65 replies to this topic

[CaptainNeo]

but just because it's a storefront and your overpaying by almost double, doesn't mean they are perfect collector quality examples. Some store fronts sell absolute garbage and want CQ money. You have to very careful. Just know, that if you buy from a storefront, your probably going to be taking a big hit on the game when it comes time to sell or trade for something else. Smart money waits and holds out for the right deal. Stores are for people who dont' know better and can't wait.

[hassanchop]

i would go for Junkyard and No Fear

[Matt Rasmussen]

No, you're not scaring me at all, I really appreciate the advice. I realize that it is retail pricing, but personally I'm not going to drive 8 hours to get an 'ok' pinball and fix it up myself, I just don't want to do that. I'm willing to pay a little more and have a super nice machine to play immediately.

Thanks for all the suggestions to everyone who has replied, great stuff, hopefully I can share some pics of my new gameroom soon!

This is what I'm talking about above. So you need to do what is best for you, what works for you. If you are happier paying a little more in order to avoid hassle & also have a super clean game... then there is nothing wrong with that at all. & in fact you actually have more options going this route, buying shopped (reconditioned) pins.
The value of the games you seek... well they are whatever YOU can buy them for! Doesn't really matter what Jimbob from Texas paid in a back alley somewhere, that doesn't have anything to do with you. & the good news with value is that if you find that these prices are actually somewhat normal for your area, then when it comes time for you to sell, it should mean that you should get that money back. See, it should all work out OK. That is mostly what I look for. It isn't so much what I pay for a game, but I just try to pay a price that I know I can pretty much get back when it comes time for me to sell.
The more you know!

Right, the thread was more about 'what games', but kind of turned into 'how much'. A lot of good information here on both topics!

but just because it's a storefront and your overpaying by almost double, doesn't mean they are perfect collector quality examples. Some store fronts sell absolute garbage and want CQ money. You have to very careful. Just know, that if you buy from a storefront, your probably going to be taking a big hit on the game when it comes time to sell or trade for something else. Smart money waits and holds out for the right deal. Stores are for people who dont' know better and can't wait.

Understood, I received some fine advice on what I should be looking for, in addition to what I had already researched. But I kind of disagree with your last statement, there shouldn't be an AND in there, you can know better but simply choose to pay more because of other factors such as not willing to waste 16 hours of billable time to drive to some other state for a great deal, or, not wanting to shop out a game on your own. Certainly with the understanding that you'll be paying more than what some people think is 'right'.

I appreciate all your advice on this thread!

[Matt Rasmussen]

I checked out the games, and have posted a link to some pics I took. My problem is that I don't know if this is the kind of thing that is normal for a machine in this price range or not. Mechanically it seemed sound, the targets all came up for the next ball, the right ramp raised when in the cellar, the storm feature worked great, both the playfield storm spinners and the topper. The rubber looked new etc. But there were issues with playfield stuff, the cellar holes were pretty worn out, and there were some pits in the plunger trough. While the backglass and display were perfect the backbox and cabinet had some issues...and the glass has some scratches in it.

Check out the few pics I took and I would be interested to hear what you think. If you have any photographs or references that describe condition I would really appreciate it, I realize a lot is from experience, but have to start somewhere!

http://www.flickr.co...57630781272092/

[CaptainNeo]

that machine is still dirty. THey did a looks good shop type job on it. WHere we'll polish what you see, put new rubber on, but overall that is not a good shop job. I bet they didn't even take all the parts off the top. Take off the back corner plastic and it's probably filthy. They didn't even bother to clean the drop target off. That game has full playfield mylar, which protects the playfield, but by looking at that extra ball insert. The graphics (typical for system 11 playfields) are bubbled and peeling up on the mylar. So if you ever want to remove the mylar for a restoration, many of those inserts printing will come off. Not a big deal if this is just a player for you. SInce you probably wont' be restoring it anyway. but if you find out later you love the game, and want a balls deep restoration done on it, it will be a problem. I can't see all of the playfield. The inlanes would be a nice tell tale sign on how much use this game has received. But $2500? No way. This is a $1200-1400 game. on the high end $1500 tops. If your paying $2500, yea it's nice to have it close, but is there a warranty on that for that price. Lots of storefronts will have parts and labor for 1 year for the markup. Then it might be worth it, especially if your new to board repairs and maintenance.

[Mrhide]

I'm going to buy a couple pins and curious what you guys would buy. 5k for one/two.

Out of these which one/two would you pick.

Whirlwind
The Getaway
Dr. Dude
Dirty Harry
Cyclone
Junkyard
No Fear
Pinbot

Whirlwind for sure.
the Getaway is cool and shallow indeed
Dr.Dude skip
dirty harry would be my other choice.
cyclose skip
junkyard skip
no fear is cool and shallow
pinbot is shhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllooooooooow.

that beeing said, pick THE ONES YOU LIKE!

... or get them all
D

[Matt Rasmussen]

that machine is still dirty. THey did a looks good shop type job on it. WHere we'll polish what you see, put new rubber on, but overall that is not a good shop job. I bet they didn't even take all the parts off the top. Take off the back corner plastic and it's probably filthy. They didn't even bother to clean the drop target off. That game has full playfield mylar, which protects the playfield, but by looking at that extra ball insert. The graphics (typical for system 11 playfields) are bubbled and peeling up on the mylar. So if you ever want to remove the mylar for a restoration, many of those inserts printing will come off. Not a big deal if this is just a player for you. SInce you probably wont' be restoring it anyway. but if you find out later you love the game, and want a balls deep restoration done on it, it will be a problem. I can't see all of the playfield. The inlanes would be a nice tell tale sign on how much use this game has received. But $2500? No way. This is a $1200-1400 game. on the high end $1500 tops. If your paying $2500, yea it's nice to have it close, but is there a warranty on that for that price. Lots of storefronts will have parts and labor for 1 year for the markup. Then it might be worth it, especially if your new to board repairs and maintenance.

30 day in-home warranty. Personally, I was expecting a lot more for that kind of money...but they were really firm, wouldn't budge over a hundred bucks.

[CaptainNeo]

pinbot isn't slow if you play a restored one. If the playfield is clearcoated, it's murderous. If Pinbot is to slow you can always buy a Jackbot instead. Exact same playfield, different rules, with DMD.

[CaptainNeo]

30 day...no way. your basically giving them $1000-1200 bonus for being a storefront..which I understand, they have overhead, but should have little better service plan than that, unless they are not bulletproofing and "shopping" out their games as well as they say they are.

[Mrhide]

pinbot isn't slow if you play a restored one. If the playfield is clearcoated, it's murderous. If Pinbot is to slow you can always buy a Jackbot instead. Exact same playfield, different rules, with DMD.

I clearcoated one .... all the work bla bla ... and sold it after a month of two ... just could not stand it ... ( and that was my second pinbot cause I somehow forgotten how dull it was and "missed it!" )


love the music and atmosphere....no doubt about it. still love it when I play it ... elsewhere


oh and I actually delivered "that" Pharaoh today ! ... it did something to let it go but It was time since TZ is back ... and Dr.who ....and Tx-Sector

THIS was fun !

Edited by Mrhide, 28 July 2012 - 01:58 AM.

[CaptainNeo]

yea, I bet it was a PIA. It's a lot of work moving that many games around in one day. least you didn't have to set them all back up. That sucks even worse, but fun at the same time. I think our days of containers is coming to a close. They are less and less all the time.

[Osprey101]

I would go for Pinbot and Cyclone. But.. if I had my choice, I would would buy a buttload of EM's needing restoration and 1 nice running machine like PB.

[CaptainNeo]

Em's are ok, but there are only select ones that are fun enough to hold your interest for the long haul. pinheads and non pinheads love my gottlieb super soccer. It's the only EM I own. I can count on one hand the EM's that if I had the room, i'd own.

[rob046]

Em's are ok, but there are only select ones that are fun enough to hold your interest for the long haul. pinheads and non pinheads love my gottlieb super soccer. It's the only EM I own. I can count on one hand the EM's that if I had the room, i'd own.

Same here, maybe a handful I'd own in place of some good early SS. & I'd never have one replace a DMD game unless it was a god awful DMD game.
That said, the EM era was before I was even born, so I have no nostalgia with it. Also my repair skills are better suited to solid state. However, I did own an EM & it was the 1st game & ever owned (well that & a Hurricane at the same time). It was a Stern Rawhide, 1st Stern game ever made. & it was acceptable because I liked the layout, the game was clean with little wear, felt a bit more like an early SS game, & I'm a sucker for captive balls. I got a couple years of enjoyment out of it, then an EBD ended up taking its place. Yeah, upgrade for sure. But I never regretted having an EM, it was one of those things where I had the room, & the guy was offering it dirt cheap to go along with the Hurricane. I even did do a few repairs on it over the time I had it. I think I fixed the stepper motor once out of pure luck, basically just prodding around long enough.

[Matt Rasmussen]

Do you guys think this is just dirt and should clean up nicely with some Novus 1/2 etc?

[KloggMonkey]

For the No Fear:
Most of that should clean up, the rollover switch on the right inlane could be worn from the ball dropping from the wire ramp, but its so dirty its hard to tell.

But my question is what price is the No Fear?
It's certainly not shopped in anyway, and is 15 damnsights from "reconditioned"

Filthy, two broken slingshot plastics, and one Data East and some generic flipper on a Williams machine lol.
This is a just off route beater that they didn't even bother to wipe down.

At a minimum you can look forward to doing a playfield teardown to clean all the dirt with novus etc, then replacing every rubber while things are apart, and to get any fun from the machine you will need to rebuild the flippers that are too weak to hit the ramps on that game. I think No Fear has an upper flipper as well to redo. Then I would look in backbox and check the DMD power board to see if the high voltage section has any heat marks, because it could go too. Also check to see if any batteries may have leaked.

But I thought you wanted a machine that's all ready to go?

Offer them 800 bucks then walk when they don't take it.

The WW looks dirty too, with broken plastics etc., and you can look forward to cleaning and rebuilding flippers as well.

This can be an expensive hobby unless you find lucky deals, or are willing to do the resto-work yourself. This place seems high priced and still leaves you to do the work a craigslist special would have.
Where are you located maybe I can help you search for a suitable pin.

[Matt Rasmussen]

For the No Fear:
Most of that should clean up, the rollover switch on the right inlane could be worn from the ball dropping from the wire ramp, but its so dirty its hard to tell.

But my question is what price is the No Fear?
It's certainly not shopped in anyway, and is 15 damnsights from "reconditioned"

Filthy, two broken slingshot plastics, and one Data East and some generic flipper on a Williams machine lol.
This is a just off route beater that they didn't even bother to wipe down.

At a minimum you can look forward to doing a playfield teardown to clean all the dirt with novus etc, then replacing every rubber while things are apart, and to get any fun from the machine you will need to rebuild the flippers that are too weak to hit the ramps on that game. I think No Fear has an upper flipper as well to redo. Then I would look in backbox and check the DMD power board to see if the high voltage section has any heat marks, because it could go too. Also check to see if any batteries may have leaked.

But I thought you wanted a machine that's all ready to go?

Offer them 800 bucks then walk when they don't take it.

The WW looks dirty too, with broken plastics etc., and you can look forward to cleaning and rebuilding flippers as well.

This can be an expensive hobby unless you find lucky deals, or are willing to do the resto-work yourself. This place seems high priced and still leaves you to do the work a craigslist special would have.
Where are you located maybe I can help you search for a suitable pin.

This isn't from the same place, this is a home use machine, which was obviously never cleaned. We'll see what happens, thanks for the advice.

[CaptainNeo]

that playfield looks damn nice. It looks like an HUO only machine. Usually those hotdog inserts "autofire" usually are raised and the edge of the art is gone by the fireball effects. See a lot of that on those fields. That dirt comes of very easy, would look like new with some Magic eraser and rubbing alcohol. 10 min and your done. If that cabinet isn't faded and you get it for $1200 or less, your doing well. If the cabinet is faded then maybe less.

[Itchigo]

I used to shop games being in the buisness back in the day. I cleaned the playfield, removing all plastics, adjusted and cleaned all playfield contacts with an emery board, cleaned all rubbers with glass cleaner and a paper towel. I replaced them if they were looked old. For flippers clean the underside contact with an emery board or metal nail file enough to get a good contact. Unless you have a weak coil- this is all you need to do! My games were tournament quility- and I know, I used to play tournaments in the day. It's not rocket science although I did have a Gottlieb Volcano at a location - so fast, that even with 3 rubbers on the slingshot plastics- the ball would still lodge itself under the slingshot plastics. Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!!

[KloggMonkey]

I used to shop games being in the buisness back in the day. I cleaned the playfield, removing all plastics, adjusted and cleaned all playfield contacts with an emery board, cleaned all rubbers with glass cleaner and a paper towel. I replaced them if they were looked old. For flippers clean the underside contact with an emery board or metal nail file enough to get a good contact. Unless you have a weak coil- this is all you need to do! My games were tournament quility- and I know, I used to play tournaments in the day. It's not rocket science although I did have a Gottlieb Volcano at a location - so fast, that even with 3 rubbers on the slingshot plastics- the ball would still lodge itself under the slingshot plastics. Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!!

Don't wanna clean the new type switch contacts like that, use a business card instead of a file.. besides most flipper rebuild kits come with new EOS switches anyway, however NOT new flipper bushings.

My Jackbot is pretty quick after a fresh wax I broke a slingshot lamp bulb--ball didn't get stuck under there though. Must be those non-factory white instead of black rubbers
Too bad most of the pins in the wild today aren't shopped to the quality like you did in good old days. Somebody might play them.