Australian Roll Call / Registry / Deals Thread

[DRAGONKZ]

I’ve never had (and never will own) a LAI cabinet, but to be fair the typical 4P LAI cabinets timber is much better than the equivalent USA Konami cabinet… the USA 4P chip just by looking at them

I’ve found the price and amount of Jap Daytona twins helps show the market conditions. Thankfully all those listings for crap ones selling the in the $8-$10k range are over, which shows the demand has dropped, and the crap being listed now takes ages to sell and goes for a bit less.

 

[Ziggy Cheetos Dust]

Initiative is probably the wrong word, maybe exposure or experience. We have a number of people with experience importing used cars, motorcycles, toys, pokemon cards, etc etc. My son was making more money than me at 12 importing pokemon, bakugun, and other random toys and cards.

It seems though that even those who have the contacts and experience to import a container end up having to sell them above what the local rates are to make any money. Out of interest how long ago were you in Osaka? Wondering if things have changed a lot since then.

 

[Big_P Big_p]

I was last in Osaka just over 12 months ago. My wife lived in Japan for 7 years and her sister is living there now, but it is definitely possible things have changed, it looked like it was going that way. I don't doubt that many people are finding it difficult to sell candy cabs at a profit. There are only so many you can fit into a container and moving them around is difficult and likely costly, plus many need additional work.

 

[DRAGONKZ]

Th

It seems though that even those who have the contacts and experience to import a container end up having to sell them above what the local rates are to make any money. Out of interest how long ago were you in Osaka? Wondering if things have changed a lot since then.

Part of the issue is now we compete against the USA market and the importers over there, and those guys are willing to pay high prices so it sets the bar for what the wholesalers ask for.

Years back when most of the candy that’s floating around was shipped over, it was mostly considered scrap and sold off to whom ever was willing to take it (Us, China…etc)

Funny how times have changed.

Imagine the collection you could of had if you bought this stuff 10-15 years ago

 

[Ziggy Cheetos Dust]

I was last in Osaka just over 12 months ago. My wife lived in Japan for 7 years and her sister is living there now, but it is definitely possible things have changed, it looked like it was going that way. I don't doubt that many people are finding it difficult to sell candy cabs at a profit. There are only so many you can fit into a container and moving them around is difficult and likely costly, plus many need additional work.

Okay not that long ago then. There must be dozens going to Europe and the US every year. They certainly weren’t part of my youth but I love them now. I think demand is pretty low here other than a handful of enthusiasts. From reading older forum posts it seems there were quite a few people who bought them in the past 20 years but they’re not really active on the forums anymore. Hopefully there’re a few more deals out there.

 

[Ziggy Cheetos Dust]

Part of the issue is now we compete against the USA market and the importers over there, and those guys are willing to pay high prices so it sets the bar for what the wholesalers ask for.

Years back when most of the candy that’s floating around was shipped over, it was mostly considered scrap and sold off to whom ever was willing to take it (Us, China…etc)

Funny how times have changed.

Imagine the collection you could of had if you bought this stuff 10-15 years ago

You can almost track the entire countries Candy cabs to a handful of imports by Highway, Zax & 240. At least from my observations online. That’s why we never see any of the more unusual cabs being traded I guess. They never shipped here.

 

[xodaraP]

The cost of shipping makes a big difference too. The cost of shipping a 40ft container from Japan to Australia has gone up 4-5x in the last few years

As others have said you’ve also got the US and Europe now - they’ll pay more and make larger orders more regularly

There’s also Japan itself, game centres specialising in older games are becoming more popular there

 

[nem]

The cost of shipping a 40ft container from Japan to Australia has gone up 4-5x in the last few years

Have you seen quotes yourself?

I'm not in Australia, but I can tell you what I've paid for freight from Japan to Finland (FOB). Take into account that it's a very long trip, 14000 nautical miles. By comparison Osaka to Melbourne is 5500 miles.

In 2016 I paid 140,000 jpy (around 1100 eur) for a 20' container.

In 2020 I paid 230,000 jpy (around 1800 eur) for a 40' container.

In 2023 I paid 1200 eur (around 180,000 jpy) for a 20' container.

Prices go up and then come down again. Two years they were very high, last year lower, this year they're slightly up again. But multiplied by 4 to 5 times? I doubt that.

 

[xodaraP]

Ours went up more than a lot of countries again due to our capacity being lower (meaning you have to pay more in storage while stuck in customs or to have your import paperwork moved through faster) and the AUD being weak against the USD which everything is based on

It certainly was significantly higher during the COVID period but it hasn’t come down much for us. I don’t do containers but shipping even using sea freight is at least double what it was a few years ago

They also added local tax onto low value imports (there were no taxes imposed on up to $1000AUD previously)

For the stuff I do buy from Japan it’s still cheaper than buying locally and often in better condition

 

[xb74]

This could be OK for a restore? $790, Namco candy cab, location Townsville, QLD:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p78bXvJ3tAUsERdJ/?mibextid=kL3p88

 

[xodaraP]

Namco Exceleena - they’re a good solid cab. It doesn’t look in too bad shape

Has that had the monitor replaced with an LCD?

I’d say it’s worth getting

 

[phokkun]

It looks like the body has been repainted poorly and the wrong colour, some of the control panel is missing too (front left corner).

Given Leo struggled to sell a complete one with a working CRT (orion & toei combo iirc, a ms9 equivalent basically) for $700 earlier this year, I don't think this is worth picking up.

Also no locks, god knows what else is missing.

 

[xb74]

Namco Exceleena - they’re a good solid cab. It doesn’t look in too bad shape

Has that had the monitor replaced with an LCD?

I’d say it’s worth getting

I asked the seller - confirmed it is an LCD fitted by them (Original CRT monitor was non working whilst previous owner had it).
This seller does not have that non working CRT monitor though. They opted to leave it behind with the previous owner to dispose of.

 

[xodaraP]

I thought the bottom half was just painted in primer which isn’t so bad. The top half looks original

The LCD conversion makes it harder though. Even though it’s been done well it’s going to be a big cost to get an original or suitable monitor for it

 

[xb74]

Would perhaps be a good candidate if UNICO ever sort their 4:3 LCD out?

 

[Big_P Big_p]

Pcbs arrived, I got the jamma finger correct (blue solder mask), I thought it was a manufacturer error but alas no, I forgot to tick blue on the connector end. The would have looked great all blue. But green and blue is it. Finger end is 20% bevelled.

 

[xb74]

Heads up to those of you in or near Brisbane -

 

[xodaraP]

Just did some orders today, I will be carrying the below and will add to this as requests come in

- Cap kits for all major arcade systems and consoles. Custom made cap kits for whatever you need. Tell me the system and I'll find the list, no need to DIY info finding
- Through hole and SMD on hand
- Quality name brands tested on my own consoles
- Audio specific caps for Midway sound boards to replace axial caps

- Arduino Nano (preflashed with new bootloader so you don't need a programmer/second Nano)
- Battery kits (rechargeable for those consoles/arcade boards that support recharging is available as an option)
- Wiring harnesses - will have some standard options and a made to order option - some examples of connectors on hand are
- JST NH/Molex KK
- JST XH
- Hirose DF1B (CPS2/3)
- AMP TE (Sega cabinets)
- DB15

- Upgrade/mod kits for various consoles and arcade systems available, for example:
- Jailbar fixes
- RGH3 kit for Xbox 360 including quality brand components and wire cut to length, postfix adapter option etc.
- NAOMI ZeroPIC
- BIOS EPROMs (Neo Geo, Sega/Mega CD, ST-V, NAOMI, CPS3 etc.)
- Xbox Supercap

All items sold can be installed for an additional cost. Please let me know what you need done and I will confirm pricing. Please note there are some PCBs and consoles I do not work on, I will let you know if one of these comes up but I recap/mod 99.9% of consoles and arcade systems

Coming Soon (Depending on interest)
- Optical pickups for some consoles, these will be tested on my own consoles and confirmed working. No need to play the Aliexpress lottery
- Tools you can never find when you need - PLCC extractors, micro drills, tweezers etc.
- Controller repair kits
- Common failure parts for consoles such as gears for disc drives

Let me know what you need and I will send through a price shipped to your door. Shipping is from QLD or you are welcome to pick up if local

 

[Big_P Big_p]

Anyone seen these? 3d printed MCAs not my project or design but I was lucky enough to get a hold of one of the first batch printed and the play pretty good. PLA printed bottom, shaft cover and base grommet cover, TPU printed grommet and Mits. Shaft and ball. The 3d files are open source I believe. I would like to try to print the shaft actuator in a few other materials and change out the micros for something better.

 

[DRAGONKZ]

Anyone in AUS need any of the metal parts from a CyberLead 1? I’ve stripped my second CyberLead 1 and will be chucking the metal parts on the weekend if no interest

(I’ll put a similar post for the plastic parts up once I finish making 1 full cabinet)