Hey guys, I've got a possible lead on an Earthshaker; it's on free-play in a furniture store of all places! Anyway, its very players condition. Side decals and head are pretty good, cabinet is a little rough in places but okay. The major concern is that the playfield has a lot of wear and planking. Without seeing any pictures, what do you guys think about an offer price? The owner is an old-school guy, has a not-updated Frontpage 98 website, and he sells and repairs pins for a living. Before I call to ask him about ES, I wanted to get an idea of an appropriate starting offer price.

What do you guys think? Thanks.

Oh, I'm not dying for it or anything. I saw where it was located, and the condition it was in, and I thought I might be able to pick it up for cheap. I do like ES quite a bit, and since my budget it tight, the condition doesn't bother me too much. I know Pinside low for ES is like $2200, but given that the playfield is roached and its just sitting not being played in a furniture store, I thought I might be able to offer quite a bit less. That being said, local prices around me tend to be a little higher than pinside. Not a lot of stock for sale around here.

Okay, thanks! Does anyone else have any thoughts on price? Still looking for a few more opinions.

Yeah, while I've seen a lot worse playfields out there, this ES does have quite a bit of wear and planking. I was thinking that considering the cost of a replacement playfield, and the time/money needed to install it, I'd probably wanna knock $1000 off the normal street price. That would put it in the range of $1200 to $1500. Seems reasonable to me, but I don't want to over/under pay the guy, so that's why I was looking for some expert advice.

You could be right. But I figured it's worth asking. He does have his info on one of the apron cards, and it says pinball sales on it, so its possible. In my area, you've got to sometimes be creative to try and find pins. His website is pinballfixer.com and doesn't list any prices. So I've got no idea what he sells stuff for. I just want to make sure I've got some info in my pocket before I start talking to him.

That's a fair price for sure!

No, I didn't think to take any at the time. We were looking at furniture and I saw the pin sitting against a wall. It was only after I got back to the car that my gears started turning.

But yeah, side decals are good. Front cab has some fading and repaired damage. Backglass and head looked good. Playfield had a lot wear and planking, but no massive patches missing paint. More like wear lines in high traffic areas, and general planking throughout. The machine was off, and when I asked an employee they said it had a stuck ball so they had switched it off. That's the best I can do for the description for now.

I appreciate your input, for sure, but that being said...you've got a high-end collection with lots of new and high-value pins, and you live in an area rich with pins coming and going. I'm just starting out with a 1-pin collection, looking to expand to 2, my budget is limited, and the number of pins listed at any one time within a 3-hour drive from me can be counted on 2 hands at most.

So ya know, a guy has to compromise! Thanks though, your advice is still food for thought.

Quick follow-up. Turns out the ES was owned by the furniture store, not the Pinball Fixer. I guess he just throws his business card into the apron of every pin he sells. He said he'd have been happy to sell it, if he actually owned it! When I contacted the furniture store about it, they never even got back to me. Boo. Oh well, I had to try!