What will we do when we get to old?

[_Matt_]

I'm 44 so hopefully I've still got a good few arcade years left in me yet but let's face it, there will come a point when we can't even slide a cab around to get to the back let alone move one on a sack truck, so what do we do then?

I know some will sell up at that point and start a new hobby but I'm pretty attached to most of mine and couldn't see me ever wanting to part with them and if you do let them go to another collector they will only end up in the same position as we are all similar ages on here. The one thing you don't want to do is leave your family to deal with it when you're gone.
It would be great to pass them to your kids or grandkids but they probably wouldn't be interested and wouldn't have space if they were. Ideally there will be a younger generation of collectors coming through and they can be passed on to them to keep them running but will we be the last generation who share this passion for these machines or will there be another?

Sorry if this is a bit depressing, it's just something I've been thinking about. I've got one of those old Clown catcher penny slot machines. It was passed on to me when I was a kid by my Gran as her parents bought it for their shop in 1913. Luckily these are fairly small so I will easily be able to pass it on to my kids, and it still works, 107 years later!

 

[neo-geo-mvs]

I'm not going to worry about it to be honest.

If my time is up early then my collection will go to a couple of members on here who will do the right thing - enjoy, share, whatever.

If I live until I'm a pensioner, then the collection will be passed on to relatives to do whatever.

My only wish is that the collection is not just thrown away but enjoyed.

I'm sure there will be museums in the future, where people can enjoy games from the past. Some museums are doing this already. I would really like my collection to sent "there".

Whilst we are "young", I would just enjoy the collection "today" and not worry about "tomorrow and what ifs"

 

[trev1976]

I was just thinking about this today , not so much moving them about but actually playing them (will I be to old to play one day?), I still love gaming as much now as I did as a teen but I'm 44 this year and it's a little bit depressing getting older, I started weight lifting , eating well and running again 2yrs ago as I was starting to feel old and fat and it's sorted me right out apart from a few aches and pains. Trying to stay young as long as I can so i can enjoy everything I like doing.

 

[andyman]

God laughs in the face of plans

 

[antray84]

I think it's important to enjoy the cab as a 'thing' but also build up the memories of playing it, and with others. If you don't play it enough or build up those memories then you probably wont be too fussed when it is time to move it on or be unable to play it. I guess the best thing you can do is pass it down for someone else to enjoy or donate it to a museum or a charity centre.

But also worth noting that by then we all have robot hands that allow us to play defender one handed, so no need to worry.

 

[John Bennett]

If I'm lucky enough to live until the age granddad got to (95), none of it'll work by then anyway. If it does, I'll flog it to keep the hip flask topped up.

John Bennett2020-04-26 22:58:57

 

[Body pop]

It must be a 44 thing ,I’m 44 soon to be 45
And I also wonder ,who is really going to want this stuff after us
I think at my age ,I was lucky enough to see the early stuff in arcades and grow up with the early 80s to early 90s stuff .
I’ve felt too old for it before ,only to get back into it all in a bigger way
I wouldn’t fancy being like one of the old guys on American pickers with a big hoard of stuff and worrying about it causing others problems
I keep whatever cabs I play and move the other stuff on
There’s no need to worry unless your a hoarder

 

[tin]

Someone can RAID my storage when it happens. The family definitely doesn't want to see them. I'm also 44 strangely enough. Definitely a 44 thing. Need to take some more leaves out of trev1976's book tho I think.

 

[J69]

If you don’t/can’t play them, sell them to someone who will/can

 

[jengineer]

Well I’m 44 this year so I’m catching you guys up

I’m pretty sure when I’m gone my prized record collection will go to the car boot and everything sold for 50p so it’s comforting to know someone will get a bargain on a nice Sunday morning

You’ll probably all sell up when you get near 60 unless you definitely can’t part with it all then it’ll go in storage until you pop it and your kids or grandkids will stick it all on eBay, I’ve bought collections of old jukeboxes from people who said it was there dads or grandads, machines always ended up a right damp mess, so there you go, all those collections of damp rotton jukeboxes and 60’s pinballs on eBay, that’s an clue, ha hajengineer2020-04-27 08:35:35

 

[69er]

I would be getting a bit concerned for the mental health of 44 year olds just now but I am 67 in a few weeks time...……

THE WORST FUTURE LOOKING THING IS NOT BEING ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY PASS ON THE KNOWLEDGE TO REPAIR THE STUFF to know what is valuable or collectable among it AND THE NEW GENERATION WILL SURELY HAVE DIFFERENT INTERESTS as this is OUR PAST ,, OUR CHILDHOOD RE-LIVED or incidental occupation, which develops as a result? it is sad to think but …………………

Well I’m 44 this year so I’m catching you guys up

I’m pretty sure when I’m gone my prized record collection will go to the car boot and everything sold for 50p so it’s comforting to know someone will get a bargain on a nice Sunday morning

You’ll probably all sell up when you get near 60 unless you definitely can’t part with it all then it’ll go in storage until you pop it and your kids or grandkids will stick it all on eBay, I’ve bought collections of old jukeboxes from people who said it was there dads or grandads, machines always ended up a right damp mess, so there you go, all those collections of damp rotton jukeboxes and 60’s pinballs on eBay, that’s an clue, ha ha

I am sure Duncan looks down the mid Cheshire obituaries now and then to see if my hoard is going to become a honeypot for him to suck up ??????????

just to think of what we have and what we might do or think what would happen to it ? UNIMAGINABLE

however my wife and I we do things that seem to keep us young in mind (we a a two person team recover pooltables all over the north west, if time allows after the arcade , the youth club, and family give us much needed enthusiasm) and providing we try to stay healthy enough to move the stuff we will probably just sell a few things off as we have over the years. not going to live for ever and when I go in my workshop or storage places I think ' who will ever know what works or doesn't and where if anywhere are any of the keys...…. theres probably a load of coins in some of it? it would not surprize me ...……loads of varied stuff jukes/records /spares pinballs and decades of sapres stacks of pcbs for videos fruits etc thousands of novelty keyrings and capsule prize gifts ……….. and probably half a bedroom of soft toys destined for cranes over the years...…

and as Duncan says my once popular disco record collection (about 800) is one thing but then we have a attic full of operation ex juke box singles maybe 15000...….. we did get rid of about 3000-3500 cds when we downsized an op depot in wales in 2010 and on that occasion much went to skips...……. ( or Luke Wells, and Clive Price)

sadly unless its bright . shiny plugged in in the house and seen working ……… to most people it would be just junk (see comment at footnote below) and even then its an acquired interest hobby of which very few people could take away van loads at a time anyway ...………… so maybe I should get moving and sell it now???????????? OUCH ………. ouch ouch !!!

this year we parted with one of our most cherished pinballs a 43 year old electromechanical owned by us for 42 years (nov 78-jan 20) but most of my life I have bought acquired manufactured arcade equipment and sold it on or cremated it...…. or as in the case of maybe 500 -700 or 'more' fruits , quizzes and casualty cabs ….fill local recycling centre with glass, plastic and chipboard

I really need to get the grand-kids interested and knowledged of the inheritance they might look forward to ……………….. ACTUAL FORECAST >>>rent several skips, raid the coins, mix up all the hundreds of thousands of sorted and ' lin-binned locks, screws, nails, fuses, resistors, chips , plastic pcb feet, buttons n switches, pinball targets rubbers and balls etc all (or mostly ) patiently sorted over a 35 year time period (that's since when we moved here) and theres a couple of machines been waiting THAT LONG for restoration or repair ……………… THAT IS A TRUE SUMMARY OF QUITE A FEW OF YOU MEMBERS STILL ONLY 44 that was me 20 years ago ……………. I could on occasion walik through the workshop without have to climb over boxes or machines/parts in the doorway

my wife says now the f'ing floor is full will you start using the 'stiil in box' dexion shelf unit I got you 3 christmasses ago???????

actually any flat surface in there is sacred and stacked or re-stacked till up to the roof and into the roof beams which have occupied hooks and nails all along...…cash box & rear doors removed to provide a handy shelf/cupboard? …….. then boxes on boxes of opto guns, coin mechs, doors, tools an the list could go on for pages and pages...TO BE HONEST A FAIR BIT IS PROBABLY JUNK ! but sentimentally attached to me

but we are laid back. think no need to panic ……… (I don't intend to die prematurely on purpose but its someone else's problem) and hopefully we will get it some of it sold off soon??????????

69er2020-04-27 10:00:24

 

[jengineer]

Norman sell me all your ex jukebox records, ping me over a price

 

[69er]

Norman sell me all your ex jukebox records, ping me over a price

I should route out my crystal ball and become a palm reader and make loads of money that way

I told you all some time ago that a man with the initial D will be close by

He will be reading obituaries looking for record collections and other goodies

ALL THIS AS I FORE SAW came true to you all within a short time …………

……. SPOOKY !!!!!!

69er2020-04-27 09:54:25

 

[Spaceman25]

it’s a difficult one really!! I’m a bit older than you guys! 49 this year!
I was dreading becoming 40 now on the way for dreaded 50!!

To be honest it doesn’t change much it’s just what you feel in your head!! I still feel I’m in my mid 30s

I think my tastes have changed as I’m now collecting what I played down Great Yarmouth when I was a small child in the 80s and 90s!

I’ve told my other half how valuable these machines are so when I’m gone she will be a wealthy woman!

Good ploy when another arcade machine turns up and you get asked where the hell are we putting that!!!

But as long as I’m reasonably fit I’ll Cary on!!

 

[Rasputin]

It dawned on my a few months ago when I had loads of work done on my centipede cabaret that the cab would probably outlive me.....

 

[Rasputin]

I'm 51 this year and getting past the stage of lugging around cabs 150kg plus..

 

[Rasputin]

my maximum tune 3 at 450kg nearly killed me getting it into the "mancave"

 

[qjuk]

Yeah, Maximum Tune 3 is a bit of a heavy beast to move. It’s quite deceiving as it looks slim compared to a lot of other videos.

 

[69er]

I am definitely giving up building and reclothing full size snooker table they are far too heavy now and takes all day team of 3 …………..

HEAVY ???? just before the lockdown March 18th wife and I picked up a 6 player roundish disc fever 2p pusher from a friends arcade in towyn and we dropped it off in the doorway of our place spread across the floor in bitsand glass panels laid on pooltable ……….. we had checked out half the machines as ok and had a few other lined up to give a bit of attention …………. bios battery for ICE AGE hammer dinosaur game ,, new £20 note accepter for change machine computer for FnF bikes and a few other odd niggles ,,,,,,,,,, hopefully to open on March 29th

LOCKDOWN that weekend means never been back so still looks like a bomb site now with a huge machine almost in the doorway...……… AND WE MAY REMAIN CLOSED till I all a year older next March?

just hope the camp owner doesn't think its for scrap at put it in skip as its got no locks on the lower doors yet ( but the 2p roulette machine does need to go ) its going to remain that way while we are not essential to travel as all pubs, arcades bowling and swimming centres we supply are ALL CLOSED .

must retrieve all the coins we refilled in the fruits tho ' need some income somewhere... pay our bills in 2ps

our Coal merchant doesn't mind heavy so we pay him in 10ps anyway … he like a bit of change!

we own our local youth club and pay the post office bills for electric etc.in 1p and 5p coins I ALSO pay part of my council tax in coins (5ps 20ps 50ps as we use none or few) good way to shift them as the bank hates to handle them (THEY GETY HEAVIER EVERY YEAR NOW TOO )

69er2020-04-27 10:26:56

 

[Kev A]

Ok so once your well into pension age you probably will struggle to move cabs about without a hand, but with more free time to play and fix, so it balances out, Old people of today don't seem to be really old and frail like I remember as a kid.