I finally got my game room going and want to get a cab or two for in there. I was curious if there are any good website or forums that are good for picking them up for decent prices. I always keep an eye on craiglist, but I still have yet to see anything worthwhile…and ebay just seems extremely over priced.
Any help is really appreciated.
You could try posting at the Trading Outlet. SRK members might be willing to part with one for less for fellow SRK members.
Best plan is just to keep looking.
You have to give it a while. Also do some internet searches for local arcade sales. Every state and region is different.
Sometimes you can get a machine from a arcade that closing down or moving or a Arcade who still in business might want to part with a old banged up cab
Craigslist can be a good place to find deals.
If you let us know exactly what cabs you’re looking for we could possibly be of assistance.
I think your location is the biggest factor. Just keep an eye on eBay, CL, Trading Outlet etc. You may be in for a drive depending on where you live. Be prepared to drive a few hours.
I just bought my first arcade machine today from Craigslist, drove a few hours to picked it up, nearly broke a neighbor’s thumb in getting it up a flight of stairs, but totally worth it! Depending on where you live, it’s probably they way to go.
I was mainly looking for either Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, SF3:3s, or Vampire Savior.
I live in the Atlanta, GA area so I think any arcades that were here closed some time ago. Been keeping an eye on Ebay and CL. I wouldn’t mind driving a couple hours to pick it up either, thats not a big deal to me. Just want to find one for a reasonable price.
with money.
I paid 99 dollars for a Neo Geo 1 slot.
You might well have to buy the cab and the pcb separately.
I’m starting to think this is what I may have to do. Never worked on a cab myself before so it would be pretty new to me. But it doesn’t seem to hard. I’d also just have to find where to get all the marquees and onlays, etc.
I’d take a look at the trade section on <a href=“http://forums.arcade-museum.com/”>KLOV</a>. You can find tons of stuff on there.
Also I’ve found some of the absolute best deals at Arcade Auctions. There’s a super popular one somewhat in your region. <a href=“http://www.auctiongamesales.com/AUCTIONDATES.htm”>They</a> usually have about 1500 items at each auction and is well worth the trip. There’s some YouTube videos of people displaying the collections at some of them. Most of the time it’s amusement places making the sells and buys and oddly enough tue games your interested are the type that no business really wants any more.
I bought a Tekken back in the fall at one for $30.
It’s an awesome place if you’d want a cab for MAME conversion because there’s tons of decent cabs nobody wants but are in excellent condition.
Awesome, I’ll have to look into that, thanks for the info. Wish I had money back in the day when all the arcades were closing, would have been way easier.
I’ll be attending the one coming up in August with hopes to pick up a few more cabs.
I usually take about a grand and come home with whatever I can and as many as we can fit in our little truck.
You’ll find EVERYTHING from old classics like nice looking donkey kongs to brand new games that have came out in the last year or so.
It’s also an extremely fun event. We usually make a whole weekend out of the trip because it’s such a long drive from where I live.
That does sound like fun, and sounds like you can get some very nice deals…I’ll have to set up my schedule so i can head out there.
what about when ae came out? how do you get a new game cab?
It being an auction it’s usually stuff that businesses aren’t making any money off but they do tend to bring some prized pieces now and then in hopes to make some money off of em.
I went to one back in Jan. And the most expensive one was a Guitar Hero stand up unit. Sold for about 3000.
We came home with a Neo Geo 2 slot and a Galaga cabriolet. I think we bought a small arcade monitor for cheap too.
My goal is to look for cabs that I either really want for myself or something I think I can flip.
We bought a decent Tekken for $30, brought it home cleaned it up and put it on Craigslist and made quite a bit off of it. That money made can go towards buying something nicer.
I havent seems a SFIV cab, but you see MK cabs, MvsC cabs, and early street fighters. You can expect to pay around 100-200 or so for one of them in decent shape.
Occasionally you can pick em up for less though.
Thats awesome, i wouldn’t mind paying 100-200 for a classic SF or maybe pick up a Neo Geo cab. I’m so going to the one in August. Ever see any SF3’s?
I don’t recall any SF3’s but that doesnt mean there hasnt been any.
There’s seriously about 1200-1500 items at each auction.
I’ve been to other auctions, but the people who run the one in Kingsport & Winston-Salem seem to be the most organized and consistant.
People come from all over, to buy and sell, and they have one almost every month.
I uploaded some photos from a previous Auction in Kingsport.
forum.arcadeotaku.com has a large for sale section…
and should be able to help with all your arcade related questions…
that’s where I got my New Astro City and my Egret 3
I dont know if anyone has mentioned this yet but if you have an arcade nearby check with the owner and he might be looking to make some space or make some extra cash from machines that arent being used…
I got a ridiculously cheap blast city like that from the arcade owner in my area that was looking to make some room and get rid of things he no longer needed.