(Topic ID: 159920)

$1500 budget - what would you buy?

By MIpinhead

7 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 141 posts
  • 96 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 7 years ago by Snowyetti
  • Topic is favorited by 6 Pinsiders

You

Linked Games

No games have been linked to this topic.

    Topic Gallery

    View topic image gallery

    20160612_220851_(resized).jpg
    shop_pinballs_(resized).jpg
    image_(resized).jpg
    image_(resized).jpg

    You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider xtheblackknightx.
    Click here to go back to viewing the entire thread.

    #95 7 years ago

    3X EM machines.
    Take your pick.

    #114 7 years ago
    Quoted from 0geist0:

    Some EMs are now selling upwards of $1200.
    Bringing one back to life and buying the parts for them is no longer cheap.
    Project EMs are selling for $500-600.

    Yes, some EMs are selling for above $1200, if they are RESTORED, not just "partially working".
    It depends on what kind of quality do you want, player or collector quality?
    There is a huge difference here.

    Project EMs (that are not popular titles, or relatively unknown) that are COMPLETE is not that expensive, just time consuming.
    They still can be found for $350 or less, because most dealers/brokers/current age collectors will not touch them as they is little profit to be made, or they do not know how to fix them in the first place.
    Wedgeheads can still be found even cheaper.
    If the game was left "open air" (example: in a barn with the glass off), I generally don't consider that complete, because bird droppings/sunlight on playfields are like weak hydrochloric acid on your hands over the long term.

    I have a collector less than 200 miles from me that is selling 6X EMs right now all in good cosmetic condition for $600, fully functional.
    They are all good titles as well, just not a bunch of Bally Atlantis, GTB Mermaid, or Bally Fireballs.
    You just have to be willing to drive a little distance and pick them up, which many people do not want to do.

    Price when it comes to EMs like most machines is regional.
    I might pick up a version nice Joust (Bally, 1969) for less than $800 today.
    Fully working, zipper flippers, no broken plastics, non-worn, tuff coat playfield, and superb backglass.
    The only thing that is "rough" is the cabinet, which I can sand and restencil, and it will be superb.

    #117 7 years ago
    Quoted from 0geist0:

    I have no idea where you are shopping, but projects in Florida are $500-600. I have a very nice Pioneer that I have $1000 into.

    "Pacific Northwest", where I live.
    Here are a few examples right now listed below, people need to be patient, be willing to drive, and have their Ben Franklins ready.

    Bally "Monte Carlo" - $550 (This is a good title and price)
    https://goo.gl/lktN6G

    Expressway Pinball Machine - $600
    https://goo.gl/BuAczK

    Gottlieb "Spin Wheel" EM Pinball Machine - $275
    https://goo.gl/qHNRhT

    1956 Bally Sea Fair Pinball Bingo Machine - $500
    https://goo.gl/xFTNY6

    These are not the games I was referring to in my previous post, they are all further east in WA by an EM collector I know.

    Some areas are more challenging due primary to the number of collectors in a region, or pure availability of historical pinball production and shipping distribution. FL is not one of the best "good locations" for finding warehouse raids either.

    Chicago, IL for example is heavy, and the prices are artificially spiked, but availability is higher than others.

    If an owner/collector wants a Stern produced in the last 10 years or a "collector quality machine", they are not going to find one for $1000, or even $2000, unless it is an EM, wedgehead, or early SS.
    At least not an more anyway without keeping their "big game hunter hat" on at all times, because they are out there, and there people watching.
    People need to set their budget and expectations accordingly, or be willing to do investment in time, research, and planning to find exactly what they want.

    "Diligence is rewarded by effort."

    2 weeks later
    #120 7 years ago

    Another choice.
    Capcom Airborne.
    "F-14 Tomcat 2.0".

    You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider xtheblackknightx.
    Click here to go back to viewing the entire thread.

    Reply

    Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.

    Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

    Donate to Pinside

    Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!


    This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/1500-budget-what-would-you-buy?tu=xtheblackknightx and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.

    Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.