indianapolis arcade | Rotheblog - Arcade Game Blog

Winter Indianapolis USAmusements Auction January 2008

Posted February 2, 2008

I was pretty bummed that I didn’t make it to the Indianapolis USAmusements arcade game auction for the first time in a year and a half. But, with an opportunity like the Tiger Fantasy Spring Baseball Camp, I had to make an exception.

I asked Mike if he could take photos and prices of the arcade games, and like a peach, he came through. Huge nod to Mike, thanks so much.

All that he had to say was that there weren’t a ton of items there, as you will see from the photos, and everything got to be really expensive, especially the typical items like the Ms. Pacman(s) and the Galaga(s).

Maybe March will be better. I was just glad that two of the games I have been waiting to pop up here didn’t come when I left, an Xevious and / or a Mappy.

Here is a list of the pinballs not pictured above that were at the auction with prices;

Championship Pub – $1850
World Cup Soccer – $1000
Kick Off (Bally EM) – $250
Theatre of Magic – $2100
NBA Fastbreak – $750
Monopoly – $1850
Gladiator – $675
Goldeneye – $975
Jurassic Park – $800
SpaceJam – $725
Dracula – $1000
Congo – $950
Tales from the Crypt – $875

Happ Vision Pro 19″ – $135 Feb. 2008

Posted February 1, 2008

Got a call today from the local Happ representative, Jill Reams. I had contacted her a couple of times this month to see if Happ Vision Pro monitors would be going on sale again anytime soon. She gave me a call today and let me know that they are on the sale flyer for the month of February 2008 for $135 plus shipping. (I believe they ship out of Chicago) If you buy four or more you can get them for $130 price point.

I will be getting at least one this time around, if not two, another one for a friend on his behalf. The last time they were on sale I believe was last October, and at the time I didn’t think it was a good decision to get one. I have one brand new Vision Pro 19″ in my Jr. Pac-man, and you just can’t beat that brand new monitor. The one I am getting this time around will either go in my Pengo, which has an old, crappy, Electrohome with a good amount of Pac screen burn, or in my Mame machine that maybe one day I will finish.

Get yours now, this is a pretty good deal. I think they come out to about $150 with shipping if I remember right.

Fall Indianapolis USAmusement Auction October 2007

Posted October 13, 2007

Quite a turn around from the April auction, I couldn’t believe how many different lots were at this auction. I am sure that with the Christmas season coming, the October auction will always have a decent turn out.

I stayed for a little while, said hi to Robert and to Mike (who was there for his first auction), but I wasn’t really in much of a mood to do much networking being a little bit burned out myself. I did try to play a bunch of games, with little luck with the video games, but decent luck with the pinballs, as well as take photos and prices for the machines that sold while I was still there.

Of the few auctions I have been to, this auction had the most mid 90’s pins, which is what I am looking for. There were a number of pins that I played that were buggy, they needed a tune up and made gameplay almost impossible. But of the ones that were there, my favorite was Jurassic Park Lost World, a really fun game.

Summer Indianapolis Super Auction

Posted June 9, 2007

I was very suprised to see this listed on the Super Auctions auction page back in April. I had considered going over to Dayton
to check out that auction they were putting on in May, and they had another one the same day as the Pinball at the Zoo in Kalamazoo, MI. It seemed like this summer they are really making a push to get out there and make more auctions.

I very much think this will be a one time deal, and could prove very interesting. Robert doesn’t recall a Super Auction since he
has been in the hobby, so they haven’t been here for at least 10 years. I don’t know if they will bring inventory with them, reading their website that is a very good possibility.

All I know is that the project games in Kzoo, and some of the regular ones went for very little money, even more so than the US Amusement auctions, so I am really looking forward to this one. I am having issues finding someone with a vehicle that will be around, but that will have to just work itself out.

Don’t know what I will be able to post about the auction. I have heard that they are really weird about you taking photos, which I don’t have any idea why. I will try anyway, it’s a free country.

Update: The auction didn’t go down today, the website said “Auction Postponed”. I was irked to say the least, because the post didn’t come up until late Friday night more than likely, because I didn’t see it before I went downtown. I do hope they re-schedule, but I know they pissed off a bunch of people who came from 90 miles away or more. Especially with the way gas prices are right now.

Spring Indianapolis USAmusement Auction April 2007

Posted April 14, 2007

Looking forward going to this auction this time around, specifically because I am on the lookout for a short list of machines. I would say most of them won’t show up, but two or three might and this might be a great place to get them because of the drop in attendance. But because of the attendance dropping, this could also mean an even worse show than the last one.

At the very least, I will be going early in the morning to check out what is available.

Now that this auction is over, I will say that this one was better than the last for selection of classic arcade games. That row had a couple of mini’s (Pac and Ms. Pac), a Galaga, and even a Defender that went for a pretty penny. I left with a great deal on a Dig Dug, and I thought there seemed to be a few more items this time and more people.

Winter Indianapolis USAmusement Auction

Posted January 13, 2007

What a serious drop in attendance and machines. In the three auctions I have been to, I have seen quite a change and the downfall of the US Amusements auctions. I don’t want it to go away by any means, but from the people I have spoken to, it seems like a lot are upset that there is now a buyer and seller premium at the auction. The only thing left now for them to charge would be attendance, and that would keep me away. It is already inconvenient that you have to pay parking at the fairgrounds.