Dress up in all black and wait for them behind the bushes. Jump out and start singing "pinball wizard" while waving a stack of $20'a at them. Gets them all the time.

if you've left a note with you contact details then be patient and see if they call. How long ago did you put a note on their door? Is it possible to look them up in the phone book and give them a call as well?

Yeah, If you have been near neighbors for that long and don't know them, they may be tough to meet. Leaving a nice friendly note is a good idea. Try talking to anyone else in the area that might know them. Try to casually, accidentally run into them while they are doing yard work or something else outside.

Put a on nice vest and carry a bible and give the door a knock. When they find out you're not a Jehovahs Witness they will be so elated the pin will be yours moments later.

Just go knock on the door and ask if they want to sell the machine. How hard is that??

You mean gets them shot?

It's fun to think of a great garage find, but most likely it has frozen and thawed so many times that you won't be able to restore it.

Hmmm. If they are never home, then just steal it. If they find out, then hold it for ransom.

Shotgun blasts can be very painful. Not to mention the time involved removing the buckshot.

If they've had it for that long, it has sentimental value by now.

Good luck at getting it for a decent price, if not at all.

just gotta stalk them and find them when home and ask nicely and let them know what your price range is..let them know they might have $100 or $1000 sitting in there garage,..then offer them $50 after you see it.

Many of the pins I have purchased are from locations like this. The last one I got had been in the families finished basement for 20+ year (Space Invaders, looks like new). It was not that they wanted to keep it, it was being used as a table to fold laundry on, they just did not know where to sell it, what to charge or how to move it. In their minds it was just about the heaviest, most awkward thing, they could not imagine moving out.

Many sellers I deal with are in this category. The dealer/route owner/repair tech who sold them the pin is long out of business. The game died and they don't know what to do with it, they always figured they would find some else to fix it, someday. But someday never comes and they are happy when someone (like me) offers to come, pay cash and move it out.

For your situation, talk to all of the surrounding neighbors. You have lived in the area for a long time. You are not some weirdo cruising the town. Just tell anyone you talk to that you grew up in the area at (insert your homes address/location/description of house) and you had noticed the game and wanted to talk to them about it.

Best of luck

Tell them the trash collection service will charge them $100 to haul off that piece of junk, then offer to do it for $50

Let me get this straight, you have no idea what this game is right? So you have no idea that it works, or you will like it, or get it running, or what it costs even if they decide to sell. There are plenty of other pins to buy out there rather than stalking someone for like 20 years?
Welcome to pinside!!LOL

11 step program

step 1- get drunk
step 2- take off your shirt you dont need it no more
step 3- wait till about 9 tonight
step 4- grab some quarters
step 5- better grab a 6 pack for the trip over
step 6- park in there yard
step 7- beat on there door
step 8- complment there barking dog, kids, and tell them their wife is hot.
step 9- offer them all a beer, showem the quarters and challenge him to a game- heres where luck comes into play- (hope it at least a 2 player so you dont look stupid)
step 10- win or lose tell him he sucks and offer to buy it for 1oo, but dont try to cash the check till next week
stepp 11- & tell him bring the quarters and the beer and he can come & play it any time,,,
- in a month or so with you full of beer the machine full of quarters the it will be practlly free

Dress up like Frank/Mike from American Pickers and have a friend follow you with a camera. Then spout a lot of nonsense and pick the machine on the cheap!

Most people are home on weekends

+1

Casually, accidentally run into them preferably in the daytime like on the weekend. Be honest and upfront. What are you waiting for! It's an em for gosh sakes!

+2 It's not like it's a MM...go make an offer already!!

OP- You need a undercover Girl Scout.
Put a ad on craigslist stating you want to hire a girl - must be under 12 - for a "secret mission."

just go knock on the door every other day untill you get someone home, let them know you have lived there since you were a kid and seen it every so often, the wost thing that will come of it is they will say no. if you never ask , you will never get opportunities.

Offer to cut their grass in exchange for letting you play their pin!!

Step twelve-
Stand in the front yard, with your pants down, doing the propeller move with your cock

Tropic Isle, Gottleib? http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?gid=2661 Beautiful game.

Are you sure it is not Tropic Isle?

That is a Gottlieb made in '62.

If the original poster does that we'll be seeing him on To Catch a Predator on TV.

The owner will be a nice, old Grandma til she says "You want to buy it young man, well I saw that this pin was selling on EBAY for......."!?!?!?!

So do you have a new friend now? Sounds like thats the kind of neighbor you want. Offer to help so you can learn.

If it's been sitting there since you were 12, I'm thinking he's not going to be fixing it up any time soon....

When did it stop working? ~20 years is a long time to want to fix something up that's sitting right there.

cool story - knowing folks can pay off big down the road