You can post a FS ad without creating an accompanying discussion thread.

Kind of a bummer to part out a repairable game, though...

True, but posting a for sale ad costs money. Posting on fb is free.

From experience, a lot of times posting or responding to a fb ad is another pinsider. Just makes more sense to go that route.

Only if it sells tho

Most of my stuff is sold within a day or two. I will admit I have a game out for sale that will take the right buyer. It is a sample machine and has a price to reflect that. The amount of overlap between here and there means that if you price within reason things sell. Exceptions are things like rarities where you need a buyer who is looking for it, but the same thing happens on here.

Elkton, Virginia
1974 Williams Strato-flite
$100
OP: Has not worked for years, needs to be refurbished
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2973862096190477

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Not Mine:

Data East star trek project
1700
El paso, TX

https://m.facebook.com/groups/630406413802349/permalink/1877351055774539/?anchor_reactions=true

#quartette
Pinball Machine 1952 Gottlieb Quartette
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/918787625600921
$300
Deer Park, NY
OP: Here is a rare 1952 gotlieb Quartette pinball machine. Its in nice condition for its age and will need to be shopped.Backglass has some flaking and a small crack in the corner. Very nice game otherwise.

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163654963_10216733923214958_2647763568802422387_o (resized).jpg

#cg-super-flipper

For sale here.....

https://www.estatesales.net/IL/Skokie/60076/2789661

Woah.. Nixie tubes. And light sensitive photo cell resistors to modulate the speed of the controls from the flipper buttons by how fast/ far you pushed them.

The 70s were wild.

That thing looks like it spent it's entire life in a basement. WOW!

Anyone more local going to check it out? I would be interested in seeing the prices on the old HAM radio gear & the oscilloscope, amongst other items. Send me a PM.

A video game without a microprocessor. Like Pong and Computer Space, lots of counters and flip flops and buffers and gates. I'd snag it if I were closer.

CRWgxp something here you might be interested in

Manufacturer: Bally
Game/Type: Magic Circle / EM
Year: 1965
Production: 10,340
Cost: $600
Location: Germantown, MD
Pinsider JustageFehler
Link/Contact: https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/112338

Manufacturer: Williams
Game/Type: Olympics / EM Woodrail
Year: May 1952
Production: Unknown
Cost: $400 obo
Location: San Antonio, TX
Pinsider Olympics1952
Link/Contact: https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/112337

TWO Black Hole projects

Manufacturer: Gottlieb
Game/Type: Black Hole / SS 4 Player
Month/Year: October 1981
Production: 8,774
Cost: $2,500 obo
Location: Lousiville, KY
Pinsider Robert4pinball
Link/Contact: https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/112301

That’s local to me, but I suspect the restore would be a labor of love, not so profitable. For $1,500, I may be in! Lol

For $1500 I’m sure that a lot of us would be trying to buy this.

#stardust

Manufacturer: Williams
Game/Type: EM
Year: 1971
Production: 5455
Location:Medford, NY

For sale here...

https://www.estatesales.net/NY/Medford/11763/2827662?utm_source=treasure_tracker&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=found_treasure&utm_term=pinball

My only point being, it seems like anymore, the cost to bring a "project" pin back to fully functional and presentable is about the same as just buying one that had the work done to it previously. As others have mentioned, the days of buying a pin, putting some elbow grease into it and reselling for a reasonable profit seem to be in the rear view mirror. Well, for the most part anyhow.

Just thinking about the Black Holes. Even if you get them for $2k, is it really a deal? What are the odds you'll be in for replacement boards? What about mech rebuilds? Re-pinning connectors, anyone? Plastics? God knows what else they need. So fixed up, if I sell them for $2k each, what did I gain? How many hours did I invest to make it a stable pin?

Don't get me wrong, working on machines is a labor of love. But in my experience, it rarely pays well. At least not on the buy-fix-flip front.

Agreed. I'm kinda approaching it like this lately - pick up a project for a title I like as cheap as I can, but likely overpay with today's prices. Put money in it (parts, paint, supplies, etc) over time. When it's done, play for however many months you enjoy. After that...it's either a keeper or you sell it and try not to lose too much money.

For me, the "putting money in it over time" is easiest way for me to enjoy this hobby and not irk the wife. If I shell out $2500 for a working pin in one shot, it'll raise eyebrows. If I find a project for $1000 or less, and then put $1500 or so in it in small chunks over 6 months, and then sell for $2000-$2500, she doesn't bat an eye. Happy Wife, Happy Life.

I kinda do the same, buy them needing work and put money in over time. Unfortunately, typically I’ll never get my money back. But I do enjoy working on them, so there’s that, I suppose.

Seems like video games are still relatively cheap. I’d love to find a nice roadblasters....

I look at this way: am I enjoying the games while I own them? How much would it cost if I were, say, renting these things from someone? If I were doing this to make a living, it would be a very different calculation. As long as I'm pretty much breaking even on the cash investment, my time is justified by the satisfaction of the work I did for myself.

Well, I offered $1600 for the pair and got LOL as the reply. I would have possibly worked up to $1K each if he had counter offered, but he decided LOL was the right reply. They are DOA system 80's. True labors of love. He can keep them.

overpriced paper weights.

Agreed. To me, system 80 is up there on the “this is gonna take a lot of time” meter. $2k if I wanted a challenge. $1,500 if I wanted a chance of making a little coin for the 40 hours of time I’d have to put into each machine.

Something to consider. As others have said a system 80 pin that won’t boot will be a challenge, but another challenge is if the inner backglasses are missing or the paint has peeled off. I bought a Black Hole project with a bad inner backglass. After a year of looking, I found one for $300.

Fully working Black Holes with nice cosmetics sell for $2800-2900, and you’re getting two for $2500. That’s probably why his price is so high.

I picked up a non working black hole for $850 a few weeks ago. My first system 80 and yes, what an adventure. I wanted the challenge and boy did I get it... These are nothing like wms/bly/stn. But it has solid bones of good cabinet, minty glass, nice playfieds, all mechs and I actually managed to get it booting and playing! Into it for a little over 1k right now and prolly 1100 once it's all buttoned up.

But yeah, those boards can quickly eat $70+ on chips alone just to see what *else* might be wrong. I might have got lucky and probably wouldn't do that again. If there's no way to test those boards I'd be very hesitant to approach 2k on that pair myself.

Honestly, I'm getting burned out by pinball. I'll probably finish my two projects and take a long break. It makes more sense almost to buy new than to track down an older favorite. I see certain Data East games going for 4K when last year they were 3K and the year before they were 2K.

Too much junk for too high a price.

Take Five
Cocktail pin
$200
Brookfield, ma
https://m.facebook.com/groups/630406413802349/permalink/1877951655714479/

I always look at it as an offer is an offer. I can work with an offer. We may not be able to make a deal, but an offer, any offer, is much better than "would you take"?. And LOL as a reply to an offer. What nonsense. The idiot is too full of his self.

Well the shoe fit. Sad and rude to part out a game when someone gladly offered to pay your price, dude.

And on Facebook you got flamed anyway so don’t pull that crap.
I’m in 90% of the Facebook pinball groups and they’re all toxic garbage. The price police just laugh react your posts and publicly drag you but they also know your name and what you look like so you get ridiculed.
That doesn’t happen on Pinside.

Actually happens here too. Several trolls here who love to drop in and crap on threads like they are The pinball king and everyone else is stupid if you disagree with them. Personally I see them as toxic on Pinside.

I would give an example, but the Pinside moderator police would delete this comment and possibly sanction me for naming them.

There are trolls here but there are also great community members, and in general people on pinside like to help others.

Exactly! It's all a front. They use pinside but just don't want to pay a seller's fee. That's all. No sense of community, just money. Greed is good baby!

I went through a long break from pinball. Got burnt out. Fortunately, the flame reignited and I’m back into it.

There are still deals out there. I got a NASCAR for $900. It’s no show piece and has a LOT of electrical problems. I’m still sorting them out. I’ll be in it for around $1,500 when it’s done. But I’ll have a lot of hours into it, fixing boards, replacing parts, etc.

It’s a true labor of love for me.

This milestone went by unnoticed... 20 THOUSAND PROJECT POSTS!!

Congrats everyone! Glad we made it!!!

Sorry it had to be from a negative situation

Post a project pin to salvage it!

I agree... my Black Hole package deal was from the distributor in Los Angeles many years ago.
Three as-is Black Holes. I believe the cost was $450.00ish for all three...
I was able to get two working, the third was just parts.

#demolition-man

Manufacturer: Williams
Game/Type: SS
Year: 1994
Production: 7019
Location: Islip, NY

For sale here.....

https://www.estatesales.net/NY/Islip/11751/2826789

Williams Stradust
Medford, NY
https://www.estatesales.net/NY/Medford/11763/2827662

That's talking the right buyer, maybe for $2800? Still a Gottlieb.

Wasn't looking to make profits, wanted to buy as one as a keeper and one as a seller. Fix em both at the same time and sell off the working one for $2K or so. I break about even?

How do estate sales typically work? Is there a set price on an item?
(and they don't show that price on the site...?)

Yes.

Not usually, no. Most of the time, they don't release any pricing information.

They usually wont disclose pricing to get you to show up- BUT some do.
Each company is different.
If I see something I'm interested in, I'll reach out with a polite email and inquire. Most respond, some do not.

Got my first 2 pins from an estate sale (EK & BW100) 4 years ago, and have purchased 3 more at these sales since.

Im trying to Buy a project LOL. All my current games are pretty much done.

Some estate sales companies will state that they won't release pricing prior to the sale. If they don't state that, ask them the price and if you're interested in buying it, ask if you can pre-pay for it and pick up early or the day of the sale.

I found a working Robo-War pictured in an estate sale ad. I called and asked how much. She replied seller was thinking $1,000 but was flexible. I offered $600 and she accepted. I offered to pre-pay as I was 400 miles away and she said she'd hold it for me and I could pay cash on the first day of the sale. I bought this pin. Another time I found an estate sale listing for a pin 500 miles away, but no title or picture. I called and asked what it was, and the asking price. It was a DE Time Machine for $700, and he offered to let me pay for it with my credit card and pick up on one of the estate sale dates. I passed on this one, but should have grabbed it.

Don't be afraid to ask questions by calling or emailing. You may never hear back, you may receive a high price quote, but you may find a great deal. Also, most estate sales offer 50% off the last day, but that only works if you're local. Estate sales people are really busy the day of the sale, so they may not call you back or reply to your email. Driving 2-3 hours to a sale, and having to drive back empty handed would be frustrating.