My arcade adventure !!!

[imanerd0011]

Ok, so the other day I went to a local vending service and asked them about purchasing a Street Fighter 2. They didn't have one for sale, but the guy who worked there gave me a number for someone that used to run a vending service in the 70's/80's, and said that he might have one.

So I gave the guy a call today, and he says he does have some old arcades. I asked how many, and he said "40-50"!
My friend and I got in the SUV and drove to his house (which happens to be in the middle of no where). We get there and it is a pretty run down place. Two small dogs are on chains in the driveway, and you can just tell this guy has a bunch of shit in his garage.
So we ring the doorbell and he comes out. He looks just like Don Vito and carries a cane. He first brings us into a room where he has 1 pinball machine an Asteroids and some other generic game from the 80's. I was pretty disapointed at the time, because I thought that might be all he had.
He then opens up the garage, and it is A MESS!!!!!!!! There must have been 15 arcades in there, as well as 5 Pinball machines, and a bunch of old Jukeboxes too. It was almost impossible to walk around in there, but I could see what a few of the games were. He had 2 Space Invaders, a Galaga, a Pac-man plus (never heard of that before), a Super Cobra, to name a few.
We then went downstairs, which looked like something out of a horror movie. There were around 10 more arcades down there, and around 5 more old pinball machines. I noticed a Frogger, a Missille Command, and a countertop Space Invaders.
I offered him $300 for one of the Space Invaders, and he said he would take $325. My friend and I are going back tomorrow to check it out again, because he said he has another room we didn't even check out (because it is almost impossible to walk threw).

Does $325 sound like a good price for a Space Invaders (assuming it works) ??? It appears to be in good condition, and I am going to test it out before I would pay him.
I will write down a list of all the games he has tomorrow, and post it here after.

Anyone reply with advice or whatever.

[stargate]

$325 is a good price for a Space Invaders if it works and is in decent condition.

I would pick out a few more and remember to bid low. He sounds like he may not know what they are worth and is probably just asking for a bit more than you offer. Try getting 3 for $500 or something. He obviously has no use for them.

[tholly]

$325 is a good price for a Space Invaders if it works and is in decent condition.

I would pick out a few more and remember to bid low. He sounds like he may not know what they are worth and is probably just asking for a bit more than you offer. Try getting 3 for $500 or something. He obviously has no use for them.

ill second that...but, it sounds like a lot of them are in poor condition...make sure you plug them in and try them out...maybe bring an extension cord with you incase he doesnt have one handy

also, like he said, try a higher $$ value for a multiple machine lot (he might be happy to get rid of them and clear up some space)

[FooFighter]

If you can score that Galaga machine for that low of a price you have it made. That is one of the most collected cabs.

[Arcade Antics]

Pac-Man Plus was a board rev / kit (and a cool one at that) that made the game more difficult. I'd jump on it.

So, like others have mentioned, your best bet would be to shoot for SI, Galaga and Pac-Man Plus in a "three-for" deal. The more machines you can score, the better the deal will be.

Nice find, and good luck! Let us know how things work out.

[tholly]

Nice find, and good luck! Let us know how things work out.

....and, if you can, share some pictures with us once you get the games home and set up, if you do infact buy some.

[imanerd0011]

Thanks for all the comments guys.
As for condition, it was hard to tell, since all the games where so bunched in. One of the Space Invaders looked really nice. I remember looking at the Galaga, and it had a rip in the side art, so that made me hesitant to want to buy it. I'm going tomorrow to really check them out, so I will post again after that as to how it all went down.

[Hovoc]

damn dude, where do you live at?

[magmax]

325 is a freaken great price! oh yeah I got a qestion -how the hell are you going to get it out of his basment?

[magmax]

yeah dude were do u live!?

[imanerd0011]

I live in Upstate NY.
The Space Invaders isn't in his basement, it's in the Garage. The Space Invaders countertop is in the basement though, but I think my friend and I can pick it up and move it if we had to.

[imanerd0011]

Well guys, my friend and I went back today.
Here are the games I saw on top of what I saw yesterday. There were two Ms. Pac-Mans, a Galaxian, a Track and Field, and a bunch of other that I couldn't even get to or see. The condition of these games is bad to say the least. I'm not going to buy any of them, but my friend is buying a Pinball machine from him. The pinball machines are all from the 1970's, but appear to be in much better condition than the arcade games.

[Peale]

I live in Upstate NY.

I live close. Want to share the wealth?

[Hovoc]

I live in Upstate NY.

I live close. Want to share the wealth?

he said that the games werre shit, unless hes covering up his awesome find

[imanerd0011]

I live in Upstate NY.

I live close. Want to share the wealth?

he said that the games werre shit, unless hes covering up his awesome find

Well... the games aren't shitty, but I highly doubt they work. The ones we tested (1 Space Invaders and a Galaga) didn't work. The screen lite up, but it was all crazy looking, with many colors. The pinball machines seem to be in better shape, but it is hard to tell.
I bet a real Arcade game collector might like some of these, but since I have no idea how to fix/repair them, they are useless to me.
He lives in Beekmantown, right off of exit 40. If you are interested, PM me.

[Arcade Antics]

...since I have no idea how to fix/repair them, they are useless to me.

Nah, they're never useless to you. In fact, in this case, if you're at least getting something on the monitor, that's two major problems (power and monitor) likely solved.

What you might consider is making a lower offer on a bunch of games (since they don't work and you will have to do some repair work) but if they're decent overall, it's still worth the investment to get them back up and running.

And this forum is an excellent place to get info from skilled people (not me though ) who can help walk you through the basics.

Never give up!

[Peale]

He lives in Beekmantown, right off of exit 40. If you are interested, PM me.

Woo! I just did a MapQuest. 185 miles, and that's just to the town itself.

We're expecting a baby soon, so it wouldn't happen anytime soon. But I am definitely interested. If you could snag a photo or two of what he's got, that would be awesome.