Bally Fathom available in MN, listed on eBay

Quoted from RustyLizard:
It seems as if a number of us have contacted you. Any idea on what price will be or who will get a chance at it?

And I've PMd everyone back, including you. I am going to post some pictures today before I talk price. I don't want people blindly throwing prices out without having seen it and then for there to be some disappointment/resentment when the pictures are posted.

I will keep everyone updated, I just wanted to get some feelers out first on the interest level before it was the Easter Holiday. Thanks everyone for your interest so far and hope you all have a Happy Easter! I'll post the picture a bit later today after the Easter festivities.

#8 10 years ago

8=D

Barron

Frozen

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bally-fathom-available

There was also this post earlier in the night. I wonder where we're already at with the bidding sight-unseen? Looking forward to seeing what this thing looks like!

#9 10 years ago

???

Jnotrizzle

Inactive member

I had posted that in the wrong forum though, so that's why there is the double post. I haven't talked money with a single person yet and haven't even gotten an offer yet. I want people to see it before any sort of offer is discussed.

#10 10 years ago

8=D

Barron

Frozen

Wow. I'm shocked that your haven't gotten an offer yet. People tend to start crawling over each other anytime something like this pops up on Piniside, CL, etc these days. Fathom is very sought after around here. Looking forward to seeing it.

#11 10 years ago

???

Jnotrizzle

Inactive member

http://s100.photobucket.com/user/jeffnorton829/library/

Alright guys, sorry I'm a little late with this, Easter took a lot of time and can't miss Game of Thrones! Here is a photobucket account with nearly 70 pictures of the Fathom. I also am including two YouTube links of videos that I created with this machine. It does work. The speaker works but doesn't make all the sounds and some lights are burnt out. The blue bumpers have the tops but original tops, but the tabs are broken off. Also, the key to open the back glass is broken off in the lock, but it is still easily accessible. Also, near the flippers on the backboard, the previous owner (and it had to be a long time ago, because my family has owned the machine for over 20 years) tried to use his own touch up paint on it. Close ups includes in the gallery. Any questions, feel free to ask!

#12 10 years ago

???

Jnotrizzle

Inactive member

Also, sorry for a few duplicate looking pictures. Just wanted to make sure everyone got a good look. The manual is included.

#13 10 years ago

8=D

Barron

Frozen

Awesome. Thanks!

#14 10 years ago

???

Jnotrizzle

Inactive member

Ok guys here's the deal. I want to do local pick up only, so if that's not something you can do, I'm sorry but it won't work. I'm selling this for my parents and they've indicated they do not want to deal with shipping an object of this size.

If you're still interested, I'm simply going to take bids through PM until 10 pm central Tuesday night. At that time, whoever has the highest bid will be awarded the machine. I will tell you if you are the highest bidder or not. If you aren't, you can choose to up your bid. And I do have a suitable offer already.

Thanks for the interest guys!!

#15 10 years ago

8=D

Barron

Frozen

Fair enough!

#16 10 years ago

???

Jnotrizzle

Inactive member

And I'm sorry if the way I'm doing it upsets anyone. I'm simply selling this for my parents and getting them the best deal possible. If you don't like the way I'm handling it, you do not have to offer. Thanks a good luck!

#17 10 years ago

???

Pinball4life

Inactive member

Colorado Springs, CO

10y 18,650 398 12

Didn't know "auctions" were allowed here. This kind of selling rubs me the wrong way, but that's just my opinion of course. I'm out, even though I was the first to contact the seller. Not that this will upset others that want it of course!

#18 10 years ago

PGH

Pbpins

Pinside member

Pittsburgh, PA

10y 89,300 2,203

Yes, just put a price on it, we all know it will cost some $'s!

#19 10 years ago

ACE

mrpostman

Inactive member

Florence, KY

11y 30,150 387 47

OP
Quoted from Jnotrizzle:
Ok guys here's the deal. I want to do local pick up only

Location unknown...

#20 10 years ago

???

Shoot_Again

Pinside member

Vancouver, WA

12y 83,400 8,453 2

Looks in decent physical shape from the video.
I am sure you will get a ton of email if you are pricing right.

GLWS.

#21 10 years ago

???

CaptainFantastic

Inactive member

New Hope, PA

10y 33,400 352 2 32

Would be VERY helpful if we all knew what city/state the machine is located in.

#22 10 years ago

DUG

wiredoug

Pinside member

Melbourne

11y 79,050 2,741 18

first post says says " In the Twin Cities, MN area." ... does that help?

#23 10 years ago

???

Jnotrizzle

Inactive member

Sorry guys, I could've specified. It's in the Forest Lake, Minnesota area. It's about 40 minutes north of Minneapolis/St Paul

#24 10 years ago

DUG

wiredoug

Pinside member

Melbourne

11y 79,050 2,741 18

OP
Quoted from Jnotrizzle:
Sorry guys, I could've specified. It's in the Forest Lake, Minnesota area. It's about 40 minutes north of Minneapolis/St Paul

And a very very very long way from Australia

#25 10 years ago

???

Jnotrizzle

Inactive member

Quoted from Pinball4life:
Didn't know "auctions" were allowed here. This kind of selling rubs me the wrong way, but that's just my opinion of course. I'm out, even though I was the first to contact the seller. Not that this will upset others that want it of course!

I'm sorry. To me, its just the best way to get the best possible deal for the sale. I'm not well versed in the pinball community, so it's tough for me to set a price even with the research I've done. It might be laugh-in-my-face preposterous or such a good deal it's snatched up before I can finish my sentence. Either way, to me, it essentially comes down to it being worth whatever someone will pay for it.

Thanks for the interest and I'm sorry it didn't work out. Cheers and good luck to you in your search!

#26 10 years ago

JEG

ejg10532626

Pinside member

Peabody, MA

11y 76,600 1,431 13

Quoted from Pinball4life:
Didn't know "auctions" were allowed here. This kind of selling rubs me the wrong way, but that's just my opinion of course. I'm out, even though I was the first to contact the seller. Not that this will upset others that want it of course!

Auctions are not allowed, but it's an unofficial policy.
Best to just avoid these - no matter how bad you want the title.

Seller - I sympathize, but you belong on E-Bay/not Pinside - PERIOD!---and if anybody buys this and it turns out to be a lemon+7 - do not say you weren't warned.

#27 10 years ago

???

Jnotrizzle

Inactive member

Hey guys, per Pinside's preference, I think I'm going to move the auction to eBay. I don't want people to think Im some sort of shady guy or trying to screw people into higher prices. My parents simply decided to get rid of an old pinball machine and tasked me with selling it. This way, everyone will know the high bids and it will be clear, crisp and easier for everyone. Local pick up will still apply.

I will post the ebay link shortly, as I'm driving to work right now, I'm going to start the bidding on the auction at $1,000, since that seemed to be the starting point here..

Thanks for your time guys and sorry to anyone who offended by the way I was handling this.

#28 10 years ago

8=D

Barron

Frozen

Jeez, guys, that's some Pinside hospitality. Whatever happened to GLWTS?

#29 10 years ago

COL

Snailman

Pinside member

Austin, TX

12y 59,400 1,709 6

I don't have a dog in this hunt: I'm nowhere near MN, and not THAT interested in a Fathom, but what's wrong with asking people to contact you privately (PM, email, or otherwise) to make a bid on a machine? The blind auction isn't being held on Pinside, only its existence is being announced --- to a group of people that contains many who will be / are interested in making a bid on such a pin. I don't see the issue.

Further, I'd rather a pinsider get the pin in lieu of anyone that is on eBay.

Is announcing an auction that will take place outside of a Pinside thread not allowed?

#30 10 years ago

BRG

IdahoRealtor

Pinside member

Eagle, ID

13y 137K 6,778 11 10

Or, he could have posted a fair price and likely gotten it, avoiding the need for Paypal and Ebay fees.

#31 10 years ago

8=D

Barron

Frozen

Quoted from IdahoRealtor:
Or, he could have posted a fair price and likely gotten it, avoiding the need for Paypal and Ebay fees.

Except he stated that doesn't know what a fair price is. So what is a fair price for a project Fathom? I can't even tell you what a fair price is for this title in this condition is. I can tell you that I offered $1000 and that somebody offered more. A friend of mine referred to Fathom as Mermaideval Madness and she couldn't have hit the nail more on the head.

#32 10 years ago

MGS

MikeS

Pinside+ Frequent

18y 160K 6,044 136

Quoted from IdahoRealtor:
Or, he could have posted a fair price and likely gotten it, avoiding the need for Paypal and Ebay fees.

The problem is knowing what a "fair" price is on a Fathom in this condition, especially if you're not familiar with this hobby and trying to sell it for a family member. I've been in the hobby close to a decade and have a couple of early SS Bally games and I'm still not even sure what a "fair" price would be on a Fathom because they don't seem to come up for sale very often. I suppose the best way to do it would be for the OP to do a price check thread with pictures and info on the game and gather info and then post a for sale thread after receiving feedback from the community. GLWS! Fathom is one of the best game's from its era. If repro playfields were more readily available/affordable I would be interested in buying it as the Twin Cities isn't too far from me.

#33 10 years ago

8=D

Barron

Frozen

That last two I saw "restored" sold for like $5000, so if the seller went off that and said "FS in MPLS: Fathom $3000 obo", the price police would've had his head! Question is, not knowing the hobby or the value of his game, would he have been out of line with that assumption?

#34 10 years ago

???

Jnotrizzle

Inactive member

Hey guys, I appreciate the support some are offering, and I understand other's concerns with the auction-type sale here in a forum. It just wasn't something I could find a ton of info on, therefore I was hesitant to put my own price on it.

My parents don't mind paying the PayPal and eBay fees, as it was just collecting dust in their basement for the last 15 years, and they were a week away from throwing it out at the local clean up days until I told them I'd check on it.

With all of that said, I created an eBay auction that anyone is free to bid on. I also added the back of the backglass picture that some had requested on here. It is in very good shape with just two very small paint cracks near the bottom of it. I sincerely hope someone who really wants this gets this, and cheers if it's one of you guys!

ebay.com link: itm

Thanks for the help and advice some have offered, it's been much appreciated from someone who self-admittedly knows nothing about pinball machines. I never knew the pinball community was this big and passionate! Good luck to everyone and take care! Maybe I'll be meeting one of you in the future for pick up!

Jeff

#35 10 years ago

EEC

Iceman5000

Pinside member

10y 53,400 646

Ebay link doesn't work

#36 10 years ago

???

Jnotrizzle

Inactive member

http://www.bostonpinball.biz/eBay112013.htm

Sorry about that, does this one work?

ebay.com link: itm

#37 10 years ago

EmLover1970

Pinside member

Saint Paul, MN

10y 31,050 228

There's no telling where the market is on this game right now.

The Boston Pinball page is a good resource, but there's no way to tell what condition those games were in.

At 3,500 units, I would hardly call it rare, yet they don't seem to change hands often.

#38 10 years ago

ALT

taylor34

Game Room Info

12y 124K 2,357 9 32

Quoted from Barron:
That last two I saw "restored" sold for like $5000, so if the seller went off that and said "FS in MPLS: Fathom $3000 obo", the price police would've had his head! Question is, not knowing the hobby or the value of his game, would he have been out of line with that assumption?

If he would have posted a price of $3000 on it, it would have sold immediately probably. Not kidding. There isn't much of a gap between the restored and project Fathoms. On ebay I would guess that it will for sure bring $2500.

#39 10 years ago

8=D

Barron

Frozen

And when someone here has to pay $500+ more than they would have if it would have went as the OP originally suggested, we have the Pinside police above to thank for it. I didn't see anything wrong with what he was doing.

#40 10 years ago

LLV

lllvjr

Pinnovators

Milton, MA

11y 96,150 4,762

Well then I gave one away for $1900 then a month ago on here. Guess that's why the guy didn't mind paying shipping

#41 10 years ago

8=D

Barron

Frozen

Quoted from lllvjr:
Well then I gave one away for $1900 then a month ago on here. Guess that's why the guy didn't mind paying shipping

Mermaideval Madness

#42 10 years ago

LLV

lllvjr

Pinnovators

Milton, MA

11y 96,150 4,762

I'm two weeks away from getting my fathom with a CPR play field installed. Yippe

#43 10 years ago

EmLover1970

Pinside member

Saint Paul, MN

10y 31,050 228

There's a growing list of harder to find titles where the prices have been going up, sometimes way up, regardless of what long term collectors and pinheads think.

It's good and bad. Good for selling, bad for buying. We might think we know what's 'fair', but then there is the open market.

#44 10 years ago

MMD

Freeplay40

Encore Pinball

Bothell, WA

10y 127K 4,007 13

Can't imagine anyone buying that game as a "player". Hope buyer is looking close at that playfield.... or has a CPR for it.

#45 10 years ago

8=D

Barron

Frozen