My first auction

[Grauwulf]

I'm going to be going to my first arcade auction next weekend, and I was wondering
what, if anything, other than money I should bring with me? And is there any sort of rules or ettiquete for examining games? Is it okay to pull a panel off
and look inside, that sort of thing?

[mark]

Bring a flash light to look into the
machine, extention cord w/ power bar also bring a friend to watch your machine while you get your vehicle ready. Are you going to the starburst auction?

[Grauwulf]

Gee, how'd ya guess? *lol*

Already got the hired help looked after. My brother is
hooked on my pinball machine, so he jumped at the opportunity to go with me. This is going to be my birthday present to myself, taking a weekend off to
actually go and do something fun. I likely won't buy anything unless I find something I really want (like an original Road Blasters), but it'll be nice to
check it out and hit the parts department for some things I need. You going to be going Mark?

[leonk]

Here's a few things that I've
learned over the last 2 years I've been going to the auctions (I assume you're going to Saturday's Starbusrt auction)

I would actually be
there, if it wasn't for the fact that it's my wedding day.

- you need 200$ CASH to get a voting card
- you need to pay for the item
afterwards.. again.. CASH
- don't worry about guarding the machine. The workers there will help you load it up.
- machines at the start always sell
for less than at the end. (call it desperation?)
- machines in the summer always sell for a lot more than the winter (more people turn out!)
- expect
to pay ~200-400 for a decent arcade machine
- expect to pay over 1000$ (EASILY) for a decent pinball machine
- bring a cord to test the
machine

Things to watch for with arcades:

- don't worry about stiff/stuck buttons, or joysticks. They're cheap replacements 1 building
down.
- don't bother bidding on machines with burned screens (CRT replacements cost $$$ and aren't the easiest thing in the world).
- don't worry
too much about dim video, jail bars on the screen, etc. With 100$ (or 5$ if you know how to handle electronics) a new cap kit will bring a monitor to almost
new condition.
- don't bother bidding on pinball machines with missing parts.. the parts alone will cost you as much or more than the machine!


HAVE FUN!!! FREE GAMING FOR 2 HOURS!

[monkeybug]

leonk has some good advice. Just a few more
pointers though about the Starburst auction....

1) I find that prices are higher in the winter because more people show up since the weather is crappy
and operators seem to rotate more stuff in the winter months. The last auctions have been very slim.

2) As stated... "Cash Only". You can also store
the games there for a couple of days. After that, you have to pay a storage fee.

3) Be careful of who you are bidding against. A lot of the machines
are property of Starburst. There is no stated reserve but there are Starburst employees (or hired hands) to make sure the bidding goes to the minimum that
they want. You will see a lot machines sell to the same people. And then the machines turn up in the next auction(s)! So when you see a pinball machine go
for $1200, it may not be the real price because it is a buyback.

4) I would recomend bringing a clipboard and pen. They will give you an auction
list at the beginning. With that, you can walk around and make notes. Get a price in your head (and write it down). Stick with it or else you might get
caught up in an auction frenzy.

5) Bring a long extension cord. Outlets are at a limit. The best kinds are the ones that you can roll up inside of a
plastic case.

6) You can't open the machines if they are locked. If the coin door is open, you can look inside. But you can't move the machine
around and open it up. All machines are turned on for a minute during the auction to show they are working. Space is limited in there and it is a bit of a
tight fit.

[Grauwulf]

Here's a few things that I've learned over the last 2 years I've been going to the auctions (I assume you're going to
Saturday's Starbusrt auction)

I would actually be there, if it wasn't for the fact that it's my wedding day.

- you need 200$
CASH to get a voting card

*snip*

This may seem like a really stupid question, but if you do not buy
anything, you get your $200 back, right?

Yep, I'm going to this coming saturday's auction.

[mark]

yes of course you get your money back!

[Grauwulf]

I know that made
me sound foolish, but I have been to some *weird* auctions in my day(estate, shop, car, etc), not much would suprise me. This is my first arcade auction
though, so I thought I'd better ask. *lol*

[maxlords]

Hey...I want
to go to this! We should have a field trip damnit!

[Diamond Dave]

Another
thing, get there early to get a good parking spot, and don't goto the donut store across the road, unless you want to pay $5.00 for a donut and a pop (pack
something to eat), but make sure you have a look at A-1 Electronics just down from the donut store... Good Luck, I wish I could go.

[RayB]

What's at A-1 electronics?

[Grauwulf]

Well I have no idea what's at A-1 electronics, but only 1 more work day until the auction!
WOOOHOO!

[monkeybug]

If you fix your own boards or monitors, A-1 is a great electronics place with a lot of parts. Sort of a surplus store.

[RayB]

I won't
be attending the auction, but someone please write down final prices on the product sheet they list and then post it all here?