Pretty new to the site so feel free to flame or berate me. I just wanted to share my positive opinion of the "price police".

I love pinball!! And my kids love it too. Two years ago the thought of ever buying my own machine was literally inconceivable. It wasn't just the lack of space, but also the lack of knowledge. I wouldn't know if $1,000 was fair or $10,000 was fair. Pinball prices were a total mystery to me so the thought of being brutally ripped off kept me from entering the hobby. But with the constant monitoring of the For Sale threads here and the input from Pinsiders I feel quite confident that anything priced out of line will quickly be pointed out.

Now I'm not looking for a deal. I FULLY expect to overpay and lose money but that is OK. If the kids and I have fun it's totally worth it. But to overpay by several grand would be a real bummer.

And it's not just prices that are monitored. I also appreciate the details commentors point out that I would have never noticed (shooter lane wear, cabinet fade, playfield wear, etc.). You guys are REALLY talented. You notice things in pictures that literally take me minutes to find and this is AFTER you've pointed it out.

Anyway, I just wanted to give a shout out and thanks to people that comment on the For Sale ads. Your comments have made this newbie feel comfortable about buying a machine. Thank you!

PS. I'm sure this is also the wrong place but I would think a decent way to regulate the For Sale ads would be to charge BEFORE the person places the ad. Even if it's only $5 for 30 days. That's what Craigslist does for cars and it really cut down on a lot of ridiculous ads.

Blackbeard was one of the people I was thinking of (thank you!) but I didn't want to call out anyone without their permission.

In response to post #8 (buyer beware) I don't think that takes into account how much of this hobby is unknown or confusing to new people. For example when I first started I wasn't clear on the difference between a regular machine and a Zizzle. Now I know to look for "sanctum" wear. And even now I know I know enough to just get myself into trouble. There are some real eagle eyes on this board and I really value their input.

This is not to say I expect or even want a perfect game. I'm just saying that flaws that are obvious to many of you are things us new guys might not even see even when pointed out to us.

So if your goal is to get more pinball machines into more houses and expanding the hobby I think thoughtful feedback in For Sale ads is extremely helpful.