Good advice. I just did my part and paid a grand for this project while driving 11 hours to bring it home. Sellers love me.

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Thanks Nic. What its done is make hard projects nobody wants desirable for those willing to go deep. No or ruined backglass, rat-eaten wires, scratched all to hell or re-painted.
I found a half dozen such projects recently the guy wants 65-100 each, going back to get them. A Spanish EM with great backglass and playfield but an oatmeal cabinet. Freedom with 10% left on the backglass and rat gnawed wiring. Several others in like condition.
Love to work on them during the Winter and in no hurry.

I'm really not seeing it. Still seems pretty easy to get EMs cheap around here. Maybe not $100 cheap but cheap. EMs sit and sit on craigslist here as as well.

Most people just don't want to deal with them, and the demand from the general public seems lower than ever. Every email I get looking for a "cheap game" the "buyer" is always very disappointed when I steer them to an EM. They want "newer faster" games with "ramps."

I guess it depends on what your definition of cheap is. To some people, $100 is cheap. To others, $1000 is cheap. It's all relative. I largely agree with you though. Seems like whenever I want to sell a nice EM that I've gone through, it's like pulling teeth to find a buyer at $500. But when I'm on the other end trying to buy something, it seems like I'm always fighting other people who want to buy the game out from under me.

At any rate, I have been seeing a surge in pinball desirability. I've picked up 4 EM projects in the last 3 weeks or so, and I had to fight for them harder than I usually have to as a buyer of EMs.

I still offer $200-$250 for a EM, if they take it great if not I move on.

I'm getting a lot pickier on these games for sure. If someone else wants to outbid me on some EM project be my guest.

With a couple exceptions I wouldn't take a Bally for free anymore. Absolutely my least favorite type of EM to work on.

I sold my Space Mission on CL last week for $1,000 cleaned up with full flipper rebuild and mechanics gone through also LEDs. PF had some wear but respectable.

I take that back....the Space Mission sold itself.

Fast forward a few days there is another Space Mission in worse shape on Facebook for $1250-1500 and people are PMing the guy.

Right now I have people knocking the door down on my Rawhide for $600-$800 in fantastic condition.

Yes, I too remember trading a High Speed backglass and a little cash for a HUO condition Hokus Pokus which feels like yesterday.

I wish Steve Young continues to thrive in his business and lives to see the age of 100. But honestly, any of us can go at any time. Businesses can come and go at any time. Steve Young is VERY unique in the way he runs his business. It would be very difficult for someone else to come in and take over. If you are on the fence about placing an order for something, get off that fence and place your order. We are no strangers to losing great people in pinball this year. The sobering truth is, if someone does pass away involved in a larger business, it's relatively easy for someone else to wheel up to a computer and keep things going. Pinball Resource? Might not be so easy. His legacy would continue I'm sure, but there would be growing pains.

NicoVolta hopefully your future travels come up my way would love to compare notes on a few things. Lot of EM enthusiasm up this way too.

I hear the OP loud and clear. A guy found an old pin in his newly acquired barn in the woods/mountains. He was told by the old owner that it works and that was it. There was no key for it anymore, and no way to plug it in to check to see if it started and what worked. He asked 500 for it... I forget the name. The playfield looked good as far as I could tell, but you couldn't see much else.

I offered 300, he said no and that 10 people had already contacted him. He wanted 500 and was sure to get it. I contacted him 1 hour later, he said nearly 30 people had contacted him, one with an offer of his full asking and that it'll be gone soon. If not, he'd call me back. Never did.

This is in the mountains of Vermont!

Yeah, it's crazy out there.

Naw, you aren't gonna get a Fireball or Captain Fantastic for 300 bucks. But there's a nice Wizard for $800 in NJ on CL right now.

But pretty much anything else - your Azteks, your Target Alphas etc. - $400-500 all day long. I'm part of the reason, I used to buy this shit all day long but what's the point? There'll always be a $400 Palace Guard out there if I really need one!

Prices have gotten competitive for EMs in my area about 5 years or so ago. Anything listed for less than $500 moves real quick. I still manage to pick one up here and there but it's certainly gotten harder.

Here’s another example. A Williams Cue-T with playfield wear and a funky Zolotone faux cabinet finish and it’s already at $659 with more than 4 days left in the auction.

ebay.com link: itm

I got a similar sense of urgency... About three years ago? Right as I started to notice CL postings declining. So I started buying everything that looked vaguely interesting. Had a big pile of projects in the garage. But that pile is all gone now. All fixed and added to the collection or sold.

Pickings have been getting real slim lately too. Can't remember the last time I saw a slightly desirable title under $600. I don't know what Levi is seeing but I'm not. I assume we're watching the same area...

Luckily wish list is getting slim as well. Mostly rare games that I've never seen for sale, or will never be able to afford anyway

And don't be too disappointed when you go to sell them, and find out that although they are on others "wishlist", that doesn't mean they have any intention of buying them or paying what you did for them.

I just don't get who are buying these and driving the prices up?

Serious collectors? How could they possibly not have all the EMs they want over the past 20 years when people were giving them away?

Newbies? THey don't want them, and even if they could they couldn't get them going.

Nico - do you have an idea who your competition is for these games lately?

Zac - I'd advise you to hit up Rock Fantasy. Steve has been selling EMs pretty cheap for a year.

You still have it? I thought I sold it to Rat_Tomago. You guys were somewhat neighbors though. Haven't heard from him lately. I guess as far as Gottlieb multiplayers go, that one was as good as they had.

I think it is mostly newbies. I see a "just got my first machine!" post on facebook with some random B tier EM every other day it seems. Some people are learning how to fix them... I've got three 'newer' collectors of solid state/DMD games I know out here (started collecting past year or two, teaching themselves repair) and they all have an itch to add an EM or two to the collection. The newer players in general seem much less focused on newer games to me, compared to all the late 90s/2000s collectors I know who have collections of nothing but modern games and WPCs

I had never thought about parts scarcity, but I'm not a "full restore" guy. It's rare I'll need something like pop caps or even drop targets.

I have three boxes that used to be parts machines - one bally, one gottlieb, and one williams - and that's usually enough if I'm trying to get an EM working. Next Allentown pick up a couple parts machines you should be in good shape. You guys may be talking restoration but I wouldn't have trouble keeping EM games running even if PBR went away. (PLEASE PBR don't go away!!!!!)

Speaking of Allentown - ALWAYS some well-priced EMs there, never had a problem finding something worth buying for $500 or less. Will be interesting to see if that trend continues when the show comes back.

Glad you are, have been, and will be able to get these EM's, and fix them up!
I will be even "gladder" when you finally visit NJ

Some of this might be location related. EMs can be a hard sell around here. I've liquidated a few lately for less than I had into them. But then, when I want something gone, I tend take the easy road.

I'd agree, but it still comes nowhere near Williams Pit Stop in the love it's gotten here. That one aint never going away. It's earned it's stripes and then some.

Well as a 60 something EM Nubie, I can say it is a Covid project that got me going. Rebuilt two EBD's so far this year. Both dead , in parts, on arrival and got them up and going. Next picked up a Gottlieb Bank Shot for 350. Backglass is peeling, the play field has some planking, it spent some of the last 40 years in a wet basement , but damn, it works once you get electricity from point A to point B. Started from the motor continuously running (and nothing else) to where I would say its about 85 percent now. Just got the bonus stepper working this morning ( cleaned it and the wiper needed to be realigned to its zero point). Maybe I will spend 60 bucks on parts (depends how many light sockets I decide to replace). So far got about 10 days invested in it ,but the first 5 were spinning my wheels learning.

I am getting into EM games , they are fun to play, simpler ,but great games to bet money on with your friends while drinking a few beers. .

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Interesting thread. Give Steve some credit though. I don't think he's pushing 80 just yet!

Hmm, I don't know. "Paradise" and especially "Pleasure Isle" get my vote.

I'm sure the pandemic is helping EM prices. I work for the l world's largest distributor of aftermarket accessories in the powersports industry. Parts for motorcycles/ATVs/snowmobiles etc. We have had our best year on record. Everyone is home focused on their hobbies.

Great post. Definitely see the writing on the wall as well in the BC, Canada region.

I have always felt there is a huge misconception for EMs in general. I mean, many rare EMs constitute the highest valuations, yet people see them as being worth less than SS?

Also, ALL of the $50 - $100 specials are basically ones that have sat in someones shed for 20 years... and somehow, this project valuation seems to stick in the head of people translates to EMs being worth that.. this is stupid.

The fact is, a pinball is a pinball. Like with SS, condition and desirability is king. I would argue that the window for finding your A-list EM has mostly closed already... sometimes, we still get lucky, or the local yokums don't know what they have in their backyard, which I guess is one of the points of your OP. In your case, it sounds like that's the case.. local flippers just know they can't flip enough profit on it without actually doing any work.

Glad the machine found a good home!

make no mistakes. Keith would whoop both me and you on an EM just as easily, if not more so, than on his own design. Google it.

This thread makes me want to hold on to what I have. Haven’t purchased an EM for almost 2 years.

The whole “A-list” concept doesn’t really
Apply to EMs. There are thousands of EMs out there and they almost all share the same value.

A Duotron - one fo the worst gottlieb made - is worth the same as a jungle queen, one of the best.

It just doesn’t work like bally 90s games or what have you. There aren’t thousands of people looking for a Strange World, there’s just a few, but there’s also just a few around so it keeps the value relatively high.

There are thousands of Addams Families out there, with even more who want one. You just can’t compare it.

Last time I played Elwin on an EM... I had 110k, he had 220k. Time before that, I had 15k, he had 90k.

8 games total across two pinburghs, my only win was on a JJP PotC

Totally disagree. There's a ton of EMS that no one likes and that are probably <700 fully working. C tier. Then there's a bunch of games that maybe you could get 1k for a nice one. B tier. And then there's stuff like Fireball, Wizard where you can get 1-2k. There's probably even a D tier of unloved 60s games and wood rails

Well I totally disagree with you. Boom!!!

With a few notable exceptions EMs are all worth the same thing.

Stop trying to make “A list EM” a thing. That kind of thinking has already ruined half the hobby.

It's a handful of outliers, not a "list." Just my opinion.

To have an A list, you'd need a B list and C list, like say, 90s Ballys.

There is no B-list on EMs. THere's no fucking list at all.

Just thousands of old games laying around that are all pretty much all the same, and a handful of rarities that old school collectors will pay more for.

Just paid $750 for a Hot Tip EM in KY and it was 100% ready to go and sat here on pinside for almost 2 weeks. Good EMs are still in the 400-800 range here fully working. Good enough for me.

Volley is a great title. Sits right next to Atlantis and 2001. Learned awhile back, don’t sell your drop targets

800-1000 for all of them.

I see nothing extraordinary on this list (beyond the fact that some are more fun to play than others) and I’d say yes, they all share around the same value.

I figured you’d at least have a fireball or something to throw at me!

I’ve Owned almost every one of those titles.

You may find that one lunatic willing to pay $2k for a Rancho but that’s not really in the equation.

Are you crazy, they’re only EMs. $250 each tops. Jk

http://www.crazylevipinball.com/pinball.php?id=297

Duotron is worth $1799?