Quoted from winteriscoming:I'm not so bold as to say I dare you to show me a deal, but I would say that you're not likely going to find a deal on an online listing anywhere because if you're seeing it, then someone else has, too, and it's as good as sold. JP is a popular pin, even if there are plenty of them out there. Another factor is distance. One can be for sale at a good price across the country, and you're potentially better off paying more for the one down the street.
The best option is to get into a network of players/collectors and find one from someone who hasn't yet listed it. That has worked out better for me than chasing down listings. I let my acquaintances know what I'm looking for and I hopefully hear about one through that network. I haven't even personally networked with that many people, but even the few that I'm connected with have yielded good results.
This is exactly how I found mine. Here in Indiana, we have a Google group for Pinball players. I put a feeler out there stating that I was looking for a machine around the $X amount range, but I also mentioned that if anyone had a JP, I'd consider an offer knowing that it was probably going to be more than what I was looking to pay. I figured I'd have 2 or 3 machines between me getting a JP. Slowly working my way up to more expensive ones.
And I could not have been any luckier with the response I got. Someone had one and said they'd be willing to sell it to me for a good price (really good), under one condition, I didn't flip it. And it got even better, the guy only lived 5 minutes down the road from me.
So if you're looking for a JP, it may be worth making a post on as many local boards (craigslist, groups, etc) and see if someone has one? Then go from there. You may get lucky.