Correctly Manage Your Expectations Before You Try to Sell Your Arcade Game
Something I see far too often are outlandish prices when uninformed people try to sell a game. I usually see this with someone that originally overpaid (badly) and is trying to make their money back or thinks all games appreciate in value. For example, “I bought this Street Fighter II 10 years ago for $1500(!) and I am sure it is worth $2500 now!”
First: It Is Not Worth What Google Tells You
Occasionally I see someone that has a busted-ass Pac-Man, in a generic converted cabinet with water damage, and a dim monitor, and they Google “Pac-Man Sale Prices” and then think that they can sell it for $1200. And have the audacity to believe they are getting low-balled when someone offers $250.
No, you are not getting low-balled. You just did your search (“research”) incorrectly. You shoulda Googled something more like “converted damaged Pac-Man prices.” But hey, you did not know any better. Take the advice of people that know more than you about things like this.
Also, just because someone paid $xxx for that game in the past does not mean that anyone will now.
Second: It Is Not Worth What eBay Tells You
Some people search eBay for prices and use the final sale price. But before you do that, make sure your game matches up perfectly with the listing you are looking at for your “research.” Do not try to compare your “home use only” Star Trek pinball with one on eBay that was clean, shopped, with new rubbers and no peeling paint on the backglass or playfield.
And, remember: that price is the price that ONE person was willing to pay. Look at the bidding history, if you can, to see what most people were willing to pay.