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What to look for when viewing

Richy

Registered
5Years
Joined
Nov 25, 2016
Messages
83
Location
Ashbourne, Derbyshire
OK......I am bracing myself for the comments for looking g at a pin that is not on the site but I am off for a few days so its a good time to have a look at one.
Its a 90s DMD.........The Shadow.
Apart from play field wear,flipper strength, DMD and any very obvious signs like sparks and smoke pouring out of it when switched on .........what should I be looking for....especially anything that makes it a real no no.
Can you bring up the number of plays its had or can that be fiddled with anyway.
Would be spending a bit on it having it serviced and cleaned .

Any advice appreciated, cheers. Rich.

PS.....I will fight with every bone in my body not to be seduced !!!
 
Look closely at the playfield for worn areas, on The Shadow the sanctumn is often worn. Try to have a good few games on it. That way you may spot faults and find out if the machine is pretty stable ( not resetting ). Look at the boards in the backbox, looking for burnt connectors and battery leakage, wiring harness hacks etc. Run the dmd test from the test menu, let it run the full dmd test. If there's a credit dot go into the menu and see what faults come up. Are all the rings/daggers/little warrior men present on the playfield?
 
The flipper alignment is out on that one. Who cares I hear you cry, it's a 2 min job. Indeed. So why hasn't he done it?
Because he probably hasn't got a clue what he's doing. So what else is neglected.
No close up of the sanctum. The most important thing potential shadow owners want to see.

The backbox looks tatty too.

None of these things are an issue but make sure you don't pay rolls Royce money for a fiesta:

I would be maxed out at £1200 on that.
But that's just me.
As has been said, look for credit dots and the bong bong bong on start up signifying errors.
Look at the board for battery leakage.
Check the flippers are strong enough to make shots. No biggie but a flipper rebuild is gonna be about £60 in parts if needed.

Make sure the diverters have the rings on them

Hope it goes well
 
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Due to the lack of photos of the top of the playfield it is almost certain to have Sanctum wear.

If it is on when you get there ask him if he will power it off and on for you. Play a game and at some point bash both flipper buttons together repeatedly. That is what will cause it to reset if it is going to do it.

Judging by the angle of the right flipper the owner doesn't get under the bonnet very often. That is usually a good thing as no repair is better than a bodged repair.

Don't fret over stuff like scruffy legs (new ones can be bought) but use stuff like that to edge the price down.

Don't be afraid of getting a game that needs some work but DON'T over pay if you do so.

Finally, remember it isn't the only pinball machine in the world. If it is knackered or over priced, walk away.

Good luck. :thumbs:
 
When buying a game its a case of weighing up what you are paying against what you are getting.

i.e
Paying average/going rate ..... then don't get too anal about knocks and scrapes on cab

Paying big bucks for a top end example ...... then DO get anal about knocks and scrapes on cab


Paying average/going rate ...... don't fret about a switch not working.

Paying big bucks for a top end example ..... you want every switch working

Etc etc etc

It's tough when you new to ownership. With time and experience you can quickly size up a game and its worth.
 
It's quite a long way to go!
Have you got anymore pictures from him? Perhaps a video of it starting up? If you want to share on here either privately or on this thread you'd get a bit of proper advice
 
I will ask for a few close up pics and try to work out how to put them on here if he sends them.
Its basically been abit of a toy for him and has said its had no service since he has had it
All the rings are there,will ask about daggers and warriors, wreckons no major play field wear, everything works. He has pointed out the back box decal damaged.
I have messaged Courtney and she has been really helpful as well as you guys.
IF I plum for it it will be going straight to Courtney for a good going over.
Price wise he has said he's had two offers of 1500, not bothered about viewing and they will send a courier so thinking maybe a dealer.
I will venture up and take a look and ask for pics beforehand......I don't mind going abit over 1500 if its OK........I realise with servicing and led,s it won't be the cheapest Shadow but I'm more interested in having a nice keeper.
Thanks for the advice.....assuming it doesn't get mysteriously sold I will make notes and go through them when I view it.
 
Its basically been abit of a toy for him and has said its had no service since he has had it

If you forget everything else posted in this thread, the one thing to remember is to open up the backbox and check for any damage or corrosion from leaky batteries :thumbs: If the current owner has never changed them and he's owned it for a long time then it's pot luck as to whether the board has issues.
 
If you forget everything else posted in this thread, the one thing to remember is to open up the backbox and check for any damage or corrosion from leaky batteries :thumbs: If the current owner has never changed them and he's owned it for a long time then it's pot luck as to whether the board has issues.
Ok.....well I have asked him to send me some pics and he thought he had to pull the machine out to get pics of the boards in the back box so I am guessing the batteries haven't been changed!!! Hopefully he will work it out and send some pics
 
I sold a stunning ts just before Christmas colour dmd full led powder coated metal parts aurich alternative translight loads of spare parts,looking at the pictures on this item would be looking to pay less than £1500 but that might just be me.
 
Sellers on ebay fall into 3 camps ...

Idiots. No idea what they are doing. Got one machine. It has slowly developed numerous faults over the years but they do not know or understand. The machine will be riddled with faults. 50 per cent chance on ebay

Liars. They know what they are doing. Know required repairs are costly. Know missing parts are very expensive or unobtanium. But they pretend to be Idiots. "It stopped working, probably an easy fix". 25 per cent chance

Honest, competent sellers. 25 per cent chance.

You would be better advised to buy on here from a nerd who knows, who cares, who has OCD.

If you want to play Russian Roulette on ebay, bravo.

Shadow is a superb game but has several known wear areas.

Missing soldiers - Expensive
Missing phurba daggers - Expensive
Broken ramps - can be welded
Broken ramp diverter mechs - can be welded
Missing rings - MEGA MONEY
Sanctum wear is to be expected
Wall target wear - bits available

In your shoes, I would buy from the forum
 
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Sellers on ebay fall into 3 camps ...

Idiots. No idea what they are doing. Got one machine. It has slowly developed numerous faults over the years but they do not know or understand. The machine will be riddled with faults. 50 per cent chance on ebay

Liars. They know what they are doing. Know required repairs are costly. Know missing parts are very expensive or unobtanium. But they pretend to be Idiots. "It stopped working, probably an easy fix". 25 per cent chance

Honest, competent sellers. 25 per cent chance.

You would be better advised to buy on here from a nerd who knows, who cares, who has OCD.

If you want to play Russian Roulette on ebay, bravo.

Shadow is a superb game but has several known wear areas.

Missing soldiers - Expensive
Missing phurba daggers - Expensive
Broken ramps - can be welded
Broken ramp diverter mechs - can be welded
Missing rings - MEGA MONEY
Sanctum wear is to be expected
Wall target wear - bits available

In your shoes, I would buy from the forum

David is right. The single best piece of advice to a first time buyer is buy from somebody on the forum. Loads of great, honest collectors who know how to look after a game.
 
I sold a stunning ts just before Christmas colour dmd full led powder coated metal parts aurich alternative translight loads of spare parts,looking at the pictures on this item would be looking to pay less than £1500 but that might just be me.

That was the eBay one with Aurich translite ? I'm still smarting over missing that :-(


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
if he has been offered £1500 for it then he should shake there hand off i sold a really nice one before christmas £1295 with little interest drd sums shadow points to check perfectly
 
I will give it a miss then...fair way to travel...... I realise that site is a four letter word.....off work so thought I would take a look, I will save myself some money, hang tight and carry on painting the living room.
 
@Richy

You have my sympathy here. The correct advice is to buy from a known seller on this site. But to do so you may need to move very quickly, as games on here can go within minutes, and be collected within hours. The rub is that moving quickly may be hard for a noob unfamiliar with prices. Just pay up for your first game. If it is worth 1,500 , maybe pay 1,600 to get it.

When you are more familiar with them, what to look for, how to fix them, where to get parts, what can and can't be fixed, then you can take a chance on eBay and Gumtree type sellers.

Plenty of folk on here know each other, have played each other's games. It is quite normal for games to be "spoken for" so they never hit the open market anyway. ie you go to someone's house, see that they have a game you like playing and want to own so you offer to buy it in the future.

It is also worth your while joining the Midlands League so you can get to know a few folk, familiarise yourself with more games. It is not too competitive and for a fiver you get lunch and around 5 hours of pinball. No-one gets knocked out
 
Yep.......I have noticed they can go very quickly.......although some hang about a day or two.
My problem with meets is I am a chef so evenings and weekends off are few and far between.

No worries.........it will make it more of a buzz when I get one.......a few I fancy so it will do no harm to put another wanted up
Waited four years. Abit longer wont hurt !!
Cheers DRD
 
Wanted ads are the way forward here. It can provoke someone who wasn't thinking of selling into a "actually I fancy a change now I think about it" kind of thing.....took me 2 weeks after a wanted advert for RFM to find a seller here, and remember not everyone checks in to here that regularly...good luck.....and dibs when you want to move it on....see what I did there?!
 
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