Thinking of selling up

kingtreelo

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i think it depends on what you have to sell whether its a good time or not, hard to get hold of unique stuff seems to be selling well still or stuff that is very reasonably priced
 

Vamino

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I sold pretty much everything when I moved into my current house, All I kept was my PS3 with a couple of games and a couple of other odds and sods. I had so much space and now I've filled it with a load of arcade crap.

At times it feels like the lot is crushing and suffocating me, and other times I really enjoy owning what I have. Personally I'd say the chase or the road to owning something can be more enjoyable that actually owning something.

Selling everything is kinda drastic unless you have some sort of goal.

Why not sell off a couple of bits and take a short holiday away from it all mate? I know you have the pup, but there should be some place that will take care of him, a kind of dog hotel sorta thing. As you know I recently had my first holiday abroad in many years. And now I'm back I'm wanting to travel somewhere else now and explore other places, going on holiday abroad out of season can be really cheap.

But as for it being the right time to sell, you have some really nice stuff and there will always be people interested to buy nice stuff at the right price.
 

chubsta

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I got rid of all my cabs a few years back, many big hitters such as Star Wars, defender, sinistar etc, and haven’t regretted it for a second, although I sold just before the market exploded so did regret I didn’t hang on for a few more months…
I got two rooms back in the house and removed loads of stress.
I am getting back into gaming again - aes+ on order, and playing old console games on my 2600, mame covers all my arcade needs.
You don’t need a house full of games any more to be able to play them, emulation covers everything, so if you ever feel the need to play a game you can, but you won’t be faced every day with piles of stuff just waiting to break.
I think when the love is gone it is gone, if you feel like getting rid of everything then just do it, but I would hold on to a few special pieces if possible, there are a few items I do wish I had held onto, which I will never be able to replace.
 

TheDaddy

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Depends what the circumstances are buddy. Everyone who gas these thoughts have different reasons.

I have been concidering that for ages , and am always off and on the fence. I may sell most my pcbs, just keep a few of the obes i will play and keep 3 cabs.

Dave.
 

AndyGeezer

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As someone who has sold 100s of cabinets, it's a tricky one - being self-employed and obviously bills/mortgage etc, sometimes I had no choice to sell some of the stuff I wish I never sold (some of it was sold to free play arcades like highscore/arcadeclub so others can at least enjoy them).

Do I regret it, sometimes, but it is what it is.

You need to really have a think long and hard - only you can make that decision though.

As for right time to sell, probably not - nobody is really buying anything - uncertain times I guess (prices seem to be only going one way).
 

adammoogle

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I'd definitely say it's not the best time to sell. The war in Iran, oil prices, another big inflation spike about to hit, costs going up etc. But your always going to find people with money whatever is happening. And all this chaos is making a lot of people very rich playing the markets, so you'll find buyers in any context.

I'd echo what most people are saying. Getting rid of stuff is quite liberating. Reclaiming space, not worrying about something failing and losing money etc. If you can't afford to keep something it's time to sell it.
 

PAC-MAN

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It's difficult and a decision that only you can decide. I would give yourself a bit of time to think about it. Don't rush and regret it. No, I would say it's not the best time to sell Arcade machines as that has now passed and it wont be coming back.

I think about it at least once per week and have been for three years but they're still here but only just at the moment as they do cheese me off. On the flip side, when I want a blast on Missile Command I go into the Games room and absolutely love it. It just takes me away from reality completely, I switch off and when I come out I feel reset, refreshed and ready to go again. A return that only the cabs and my Mountain Bike are able to give and there's nothing like it.

I get sick of all the spare parts hanging around though as it's junk in real terms. I tripped over a spare, working MTC 9000 chassis last week and went arse over Tit! I booted the fucker and we had lift off for roughly 20 feet, It certainly won't work anymore and I couldn't give a shit.

Have a think sir, make sure it's what you want.
 

ZedEx48K

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There's no denying the beauty of a line of cabs for eye and ear candy, but 1 mame cab covers 90% of arcade games without add-ons like wheels and guns, and more than you could ever own or afford yourself, and if it breaks, much simpler to repair, no worrying £1000 of Nemesis just went up in smoke :D

3 cabs, one sticks, one wheel, one pinball can give you everything you ever wanted, and a lot more wife friendly :p
 

ZedEx48K

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As for prices, I'm not so sure they will ever really climb big again (past inflation), this is seen with antique furniture and classic cars, there's a point where they just keep dropping, younger people go to Ikea not bobs antiquities, and classic cars are Williams Renault not A Ford Mustang.

Classics are what we grew up with, and we're all old af now! :D


Don't get me wrong tho, if I win the lottery I will have the largest private arcade collection, and that Mustang!
 

pubjoe

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I've sold up and bought back a few times over the years. Never worked out well. :LOL: 🤦🏻‍♂️

As for prices, I'm not so sure they will ever really climb big again (past inflation),
I tend to agree with that. There was a small peak of people buying while stuck at home in 2020. Even this was greatly exaggerated imo. Since then retro sales have plateaued as people don't like to sell for less than a value which is sometimes based on a one-off crazy price.

I think some popular items will hold interest. Simple example is Nintendo's history that's still pretty relevant with younger generations. I think for the more niche stuff interest will probably shrivel up with us.
 
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Body pop

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Only you can decide
There’s no bad time to sell good items
No matter how much the market gets talked down
Though It might take longer to sell things ,and it might be an absolute pain selling things

Reasons to sell are the reliability of these things
The space they take up
The fact you don’t need them at home anymore with so many retro arcades ,wasn’t that the reason for having them ?

Reasons not to sell up

You will never ever get them back for what you sell them for

You will have to visit retro arcades if you need to play them

Your money will get wasted on some other nonsense

You might really miss them
 

Giddygoon

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I had a month to sell 10 cabs as I moving into a smaller house and I could not take them with me. It was a tad stressful to say the least, but they all went in time Dragons Lair, Star Wars, Point blank a few went to Arcade Club which I was pleased about.

I did keep two candy cabs to be fair.

It’s been 7 years since I sold up the main collection and I don’t miss the hassle of constant CRT repairs, PCB’s dying, PSU’s going dead



I reduced my collection and I think that was the best decision I have made ( :
 

Bods

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The retro arcades don't really help unless they are on your doorstep and non are for me and it needs to have the games you want to play which most smaller ones don't so it would only be odd trips to AC for some Sega Sim fun along with other stuff I can't play but the convenience of having ones you want to play at home anytime is brilliant. The local arcade I used to go in the most didn't have as many cabs plus I can play 1000s more games than all the arcades had in Leicester

If you replicating what you played back in the day many were just jamma cabs with a board in and probably a bootleg at that lol so @ZedEx48K says one joystick though i'd go 2 H & V, 1 Driver, 1 Flight and you cover most you ever played and a ton more

I've considered sell the F355 DX a few times due to not having many places it can really go but I don't know, it's still here but would be nice to get the lounge at least back to mainly just a lounge if it's only room in the house with out any cabs :LOL:
 

ExZX

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Sell up?
The problem with selling is other than Epay and Fakebook there aren't many potential buyers about on forums. 29 members on ukvac as I write this.
People say it's a bad time to sell but when there are so few potential buyers about in a niche hobby when is a good time to sell?

Selling abroad is also a ball ache as a lot ask you to under declare values on boards to swerve the import tax. If anything goes wrong do you think they wouldn't make a fuss over a £500 board? It's ok insuring a board for £500 but when the paperwork says the board is only worth 39 euro or whatever then it looks like insurance fraud. The courier simply won't pay up.

Keep what you love and sell whatever you are 'meh' on is my advice. Selling the lot is never quick unless you are planning on a bargain of the century sale. When selling drags on it can get a bit depressing and the doubts creep in. Nemesis for example was once an expensive £1K board and now won't shift at £720.... I mean WTF? lol
 
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