But What Does It Cost?
Ok so this is always the uncomfortable part. And what usually decides if I’m gonna work with somebody or not. The wrong price can turn me away for good. I get that. I want to charge you fairly but I don’t want to lose my shirt. I will work with you to make sure we can agree on a price before I get to work. That’s the deal.
I also hate it when people make you email them to get at least a ballpark of what something will cost. It’s like, can I just know a little bit before I waste my time emailing you and then putting myself in the uncomfortable spot of saying “no thanks.”
Starting Prices
These are starting points, not final quotes. Final pricing depends on the system, condition, parts needed, and how weird the problem decides to be.
Basic Cleaning / Maintenance
Starting at $30
For light cleaning, cartridge slot cleaning, connector cleaning, button/contact cleaning, and basic maintenance.
Good for systems that mostly work but are flaky, dirty, intermittent, or just need some attention.
Simple Repairs
Starting at $40
For smaller fixes like loose connections, simple part replacements, switches, buttons, minor wiring, and straightforward issues.
Power Issues
Starting at $50
For consoles that will not power on, power on inconsistently, have a bad power jack, unstable voltage, or obvious power-related problems.
Common work may include:
Power jack replacement
Fuse replacement
Regulator checks
Power board inspection
Solder joint repair
Disc Drive Issues
Starting at $60
For consoles that will not read discs, have tray problems, make strange drive noises, or act like the disc drive has given up on life.
Common work may include:
Lens cleaning
Belt replacement
Tray/mechanism service
Laser/sled inspection
Gear replacement
Drive board inspection
Capacitor Replacement / Recap Work
Starting at $60
Some systems are old enough now that the capacitors are not “maybe bad.” They are actively plotting against us.
Pricing depends on:
Number of capacitors
Board condition
Amount of cleanup needed
Whether pads/traces are damaged
How much the console hates both of us
Small cap jobs may be priced individually. Full recap jobs are quoted as a full service.
Board-Level Repair / Trace Repair
Starting at $75
For deeper repairs involving corrosion, lifted pads, broken traces, damaged vias, prior repair attempts, or mystery faults.
This is where things get weird.
Common work may include:
Trace repair
Pad repair
Corrosion cleanup
Jumper wires
Continuity testing
Board-level troubleshooting
Mod Installation
Starting at $50
If you want a mod installed, tell me what you’re trying to do in the contact form.
If it’s something I can handle, you’ll usually have two options:
You send the mod part with the console
I source the part and include it in the quote
Either way, you’ll see the numbers before anything happens.
Full Evaluation
Free
I’ll inspect the system, confirm what I find, and give you a quote before repair work begins.
If I think the system is not worth repairing, not realistically repairable, or likely to turn into a money pit, I’ll tell you.
I’m here to fix consoles, not run up a bill chasing ghosts.
Common Issues & Starting Points
Some problems show up again and again.
That does not mean every console with the same symptom has the same fix, but it does give you an idea of what repairs can involve and where pricing may start.
Final quote always comes after evaluation.
NES / Famicom
Common issue: Won’t read games, blinking light, games only work sometimes
Common causes: Dirty cartridge slot, worn or loose 72-pin connector, dirty cartridges, lockout chip weirdness
Typical starting point: Cleaning and cartridge slot service
Starting at: $30
Parts if needed: 72-pin connector
Not every NES needs new pins. A lot of them just need a proper cleaning and adjustment.
Super Nintendo / SNES
Common issue: No video, black screen, intermittent games
Common causes: Dirty cartridge slot, bad power connection, failing capacitors, board/chip issues
Typical starting point: Cleaning, power check, and board inspection
Starting at: $40
Nintendo 64
Common issue: No video, will not boot, inconsistent cartridge reads
Common causes: Dirty cartridge slot, dirty jumper/expansion pak contacts, power supply issues
Typical starting point: Slot cleaning and power/contact inspection
Starting at: $30
GameCube
Common issue: Won’t read discs
Common causes: Dirty lens, weak laser, optical drive board issues, spindle problems
Typical starting point: Lens cleaning and drive evaluation
Starting at: $60
Wii
Common issue: Won’t read discs
Common causes: Dirty lens, weak laser, drive mechanism issues, failing disc drive
Typical starting point: Lens cleaning and drive diagnosis
Starting at: $60
Game Boy / Game Boy Color / Game Boy Advance
Common issue: No power, intermittent power, screen issues, button/contact problems
Common causes: Battery corrosion, dirty power switch, damaged contacts, screen/ribbon issues
Typical starting point: Cleaning and power/contact evaluation
Starting at: $40
Sega Genesis / Mega Drive
Common issue: No power, bad audio, no video, loose power jack
Common causes: Bad DC jack, cracked solder joints, wrong power supply, failing capacitors, AV jack issues
Typical starting point: Power/AV inspection and board evaluation
Starting at: $50
Sega CD / Mega-CD
Common issue: Tray problems, won’t read discs, no power
Common causes: Worn belt, tray alignment issues, dirty/weak laser, failing capacitors, bad fuse, power board issues
Typical starting point: Belt/drive/power evaluation
Starting at: $60
Common low-cost part: Drive belt
Sega CD systems are excellent at turning “probably just a belt” into “well, that’s interesting.”
Sega Saturn
Common issue: Won’t read discs, no video/audio, power issues
Common causes: Weak laser, power supply issues, AV jack problems, capacitors, board faults
Typical starting point: Drive and power evaluation
Starting at: $60
Sega Dreamcast
Common issue: Won’t read discs, random resets
Common causes: Dirty/weak laser, GD-ROM drive issues, power supply contact issues, failing capacitors
Typical starting point: Drive evaluation and PSU contact service
Starting at: $60
Sega Game Gear
Common issue: No sound, dim screen, no display, unstable operation
Common causes: Leaking/failing capacitors
Typical starting point: Full capacitor replacement and board cleanup
Starting at: $60
Game Gears are basically capacitor-shaped time bombs at this point.
Original Xbox
Common issue: Disc drive failure, no power, clock capacitor leakage
Common causes: Dirty/weak laser, worn belt, bad drive, leaking clock capacitor, PSU issues
Typical starting point: Drive service and board inspection
Starting at: $60
Note: Replacement drives/parts can change the final quote. Sometimes the leaking clock capacitor can actually damage the board and will move to board level-repair.
Xbox 360
Common issue: Red Ring of Death, disc drive problems
Common causes: Thermal issues, board faults, drive belt/laser/mechanism issues
Typical starting point: Diagnosis first
Starting at: $75
Important: RROD repairs are case-by-case.
Some Xbox 360 failures can be revived. Some are not worth chasing. I’ll be upfront either way.
PlayStation 1
Common issue: Won’t read discs
Common causes: Weak laser, worn spindle, optical drive wear, early model drive issues
Typical starting point: Optical drive evaluation
Starting at: $60
PlayStation 2
Common issue: Won’t read discs, tray will not open, tray sticks
Common causes: Weak laser, worn tray belt, dirty mechanism, ribbon cable issues
Typical starting point: Tray/laser evaluation
Starting at: $60
PlayStation 3
Common issue: YLOD, no power, won’t read discs
Common causes: Thermal failure, NEC/Tokin capacitor issues on some models, GPU/RSX-related faults, power supply issues, laser/drive issues
Typical starting point: Diagnosis first
Starting at: $75
Important: YLOD is case-by-case.
A reflow may bring some systems back temporarily, but not every YLOD repair is a long-term fix. I’ll tell you what I think before we go down that road.
Neo Geo AES
Common issue: No power, bad audio, video glitches, cartridge issues
Common causes: Bad DC jack, dirty cartridge slot, failing capacitors, corrosion, board faults
Typical starting point: Power/slot/board evaluation
Starting at: $85
Neo Geo CD / CDZ
Common issue: No power, won’t read discs
Common causes: Blown fuse, power input issues, weak laser, failing drive mechanism, capacitors
Typical starting point: Fuse/power/drive evaluation
Starting at: $70
Common low-cost part: Fuse
TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine
Common issue: No video, bad audio, unstable behavior
Common causes: Failing capacitors, dirty cartridge contacts, power issues
Typical starting point: Power/contact/capacitor evaluation
Starting at: $60
TurboDuo / PC Engine Duo
Common issue: Audio problems, CD issues, instability
Common causes: Capacitor leakage, CD mechanism issues, board corrosion
Typical starting point: Full evaluation and likely recap
Starting at: $100
Duo systems are wonderful, but they are not casual about failing.
3DO — Panasonic / GoldStar
Common issue: Tray problems, won’t eject, keeps opening, won’t read discs
Common causes: Bad belts/gears, tray alignment, limit switches, weak laser, sled problems, capacitors
Typical starting point: Tray/drive evaluation
Starting at: $60
Panasonic Q
Common issue: Disc read problems, region-related behavior, DVD/GameCube side issues
Common causes: Drive issues, board complexity, region configuration, aging components
Typical starting point: Case-by-case evaluation
Starting at: $120
The Panasonic Q is special. Special sometimes means “beautiful nightmare.”
Atari Systems
Common issue: No video, unstable output, power issues
Common causes: Dirty cartridge contacts, RF/video output issues, aging capacitors, power supply problems
Typical starting point: Cleaning and power/video evaluation
Starting at: $50
Don't see your exact problem, or your console? That doesn't mean I can't fix it — it just means it's not common enough to list. Tell me what's going on in the Contact Form and I'll give you a real number. Always free to ask.
A note on prices: these are honest starting points for the usual version of each problem. Sometimes a "won't read discs" turns out to be a dead drive instead of a dirty laser — and if yours is something bigger, you'll know the real price before I start. Agree first, then I work. Same as everything else here. The last thing I want to do is surprise you, even if I get surprised with an issue I didn’t see coming.