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Sold Nice Congo £2200 only till 5pm today.

BogusJourney said:
All brilliant info guys. Thank you immensely. So I guess it's just a matter of forking over that huge amount of cash and then calling him to arrange (once you get through) and then a potentially long wait. You've all done it, so that makes me feel better, just hard to comprehend paying 2+ grand and the nothing for a time (bear in mind, most I've ever spent in one hit is £300.

You've all vouched for Bigbear, but wondering if you all do your cash transfers through personal online banking? If anything goes wrong, or god forbid someone were to take the money and run (has that ever happened on here?) your cash isn't protected. If you do it through paypal, there's protection.

Sorry for all the questions but comes with being a first-time buyer. Looking forward to hopefully talking about the fun stuff, gameplay and ideas for a couple of LEDs I have at top of the playfield in the volcano on the top right and the gorilla's eyes top left.
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I know it is scary, but you don’t worry. I’ve paid money up front using online banking and waited a couple of weeks. If the guys here are saying it’s cool then it is.
Use Martin for delivery and don’t worry about delays. You’ll be in good hands.
Welcome to the best forum site - very helpful chaps.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
The way you need to look at it is that it's not yours until you've paid for it....so that should be your first priority. This is a safe forum and most of us can vouch for each other. Its a very small community.
Arranging delivery is a seperate issue. Martin is a top bloke and if you end up owning a pinball machine or two then you will be using his services at some point sooner or later...but he is a very busy man so you need to be patient and relax.
 
You are buying off a forum member.
Every pin is paid for in full in advance.
The moment it leaves house of seller, it's buyer's responsibility.
It is just how it goes with buying a pin.
Martin will deliver - great guy.

This is as safe as it gets.

I have bought games from strangers in USA, paid in full weeks before a game leaves their house - in hindsight - madness:rolleyes:

Just go with the flow and enjoy the process and game when it arrives:)
 
Fab tip. Finally, if you really need delivery confidence you can use Hadfields. They will tell you when they will pick up and deliver. You can pay them cash on delivery for their services. Forum members will likely tell you that Martin looks after the machines better but Hadfields may well give you a quicker service with more confidence on delivery times. Up to you. Never heard a bad word about Martin other than comms.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
 
I get the reluctance to pay a lot of money without seeing what you're getting. Many people on here have known each other for quite some time and do look after each other. If other trusted members will vouch for big bear (and they have) I'd be very comfortable. Never used Martin myself but he is hugely well respected on this forum and others like ukvac and jamma+. I'd be very happy using him.
If there are issues after delivery (these are old machines and can occasionally need small adjustments after being moved about) I'm sure a local forum member will help out. There's lots of us here for online advice and help.
Bottom line is, don't worry, it's a lot of money but we tend to self police, and if there are bad apples they are quickly found out and taken off the community.
 
"It’s all completely natural how you are feeling about shelling out such a large amount of money to someone you don’t know for something you haven’t seen to be delivered by someone you don’t know at a time that hasn’t been agreed."

EXACTLY. But all your responses have all made me feel SO much better everyone. Really, you've no idea. So thank you all, greatly. FINAL THING before I send the cash. I've gotta make sure this can get through my doors into the room, so apparently, I need back box measurements. Is this a standard measurement for all Bally machines and if so, what is it? Thanks again.
 
Most I've sent to a stranger for a pin before I've gone and collected it £5600.

Most I've taken to a strangers house in cash to buy a pin £6500.

Both long time members of the forum though so no biggie.

Martin has delivered and collected pins and arcade machines to/from mine.
Top bloke.
 
EXACTLY. But all your responses have all made me feel SO much better everyone. Really, you've no idea. So thank you all, greatly. FINAL THING before I send the cash. I've gotta make sure this can get through my doors into the room, so apparently, I need back box measurements. Is this a standard measurement for all Bally machines and if so, what is it? Thanks again.[/QUOTE]

Back box is 74cm wide, However you can loosen hinges at the sides of the game and move the backbox pretty much 180 to get it through a door way without disconnecting and the electrics..

Where are you based, surely a fellow pinhead will pop round to help you out
 
I sold this CONGO to Big Bear, it is in great shape and would make a excellent example if the new decals are put on with new siderails.

Not sure about the grey gorilla playfield you mentioned.. it was fine when I sold it
 
Loving this thread and stoked for @BogusJourney

I had the same reservations buying my first pin (which didn’t work, from a two-line eBay listing) and paid in full without seeing it. Then it sat with Martin (just some bloke I’d heard of on Facebook, at the time) for a month, and then I got it. The suspense was awful but also very exciting!

Of course all that was before I’d even heard of this forum - the guys on here are ace. I owe many of them several pints at least.

Talk to Martin about your delivery and setting up. You should measure all your door ways (I had to take a door off it’s hinges so the machine didn’t get set up by Martin and spent it’s first day in my utility room, I then had to borrow a sack truck to move it and then work it all out / set it up on my own). From what you’ve said, you’ll want the full service from Martin which may cost a little extra but well worth it, and also talk to Big Bear to get the actual minimum width your doors need to be from the actual machine - mine was <5mm too big. You can also remove the head for narrow doors but that’s more time/risk/hassle for Martin.

The pic below shows how they get moved around but basically it’s laid on its back, with the head folded against the body and then pushed around on a sack truck - the head is the widest bit so the width of the head is the dimension you need.

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You may also wanna get some floor protectors depending on your flooring.

Good luck and post some pics when you get it set up.
 
Yes, Dave, am a little worried about set-up, as I've said before I've got cerebral palsy. hopefully, it'll be okay though...

I'm in Ashford right by the big John Lewis here. TN25 4EF.
 
Have you bought this yet!?

Worst case scenario, you don't like it or change your mind then you just sell it on here again for £2200
 
About to buy, Jonathan.

Dave, that'd really be amazing. Blown away by your generous offer! Would love to take you up on it, but of course that'll depend on date it's delievered and if you;re about. Worst case, Martin delivers in bits and I might call on you then. Celebratory beers on me, of course!
 
I offered 2k plus 200 off the next game Rupert bought as I fancied this game for Tilt plus it was going to be Kirks Xmas present for 2018! Never mind, go for it "bogus"
 
BogusJourney said:
Yes, Dave, am a little worried about set-up, as I've said before I've got cerebral palsy. hopefully, it'll be okay though...

I'm in Ashford right by the big John Lewis here. TN25 4EF.
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I've had two pins delivered by Martin and both times he was in no rush and went out of his way to help out way beyond expectations. Both pins taken down a flight of stairs to my basement. He stayed with me to set up and put together my RFM which took an hour or so. When he delivered my NIB TWD he went out of his way to wheel it around the block to my front door (which is wider than than the back door) so I could open it indoors for an unboxing video. We took off an internal door and carted it down two sets of stairs. He never charged any extra for the time and inconvenience. The man is a legend.
 
This is great to hear RobZombie (I love AstroCreep 2000!). Don't think he'll have any such problems with me. Brilliant.

I have sent payment! Bigbear checking his account at 11, so once it's gone in I can start to get excited.

My bank account has never been emptier... Now comes the part where I have to explain such an extravagant purchase to friends and why I've got to cancel a bunch of plans. I will go into hermitude until summer now, I think!
 
philpalmer said:
I offered 2k plus 200 off the next game Rupert bought as I fancied this game for Tilt plus it was going to be Kirks Xmas present for 2018! Never mind, go for it "bogus"
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I have certainly gone for it, Phil! There's a draft in my bank account now. Just taken my first step into a larger world!
 
Only just caught up with the thread. What an epic adventure. Can only reiterate what everybody else said.
Don't fret over Martin's comms. You will get the game but it will be when it fits with his schedule.
You'll find lots of support here when the game develops its first fault. Usually when you first turn it on. Most stuff can be fixed inexpensively. And fixing becomes part of the fun too.
Welcome into the (mad) world of pinball ownership.
 
Bigbear has received payment, those monkeys are mine!

Thanks Domlouis. It wasn't Martin's comms but Bigbear's but we sorted it all out over the phone. He's got some other pins just sold which are being picked up along with mine in 2 weeks time, and then we go from there!
 
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I have really enjoyed reading this thread and am really exited for you BogusJourney I’m sure you are going to love owning a pinball machine.
I hope this is the first of many, and I know that you will receive all the help you need to maintain and enjoy your first pin for many years to come.
 
Thanks, Toxteth! Glad my whirlwind of queries and down to the wire emotions gave you some entertainment. I'm sure I'll love it. Can't wait. I know I likely won't see it for 5 weeks or so, but really, I can't wait. As I said up top, have been chasing this one for YEARS, thinking about it for more. Now I finally get to play it. I see you have one, so really looking forward to talking about the gameplay with you. Where would you rank Congo in your current line-up?
 
It’s really hard to rate machines in order if you have a few because they all have different gameplay and depth.
There are different ways to get a really high score on Congo and it has great features like the G.R.E.Y lane which you can target with both flippers, A.M.Y lanes at the top which involve you getting the ball back to the gorilla for a jackpot score, and one of the most satisfying shots in pinball the volcano ramp.
At the moment me and Mrs Tox are playing Creatre From The Black Lagoon to death but after reading through this thread I’m gonna dust off my Congo (ohhh errrr!) for a session.
 
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