I have been lucky enough to have had an opportunity to participate in several warehouse raids in the short amount of time that I’ve been collecting arcade games. Warehouse raids are always exciting and exhilirating. Pulling up to the driveway of a building filled with untold treasures always makes the heart flutter. Actually getting inside, turning the corner of rows and rows of games is even more thrilling. However, sometimes, things are too good to be true.

Here, is a tale of one such “too good to be true” warehouse…I can never tell you how many cool things may come your way by simply putting a simple “I buy games” ad on craigslist. Sometimes you find people who want to sell you their old pachinko machine for $600, and other times you find someone who wants to get rid of their pinball machine for $100. After placing one such ad on Craigslist, I received an email asking if I buy several games at once. I immediately responded with this email:

How many arcade games do you have (estimate)? How much are you looking to get for the whole lot? I buy arcade games in bulk and can move them soon. Are you looking to sell them individually? Let me know via email or give me a call and let me know what you have at ——-. Thanks!

I have found that actually stating that you buy in bulk and can move games fast (whether you actually know you can or not) is hugely beneficial when dealing with operators. Later that evening I get a response of:

Maybe 50 games..maybe more…? This is an old “Show Biz Pizza” type rest. We even have the “Rockafire” show. How late can I call and how about tomorrow?

At this point I’m freaking out. I had just seen a trailer for a documentary called “Rock-afire Explosion“, so I knew the rarity and highly collectible nature of this gem. I couldn’t wait until the next day when I could find out what treasures were in store.

When I pulled up to the warehouse it looked derelict and massive like most warehouses do. After meeting with my contact and fumbling around for the keys we began talking on the way through the weaving maze of old offices to try and find the actual warehouse. While talking I learned that the contact I’m dealing with isn’t the actual owner, he’s a go-between who has been tasked to sell the contents of the warehouse. It turns out that the owner is the former owner of a Billy-Bob’s Pizza, which was formerly a Showbiz Pizza. (Billy Bob was the name of the main mascot of the animatronic rock show – learn more about the showbiz to Billy Bob’s transition here). I could hardly contain my excitement when we finally turned the corner and I was able to behold the enormity of what was up for grabs:

More details of what was actually in the warehouse and what transpired in the next post -