Good enough.
Seems like everyone now is addicted to buying as much shit as possible for a machine, so they're probably happy to buy the BG themselves.

In this market, you can take a dump on the playfield and it will sell for top dollar.

You can't please all buyers. Telling someone a game is "good enough" will always be subjective.

I remember selling a game I had for a very short time. I told the buyer "it looks good, but, I don't know anything else. I haven't dug into it at all."

I was later told that I "oversold" the game. Long story short: some people won't be satisfied, no matter how you present a game.

There are alot of people out there that want a project. The more doable the project is, the more people will be interested in it. There are also lots of people who prefer "lesser pins".

Unless you are trying to do a full restoration, I say "good enough" and sell it as it currently is.

Price it what you would price it with a new BG. Then subtract the cost of the BG from it. Or vice versa. Just be upfront about it.

Funny topic. I had done virtually everything on a Bally Rolling Stones. New: Backglass, blue powder coat legs, cabinet paint, full Alltek boards, Blue LED displays, plastics, posts. But I didn't touch up the playfield as it was worn.

I got so much abuse on the playfield not being done, I had to use the vinyl overlay with clear to complete it. (CPR was not ready at the time.)

I was finally able to sell it, but reduced what I wanted out of it (due to the overlay.)

I guess my mistake, I should have held onto it now and demanded a exceedingly high price.

I've been thinking about this very same topic with my Surf 'n Safari. I've installed almost all LEDs on it, cleaned most of the playfield, but never did a full teardown. Still has some dirt trails on the plastic slides and the shooter lane, etc. Everything works on it except for one of the slingshots occasionally triggering a few more times than normal. I also installed a cliffy outhole protector because the wear was nasty in this one spot.

Basically, I only did a partial shop job on it, and I'm not sure if I'll do a whole lot more on it.

I tried selling it last year but got a sour taste in my mouth after a potential buyer kept tire kicking me. He was saying his "friend" had a way better Surf 'n Safari, mine was a "below average" example, he would only ever pay X amount of dollars for it, etc. Dude, just say you're not interested and move on.

The point I'm trying to make is, if you're willing to be patient and also deal with tire kickers here and there, you should be able to sell your machine as is.

As long as it’s advertised accurately and priced accordingly I’d say it’s good.