(Topic ID: 121895)

Have you ever gotten a machine for FREE?

By schudel5

9 years ago


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  • 106 posts
  • 85 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 8 years ago by Mottwally
  • Topic is favorited by 3 Pinsiders

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There are 106 posts in this topic. You are on page 2 of 3.
#51 9 years ago

Ive gotten three pins for free

Williams dipsy doodle
Given to me by a neihbor when i was 8 parents made me keep it on the porch were it quickly deteriorated

2nd was a non working kiss i picked out of the garbage when i was 8or 9 dragged home on a wagon for about 2 miles ( what were my parents thinking my kids arent even allowed around the block)

3rd was a pinbot ,it also came with sega outrunners ,and a valley cougar dartboard ,mice had chewed some wires all were up and running in 24hrs

#52 9 years ago
Quoted from LesManley:

I popped the playfield and saw some broken wires, so it is obvious why the game doesn't work fully, but it is complete and super clean.

No broken wires in it now.

#53 9 years ago

Nope. Paid $75 for really nice condition, non working Williams Triple Action. Got it home and cleaned up and working and enjoyed it for awhile before selling it on.

#54 9 years ago
Quoted from lockednlit:

2nd was a non working kiss i picked out of the garbage when i was 8or 9 dragged home on a wagon for about 2 miles ( what were my parents thinking my kids arent even allowed around the block)

better question, what are parents thinking now, not allowing their kids to learn to take some care of themselves.

#55 9 years ago
Quoted from lockednlit:

2nd was a non working kiss i picked out of the garbage when i was 8or 9 dragged home on a wagon for about 2 miles

No you can't just leave us hanging like that, especially after the first one you brought home was ejected to the porch. Where did this end up?

#56 9 years ago

Helped a fellow pinsider wrap and pack his games for a move out of state..

Got my first Gottlieb and Wedgehead -----Domino .....

#57 9 years ago
Quoted from calvin12:

better question, what are parents thinking now, not allowing their kids to learn to take some care of themselves.

When technology allows you too know all the sex offenders that live around you , well not letting the kids out of my sight

#58 9 years ago
Quoted from dothedoo:

No you can't just leave us hanging like that, especially after the first one you brought home was ejected to the porch. Where did this end up?

On the porch next to the dipsy doodle luckily it was summer and i sold it at a yard sale , think i got 20 bucks

#59 9 years ago

Yes, once, Traded a change machine for a really decent Mousin' Around. Got the change machine for free, so in essence - Free pinball machine! Woohoo!

Never should have gotten rid of it, was a great game.

Chris

#60 9 years ago

I was given a Huo supersonic.

#61 9 years ago

I got my first pin for free when I was 17. A Williams Dealers Choice. I was supposed to buy it from a place where I worked during the summer holiday. When I came a few weeks later to pick it up the guy selling it was on his honeymoon and his colleagues told me to take it and don't worry about it as they got it for free as well.

Here's another interesting note: Around 2004 the Dutch Pinball Association decided they wanted to build a game collection of their own since operators were no longer interested in supplying games for their events. A special committee was set up to take care of purchasing of games, what games and such. I suggested we might as well start a pinball donation fund. I figured there were plenty of games in peoples homes that were broken, or never used and woul sooner or later end up at the dump. Instead we could pick these up, fix them and use them for association events. Nobody wanted to do it, they didn't know wnyone who would give away a pinball machine, yada yada yada. I seriously thought it could work so I pushed it really hard with the president of the association. Eventually he gave me the OK. I placed a few adds on websites similar to Ebay. Within 3 months we picked up over 40 games. We had to stop advertising. Even then the games kept coming. Within 2 years we had over 100 and were forced to rent some sort of clubhouse as we couldn't store them anymore. While the association has sold a bunch of games later on, they just moved to a new clubhouse and a large portion of the collection still are donated games.

#62 9 years ago

I never got a free pin, but I did get a free arcade machine. I used to work at an arcade, and I kept begging the owner to buy just one or two different newer games to rotate in as he had a ton of older stuff that didn't earn much money at all (it was sad for instance opening the Narc every week and getting $0.75 or so out of it). I said that we could rotate some of the older games to make it more special when you showed up and they were there and put in a few newer games to make the rotation happen. He went with me to an auction, and he went nuts over how great a Ms. Pac-Man machine there looked. At the time, the restored ones like that were selling for about $1000.

We already had two Ms. Pac-Mans for some reason.

He suggested we buy the restored one and put the other two in the back. I told him that I could buy the decals and stuff to fix up the ones that we had for about $400 apiece, and that if he wanted me to do that to one of them, I could. I told him I'd restore it for free if I got the other one. He agreed. I worked on them in the shop a few times and I did a great job restoring the one at the arcade, and an okay job on mine, but then I got to take mine home. It'll never leave.

The arcade actually shut down about four or so years ago, and when it did for whatever reason, that Ms. Pac-Man that I restored sold for about $1500 from what I heard, and that might have been before fees. I could have picked up a nice one for under $500 at the time. So, a goatdan restored game increases it's value by at least 300%.

-1
#63 9 years ago
Quoted from lockednlit:

When technology allows you too know all the sex offenders that live around you , well not letting the kids out of my sight

nothing like sheltering them so they have no clue once they become adults.

#64 9 years ago

Found a Tri Zone sitting curbside once in Brentwood Long Island in 1988. Tried to knock on the door but no answer. I had to run home and come back half an hour later with a minivan. She was still there! Tried to give her to my friend and he demanded to buy her off me for $50. My 1st pin profit.

#65 9 years ago

My first pin was a freebie. One of my uncles was throwing it out as it didn't work and he didn't want to repair it. This was in 1990. It was Wild Life (1972 Gottlieb). Luckily one of his sons thought "Mal would love this thing to fix up" and he brought it over to me instead of dumping it.
I was thrilled, and then spent about 6 weeks straight for a few hours after work every day learning how it worked and repaired it. It played great once I finished it. My 2 young kids spent many hours playing it, although they could barely reach the flipper buttons and had to stand on a chair.
The back glass and cab were in good condition but the playfield was a little worn. I put new rubber, lights and other parts in it, and then of course, my uncle wanted it back when I finished repairing it, but I said "no way". haha!

#66 9 years ago

Fish tales and lost world.

#67 9 years ago

I got 1 for free and 1 for mostly free.
Free is a Gottieb Crosstown. My brother-in-law does some building maintenance and minor handy man work. He called me about a pinball in a customers loft, asked if i was interested, i said depends on the price, he called me the next week and said free, come get it. PF is really nice, very little flaking on bg. still working to get it completely up and running.
Almost free, Black hole, gave/traded a buddy some computer parts, he had the BH in his garage, said he had been working on it. I told him i would love to get it. Every couple of years i would hit him up and tell him he should sell it to me for the parts i gave him. He had gotten a divorce and it was at his ex's. Then i lost track of him, but would see his wife every once in a while. I finally went to where he was living, and was told by his roommate that he moved away, so i hit up his ex wife next time i saw her, and she said come get it. So we go over to get it and she asked if i was interested in a pac cocktail in the basement. All i had to do was clean some stuff out for her. Pac is now working, BH is still a work in progress..

#68 9 years ago

HUO Monopoly with 80 games played on it

#69 9 years ago

Got a Flip a Card for free. PF glass was broken while in the game. It was fun to clean that up. But after cleaning up all the glass the only things wrong were the 50 point relay needed a new leaf switch and a couple of the pop bodies needed replacement from whatever fell and broke the glass.

Got a Valley Spectra IV for free. Gave it away to a friend. Glad to get rid of it.

#70 9 years ago

A friend of my Father's game me his Williams Lucky 7 pinball machine. He said that him and his wife both enjoyed playing it and had it for many years, but it was broke and they knew I liked pinball. So, FREE PINBALL!!!

I took the game home, repaired it, shopped it out completely and took it back to them a month later. They were speechless and very thankful. I was very happy to do it for them.

Rob Bell
Robsgameroom.com

#71 9 years ago

Never got one for free, but one guy that was selling a Gottlieb Atlantis in the classifieds paid me $50 to take it out of his basement. The movers were coming in the morning.

Funny thing is, after I took it home,a couple days later I laid the glass flat on a towel in my garage to apply Cover Your Glass. Before I came back with the CYG, my ex-wife had driven into the garage, right over the glass. It did not break, but it left tread marks on the back of the glass. That game is still out there, somewhere.

#72 9 years ago

I worked on movie Pixels last summer, at the end I got a Xenon and about 30 arcade machines even got the carpet they used in the arcade which now lays in my friends basement games room.

Adam Sandler super nice guy!

#73 9 years ago

I worked on movie Pixels last summer, at the end I got a Xenon and about 30 arcade machines even got the carpet they used in the arcade which now lays in my friends basement games room.

Adam Sandler super nice guy!

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#74 9 years ago

never received a working pin for free.
but when i bought my first pin, (lethal weapon 3) the owner tossed in a bonus cab and a bonus halfway populated playfield of the same game!!!

#75 9 years ago

A nice you woman gave me a Fire Queen.... but I had to marry her. 8=}

#76 9 years ago

No free pinball for me so far.

#77 9 years ago

Bob_e hope you realize how lucky you are.

#78 9 years ago

This past winter I bought four vector arcade machines and one Haunted House pinball machine for $500 (plus about $125.00 in gas and trailer). On the way home I sold the four vector games for $1000 and kept the Haunted House, so I guess technically, I got the Haunted House for free plus I made another $375.00!

#79 9 years ago

Got my first pin - Fish Tales for free last month from a friend of a friend that was moving to a smaller place, (and must have understood all the work it needed). I'm still working on it. Cleaned plastics and touched up the paint on the back of some scratched plastics this evening.

Have spent about $400 on parts, LEDs, cleaning products, and paint, and put in a BUNCH of hours, mostly cleaning. Oh yea, and replaced the battery acid damaged CPU board $$. Hard to believe how much work something in decent condition can really need. I guess it's not exactly free, but I'm having a lot of fun. It's pollen season here, so that's a good excuse to stay inside.

...back to cleaning.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/first-post-ft-needs-love-where-to-start

#80 9 years ago

The first game I ever owned was when I was 9. Next door neighbor game me an arcade-style Captain Fantastic, saying that it didn't work, the fuse kept blowing.

The next day I look into it, and find he was putting a 1A where a 4A should be. Put correct fuse in, and it worked beautifully.

#81 9 years ago

I got a time warp off craigslist for free. The guy told me it was in his beach house and set up for quarters.
Needless to say it had very little wear and cleaned up quite nice. I really love it and dont see it going anywhere soon.

#82 9 years ago

I got my Road Kings for free along with a 1978 Rock-Ola 454 juke box. Got to talking with one of my neighbors and she told me she had these two items and I would be doing her a favor if I could get rid of them for her ( needed space in the laundry room). That juke box is extraordinarily heavy!

#83 9 years ago

I was given a Bally Eight Ball by the guy who put the solar film on the windows of my game room. I just had to go get it about 45 minutes away.

#84 9 years ago
Quoted from andrew13:

I worked on movie Pixels last summer, at the end I got a Xenon and about 30 arcade machines even got the carpet they used in the arcade which now lays in my friends basement games room.
Adam Sandler super nice guy!

Can't believe any other comments on this,
but WOW!!

Trailer looks interesting, will movie be any good?

#85 9 years ago
Quoted from andrew13:

I worked on movie Pixels last summer, at the end I got a Xenon and about 30 arcade machines even got the carpet they used in the arcade which now lays in my friends basement games room.
Adam Sandler super nice guy!

Pics or it didn't happen. = P

*Edit* Bitch.

#86 9 years ago

A lot of awesome and generous people out there. That's always great to hear!

Nothing free for me, but I would never just "take" something. I'd have to give them something...Cash, beer, diner, etc.

#87 9 years ago

Firepower & Tophand were both free to me... Neither of which worked when i received them. But they rock now!

#88 9 years ago

A few...

Williams Blast Off in ratty condition from an NYC pin guy who needed space. It was savable and I had it playing within a few days. He offered me a choice of this or a similar condition Diamond Jack. I preferred the space theme. Fixed it up, played it a while, sold it on ebay for $600.

Strange Science - from a relative who was moving. About 10 years after I first asked for it...for no real reason they said yes and then no at the time (people tend to get stingy when they have something useless that they realize has value to someone else) but they came around eventually. the whole thing reminded me of a Laser Disc player that had sat in my aunt's closet for close to 10 years that she refused to give me. By the time she asked if I wanted it it was already the DVD era and I had no need for it. I assume it ended up in the trash.

This one worked great even the topper just needed a shop out. Played for a while and sold it.

Bobby Orr - this was really a gorgeous game and I believe it was HUO. Didn't work but I think a new board was all it really needed. Had been a gift from a Bally exec to this dude in the 70s. He was moving and found me and asked if I wanted it. played for a while and sold it

Night Moves cocktail - this one was in a flophouse of my sister's friends in college at U of Maryland. Nobody seemed to know how it got there or how long it had been there but they were just using it as a table. It booted but obviously needed work. technically wasn't free I think I brought them a bottle of Jim Beam. This game I had for about 5 minutes flipped it over to Todd at TNT (he says that's a good seller for him, go figure!)

F-14 - this one was sitting in a dumpster about 20 feet from my front door. That was a bit of a surprise. The whole game was there minus the speaker/display panel and translite. Decided against resurrecting it but to this day 7 or 8 years later I still get parts off of it. Every board worked too - most went into a Cyclone that had a bunch of iffy boards. I still have the playfield to this one and it's actually very nice (no wear or lifting inserts) could be super nice if someone took off the mylar. Maybe I'll offer it up here once it's fully stripped.

The best score is probably a toss-up between the Bobby Orr and the Strange Science. They were both really nice.

The key to accepting free machines is to be gracious, and accomodating and helpful when it comes to removing it- but never offer money, and never make any promises "Oh I'll never sell this never ever ever!!!!!" And make sure it's REALLY free you don't want to get into a situation like Seinfeld and that guy with the soup and sandwich at Mendy's.

Or just stumble across one in a dumpster.

#89 9 years ago
Quoted from cp1610:

Bob_e hope you realize how lucky you are.

Bob's wedding picture ?????

oh no.jpgoh no.jpg
#90 9 years ago

Party Animal sitting on a neighbors porch. I was told it was free, but I gave them a few bucks anyway.
Had it working in half hour and it cleaned up nice. I told them I parted it.

#92 9 years ago

I've never gotten a game for free but I've gotten some decent deals over the years. Like others have said, if you tell enough people that you're into pinball machines, eventually one will find it's way to you.

Maybe some day I will join the club.

Dave

#93 9 years ago

A few actually. Best one was Harlem Globetrotters, which I still have. I also won my Space Shuttle in a tournament. Not free, but not at all expensive either (less than $50). I've probably got around 8 for free.

#94 9 years ago

I got Grand prix williams for free. It is still sitting in storage getting dry and ready for restoration, and it is going to need restoration. it was left outside, here in iceland, for one winter. I will get it up and running. i have to buy a backglass and probably build a new head for this one. It is going to be a fun project

#95 9 years ago

We were offered a free game by a gentleman that was remodeling his house in our neighborhood. When we drove over I was expecting something really beat up and boring. I was pretty surprised to see a Farfalla in beautiful condition. I tried to offer him something for it but he didn't accept. It is a game that will be in Superelectric's collection permanently and I'm really glad we were able to clean it up and share it with the public.

#96 9 years ago

I gave someone a free machine an Ironman VE. Wonder if he still has it. RIP radio shack

#97 9 years ago

My wife used to sell real estate. She listed a house once and the owner had a nice Golden Arrow in the basement. She started talking a little about pinball with him, told him about my mild addiction, etc. Next thing I know, I get a call to come pick it up, along with the old Bally bingo machine in his garage. For free. He just wanted them gone before he had to deal with moving them.

Also got my Getaway for $150. Not free but pretty darn close. Same situation. The guy was moving and wanted it gone immediately.

1 month later
#98 8 years ago

Got a FREE Game Plan Star Trip last weekend from a customer of mine, it had been in the basement for 30 years. A relative was an employee and gave it to them as a gift.

Got a dumpster dive Chexx hockey a few years back.

Got a Donkey Kong at auction for $5 and it was just a broken power cable.

#99 8 years ago

As far as I can recall, 4 of the machines I've had (out of about 140) were freebies.
- Stern Big Game. Had to part it out. Bad backglass, bad playfield.
- Bally Embryon. Non-working, but in lovely condition.
- Williams Black Knight. Non-working and missing the sound- and speech boards. Restored it.
- Bally Fireball. With a wrong backglass and in very shitty state of disrepair. I actually rescued that one from a collapsing garden shed during heavy rain. There's a story there

Apart from the freebies, about 90% of the machines I owned were bought for prices seriously under market value. The secret? Don't be too picky. A few honorable mentions:
- Bally Elektra (in great shape): € 75,-
- 14 machines from an old operators garage, including a mint Flash Gordon, Black Hole, Future Spa and KISS: 600€. (plus I fixed and shopped one of the games for his grandson to keep.)
- Williams Banzai Run € 150,- (My first one, playfield in bad shape)
- Williams Banzai Run in parts: € 350,- (My current one. Now clearcoated and beautiful. Loving it. Thank you Rob!)
The list goes on, but I forgot about a lot of them!

#100 8 years ago

I am going to look at a hyperball today for 20 bucks.. He says it powers up but won't play..cross your fingers for me.

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