Where did all the games go??
- Thread starter The seeker
- Start date
BarrySlisk
Active member
ChrisBEANS said:
The dude who gave you that advice must be here in a time machine from 2010.
BarrySlisk
Active member
Flynn said:
Not likely.
$500 is £378
£700-£378 = £322 difference
So £322 for shipping+VAT+other costs? Sounds cheap to me.
When I bought a cab from a store in USA the shipping was initially $600 (£454) and when it arrived in Denmark I was then charged £400 for "handling" or whatever. Shock!
Then I was charged 25% danish VAT. It's 20% in UK right? So 20% of £378+shipping is another £166 (don't remember if there was VAT on the port handling costs as well).
So that's £378 (cab) + £454 (shipping)+ £400 (handling) + £166 (VAT) = £1.398
But maybe I was ripped off. Seemed VERY expensive to me and certainly a surprise. Are there any pro tips for shipping things more cheaply except 20 people using one container?
It will be interesting to see how the current market for cabinets affects forums such as this - historically this has always seemed a friendly place where people can discuss their latest cabinets, troubleshoot, buy or sell cabs etc. unfortunately the entry into this hobby is not as easy as it was, prices are far higher and availability is limited. I think there runs a risk of the hobby becoming very insular and cliquey because you just won’t get people buying a Star Wars and joining the forum to meet like minded people - at the moment it seems almost like a closed shop of people who trade cabs with each other, leaving those who have a dream of their favourite game from the 80s having either no access or trying to match the money offered by commercial enterprises.
I guess I just don’t see the hobby being as open and welcoming as it used to be, a problem inadvertently caused by fewer cabinets being available.
I guess I just don’t see the hobby being as open and welcoming as it used to be, a problem inadvertently caused by fewer cabinets being available.
With enough retro arcades there’s no real reason to own a load of cabs for the casual gamer.
With our place, you can come in with a tenner and play about 35k of machines and loads of original boards. The onus on keeping it all going is on us. Never have to worry about fixing.
To buy even something like our defender. You’d need to come in 160 times before it became cheaper to have it at home. 3 times a week for a year. Or once a week for 3 years. That’s before you consider the costs of keeping it going.
Don’t get me wrong I still have cabs at home but apart from a few, and a few coming in, they’re all on rotation in the arcade so everyone can have a go.
So whilst yes for those who like having a load of cabs at home it’s more expensive, let’s be honest if you’ve got the money to buy arcade machines you can probably spare the extra few bob.
For man on the street, the current uptick in retro arcades, whilst I think it’s temporary, is the best thing that could happen.
We only have one of everything original. The odd bootleg as a backup if something breaks. It’s a shame when stuff gets speculated on but I think it’ll end up blowing up in investors faces because the demand is being driven by businesses which are based on something which is in vogue.
When it’s not anymore, these cabs have got to go somewhere.
With our place, you can come in with a tenner and play about 35k of machines and loads of original boards. The onus on keeping it all going is on us. Never have to worry about fixing.
To buy even something like our defender. You’d need to come in 160 times before it became cheaper to have it at home. 3 times a week for a year. Or once a week for 3 years. That’s before you consider the costs of keeping it going.
Don’t get me wrong I still have cabs at home but apart from a few, and a few coming in, they’re all on rotation in the arcade so everyone can have a go.
So whilst yes for those who like having a load of cabs at home it’s more expensive, let’s be honest if you’ve got the money to buy arcade machines you can probably spare the extra few bob.
For man on the street, the current uptick in retro arcades, whilst I think it’s temporary, is the best thing that could happen.
We only have one of everything original. The odd bootleg as a backup if something breaks. It’s a shame when stuff gets speculated on but I think it’ll end up blowing up in investors faces because the demand is being driven by businesses which are based on something which is in vogue.
When it’s not anymore, these cabs have got to go somewhere.
chubsta said:
I think it's allways been a cliquey hobby to an extent
Most people you meet at events ect are nice
But there's an inner circle of cab and parts dealing that most of us will never break into
A lot of the stuff gets sold or traded between people without us ever seeing it
Just look at all the big raids that have happened in the past the Manchester one springs to mind
All of those cabs that were found and all that was for sale were three pit fighter cabs
But like you say I think this will get worse now
The cabs are harder to find and more expensive
With people worrying about getting cabs bought from them and instantly flipped for a higher price
robotech said:
That's not true, loads of them were stuck on the forum.
However I'm sure there's load of clicky insider buying and selling occuring with all the collectors in each others respective areas as you become friends/closer.
TBH, I don't see a problem with those that get involved and put in the effort on a raid getting the pick of the crop, and doing whatever they want with the cabs. Also, as has already been said, putting nice cabs up for sale at 'forum prices', runs the risk of a flipper picking them up and profiting from someone else effort.
As people have said, collectors are keeping things a lot closer to their chests than they used to. Combine that with eBay and other sales sites being absolutely bloody clogged with unwanted bartops and arcade1ups - it definitely feels like searching for stuff has become a much more of a slog over the last few years. There's still some stuff out there to be had at reasonable prices but searching for it can be disheartening. I'd been looking for a DDR cab and a friend highlighted a decent one that sold on ebay saying "did you get that one?" but alas i just hadn't checked ebay all week.
You have to be hunting all the time.
You have to be hunting all the time.
@big 10p
Yes I agree to an extent if you were going on a raid and had organised it ect you would have the pick of the cabs
And it would be up to you what happened to them ect
But we're talking about where have all the cabs gone ?
If they don't come up for sale because people have them all locked away in units
Or people are trading between themselves and only battered project cabs get put up on here for sale it would explain
Where a lot of them have gone in terms of the ones you see on the forum for sale section
The not selling to possible flippers s something that has been talked about before but if you've been on here a number of years done some good deals sold your own cabs on here at mates prices to other members and been to a few events and met people face to face
But still don't get offered any good raid cabs or deals
I'm not sure what else you are meant to do tbh
Yes I agree to an extent if you were going on a raid and had organised it ect you would have the pick of the cabs
And it would be up to you what happened to them ect
But we're talking about where have all the cabs gone ?
If they don't come up for sale because people have them all locked away in units
Or people are trading between themselves and only battered project cabs get put up on here for sale it would explain
Where a lot of them have gone in terms of the ones you see on the forum for sale section
The not selling to possible flippers s something that has been talked about before but if you've been on here a number of years done some good deals sold your own cabs on here at mates prices to other members and been to a few events and met people face to face
But still don't get offered any good raid cabs or deals
I'm not sure what else you are meant to do tbh
robotech said:
Not sure there's anything anyone can do about the situation. Personally, I don't understand the hoarding mentality and having thousands of pounds worth of cabs stored away in a lockup, not to mention I couldn't possibly afford such an indulgence. Each to their own, though. It seems enough for some collectors just to know they own something, without having the need to play or even see it from month to month.
big10p said:
I think you have to factor in that a lot of people would love to get stuck in to restoring their cabs, playing them, setting up their games rooms etc but life and family gets in the way, and also that some people are nearing retirement age and are looking forward to spending time on their hobby.
But of course some are just hoarders lol. But lets face it, we all love buying and owning this stuff.strykr2021-12-09 23:31:12
Retroman839
Senior Member
Monstermug said:ArcAids spreads fast with no cure that we know of.
Wrong section maybe?
lol one for the Darcadeges maybe
( pppsst some of the arcades are hiding in my house ) Retroman8392021-12-10 01:41:43
