you can probably now get some great deals on smoke/water damaged pins like
Baywatch, Time machine, and Twister for only $5k each now!!!

Karma's a bitch.

I've never dealt with them, but that stinks regardless of who it happened to.

Wow. I purchased from them before. Screw those prices. They can be negotiated down heavy.

Reminds me when Reggie Jackson's muscle car collection went up in flames back in the late 80s -early 90s -if I remember right think he lost 50 cars mostly Chevies

Did it burn to the ground blonde? There may be salvageable machines in there.

I'm just gonna bite my tongue and not say everything that comes to mind, but honestly, I'm sad to hear about this. That seriously sucks, and I hate to think of all of the machines that were forever lost to the flames.

With that said, I'm sure Dale and company will be totally fine with a big insurance payout. (Especially if the insurance company uses his prices as an indicator of monetary loss.) He'll be back up and running as usual in no time, I'm sure.

Follow the link in her original post.

Hmmm....sounds like a movie doesn't it?

Agree on both points.

Wow, guys out trying to help out kids for Christmas and his business burns down...... Life can be very cruel at times. Prices may have been high guys but, don't lose sight of the fact he lost his and his families livelyhood here.

That's a Bummer. I hate to see that happen to anyone.

if it was electrical the marshall will figure it out. Very sad.

The purple building was just a showroom. He has a whole other huge building on down the road that's the warehouse.

He has PLENTY of stock to put back in a new showroom when he gets one.

Seems fishy to me.

He doesn't seem too upset about it.

"Seems fishy to me."

I ditto that. On one hand, here is a man riding the Santa Train through the Appalachians giving out gifts to underprivileged kids . . . and then there is the great alibi!

I hate to 'judge' . . . and don't like to see the tragedy. Like someone else here said, his prices were ridiculous and I would never buy from him.

I noticed that as well, and just chalked it up to him feeling okay with the situation cause he knew a big insurance payout was on the way.

After all, Dale couldn't care less about the existence of his machines. He's not a hobbyist/collector, and is only concerned with making cash from flipping and whatnot. (And that's fine; it has to be a much more inetersting line of business than cleaning carpet, or whatever it was he did prior.) In the end, it's a hell of a lot easier to make cash from a single insurance claim, than by sitting on extremely overpriced games for months or years, selling each one individuality.

(And no...I am NOT insinuating that something like arson is at work here.)

Oh god, I hope no BBH was burnt in that fire.
It could of been a HUO $6,800 Floor model.

Could be a case of "Presbyterian lightning"...

Somebody do that man a favour and mail a copy of the pinball price guide to his insurance company!

well that sucks on the lost pins.... never dealt with them, but regardless, hope they get up and running again soon

I miss Revenge, but owned it long enough to still be good with letting it go. Especially since it helped me score a White Water...which I am still seriously enjoying.

I'm glad you guys are digging it so much! (And Frank, too!)

What the heck did this guy do to deserve burn down your business Karma?

On pinside, people who buy and sell machines for profit are the devil

>>said workers at the Taco Bell across the street called 9-1-1 when they saw smoke and sparks coming from the roof.

This is why Taco Bell was company that survived the fast food wars in Demo Man

As far as Chatt Pinball...I know I have heard that name before...but I can't remember where or for what

Has the possibility of arson been discussed in the media?

It is not that uncommon for a small business to put themselves in a financial hole and then burn it down for the insurance when they realize they are in too deep.

Just saying...not accusing.

Hate to hear this happened to anyone, but I agree with the "fishy" comment. Never met the guy, so I don't know him from Adam, but I see his posts on CL all the time and the machines are gouged by thousands of dollars 90% of the time. Definitely not someone who cares about the machines and I can't imagine there are enough schmucks buying from him at that price, so the "'Insert theological denomination' lightning" theory could be true. Insurance will pay out what you pay to say they are worth. One thing is a fact though is that "x" number of machines not with us anymore and that is very, very sad and disheartening.

Rest assured - if it was arson - they can tell. Have some first hand experience in the field and the science of fire and it's place/method of origin is more advanced than the public realizes.

Not necessarily.

They rate a C with the BBB and have quite a history on RGP.

http://www.bbb.org/chattanooga/business-reviews/pinball-sales-and-service/chattanooga-pinball-company-in-chattanooga-tn-40008568

I can't stop laughing at this.

There was a whitewater too.

I've never heard of a happy customer of theirs. Only lots of unhappy ones. Hence the karma comment.

Just because he charges a lot for his games doesn't mean he deserves this. The guy has to make a living. No body wants to deal with an insurance company especially with collectibles where value is really hard to prove. I know that he has helped out guys on KLOV, and even offered to help guys ship games (from one member to another) using his account to save them on shipping.

Exactly. Lost a lot of faith in the Pinside "community" on this thread.

It sucks to see a place like this go down in flames, but I hope they will recover.

I have never done business with Dale, so I have no dog in this race, but seeing people say that he deserves this, makes me sick.
I dont see you guys praying that someones house burns down because they are selling a MM or AFM for 10-20K!

I have seen Dale take a beating on other forums because of his prices, but what you dont see is him telling you that he has a number of people gainfully employed (they dont work for FREE)

Or the fact that he has a giant extended family (numerous adopted children he cares for) ALL that are fed and clothed because of his hard work at his business.
For CHRIST'S sakes he was GIVING AWAY TOYS TO THE NEEDY and you guys want to dogpile him because of his prices?!?!

I for one am glad that I am not that cynical and un-happy that I need to find joy in others misery, ESPECIALLY during the holidays

MERRY CHRISTMAS you cheap bastards

It's shameful that any of you would suggest foul play. I'm guessing most of these remarks are driven by the mentality alot of arcade and pin collectors have retailers suck. I don't like retailers, simply because they put ridiculous prices out in the market that folks who sell privately look at as "book value" and the tend to be the ones that offer more money on CL deals while you are in the process of completing a sale. That being said, it's no reason to wish ill on them or suggest they are commiting a felony.

My respect for quite a few folks here has gone down many notches.

Typically you only hear from unhappy customers. The happy customers don't speak up and look for help. I think the ratio is one unhappy customer tells 10 people, and 1 happy customer might tell 1 person or something like that?

We have a high retailer that resells here that is currently asking 4.5k for a BDK that needs shopped pretty bad. I laugh at his asking price in my head and wish him good luck, but I don't wish harm upon him or his business. I've looked at stuff that he has sold on repair calls and I sometimes shake my head when they say how much they paid for it, but I don't talk them down or slam them to the owner of the game.

This thread is bringing out the true colors in the hobby. It is pretty cut-throat when deals and games come into play.

For those of you who with no experience in business dealings with Dale, don't get too happy with deeming him a saint.

There's a WHOLE LOT more going on for the dislike of him than prices. So much so, that prices are barely even a blip on the radar.

And with that said, I still haven't had anyone tell me that they're glad his building burned down; even by people who have straight up been ripped off by him.