Newsgroups: rec.games.video.arcade
Path: spies!sgiblab!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.
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From: ofoz@cbnewse.cb.att.com (steven.s.ozdemir)
Subject: Frequently Asked Questions about Buying Games from
an Operator
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1993 14:42:43 GMT
Message-ID: <1993Mar5.144243.27684@cbnewse.cb.att.com>
Keywords: basics to buying video games
Lines: 833
NOTES FROM THE AUTHORS
----------------------
The principal authors of this FAQ were Doug Jefferys
(dougj@sco.com) and Steve Ozdemir (ofoz@ihlpb.att.com).
Although we did most of the writing work ourselves, we couldn't
have produced this FAQ without the help of our loyal reviewers,
a few of whom include:
Hedley Rainnie (hedley@iit.com)
Steve Phillips (phillips@tegra.com)
Jeff Turner (jeff@msc.edu)
If we missed any names in that list (and we probably did), let
either Steve or myself know and we'll put you on the list in the
next revision.
We'd also like to take a moment to thank those of you who helped
us out but wished to remain anonymous. Your contributions to
this FAQ were highly valuable to us and will no doubt prove just
as valuable to the readership out there...
To our readers: if you liked this FAQ and found it useful, we'd
love to hear about it. While you are reading feel free to hit
"r" and send us a short note saying if you liked what was in the
FAQ and want to see more FAQs like this. Your comments will
help us to improve the FAQ and probably sow the seeds for the
creation of more useful goodies in the future.
Finally, this FAQ was created by volunteers. While we've done
the best that we can to ensure accuracy, some of the information
in this FAQ may not apply equally well to all geographic regions.
As with anything on the net, your mileage may vary...
---------------------------cut here-----------------------------
----------------------------
FAQ: BUYING FROM AN OPERATOR
Last Updated: 1 March 1993
----------------------------
INTENT AND DISCLAIMERS:
-----------------------
Copyright 1993
The authors hereby grant permission to reproduce and distribute
this document for personal use, subject to the condition that
the document (along with any copyright and disclaimer notices)
is not modified in any way.
The opinions expressed within this document are those of the
authors only and not necessarily those of their respective
employers.
This FAQ was created to assist beginning and established
collectors by providing useful information about making deals
with the current owners of video games. Because this hobby can
involve deals that can be in the $1000s, the reader is advised
to use the following information carefully.
This FAQ is provided for informational purposes only. Although
the authors have made every effort to provide accurate
information, they cannot guarantee the accuracy or usefulness of
any of the information contained herein due to the complexity of
the issues involved.
The authors take no responsibility for anything arising as a
result of anyone using the information provided in this FAQ, and
the reader hereby absolves the authors of any and all liability
arising from any activities resulting from the use of any
information contained herein.
This FAQ is divided into six sections:
SECTION ONE: Where did all the games go?
SECTION TWO: Who's who?
SECTION THREE: Know your operator
SECTION FOUR: Strategies for dealing with operators
SECTION FIVE: Wheeling and Dealing
SECTION SIX: Miscellaneous questions
SECTION ONE: Where did all the games go?
-----------------------------------------
Q: Why can't I find my favorite game anymore?
A: Simple. Your favourite video game doesn't make the operator
enough money to justify the floor space it takes up.
Perhaps you should have put more quarters in it when you had
the chance.
Sometimes games are retired due to high repair and
maintenance costs regardless of their popularity. For
example, Missile Command's large trackball was known to have
problems with pins wearing down, and the HV flyback
transformer in Tempest's color vector monitor was notorious
for its high failure rate.
Regardless of the reason for its retirement, if you want to
play, it'll be up to you to find your game and buy it.
Making this process simpler and easier for you was why we
wrote this FAQ.
Q: So why couldn't I buy it when it was in the arcade?
A: If you're playing a game on the street, the game is still
making money for the operator. We'll get into "how much
money" in the next question, but keep in mind that unless
you offer the operator at least three times the game's
monthly earnings, he won't even consider selling it to you.
Q: What happened to my favorite game while it was at the
arcade, and where did it go when it left?
A: Here's a rough sketch, based on the authors' experiences, of
what the first few years of a game's life is like.
An operator makes money by buying video games for
$2500-$3000 and running them for several months. Note that
there are exceptions: "Hard Drivin'" machines, for
instance, can cost upwards of $10,000 and will be "run" for
years...
After the first week of operation, the operator will
probably have $200-$400 inside. If a game costs $3200 and
the operator gets $200/wk, it takes the operator 16 weeks to
make back his original investment. Anything that comes in
after that is pure profit.
Unless you can offer the operator more than he will make
from a machine over the next three months or so, you can
forget it. This is why you never hear of anybody buying new
machines from an operator.
After the operator has been running the game for about 18
months or so, the game becomes "old". It doesn't earn much,
perhaps only $20-$50/wk or so. Since the operator has
limited space in the arcade, the game will be replaced with
a new game when an opportunity arises. The new game takes
up no more space than the old one, but it earns more MONEY.
Since the operator doesn't know what to do with the old
game, it usually gets dragged downstairs or thrown into a
warehouse, where it sits unused for several years, waiting
to be sold, converted, "parted out", or even taken off to
the dump!
Q: Okay, so it wound up in a warehouse. What happened to it
then?
A: The game sat there for some time, waiting to be sold,
converted, parted out, or dumped.
Conversion is the process of turning one game into another.
Ever wonder why you keep seeing the cabinets for some of
your old favorites with the "wrong game" inside 'em?
Conversions are the reason.
The more specialized the parts for a game are, the less
likely they are to be converted. The control panel for
"Stargate", for instance, has zero conversion value. (For
those of you who've never seen one, it's unique in the video
world, containing a two-directional joystick and six buttons
-- IN ADDITION to the one- and two-player start buttons.
Moreover, all seven controls were intended to be operated by
one at a time...) Games with such proprietary hardware
schemes such as this are likely to sit more or less intact
until sold or dumped.
At the other end of the scale are JAMMA-based games, in
which only the game logic needs to be changed; the controls
and other hardware are completely interchangeable. These
games are almost always converted quickly and re-introduced
to circulation.
The longer a game sits in a warehouse, the more likely it is
that parts of it will disappear, either for use in repairs
("parting out") or for use in other conversions. As the
game's earning potential approaches zero, or as a lot of its
parts disappear, it'll eventually wind up in the dumpster.
Not all of this news is bad news, though. When a game gets
converted, for instance, its boards are often left over
afterwards. This is why warehouses can be a good source for
boards as well as complete games.
We'll get into the risks and rewards of buying boards later
on in the FAQ. For now, let's stick to the sale of complete
games.
The sale of a game can take two forms:
The games are sometimes taken to auctions and sold to the
general public. The "general public" includes other
operators (who might have fewer games in their arcades and
still want the game), or collectors (who often attend
auctions and buy games there). See the Auctions FAQ for
details.
The games can also be sold to collectors who manage to get
into the warehouse. Getting you into that warehouse, and
informing you on what to do when you get there, is the goal
of this FAQ - How to Buy from an Operator.
If the game is not sold and the warehouse is full, the
operator will, without a moment's hesitation, throw the old
game into the dumpster in order to make room for newer
retirees.
Again, the MONEY principle is at work. Newer retirees are
more likely to command a higher price (more MONEY) when
sold, and the operator doesn't want to spend MONEY on
buying more warehouse space. You will hear more about the
MONEY principle later.
SECTION TWO: Who's who?
------------------------
Q: Who are distributors? What do they do?
A: Distributors sell new (occasionally used) games from
manufacturers to operators. Some distributors also perform
repair, reconditioning, and conversion work for operators.
Q: Who are operators? What do they do?
A: Anyone who owns a video game and makes money off it is an
operator. The guy who runs your local arcade is an
operator. The owner of the company which puts games at
"locations" such as your corner store is also an operator.
Even the people who run "Starcade" at Disneyland are
operators. Operators operate their games at locations to
make MONEY.
Q: Now that I know the difference between operators and
distributors, where should I go to buy my games?
A: Keep in mind that operators consider collectors as small
potatoes. They consequently dislike dealing with
collectors, and tend to avoid it wherever possible.
If an operator is unwilling to deal with you because he
considers you to be small potatoes, the distributor (who
often considers some *OPERATORS* to be small potatoes) is
going to be even less amenable to dealing.
It is possible to deal with a distributor, but it's *rare*,
and since the techniques used for dealing with operators and
distributors are roughly the same, the remainder of this FAQ
will concern itself with dealing with operators.
Q: Who are the collectors? (Okay, we are... so what do *WE*
do?)
A: The short answer is -- *WE* are! What we do should be
obvious -- we collect video games. Different collectors
tend to have different objectives. There are three general
classes of collectors out there, and they are as follows:
- Beginning collectors who own one or two games and are
looking to expand. This category also includes the
people who have yet to start their collections. Although
we discuss auctions in a separate FAQ, we highly
recommend them as a way to get started in the hobby; even
if you don't buy anything at an auction, you'll at least
get a feel for the state of the market in your area. And
they can be great places to meet fellow collectors.
- Intermediate collectors who own between three to six
machines and have probably converted at least one cabinet
to play more than one game. Auctions and get-togethers
for bulk buys are common ways of getting games at this
stage.
- Serious collectors who own more than six machines and
have converted several cabinets. Serious collectors are
often starting small inventories of parts, and they
probably sell at least some of the games they fix. Most
serious collectors acquire their wares through bulk buys
with operators.
Remember that these are only generalizations. In your
travels, you will likely encounter people who fit into more
than one of these categories. You may also encounter people
who fit into none of these categories. This hobby is
*ABOUT* video games, but it is *NOT* a video game in and of
itself -- it doesn't matter what "level" you're working at,
so long as you're enjoying yourself.
SECTION THREE: Know your operator
----------------------------------
Q: What makes operators tick?
A: Very simply. In fact, one word will suffice.
MONEY.
Q: So this is the MONEY principle, right?
A: Right. The MONEY principle is simple: OPERATORS LOVE MONEY.
It's a simple rule, but its importance cannot be overstated.
MONEY gets you in the door, MONEY talks to the operator,
MONEY pays your way when you're inside, and MONEY can even
help you get your favorite game away from the operator at
the lowest price possible. The strategy section of this FAQ
will describe all of this (and more) in detail.
Operators own games for one reason - to make MONEY. If
operators were allowed to run porno shows on their games in
order to collect quarters, they'd do it. Operators are not
interested in the art of game design. They are not
interested in the impact that these games have had upon
society. And they are certainly not interested in packaging
up the boards for your favorite game and sending it halfway
across the country - not for you or anyone else. Not when
he can make several times as much money by sitting back and
letting players pump quarters into his games.
AGAIN, ONLY ONE THING MATTERS TO OPERATORS -- GETTING THE
MOST MONEY OUT OF THE GAMES THEY OWN.
Read that sentence again.
You and I, however, only want to wrestle our favourite games
away from these "operators". So how do we do it?
Suffice it to say that whatever the answer is, it lies in
MONEY. This should be kept in mind as you read the
remainder of this FAQ, and should be foremost in your mind
whenever you deal with an operator.
Q: How do I contact an operator?
A: If you wish to use the phone, you can get phone numbers from
the following places:
- The "Amusement Devices" and "Vending Machines" sections
of your Yellow Pages directory is the best place to start.
- See those stickers on games which read something like
"For service, call 555-5555". Call one of these numbers
and see who answers.
- The sides of trucks seen at auctions sometimes have phone
numbers and company logos written on them.
- Go to an auction and put up a posting saying "MONEY FOR
JUNK" with your phone number on it. It can sometimes
work wonders.
- Replay magazine often has useful contact information. To
order a single copy, send $5.00 for a "Sample Copy" to:
Replay Magazine
PO BOX 2550
Woodland Hills, CA
91365
If you're physically present at the arcade, start working
your way up through the ranks. Start with the person behind
the coin counter or a technician. These "front line" people
can give you information on what's sitting down in the
basement, and may be able to set you up with the arcade
manager.
Often a combined approach (visit an arcade, ask a few
questions, get a phone number, go home and call the next
day) is the most effective.
Q: Okay, I've got the phone number, but I still don't seem to
be getting anywhere. What's going on and how can I do
better?
A: Getting the phone number is only half the battle. The whole
organization of receptionists, technicians and arcade
managers is set up to prevent people from talking to the
operator.
The reason for this is that *ANYTHING* the operator could be
doing would earn him more money than dealing with a
collector who is only likely to spend $100-200. For
example, the average operator can take in just as much money
in a SINGLE DAY by leaving his phone off the hook and letting
people pump quarters into a row of Mortal Kombat machines...
If you are in an arcade, keep in mind that (in most cases)
only the operator has the authority to sell you a video game.
The arcade managers and technicians generally do not.
Although these people are often valuable sources of
information, you'll usually have to keep working at it until
you reach the "man at the top".
One last note. OPERATORS NEVER RETURN PHONE CALLS. (Well,
maybe not "NEVER", but trust us, it's rare...) So if you
manage to talk to one and want to continue dealing, you have
to take the initiative.
Some operators have also become "jaded" through deals with
beginning collectors that never spent much money, expected
perfectly-working games, and always wanted warranties. If
this is the case for your operator, expect considerable
difficulty in overcoming his prejudices if you wish to deal
effectively. Sometimes there's just no winning, and you're
best off trying your luck elsewhere.
SECTION FOUR: Strategies for dealing with operators
----------------------------------------------------
Q: I've made contact! What do I say I'm looking for?
A: Don't be overly specific. Telling an operator that you are
"looking for Battlezone" simply tells the operator that he
can ask any price he wants for it - thereby making more
MONEY. This is a case of the MONEY principle working
against you.
On the other hand, if the operator has no interest in the
collector's desired item, the collector can often buy it for
next to nothing. The key is NOT TO BRING ATTENTION TO THE
DESIRED ITEM. An excellent way of doing this is by
including desirable items in bulk buys. Indicate interest
in "oh, some old Atari boards", then buy a pile of them, even
if half of them are for games you don't really want. The
Battlezone board will be much cheaper as a result, and you
can probably use the rest of the boards for parts at a later
time.
The MONEY principle can also be used to your advantage. If
you casually mention that you're willing to "clear out some
space" for him by "taking some old games off his hands", you
can improve your chances.
After all, the operator is only going to be throwing the
junk away in a couple of years. If he sees that he can save
on storage or disposal costs by selling you something,
you're in business. He makes MONEY from the sale, and he
saves MONEY by letting you take the games off his premises.
The higher the potential for making MONEY, the more eager he
will be to deal with you. Bulk buys (where you state that
you're willing to buy three or more games, for instance),
are especially attractive. Making purchases with cash
sweetens the deal still further. He can see the MONEY
right in front of his face, and he'll want to get his hands
on it.
The key is to convince the operator that he wants to sell
you the goods. Ask him how much it costs to rent/heat the
warehouse. Does he have space problems? Wouldn't it be
nice if a dozen machines which he'll never operate again
disappeared and several hundred dollars CASH appeared in
their place? (A hint: emphasize the word "CASH", should
you elect to bring this question to your operator's
attention...)
Ask him why he still has those ancient vector monitors
around anymore. Ask him if he even has any machines out
that could use the parts sitting in the pile in the corner.
Why pay to keep a batch of Defender boards when all your
Defender cabinets have been converted to other games or
scrapped? (A hint: make sure he tells you what is useful
*BEFORE* you start rummaging through boards, otherwise his
list of useful boards may grow during your conversation...)
The whole idea behind this line of questioning is "Mr.
Operator, why don't you let me take these parts/machines
that will not make you any MONEY (and which will never be
used to repair anything that makes MONEY, and which cost
MONEY to store or dispose of) off your hands. I'm even
willing to PAY YOU MONEY for the privilege of doing you this
favour..."
Once you explain things that way (and especially if you
suggest a bulk buy), you should end up getting a great
price. Generally, since you can select what to take, about
50% to 75% of the stuff you take will be useful or valuable
to you. The rest of it will probably be useful or valuable
to the other serious collectors on the net, so you can
actually make some money yourself!
The only problem you will encounter is that you have a VERY
LIMITED TIME to select all the stuff you will haul off; this
is discussed in another question.
Q: I'm in the warehouse. What now?
A: Remember those old contests where the "prize" is "a one
minute shopping spree"? That's what you do. You hurry.
Time is MONEY in the video game business, and you should
know by now what MONEY means to an operator. Since
collectors rarely have much MONEY and are often shunned by
operators, if you've managed to get this far, you probably
won't get a second chance.
For instance, if you go to an operator and spend an hour and
a half rummaging through old boards and play-testing half of
the machines in the warehouse, take down some prices and
then leave, the operator will probably feel that he didn't
get enough MONEY for the time he lost in dealing with you.
As a result, you will probably not be welcomed back for a
second visit, even if you *DO* intend to buy this time.
(To give you an idea of what *WILL* make a visit "worth it"
to an operator, about the only times we've heard of
collectors having been invited back for a second visit is
when they'd purchased over $1500 worth of goods...)
Keep this in mind as you "power-shop". You will NOT be
coming back for the things that *YOU* forgot, let alone to
pick up something for somebody else. You have only one
chance to pull out as much as you can, and you have to do
so AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
Q: I've made a deal! Now how should I pay for what I bought?
A: This is a simple question. Since cash is about the only
form of money that operators will accept, you've really got
no choice!
The reason for this is that operators don't have the time or
inclination to worry about things like bounced checks or
credit cards. Cash is simple, direct, *VERY* easy to
handle, and gets to the point.
Cash is good. It helps the MONEY principle work for you,
rather than against you. Bring plenty of cash with you when
you meet with an operator, and make sure that it's visible.
A fat wad of twenties in your shirt pocket is probably as
good a bargaining tool as any strategy mentioned in this FAQ.
SECTION FIVE: Wheeling and Dealing
-----------------------------------
Q: Which games are most worth buying?
A: This is a tough question. The economics of supply and
demand determine what is worth buying and how much it should
cost. Both change often, but a good guide to what was in
demand recently is the VAPS membership list. If it's
popular with VAPS members, odds are it'll be popular among
other collectors too. Ranges of sample prices have also
been sprinkled throughout the text of this FAQ and can be
used as guides to help you in your dealings. (Keep in mind
these prices will eventually go out of date as the FAQ gets
older...)
Q: What parts will be the most useful to me if I (like most
people) don't have much money or space?
A: Go for monitors, boards, and control panels. Cabinets are
large, heavy, and difficult to keep around. For the same
reasons, and due to their high shipping costs, they're also
hard to sell to other people.
If you're buying in bulk, get as many monitors, boards, and
control panels as you can. Here's why.
- If you trade equipment with other collectors, you get the
first pick from the bulk deal and can keep the best stuff
for yourself. This is the main reason why anyone deals
in bulk board buys in the first place.
- It's much easier to throw in a new board set and control
panel on a game than it is to rewire a whole cabinet.
See the Conversion FAQ for more details.
- Boards, being worthless to most operators, tend to be
cheap.
- You can sell most, if not all of your goods, on the net
at a later date. This helps your hobby pay for itself
and also helps others (who may not have the time nor the
inclination to do a bulk buy) to get the parts for the
games they want.
- You can use extra goodies as a source of spare parts for
your games. Control panels are especially useful in this
regard.
- If you're dealing in non-working equipment, remember the
adage about spare parts - "the more, the merrier". Even
if you're the type who likes to program with a soldering
iron, you'll want spare parts to swap in and out during
the repair process.
- A control panel and related boards occupy much less space
than a complete cabinet. This fact will become
increasingly important as your hobby of collecting games
evolves, as you will rapidly run out of space for more
cabinets.
- If you're buying JAMMA-compatible hardware, you don't
*NEED* anything more than the board, since "one cabinet
fits all". See the question on building your own cabinet
for more information.
- If you're buying for friends, or are far away from home,
you cut down drastically on shipping costs. See the
section on shipping costs for details. Compare the
volume and mass of a control panel and boards with its
cabinet. Which would *YOU* rather carry for 500 miles?
- You avoid the horrible situation of the operator/
distributor throwing the boards away when you aren't
there. The next collector arrives and hears "oh, sorry,
we threw a whole bunch of those out last month". (If
collectors got paid a quarter for every time they heard
this line, they'd soon have more money than the
operators...)
Q: What risks are there associated with dealing in spare
parts? What should I know about buying or selling boards?
A: When buying from an operator, try to resist the temptation
to test the goods. If a board set is gathering dust in a
corner, both you and the operator can safely assume it isn't
working. On the other hand, if you power up a board set and
it *DOES* work, you've just told the operator that the board
set is worth something. Something called MONEY. Something
you could still have in your pocket had you bought the board
set as "broken" and tested it at home.
Once you've gotten your parts home, test them out. If they
don't work, don't worry. If you have some knowledge of
electronics, you may be able to fix them. Even if you
can't, broken boards can still be sold on the net -- there
*ARE* people out there who can fix them, so they're still
worth having.
If you're really worried about the condition of the boards
and are willing to pay extra for working boards, you can
still ask for testing, but keep in mind that if you're
dealing in large quantities of boards, even the friendliest
operator will not have time to test them all. You will
therefore still be buying boards of unknown condition. They
may not work even if the operator says they will. Moreover,
you are buying "as is". If the operator isn't going to let
you back in *BUY* a second time, do you really think he'll
give you a refund on something that doesn't work?
If you intend to sell extra boards on the net, we recommend
that you start small in order to get a taste of all the
hassles associated with just breaking even. For instance,
everyone will want advice on how to hook up the game, and
nobody will want to pay for shipping or handling. You may
also have to deal with bouncing cheques and/or COD shipment
hassles.
The point is that this isn't a money-making business. If
you could make a killing in the "used boards" market, we
wouldn't need this FAQ. The operators would be selling used
boards by the dozen right in the arcades. On the other hand,
don't let this scare you. The authors of this FAQ who have
done board deals in the past have always found *SOME* use for
most of the goodies they've picked up. Keep your wits about
you, use common sense, and you probably won't go wrong.
Q: I want to deal in whole games. What is a reasonable price
for a game and/or its components?
A: EVERYTHING depends on where you live, but here is a general
guide:
- Once a game stops earning enough money to justify its
floor space, its boards are generally worthless to an
operator. These games have no real value except in terms
of what they can be converted into. Consequently boards
that are more than three years old should go for $10-20
apiece if you buy them in bulk.
- Raster monitors go for $50-100 because operators can
reuse them in other games. Although the required
horizontal sync frequency can differ from manufacturer to
manufacturer, the required changes to the monitor's
circuitry are minor. Operators' technicians can perform
these changes and thereby reuse the monitor.
- Vector monitors, on the other hand, are practically
worthless. Very few operators these days feel they can
make money from these old vector games. Furthermore,
since vector monitors operate on different principles
than raster monitors, nothing on such a monitor is
reusable. The only value a vector monitor has is its
rarity -- operators know that collectors want these
monitors, and consequently they tend to go for $25-50
apiece in bulk deals.
- Older games (those over five years old) go for $150 to
$300.
- Newer games (between one and five years old) are worth
up to $1500.
- Brand new games can cost up to $3000.
Note that rare games are an exception. Operators know which
games are rare and which games are popular. Unless you are
making a *VERY* large bulk buy (20 games or more), the
operator will demand more for these games.
Q: So now that you've said all that, what should I buy? Tell
me quickly, because I'm in the warehouse now and only have
about 15 minutes or so in which to make up my mind!
A: The moral of the story is:
- Scarf any old boards you can find.
- Scarf any vector monitors you can find, especially if you
are interested in this type of game and are willing to
buy or store spare parts. These parts are becoming rarer
by the day!
- Scarf any control panels of games you'd like to have,
even if the board sets aren't there. This is
particularly important in the case of rare or classic
games. If you intend to become a serious collector,
scarfing control panels of games is a *MUST*!
- Be wary of buying raster monitors, especially if the
monitors are new. Ask yourself why the operator is
willing to give you a perfectly good monitor if he can
put it into his next conversion, thereby saving himself
$50-100?
Q: How much does it cost to ship a video game?
A: Shipping a game costs $150 as a *MINIMUM*, and upwards of
$300 if you want a reputable company to do it. When people
find out that their $200 game is going to cost $300 to ship,
they buy locally. 80-90% of all games traded on the net are
bought and sold within a two-hour drive of the location of
the game.
If you're buying for a friend, make sure they're willing to
pay these costs. Otherwise you'll wind up with what they
didn't want to pay to ship -- and what you probably didn't
want in the first place (since you were willing to sell and
ship it to them in the first place).
If you want to ship the game yourself, the best method is
to use a trailer. Trailers cost about $20 to rent, plus the
cost of your gas, and unless you own a pickup truck, they
are by far the cheapest way to move a video game.
A used trailer will cost about $300 and will probably be the
most useful item in a serious collector's inventory. (The
second most useful item, by the way, is an "appliance-moving
dolly" or "refrigerator dolly"...)
Always keep in mind that boards, monitors, and control
panels can be carried in the back seat of your car, so
shipping costs are equal to the cost of gas and a few hours
of your time.
Also, keep in mind that shipping can be rough on old games.
Expect to perform some minor repair work if your game has to
be carried over long distances.
SECTION SIX: Miscellaneous questions
-------------------------------------
Q: Why hasn't anybody started a "locator service" on the net?
Why won't people buy games on my behalf?
A: Consider the following sequence of steps, all of which would
be required were such a service to be set up.
1) Find an operator who's willing to deal.
2) Get a price on a video game from the operator.
3) Advertise on the net through the locator service.
4) Get a reply via e-mail.
5) Buy the game from the operator.
6) Work out shipping and handling through the net.
7) Ship.
From the middleman's perspective:
Notice that two visits to the operator are required. If
operators tend to avoid collectors (because there isn't
enough MONEY to make it worth their while), what are the
chances that our prospective middleman is going to get a
second visit with the operator?
If a dozen other people on the net manage to find the game
at the same time, what are the chances that you (the person
making the buy) will be the one lucky enough to make the
sale? Not very good.
You will either have wasted the operator's time (because you
didn't buy the game) and you can forget about dealing with
that operator again, or you will be the proud owner of a
game which you didn't want in the first place. (Let's face
it, if you wanted the game, you would have bought it for
yourself and not offered to sell it...)
From the end buyer's perspective:
Wait. I only wanted *ONE* game. Now I've got 10 people who
want to sell me the same game and I can only buy one. That
means 9 people who won't be very eager to deal with me
through the net again because I just cost them their contact
with their local operator. And I've also gotta pay shipping
and handling (upwards of $150-200) for a game of unknown
quality ON TOP OF THE PURCHASE PRICE.
I suppose I could have asked the sellers to send me a
picture of the game through the (snail) mail first. But
that would have cost more money, taken more time, and
annoyed more operators. Again, more people unlikely to deal
with me... (to say nothing of the fact that most of the
pictures were taken in dark warehouses and I couldn't even
see the game...)
From the net's perspective:
The problem with locator lists is that not all copies of the
list can be updated simultaneously. The end buyer may
forget to take the game off the list - then someone else on
the list find the game and get stuck with it. Often times,
the end buyer will forget to include the cost of shipping
into their calculations - and back out of a deal upon
discovering that the cost of shipping exceeds the cost of
the game itself.
Q: If "bigger is better", why doesn't the net organize group
trips to warehouses?
A: Group trips are good ideas in theory, but in practice they
turn out to be very complicated. If you've ever organized
a social gathering of net.acquaintances (even if only from
your local area), you already know what we mean. Now
imagine how hard it is to get six different people to show
up from halfway across the country at a predetermined spot
- ON TIME - in order to go to the one and only meeting with
the operator.
Even if everybody makes it there on time, if all six people
try striking separate deals with the operator, they'll wind
up taking too much of his time and the deals will fall
through.
If you *DO* manage to organize a group visit, it's a very
good idea to make up a joint "grocery list" BEFOREHAND.
Everyone involved must be prepared to contribute a certain
amount of money for a given game; once this is decided upon,
you can all visit the warehouse and offer ONE PRICE FOR THE
ENTIRE LIST.
Haggling over individual games during a bulk buy is a very
poor way to conduct business. The "one-price-takes-all"
strategy will save the operator's time, thereby increasing
the chances that you'll be allowed back at some future date
- and will also likely result in a better price for the
buyers.
Q: Can I build my own cabinet?
A: Yes, but don't expect to save money by doing so. It's
somewhat cheaper than shipping a cabinet, but it's very
time-consuming and the results depend entirely on one's
carpentry skills. One of the authors has tried it -- it
cost about $125 and took about three weeks. None of the
authors have heard about anyone else attempting this feat.
There may be an advantage to building your own cabinet it
you have an interest in JAMMA-based games. For JAMMA
aficionados, a huge cabinet capable of holding 10-20 boards
would be of considerable value.
Q: Anything else I should know?
A: Connections and reputations are the key to this hobby. For
example, if you develop a reputation for being cheap (by
buying only things you really need and when the pieces are
in good condition), you won't be invited to go on all the
bulk buys because you won't be buying much if the warehouse
is a dud. On the other hand, you'll always be invited to go
on the really high-quality buys, because the other
collectors will know you're likely to buy a lot.
Keep in mind that you can develop both your reputation and
contacts any way you like. The collecting community is NOT
an "old-boys" network. If you develop a lot of contacts,
you'll have a reputation that'll get you more connections,
and so on...
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