Buying Arcade And Pinball Games At Auction
Written by: Blaine Locklair, Editor, High
Scores Arcade
Buying arcade and pinball games at
auction can be an exciting and financially rewarding experience. In addition, by
going to an auction you get exposed to games you might not see elsewhere. With
some good strategy and preparation, you can find some great games at great
prices.
For those not familiar, there are
three major players in arcade and pinball auctions: Auction Game Sales, Super
Auctions, and US Amusement Auction. Each typically serves its own region and
each typically conduct their auctions in nearly the same manner.
I've been to a number of these
auctions and learned some great lessons from my experiences. Here are some of
the most important ones for potential buyers:
-
Bring An Extension Cord With
You.
There's a two hour preview period before an auction starts, so take
advantage of it. Plug in the games you are interested in bidding on and make
sure they perform to your satisfaction. If they do not, make sure you are
qualified to service them so that they will. Remember that uncommon games
are often difficult to get replacement parts for and when you find those
parts they will be expensive. Also, remember to adjust your bid accordingly
for any functions of the game that do not work correctly.
-
Bring A Pocket Full Of
Quarters. Just as if you had Pac-Man Fever, bring a pocket full of
quarters with you. Some of the games you will be interested in will have the
front doors locked and you will not be able to coin them up unless you feed
them quarters. Of course, some of those games will need tokens instead of
quarters, so bear that in mind too.
-
Bring A Flashlight. No,
not in case the building loses power. There will be some games that you will
want to look inside of, and they will be too dark to see in. If you bring
even a small flashlight you will be able to see if the games have what you
are looking for, like circuit boards and monitors, for example.
-
Set Bidding Limits. You
can easily overspend at an auction, especially if you get "auction fever"
and get wrapped up in a bidding war. Set limits for how much you are willing
to bid for each game, and stick to them. This way, when you end your day at
the auction you will not end up with a case of buyer's remorse.
-
The Person That Owns The Game
You Are Bidding On Is Bidding Against You. Maybe not always, but in most
instances the owner of the game you are bidding on is standing near you and
is bidding on the game too. Why? Because the seller has their own minimum
amount that he or she needs to sell the game for. Rather than risk selling
the game too low, they will bid on it until it reaches the minimum amount
that they want to sell it for. This is acceptable by auction rules, and if
the seller wins their own game, they only have to typically pay around a
$10.00 fee to the auction company to buy the game back and take it home.
This is where setting your spending limits will reward you because you will
not overspend due to a seller inflating the auction price on their own game.
-
Never Judge A Book By Its
Cover. The first game I ever bought at auction was a beautifully
restored Ms. Pac-Man. It sold for $875.00 and it was a lot of fun to play.
What I later learned about it was that it had a bootleg "Dolly-P" board in
it and not a real Ms. Pac-Man board. Why didn't I catch this up front?
Because the game had been set to free play for the auction, which forced the
game to never show the attract mode, which would have showed me the
"Dolly-P" screen. What else did I find out? The monitor had a ripple in it
that I never saw before I got it home. The glimmer of the game at the
auction blinded me to the wavy monitor. I sold it several years later, and
what did I find then? The game was actually a Pac-Man cabinet and not a Ms.
Pac-Man cabinet. The day I loaded the game onto the shipper's truck I found
the yellow paint from the original Pac-Man paint job. These are minor things
to find out - some people buy a "project game" that just needs a little
"TLC", and when they get it home the find out that it needs a complete board
set, power supply and wiring harness. So remember, not all that glimmers is
gold.
-
Add The Fees Into Your Bid.
Typical auction fees are 10%-13% of the final bid price, and sales tax
typically runs 6%-9%. Add in 3% for a credit card purchase, and you've got
over 20% additional fees added to the final price. If you buy a $1,000.00
game, that's over $200.00 in fees and taxes! Keep these fees in mind when
you bid so that you don't get "Sticker Shock" when you get the final bill.
-
Stick Around For The Great
Deals! If you hang out until the very end of the auction, you can often
buy some decent games cheap. Most of the money has been spent by that point,
most everyone is waiting the one hour line to pay, and the last games that
sell often sell for about 1/4 or less of their actual value. What have I
bought at the end and made out on? I bought an F-15 Strike Eagle sit-down
cockpit style game at the last auction I went to. It worked 100% and has a
25" monitor, and I bought it for $20.00. This game was easily worth 10-20
times more, but it sold at just the right time. Timing is everything in
life, and you can add a cheap collection of decent games to your game room
or route if you stick it out to the end of the day.
If you follow these steps at the
auction, you will have a more enjoyable experience, pay less money, and end up
with higher quality games. So head out to the next local auction to your area
and get yourself some great new games!
|
