(Topic ID: 203759)

Pricing of wood rail pinballs

By central-park

6 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 13 posts
  • 7 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 6 years ago by TKDalumni
  • Topic is favorited by 2 Pinsiders

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    #1 6 years ago

    I have 7 wood rail pinballs from 1952 to 1959 3 with animation in head would like to get an idea on price to sell these machines all have been sitting more than 20 years

    #2 6 years ago

    Which games? Like anything, the particular game and its condition would play a major role in determining value.

    #3 6 years ago
    Quoted from central-park:

    I have 7 wood rail pinballs from 1952 to 1959 3 with animation in head would like to get an idea on price to sell these machines all have been sitting more than 20 years

    Titles & condition are the two biggest questions. These days most woodrails just are not bringing much money and I have been paying $100 (or less) for most machines I have been buying over the past 3 or 4 years. I have picked up over a dozen "parts machines" this Fall for an average of about $35 to $50 each and at times I still think I am paying too much for them.

    "Barn finds" - cabinet damage - backglass issues - playfield wear -missing parts - etc all play into "real world pricing". Sadly most 100% complete, cosmetically decent, working woodrails are selling under $300 these days so "projects" are not worth a lot of cash.

    Peoples interest have changed over the past 8 or 10 years and unless a machine has ramps, DMD displays and LED lights in it most people could care less about them. So sadly EM's and (worse yet) woodrail machines have dropped in value drastically over the past few years.

    With all of that said there are still a handful of "animated backglass" and other titles bringing decent money if condition is better than average. But it really all comes down to condition.

    #4 6 years ago

    Jim,

    After posting my reply last night I realized this post was yours when I looked at your wanted ads and noticed you were looking for the two backglasses you asked me about the other day. As you can see from lack of replies here the woodrail interest level is all but non-existent these days. Sadly those machines were likely worth more when you put them into storage 20+ years ago then they are today.

    Anyway I figured I would bump the post to the top of the page for you to see if you get any more replies. Nice meeting you last week!

    Later,
    Skip

    #5 6 years ago

    There is no such thing as a $100 pinball machine up here!

    #6 6 years ago
    Quoted from dr_nybble:

    There is no such thing as a $100 pinball machine up here!

    I feel very lucky to live in this area and be in the pinball hobby because there are always plenty of machines for sale. As far as $100 pins these days typically the only thing I find in that range is woodrails and weaker condition EM's. I think part of that is because of the "Silverman Collection Sales" a couple year ago. When over 600 woodrail machines come into the market in an area like central PA it kind of floods the market for years. But worse yet over 1/2 of the machines sold at the last auction at Morphy's sold for under $50 each and a lot of those machines were fairly complete and on decent legs. By the end of the auction they were begging for $10 bids and even at that price some machines didn't sell.

    But if you study pinball prices most woodrail machines and even the majority of EM machines are down in price to prices you would have seen years ago. SS and DMD machines keep going up in value but EM's and woodrails have fallen off in prices to a point of it being sad. I think part of the issue is most of us old guys are selling and not buying and the younger generation has zero interest in woodrail machines. Sadly today it is all about bling & LED's in the latest & greatest machines with just a few exceptions.

    #7 6 years ago

    I can't even buy a set of woodrail legs for $100. Looking for a set of Williams' legs (or Gottlieb if need be) just saying'.

    #8 6 years ago

    Only data point I can offer is I sold a working one from 1956 just over a year ago for $300, but it did sit a while. I saw it listed several months ago in the area asking $250. I originally got it non-working (lit up but didn't play) for $225 back in 2012. Playfield condition was good, plastics were bad, backglass had a crack in it.

    Only woodrail I've had. Local players I spoke with had no interest in the woodrails, even if they liked EMs in general.

    #9 6 years ago
    Quoted from too-many-pins:

    Titles & condition are the two biggest questions. These days most woodrails just are not bringing much money and I have been paying $100 (or less) for most machines I have been buying over the past 3 or 4 years. I have picked up over a dozen "parts machines" this Fall for an average of about $35 to $50 each and at times I still think I am paying too much for them.
    "Barn finds" - cabinet damage - backglass issues - playfield wear -missing parts - etc all play into "real world pricing". Sadly most 100% complete, cosmetically decent, working woodrails are selling under $300 these days so "projects" are not worth a lot of cash.
    Peoples interest have changed over the past 8 or 10 years and unless a machine has ramps, DMD displays and LED lights in it most people could care less about them. So sadly EM's and (worse yet) woodrail machines have dropped in value drastically over the past few years.
    With all of that said there are still a handful of "animated backglass" and other titles bringing decent money if condition is better than average. But it really all comes down to condition.

    Poor condition always sell very low.

    But, the nice A listers in pristine original condition still sell for good money.

    Try getting a lovely original Niagara, Daisy May, Marble Queen etc for under $3000.

    And it was only a year or so ago 1950 Glamor sold for $15000.

    Original pristine condition, 100% working, and a great title are all critical to get big bucks. And Gottlieb of course.

    #10 6 years ago
    Quoted from Shapeshifter:

    Poor condition always sell very low.
    But, the nice A listers in pristine original condition still sell for good money.
    Try getting a lovely original Niagara, Daisy May, Marble Queen etc for under $3000.
    And it was only a year or so ago 1950 Glamor sold for $15000.
    Original pristine condition, 100% working, and a great title are all critical to get big bucks. And Gottlieb of course.

    As stated in almost every post here condition is king with rare woodrail stuff and other woodrail machines are just a tough sell regardless of price.

    Another bump to the top of the page hoping to get Jim more help with price ideas on these machines. Jim is a great guy and I spent a couple hours with him last week. However I think the issue he is going to have with these machines is the conditions they were stored in. The machines I picked up had mice living in them at some point - which is understandable since they were being stored in a old Turkey or Chicken barn converted to mini storage units. I have to assume these other machines he is asking about have had the same life.

    Titles will help but in my eyes condition will be the issue here. And sadly since values on most are so low anyway most people just don't want "major projects" when it comes to EM's or woodrail machines these days. Early machines need to be a labor of love and they just don't get the love the deserve anymore. VERY SAD for sure!

    #11 6 years ago

    Another BUMP to top of the page to see if anyone else has any input for a great guy.

    #12 6 years ago

    To give any more input, we need to at least know the titles.

    #13 6 years ago

    It is tough without knowing the names. What value would you guys put on above average condition, Balls-A-Poppin and Gottlieb KO?

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