Getting a pin home that was expected to work but doesn't sucks so bad. We've all been there, sometimes they just blow up from being moved. It's a lot easier having 9 games though, remember the days when you just had 1 or 2 and a game was down? That was a huge deal

I pretty much expect these problems everytime I buy a game. Sometimes I go through the entire game for a week before I ever turn the thing on. I've had games sit in the shop for a month before I plugged them in, drives my wife nuts!

I have a perspective from my own personal experience. I had a funhouse and just bought my second pin after that. I bought it sight unseen but a friend of mine had looked at it. I got the game and it had a ton of problems. Did I get upset? Maybe a little. But I decided to put a positive spin on it and I used it as my teacher. I learned so much fixing that pin that it made the value much more than if I had just flipped the game

I would recommend sticking with it and fixing it yourself. Hard to put a dollar figure on knowledge.

Great comment. You always pay for an education!

And it doesn't sound THAT bad! Cosmetically, which is frankly the trickiest part for many, you sound to be in pretty good shape!

So roll up your sleeves, and get that baby working! And in the process, you'll learn EXACTLY what you need to look for when you pop the hood an evaluate future pin for purchase.

You didn't get burned. Scorched, perhaps. But not burned. I think you have the real possibility of making lemonade from this lemon!

yup. as soon as "offer a" gets pulled off the table and gets replaced by "offer b" (with "offer b" containing the threat, explicit or implicit, of "better take it at this price, or else someone else gets it"), it is time to put away your wallet and walk...

i also believe it works the other way... if i as a seller start to feel like i'm being jerked around by a buyer ("i thought you said...", etc.), the item becomes "not for sale" to that person...

I'm with you on this!

In a perverse way, whenever the hard core time pressure comes out, it makes things much easier. It just becomes a no brainer walkaway for me.

Exactly ! Things can always go wrong after moving a machine .

Board problems are usually caused by a failure on the playfield, so fixing the board is only half of the repair.

So now that we've all helped you beat yourself up about buying this thing, why don't you explain in detail what the issues are and we can start you and JB on the road to recovery?

At $1400 it was still a decent deal even if it was broken. Fix it & enjoy it - don't think about it - don't look back - just get it up and running and enjoy it.

But you didn't, so now you know.

If nothing else maybe this can be a reminder to everyone buying mystery-status pins and project machines... "even when you're in a hurry and think you'll be fine without lifting the playfield, do it anyway or assume that there's going to be assemblies missing and burnt coils and wires hanging off"

Your frustration is not unusual.

When dealing with operators, my choice has always been to take the 'cheap' price, so long as you were getting a complete, or nearly complete game.

On the odd chance they might have good parts a game needs that are rare,like plastics, or a ramp, or something, you might make an exception - years ago, I bought an IJ from an operator who parted out another one - and I got all his leftover parts for a very sweet deal along with the 1st machine - and needed some of the parts.

If the operator wants $100 to go through the game and get it working, I'd say he probably plans to have his tech spend 20 minutes on the game with a bottle of windex, wildcat, a couple rags, and *maybe* change out some burnt bulbs, or a rubber or two. Maybe swap in a board, if one isn't working completely - but still, you're not getting $100 worth of value for your $100.

Now, this is gonna seem harsh, and maybe it should sound harsh - but it's real, so I hope you won't take offense.

If you aren't capable/willing to fix a project game, don't buy from an operator. Don't buy from eBay. Buy from a fellow collector who you can go play the crap out of the game, inspect things, ask questions, and pay the premium price such a game has attached to it. Most ops consider a game that sorta lights up, sorta plays, and definitely takes quarters, to be 'working completely'. Their interest in pinball is different than yours and mine. They don't sweat stuff that we sweat.

Ops don't want people to kick tires. They don't want people who ask questions. Every operator knows several people who want to buy games as-is for good, cash prices. If you want to be that guy, don't ask questions. Pull up with your truck, give a very quick inspection to make sure the game is complete, no burned spots in the game, etc, hand cash, load game, leave. Call back again when you have more $$ to spend, not when you find a burnt connector, or a slight issue. That's to be expected.

Now, the bright side?

I've learned at least 85% of what I know about pinball from fixing games from these operators, or very similar sources. A broken game, or a part working game, is a great way to learn. Turn it into an opportunity! I'll take a look at your linked thread, and see if I can offer any advice.

It happens -- I had a $300 project game that turned into a $1,050 game by the time I was done with it. Definitely didn't look like it needed that much upon first inspection, but there's some gremlins that can live under the hood of these things once they sit. It was still a worthwhile investment, but you have to consider the chance every time you buy a project.

Been there! Bought a few playboys not too long ago. Got a great "deal". Three months and $1300 later I have them both working but still only one is completely cleaned and ready to go.

I try and pay a price for a machine that I assume needs another $400 to $500 of work on it to get it operational....Regardless of what the seller says. If I can't get it for that price I walk.

Pressure on a sale is actually great...being in sales for years this is what most people do when the are desperate. If you get put in this situation YOU are in the drivers seat, call back in a week and ask if it is still there, if it is you're in for a way lower price than before because now it REALLY needs to be sold. If it isn't you lost nothing but about 5 minutes of time.

Hope everything works out Collin, I am sure after the blood sweat and tears this will turn into your favorite game!