Ace Amusements No Surprises Policy - Answers To All Of Your Frequently Asked Questions

 

Hi!  So, you are thinking about ordering an arcade video game or a multicade over the Internet. 

And for you, the whole process is new or worrisome, or both.  And, you are filled with tons of questions.  Indeed, there are many legitimate questions about a game's condition, appearance and operation. 

Plus, there are logistical questions about shipping and receiving, warranties, and the like. 

And, most importantly, there are concerns about whether or not the seller will actually deliver on all of his representations.   

  

Having dealt with many buyers, and sold and shipped many games, over the past 38 years, I understand these types of concerns.  So, I have tried to bring together as many answers, and links to detailed explanations, in this one place as is possible.

 

This page is about more than answering your frequently asked questions.  I call this effort my No Surprises Policy.  Of course, hopefully your every question will be answered in detail.  But mainly, my goal is that all of your transactions with me will be smooth, and there will be no surprises, except pleasant ones. 

It is my intention, that you will know exactly what to expect, and what you expect is exactly what will be delivered.

 

This FAQs page is also our buyer-seller agreement:

When you purchase an arcade video game, multicade, or component from me, you are agreeing to all the terms and conditions mentioned below.  And I, of course, am agreeing to deliver all that is represented.

 

Still got questions?  No problem, just send me an email:  [email protected]

 

Here is my eBay positive feedback from a happy lady who bought her husband a Gorf for his birthday (the game arrived on time, and played perfectly):

  

great communication, very helpful	Member id:  teel77
	Gorf Arcade Video Game Midway 1981

 

 

Ace Amusements' No Surprises Policy:

  

1.  About the seller.

This one is easy.  R. Steve McCollum, dba Ace Amusements, has been in the arcade video game business for 38 years.  During my career, I have sold games and multicades to customers in nearly every state and in several foreign countries.

I have a long established record of friendly and thorough customer service. 

Read some of my endorsements.  There are customers all over the country who have purchased and are enjoying my game machines and custom built multicades.

I live in Arlington, Texas, where I have a long record of community service and involvement.

 

 

2.  About the machine.

Check this page for standard details about my game machine make ready process.  If you have ordered additional or special work, for example, cabinet restoration or multicade upgrade; then, that scope of work will be covered in our written (by email) instructions, understandings, and agreement.

Generally, unless specified differently, every game that I sell has been used.  Most are 20 to 30 years old.  Thus, they suffer various signs of wear, ageing, and use.  My make ready process usually is all that is needed to make a game quite acceptable for your home.

But, the game will not have been restored to its original, brand new appearance.  Such a restoration project is available, but would require special written understandings and consideration.

Visit this page for a detailed description of the multicade custom build process.

 

  

3.  About time.

There are many factors - like current backlog, having to order parts and artwork, component repairs and replacements, etc. - that determine how long a game will take to complete and ship or deliver.

Sometimes, a dedicated game that is ready to go can ship the same week that it is ordered.  Typically though, a moderate amount of make ready work and/or repair is required.  So, the time to ship for many original dedicated games is about 2 to 4 weeks.

 

Custom built multicades, and restoration and upgrade projects take much longer to complete than a typical arcade game overhaul.  And, for those really complex projects, and the ones where nothing seems to go right, a much longer time period is not uncommon.  So, for your custom project, plan accordingly, because delays can and often do occur.

For example, there are hundreds of details required for a custom game refurbishing or for building a custom multicade:

• Every cabinet gets a facelift, read more - Refinishing a cabinet.
• Every job requires most or all of these steps, read more - Building a multicade.

Suffice it to say, whenever completion of any of these hundreds of details takes longer than expected; your job will take longer to complete.  And, as a consequence, that delay with your job will tend to impact the delivery schedule for every other job in process.  Likewise, any delay in a job ahead of you, could also impact your delivery schedule.

 

I will give you a general time estimate (expected month of completion) when you order your game.  And, we will do our best to meet our estimate.  But, as noted above, estimates can be adversely influenced by many factors beyond our control.

We dislike delays as much as we know that you would.  But, be assured that we will never cut corners or the quality of your project in the interest of saving time.  We attend carefully to every little detail as best we can, and that process can just take a lot of time.

 

  

4.  About shipping.

For freight carrier service, we ship from our shop in the DFW area of Texas to a freight terminal nearest you for your pickup, or to your home, or to your business.

 

When shipped to the terminal, the terminal will be located in or near your metropolitian area.  This is the basic, least expensive type of freight service.  Which means that you would be responsible to arrange for the delivery from the terminal to your home or business. 

Freight carriers can provide a home or business delivery. For a home delivery, the delivery would be to your curb (residential curbside delivery).  If to a business, a dock or forklift would need to be available.  If the delivering truck must have a liftgate, there will be an additional charge. 

 

For home or office inside delivery, usually WHITE GLOVE service is available. White Glove service includes unwrapping, trash removal, and inside delivery to the room of your choice, up or down one flight of stairs.

White Glove service provided by a moving company does not include any assembly, setup, or demonstration of your machine. You can expect the price for White Glove service to be around double the cost of freight shipping.

 

For an analysis of White Glove vs. freight shipping, review this page:

White Glove Inside Delivery vs Freight Carrier Curbside Delivery

 

Almost all upright cabinets can be easily loaded on their back or side into many SUVs or any pickup.  So, you could pick it up at our shop, or the terminal, and carry the game to your home. 

When your machine ships, we will email you all the shipping and tracking details. 

 

Time from our shipment date until your receipt can extend over a period of two weeks. Time factors consist of carrier's long-haul scheduling, days in transit, time required for delivery appointment scheduling, and the day of delivery. Deliveries are scheduled for business weekdays.

Days in transit will depend on your distance from Texas, traffic congestion, road conditions, etc., and can range to several business days. 

You will need to furnish us with your daytime phone number and email address, so that the carrier can contact you for a delivery appointment when the machine arrives at the terminal.

 

In order to furnish you with a shipping quote, I need your city, state, and zip code. 

Depending upon your distance from the Dallas - Fort Worth area of Texas, and the level of delivery service you desire (terminal, business, or home), your cost for shipping a classics size to a large size upright machine could range from around $400 to around $600.

If you are located in a mountainous area, or congested area, or far northeast, or far northwest, your rate will trend towards the upper end of the price range.

 

To recap, this is the info I need before a machine can be shipped:

• The individual or business ship to name.
• If not being picked up at the terminal, then the ship to street address.
• The city, state and zip code.
• A contact name and daytime phone number.
• The contact's email address.
• If not being picked up at the terminal, then whether a loading dock or forklift is available.  (If not available, then a delivery truck with liftgate will be required.)
• Any other special delivery services required of the freight carrier.
• Any special delivery instructions or directions for the freight carrier.

 

We assess a freight packing materials fee of $150 for all freight shipments.  This small fee covers our time and the build cost for our custom brand new pallet and the packing materials.  After you unpack your machine, you can reuse all of the shipping materials.

The wooden pallet is custom made new in our shop and great for stacking stuff on, inside or outside.  The ratchet straps are new and very handy for strapping, hauling, and hanging all sorts of stuff.  The edge protectors are new and can be used to protect furniture and appliances in storage.  And, the stretch wrap is new and can be used for cushioning in packages of fragile stuff.

 

Damage in freight handling and transit happens, in the event it happens to your machine, here is what you need to do:

1) When you receive your freight shipment, visually inspect it. This is easy, since we use transparent stretch wrap. If there are no tears in the wrap or machine paint scrapes, all is good. You can sign for the freight.

2) If there is some minor exterior damage, such as a paint scrape, take a photo, note it on the freight bill, and receive the freight. We will Priority Mail to you all the materials for you to easily repair the problem.

3) If the damage is major, such as a broken board, take photos, and reject the shipment. The freight will be returned to us for repair, and then shipped back to you, all at the expense of the freight carrier.

4) If you have any doubts about what to do, call us and we will advise you on the best and easiest way to proceed. Ask the carrier to wait while you contact us.

Call any time, leave message if not answered, and we will get right back to you as quickly as possible - 817-516-9766.

Also, send us an email with photos attached.

 

 

5.  About local and non-local delivery.

If you are located generally within 300 miles of the Dallas - Fort Worth, Texas, metro area (non-local), we can sometimes deliver your game for you.  Or, I can sometimes arrange with a private delivery service for delivery to you.  The delivery fee would be based upon the travel distance, the weight of the game, the number of games, and whether there were any stairs involved - up or down.

If a private delivery service is available, they would be an independent contractor who will set your machine where you want.  The delivery service would typically require their payment in cash.

When we provide the delivery, our White Glove delivery fee will be based on time, distance, and if there are stairs, up or down.  The fee includes game delivery, set up, and demonstration.

Our delivery times are weekdays and weekends, afternoons to early evenings. We try to avoid deliveries after dark and during rush hour traffic. And, we prefer weekend afternoon deliveries.

 

  

6.  About payment.

You can reserve a game machine and begin the make ready process, or order a custom built multicade, with a 50% earnest money deposit.

You may make payment by personal or company check. 

Send your check payable to Ace Amusements, PO Box 172202, Arlington, TX 76003.

Payments my also be sent by Western Union, MoneyGram and Zelle.

Payment by Zelle is relatively easy, and much faster than First Class mail. But, your bank must be a member of the Zelle network.

Except for a Zelle new recipient, which has a first time payment limited to $500, your payments can total no more than $1,000 in a 24-hour period, $2,500 over a 7-day period or $10,000 in a month.

Any balance owed to a Zelle new recipient, after the $500 first payment, can be paid beginning the next day per the payment limit schedule.

After your payment is received, I will send you an email order confirmation detailing the terms of the transaction.  Be sure to check the order confirmation for accuracy.  Then, let me know that it is correct, or of any changes or additions.

When your machine is ready to ship or deliver, prior to shipment or delivery, the balance plus shipping or delivery is due and payable. 

My email request for payment of the final due will include a photo of your machine for your approval.  Once approved, the machine's final inspections, final detailing, and shipment make ready are performed.

I also offer a layaway plan.

 

 

7.  About the warranty.

The following are the warranty provisions for all the (1) arcade video games, (2) multicades, and (3) parts and components that we sell.  These provisions apply in all cases, except when we provide an expressly different warranty for an item.  

If your arcade video game or multicade arrives with troubles, or develops troubles during the warranty period, or even after the warranty period, do not worry.  I am here to help, and will help.  Because, I want your game to function exactly as it should.

If your game or multicade has troubles, the first thing you should do is contact me by email.  I will then immediately advise you of the next steps.  Sometimes, I can respond with a suggested fix right then.  Sometimes, I will need you to email me photos.  And, sometimes you will need to return a defective component to me for repair or replacement.

Whatever the solution, it will be simple and fast.  Just be sure to contact me immediately, and follow the steps that I request.  Otherwise, you would run the risk of voiding your warranty.

 

There is a 30-day used parts/components exchange/repair warranty for every arcade video game that I sell.  Plus, there is a 90-day exchange warranty for new game parts/components.  For warranty repairs and for warranty exchanges, the arcade video game or component will need to be returned to my shop. 

Almost all of the serviceable components can be returned by mail.  Any return must be first approved, and you are responsible for the mailing or shipping cost. 

The components that qualify for a 90-day warranty exchange would be any new electronic or mechanical part installed in your arcade video game, such as a printed circuit board, arcade power supply, joystick(s), trackball, or control buttons and switches.

To summarize, for an arcade video game machine:  there is a 30-day exchange/repair warranty for any used parts/components; and, there is a 90-day exchange/repair warranty for any new parts/components that were installed in the game machine.

 

When an arcade video game or multicade is shipped, there is no guarantee that the machine will work properly when it is received.  Transit is hard on electronic components, and sometimes on mechanical components, too.

If your machine arrives with troubles, you can be assured of two things: 

(1)  That the machine was working perfectly when shipped (see next section, The final test).  And,

(2)  That I will help you by email and phone to get the machine working properly.

Of the hundreds of games and multicades that I have shipped, there have only been a very few that have had a problem occur because of transit.  Fortunately, they were minor problems that with my help were easily fixed by the customer.

Since, I know all of a machine's potential problem areas, I inspect, repair if needed, and reinforce all of those areas before shipment.

 

Generally, all of our multicade machines consist of all new parts and components.  All the new parts/components have a two-year exchange/repair warranty.  Any used parts/components, such as a CRT monitor, have a 30-day exchange/repair warranty.

For the multicade new game circuit board, we offer a three-year exchange warranty.

Multicades also come with free lifetime email and telephone support.  Long after your warranty may have expired, we still will answer your questions and provide you with as much email and telephone support as you may need.

 

To recap our warranty:

(1) used arcade video game machines have a 30-day used parts/components exchange/repair warranty, with new parts/components having a 90-day exchange/repair warranty;

(2) new multicade machines have a 2-year exchange/repair warranty for new parts/components, a 30-day exchange/repair warranty for used parts/components (such as a CRT monitor), a 3-year exchange/repair warranty for the multi-game circuit board, plus lifetime email and telephone support; and

(3) new parts and components sold individually have a 90-day exchange/repair warranty, while used parts and components have a 30-day exchange/repair warranty.

 

Unless you have express written permission, you will void your warranty by opening a part or component, dis-assembling a part or component, or attempting to service any arcade video game machine, multicade machine, or their components.

 

In reference to our warranty, whenever at this website we use the word "Lifetime," we mean that the service that we specify to be "Lifetime" will remain in force from the time of your purchase of the item until Ace Amusements ends its business or until you no longer own the item.

 

 

 

8.  About the final test.

The final test of a new or repaired machine before its shipment or delivery is my rigorous personal inspection.  If there is a component failure waiting to happen, this is when I give it a chance to show itself.  Better that the failure occur in my shop than in your home.

 

 

9.  About game storage.

If when your game is complete and for any reason it cannot be picked up, delivered, or shipped to you, we will provide for the safe storage of your game.  Since our shop is an industrial environment where a game will become dusty and possibly scratched, we rent a separate storage facility.

First, we will place a plastic bag over your game, and then wrap your bagged game with stretch wrap.  This process assures that your game will stay dry, clean, and protected when being handled.

Then, we will relocate your game from our shop to our separate storage facility.  There your game is safe from the hazards of an industrial work place.

The charge for this safe storage service is only $1.00 per day.

 

 

10.  About caring for your game.

Here are a few tips that will help you to significantly extend the life of your arcade video game.  Or, for that matter, the life of almost any electronic component or appliance. 

 

  

11.  About multicade operation.

Operating a new multicade can seem like a complex undertaking.  And, in some cases, the multicade's system operation manual can be more confusing than helpful. 

So, we offer lifetime free tech support. If you have questions or need help, give us a call or send us an email.

 

 

12.  About communication with me.

The best way to communicate with me is by email. 

I try to answer all email as quickly as possible.  Email of an emergency nature - like shipping or operation issues - will be answered the same day.

If you have made a lengthy inquiry requiring research, or if your email got diverted into my spam box, or if we are particularly busy, it may take a day to several days for me to answer. 

I receive about 50 emails or more a day (not counting spam).  So, please be patient.  The response may not be immediate, but I will respond.

When you send an email, be sure to enter a subject.  When I receive an email without a subject, and from a sender that I do not recognize, that email is considered as spam and deleted without reading.

You may call me, but your call will likely be automatically answered.  So, you will need to leave me a voice message.  Be sure to speak slowly and clearly, as your message will be transcribed to text.  If I cannot read your message, and do not recognize your caller ID info, your call may not be answered.

Since the time for returning of phone calls is much more difficult to schedule than the answering of emails, phone calls are less promptly handled.

Email:  [email protected]

 

 

13.  About after the sale.

 

 

At this point, you will know all about me - you will have my email address, my website address, my phone number, and you may even have visited my shop and showroom. 

Plus, you can subscribe to receive my occasional website posts about new games, products, services, news, and promotions.  Just let me know of your interest.

So, I hope you will stay in contact.  And, visit my website for all of your arcade video game needs.

  

 

14.  About returns. 

Our policy regarding returns is very simple and straightforward - we do not accept returns.  But, we do offer a comprehensive warranty (see part 7 above).

Before you place your order, please do your due diligence.  There are a few hundred pages at this website containing thousands of details about arcade video games, our custom multicades, and our techniques and methods.

So, before you place your order, send me an email with all of your questions.  Every question will be answered, and page links to this website, where you can find in-depth answers to each of your questions, will be furnished.

We provide as much information as possible to help you make an informed purchase decision, to know what to expect, and to be very confident with your decision.

 

 

15.  About referrals.

A good bit of our business comes to us on account of the good will of our customers.  We are more than happy to reward every referral sent our way.

Click this link to read all about The Ace Amusements Referral Rewards Program.

 

 

16.  About order cancellation and abandonment.

With decades in this business and thousands of customers, I know that stuff happens in life - people downsize, get transferred, and have money problems.

Whatever the reason, contact us right away, so that we can determine the status of your order.

We will determine a cancellation penalty to be debited to your good faith earnest money deposit based on our investment in your order.

If materials have been purchased and work is in process for your order, the cancellation penalty will be 100% of your deposit.

A completed order will be deemed abandoned and deposit forfeited if the final amount due remains unpaid 45 days after notice of order completion. 

  

 

And, please note, that when you purchase an arcade video game, or a multicade, or any component from me, you are agreeing to all the terms and conditions of this buyer-seller agreement.

Any suit arising out of or related to this agreement shall be filed in the courts of Tarrant County, Texas.

 

Here is my positive feedback from another happy eBay game buyer:

 

 

Thanks! Fast Shipping!!! Item as Described	Member id:  rodney707
	PlayChoice 10 Arcade Video Game