PRICE DATA FROM THE MOST RECENT ARCADE AND PINBALL AUCTION - Kalahari Auction Report Part 2

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Oct 6, 2021

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.018

TL;DR

Kalahari auction prices show market segment between prior high-value auctions and low-end sales.

Summary

Analysis of hammer prices from a Kalahari Resort Pennsylvania auction comparing results to previous major auctions (Banning Museum of Pinball). Article identifies key factors affecting pricing: publicity, online bidding access, and sentimental value. Notable sales include Jersey Jack Wizard of Oz Prototype #14 at $9,300 and Williams No Good Gophers at $4,100, with prices generally lower than the Museum auction due to lack of online bidding and regional publicity limitations.

Key Claims

Jersey Jack Wizard of Oz Prototype #14 sold for $9,300 at Kalahari auction
high confidence · Explicit listing in auction results with hammer price provided
Kalahari auction prices were significantly lower than Banning Museum of Pinball collection auction prices
high confidence · Direct author comparison: 'I've thought quite a bit about the prices that I saw that day and how they were significantly lower than the prices paid for games at the Banning Museum of Pinball collection auction'
Online bidding was the primary driver of higher prices at the Banning Museum auction compared to Kalahari
medium confidence · Author states 'Captain's Warehouse put the Museum of Pinball bidding online. That was the real game changer' enabling European and Australian bidders
Kalahari auction lacked online bidding capability, constraining price realization
high confidence · Author notes 'the lack of online bidding will always keep prices lower for an auction than they would be if anyone in the world could bid on a game'
Banning Museum auction received massive publicity in major publications including New York Times and NBC News
high confidence · Direct statement: 'The auction received a massive amount of publicity. I saw articles on it in just about every major publication, from the New York Times to NBC News'

Notable Quotes

“Captain's Warehouse put the Museum of Pinball bidding online. That was the real game changer.”
Article author (Knapp Arcade) — Identifies online bidding as the critical factor differentiating auction price outcomes
“The current market for games likely lies somewhere between the two.”
Article author — Author positioning Kalahari prices as representative of true market value between extreme auctions
“Christmas is coming and the supply of gifts available for people to purchase is low due to supply chain problems. People will pay up for games for the holiday.”
Retailers at Kalahari auction (reported by author) — Supply chain constraint narrative affecting near-term arcade/pinball equipment purchasing patterns
“If this company has a second auction, more people would likely attend as we hopefully see COVID numbers decline and word of the decent prices at the first event spreads.”
Article author — Speculation about future auction success contingent on market awareness and pandemic recovery

Entities

Kalahari ResorteventBanning Museum of PinballorganizationMark DavidsonpersonBasement ArcadeorganizationCaptain's WarehousecompanyJersey JackcompanyStern PinballcompanyBarcade FideiorganizationKnapp Arcadeorganization

Signals

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business_signal: Supply chain constraints driving holiday-season arcade/pinball equipment purchases with premium pricing for limited inventory
medium · Retailer anecdotes reported at auction: 'Christmas is coming and the supply of gifts available for people to purchase is low due to supply chain problems. People will pay up for games for the holiday.'
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sentiment_shift: Sentimental value and venue attachment drive collector willingness to pay premium for machines with personal history
medium · Author reflection: 'Even I would be willing to pay a little more for a game that I enjoyed playing at a venue over the years... There's something cool about owning a piece of history'
?
event_signal: First northeastern U.S. arcade/pinball auction in several years suggests regional market may be underserved or auction infrastructure gaps exist
medium · Author notes 'this was the first auction that I am aware of being held in the Northeastern U.S. in several years'
$
market_signal: Kalahari auction prices establish regional in-person auction baseline without international online bidding access, suggesting true market value lies between high-publicity Banning Museum prices and low-end sales
high · Direct author assertion with supporting price comparisons and structural analysis of auction format differences

Topics

Auction market pricing and valuationprimaryPinball and arcade equipment secondary marketprimaryImpact of online bidding on auction pricesprimaryRegional vs. international auction market dynamicssecondarySupply chain constraints and holiday purchasingsecondaryCollector sentiment and sentimental valuesecondary

Sentiment

neutral(0.5)— Article maintains objective analytical tone while providing factual price comparisons and market analysis. Author expresses mild enthusiasm about hobby participation but avoids strong opinions about pricing fairness or market direction.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

Hooray! Mark Davidson's consolidated hammer prices for the pinball and arcade industry's most recent auction at Kalahari Resort in Pennsylvania are now available. Here's a link to his report on his awesome Basement Arcade website: http://basementarcade.com/Auction%20106.html If you've never checked out his site before, it's a must visit. Let's take a look at the prices paid for a few select games. Remember these are the hammer prices. On top of this, buyers had to pay a 10% Buyer's Premium to the auction house, a 3% fee if they used a credit card and Pennsylvania state sales tax of 6% because they were buying in person. BattleZone: $1,300 A fair price paid for a very nice example sold by the folks from Barcade Oct-O-Score redemption game: Ten Bucks! Skeeball Super 21 $175! Jersey Jack Wizard of Oz Prototype #14 $9,300 Atari Relief Pitcher $150 Sticker Machine (which turns out to have been loaded with 700 stickers that are actually worth more than you'd expect) $50 Various Merit MegaTouches The nice ones like these went for $400 to $600. Older generation and standup ones went for MUCH less than that. Skeeball Strike It Rich Free! Arachnid Dart Games Anywhere from $700 for the Galaxy 2.5s to $2,000+ for the Bull Shooters and New In Box Fire Taito Birdie King 3 $25 Sega Altered Beast $200 Midway Arctic Thunder $450 - $500 Gottlieb Bell Ringer $700 Williams Robotron $1,100 Sega Virtua Cop 2 $150 Bally Joust (no not the famous Joust pin lol) $100 Gottlieb Street Fighter $2,500 Stern Monopoly $2,900 Stern Stars (trashed) $250 Arkanoid Cabaret (likely formerly a Pac-Man?) $850 Herbie pinball machine $375 Williams Cyclone - $1,600 Williams No Good Gophers - $4,100 Stern Lord of the Rings (not in great shape) - $6,000 Gumball Pinball Machines The better of the two went for $50 This represents just a small sample of the amazing pricing data that Mark has at his site. I encourage everyone to click on the link to his article and check out the full list for the prices of things from new pinball machines like Aerosmith to classics like Hurricane and Data East Simpsons to all sorts of arcade games. You can even compare the auction prices today to other auctions that he has data for over a decade ago. It's a wealth of information! I've thought quite a bit about the prices that I saw that day and how they were significantly lower than the prices paid for games at the Banning Museum of Pinball collection auction. I have come to the conclusion that the current market for games likely lies somewhere between the two. The prices at the Museum auction ended up being higher than the real market for these main reasons: Publicity: The auction received a massive amount of publicity. I saw articles on it in just about every major publication, from the New York Times to NBC News. Online Bidding: The huge publicity in itself wouldn't have driven up prices as much for an in-person auction, BUT Captain's Warehouse put the Museum of Pinball bidding online. That was the real game changer. People who had lots of money to spend, not only in the United States but in Europe and Australia, where the prices of all games are higher, could bid on games from the comfort of their couch. Big collectors used the auction to pick up games that they normally wouldn't be able to find and the European arcade community had access to things that they rarely see at the push of a button. Sentimental Value: Even I would be willing to pay a little more for a game that I enjoyed playing at a venue over the years, whether it's PAPA or the Museum. There's something cool about owning a piece of history, even more so if you have fond memories of hanging out with friends and family there. The opposite of these trends worked against the recent Kalahari auction. While I knew about it because I follow the hobby obsessively, many local people who are into pinball and arcade games did not. Information about it seemed to spread more by word of mouth than anything. Part of the reason for that is this was the first auction that I am aware of being held in the Northeastern U.S. in several years. If this company has a second auction, more people would likely attend as we hopefully see COVID numbers decline and word of the decent prices at the first event spreads. Again though, the lack of online bidding will always keep prices lower for an auction than they would be if anyone in the world could bid on a game. The one trend that I heard retailers who attended the auction repeat a number of times was "Christmas is coming and the supply of gifts available for people to purchase is low due to supply chain problems. People will pay up for games for the holiday." You know what? That makes a lot of sense. So there you have it, Part 2 of my report on the recent arcade industry auction. I hope that you enjoyed reading as much as I did attending it and hanging out with friends in the hobby. Make sure to bookmark the Knapp Arcade site and check back because later this month is the Fall Arcade Road Trip (TM) with lots of visits to amazing arcades.