Arcade Auction This Saturday (Michigan)

[Tempest]

There's a big arcade auction at the Michigan State Fair Grounds this Saturday and I was thinking about going (just to see what they had). Anyone else from Michigan thinking of going? Anyone had any past experiences with this auction?

Tempest

[den68]

I've never heard of it. Do you have any details? What time does it start? I need an arcade machine, wonder how good a deal you can get.

[buttasuperb]

from research i've done over the internet, it seems you can get some pretty good deals at these auctions. however, i've never been to one, so i don't know what kind of condition the machines are in.

[ManekiNeko]

Tempest, let me know what kind of deals you find when you get back. I won't be able to make it to this auction but I'm really interested to know what it's like and what prices I could expect in future auctions.

JR

[KaBonk]

I have been to one in the past. Bought my pinball machine there.

A few things.
-bring a long extension cord so you can test the games during the test period.
-also bring a small flashlight and some tools so you can inspect the machine
-research prices before going
-keep in mind that the owners of the machines will be bidding against you to drive the price up and you will pay commision and a non-cash fee if you don't pay in cash
-this link has some info (section 5) http://www.xmission.com/~daina/rgpFAQ/coolrgpFAQ.html

-drive something that you can fit what you win in to. You have to take it home with you.
-expect to spend a while there as they will also auction jukeboxes, darts, ...
-the arcade game and pinball newsgroups also are very helpful.

Have a good time and good luck,

Mike

[Achika]

Tempest, I can't make it or I would go (since I'm right around the corner) I'm moving out this weekend.

Let me know if you see anyone selling individual arcade boards and a round about price.

[MrRetroGamer]

-keep in mind that the owners of the machines will be bidding against you to drive the price up

That certainly takes the fun out of it, eh?

[Arcade Antics]

-keep in mind that the owners of the machines will be bidding against you to drive the price up

That certainly takes the fun out of it, eh?

Not really. Just make sure to stick to whatever price you're willing to pay for any game you see there. If an owner really is bidding on their own game, they'll get stuck lugging it away when you reach your limit. :D

What Mike said above is excellent advice. Only thing to tack on is to maybe bring along some lunch and plan on spending the entire day at the auction. :D

Bring along someone to help you get your games loaded, and make sure they'll stick with you when you UNload them once you're back home.

Don't overlook the broken machines, and keep an eye out for any JAMMA cabinets, even if you don't want the game currently installed.

Good luck!

[GENESISNES]

where in michigan(dont say a city, just northern, or southern...)

[Zaxxon]

I've been to one of those auctions. My advice, sleep in that morning and skip the auction. It's a waste of time. That is unless you want a beat-to-hell machine. The machines I saw when I went had mismatched cabs(a Zaxxon running in a beat-up Ikari cab) or were poorly done conversions, not factory original machines, and you could see where they plastered the new sticker on top of the old side art. Anything that was a big name like Galaga or Ms. Pac Man was being bid up to $1,300+. That's not what I would call a deal of any sort. I didn't see what the sit down SF Rush's were going for. I saw a Sega Carnival machine in good condition go for like $25. I didn't stick around to the end of the auction. You may be able to get a deal on a game that most everyone else doesn't care about but anything that was a big name(Defender, Centipede etc.) was going for dealer prices. It was stupid. I would rather just buy it from a dealer like Big Toys if I was willing to pay that much and have it delivered to my home and it's been serviced and comes with a warranty for that price. I think they must travel across country doiung these auctions and by the time they get to MI. all the good stuff has been taken and were getting the scraps. Scratched and torn side-art, cigarette burns and tears on the control surface, missing bezels, cracked marquees. You'd have to spend a bunch of $ and time doing a restoration job on most of what I saw. I won't be back .

[Achika]

GENESISNES: Detroit (hah!) Southeastern.

[ROBOTRON]

Thats like walking distance from me.

Sounds interesting...thing that worries me is location.

Usually the Michigan State Fairgrounds is the home of sh*tty flea market and "rip off sale" type functions...I'd be surprised if anything of quality came from this auction. :hmm:

[CrazyImpmon]

I haven't been to one but I would love to go just to find a cocktail cab in decent shape. Doesn't matter what game or if it works. I could rip out the old gut and drop in a spare PC loaded with MAME and some good ROMs. Or if I get lucky, a nice Tron parts and board to make my cocktail a Tron cocktail (official Tron cocktail do exists but it's rare and usually expen$$$ive :o)

What I do know is that "Buyer Beware" still applies as appearance can be decieving. I recaledl a rant posted a few years ago in arcade collecting newsgroup (news://rec.games.video.arcade.collecting) that someone got what he thought was a Zaxxon as it had side art, controller, overlay, etc intact. But the actual game inside was a Pac Man bootleg.

the friendly folks at the above mentioned NG probably can help you better with arcade auctions. Also I heard Michigan rarely get any arcade auction because the sale's usually lousy there.

[Six Switch]

I would liek to go,but don't have the cash to get anything there.And what are the times,if you know,I might just go for the hell of it.And to see what goes down and what I will never have. :( :D x_x

[Sega Hitman]

@Six Switch: I bought my first arcade game at 15 years old, and a second at 16. It's not impossible to do. I've already sold one, and I'd like to get rid of the other, it's definitely not a good thing to start buying unless you've got a lot of space, but it certainly is possible if you really want it.

-Hitman-

[ClubNinja]

I know this is only half on-topic, but has anyone ever seen one of these in New England? I've always wanted to check one out, but I never see any out this way...

It would be especially nice now since I've finally cleared out a fair spot in the basement for one of these suckers!

[Achika]

I know this is only half on-topic, but has anyone ever seen one of these in New England? I've always wanted to check one out, but I never see any out this way...

It would be especially nice now since I've finally cleared out a fair spot in the basement for one of these suckers!

It slips my mind as to the page name, but I believe there is a website detailing where the "official" auctions are going to be (it's more of a company that sets up these auctions, official for lack of a better word) If you ask the folks on neo-geo they could probably tell you what it is.

[Arcade Antics]

http://www.superauctions.com is one of the main auction house sites.