Care to elaborate? I lot of people bitch and moan about retail prices...I'm just saying there is a reason for it.

That was the first thing I saw that told me this deal is not for me. Plus, several other factors . . . such as, I don't have $80,000.00!!! Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

who's being negative? I have no idea who Todd is I just wanted to see someone install flippers on a Tetris!

anyway for me half the fun is finding the machine and fixing them up so I don't know and or have an opinion about retailers

Then stop trolling in the thread.

All I know is TNT's videos are not only really helpful, but frickin hilarious! Also, they often times allow you to check out games in live action that would be very hard to find elsewhere. Thanks, TODD!!!!

Yes. Though I live no more than two hours from either TNT or GRC, I'm not their customer base. I like doing the work myself. For me, it's 90% of the fun. Not to mention that I just don't have the money to spend on a game from TNT, let alone GRC.

On a side note, while Todd kinda reminds me of Morey (the wig salesman) from Goodfellas, at least you can tell he's really into the history of the business. Nonetheless, the TNT stickers on the aprons f*cking disgusts me. STOP IT! YOU'RE RUINING THEM!

Leaving Ray out of it, Mike (and those two girls) just seem like they're too high strung to comfortably watch on youtube. Maybe, too much caffeine (or something else). I mean just watch the first couple minutes of this video from Pinfest 2014. Jeez! Calm down, dude!

I have been watching Todds videos and I think they are helpful. He has a business to run. Lots of overhead. His prices are on par with what other retailers want and they actually go through the games.

Great to see some of the games in action and some suggestions him and his staff have for improvements.

Mike reminds me of a used car salesman on amphetamines. The guy sells way to hard. Pinball is supposed to be a fun relaxing hobby, he comes off as way too pushy to me. That entire video was uncomfortable to watch. Yikes. Either way they do excellent work restoring pins!

Mike is very punchy new yorker "hey I'm walkin over here" attitude, and unless something is perfect it's "crap" in his eyes . However, both him and Ray seem to do good restores.. Nothing I would buy (I may as well go to HEP at those prices), but I do love Ray's personality and knowledge of how to fix something. He's like the geeky friend you hung out with during high school.

Problem with Mike is that he comes off as an elitist pinballer; he operates a small shop in a strip mall and acts like he's running the Nordstrom's of pinball...It was definitely a putoff for me.

All over the classic B/W titles, but rips other ones like D/E's and Sterns...Just that typical type of taste, which is fine for a collector, but for someone running a business; I wasn't too crazy about it. He needs to do more listening to his customers, they definitely do beautiful work, no doubt though.

yeah like 6k for a breakshot. no matter how nice that freaking pin is.. ouch

If you've been in the hobby for a while, you'd know to include the senior circuit archives, (RGP), in your research. PLENTY of controversy on the subject there for your reading enjoyment.

My take on the brick-and-mortar sellers:

The Good..............Warranties are usually the best as they have too much invested to jeopardize their reputation if their product turns out to be a lemon.
The Bad................They take credit for the entire job, when in fact they've farmed out much of the work. They'll claim responsibility for anything about the product to your liking, to earn your recommendation. Keep this in mind when you think how, "Perfect" their products are. All I will say is that I've spent over 20 years residing in the Phila area and have been well aware of TNT and others.
They love to tell you............... What a mistake it is to buy from a private hobbyist when in fact, it's the hobbyist with the real passion for the equipment. It's the hobbyist who has the time, and takes the time to correctly repair things, and not short-cut details for a quick sale, or depend on a multi-tasking staff to get the job done properly. When you buy from a hobbyist, you're usually buying something he originally intended to keep, and took care of it as such.

Todd is passionate about the equipment and the hobby. It shows in his vids. I did meet and talk to him a few times and he is overall a good guy, but when he starts the tactic of bashing the "Basement Repairmen," IMO it just makes him look real bad.........

To me, the basement repairmen spiel is just marketing. I don't think there is anything unprofessional about it, it's just business. Todd never calls out or bashes a specific business or person. Where I think it becomes unprofessional is GRC bashing TNT in almost every single video, to the point where it's obsessive and almost creepy.

GRC must appreciate being compared to HEP & Nordstroms however rest assured, Chris Hutchins puts his pants on one leg at a time like any other human. Nordstroms sells & services pinball machines??

As for the rest of the discussion, GRC has always endorsed yet not recommended purchasing pins from their so-called competitors. Everybody keeps mentioning how Ray is the best (or even by a multitude of competitors to be as good or better than them) arcade equipment tech within driving range of wherever he's standing. GRC's most profitable exercise is field service. Therefore ultimately it must mean that they don't care where you buy your pinball machine, rather they just promote that the public as a whole buys MORE PINBALL MACHINES. Get to it! When it breaks...

Go ahead and link to a video or forum where Todd has called out anyone by name. On nearly every GRC video they say something to slight TNT. Bottom line is it is unprofessional, no matter how good their pins are there is no way around that. Plus mike is 100% documented as being a Jerk on this forum.

Wouldn't this depend on who you ask? Good thing he isn't a politician huh!

It seems pretty unanimous.. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/any-info-on-buying-from-grc-gameroom-collectibles-wide-area-repair

You could put a poll together and I would say over 75% of members wouldnt piss on the members of GRC if they were on fire.

Is this TwoChaniz one of the owners trying to shoehorn their way back into Pinside?

EDIT - guess TwoChaniz is a GRC lacky running to mommy and telling on the neighborhood kids.

just reading the ebay listing and it seems obvious it's aimed at someone who owns a warehouse, looking to open a business, has half a mil. to throw around, etc. As for GRC vs. TNT trolling.. I don't really get it (and I don't need an annotated list of flame posts). I watch both both their videos and enjoy them for the same reasons; showing the machines, how they work, problem areas, shop talk, etc. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from either company!

Just sayin'
I've never met a businessperson who wasn't a) sensitive about what they do... b) worried about making ends meet.... and c) didn't dish on the competition- everybody talks sh*t. I kinda expect that sort of thing, it's business. But it doesn't really have any bearing on the quality of the work, or the end product.

That being said, maybe a Youtube GRC/TNT love-in/houseparty might be in order

Judging the experience you've had with Todd the last 6 months by viewing your collection, I'm on board with this!

Just sayin'.........
When you dish on the competition, then turn around and take credit for work performed that you actually farmed out to the same competition, I have a problem with it. I know you didn't want flames, but this DOES have bearing on the quality of the work, so thought you should know....... Todd has a nice warranty, and a nice buy-back policy. His business tactics should center around these strong attributes instead of talking sh*t and taking pot-shots at the little guy. Just my opinion........

I've bought 3 machines from him in the last 4 months, 2 arcades and a pin...So not sure what this comment means. I know this is Pinside, but let's not even go into the Arcade side of it, TNT is bar-none the most educated Arcade retailer in the country, no one even close...And not MAME cabs or 60-1's, but all dedicated original cabinets, most from the golden age, just beautiful work, those Asteroids, Tempest, Star Wars Vector cabs are a thing of beauty.

Well.............Before casting your 2016 vote, I'd check out RGP first. You'll find doing just a little research, especially in that forum, will go a long way!

Last i heard that GRC guy doesnt work on pins anymore. He took a job as an image consultant.

I don't need to do research, I've dealt with Todd first hand, he's a stand up guy...Where is this thread going at this point?

not even sure how or to the point why it started. with the topic fire sale? .. Todds had those listings for years. nothing new here. it looks like hes doing pretty well at the moment, and good luck to him. nice guy, whose poured half his life into the arcade /pin industry. His recent video of his visit to the JJP open house was very cool. that clearcoated hobbit playfield. just wow. it freaking just glistened under those lights.