The freebie that started it all

Several years ago, I decided I wanted an arcade game and went looking on Craigslist and Ebay, and came across a Ridge Racer in my area.  After realizing there is no way it would fit in my house I continued to chat with the guys at the shop and bought a Marvel Vs Capcom CPS2 cab figuring I could give it a shot and change it to something down the road.  Then we kept talking and realized how universal everything actually was and got a few extra boards thrown in that they were just gonna toss in the trash, so I kept what I liked and threw the rest on ebay to see what would happen.  A few did pretty well, so of course I wanted to get my hands on more and went back for more, but no luck until one of the guys that worked there sold me some of his leftovers and hooking me up with another guy who retired his route.  After that it was an addiction, leading to an ebay store, several more cabs that I didnt have room for, and when inventory ran out I started learning phoenixing, basic repair, and rom burning as a service would always be valuable.  Now after a little hiatus, the bug has bitten me again and seeing how this pinbal universe compares to video cabs.