Used arcade sticks

[Kenrou.Horo]

I'm looking for a budget arcade stick, and came across a used madcatz sf4 se stick on ebay, with its stick and buttons replaced with sanwa parts. Now, the original arcade stick and possibly its replacement parts can be more than 4 years old. Can it still be reliable? How quickly do arcade sticks generally degrade in performance? Thanks.

As an aside, is the madcatz sf4 se fightstick too small for use over extended periods of time?

Edited October 7, 2013 by Kenrou.Horo

[RagnaXBL]

the SE is a bit small, i'd get a TE just to be safe. can never go wrong with a TE

[DerQ]

So many factors can affect stick performance, it's hard to say whether or not it's still reliable, but on the plus side, all sticks can be maintained and have parts replaced if you or some modder wants to put in a little work into it. Mine is also 4 years old or really close to it, had a few issues with it over time that I either got fixed at tournaments, got repaired by one the local players here or that I fixed myself. 2-3 times something related to the stick/directional gate, something with my USB cable disconnecting, one button that I had to switch because it wasn't responding properly.

There's no "Best before date" data so long as you're willing to fix it yourself. Over time, saves money for a little work into it. As for that stick, no idea whether or not it'll be in good condition.