I'd say $800 for the pair is reasonable.

I was going to say $300-500 each (working)

I sold a TA a couple of years ago, in very good shape and fully working, for $475

Good deal. I was only able to scrape $350 for mine, and it was sitting around for sale for a while.

That triple action is in very rough condition. Looks like a portion of the left side rail is missing. The cracked broken rubbers tell you it has been sitting a long time. The machine is going to need a full mechanical restoration and cleaning, it will be a lot of work, but rewarding in the end. I would not offer more than $200 knowing how much time it is going to take to restore it.

Fun game. I got it for $75. Best deal I've ever made.

I right price for the pair in the condition they are in is $500 for the pair (being "fair" to the seller & to you). Some people will say more - some people will say less but a real world price for the pair as they sit is $500 max.

Once you put 6 to 10 hours into each of them they are only worth $800 for the pair shopped and working 100%. And you will have at least $50 into rings, bulbs, etc.

So if you spend 15 hours on them to "make" $250 on the pair you are working super cheap but that is about where the math will end up. And it will likely take you a month or more to sell them for $800 once you are done with them.

I run all over the PA, NJ, MD, DE, WV, NY area buying machines and for me to drive for them and move them out of someone's basement I would want the price for the pair under $400 (and I would likely make an offer of $350 on the pair) if I was the buyer. On the average I buy about one machine a week so I must be paying enough for them because I don't even advertise that I buy machines. Most of my contacts come from people I have done business with in the past referring people to me.

If you are looking to help a friend out pay $500 for them, if you are looking to be "fair" to yourself and want to make a few dollars selling them $400 to $450 makes more sense. And if you are fine working for free and really want to pay near market value then pay $600 for the pair but anything more and I think you will be sorry in the end.

Just my 2 cents on things looking at it from the eyes of someone that knows the local market fairly well. And for any of you guys that think they are worth more come see me at the Allentown Show in a couple months. I'll have a couple dozen EM's in decent shape under $400 each.

any mice nests?, any water damage? are they complete?
lots of variables.
pends physical condition of bg, pf , cabs.
also, are any steppers or other parts rusty? if yes, those take even longer to go through each relay, stepper, motors with a fine tooth comb.

ps- id buy the triple action as is if no mice, no water damage and physically things are ok. yes, i see the busted up rubber n stuff, but thats normal. im talking crazy stuff is what i need know..

I think that is just some trash laying on top of the PF glass covering up part of the railing.
but cosmetics are important in any price estimate.
Any offer below $200 each would probably be close to insulting,
unless there was other hidden damage or hacks present.

Here in PA (and in most of this area) $200 to $250 is typical buying price for most EM's unless they are something special. Buying EM's in unknown working condition (sellers idea of works is sometimes it lights up - rarely does any game out of someone's home work 100% correctly from my experience) is a risk and even shopped and working 100% it is hard to sell EM's in this area for much over $500 (unless they are something special)..

I buy an average of one EM a week within 100 miles of home and rarely do I have to pay over $250 for them. I have seen some EM's sit on Craig's List for weeks with asking price under $200 that have issues here in the eastern US (central PA area). CC machines are typically the cheapest but even decent Gottlieb's don't bring much over $250 unshopped here on the east coast.

Typically on any given day I can find at least a half dozen EM machines for under $300 with in 100 miles of home. Area of the country is a HUGE factor when talking about pinball machine prices especially on cheaper machines that are not worth the cost of shipping.

Like I said above - if you don't agree with me that is fine but if you want "cheap EM's" come see me at Allentown. I'll have a couple dozen of them for under $400 each this Spring - some as low as $250 and that is after covering my expenses on fuel to pick them up and cost of doing the Allentown Show.

I consider myself very lucky living in this area when it comes to the pinball hobby. There is a wealth of cheaper machines here locally. SS machines have gone up a good bit in price over the past few years and it has become much harder to find a "great deal" on a SS machine these days. But EM's still sell fairly reasonable here.

I've said it before, the Northeast is the EM Land O' Plenty.

A few years back when I was contemplating moving for job purposes,
pinball availability was a factor in my decision to consider taking a job in Pennsylvania;
but the harsh winters back east swayed me to stay on the left coast.
Prices do tend to be significantly higher on the west coast for a lot of
EM pins, which are a dime a dozen in the NE.

they looked routed for sure. I bet the play meter in the pioneer is about 80k if not more
pioneer bg looks good the reds are almost always faded yours looks bright

Agree with boilerman - that's been on route for an average amount of time (and wear)

You did make out better than most Pioneers with that wear though - your backglass is better than most. And, the other biggie with this game is the inserts fall out easily and are sometimes missing. The center plastic is also usually cracked from all the hits it took on route.

$700 sounds like a risky number to me. Best of luck to you but you are into them deeper than I would want to be. EM's have been a tough sell the past few years. The past year (or so) seems like there is more interest in them again - I guess only time will tell. If I was into them that deep I would ask $550 for the Pioneer and settle for $500 if necessary because the Triple Action isn't worth much.

if you want to unload them to break even
list the pioneer at 700 and say you get the triple action free
once people hear free they think they are getting a deal.
but like others have said you are in these deeper than I would want to be.

Just be careful how deep you get into them as far as time invested to take them to Allentown. I'll have over 20 EM's headed to Allentown under $500 and most will be under $350. Last year I took 18 that were all priced under $350 and I still came home with 4 of them.

Mine are all "untested projects" that will be sold at the indoor flea market but from experience there is a reason I don't waste a ton of time on EM's any more. Even fully shopped & working 100% I rarely was able to get over $500 for one and from experience I decided my time was too valuable to spend shopping out EM's to break even on them. So now I just sell all EM's I pick up as "projects" even if they were fully working when I picked them up.

It is really a shame EM's don't bring more but even in mint condition prices just are not all that high on them.

what games ? I might be interested in a few projects at that price point

Too-many-pins paints a pretty bleak picture but it really isn't that bad. $700 is maybe a little high but could also be fair. You are never gonna sink much $$ into an EM which is the charm or buying one. It's not like getting a baywatch that doesn't turn on and hoping you aren't out $700 buying new boards and displays.

Pioneer is actually a great title and I think Better than spirit of 76 due to more and better backglass art. Triple action is pretty common and an average game (it's too easy). But at 700 for the pair he's fine.

All I am saying is not to put more time & money into those machines than necessary. I don't doubt on a good day you can get $650 out of the Pioneer and maybe $250 out of the Triple Action. But it is kind of pointless to spend 1/2 a day and $20 or $30 shopping each of them to get $50 more than you paid for the pair if you are lucky.

Pioneer should be worth $550 as it sits (or at least close) and Triple Action $150 to $200. So in my eyes you are better off just selling them as they are. I typically buy & sell about 50 machines a year here in Central PA and I am just trying to help OP as much as possible.

I'll be figuring out what is headed in late April. But I am not going to hijack this post talking about what I might be bringing to Allentown. My point posting here is trying to help OP not head in the wrong direction with these. Typically there will be at least 40 to 50 EM's at Allentown for sale under $500. So putting too much into this Pioneer thinking it will bring a lot of money at Allentown might not be the best idea. And that was my purpose for my comments. Also as stated by many people in previous post Triple Action just isn't worth all that much.

the shows in the past few years hardly have 40-50 project em's more like 10-20 if we are lucky. there are some in the free play area that are poorly shopped and are projects being sold as players machines at 500 and up. not a real deal
most of the best deals are made on set up night before the show. the flea market area is at most a parts machine sale.
with that being said if you have the em's and want to sell them start a thread with what you have and what you want for them.
might save you the effort of dragging them to the show and back home..... just my .02

I sold 14 fairly nice project EM's at Allentown last year in my indoor flea market space alone so I know there were well over 20 because I had 18 and I know other Flea Market sellers had a good many also. This is not including a good many EM's in the Freeplay area under $500 or $550

Again - this thread isn't about what is at Allentown - it is about trying to help OP sell these two machines. I don't agree with how cheap EM machines are and hate the fact that most are worth double (or more) in parts to what they typically sell for as working machines. But people just are not paying all that much for EM's these days and likely never will again. That is really kind of sad but it is also fact.

Anyway - hopefully bumping this post to the top again will help OP get these sold.

I hate the idea of "preselling" machines before the show. To me what makes a show work is to have a decent selection of stuff for sale.

Years ago I was big into Lionel trains and York, PA was the biggest show in the world (and likely still is). Then some guys got the idea of having other shows in parking lots on the days leading up to the semi annual York Shows and the next thing you know 90% of the "good stuff" was sold before the show even started. That kind of takes something away from the show and it always really kind of bugged me. One year I actually sold out before the main show and ended up having to buy stuff to put on my tables at the show just to keep from loosing my tables for the next show.

Anyway - back to Allentown - I will post a list of everything I am taking about a week before the show and do hold machines for people to look at on Friday. But I will not pre-sell anything I am taking to be fair with everyone.

You really sound like a guy who has too many pins.

From a perspective of someone who doesn't have too many pins, they might not have people calling them weekly with cheap EMs, or know of huge stashes of these games just sitting around. $700 for those games is a perfectly decent deal for you average dude who is looking to get into the EM game or add to their collection. Like I said Pioneer is a great game and good title, and Triple Action is triple action. Not a bad couple of games to pick up at once at a good price and good location, for your average person who has not enough pins.

I don't think the OP bought these thinking he'd just flip 'em and make a good profit but maybe I'm wrong.

I think that is very doable but be sure to hold the line at $550 on the Pioneer because Triple Action will be a tough sell at any price. With that said if you can't get Triple Action sold before Allentown PM me and I'll see if I can set up a buyer for you. I have a couple guys that buy low end pins from me and one of them might want it if you can't get it sold.

I really wish you would have bought them $100 cheaper, for your sake, but I also understand wanting to be "fair" to a friend's family. Don't worry you will be OK with them but PLEASE don't invest a lot of time & money hoping to get more out of them.

Crazylevi,

I really do have too-many-pins and it is mostly because I like to try to help sellers out. Typically I am known in the area as "the guy that pays too much for machines & sells them too cheap". On the average I make less than $50 on most transactions but I love getting machines from people who no longer want them and getting them to people looking for them. Not a great "business model" but this is 100% hobby for me!

Since I typically pay top dollar when buying I get calls & emails about machines just about ever week without even advertising. Sometimes to the point I can't even find room to unload my van. But I love the thrill of the chase and I have been hooked for about 8 years now.

My concern with OP is that he comes out OK on this. I have been down this path so many times - sometimes with rather bad results - that I try to help everyone I can. Pioneer is a great machine and his looks to be in pretty nice shape so I think he will be OK with that but Triple Action doesn't typically get much love and in the condition this one is in I wanted him to have realistic expectations. Triple Action isn't a bad player but typically it is a fairly tough sell.

You guys in PA and back east are spoiled
with lots of EM pins available for sale and at fairly cheap prices plus
pin shows that do have at least decent flea markets for pin projects.
Over here on the left coast,
$700 for the pair in question would be considered
a very fair price if not a steal.
Only the PAGG show has just started to get a rep now for pin projects swap meet.
But I agree that spending more than $30-40 bucks
and a couple of hours of cleaning up the machine
may not be prudent.
With most EMs of this type, (other than a select few single player wedgeheads)
the time & money spent needs to be just for the love of the game and hobby.

Just clean them up and enjoy them for a few months. When you are done you should be able to get 600 for Pioneer and 400 for the Triple Action. Here in Texas the Pioneer might be worth up to 800 and the Triple Action 500-600. But yeah, you are in the most saturated pinball state.

I took me about 6 months to sell a Triple Action here in PA working 100% shopped and in decent shape and I finally sold it for $225 after trying for months to get $275 for it. Just not a popular title here in PA for some reason? I might be off by $25 because I have actually had two and both sold for under $250 each.

Be careful, that's it all starts...

Cleaned up very nice!

Looking good!

Your game has the common ball swirl wear in the yellow areas which is common for GTB's from this era. Just curious - you say you "cleaned" - did you use magic eraser and 91% alcohol when you cleaned your playfield? That will clean up the ball swirls pretty good - just have to be careful that you don't burn through the paint and scrub too much. Not criticizing - just curious how you cleaned.

98% is better than 91%! Where did you find it?

Thanks for the link!