What are these things going for?
What to look at when checking then out?
(Topic ID: 242526)
Gloucester Township, NJ
I’ve been out of the earthshaker pricing loop for a while now, and I don’t want to mislead anyone with an out-of-touch valuation, but I know the big things to look out for (other than your standard System 11 stuff) would be the proper operation of the California/Nevada diverter. There’s a small plastic gear that can wear out which causes sticking, and is difficult to find replacements. Also, find one with a decent mirrored backglass. They repro’d them recently, but I think they’re still difficult to find. Finally, make sure the shaker works. I’m pretty sure that the motor is standard fare (with easily replaceable brushes), but the motor control board isn’t, so make sure it’s there.
Everything else is typical system 11 stuff.
$450 - $6,000
$450 I paid for a project ES 6 months ago. $6,000 for my fully restored Sample I recently completed.
Hope this helps....
Or ... search EarthShaker on Pinside and note the price range of sales...
Note: I’m not aware of said “plastic gear” posted above on and ES.
Things to look for:
Back glass flaking
Acid damage on CPU
Cleanliness of the playfield in particular in those hard to reach places!
Broken ramp entrances
Broken or chipped pop bumper skirts
Play the game observing strength of coils for all components.
Most if (not restored) are beat to crap and play same... A properly shopped/cleaned ES is a blast to play!!!
Good Luck
A realistic East Coast price for a half decent copy - $2,300-$2,600.
They made a bunch.
And...
Too many better titles out there once you go above that (Whirlwind for one, if you must have sys11).
Most ES are pretty beat down. Cracked ramps and fairly clapped out playfields are very common. Those poor souls are ~ $2400. A super nice ES ~ $3600. It's a great pin to have in a collection but stand alone with the fairly generic rule set, it lacks staying power and that's what hurts the price. I certainly wouldn't mind having another one if I could buy one cheap enough.
I currently own a beautiful, unfaded original cab, factory installed mylar (removed), and playfield underneath is absolutely beautiful, all new playfield hardware, all ramps, flipper kits, and "the last" sinking institute kit made.. not kidding. Also, had shaker motor brushes replaced by a local car alternator "mom and pop shop", they charged me 5 bucks. Shaker motor works awesome now. Sorry, not for sale, but just find one and do it... great game. It plays so damn good, fun, and fast.
1800 to 2200 is the norm if its shopped and DOMESTIC and good to go, nothing crazy. not sure why people are saying over 3k. never seen one even close to that. highest ive seen in the past 5 years is 2400 and that had a new led display, full frosted led's, new ps..
pinside asking price average is at 2k.
Why is this a "thread" price check instead of a "pinside market" price check??
Pinside says average prices are 1850-2150, but recent archived ads show pins that sell between 2000-3000. Of course, there are outliers of projects and full restorations...but you can use 2k-3k as a guideline.
Quoted from Pintopia:I'm being kind and believe a restored ES sample could be worth more than stated. As for a restored Whirlwind about the same maybe more. You just don’t see totally restored ES or WW for sale so you would have to post and see what the market would do...
take your meds, not even close!
Quoted from Pintopia:$450 - $6,000
$450 I paid for a project ES 6 months ago. $6,000 for my fully restored Sample I recently completed.
Hope this helps....
Or ... search EarthShaker on Pinside and note the price range of sales...
Note: I’m not aware of said “plastic gear” posted above on and ES.
Things to look for:
Back glass flaking
Acid damage on CPU
Cleanliness of the playfield in particular in those hard to reach places!
Broken ramp entrances
Broken or chipped pop bumper skirts
Play the game observing strength of coils for all components.
Most if (not restored) are beat to crap and play same... A properly shopped/cleaned ES is a blast to play!!!
Good Luck
$6000???????????????????????????????????? 
Quoted from Blackbeard:Anyone ever shop one? What's the difficulty compared to other pins?
Standard System 11 fare.
You can do a half-ass shop in 3-6 hours. Total topside in a couple days.
Quoted from ccbiggsoo7:$6000????????????????????????????????????
The $6,000 is crazy. The $450 is also crazy.
Meet in the middle.
I bought one last fall. Its in fair condition. Cabinet is faded peeling and needs to be redone. Paid 3k but, It came with a new cpr gold playfield, plastic set and backglass. Been looking to do one and figured this all in one deal was perfect. With the cabinet work and new ramps, LEDs, and other misc things that come up I should have an all new one for around 4k (not including the hours upon hours I will spend working on it.)
Quoted from Blackbeard:Anyone ever shop one? What's the difficulty compared to other pins?
If you're used to WPC stuff, Earthshaker is a bit of a PITA. Everything overlaps, especially up by the fault, so just be sure to remember the order you took things apart. Screws are in tricky places. Otherwise, it's standard System 11 fare.
Great game though. I absolutely love mine. At parties, it's usually the game everyone gravitates to (other than Lights Camera Action). Good luck!
Quoted from CrazyLevi:Standard System 11 fare.
You can do a half-ass shop in 3-6 hours. Total topside in a couple days.
I thought ES was more of a PITA than other system 11s to shop because of the way those ramps tangle around each other. Maybe it is just me and I’ve not shopped all system 11s by any means just the ones I’ve owned.
That being said I love the game and would love to own another one
Quoted from mbaumle:If you're used to WPC stuff, Earthshaker is a bit of a PITA. Everything overlaps, especially up by the fault, so just be sure to remember the order you took things apart. Screws are in tricky places. Otherwise, it's standard System 11 fare.
Great game though. I absolutely love mine. At parties, it's usually the game everyone gravitates to (other than Lights Camera Action). Good luck!
I clearly should have read to the bottom before posting. Looks like we thought the same way about shopping it
Quoted from Blenderhead:playfield underneath is absolutely beautiful
Wtf? Who cares?
I passed on it.
Pf was worn in spots. Bottom half of display was out. Thing was filthy. Broken plastics. Adjust failure (didn't see acid) but likely just batteries.
Need a shopping BAD.
I offered 1200 but they wanted 1500. Just didn't think it was worth it.
Quoted from Blackbeard:I passed on it.
Pf was worn in spots. Bottom half of display was out. Thing was filthy. Broken plastics. Adjust failure (didn't see acid) but likely just batteries.
Need a shopping BAD.
I offered 1200 but they wanted 1500. Just didn't think it was worth it.
Wow you used your head to make a decision.Good job.
Quoted from Blackbeard:I passed on it.
Pf was worn in spots. Bottom half of display was out. Thing was filthy. Broken plastics. Adjust failure (didn't see acid) but likely just batteries.
Need a shopping BAD.
I offered 1200 but they wanted 1500. Just didn't think it was worth it.
Probably a wise decision John. Between a new display, plastics, full shopout with rubber, maybe some posts etc and PF wear, i don't think it'd be worth it. I rushed into a Cyclone a few years because i really wanted one, and they weren't easy to find so i grabbed a local one when it popped up. Overpaid and dumped about 400 into it. Sold it for what i paid for it about a year later.
Quoted from Bohdi:Probably a wise decision John. Between a new display, plastics, full shopout with rubber, maybe some posts etc and PF wear, i don't think it'd be worth it. I rushed into a Cyclone a few years because i really wanted one, and they weren't easy to find so i grabbed a local one when it popped up. Overpaid and dumped about 400 into it. Sold it for what i paid for it about a year later.
I’m $1900 into a Pinbot right now that still has all kinds of problems because of the same thing. Missed having one, saw what I thought might be a deal, jumped the gun..... stuck lol
Quoted from Bohdi:Probably a wise decision John. Between a new display, plastics, full shopout with rubber, maybe some posts etc and PF wear, i don't think it'd be worth it. I rushed into a Cyclone a few years because i really wanted one, and they weren't easy to find so i grabbed a local one when it popped up. Overpaid and dumped about 400 into it. Sold it for what i paid for it about a year later.
Exactly.
What's hard about it is walking away when you see that pin all dirty and needing love. That's the part of the hobby I love. Bringing the thing back to life.
It was hard walking away and hope they call and accept my 1200$ offer.
Quoted from Blackbeard:Exactly.
What's hard about it is walking away when you see that pin all dirty and needing love. That's the part of the hobby I love. Bringing the thing back to life.
It was hard walking away and hope they call and accept my 1200$ offer.
I hope they accept your offer @1200. I know it's only 300.00, but it would make a world of difference TO ME to save that much, and to put it back into the game. I too really enjoy "bringing" them back to life. Enjoy it more than playing sometimes. Plus, full teardown on a ES doesn't like a ton of fun to me. I've done a few system 11's, but this one looks a bit more complicated. If they don't accept your offer, i'm sure another will pop up. Good Luck John....
Needing a display kinda sucks to be sure, but the rest of the stuff is par for the course in my experience. Full shop out and a little touchup is needed on most every game I have ever bought. New plastics and ramps are usually needed, or you have to settle for a chip and a crack here and there and yellowing plastics. Not trying to be argumentative, but 1500 don't sound too out of hand to me. The seller will likely get what he is asking or close. I base this opinion on a PF that has a couple of wear spots and not a blown out PF.
Quoted from dozer1:Needing a display kinda sucks to be sure, but the rest of the stuff is par for the course in my experience. Full shop out and a little touchup is needed on most every game I have ever bought. New plastics and ramps are usually needed, or you have to settle for a chip and a crack here and there and yellowing plastics. Not trying to be argumentative, but 1500 don't sound too out of hand to me. The seller will likely get what he is asking or close. I base this opinion on a PF that has a couple of wear spots and not a blown out PF.
No, 1500 isn't out of hand by any stretch for this title. Is somewhat hard to give an ideal opinion without seeing the machine though. You probably have a bit better idea than most on these era of games since you've owned(own) a fair share Dean
Look at it this way Scott. If a 1500 dollar ES popped up on the Minneapolis CL, I would be all over it like stink on shit, but I would be 4th in line if the add was 2 hrs old. Maybe other areas would be less competative, I don't know. I do know that Blackbeard has bought a lot of nice system 11 games over the years and knows what he is doing too.
Quoted from dozer1:Look at it this way Scott. If a 1500 dollar ES popped up on the Minneapolis CL, I would be all over it like stink on shit, but I would be 4th in line if the add was 2 hrs old. Maybe other areas would be less competative, I don't know. I do know that Blackbeard has bought a lot of nice system 11 games over the years and knows what he is doing too.
Yeah i agree Dean. Pretty hard to find a WW, ES, TAXI or any other popular System 11 around here, no matter what the price. Little easier out there on the East coast. I'm sure John made the right call on this one, cuz as you said, he know's what he's doing. Maybe he'll get lucky and they'll accept his offer, or maybe take 1300.
I have a buddy that tried to sell his at Allentown Pinfest this year for 2400 and it didnt move. His was a players condition game that could of used a flipper rebuild and a few tweaks. 2k to 2200 seems to be the sweet spot for a players condition game. Earthshaker was my first pin i purchased, I traded away a really nice players condition one along with a revenge from mars for a Game of Thrones Pro. I picked a up a project game a couple of months ago that will need a display,ramps, full shop job and a little repair to the front of the cab. The playfield is pretty nice and I only paid 350 for it so i don't mind making it into a nice players game.
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I’d buy it for $1500 right now an not bat an eye honestly. But that’s just me. It’s mylared and a players grade ES sells for at least $2K shopped out. RD display for like $175. New rubber and shop part wouldn’t be too much.
Quoted from cyroute:I have a buddy that tried to sell his at Allentown Pinfest this year for 2400 and it didnt move. His was a players condition game that could of used a flipper rebuild and a few tweaks. 2k to 2200 seems to be the sweet spot for a players condition game. Earthshaker was my first pin i purchased, I traded away a really nice players condition one along with a revenge from mars for a Game of Thrones Pro. I picked a up a project game a couple of months ago that will need a display,ramps, full shop job and a little repair to the front of the cab. The playfield is pretty nice and I only paid 350 for it so i don't mind making it into a nice players game.
350 that's insane!
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