(Topic ID: 56435)

Anyone put a pinball out during a yardsale to get more traffic?

By nate1981s

10 years ago


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  • 47 posts
  • 34 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 10 years ago by suave84
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    #1 10 years ago

    Its summer and I am about to have a yard sale. Thinking of putting a pinball or arcade machine out so more people stop. Has anyone else done this? I don't want to sell either so I figure I will put a 2x price or higher. What do you think?

    #2 10 years ago

    Haven't ever done that, but it's a great idea!
    // Error: Image 115327 not found //

    #3 10 years ago

    Be careful.

    Saw a Police Force recently that had been set outside for a deck party, and the sunload warped all the ramps and a fair amount of the plastics as well...

    Later,
    EV

    #4 10 years ago

    I'd be afraid to bring it out in the sun. I treat all my pins like they were veal or albinos.

    #5 10 years ago

    Personally, I don't want my neighbors knowing that I have pins. I mean, they've seen me take a couple in when they were hauled to my house in my dad's pickup truck, but I don't want them knowing I've basically got an arcade going on down in my basement. Both for safety/security reasons and because I can't escape the talky talky neighbors now as it is. I'm afraid to go get my mail because if they see me, they start yelling to me from their door then run out to talk. I talk all day at work, and can't help that they're home lonely and want someone to listen to them talk, and I just want to go sit in my house and relax in the evenings. I'm nice and cordial to them, but inside my head I'm trying to think of a valid excuse to get away. If they or the kids down the street knew I had pins, they'd be ringing my doorbell wanting in. Nope nope nope.

    Also, watch out for fading and warping in the sun, as mentioned above.

    #6 10 years ago

    Some cities don't let you have coin op games, even in your own house, without a license for each.

    I'm not kidding.

    #7 10 years ago

    Thanks, I will keep it out of the sun if I do this.

    I leave my garage door open all the time and only ever the mailman has said anything to me and it was just a passing comment about pinball. Strange with all of the 30-50's guys and 5-15 year old kids around. Some even saw the door open and came over to say hi, made a few comments of other stuff I was working on and did not even notice the arcade or pinball's.

    #8 10 years ago
    Quoted from blondetall:

    Personally, I don't want my neighbors knowing that I have pins. I mean, they've seen me take a couple in when they were hauled to my house in my dad's pickup truck, but I don't want them knowing I've basically got an arcade going on down in my basement. Both for safety/security reasons and because I can't Escape the talky talky neighbors now as it is. I'm afraid to go get my mail because if they see me, they start yelling to me from their door then run out to talk. I talk all day at work, and can't help that they're home lonely and want someone to listen to them talk, and I just want to go sit in my house and relax in the evenings. I'm nice and cordial to them, but inside my head I'm trying to think of a valid excuse to get away. If they or the kids down the street knew I had pins, they'd be ringing my doorbell wanting in. Nope nope nope.
    Also, watch out for fading and warping in the sun, as mentioned above.

    THIS.

    #9 10 years ago

    I have basement windows where I keep the blinds shut all the time (venetian-esque style 1 inch blinds), but a little light still bleeds through when the sun is on that side of the house. I worry about some fade coming on that one side -- you guys think its worth putting some bead board in the window to shield, or am I just being paranoid about the fade?

    #10 10 years ago
    Quoted from blondetall:

    Personally, I don't want my neighbors knowing that I have pins. I mean, they've seen me take a couple in when they were hauled to my house in my dad's pickup truck, but I don't want them knowing I've basically got an arcade going on down in my basement. Both for safety/security reasons and because I can't Escape the talky talky neighbors now as it is. I'm afraid to go get my mail because if they see me, they start yelling to me from their door then run out to talk. I talk all day at work, and can't help that they're home lonely and want someone to listen to them talk, and I just want to go sit in my house and relax in the evenings. I'm nice and cordial to them, but inside my head I'm trying to think of a valid excuse to get away. If they or the kids down the street knew I had pins, they'd be ringing my doorbell wanting in. Nope nope nope.
    Also, watch out for fading and warping in the sun, as mentioned above.

    OMG! This is a conversation I had last night with my wife nearly word-for-word.

    I enjoy having other pinheads over, but for some reason, the thought of doing the same with my neighbors sounds like a nightmare. The last time I tried to wash my car in the driveway, I thought I was going to have to leave it half dirty to escape the "talky talky".

    #11 10 years ago
    Quoted from The_Director:

    I have basement windows where I keep the blinds shut all the time (venetian-esque style 1 inch blinds), but a little light still bleeds through when the sun is on that side of the house. I worry about some fade coming on that one side -- you guys think its worth putting some bead board in the window to shield, or am I just being paranoid about the fade?

    I have a broke spot on my blinds and sun shines in. I am gonna duct tape it I am totally worried about fade you are not paranoid lol

    #12 10 years ago
    Quoted from The_Director:

    I have basement windows where I keep the blinds shut all the time (venetian-esque style 1 inch blinds), but a little light still bleeds through when the sun is on that side of the house. I worry about some fade coming on that one side -- you guys think its worth putting some bead board in the window to shield, or am I just being paranoid about the fade?

    Fade is very real on old games that have long ago lost the UV protection in the paint.

    Hit the auto store and grab some window tint. It blocks 99% of UV.

    #13 10 years ago

    I thought about doing this also but having perfect strangers pudgy/sweaty little hands on my game repulses me. I also remember that 15% of people dont even wash their hands after going to the bathroom

    Like Blondtail and Vid mentioned also. I live in a townhome and most of my neighbors dont know what I have and I kind of like it like that. Maybe I've watched to much "I survived" and "Missing" on the ID Channel.

    It would be a shame to have a game fade even if its ever so slightly after surviving the arcades 10, 15 or 30 years. I had a Mortal Kombat 4 cabinet lightly fade from sitting in my living room for several months before having room in my basement.

    Treat them like a pale elderly grand mother and baby them

    #14 10 years ago

    Yep I have done it with a Ms. Pacman. It really got the attention. But I agree with the warning of sun/heat on a pin....be carefull.

    G

    #15 10 years ago
    Quoted from hAbO:

    I also remember that 15% of people dont even wash their hands after going to the bathroom

    Probably more like 90% at the pinball shows. Pinheads are animals.

    #16 10 years ago

    I think it's a great idea personally. I like talking to my neighbors about my hobby. Guy across the street is into RC trains and planes.

    Although, I normally don't stop at yard sales. If I saw a pin I would, but I would leave as soon as I saw it was massively overpriced.

    #17 10 years ago

    Toaster, you are welcome to come talk to my neighbors any time you want. One is a drunk that has rung my doorbell at 2 AM before because she "lost" her dog- which was sitting on her front porch looking at her like she was an idiot. One is a hoarder who is constantly doing house improvements but never finishing them, and wants to borrow "anything you have that may be useful." And she's currently housing a guy through a church foster program who spent 30 minutes telling me his life story including how he grew purple haze marijuana, got chased by police helicopters, ate $4000 of raw marijuana in one sitting to avoid the police getting it, beat a man in jail so hard he broke his jaw, and likes to tell me that he is "more than happy to come over and help you do anything you need." (Insert creepy stare/grin here.)

    Now, if I had 'normal' neighbors I'd be happy to have them over occasionally. I'd love to be neighbors with a pinhead. But, considering my current neighbors... nope nope nope.

    #18 10 years ago

    If you actually planned on selling the game, the added traffic it might generate would be a bonus. Its kind of not fair that you have no intention of selling the game. Some potential buyers might be interested in an item for sale that they have no chance in hell of buying. And what excuse would you come up with if someone was willing to pay your asking price on a machine that you do not want to let go of?

    #19 10 years ago
    Quoted from blondetall:

    Now, if I had 'normal' neighbors I'd be happy to have them over occasionally. I'd love to be neighbors with a pinhead. But, considering my current neighbors... nope nope nope.

    Yea, guess I'm lucky. My neighbors are cool, must be a Tennessee thing Hehe J/K

    #20 10 years ago

    I love not living close to my neighbors. I never have to talk to them.

    #21 10 years ago
    Quoted from Toasterdog:

    Yea, guess I'm lucky. My neighbors are cool, must be a Tennessee thing Hehe J/K

    I think it is a TN thing. My previous neighbors were crazy too.

    #22 10 years ago

    Keep it in the garage put a "not for sale" sign on it and take it off free play, and let people pay to play, maybe you'll make an extra 20$. Don't put an ad on cl saying your selling it though that's bait and switch.

    #23 10 years ago

    OMG! This is a conversation I had last night with my wife nearly word-for-word.
    I enjoy having other pinheads over, but for some reason, the thought of doing the same with my neighbors sounds like a nightmare. The last time I tried to wash my car in the driveway, I thought I was going to have to leave it half dirty to Escape the "talky talky".

    Then you are not doing it right.

    // Error: Image 115382 not found //

    #24 10 years ago
    Quoted from vid1900:

    Some cities don't let you have coin op games, even in your own house, without a license for each.
    I'm not kidding.

    This kind of reminded me of a buddy of mine. He's not on pinside (more of a KLOV'er) and has 40 vids and 15 or 16 pins. His neighbor was a little nuts and took him to court saying that my buddy was running a buisiness out of his house selling coin-op games. He had hundreds of photos of my buddy selling games that he brought to court along with dates, times etc. My buddy had to explain to the judge that he's a collector for years. Of course its perfectly legal in MD to own a vid.

    What state or city is it illegal to own without a licence? Just wondering so I know never to move there

    #25 10 years ago

    yikes....

    If you're that afraid of your neighbors knowing your hobby.... maybe you need new neighbors?

    Re: Security: Really?
    I doubt most people have the slightest clue how valuable pinball machines are (hell, I don't even tell my wife how much they cost!)... but even so, they are pretty damn heavy! Id be shocked if many pinballs get stolen from homes...

    #26 10 years ago

    If you're talking about my post, I meant security so that I don't have a creepy neighbor inside my home, not because I think they'd steal a pin. The pin would just be the excuse for them to ask to come in. See description above for neighbor info. The neighbors were fine until she went all religious and took in drug addict former inmate to 'rehab' him.

    I can barely get these things in the house myself, so good luck to anyone wanting to quietly sneak one out. lol

    #27 10 years ago

    I don't know that a pin or arcade game would get you any more traffic at a garage sale. A nice selection of firearms and concrete equipment will, though.

    #28 10 years ago

    We have had a couple yard sales with pinball machines in our garage (not because of the yard sale) and also listed them in our yard sale ads. Basically ZERO interest in the pins and it didn't get more people to the yard sale.

    Pinball machines are limited to a very small target audience and they will likely be zero help getting traffic to your yard sale.

    One in 500 people might be interested in pinball machines and maybe one in 5000 people might actually be interested in owning one. A lot of people you talk to will think they are cool to have but very few people would actually consider having one in their home.

    #29 10 years ago
    Quoted from hAbO:

    This kind of reminded me of a buddy of mine. He's not on pinside (more of a KLOV'er) and has 40 vids and 15 or 16 pins. His neighbor was a little nuts and took him to court saying that my buddy was running a buisiness out of his house selling coin-op games. He had hundreds of photos of my buddy selling games that he brought to court along with dates, times etc. My buddy had to explain to the judge that he's a collector for years. Of course its perfectly legal in MD to own a vid.
    What state or city is it illegal to own without a licence? Just wondering so I know never to move there

    Wow, that really makes my blood boil. Mind your own fuckin' business!!

    #30 10 years ago
    Quoted from blondetall:

    Personally, I don't want my neighbors knowing that I have pins.

    I wish more of my neighbors knew I had them. It would be cool if some would come over and play. I have mentioned it to a few but not very much interest.

    #31 10 years ago
    Quoted from too-many-pins:

    One in 500 people might be interested in pinball machines and maybe one in 5000 people might actually be interested in owning one. A lot of people you talk to will think they are cool to have but very few people would actually consider having one in their home.

    In the bay area CA if you list a pinball machine in your garage sale ad you will get interest. the people are always vague saying "oh its a baseball one" or don't list a title at all. I have emailed people many times to ask because chances are its Pachinko.

    I have seen ads get changed or come back up where the person will correct themselves, state the title and even say that they received dozens of emails about it.

    #32 10 years ago
    Quoted from Spybryon:

    I wish more of my neighbors knew I had them. It would be cool if some would come over and play. I have mentioned it to a few but not very much interest.

    Howdy neighbor! Just took a look at your collection and that is a great one! Any chance you live down the street from me in El Cerrito? Seriously though if you want someone to come by and talk pins and play let me know.

    #33 10 years ago

    Thanks, PM sent.

    #34 10 years ago
    Quoted from blondetall:

    Personally, I don't want my neighbors knowing that I have pins. I mean, they've seen me take a couple in when they were hauled to my house in my dad's pickup truck, but I don't want them knowing I've basically got an arcade going on down in my basement. Both for safety/security reasons and because I can't Escape the talky talky neighbors now as it is. I'm afraid to go get my mail because if they see me, they start yelling to me from their door then run out to talk. I talk all day at work, and can't help that they're home lonely and want someone to listen to them talk, and I just want to go sit in my house and relax in the evenings. I'm nice and cordial to them, but inside my head I'm trying to think of a valid excuse to get away. If they or the kids down the street knew I had pins, they'd be ringing my doorbell wanting in. Nope nope nope.
    Also, watch out for fading and warping in the sun, as mentioned above.

    +1 billion

    #35 10 years ago

    I have had plenty of games in the garage with a garage sale.

    Never sold one, although everybody asked....and offered.

    $100-$200 for Banzai Run, or Fishtales, yeah right.

    I had a better time putting Dracula out on Halloween under a couple black lights, and a mister on the ground.

    Set the volume on high!

    #36 10 years ago
    Quoted from hAbO:

    I'd be afraid to bring it out in the sun. I treat all my pins like they were veal or albinos.

    LMAO

    #37 10 years ago
    Quoted from pzy:

    Wow, that really makes my blood boil. Mind your own fuckin' business!!

    This guy litterally was nuts and he carried on many other odd acts that eventually made my buddy move. This guy would drive his car as fast as he could up the "shared" driveway whenever his kids were out or when he would take the trash to the road. Cops were called many times because of the harrassment. He said he was going to kill the guy if something happened to his kids or his wife.

    #38 10 years ago

    WOW!!!! WTF??? People need better neighbors! Back to the original question... Let's explore what could go wrong with this scenario. Sun warp-- Does not take long to happen. Rain shower.. Pins are hard to move and they don't move themselves. As we say in Iowa, if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes. Bird crap- A pin is an awful big target. Lastly, it would be obvious that you don't intend to sell it and that would tend to anger a lot of people. All that for a garage sale?? Really?? Back to the drawing board......GLWGS

    #39 10 years ago

    Never have, never will.

    #40 10 years ago


    Quoted from blondetall:I think it is a TN thing. My previous neighbors were crazy too.

    Sounds like we need to move closer!

    #41 10 years ago
    Quoted from hAbO:

    This guy litterally was nuts and he carried on many other odd act that eventually made my buddy move. This guy would drive his car as fast as he could up the "shared" driveway whenever his kids were out or when he would take the trash to the road. Cops were called many times because of the harrassment. Eventually my buddy moved because of it. He said he was going to kill the guy if something happened to his kids or his wife.

    I think I'm dealing with residual bad karma from the former owners of my house. I have been told he used to pull the same crap. It doesn't seem like they realize we bought the house and they try to ignore us when an honest attempt is made to be friendly. We also get a bit of the "I have been here 10 years and you are an interloper" attitude.

    #42 10 years ago
    Quoted from nate1981s:

    Thinking of putting a pinball or arcade machine out so more people stop. Has anyone else done this?

    Nope

    #43 10 years ago
    Quoted from Toasterdog:

    Yea, guess I'm lucky. My neighbors are cool, must be a Tennessee thing Hehe J/K

    Or, you're the one everyone else is talking about.

    #44 10 years ago

    Tried my black knight two weeks ago during my garage sale. Absolutely no luck.

    #45 10 years ago
    Quoted from nate1981s:

    Its summer and I am about to have a yard sale.

    Yeah but aren't they called tag sales up there?

    #46 10 years ago
    Quoted from gambit3113:

    I don't know that a pin or arcade game would get you any more traffic at a garage sale. A nice selection of firearms and concrete equipment will, though.

    Guns yes,but chainsaws and guitars are your best bet.

    #47 10 years ago

    I donated an arcade game to a garage sale earlier this summer. The sale was all donated items and was to raise money for my friends sister to pay for surgery of a kidney transplant from her other sister. We plopped the arcade at the end of the driveway and it brought in all kinds of traffic. A young woman ended up purchasing it for her fiance as a wedding present. If only I was so lucky to have a wife like that.

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