I am relatively new to buying machines. Wondering if anyone has had experience with this company or similar companies.
It's Pinballgamesales.com.
The prices seem way below market value (too good to be true?) and for. payment they are asking for direct bank transfer or even bitcoin, instead of credit card. The website looks legit, but there seem to be some red flags here. Is this a common thing?
Thanks for any advice.
It's not a scam. Someone just decided to sell you a bunch of games with a totally shit website with a bunch of stolen pictures from obviously different locations thousands of dollars below market cause they are nice guys. You'd think they'd be losing money selling games at thousands of dollars below what they paid for them but you'd be wrong.
The reason: volume!
Quoted from dr_nybble:Medieval Madness for $4999? I’ll take three!
These sites seem to be proliferating, hopefully not because they are having success.
I'm sure they are having some success. It only takes one "sale" to make it worth their trouble.
For anyone starting out in pinball, best to play and inspect whatever you are buying first. If you don’t know what to look for there are plenty of locals that would probably be happy to ride with to help.
I love these posts...
People keep posting about things that look fishy and ask "are they a scam"
Um... if you feel the need to even ask maybe you have your answer?
Quoted from Elvishasleft:I love these posts...
People keep posting about things that look fishy and ask "are they a scam"
Um... if you feel the need to even ask maybe you have your answer?
At least they are asking. It's the folks who don't ask and lose thousands of dollars that you REALLY have to worried about.
People just want to believe. They so want to believe. That's why this stuff works enough for it to be worth these criminals' trouble.
We've all been down the rabbit hole...you want a $10,000 pinball machine, but don't want to spend $10,000....you see one for $6,000...and for just a minute the pulse quickens!
Everybody looking for a deal, lol.
In the age of the internet, everybody knows what their stuff is worth.
Quoted from Mike_J:Everybody looking for a deal, lol.
In the age of the internet, everybody knows what their stuff is worth.
I have a new tactic...when I'm trying to lowball people on a game they are selling I'll just send them the link to buyapinball.com or pinballgamesforyou.com or whatever scam site and show them how high they have their game priced in comparison.
Yet another scam site.
Quoted from ForceFlow:Total scam. Don't waste your time (or money). FYI, as a general rule, only scammers ask for gift cards as a form of payment.
Unfortunately, there's a whole group of scam sites listing pins for sale.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/is-pinballshorecom-a-scam-store-or-legit-shop
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/caution-pinballshorecom
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/attention-don-t-get-scammed/page/3#post-5940118
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/is-buypinballmachinecom-a-legit-website-For lists of legitimate dealers, see these links:
https://sternpinball.com/buy-a-game/
https://www.jerseyjackpinball.com/distributors/
https://www.american-pinball.com/distributors/
Some only sell NIB games, some also deal with older refurbished games.
Beyond that, there's also private collectors who sell games. Here in the Pinside marketplace, and also in various buying/selling groups on facebook.
If you have a question about a dealer or anyone, don't hesitate to ask
Quoted from Elvishasleft:I love these posts...
People keep posting about things that look fishy and ask "are they a scam"
Um... if you feel the need to even ask maybe you have your answer?
I get it. But I'm a newbie. I do appreciate the feedback.
Quoted from nicoy3k:“Launched in January of 2012 by Pinball Game Sales has quickly become America’s leading pinball distributor with an unparalleled reputation for supporting the pinball community.“
Seems legit
CHeck out the testimonials section where people are going on about how much they love GAP.
Quoted from CrazyLevi:CHeck out the testimonials section where people are going on about how much they love GAP.
Every testimonial mentions Mike. It's as if each testimonial was written by the same person.
I mean, what are the odds that all those people commenting would specifically mention Mike in every testimonial?
Quoted from ImNotNorm:Every testimonial mentions Mike. It's as if each testimonial was written by the same person.
I mean, what are the odds that all those people commenting would specifically mention Mike in every testimonial?
Likely they just copied and pasted an entire page of testimonials from the GAP site, which I can only assume is run by "mike."
Ask them to pick the games up in person so you can play them first and see if you get any kind of response.
Quoted from FamDocKevin:I get it. But I'm a newbie. I do appreciate the feedback.
Just think about it. If that site was legit, they would’ve sold out of all of their inventory immediately and you would’ve never known they even existed.
Quoted from FamDocKevin:I get it. But I'm a newbie. I do appreciate the feedback.
Another tip...
if the wife/girlfriend asks if her pants make her ass look big the answer is always no.
Quoted from ImNotNorm:Every testimonial mentions Mike. It's as if each testimonial was written by the same person.
I mean, what are the odds that all those people commenting would specifically mention Mike in every testimonial?
maybe you can start a fresh scammer buy thread with these guys,The last one was fun.
The thepinballcompany.com website is convincing to the uninitiated. At least the OP asked the question. And some Pinsiders are giving him shit for it.
I wouldn’t hesitate to order sight unseen from a legitimate a distributor (Cointaker, Little Shop of Games, Flip N Out, KingPin Games, etc.). Go to the Stern website and they can tell you who distributes their games (I doubt thepinballcompany.com is listed). Buying used is a different story. Like everyone suggests, purchase from someone with a known track record or pick it up in person.
https://sternpinball.com/find-a-dealer/
https://www.jerseyjackpinball.com/distributors/
https://www.american-pinball.com/distributors/
https://www.chicago-gaming.com/distributors/23
Quoted from ToucanF16:(I doubt thepinballcompany.com is listed).
It is listed. thepinballcompany.com is a stern distributor.
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