Along with my console collecting, I have a love of arcade and pinball machines. Ms. Pac-man is one that is near and dear, to not only my heart but my wife's heart also. We had played a lot of Ms. Pacman on a cocktail cabinet (tabletop style that you sit down at) together at the local Pizza Joint in the mid 2000's. That made it even more special since it was rare at the time for arcades to be in public places (in our city anyway).

I decided to post "Wanted" ad on Kijiji since I was not having much luck elsewhere. I had the ad up for about a year looking for a Ms. Pac-man cocktail, just like we used to play.

Then one day unexpectedly, I got a response that went something like this,

"Hey. I got Ms. Pacman and Centipede machines, you can have them both for $400 but they both blew a fuse so they don’t turn on".  

I had to think about it for a little bit since I knew they both were not working. However, if I paid a fair price and got them working it would be a solid deal. In addition, I wanted to learn how to repair arcades anyway so it was enticing. Eventually, I decided to take the chance.  I agreed to the deal and asked where to meet. He said, “I will come to your place right away and drop them off...”

After some additional thought, I assumed that there would probably more issues then the was guy letting on.  

The first alarm bell went off when he said he would deliver the machines ASAP! These cocktails are beasts, heavier then heavy. Every other arcade or pinball machine I have bought had to be picked up and loaded by myself. It was very odd and rare to get an offer for a delivery.  

I knew he would be coming at a certain time and he did not disappoint. A jacked up Dodge Ram came roaring down the street slightly earlier then we had agreed. I was slightly caught of guard. That is when the second alarm bell went off. He backed right onto my driveway and immediately started to lug the machines off his truck before I had even my shoes on to help.

Third alarm bell went off after that he gave me a handful of random fuses and said, "Here’s the replacement fuses". I took them with very little confidence. After checking them later, none were the correct fuses for either machine. 

Then the fourth alarm went off when I pulled out the envelope full of cash to pay for the machines. The heavy set, bearded, jean jacketed beast of a man looked at me with a wink and a nod. I held the wad of cash up to him and asked him to count it (as I often did with larger sums of money), he ripped the envelope out of my hand lighting quick and said "I trust you" as he was already jumping back in his truck. The whole entire deal from start to finish took about 3 minutes. 

Once the dust had settled and after some further examining, I discovered that the monitors in both machines needed some repair. I managed to complete this, along with the help of some newly made arcade friends. I still enjoy these machines to this very day, so all in all I am very happy with this deal overall.