I would definitely use this. I would have to meet you in sioux city if IA is as far west as you would go. Also it's a service I could only use every 2 years or so. Wish I could buy pins more frequently than that haha.

Great idea. I would use your service. Suggest possibly getting pinball armor (although I think he stopped making the stuff) to safeguard the games and protect against dings. Add to your white glove positioning. Love the escalera idea for those of us with basements.

Great idea! Shipping prices have kept me from buying more than 1 pin..
Good luck!

I think it's fantastic. You need to get a square and an iPad so you can take credit card for some people. Just charge the extra 1.5 - 2.0 percent to the customer that it costs you. I use sti/navl all the time right now.
Maybe a discount for someone orders two or three machines at once. I know sti does that as well.

Sounds great! Make sure to include Kansas in the coverage area.

I have used Ray with Games on the Go for a pin and also a Daytona USA Twin and have also heard great things about Don with Pinballs on the move.

I'm all for having more non shipping co options

I think it is a GREAT idea and I would USE your service!

Dan

There's been a need in this regard for a while imho.
Better check into insurance.

How much coffee can you drink in a weekend?

MS borders up to TN, and Arkansas borders up to MO & TN, and LA borders up to AR & MS, so is LA also close enough?

Would Lexington, Kentucky to Wichita, Kansas be in your wheelhouse? Interesting.

Great idea. I've used Don before one time and tried to a few other times but his schedule is hard to use as he only makes a few trips and then in a prescribed route so your needs need to match up with his. I think the ability for a little more individuality in scheduling would make you very busy and successful.

Check out this thread. Especially the part about others who tried to do something similar.....

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-have-a-pinball-shipped#post-1425242

I would use the service! I think it is a great idea and $250 is a fair price.

Things I would like to see is UP TO DATE and ACCURATE schedule for pickup and drop offs with load/room info.
For example, I have no issue with a game being picked up and sitting on a trailer for a few weeks till you make it up my direction, but I would like to be able ot sign in to see where you are and when you plan to come by.

I can also see using this data to look for pins. For example if I see that you will be in STL area next weekend and have room for 4 then I may look to see what is available from sources in that area.

A big part of white glove service is good communication and knowledge of where my game is enroute and where you are for possible pickups.

Colorado!

This will work. Prowler on Aussie Arcade, does the same, pin-dedicated service up and down the East coast of Aus every month. He is top class and good value. His service lubricates the entire pin trading community. I am sure there are machines that trade that otherwise wouldn't because of his reliable delivery service. And he is usually carrying around sheets of PDI glass at the same time.
Great idea. Do it.

Jaybird, I love your enthusiasm, but your going to wear out your vehicle/equipment & not make enough money to barely do maintenance & buy gas, let alone make enough $ to replace your current equipment. And what is your time worth? $250 is crazy cheap! I live in Northern Michigan(310 miles N of Ohio) I drive a lot for pins. For $250+- I will gladly use your service. Just be sure to figure in All of your expenses with your shipping Co. it's a lot more than you think. Maintenance alone can eat you alive.
I should mention that I own my own shipping/delivery company that subcontracts to FedEx Ground. Here's a picture of a third of my fleet.

IMG_20160702_080405184_(resized).jpg

My thoughts exactly.

I am guessing he is planning on mutliple pins coordinated in a smaller radius for each destination. 4 pins on a single trip and making $1000 is not too bad of a haul...

This of course means willingness of buyers/sellers to have a more open timeframe of pick up and delivery, but for $250 I am happy with waiting a month for delivery.

I think it sounds like an excellent idea. If you've worked out the logistics and feel you have the capability to pull it off, I say go for it! You could make some decent money, and offer a beneficial service to the pin community at the same time.

That would be the ideal situation for sure, & if your going to cover your cost it's a must.

Jaybird,
If you don't mind me asking. What year make & model is the vehicle your going to use for towing? And is it a gas or a diesel?

zamp >> what do you suggest as the best vehicle for someone to use that is going to do this?

It really should be a diesel when ever you are towing or pushing(plowing snow). You burn less than half of the fuel of a gas engine. It also comes with an extra heavy duty transmission(Alisson) with coolers.

I would suggest being open to video games too. There are a lot ofvideo game sollectors in the states you are suggesting that would be interested in finding an alternate service as well. Plus, there are a lot more vids that need shipped than pins. Just be careful not to take on to much and to enjoy doing it. Being a person that was burned before by someone similar, understand that it will take a while to build up trust from some of us. I suggest having a webpage, and update it. Have a calendar on it that states approx areas you plan on being at. Also, To be profitable, it would take a staging area since you might pick up games in KS, then 2 weeks later be in TN, but still not be in MI until a few weeks later. So myself, i wouldnt want my game on the trailer bouncing around on other trips if it is not making it to me on that particular trip. And if you do this, i would suggest having a Queue on your webpage stating something like

Contract # 10001 Pick up KS Delivery MI Current Status, on Trailer for delivery
contract # 10001 Pick up OK Delivery TN Current Status, Stored at Des Moines warehouse
contract # 10003 Pickup MI, Delivery OK, Current Status Pending Pickup

Just take it slow, do it right, and you will gain customers. Guys like myself that were burned by Randy Buffalo may come around in time

Don't get me wrong, I love this idea! I'm just trying to help Jaybird from experience over the past 7 years of owning my tucking business. Maintenance really is a wild card. One month it's low, the next it is high. You have to make enough money hauling these pins to not only set money aside for: fuel, brakes, rotors, & tires. But also the really expensive ones, like transmissions, rear ends, an engine & to replace his current vehicle some day.

I would also suggest having a fee structure (the prices are just to have numbers to show slight increases for different services. By no means are these the prices that i suggest that you charge, although i think that the numbers are decent)

Standard move 250.00 (standard size game, game folded, legs removed)
standard move, 300.00 (Legs on Pin, sit Down driver)
Wrapping and extra protection 25.00 per machine
Second game moved from same pickup to same delivery 150.00

Move with stairs involved (xxx.00 per stair)

You really need levels in fees like this. I know that I prepare games for shipment all the time, and it takes time and money to wrap and prepare. Its not really fair to charge the same price to the person that has the game ready to go where you are there for 10 minutes compared to going to someones house, breaking a pin down, wrapping it, hauling it up 10 steps and taking an hour of your time.

Sorry to keep posting, but this is something that i have thought of before and decided against it, but other things to consider are:

before accepting any deals, know the local laws.

When dealing in areas like Chicago, there are things that most people dont know or consider
.... You are not suppose to drive a vehicle with truck plates on address' ending with Boulevard. I dont know why, but in Illinois you can get specialty plates. So although Im not allowed to drive my f-350 on BLVD's with truck class plates, I am able to drive the same vehicle with my veterans plates.

.... I also was stopped once for a speeding in Will County Illinois. I was making deliveries, Once the officer saw that i had multiple games and asked if I was making more than one stop, he then informed me that i was breaking the law. Although he cut me a break, He informed me that i was required to: Havea fire extinguisher, A warning Triangle, A company name on the truck and trailer, ...

So check the laws. It would suck to get 300.00 in traffic fines for a 250.00 delivery

A lot of laws related to vehicles (e.g., How many license plates must be displayed (one or two); window tint restrictions, oversized tires, etc.) only apply to vehicles registered in that particular state.

If you're just "passing through" and "helping out" a friend by delivering his/her pins, it's less of an issue.

But, yes, fire extinguisher, triangles, etc. are always a good idea.

I like the idea and would likely use the service at it would extend the range in which I would typically search for a pin! The biggest thing (aside from price) would be that the service offered great communication.-Whysnow covered this. I would also want to make sure that any pins that were transported were covered by insurance if they were damaged along the way. Accidents do happen no matter how careful you try to be. Would the business be able to pay out any claims if pins were damaged during transport?

Great point! How in God's name could I forget this cost! Lol
Liability insurance. Not just for the pins, but for the homes you go into & will no doubt at some point do damage to.

I don't mean to rain on anybodies parade, but this has been tried before about 10 years ago. It lasted about 14 months?
It was from coast to coast. To many onezs twozes that were on different sides of the country. Good luck, wish you the best.

Coast to coast is much harder to pull off. The OP is just talking about a regional service.

I love the idea, and although flat rate makes it simple and less complicated, I think you might get hosed unless it averages out. I think you need to setup some sort of calculator /formula, and charge based on it. IE: factor in actual mileage, discount each customer everytime another pin gets added to a trip (but pro-rating mileage of each customer). I don't know how that would all work out, but it also seems more fair.

I mean suppose there's a pin only say 40 miles from my house, but I might be willing to pay someone $100 to pick it up, break it down, lift it out of the basement, and deliver it to my front door. It's still work for you, but in actual mileage and vehicle wear (especially if you scheduled say 3-4 pins on a saturday) would be worth it. Maybe just a tiered system makes more sense? ($250 out of state, $200 in state but over 200 miles round trip, $100 under 100 local miles round trip)

You may want contact some of these boutique pinball companies and get there business. That may get you a few hundred deliveries a year to cover operating costs

You would want to be at the major shows to offer transport on machines sold and away to get machines there for show or sale.

It's not delivery, it's DiJaybird.
Hope this works for ya bud !

Man.....i would much rather have a fellow pinhead delivering my pins.....give me huge peace of mind....

I live in St Louis and this is a service I would highly considerb useing.

There's apps for your phone that allow you to broadcast your location live, so people could see exactly where the truck was at any given time.

You might also include an inspection option for people, but that might be cross-purposes to just shipping.

There are a bunch of pinheads in Tennessee that I am sure could use this service.

Another service that I would welcome would be a home to terminal service. Right now, I need to drop off a game wrapped up on a pallet at the Forward Air terminal - if I could pay someone to take my game, palletize it and drop it off, I'd be a lot more open to selling across the country.