I've been in love with this artwork for a long time.

this guy's looking for a centaur:

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/wtb-centaur-or-centaur-ii

Before anyone gets excited, let me start by saying that I know my price is high. I am looking to get $2000 for this machine.

$2K for that? I know this is pinside but still...

I was interested but the price in no way matches condition.

I will agree, you are high.

_{Post edited by cpu-slave : removed exessive rant}

I love the english language.

Rusty > it is not clear from your post...

Does this come with the repro playfield and the new owner just needs to do the swap?

Assuming that is the case then I think you price is spot on. Don't the repo playfields alone cost like $800? I also think the pfs are somewhat hard to find now???

Yeah would be worth 2k if it came with a CPR PF to go with it but good luck anyway. maybe someone might pay that price

Centaur is the MM of 1981. You may not like it, but it's a fact. Move on if you don't want this one.

No worries and thanks for the clarification. GLWS.

As a heads up, I missed a HUO Centaur with a nice non faded PF last week for $2000, so your price may be a bit off >> guessing you know that from your original post...

If you decide to sell for something closer to 1k, then let me know. I would like a Centaur or a CantaurII, but can't justify 2k for one that also needs a PF swap. I would be happy to pay a reasonable price for a game, find a repro PF, and do all the work to swap... Heck I will likely be helping Mike with his in the next few months so I will have the experience of doing one soon enough which would make a second one go even quicker.

As a heads up, I missed a HUO Centaur with a nice non faded PF last week for $2000, so your price may be a bit off >> guessing you know that from your original post...

A HUO Centaur for $2K? That's like finding a MM for $6K. I'll bet it went in a second and that people were fighting over it for that one. Doesn't mean that all HUO Centaurs are now worth $2K, it just means that the seller didn't know the current market value.

Here's one that recently sold for over $4K, not HUO, but nice.. but not super nice.

I think you are crazy if you think you're going to find a Centaur 1 in any kind of decent shape for $1K. Good luck though.

ebay.com link: 1981 Bally Centaur Pinball Machine Nice Well Sought After Low Reserve

Screen_Shot_2012-12-01_at_10.52.04_AM..png

Yeah but thats not a centaur with a blown out PF either a restored centaur is worth $4k not a starter machine.
Nowdays a CPR pf ranges from $800-$1400 so the machine realy isnt worth more than around $1000 to $1300 the way it sits atm. the cabinet has issues, the PF is blown out among other probable issues basicly this is a booting starter machine.

Cobray >> I appreciate your desire to inflate the price of Centaur (since you own one), but the seller of the one I missed out on is a VERY knowledgeable pinhead and owns over 50 machines. I do not think he frequently visits pinside, but needless to say he knew exactly what a fair price was for the game. People were not fighting over it but it sold reasonably quickly is my understanding.

Also a II sold at MGC last year for under 600 and it has a decent pf and nobody was scrambling to buy it then.

Sorry to derail your FS thread Rusty.

RustyLizard never said this was a fair price , in fact he said in his first sentance that his price was high , This is just the price for which he is willing to sell at or not sell it. Someone that truly wants a Centaur will have to decide for themselves wheather they want to pay 2k for this one thats for sale or wait for a cheaper one to come up for sale , Which may never happen . I think alot of people who own centaurs are unwilling to sell them for a fair price because they love the game . You can say I'm trying to inflate the price of centaur because I own one But I really like this game and would be unwilling to sell mine for less than 2k. Its people like me that drive prices up because once I get a game that I love I won't sell it unless someone were to offer me an unfair truly high dollar amount for a game that I don't want to part with . I think that people like me have gotten ahold of the centaurs they wanted and less are coming up for sale at fair prices . Its exactly what happened with MM and now MM prices are insane . Also Can't compare Centaur 2 to Centaur 1 , Centaur 1 is much more desirable . That was my friends Centaur 2 at MGC and I passed on buying that one for a few years because I wanted Centaur 1 ,found my Centaur and paid alot more for it than he was asking for the centaur 2 .

I am not trying to inflate anything, and I have nothing for sale. I have given a real world example of a real sale that occured on ebay.

I have owned several Centaurs over the years and while I agree $2K is high for this pin (as clearly stated by the seller), I disagree with your assessment or "attempt to lower the value" of Centaur by stating that you believe HUO's ones routinely sell for $2K. The one on ebay sold for $4K and was by no means HUO.

The only other thing I can think of is the market must be slow for this pin in your immediate area? I could sell HUO Centaurs in Philly for $4K all day long.

I completely understand >> if I had a nice Centaur I or II, I think I would likely never sell it and if I did it would take a crazy price. It is a really cool game.

Cobray >> I said nothing about 'routinely' selling at that price, but i do believe that they are somewhat regularly available in that range in our area >> esp since the 2 sales I have seen have actually been exactly what I stated above... I provided 2 real world (not ebay purchases, but real buyers and sellers in the pinball world that I assume had a good feel for what an accurate sell/buy price was at that time).

I also think there is likely a good chance that Rusty will find a buyer for his game and at his price. Centaur is super fun and a really cool pin to play >> can't beat the ones that heckle you when you suck In conjunction, this is a great time of year to sell pins it seems...

You only have one example of a centaur that sold in our area , the other is a centaur 2 . Much more demand for the original , prices reflect that. They don't come up for sale as often as you'd think , it took me a while to find mine and I bought mine 4 years ago . They are in more demand these days than they were when I was looking. Also many of the ones with thrashed playfields have been bought and already had a new playfield swaped in .

well, sounds like the one I saw was just a lucky buyer then...

I had assumed given the person that was selling, it was priced exactly at fair market value...

It was , Most people won't sell at fair market value .Sounds like the buyer got a nice game at a good price . Keep an eye out for one in our area for a year , then tell me I'm wrong .

I don't really think the $2k asking price is that far out of line, especially since the seller would probably take a little less. Say if you get the game for 1800, and a repro pf will cost around a grand give or take (is that really what they are going for now?) You will have under or around $3k in the game, and the one on ebay was 4250 - and it wasn't perfect. The last really nice Centaur I saw for sale here in CA was about 4 years ago, before the pin market went crazy, and it sold fast for 3500!

The classic early Bally games are following the same pin market trend as newer stuff. EBD, Fathom, and even a couple Xenons are up there too selling for $5k+, so destroy Centaur and GWLS - it's the best Bally from that era!

Well its true condition is everything when determining price on these older games the playfield is trash and that determines the price of a base machine esp since the playfields can cost so much.
A guy might get lucky and get a hookup and get a new PF for around $800 but then again marco sold all theirs out @ $1350 each.
If you check out the ones that have sold around $1800-2400 they have all the art present not half the main playing area art gone, yellowing also plays a big part on the condition on these playfields.

And it dont realy matter on the price i did pass on it before didnt i? and that wasnt even the $2k price. it isnt about that. remember i already have a centaur and a cpr PF for it. i also have an extra centaur 1 cabinet for it.
But if it had all the artwork present your price would be within range Im just chiming in on my opinion like everyone else

Let's not forget I said this also Rusty...

Also worth mentioning, desire to own and looking to buy are 2 very different things. I honestly have no desire to downplay the fair market for this great game and was really just giving honest feedback on what I have casually seen in the last year in our 'area' (not sure if 6 hours is in your radius, but that is my pinball huntin' radius) when I have been hunting for other games.

I am not looking to buy a blown out Centaur I or II (but for the right price I would), so I am not really your market audience I guess. If I was I would probably be looking to buy the repro PF first as that is the current key piece needed for any core game. If you do have troubles selling at this price and do not want to lower it, then another opportunity may be to look for a repro PF (I think they really can still be found for under 1k...) and then sell your core game with the repro at a packaged deal of 3k>> just a hunch but that may increase your pool of potential buyers.

again >> give it some time and a buyer will likely come along at your current price. Similar to when I was selling my MM, it just took a few weeks to find the right buyer. Also, chances are if you slapped this on ebay with a starting bid of 2k you would likely get even more. I personally would just keep it till you are done with your other one as it could be a great resource.

Well you see rusty Im not arguing with you man I wished you good luck in your sale in my first post I had a price I was told to get a starter Centaur for and yours wasnt within my instructed limit given by the guy that wanted me to get one for him. honestly i dont care I have 5 machines in the shop that are currently under work.
Im trying to point out to some of these people that think a beat down centaur is worth $2k or more I passed on ones in simular condition for the $650-800 range within the last year, wish i had a use for one I would have jumped on one of em, then i got a order for a restored one lol. but one will come around soon enough or the price the buyer wants me to get one for.
See as i tell everyone pinball purchases come and go and eventualy the right machine comes around for the right price but 9 outta 10 times deals dont work out its nothing to get worked up over in my eyes.
Its a matter of pointing out the fair prices for what a machine is, we had this discussion on the fathom and if it didnt go for the right price i would have walked away as well no hard feelings about it either way there is always another one that will come up

You got it! Here's a beauty I bought earlier this year...

http://s1205.beta.photobucket.com/user/snaroff/library/Centaur

From my perspective, a high quality Centaur restoration is really quite rare. Notice I didn't say "high-end", since some Pinsiders discourage the use of this term

I think 2k is pricey for this example, however the op was totally upfront. Nevertheless, the back glass looks like it's in excellent shape and may be worth $300-$500 by itself! The 1st run reproduction back glass for Centaur isn't nearly as nice as the originals. So...even if 2k is pricey, it's not outrageous for someone who has a CPR PF that wants to do a restore.

Paid an arm and a leg (and a tooth) for my HUO Centaur this past August, and likely would have paid more. This is my #1 game bar none. Not trying to pump up prices, just telling it like it is. This is a rare a beautiful bird, and it'll be the last pin I'd ever sell...

image.jpg

If ANYONE sees a good deal on a Centaur II that is restorable/ decent working condition please keep me in mind.

I have no desire for I with the added premium it gets and would be fine with a II. In conjunction, I think the days of $500 repro PFs are long gone but if you ever hear of one for a good deal >> I am looking.

last thing >> I would like to purchase any old Centaur PFs that people pull out when doing a swap. Hopefully for cheap as I think I have a good idea that would give back and be cool. I have a long term goal of making Centaur III as my first custom pin. I have some cool ideas but will need at least 2 PFs to make it work. I promise that when it comes to fruition I will bring it to shows and share!

also >> Rusty, I know you are one of the good ones!

I just wish I could have been the benefactor of that W?D rather than paying way too much too get one shipped that turned out having a screw hole coming up through the center of the pf...

This is an excellent point, get the playfield and then find a candidate to put it in. You can always sell the playfield later if you can't find the right game. FYI, I purchased a Centaur repro playfield when they were first released through IPB and had a chance to look at stacks of these playfields. Some of these were exceptional fields yet many of them had a very thick clearcoat and would be undesirable for most classic Bally fans. So be sure to check them out.

Brian Bannon

Well very true Rusty you know my end and what all gets done to these machines when i do em, and no worries mate i know your situation on the centaurs and reasons you need to get what you have to for it.
Like i said if you are interested in pin purchases esp bally give me a hollar and ill help you get in the right neighborhood on the price you should pay etc.
Thanks or the Fathom referal BTW but in the end you know the PF was the only good thing on the machine lol cabinet is beat boards were non working, BG needs replacing etc. but same time as you know the price had to be right on it and fortunately the guy dropped into the price range i needed to get into it for. or i would have walked on like i suggested you should @ the original price.

Its proven a fathom restored can go upwards of $6500-$7k but Im not looking to do someone like that either realy the game isnt worth more than $4k ish area its not nearly as fun as centaur or medusa.
So say centaur @ 4k higher end value include new PF all electronic and everything else rebuilt your looking at another $1500 theres nothing left to do a higher end restoration on it I need to make $500 on a restoration or i need to walk on it. esp spending 100+ hours on it.
As far as the machine working or not well that is the last thing i worry about electronics is the cheap and easy part of the restoration its the cosmetics that truly matter on these older machines esp due to parts availability depending on the title.
But no worries rusty you prolly will get $2k for your machine and i hope you do someone else might be sitting on a cheep cpr someone might just want some leds and fresh PF and not get in it too much.
I suppose its the businessman in me you cant go into a machine more than the high end value if you dont want to lose your ass if you decide to sell it someday. but to get high end value it has to restored to the point its certainly worth the higher end, not just a bit of polish and a shop job which is a pretty loose definition.

I remember that machine. Had I not been unemployed during MGC, that machine would have went home with me. It did sell tho.

I just drove through Wausau yesterday too.

Sorry, off topic. Got a place up in Rhinelander, With a little luck we'll be moving up full time in 24 months. Any pinheads up in the Northwoods? I've got a good feel for the pins out in the wild up there now. The FT is going up next week, but the collection moving with us ( of course). I expect it'll be larger by then.

I was in the same boat. I did come home with a $175 Stern Galaxy, though, so I'm not too bummed out.