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Thinking of putting a game on location

ChriX

ChriX

Site Supporter
10 Years
Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
153
Location
Cornwall
Hey all

I'm thinking of putting a game on location locally to me and have a potential site lined up. I've never done this before and wanted to know if anyone here has any tips. I'm not sure if I should use one of my existing older machines, which will likely require faffing around with to accept payments and make reliable, or get a modern-ish Stern for reliability.

For ease of payment I'm assuming you can get contactless card acceptors these days?! Does anyone have any advice for that? I don't think the site deals much in cash and I wouldn't want to have to set up a change machine.

Does anyone have any idea of a starting point for splitting the income? In the US I've heard 50/50 with the location owner is quite common, but not sure about in the UK. My reason for doing it is nothing other than I think it would be cool to increase visibility of the game and get a well maintained machine out for the public to use when there aren't many around, so I'm not too worried about making a profit, but ideally I'd like to cover costs. The site isn't far from me so transport is negligible, it's more depreciation/wear and tear on the machine to cover I guess, along with (I assume) some kind of public liability insurance.

Any thoughts or pointers appreciated!

Chris
 
Location, location, location.
If you have a poor site it’s more hassle than it’s worth.
Best site I had was a TAF in the bar at Newcastle central station, delayed/missed trains, people killing time.
Reliable machines are a must,
My two penn’orth.
Alan
 
I would stick with a newer stern unless very local, call outs will kill your profits. 'touch' card payment solutions are very expensive and have monthly charges even if the machine doesn't earn. We use game payment, it uses Bluetooth and you pay via an app on your phone but it is cheaper to buy and no monthly charges, just a small %. Depending on the area I would recommend a lock bar (one that uses the coin door bolts to avoid drilling).

Try and stick with a great brand/theme, as this drives income more than how good a game you may think something is.

Make sure you get public liability insurance to cover your back

Good luck!
 
Contactless is not cheap !

Also most pun landlords want the machine split to be in cash as it goes in the back pocket away from the brewery usually.

Make sure you have insurance like public liability. It is not always down to the person who's site it is on.

Use a modern stern.

Get used to call outs for a ball getting trapped.

Get used to turning up at a site and someone saying 'oh, we switched it off as there is a fault and we couldnt be bothered to call you',

Also be prepared to change the machines round the sites every 6 months maximum. If it is a single machine on a site then maybe change it every three months. People get bored.

There is a reason why Pinball Heaven charges a rental for machines. YOU WONT MAKE YOUR FORTUNE DOING THIS.

You would make more money renting a machine to someone on this forum for £100 a month on a 6 month 'verbal contract',
 
As a collector like you I put a Mando in the bar area at work last August, just as a way to get some more people exposed to this brilliant hobby....

Its on free play so haven't had to deal with coin mechs/payment methods, decent amount of plays racking up nearly 4k in that time, with high use at first there were a few things that needed tightening or worked loose, after sorting its been reliable, balls end up stuck in places you would never think possible, silicone flipper rubbers last about 2k plays before they need replacing, balls of course need replacing regularly too and the Stern end stops disintegrated after a few hundred plays.
Nothing major has gone wrong, but a couple of lamp sockets could do with replacing.

If this is a game that will go back into your collection I would recommend a playfield protector, Mylar the shooter lane and possibly ramps too, then when you get it back in your house you can peel them off and have a new looking game.

The other thing you need to consider is depreciation, I don't really agree but some people want low played games and with prices dropping when you move it on you may need to price it lower than a HUO game.

Imagining I had been charging and keeping half the profits, I would have just about broke even, I certainly don't think you will be making money without many machines or a fantastic location, but.....

the world needs more pinball :D
 
Thanks for all the input everyone - all very useful. I'm gonna chat more specifics with the owner of the location sometime soon but I'll keep this thread posted with how it goes. I agree the world needs more pinball (on location), at least trying to do something about it gives me licence to complain 😁
 
Might just be me but that link just takes me to my insider page and doesnt show your pin or where it is.

EDIT: never mind it appears to be working now.
 
Ah yeah I thought it was a public page but looks like you need to be logged in to IC to see it
 
Definitely use a modern Stern with Insider Connected 'pro', as you can see its status from your phone: whether there are any errors thrown up. Don't rely on the people at location to let you know.

Also, modern Sterns are the most robust.

Insider Connected doesn't tell you everything - e.g. whether the coin mech is working or not. The coin slot may be blocked and you won't know (but you will be able to see that no. of plays in last 24 hours has dropped to 0).

Don't give them a key to the machine for them to sort stuck balls, adjust volume, give credits for coins that don't register etc. The person who you trust and who you taught to do it correctly won't be the only person that uses the key even if they promise it will only be them. Absolute brain-dead idiots will do absolutely brain dead-things. And you won't be told. Forever denied "yeh, dunno, that's weird...".

And lock the cash box too.

Put protective mylar film around the flippers to protect the cab against damage from rings and vulgar jewellery.

Put rubber castor cups under the feet (esp front) to eliminate people throwing the machine around. Use double-sided mounting tape to hold the cups on the feet, or they'll vanish as soon as they move-the-machine-which-they-said-they-wouldn't-do.

When you check on Stern Insider Pro (frequently), take screenshots or make some record of it. The information captured is very (very!) basic and as far as I can see, just rolls on forward monthly, losing past data. It's such a lame system. Stern don't seem to have done anything meaningful to it since it limped onto the market. (Any operators reading this, I'd love to hear your thoughts - am I failing to find any useful features?).

Each time you visit the machine take photos of all the audit screens.

Finally: expect the unexpected.

Hope that helps.
 
kev a said:
As a collector like you I put a Mando in the bar area at work last August, just as a way to get some more people exposed to this brilliant hobby....

Its on free play so haven't had to deal with coin mechs/payment methods, decent amount of plays racking up nearly 4k in that time, with high use at first there were a few things that needed tightening or worked loose, after sorting its been reliable, balls end up stuck in places you would never think possible, silicone flipper rubbers last about 2k plays before they need replacing, balls of course need replacing regularly too and the Stern end stops disintegrated after a few hundred plays.
Nothing major has gone wrong, but a couple of lamp sockets could do with replacing.

If this is a game that will go back into your collection I would recommend a playfield protector, Mylar the shooter lane and possibly ramps too, then when you get it back in your house you can peel them off and have a new looking game.

The other thing you need to consider is depreciation, I don't really agree but some people want low played games and with prices dropping when you move it on you may need to price it lower than a HUO game.

Imagining I had been charging and keeping half the profits, I would have just about broke even, I certainly don't think you will be making money without many machines or a fantastic location, but.....

the world needs more pinball :D
Click to expand...
I put mine on location and agreed with the venue that all profits would go to a local charity that we agreed on. I set it on 50p play to make it attractive to newbies, but I'm not sure about the elasticity of demand. You might get more at a pound a pop. Maybe A/B test it? I recommend putting a label in the apron to clarify it's for charity: - saying something like "This is For Charity - *All* money put into this machine goes to [Pinheads Against Understanding Normal Calorific Health "PAUNCH".].
 
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