Hello, my names Calimori and I am a noob.
As a noob but fringe pinball addict, I have been watching the prices of machines rise for years. I am also unfortunate the the machine I have lusted after is a TAF which has been particularly effected by crazy prices.
Now the introduction is out of the way I wanted to ask a serious question.
When I get my head into doing something I do it usually in an extreme way so I don't have too many things to regret later. I have identified three types of sellers of machines, they may be more but I have tried to simplify.
The Ex-Arcade/pub machine/seller: This has had a hard life, maybe has been moved about a bit and the cab shows the wear of all those people playing it. It won't be pretty and will be dirty in places but it could also be very well worked on mechanically. I have spoken to two such dealers who do not so much as want to sell on their stock but realise that there is less money in a 20 year old machine on a site and a lot more in selling it.
I personally know one guy and it took a lot of pushing for him to even take the pictures and put a price on the machine. His machine will work and come with spares, plus all the mechanics were rebuilt to last as best as possible for hard use for a year so they don't have to visit site.
The Home Machine/Owner: These machines could have had little wear in the years they have been at home. They were bought for many reasons and might be being sold for just as many. They may have been lavished on, kept serviced and running perfectly or may harbour serious problems that the owner didn't know about or ignored. The person may be selling because they were told how much they go for on eBay or may be ignorant still of the crazy prices. In these cases the best you can do is talk to them about the machine and then play it.
The Other Dealer: There are people who seem to restore these machines, they might fall into the same category as the arcade/pub dealer but they seem to also be buying cheap machines, cleaning them up and selling them for big money. I don't know if they do the full overhauls that you hear the first group doing, there are certainly those who just clean up the playing field and sell them. But ultimately the prices are very high.
So as a noob, do I buy a tatty but well serviced machine from:
Group A, it has been mechanically looked after but now needs some love.
Group B, it has had less wear but could have other unknown problems.
Group C, it might well look fantastic but you will pay for it.
More importantly, should you ovoid buying from any of these groups?
As a noob but fringe pinball addict, I have been watching the prices of machines rise for years. I am also unfortunate the the machine I have lusted after is a TAF which has been particularly effected by crazy prices.
Now the introduction is out of the way I wanted to ask a serious question.
When I get my head into doing something I do it usually in an extreme way so I don't have too many things to regret later. I have identified three types of sellers of machines, they may be more but I have tried to simplify.
The Ex-Arcade/pub machine/seller: This has had a hard life, maybe has been moved about a bit and the cab shows the wear of all those people playing it. It won't be pretty and will be dirty in places but it could also be very well worked on mechanically. I have spoken to two such dealers who do not so much as want to sell on their stock but realise that there is less money in a 20 year old machine on a site and a lot more in selling it.
I personally know one guy and it took a lot of pushing for him to even take the pictures and put a price on the machine. His machine will work and come with spares, plus all the mechanics were rebuilt to last as best as possible for hard use for a year so they don't have to visit site.
The Home Machine/Owner: These machines could have had little wear in the years they have been at home. They were bought for many reasons and might be being sold for just as many. They may have been lavished on, kept serviced and running perfectly or may harbour serious problems that the owner didn't know about or ignored. The person may be selling because they were told how much they go for on eBay or may be ignorant still of the crazy prices. In these cases the best you can do is talk to them about the machine and then play it.
The Other Dealer: There are people who seem to restore these machines, they might fall into the same category as the arcade/pub dealer but they seem to also be buying cheap machines, cleaning them up and selling them for big money. I don't know if they do the full overhauls that you hear the first group doing, there are certainly those who just clean up the playing field and sell them. But ultimately the prices are very high.
So as a noob, do I buy a tatty but well serviced machine from:
Group A, it has been mechanically looked after but now needs some love.
Group B, it has had less wear but could have other unknown problems.
Group C, it might well look fantastic but you will pay for it.
More importantly, should you ovoid buying from any of these groups?
, I played it safe on my 1st one and purchased a shopped machine from a reputable dealer although my second machine off ebay was in better condition and better value, you could always ask members for their opinion on the machine in question and problems associated with that title before you part with any hard earned dollar.
