Conduct a proper game inspection and diagnostic checks, just like any used game as you have done before, and how operators have done for decades.

The process is identical, no shortcutting.
Inhale the "NIB smell" as you go (I should bottle this and sell it).

Avoid the new generation owner methodology:

1 ) Put legs on (especially w/o a proper dolley)
2 ) Drop balls in game
3 ) Turn power switch on

Expect the unexpected, and research the title for typical service bulletin updates in old stock games that were not updated.

Someone once asked me a very long time ago...

Why is it I am not worried about my pinball machines "losing value"?
I gave them a straight answer.
As a collector not an operator, I don't buy games to make money off them.
I buy games because I like pinball, especially when it comes to purchasing new machines or keeping games in boxes.

Pinball ≠ "investment".
Pinball = "fun".

Otherwise a person is buying games for the wrong reasons, as a private owner.
This is something that seems to be getting lost in the translational meaning at times today.

The only true reality is if you take care of them, and learn how to fix them properly, they will retain their value.
The absolute best part is you can still play them the whole time, not just look at them unlike other hobbies such as baseball cards. The greatest games are those that are played.

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