Yeah…terms can mean nothing. Just because something has been in a museum doesn’t mean it is Mint condition. “Museum Quality”….that’s subjective as it does not mean Mint condition. Museum quality probably means a good example as it relates to a particular subject matter.

Mint condition is what collectors are hunting for when possible. HUO does not mean mint. NIB should mean the game is mint depending on how it has been stored and for how long.

plus it was of 'mew'-seum quality. load it up boys.
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Yeah, this is my first time with this too. I was expecting some whales for the big name stuff. I could have maybe snagged something that was reasonable if I looked up some other games. The one thing that was pretty cool watching the auctions, I saw a pin and thought "well that looks kind of cool" and I did at a lot of games to my watch list that I really never knew existed.

Or all the poor man's IP rip offs like Hollywood Heat (I actually love the Miami Vice theme) and Gold Wings.

I want to talk to the guy that spent almost $11k on Baywatch and $18k on BTTF after fees/taxes. There were a lot of bidders I could see snagging themes. One was picking up lots of movie/TV themes, another snagged a bunch of rock and roll pins. But then there were bidders that were literally bidding on anything.

"Museum" piece - - was it in the Smithsonian Geology and Gemstone exhibit or in Fred Flintstone's "Museum of Rocks"?

"Garage quality auto" - - was it in Jay Leno's garage or Cooter's (Dukes of Hazard)?

"Library quality book" - - Library of Congress or random 100-year old dying rural town library?

If you don't know the place, you're unwise to assume too much. It's clear many buyers didn't do their research for whatever reason.

I prioritized what I wanted, and then made several back up scenarios based on what happened with my priority. There were lower priority items that I was watching that came up first, but stuck to my plan and went after my number 1. I won it, but then had to go to plan C the rest of the way (which was getting nothing else). It worked.

You have to have a plan with these things and set your expectations low.

I've done that. Passed on some things I would have liked to get, especially since they went real cheap. And then the item I want goes astronomical and I don't get it.

That plan has always saved me money.

LTG : )

I went to Banning 3 or so times and it was great for those obscure titles you've never heard of or heard of but haven't played. It's probably why my wantlist is so long lol

Bidder 1660 was rather busy:
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Total: $139,300.00

Yeah - that was a risk, but there were a few that came in after that I had a backup. Bottom line is my first priority was a game that I would likely never get a chance to get ever again. It didn't get to the stratosphere...

Based on some of the games I've seen I think HUO means Heavily Urinated On.

Wow, he bought one single pinball, almost like it was a mistake and he didn't mean to click on that one.

AND he got Tattoo Assassins.

Borat Voice: Very Niiiiiice

My thought is that some of these bidders are going to be very disappointed when they realize the actual value of the games and machines that they have purchased and what they paid in this auction. Not to mention the fact that when they actually get the games, they will likely still require maintenance of some kind with parts that might or might not be readily available. There has got to be something immoral about the pricing being at these levels. Some of the bidders could be overseas and not able to access normal pricing in the USA. Either that or some of these bidders have so much money that the price is irrelevant.

We always took the term "Museum" to be an example from the time frame. Like a 2 thousand year old pot from Egypt. It's displayed as it existed in the time period. Not restored with modern materials to look brand now. We got a lot of flack for having poor conversion games. But that is what a game looks like when it hits the end of it's useful life and the next stop is the dumpster, or Deer Hunter. This was the life cycle of many, many games.
Now if we had a better example of a game we could display in storage, we would display it. But we didn't reject a well used game as that is what many of us played in the back rooms of the mall. That is the experience we got.

This is also why we never put an LCD or a 19 in 1 in anything. If we had the time, and the CRT to do it, we would pull the LCD out. The exception would be a Pi replacing a LaserDisc player, because the game did need to be playable. (I think we had 1 to 2 in some games, the rest we keep the LD player going if we could.)

Sadly, the pubic seems to think that museum is the same as mint. I am not sure I can come up with a better word to describe what the MOP is then museum. Collection of Pinball does not have the same ring.

Stopped by MOP on the way home to put some spare parts with the games. This is completely unofficial, but word is there will be an additional auction for the several hundred of games in storage and parts. Subject to change at any time, but keep an eye out. They have to go someplace.

Yeah, because overseas people can’t buy anything off Pinside, or Craigslist, or EBay, or any of the 50 other places on the internet that you can buy pins every day.

rd

No surprise here. Auction off as much as you can with worldwide attention.

It still boggles my mind that they are sending out invoices instead of charging credit cards.

Is that really confirmed?!?! Maybe it’s just for “friends of the museum?”

If that’s really true, there’s gonna be tens of thousands of dollars of bid welchers on this as people sober up / tell their wives. I seriously
Cannot comprehend them running the auction this way.

I started collecting pins maybe 6-12 months past the perfect time. I got my TZ for $1k when it was less than 2 years old. I stupidly passed on an addams family at $1600, because I thought I would find one for less(ended up paying $2k for mine). I was dumb to flip the $1200 indy jones. I did not even have it off my truck and someone offered me $800 more than I paid for it. I figured I would find another.

hopefully planetary pinball might notice TZ and AF prices and a light goes off, maybe we should make these instead of wasting time on stuff like cactus canyon and 3rd party pins.

People who have that kind of money don’t have wives that would care about that. -or- they don’t have wives

Ha true. But they still change their minds.

Auctions do NOT want people to have the option to change their minds. Why take the risk with the “honor system?” Trust me, the auction business is not built on trust.

Seems bizarre to me. Just wanted to get a few more folks to confirm that’s indeed how it’s operating. Maybe I’ll bid some games up in a couple weeks and not pay, just to watch heads explode at a $20,000 Rescue 911.

I would have thought overseas bidders would have done their sums well and few, if any, of these machines are leaving the USA. Overseas bidders did not find out about this auction from their local TV or newspaper media. They found out about it via Pinside or other websites that pinball enthusiasts frequent, and therefore, would be very well informed about recent pricing.

HAHAHA as a dumbfounded accidental new member of the five-figure pin club ($12K meow meow meow meow!) my head is already shrapnel, so thanks in advance for finishing off the rest of my shell-shocked corpse

Very odd. The majority of those titles would be terrible for an arcade bar and that's a crazy budget if for a museum of their own. Must be overseas.

They've literally run it that way for over a decade and seem to be doing fine. People like us get buyers remorse over spending a hundred or two too much. People who pay 14k for BttF don't know enough in the first place to have buyers remorse.

You paid $12k for a bad cats?!

Lord no! Got a trashed beater for $750 a few years back and did this:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/im-taking-my-kids-down-with-me-by-resurrecting-bad-cats

Thing is, I've taken most of my collection to shows and of all those games, that Bad Cats got the most desperate "I know it's not for sale but what would you consider?" inquiries. There's one guy who still asks every few months. But honestly, as I tell that guy, IT'S NOT FOR SALE and I'm not sure even $12K would do it - hence, headasplode.

(Granted ours is not your typical Bad Cats for personal (custom paint) reasons, and is basically for my kids to fight over WHICH THEY WILL even though they don't play it much because it is BRUTALLY fast - everyone who plays it asks WTF / how I did to it and I'm not sure... but having played 3 others I honestly agree mine is a sadistic outlier, and serious players have had a good time with it, which I take pride in. It's hilarious to watch people walk up to the "aw stupid dumb kute kitty game" and get their ASSES MASHED).

Now’s not the time for second guessing.

Dudes gonna enjoy that game. He better !!!!

Yes, I had Cosmic Princess on my want list too. Agreed!

I wonder how many of us did the legwork, researched the prices, created a bidsheet and identified different strategies, complete with contingency plans....weeks of casual work, only to toss the paperwork after the first sale.

Raises hand....

Trying to minimize credit cards my guess… or getting a more defendable credit card transaction i guess.

Dude….if you have been at this 9 years you know the value of these games. No need for a spreadsheet. You know the value of these games as well as anyone else. Overpriced for almost everything….and I am not talking by a few hundred dollars. It is what it is….there are buyers outside of Pinside and the hobby. Just have to get over that. If there is something rare and you want it you have to be ready to pony up for it. Just the way it is these days.

I've actually been collecting and restoring pins for at least 25 years, but whose counting. No, surprisingly I don't keep a tally sheet in my head of every pin, and my interests in pins changes as I see or discover pins I've only glanced at or never bothered to find and play. And then there is the auction mindset, at what point do I bail? Do I go over on ONE pin and give up something else? Yadda yadda yadda.... But I disagree on one point - you don't have to pony up big money - instead, you just have to be patient, and the pins will find you.

I won't date myself too much to say my first pin, Fathom, I got for 700 from a guy on a boardwalk on the other coast. Came complete with sand

Locals can pay Cash, I always do.
Then haul away my game.

I've been doing auctions worldwide for 25 plus years. I always get an invoice first.
Believe it. This is how it works.
I've also bought 15-20 machines from captain's for 10 years. Beth always sends invoice first.

Username checks out

A sign of posts to come in the future from new owners? An arcade tech on KLOV posted this after someone said they purchased that Metal Maniax proto sitdown arcade game:

That project never got properly taken care of. It is a lot rough for the dollar. I was able to clean it out. I don't recommend just turning it on. On the right side there was mouse/rat chewed wires.
The plastic are wood screwed in. While yes it a prototype. It was a giant freaken project that was dropped on us. I hope the bag of parts and labels are still in the machine. I recommend wearing gloves and a mask while dealing with this cab. I think with new power supplies and patching the right side might get one side running. Parts are missing from steering side. I think they are common but since I am flying blind on this prototype. I am not 100% sure. Just a best guess thing..

I am sorry that you bought this. I wish I could have given a heads up to klov members but that thread was trolled closed.
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https://forums.arcade-museum.com/threads/banning-museum-auction-captains.493930/page-44

I suspect we're going to hear a few stories like that. And more that won't make it to pinside.

From what I saw on clav 3 biders won 149 games.

Bet they are destined for shipping containers destination...... unknown.

I totally get that and it makes a lot of sense. The MOP is a museum where you can touch everything which is fairly uncommon. It's like scoring a 1,000 miles F40 and putting it for rent on Turo.

That being said I don't think the auctioneer used the word Museum in that way, he was more trying to convey the idea that everything was in top notch condition. He also said easy fix for any game that was broken.

Easy fix.. ....Right.
It took my friends and I a year and a half to track down the issue with his Haunted House.

And there are some games that I swear were possessed, and kept coming up with new issues. I can think of one System 11C game that we could never get to work.

My Xenon, has always been a Glitchy Bitch.
I've had it for 9 years.
At least it plays......and is Gorgeous.

Spotted at the Port of Long Beach today

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Well, that's ONE WAY to do it. Might be able to get you better access to any shoreline homes, or those with a boat dock ?

On another subject, someone in this thread recently mentioned a documentary called "The Lost Arcade." This is no longer available on Amazon Prime, it is telling me. Sounded interesting, so I'm looking around elsewhere for it.

These bidders have so much money that the price is irrelevant. Levi will love this carauctiongument /comparison.I’m sure almost everyone here has watched Mecum or Barrett Jackson auctions. Huge venue of average looking guys many with beers and mixed drinks in hand that spend obscene amounts of money on cars/trucks. Some only buy 1 but some buy 10 vehicles. Pins may seem expensive to hardcore collectors but this is pocket change to these people. When the majority of the bidders are “fancy lads” from around the world chances are prices are going to be stupid high.

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Yes, that is how it works. I purchased two 1970s ERA Gotlieb EMs. They had my credit card, but sent an invoice (which I paid by credit card). I assumed they would simply charge my card though and no invoice.

Even with the mouse nest, I still think someone got a deal on Metal Maniax assuming they are up to the challenge or repairing it. We never turned it on as it came right at the end and we did not want to start any new projects.

Only other game like this is Computer Space 2 player. It needs someone with a time and money to go completely though it and give it the attention it needs. We never got to it.

I saw this coming, those are rat droppings. I going to guess many buyers are going find nests inside machines.