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Actually, it seems KC uses only one company for importing arcade machines. The other stuff seems to be household goods and some type of coconut food additive. You all said you knew his suppliers on Facebook, so this info shouldn't be a big shock. It was also said that his stock could be "bought out from under him", a statement that even Geekman liked. I asked this before and I'll say it again, then why are you folks not doing it? Why is no one contacting that company and seeing if they are willing to cherry pick at a higher paid price per machine. You keep saying it's about moving volume, but with a niche thing like this I find it hard to believe that.

KC has already expressed interest in setting up shop on the East Coast too. Instead of shit talking each other off site, maybe you should oh I dunno, work with each other? Seems like Geekman has a place to receive stock, KC has the stock. Maybe with you working with him on the West Coast and Geekman pulling east coast duty you'll all make money, which let's be honest is everyone's end goal here. With knowledgeable folks keeping him in check with quality, it would up the quality on his output and also "help the community".
 
DecepticonZero said:
Actually, it seems KC uses only one company for importing arcade machines. The other stuff seems to be household goods and some type of coconut food additive. You all said you knew his suppliers on Facebook, so this info shouldn't be a big shock. It was also said that his stock could be "bought out from under him", a statement that even Geekman liked. I asked this before and I'll say it again, then why are you folks not doing it? Why is no one contacting that company and seeing if they are willing to cherry pick at a higher paid price per machine. You keep saying it's about moving volume, but with a niche thing like this I find it hard to believe that.

KC has already expressed interest in setting up shop on the East Coast too. Instead of shit talking each other off site, maybe you should oh I dunno, work with each other? Seems like Geekman has a place to receive stock, KC has the stock. Maybe with you working with him on the West Coast and Geekman pulling east coast duty you'll all make money, which let's be honest is everyone's end goal here. With knowledgeable folks keeping him in check with quality, it would up the quality on his output and also "help the community".
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I like the idea of a quality supplier in the east coast, or at at least that can offer Matsu quality refurbished cabs. Hell, if there would be someone doing full cab restorres like they do for pinball machines, totally worth the $$ for the service.
 
Derick2k said:
DecepticonZero said:
There is only one Matsu. He made a profit, but took pride in his work, and it showed.
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Very true, nothing wrong with getting justly compensated for quality workmanship.
Still wish there was a location on the east that would do quality work, you know like we have for Cars/Bikes :D
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We don't even have one of those on the west coast!

Though I've certainly thought about it. I just don't know that there's enough margin for the amount of work involved nowadays.
 
rewrite said:
Derick2k said:
DecepticonZero said:
There is only one Matsu. He made a profit, but took pride in his work, and it showed.
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Very true, nothing wrong with getting justly compensated for quality workmanship.Still wish there was a location on the east that would do quality work, you know like we have for Cars/Bikes :D
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We don't even have one of those on the west coast!
Though I've certainly thought about it. I just don't know that there's enough margin for the amount of work involved nowadays.
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Rewrite's West Coast Arcade Cab Restorations! Do it! :D
 
rewrite said:
Derick2k said:
DecepticonZero said:
There is only one Matsu. He made a profit, but took pride in his work, and it showed.
Click to expand...
Very true, nothing wrong with getting justly compensated for quality workmanship.Still wish there was a location on the east that would do quality work, you know like we have for Cars/Bikes :D
Click to expand...
We don't even have one of those on the west coast!
Though I've certainly thought about it. I just don't know that there's enough margin for the amount of work involved nowadays.
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It also comes down to parts availability and monitors.

Even in the pinball world, while coils and other standard parts are available. Broken toys and other game specific pin parts like ramps can be a pain to source.
 
ReplicaX said:
Even in the pinball world, while coils and other standard parts are available. Broken toys and other game specific pin parts like ramps can be a pain to source.
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For sure, I have been looking for some of the plastics for my last action hero pin, of course none to be found anywhere.
 
rewrite said:
Though I've certainly thought about it. I just don't know that there's enough margin for the amount of work involved nowadays.
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I suspect there is a market for this kind of thing, I've certainly put some thought into it. But the reality as I see it, after running some numbers and thought exercises, is that it's basically rich collectors and not enthusiasts like we have here.

I'm not trying to go off topic here, this is relevant. If you want a 'restored' cab, then start thinking about spending closer to $3000 instead of $300. Because it's a lot of work, parts are hard to find, specialty printing in low volume isn't cheap, etc etc. And nobody wants to do that work for some crummy little margin, what's the point? If I'm sweating all those hours of details and labor you're gonna pay for it or I'm not gonna bother.

You can get it cheap, or you can pay for someone else's work, but there's just not a lot of middle ground.
 
Aurich said:
rewrite said:
Though I've certainly thought about it. I just don't know that there's enough margin for the amount of work involved nowadays.
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I suspect there is a market for this kind of thing, I've certainly put some thought into it. But the reality as I see it, after running some numbers and thought exercises, is that it's basically rich collectors and not enthusiasts like we have here.
I'm not trying to go off topic here, this is relevant. If you want a 'restored' cab, then start thinking about spending closer to $3000 instead of $300. Because it's a lot of work, parts are hard to find, specialty printing in low volume isn't cheap, etc etc. And nobody wants to do that work for some crummy little margin, what's the point? If I'm sweating all those hours of details and labor you're gonna pay for it or I'm not gonna bother.

You can get it cheap, or you can pay for someone else's work, but there's just not a lot of middle ground.
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Yup, totally agree, someone has to put in the time and do it right, and that comes at a cost. So I definitely understand the value in this. Sure, get a cheap cab, try to source all the parts for a restore and then put in the hours to get it done. For sure one can do it themselves, but honestly, I would pay someone to do it for me, not because I cant do it, but because I just dont have the time, I would have to do it as a business in order to justify it. All my time is taken up between my business and family, leaving very little time for hobbies. Right now I have 6 cabs in queue that need to be restored, I basically have all parts needed, just need to get it done, but lacking on time.
 
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As for why nobody is doing it is because it requires a bunch of money, time and expertise, and I think mainly a bunch of the money part to build a relationship with a distro that might actually earn you better prices, etc. I think most people with a lot of the money aren’t interested in putting it into doing that because it’s honestly not worth it if you’re already making so much money. That’s why I’m trying hard to support anyone that wants to try the startup. I’ll only support as long as I see it being done right. Jury’s out on this order right now, so we’ll see how it goes

I briefly looked over the price lists and the cabs offered are just more expensive to buy, the prices are kinda based on what they’d have to sell for to make it worthwhile. Maybe it won’t be viable for specific cabs, idk
 
Cereth said:
As for why nobody is doing it is because it requires a bunch of money, time and expertise, and I think mainly a bunch of the money part to build a relationship with a distro that might actually earn you better prices, etc. I think most people with a lot of the money aren’t interested in putting it into doing that because it’s honestly not worth it if you’re already making so much money. That’s why I’m trying hard to support anyone that wants to try the startup. I’ll only support as long as I see it being done right. Jury’s out on this order right now, so we’ll see how it goes

I briefly looked over the price lists and the cabs offered are just more expensive to buy, the prices are kinda based on what they’d have to sell for to make it worthwhile. Maybe it won’t be viable for specific cabs, idk
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That's odd because y'all were making it sound so easy on Facebook that I figured it couldn't be that bad.
 
It’s not once you get going but it’s still full-time. I work upwards 80hrs a week, granted a fair bit at events and not all the time, but it’s kept me on a constant schedule for 2 years. People want close communication, details, all that on top of finding and bringing cabs over, it takes time. I choose not to cut corners on that when I can. A lot of people do.
 
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