Domain name registered 10/30/2020

LTG : )

Those prices are comically low. Also, a lot of the photos don't match up with the machines being sold. On top of what Lloyd said. Red flags galore.

There’s no way that is real... Scam city.

I like under the FAQ it says you can pick up but no location is given. Scam for sure.

Who is willing to be the bait and give this scammer a good run around?

Visit in

Location is a house near Vancouver, BC. shown in the "Contact us" section.

2758 Nelson Ave, West Vancouver, BC V7V 2R9, Canada

I don't understand the Ohio "location"

Both are residential locations. Facebook link to 'max' is invalid. $4k TroN? I'll take two please.

Scam

The 30% down before local pickup is great.

I did a reverse search on a couple of images. They were stolen from old ads.

Image for TAF from here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/archive/100500

That in addition to the newly created domain screams scam to me.

These new scam sites seem to keep cropping up fairly regularly lately.

Good catch ForceFlow.

This is the same group of individuals operating a ring of scam sites (pinballshore.com uses the same phone number listed in PinballBase's contact page). All of their domains are relatively new.

Stay clear of these folks!

-- Jimmy

Pinballshore.com uses FUN!’s address with a different phone number. Looks like you can also call that same number to score some meth!

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has anyone reported these scammers to their IT abuse centers?
PinballBase dot com point to:
namecheaphosting.com
which has this
https://www.namecheap.com/support/knowledgebase/article.aspx/9196/5/how-and-where-can-i-file-abuse-complaints

PinballShore dot com points to hosterpk.com which:
https://www.hosterpk.com/aup

I like how it says they sell parts on front page then on faq page it says they don’t sell parts.

https://pinballshore.com/our-team/

https://www.homeleisuredirect.com/company/meet-the-team.html

I just asked them if they have a Jimi Hendrix and they said they do and are shopping it out now! Wow!

20201116_122148.jpg

Hey great news everyone! They responded that they have the Jersey Jack version!

i can't even open a chat on the site. it's a dead link.

Thank god! I haven't been able to find one!

I've also been wheeling and dealing with them over email. Trying to set up a phone call so they can play sounds from the game back to me over the phone as proof that it works!

If you do get them by phone, your going to need to record and post it

So who's going to email them something along the lines of "I did want to buy a pinball machine from you, but once I looked up your phone number and saw that you also sell Methamphetamine, I'd like to buy that instead".

This address is 10 minutes from where I live. I’m gonna go check it out.

I popped by the house in Vancouver. Initially I thought it was weird cuz the driveway was packed full of trucks with a jeep parked out front. I spoke with a guy named brian who is staying there. He says the owners are a nice old couple. There’s a guy living downstairs as well named derick. Brian spoke to derick and returned some info to me about the situation.

Here’s the email:

Hey Wes,

The tenant who lives downstairs just came home to confirm: definitely no one here who deals in pinball machines. In fact, he was aware of the situation, and has submitted a change to Google maps. The change should take place in the near future, and hopefully the business will update with their correct address, or just go away if they're illegitimate.

Feel free to post this message to the forums where pinball enthusiasts are being misled by any business claiming to exist here. This is a residence, not a business, and has nothing to do with pinball.

Hope you have a merry Christmas and a successful 2021.

Brian

I sort of feel stupid, really stupid.

I saw this ad for Tron on Facebook for Pinballbase and I though the price was good. I contacted them. Some things didn't add up. He wanted me to Pay with Zelle, then Apple Pay. He had early on asked for my address for shipping, I told him, but that was all. I started feeling odd - started searching - faces, names, numbers and things were out of line. I think they are fake. talking on the phone the call faded in and out, that was my first flag, why the troubles. Anyways, I didn't give any information. I was checking their Amazon payment link, didn't put anything through on that.

I'd stay clear. I just feel dumb. Hope nothing comes from it.

I jumped on here and donated to tell you all.

See my post below. I was an idiot and spoke to them.

Things started to add up strange. Only mistake was gave my address for shipping. No money details.

The phone line kept fading in and out, that was my first concern.

Feel so very stupid.

Wow Am I glad I did a review on these guys & came across your facts.
I'm searching for Stern Star Trek & they told me they had 1 left even though it said Sold out. $2,599.00 US Great deal
When pricing in eastern Canada is $10K+ cdn. They said it was a Pro so i asked for a Video which i received the next day
It was on a Premium or LE, right there I figured these guys either are stupid or Scammers obviously. see texting below.
Coward Air???? is that even an aircraft carrier.

Thanks a lot to all the comments & good luck,

Hi how can I help you?
Pinball sent this
Seeking Star Trek Pro or LE
We have just 1 unit in stock
Pinball sent this
The Star Trek pro
Pinball sent this
What condition, how much usage? & asking price? Where are you located?
We’re located in Vancouver. The machine is in great condition. Fully refurbished. No wear/damage on it
Pinball sent this
Any mods/repairs performed?
Asking price is $2599 USD
Pinball sent this
No mods added. Flippers & coils have been replaced. Legs as well.
Pinball sent this
Can you do a youtube video of it playing? I'm in Toronto so if I buy it I can try to arrange for delivery through Logistic tryuck haulers via contacts or do you make arrangements for shipping?
my email is [email protected]

Yes sure. We ship with coward air. I can send the video to your email in a few hours.
Pinball sent this
ok thanks. what's the history on the machine?
Just 2 owners. It was bought stateside at an auction
Pinball sent this
so private use in homes
Collector was selling off his collection
Pinball sent this
Yes precisely
Pinball sent this
I just got into buying a couple over the holidays, I'm not a guru , just played in my early age & always wanted to buy a pin & I just bought 4 over the holidays to scratch it off my Bucket list LOL My boys loves them
Okay. That’s alright. All our machines come with a 12-month warranty so you’re covered on repairs & replacement of parts.
Pinball sent this
We also accept returns & exchange within 14 days of purchase.
Pinball sent this
repairs I'm in Ontario, do you have local network in Toronto?
Yes. Montreal as well.
Pinball sent this
I'm electronically inclined and can do some minor stuff & willing to learn as well
ok sounds good

Pinball sent this
looking forward to seeing the video
Will send to your email in a few hours
Pinball sent this
I'll see what else you have online...
Okay sure.
Pinball sent this
Thanks Have a good day
Thanks. You too!
Pinball sent this
Your pricing online is ti US or Cdn?
All our prices are in USD & tax inclusive.
Pinball sent this
ok thought so
Payments also are processed through Amazon pay as were verified and registered with Amazon.
Pinball sent this
ok

That was a keyboard fatfinger. The scammer meant Forward Air. I received a Bally Wulff shipment from Forward Air.

Just to bring this topic back up, I ran into an ad from these guys pinballbase.com. They are still actively operating with phone numbers in Vancover BC and Hershey PA (coincidentally you can also buy your next puppy from this place!) I'm in the hunt for a Metallica MOP and they had one available. Pictures were from pinballowners.com. What made me suspicious was the JJP POTC for $6,000 available on the website! Thanks to you guys and PINSIDE my suspicion was confirmed before I gave them any info beyond my phone number (bad enough). Another comical note was their warehouse address goggled to a house that was about 750sq'!

Pinballbase is still at it. On May 7th I purchased machine from Pinballbase. I tried to purchase it with a credit card but it would not go through. Phone call and Chat box conversations suggested the credit card payment server was offline (I know, I know...). I was convinced to use a direct bank transfer option to transfer machine cost and flat fee shipping payment to a BB&T Bank account. The transfer went through. On May 12th, I received a message from [email protected] (604) 674-8348 saying that my order had been shipped through Express Clockwork Delivery in San Diego and the expected arrival date was May 18th. I was given an Express Clockwork tracking number. The tracking page never changed. I called and emailed Express Clockwork but received no word from them. Pinballbase contacted me several times with excuses about the delay. On May 28th, I told I needed to pay $1500.00 for shipping insurance. Finally realizing I had been scammed, I contacted my bank and was told they would work with BB&T but not to expect a refund. Pinball chatrooms like Pinside, suggest that this company is a known scammer. However, company review sites rated Pinballbase highly. I suspect they salted the reviews. Unclear if Express Clockwork Delivery is part of the scam. I have contacted the banks, several state and federal agencies and one in Canada because of the area code used. I'm working to have their chat box provider and review sites to cut them off. Will continue to pursue Pinballbase's web host, etc. It seems much of their web content was lifted from Pinballshore.com. I received a call from the owner who was upset that I also mentioned his company. He may be sincere. Pinballbase also used Pinballshore, but it may be that they changed a single letter in the URL to spoof that site. I may owe Pinballshore an apology, but who can be sure? In any case, let's fight these assholes!

Sorry to hear they created another victim.

A quick look at pinballshore.com will tell you they are a scammer site also. Holy wow look at those prices!!!!!!

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Again, I'm not sure about Pinballshore being a scam site. It could be, but the owner's plausible explanation of having his site spoofed (slight change and redirect of the domain) could be true, and matches up with what I found. Pinballbase (may their scammers rot) has a sister site, Stellar Pinballs. Same setup, and contact information. I having a bit of trouble locating business license information for that site.

Quick update: The FTC, FBI, ecommerce.gov, State of Arkansas Attorney Generals office and the banks involved have all received my complaint forms and are investigating. I found two Facebook pages and posted warnings to the eager posters asking how to buy. I filed Terms of Service violation complaints. Facebook said thanks a bunch but promises nothing. I'm going to keep working this by posting on every pinball forum I can find. Hopefully, these guys will go back to pretending to sell puppies.

I tried to buy a Cyclone machine, a favorite of mine. It was mostly to surprise my brother, who also loves that machine. I blame myself for my greedy attitude which led me to overlook some red flags. None of my efforts will likely get me anything. I just hope to make the scammers have to work a little harder. Arkansas says the company is a foreign registered company. Facebook says the Pinball Heaven@Pinballbase page is managed in Cameroon. They are redirecting their Vancouver, B.C. phone number somehow. It will be difficult to actually catch these assholes but I hope to bother them a bit. Any information or help I can get would be appreciated. Any skilled hackers out their? Kidding? If not, just warn your fellow players. Thanks!

JPD_JK

Post here: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/pinballbase.com?stars=1