Had enough of Arcade Warehouse

[RaveN]

Had quite a few mates round a month ago; over the past few years I have stepped up my arcade collecting and have a (impressive to me anyway) 6 cabs and a few pinballs. Much beer disappeared that night and everyone had a good time. Last week, a mate of mine claimed he enjoyed a certain game to such an extent he was going to buy one, he claimed he found one on ebay.

Today, another mate also said he was going to purchase a game, again on ebay. They both sent me the links and I was horrified to find that both of them were looking at ArcadeWarehouse's dodgy "New and just off the assembly line" Defender and Donkey Kong.

Although AW antics have annoyed me in the past (and i'm sure I've sent them a few abusive/sarcastic ebay messages once or twice after returning from the pub), I've always assumed that people have always known better than to buy anything from them. Turns out most people are stupid and that their auctions completely fool a vast number of people who would like to get into arcade collecting.

Personally, they make me angry and I would like to take them down, is anyone with me or am I just a mad crazy loon who should concentrate their efforts on something more worth while??

Cheers,

Andy

 

[bbz149]

Get them to join the forums as it's a great place to
learn and pickup machines

I’d
hate to think how many gullible buyers they have screwed over selling the sh@t they sell

 

[andyman]

Totally agree, people are either stupid or have more money than sense

 

[bomjac]

If he doesnt mind a sit down, I think Drawfulls Defender on ebay is a decent price. From what I remember it was pretty mint.

 

[Fuzzy]

I reckon AW must sell a lot of their sh*te to unsuspecting, well-meaning spouses who buy these machines for their other halfs.

To the uneducated a 'brand new' Defender for £1200 (or whatever they cost) compared to a 32-year-old ex-arcade machine for a similar price (or more) probably looks like a good deal.

If someone wants a replica machine with an LCD screen (and possibly other parts that are fairly new/reliable) then good luck to them - the problem is, AW don't mention anywhere in their ads that these are REPLICA machines, and that's the problem.

If they were honest in their advertising, I suspect they'd sell little, if any, of these machines.

I reported some of their auctions to eBay as counterfeit / unlicensed and, surprise surprise, eBay have done jack all about it.

On a positive note, if AW are selling these machines to unsuspecting, happy members of the public, then that leaves more of the real deal for us.

 

[Bods]

It's very sad that they are just money driven

They used to sell quite alot of original machines, but obviously thought we can make more money selling mame cabs and other sh*te

They shouldn't even be selling machines with mame in, I don't know how they get away with it all

 

[andyman]

How gutted would you be if your partner said 'I bought you a Defender for you brithday' and you unwrapped one of those. I couldn't even fake that I was pleased

 

[guddler]

Personally, they make me angry and I would like to take them down, is anyone with me or am I just a mad crazy loon who should concentrate their efforts on something more worth while??

I'm assuming this is just a rant and nothing more, but...

As an admin I have to say that whilst I don't like the activities and business model of this seller - that we have all known well for probably longer than most of us have been in the hobby (I for one got my first machine from them 13 years ago), anything that you choose to do is done in your own name and off your own back and is neither condoned by or has nothing to do with UKVAC.

I have seen in the past that understandably the company does protect their interests and their business too so please keep this thread clean.

 

[DanP]

Caveat Emptor would seem to apply. Personally I would still buy something from AW but I would want to see the cab and pick it up/take it away, much as I would with any other trader who was taking a large chunk o cash off me

Dan

 

[mathj]

i have played on one of them multigame thinngs in the euro gamer expo, they where not built by AW but that other company producing these cabs and i must say the quality of the parts used is shocking

very cheaply built and overpriced rubish if you ask me, even the emulation they where running was glitchy

but i suppose most the the people that would buy these wouldnt know any better

math

 

[RaveN]

Sorry guys, I start off a conversation and then disappear. Due to work/family commitments i am only able (allowed) to post every so often.

"I'm assuming this is just a rant and nothing more, but.." - correct, I wasn't hovering outside their warehouse with a grenade..

I'm sure they have been helpful in the industry in the past but from what I see they are just abusers now.

Not only do they butcher cabs, but they profit from mame, and yet still advertise reviews from the Daily Telegraph, evening post, PC Zone, SKY and T3 Magazine, whilst changing ebay names 3 times over the last year. Surely these companies deserve to know what's happening?

Everytime they bin a monitor to "upgrade" a cab with a "more reliable PC/LCD", surely that destroys people a tad inside?

It's not doing me any harm personally, it's just pretty annoying and only exists to defraud people.

Like DanP said, I would probably buy something from them, but I would have to visit their warehouse and talk to them, I don't understand why they destroy their reputation on ebay.

Cheers,

Andy

 

[Stevros]

Seen this topic elsewhere, seems there are a lot of people who have had their cages rattled by them.

I understand, i have reported them several times for their "Williams" defender fraudulentevendowntothelogo ads on ebay.

 

[retrorepair]

To be honest, I get the feeling most people who want LCD cabs aren't really going to be bothered if it's real or not but stating reproduction on the auction would be essential either way.

I can't see them changing their practices any time soon anyway, a mate of mine bought a point blank off them a while back and they were utter dicks about the whole deal. Probably because it only made £100 on ebay. They wanted it picked up the very next day which my mate bent over backward to accomodate, then when the courier arrived they said he wasnt supposed to be there and refused to take cash which they previously agreed to. He told them to stick it somewhere dark in the end.

I'd steer clear for their business ethics more than anything else. It doesn't cost a thing to be polite.

 

[Jodo]

I bought a coin box from them once and collected it in person, which seems to be the way to go.

 

[RaveN]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/The-ULTIMATE-Kids-Christmas-Present-MINI-SIZE-PAC-MAN-Arcade-/181019983748?pt=UK_Toys_Games_Games&hash=item2a25a1bf84

I bought my full size for the same amount!

 

[system11]

I bought a couple of PCBs from them sold as working, one didn't. The one that did, didn't look to have been tested either (unplugged ribbon).

I also bought an Afterburner machine which was literally falling apart at the control panel area when it arrived, not mentioned in the auction of course.

I also sold them a restored pinball, after pretending to be a collector it appeared for twice the price on ebay within the month.

 

[dragonv480]

Still, they are better than a certain ex gameshow host and his cohort from the Manchester area...

 

[gridrunner]

He who cannot be named? Macbeth in a spangly suit?

I thought I'd have my two penneth on the Arcade Warehourse thing. They have been around in one form or another for ages. I can only speak of my own experience but I've had 3 machines off them over the years, and never had a problem with either the transaction or the machine.

This new, somewhat Daleyesque venture into new repro machines is an interesting one. I think there's a real niche here for someone to do this really well. Maintaining our machines in running order as time goes by will become increasingly difficult and there's a real attraction to providing a new, professionally made reproduction machine with LCD monitor, emulation etc. With really high quality repro artwork in circulation now and CNC cabinet fabrication I can really see this coming together for someone.

OK, they may or may not have copyrights agreed and the materials might not be the best, but from what I've seen of the ebay photos some of these machines do look visually appealing. I doubt anyone would be taken in, thinking they are dealing with an original. If they do do a good job of building these cabs and it is all legit, with perhaps a 'repro' notice in the listing then I'd wish them good luck.

I think it's important to remember that these guys are trying to make a living and that puts it in a different realm to the hobbyist and there's more pressure to push boundaries like this to pay bills and wages. There's obviously a line that can be crossed into sharp/bad practice that some people on here appear to have experienced.

I really admire Phil Palmer with his Pinball Heaven shop, that used to be in Southport but has moved to Preston now I think. A really good guy to deal with who has turned a hobby into a full time business. Always good service and friendly to deal with. His refurbed machines go for serious money and some in the pinball hobby might criticise the prices as being inflationary, but he is running a business and needs the prestige machines to sell to the right markets.

 

[Stevros]

Kudos to them for selling an original untouched williams defender on ebay at the moment

 

[saleem]

He who cannot be named? Macbeth in a spangly suit?

I thought I'd have my two penneth on the Arcade Warehourse thing. They have been around in one form or another for ages. I can only speak of my own experience but I've had 3 machines off them over the years, and never had a problem with either the transaction or the machine.

This new, somewhat Daleyesque venture into new repro machines is an interesting one. I think there's a real niche here for someone to do this really well. Maintaining our machines in running order as time goes by will become increasingly difficult and there's a real attraction to providing a new, professionally made reproduction machine with LCD monitor, emulation etc. With really high quality repro artwork in circulation now and CNC cabinet fabrication I can really see this coming together for someone.

OK, they may or may not have copyrights agreed and the materials might not be the best, but from what I've seen of the ebay photos some of these machines do look visually appealing. I doubt anyone would be taken in, thinking they are dealing with an original. If they do do a good job of building these cabs and it is all legit, with perhaps a 'repro' notice in the listing then I'd wish them good luck.

I think it's important to remember that these guys are trying to make a living and that puts it in a different realm to the hobbyist and there's more pressure to push boundaries like this to pay bills and wages. There's obviously a line that can be crossed into sharp/bad practice that some people on here appear to have experienced.

I really admire Phil Palmer with his Pinball Heaven shop, that used to be in Southport but has moved to Preston now I think. A really good guy to deal with who has turned a hobby into a full time business. Always good service and friendly to deal with. His refurbed machines go for serious money and some in the pinball hobby might criticise the prices as being inflationary, but he is running a business and needs the prestige machines to sell to the right markets.

but if ones going to venture into such a business they should at least do it correctly by having correct coin doors and the right quality artwork and realy nice cut and put together cabs.

i think i will be scratching my head if i actualy saw and was close up to one of their so called repro cabs.

but i got a bosconianesque repro i did from an original f'd cab and rerouted the cab parts and put it together half decently although not perfect but to shove a standard coin door on it would be a piss take me thinks.i think you saw it when you was at mine,i always considered putting a crt or lcd into it but its got all the original wiring and boardset etc.trouble is finding the correct monitor at the right price in the right place,so lcd seems easy less costly option.perhaps with a rgb/crt monitor to vga convertor or something?