I think this an entertaining question! Indeed, what does the goody bag being stapled have to do with the value of a machine?! I’ve always held this false value of knowing that my goody bag was still intact wether i bought it NIB or from one of the glorious members of this community. Now, when I see “goody bag still stapled” I’m going to giggle a bit and think abou this article, probably, for the rest of my life...

The first thing I do is rip that bag off the side of the cabinet to get to the keychain plastic. I like to make up my keys to where there's a coin door key and a head box key on the same ring. I also take all the paperwork that came outside the machine and stuff it in that same bag.

It’s a nice perk if the bag is intact. Makes the game feel that much closer to nib. But I wouldn’t pay a dollar more because of it.

Usually the goody bag has spare plastics,stickers or other items. If it's not opened conveys the impression those items were not needed.

Each NIB I have purchased, the first thing I did was rip that bag off and look inside… damned if I am gonna let anyone else open one of those first. They want an untainted bag stapled to the side they can buy a NIB or a game from one of you!

Didn’t you know it increases the value of your machine by at least $500?

Every last one of you goodie bag haters will be bitching about the bag's absence and trying to knock off another $200 when trying to buy a recent release in the aftermarket!!!

You ain't foolin' nobody!

Someone could corner the marketplace with repro goodie bags

I rip the bag out immediately and put everything in the coin box.

It’s stupid to think it’s going to make the game more valuable, if someone said to me “Well the original goodie bag has been torn into, I would say I have other people interested if you don’t want it.

As a collector If I find 2 pins in the same condition, I would drive a bit further to get the one with bag still stapled inside. Just for the fact I know I have extras. Is that worth a bit more money? To some yes. To me yes. To the 1 out of 10 guy looking to save a buck, nope.

Great post. sometimes I peer inside and wonder whats inside the bag on this game? Gosh i want to rip it off the box but never do. My consciense never lets me down.

"Do Not Remove Under Penalty of Law" applies to pinball goodie bags and mattress tags.
Penalties are severe for those who do not comply. Do so at your own risk!

Yeah… 9 out of 10 people will drive further for a ‘used’ pin to get the stapled goodie bag. Uh huh.

When the game is 10-20 or more years old and still has a goodie bag, I’d think that’s a good indicator that it hasn’t changed hands much. It’s also kind of cool to still see one in there on a game that old.

Rip that bag out before playing the first game. Leave the staples with some tattered plastic hanging there.

I rip it out on modern Stern's to replace the ugly insider connect card with one of the yellow pricing cards. I also like and use some of the key ring fobs.

Ya for sure all the games I got NIB still has the goodie bags in them and still have the games too too me it's looks still NIB

I am guilty of removing the goodie bags. I want to get at the stuff that is in them. I include them when I sell the games though, I suppose if someone wanted they could re-staple them to the cab...

I rip them out on initial setup on new games and used games that come to me with them still in. Its partly to have a look what’s in there and now thinking about it partly because I like anything that doesn’t need to be in the cab, to not be in there. I don’t like shaker motors, if a used game comes to me with one I either remove and sell it or remove it and refit it when I sell the machine. I don’t know why, I guess I’m some sort of cab minimalist lol

I put the bag and any other bits that fit, in the coin box. Then I take the coin box out and put it in a draw. Weird I know. Each of my machines have their own draw with coin box, goodie bag and any mods I’ve removed.

I also prefer to reference a paper manual if I need to over keep pulling up my phone and looking at the digital version.

Wait till they start restoring pins 30 years from now and try to replicate bag contents, bag thickness and size and what gauge of staple to use.

There's nothing in the Stern ones anymore. No spare plastics, no manual, no pricing cards, nothing. Honestly, they should have a few spare coil stops and node boards in there. Something useful.

Anyone with a Led Zeppelin Pro missing a Goodie Bag? I no longer have my pin, but do have the full, intact, goodie bag with paperwork and manuals.

$65 shipped.

I want to rip the bag off because I feel it's vibrating on Speaker. But yet I leave it alone; don't really care about keychains or decals.

They are cheaping out theses days

My JB Pro had a manual, plastics, outlane post, spare drop stickers.

I think you have cab ocd issues. That is a bit odd. I say this in good humor and not dissing you. Just. So. Odd.

I always keep them in with the machine they still look NIB that way

i dont ever remove mine or open them. so yeah, that goes in my ad, doesnt mean i want more or less for the machine. just something i mention, so the buyer knows they are getting everything that i got when it was new in box.

This is the only way that's the best ,I still own my machine from 2007 and still has bag inside in my eyes still is NIB too me

I don't rip the bag off but carefully remove it, including the staples. Then I fill the holes they have pinched into the cabinet, paint the filling and eagerly go through the content of the bag, bragging out loud about Stern been so greedy just adding literally nothing in the bag. Then I hide the bag and the nothing that was in there somewhere safe so my wife cannot find the key chain and use it on her car keys… long story short.

what can I say! I know it's weird but I guess I'm a cab minimalist!

I take all of mine off (yes I remove the staples from the cab) and file them away accordingly... To each there own I guess...

I leave them stapled in the game until I need something from it. Then use what I needed and sort the rest into appropriate places for later use.

LTG : )

If you go back 15 or 20 years, it was a big deal to have a huo machine as most of them were routed at some point. Having the goodie bag stapled inside or a goodie bag at all, was an indicator of HUO. btw, I’ve taken the large rectangular sticker out of a few newer Sterns that have gone through my hands. I like sticking them to my game room door

I did not say "further" I said "a bit further".

Ha. Thanks for clearing that up for us! One certainly wouldn’t want to put words in your mouth.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. People put a big premium on "HUO" or whether goody bags are stapled to the cabinet or not. Who cares?? The ONLY thing that matters is game condition! I have seen plenty of HUO games that were played to death by a family of teenagers, never waxed or maintained, and look like crap. I've also seen lots of game that were heavily routed, but waxed regularly and well maintained, and they are pristine. Nothing beats looking at the game in person and evaluating the condition for yourself. HUO might mean something, or it might mean nothing at all.

People say this all the time, but In over 20 years of doing this I’ve never seen an actual HUO machine that was anything less than pristine.

Where are you guys finding these trashed HUO games ?!

Ya I always look with my own eyes too really tell the true story

I am selling Rush LE and premium Goodie Bags,only 200 left.50 bucks plus shipping

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What a deal this is lol

yeah wait till you guys find out about this store called "staples" I mean, anything is possible; you could put two goodie bags in there!

That's because these machines were not HUO. They were HUO after having been on route for several years. But the owner says it is HUO because HE only used it at home.

I rip the bag out looking for more evidence that my purchase was worth the money I paid.