Hey guys. I've been in the market the past few months for an original Pac-Man cabinet. Yesterday I went to look at one, which had a manufacture date of Jan. 1981. Externally it has some minor cosmetic issues, but nothing awful. The worst part is that the wood on the back is cracked in half, so it comes off in two pieces, but at least that is just the backside. It also was very dusty inside, and will need a good cleaning. As far as the joystick and play, it seemed to work fine.
The major issue that came up is that the game wigged out when I was playing it, and several of the error screens popped up. The owners (they were a nice couple with kids and seemed trustworthy) told me that that issue hadn't happened in months. They said they got the game from a friend 6 months ago because it was doing that, but the guy discovered that it was just a loose chip on the board, and he wiggles the chip a bit and the issue went away for months. He said that they moved it around to take pictures for me, and that that must have jostled the chip again. He pushed the chip around to clear the error and it didn't happen again while I was there.
So... I'm wondering a few things. First, for a original Pac-man cab in good cosmetic condition and good working order, what's the going rate? I've seen it leaning towards $800 nowadays, since they are getting increasingly harder to find (for some reason). Is that about right? And, in fact, this couple is offering theirs for $800. That's too high, due to the cosmetic and board issues, but I'm wondering if it's even worth making a lower offer or if I should just pass? These don't show up often in my area, so I feel tempted to offer something, maybe $400-$500? If the board does go bad, how easy are they to find and replace? And what's the cost for that? Thanks in advance if anyone has info.