my cast got messed up. I made another cast which came out much better and got the remaining four security bits out in about five to ten minutes.


.....

[SuperSonic]

.....


I just drill them out O.o if the security bit doesn't work.

[needler420]

I just drill them out O.o

That remark was directed at me. He likes to call me out every time I'm wrong. So I said it took twenty minutes the first time and mistakenly said two minutes in this post. It was more around 30 minutes to fully fix the console.

[ApolloBoy]

I just drill them out O.o if the security bit doesn't work.
Drilling them out is one of the worst things you can do. Why not just spend a few bucks on proper security bits?

[SuperSonic]

Drilling them out is one of the worst things you can do. Why not just spend a few bucks on proper security bits?

I have proper bits.. Sometimes the screws rust out or have been stripped by someone trying to open it without a bit.

[sloan]

Unless you have an endless source for $5-$10 consoles, this is not the business for you. The margins just are too nominal to make it worth the while. For instance, if you have to drive all over to thrifts and fleas looking for old consoles, then you have lots in gas and vehicle expenses. I have thought about this business, and without a store front in a busy shopping district, you will have no viable means of keeping the money supply replenished. As has already been said, if you are looking for some extra spending cash, then maybe, but do not quit your day job.

[SuperSonic]

Unless you have an endless source for $5-$10 consoles, this is not the business for you. The margins just are too nominal to make it worth the while. For instance, if you have to drive all over to thrifts and fleas looking for old consoles, then you have lots in gas and vehicle expenses. I have thought about this business, and without a store front in a busy shopping district, you will have no viable means of keeping the money supply replenished. As has already been said, if you are looking for some extra spending cash, then maybe, but do not quit your day job.


I agree. The thing is with a store front no one wants to pay 60 bucks for a NES which is what they seem to sell for at retro stores. Ebay lots usually don't have NESs cheaper than 20 dollars each for parts but if you simply have to clean them to get them working again. Sell them for 40 isn't bad. Guess you would have to refurb a ton to be able to live tho lol

[wiggyx]

Unless you have an endless source for $5-$10 consoles, this is not the business for you. The margins just are too nominal to make it worth the while. For instance, if you have to drive all over to thrifts and fleas looking for old consoles, then you have lots in gas and vehicle expenses. I have thought about this business, and without a store front in a busy shopping district, you will have no viable means of keeping the money supply replenished. As has already been said, if you are looking for some extra spending cash, then maybe, but do not quit your day job.

There are a LOT of ebay sellers that sell large lots of broken consoles. To be honest, that's where I get a LARGE chunk of the GBAs that I restore and modify.

[SuperSonic]

There are a LOT of ebay sellers that sell large lots of broken consoles. To be honest, that's where I get a LARGE chunk of the GBAs that I restore and modify.

I think about buying lots like this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUPER-NINTENDO-SNES-LOT-OF-3-CONSOLES-AS-IS-BROKEN-FAST-FREE-SHIP-/281118149484?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4173f28b6c


Or bigger that is cheaper per unit but I notice a good portion of them are from used game stores. Makes me think they already tried the quick fixes and are just passing the big problems onto you. At the same time I hear game stores will buy consoles that don't look good enough to sell in store and ebay them for some money.

[wiggyx]

I think about buying lots like this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUPER-NINTENDO-SNES-LOT-OF-3-CONSOLES-AS-IS-BROKEN-FAST-FREE-SHIP-/281118149484?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4173f28b6c


Or bigger that is cheaper per unit but I notice a good portion of them are from used game stores. Makes me think they already tried the quick fixes and are just passing the big problems onto you. At the same time I hear game stores will buy consoles that don't look good enough to sell in store and ebay them for some money.

Yes, your suspicions are totally warranted.

I typically buy from Japan and have far more luck with "broken" units simply being dirty or just needing a little TLC here and there. Of course US and JP GBAs are identical, so it doesn't matter at all that I'm buying JP units. You've got a different set of concerns with the SNES and SFC :/

This lot came about a week ago, and there are only about 2-3 (of 50) that will end up in the scrap parts bin. The rest are completely salvageable.

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k99/wiggyx/null_zps59af8cc9.jpg~original

[SuperSonic]

Yes, your suspicions are totally warranted.

I typically buy from Japan and have far more luck with "broken" units simply being dirty or just needing a little TLC here and there. Of course US and JP GBAs are identical, so it doesn't matter at all that I'm buying JP units. You've got a different set of concerns with the SNES and SFC :/

This lot came about a week ago, and there are only about 2-3 (of 50) that will end up in the scrap parts bin. The rest are completely salvageable.

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k99/wiggyx/null_zps59af8cc9.jpg~original

The biggest problem with the with the SNES/SFC is the pins being wore out. The replacement part is 20 dollars so by the time you pay 10-20 dollars for the SNES and 20 dollars for the part its not even worth it.

[Jorpho]

I reckon a standard part-time minimum wage job might get you just as much money for your time in the end.

[SuperSonic]

I reckon a standard part-time minimum wage job might get you just as much money for your time in the end.

Yeah but then I would hate myself.

[Polygon]

I think about buying lots like this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUPER-NINTENDO-SNES-LOT-OF-3-CONSOLES-AS-IS-BROKEN-FAST-FREE-SHIP-/281118149484?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4173f28b6c


Or bigger that is cheaper per unit but I notice a good portion of them are from used game stores. Makes me think they already tried the quick fixes and are just passing the big problems onto you. At the same time I hear game stores will buy consoles that don't look good enough to sell in store and ebay them for some money.

That price sucks. I would never pay that for three "as is" consoles.

[SuperSonic]

That price sucks. I would never pay that for three "as is" consoles.

Please lend me your time machine so I can come back with a haul of 5 dollar SNESs

[Polygon]

Please lend me your time machine so I can come back with a haul of 5 dollar SNESs

No need to get snarky, but since when are three broken consoles in crap cosmetic condition worth $60? Keep paying those outrageous prices and they will keep charging them. I refuse to be price gouged like that, and so should you. I recently got a working SNES mini on eBay for $20. So, you can get them for a reasonable price. That price is not reasonable. But it's your money.

[SuperSonic]

No need to get snarky, but since when are three broken consoles in crap cosmetic condition worth $60? Keep paying those outrageous prices and they will keep charging them. I refuse to be price gouged like that, and so should you. I recently got a working SNES mini on eBay for $20. So, you can get them for a reasonable price. That price is not reasonable. But it's your money.


I just got a working SNES mini for 20 on ebay too.. Its rare tho and if you look at the what it sold for price you will see a good amount of them go for 50.00 +

I don't even see old NES untested/broken at flea markets for less than 20.00.. You might have a chance of getting one for 10 at a thrift store or garage sale if its broken for 10.00 but thats it.

[wiggyx]

The biggest problem with the with the SNES/SFC is the pins being wore out. The replacement part is 20 dollars so by the time you pay 10-20 dollars for the SNES and 20 dollars for the part its not even worth it.

I've got abotu 2 dozen SNES units and worn out cart ports isn't a problem on ANY of them. I've never heard of this as an issue with the SNES :/


That price sucks. I would never pay that for three "as is" consoles.

2nd.

I recommend being patient, and keep hunting.

[Polygon]

I just got a working SNES mini for 20 on ebay too.. Its rare tho and if you look at the what it sold for price you will see a good amount of them go for 50.00 +

I don't even see old NES untested/broken at flea markets for less than 20.00.. You might have a chance of getting one for 10 at a thrift store or garage sale if its broken for 10.00 but thats it.

Sure, but those are working. However, I still won't pay that. They're not worth that. Like I said, it's your money. Just realize that if you bought those three there would be no profit in it for you. Like I said, it's your money. I agree with Wiggy, be patient. Don't support these gougers.

[PapaStu]

Of course you can make a profit on refurbishing consoles. The catch is always going to be investment vs. return. Selling stuff can be quite expensive now-a-days. Moving items on eBay? Don't forget those final value fees. Paid via PayPal? There's a fee for that as well. Oh, we've not even gotten to the time and material costs that you're going to have for refurbishing the consoles? Whoopsie! Something not selling quickly? There is capital tied up in that item that you can't use to acquire additional items. To make out like this, you've got to rely on volume and have a cheap source that doesn't require much of a time investment from you to get the items. If you're having to scour CL or eBay all the time to hopefully find the deals, then wait for the auction to end and get mailed to you, or wait for email replies and get to a place to pick it up, that is very time intensive and if you're not netting a bunch of units at once, it's not really worth it return wise.

Sure you can go to a Craigslist type operation and sell for cash, but how much more of your time will you have to invest in going out to the local Target to do the swap in the parking lot?

I've been dabbling in some game sales on Amazon the last few months, purely for fun. I'm only grabbing items in a retail type outlet (so a place like Halfpriced Books or GameStop), for a few reasons. First because I do not have the time to scour eBay or CL hoping to be the first to snag a deal, and i'm only getting items that I can flip for a good return after Amazon fees. I could buy everything I find that's cheap at those kinds of places, or everything cheap on craigslist (no one knows about that place for game deals), but my time is valuable. I am not going to be scouring and burning hours of time emailing, meeting up to get a bunch of games that I will either have to bundle to sell, or only make a few bucks per on.

Has this method worked for me? Sure. I've got a 70% profit over investment right now, and that's factoring in amazon fees and the costs of items listed, but not yet sold. How much cash is that extra in my pocket? ~700 bucks. I've bought and listed 79 items and sold about 50. But 700 bucks spread over 3 months? That's just enough extra $$ to pay for some games and a night or two out to the movies a month. I've got a friend who also does it part time, but he does it on a much larger scale, selling CD's, DVD's and all kinds of stuff. He is making a few k a month post fees, but is also moving WAY more stuff than I am. 500+ items listed on amazon for him at any given time. End result, dabble/fun money for me, ok money for him because he scaled it WAY up.

[StoneAgeGamer]

In my personal opinion unless you are able to quickly fix broken consoles that you get for cheap or get them for practically free there is not a lot of money in it. Most people are not willing to pay the extra cost for a system that has been cleaned and restored. Time is money and cleaning systems takes a lot of time, some more than others. You have to look at your time and decide how much you feel is a fair price to get paid hourly for your work. Most people don't think of it this way. They think "Well I bought a N64 for $5, put an hour or 2 into cleaning it and sell it for $20. I just made $15!" Well, kind of. If it took you 1.5 hours to clean it up you basically made $10/hr. This is not even counting the time you spent going to flea markets, garage sales, scouring eBay, forums, etc. for cheap systems you can refurbish. For a teenager or younger person they may not be bad, but for someone with a family, mortgage, etc. this is really (pardon the expression) chump change.

Honestly IMO you need to offer something more like Rose Colored Gaming and other sites that do custom painting and color schemes where the customer is actually getting something somewhat unique or custom.

[SuperSonic]

I've got abotu 2 dozen SNES units and worn out cart ports isn't a problem on ANY of them. I've never heard of this as an issue with the SNES :/



2nd.

I recommend being patient, and keep hunting.

I have an SNES that I can't get to read carts no matter how much I clean it. I have read that after tons of use the pins don't hold the cart as tight anymore so they don't make a good connection. I hear you can bend the pins to make it grip the cart tight again but then again I read that you shouldn't do this.

[Polygon]

I have an SNES that I can't get to read carts no matter how much I clean it. I have read that after tons of use the pins don't hold the cart as tight anymore so they don't make a good connection. I hear you can bend the pins to make it grip the cart tight again but then again I read that you shouldn't do this.

What was the reason given? I've never seen an SNES that needed to have the pins bent out, like on a toaster NES. You would know if it was loose. Carts would slide in and out with very little effort. Have you examined the inside?

[plasticMan]

buy low and sell high, that's my model and don't try to make a career out of it, but run your store front like a real business in case it takes off.
other than that i would say if it's a real passion then the money won't matter any way. i do it so much most of the time because of my love for it, i don't mind what the client pays. ;) if i consider payment. hehe
i've learned so many tricks over the years, and fixed so many consoles. i do know, as someone already mentioned, the right tool or right tools are highly necessary and stand clear of anyone giving you advice that still uses a pen mold to open consoles and carts. that's something you definitely don't fall into or copy.
also for jammed or stripped console/cartridge screws - use wd40 and a screw extractor, works almost all the time.

[SuperSonic]

Well, I got the screw out

6833


Its an older model with removable pins but I still can't get it to do anything but a black screen :C

[Jorpho]

Is restoration of discolored plastic using retr0bright a common practice these days?

[SuperSonic]

Is restoration of discolored plastic using retr0bright a common practice these days?

Seems that it is... You don't even have to make the stuff go to the dollar store and buy huge bottles of peroxide for a dollar each.

[wiggyx]

In my personal opinion unless you are able to quickly fix broken consoles that you get for cheap or get them for practically free there is not a lot of money in it. Most people are not willing to pay the extra cost for a system that has been cleaned and restored. Time is money and cleaning systems takes a lot of time, some more than others. You have to look at your time and decide how much you feel is a fair price to get paid hourly for your work. Most people don't think of it this way. They think "Well I bought a N64 for $5, put an hour or 2 into cleaning it and sell it for $20. I just made $15!" Well, kind of. If it took you 1.5 hours to clean it up you basically made $10/hr. This is not even counting the time you spent going to flea markets, garage sales, scouring eBay, forums, etc. for cheap systems you can refurbish. For a teenager or younger person they may not be bad, but for someone with a family, mortgage, etc. this is really (pardon the expression) chump change.

Honestly IMO you need to offer something more like Rose Colored Gaming and other sites that do custom painting and color schemes where the customer is actually getting something somewhat unique or custom.

Saying I agree would be sorta obvious, but it's true. I wouldn't dream of selling JUST refurbished consoles. It takes too much time and the return just isn't worth it IMO.

For instance, I typically buy my GBAs in bulk at roughly $5 a pop in lots of 50 or more. They all need some effort and time in order to make work perfectly, and even then, there are still occasional duds.

But that $5 investment can snowball quickly. Most need battery covers, so add ~$1 to each. Then a replacement lens (finding mint original lenses is rare). There's another couple of bucks, and that's just for the shitty plastic lenses. Plus any time you put into cleaning them up (I strip all of mine down COMPLETELY). I tend to do 20+ at once to save time, but cleaning is still a huge chunk of the time that I put into refurbishing. Then you've got to reassemble, take pics, list on eBay/amazon/Craigslist/whatever, deal with the questions and other BS, pack them up and print/apply shipping labels, and then send them on their way.

The average, good condition GBA goes for 15-20 bucks on ebay. Now you've got ~$8 into each of them, and you might get lucky and sell them all for 20 each. Yay! You made $12 each, minus ~15%-20% in fees (or headache and gas if selling on CL). So 9-10 bucks each for all that effort and time spent.

So not worth it IMO.

Or, you could invest in more & better parts, spend some more time, make packaging, apply paint, etc. and sell em for a whole lot more ;)


I have an SNES that I can't get to read carts no matter how much I clean it. I have read that after tons of use the pins don't hold the cart as tight anymore so they don't make a good connection. I hear you can bend the pins to make it grip the cart tight again but then again I read that you shouldn't do this.

How are you cleaning it?


Is restoration of discolored plastic using retr0bright a common practice these days?

I've use it a few times. It's time consuming. I'd only do it in large batches for large quantities of parts to be restored (that is, if your plan is to flip consoles). Not worth it otherwise IMO. Works well though.

[SuperSonic]

Saying I agree would be sorta obvious, but it's true. I wouldn't dream of selling JUST refurbished consoles. It takes too much time and the return just isn't worth it IMO.

For instance, I typically buy my GBAs in bulk at roughly $5 a pop in lots of 50 or more. They all need some effort and time in order to make work perfectly, and even then, there are still occasional duds.

But that $5 investment can snowball quickly. Most need battery covers, so add ~$1 to each. Then a replacement lens (finding mint original lenses is rare). There's another couple of bucks, and that's just for the shitty plastic lenses. Plus any time you put into cleaning them up (I strip all of mine down COMPLETELY). I tend to do 20+ at once to save time, but cleaning is still a huge chunk of the time that I put into refurbishing. Then you've got to reassemble, take pics, list on eBay/amazon/Craigslist/whatever, deal with the questions and other BS, pack them up and print/apply shipping labels, and then send them on their way.

The average, good condition GBA goes for 15-20 bucks on ebay. Now you've got ~$8 into each of them, and you might get lucky and sell them all for 20 each. Yay! You made $12 each, minus ~15%-20% in fees (or headache and gas if selling on CL). So 9-10 bucks each for all that effort and time spent.

So not worth it IMO.

Or, you could invest in more & better parts, spend some more time, make packaging, apply paint, etc. and sell em for a whole lot more ;)



How are you cleaning it?



I've use it a few times. It's time consuming. I'd only do it in large batches for large quantities of parts to be restored (that is, if your plan is to flip consoles). Not worth it otherwise IMO. Works well though.

I am using fine grit sand paper and a can of air. Also tried credit card method. I think the PPU is dead because last time I played it had problems freezing. I have no way to test PPU tho so.. I dunno.. Pretty sure the pins are as clean as they can get.

[Gameguy]

I have an SNES that I can't get to read carts no matter how much I clean it. I have read that after tons of use the pins don't hold the cart as tight anymore so they don't make a good connection. I hear you can bend the pins to make it grip the cart tight again but then again I read that you shouldn't do this.
It's not always with the pins themselves, with the SNES the pins are soldered to the board and if the solder connections break the games won't play right. You might need to reflow the solder to the connections holding the pin connector in place.


Usually I don't bother with actual broken consoles, if I happen to get a broken one I'll try to fix it if it's easy enough or else I'd sell it for parts to whoever needs it. I don't try to seek them out, and I'd only buy a broken console if the price was really good. Of course it depends on what you're into, it's a hobby so if you enjoy repairing broken consoles in your spare time then making anything at all is a bonus. Most hobbies cost money, if your hobby can pay for itself consider yourself lucky. I wouldn't consider repairing old consoles full time to be profitable, not enough to be a real job on it's own.

[Niku-Sama]

i sell consoles from time to time and make decent money off of it but its usually because i want to get something else online or the such.
to put into perspective i can sell a PSX or NES at $35 and still make $30 and undercut every one else so its pretty quick money, they generally some power cord, a/v and/or rf unit, 1 controller
those are the common ones people i run into want, alot of people dont like using PS3s emu for PS1 games i guess.

A/V PSX's go for about twice as much but i've only sold one of those and it was to some one who knew what they wanted.

you just have to cruize and keep an eye out, i've stock piled about 20 NES systems and 17 PSX systems, havent counted SNES and N64. Dont bother with Genesis any thing because they seem to get really beaten up and arent made from a good quality plastic like nintendo or sony stuff is.

average price i have paid per console bare is $3, Average w/ hookups is $5

my secret is the as-is stores...

[SuperSonic]

i sell consoles from time to time and make decent money off of it but its usually because i want to get something else online or the such.
to put into perspective i can sell a PSX or NES at $35 and still make $30 and undercut every one else so its pretty quick money, they generally some power cord, a/v and/or rf unit, 1 controller
those are the common ones people i run into want, alot of people dont like using PS3s emu for PS1 games i guess.

A/V PSX's go for about twice as much but i've only sold one of those and it was to some one who knew what they wanted.

you just have to cruize and keep an eye out, i've stock piled about 20 NES systems and 17 PSX systems, havent counted SNES and N64. Dont bother with Genesis any thing because they seem to get really beaten up and arent made from a good quality plastic like nintendo or sony stuff is.

average price i have paid per console bare is $3, Average w/ hookups is $5

my secret is the as-is stores...

as-is store? Never seen one of those..

[Niku-Sama]

the as-is store is often a goodwill thing although i have found them for other local org.s when i am in a bigger city like seattle or portland.

the goodwill as-is store is basicly a store where they dump the things they cant sell or dont want to try to sell in the goodwill stores
thers a few ways of how they sell too, the ones arround here are selling things for what ever the heck they figures a good price, they are middle aged women for the local one.
another 15minutes north is the same way.

one i found in salem oregon did everything by weight unless it was a large item

cash is king in these places, some times you'll find one that wont take checks or cards.

i'm going to go check mine out now...

[SuperSonic]

the as-is store is often a goodwill thing although i have found them for other local org.s when i am in a bigger city like seattle or portland.

the goodwill as-is store is basicly a store where they dump the things they cant sell or dont want to try to sell in the goodwill stores
thers a few ways of how they sell too, the ones arround here are selling things for what ever the heck they figures a good price, they are middle aged women for the local one.
another 15minutes north is the same way.

one i found in salem oregon did everything by weight unless it was a large item

cash is king in these places, some times you'll find one that wont take checks or cards.

i'm going to go check mine out now...


I checked goodwill site and they call them goodwill Outlets.. There is one here about 40 miles away dunno if that is worth it tho. Let me know how it goes for you.

[needler420]

Saying I agree would be sorta obvious, but it's true. I wouldn't dream of selling JUST refurbished consoles. It takes too much time and the return just isn't worth it IMO.

For instance, I typically buy my GBAs in bulk at roughly $5 a pop in lots of 50 or more. They all need some effort and time in order to make work perfectly, and even then, there are still occasional duds.

But that $5 investment can snowball quickly. Most need battery covers, so add ~$1 to each. Then a replacement lens (finding mint original lenses is rare). There's another couple of bucks, and that's just for the shitty plastic lenses. Plus any time you put into cleaning them up (I strip all of mine down COMPLETELY). I tend to do 20+ at once to save time, but cleaning is still a huge chunk of the time that I put into refurbishing. Then you've got to reassemble, take pics, list on eBay/amazon/Craigslist/whatever, deal with the questions and other BS, pack them up and print/apply shipping labels, and then send them on their way.

The average, good condition GBA goes for 15-20 bucks on ebay. Now you've got ~$8 into each of them, and you might get lucky and sell them all for 20 each. Yay! You made $12 each, minus ~15%-20% in fees (or headache and gas if selling on CL). So 9-10 bucks each for all that effort and time spent.

So not worth it IMO.

Or, you could invest in more & better parts, spend some more time, make packaging, apply paint, etc. and sell em for a whole lot more ;)



How are you cleaning it?



I've use it a few times. It's time consuming. I'd only do it in large batches for large quantities of parts to be restored (that is, if your plan is to flip consoles). Not worth it otherwise IMO. Works well though.



I wouldn't even recommend that. I don't see a market for $140 dollar backlit Gameboy advances. Despite even if you sold some.
It is a very niche market when you can buy a regular GBA and accessory light for like $2 bucks. What I see happening with that is your labor invested isn't going to meet your overhead and your going to get a surplus of products.

I also see tons of this custom type of work on craigslist.
I see tons of xbox360 paint jobs and mods with all the pretty LCD lights but it's all for a niche market meant for a novelty. I had a friend that I used to do soft mods and flash consoles with and he got into more serious modding then me. Problem is anyone into games that has a garage nowadays wants to mod as well as resell. Nowadays everyone is a reseller and repairs.

[StoneAgeGamer]

I wouldn't even recommend that. I don't see a market for $140 dollar backlit Gameboy advances. Despite even if you sold some.
It is a very niche market when you can buy a regular GBA and accessory light for like $2 bucks. What I see happening with that is your labor invested isn't going to meet your overhead and your going to get a surplus of products.

I also see tons of this custom type of work on craigslist.
I see tons of xbox360 paint jobs and mods with all the pretty LCD lights but it's all for a niche market meant for a novelty. I had a friend that I used to do soft mods and flash consoles with and he got into more serious modding then me. Problem is anyone into games that has a garage nowadays wants to mod as well as resell. Nowadays everyone is a reseller and repairs.

Well if he sold some then there is a market. Its a niche market, sure, but that does not mean there isn't a market. The best part of niche markets is that if you are one of the few filling them you get a huge chunk of all the business. I am sure he is more than happy that everyone else thinks that the custom painted market isn't worth the time. Just means he actually gets more of the business.

A lot of people make the mistake that thinking selling a ton of stuff at very little profit is better than selling a little at higher profits. This is not always true and something that I have learned over the years.

I do see quite a few custom painted consoles also, but most of them are terrible. There is an art in painting this stuff and doing it right. From what I have seen from wiggy and some of the more well known people who do this is that they go above an beyond a normal paint job. Just because its something you may not personally want or care about doesn't mean there aren't any people who do care. I hate to tell you, but a huge chunk of the retro-gaming market is based solely around novelty.

When I first started selling EverDrive Deluxe Editions people told me there is no way people would pay the money for them when they can just buy the board and do it themselves. Its too much if a niche market. Now I can barely keep them in stock and the most expensive one (SD2SNES Deluxe) is the hottest seller.

[SuperSonic]

Well if he sold some then there is a market. Its a niche market, sure, but that does not mean there isn't a market. The best part of niche markets is that if you are one of the few filling them you get a huge chunk of all the business. I am sure he is more than happy that everyone else thinks that the custom painted market isn't worth the time. Just means he actually gets more of the business.

A lot of people make the mistake that thinking selling a ton of stuff at very little profit is better than selling a little at higher profits. This is not always true and something that I have learned over the years.

I do see quite a few custom painted consoles also, but most of them are terrible. There is an art in painting this stuff and doing it right. From what I have seen from wiggy and some of the more well known people who do this is that they go above an beyond a normal paint job. Just because its something you may not personally want or care about doesn't mean there aren't any people who don't care. I hate to tell you, but a huge chunk of the retro-gaming market is based solely around novelty.

When I first started selling EverDrive Deluxe Editions people told me there is no way people would pay the money for them when they can just buy the board and do it themselves. Its too much if a niche market. Now I can barely keep them in stock and the most expensive one (SD2SNES Deluxe) is the hottest seller.

I agree with this.. I end up selling quite a few items for little profit. I rather go all out and customize something and make a big profit on it. Less hassle for sure especially if you are craigslisting it.

[Atarileaf]

I completely support those who fix and refurb classic systems and computers. Keeps them from the scrap yard and in circulation for collectors and gamers. I think we should all support it. I've had systems done for me and its worth every penny, especially on rarer or harder to find consoles. For example I had one of my two busted Coleco Gemini's fixed a few months back and it works great now and is a great part of my collection.

[SuperSonic]

It's not always with the pins themselves, with the SNES the pins are soldered to the board and if the solder connections break the games won't play right. You might need to reflow the solder to the connections holding the pin connector in place.


Usually I don't bother with actual broken consoles, if I happen to get a broken one I'll try to fix it if it's easy enough or else I'd sell it for parts to whoever needs it. I don't try to seek them out, and I'd only buy a broken console if the price was really good. Of course it depends on what you're into, it's a hobby so if you enjoy repairing broken consoles in your spare time then making anything at all is a bonus. Most hobbies cost money, if your hobby can pay for itself consider yourself lucky. I wouldn't consider repairing old consoles full time to be profitable, not enough to be a real job on it's own.

I reflowed the connectors today and disabled the lockout chip.. still black screen of death :C

[wiggyx]

I am using fine grit sand paper and a can of air. Also tried credit card method. I think the PPU is dead because last time I played it had problems freezing. I have no way to test PPU tho so.. I dunno.. Pretty sure the pins are as clean as they can get.

That would have been my guess too. It's pretty hard to kill the pins on the SNES :(


I wouldn't even recommend that. I don't see a market for $140 dollar backlit Gameboy advances. Despite even if you sold some.
It is a very niche market when you can buy a regular GBA and accessory light for like $2 bucks. What I see happening with that is your labor invested isn't going to meet your overhead and your going to get a surplus of products.

I also see tons of this custom type of work on craigslist.
I see tons of xbox360 paint jobs and mods with all the pretty LCD lights but it's all for a niche market meant for a novelty. I had a friend that I used to do soft mods and flash consoles with and he got into more serious modding then me. Problem is anyone into games that has a garage nowadays wants to mod as well as resell. Nowadays everyone is a reseller and repairs.

Well then I'm lucky that your assumptions are incorrect.

[Niku-Sama]

Yes, your suspicions are totally warranted.

I typically buy from Japan and have far more luck with "broken" units simply being dirty or just needing a little TLC here and there. Of course US and JP GBAs are identical, so it doesn't matter at all that I'm buying JP units. You've got a different set of concerns with the SNES and SFC :/

This lot came about a week ago, and there are only about 2-3 (of 50) that will end up in the scrap parts bin. The rest are completely salvageable.

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k99/wiggyx/null_zps59af8cc9.jpg~original

kind of off topic here, that gameboy pocket up front, is that colored like the old bricks?
it looks like it, have never seen one colored like that before and makes me kind of wish i had $140 for it.

back on topic i found some more stuff at the as is store, total was $11
i got a PSX SCPH7501 w/ back door and a/v cable, a roomba robot vac and 2 "lighthouses" (invisable walls that mark its territory) a box of unopened sony MFD-2DD 1.0Mb 3.5" diskettes and a 802.11g wifi PCI card with low profile and standard profile brackets still

[wiggyx]

It is indeed! I'd never seen one before it showed up. I don't really do anything with the Pockets. They're way too fragile, and backlighting them is a huge PITA :(

I'm just going to clean em all up and sell them (although I plan to keep that DMG-colored one).