Omaha, NE
WOW! Thanks for the picks. I've seen some bad condition pins before, but those are really BAD! Be cool to see what you save out of the mess.
Good luck and wear gloves and a mask!
Joe
(Topic ID: 205204)
Quoted from Grayman_EM:I've had mine. I would still buy them as everyone here hates to see pins go to the junkyard. You could at least see if anything was salvageable if not repairable in the lot. As a pinsider told me ultrasonic cleaners can do wonders on rust.
Ultrasonic does nothing on rust in my experience. Evaporust on the other hand, it works wonders.
I would not hesitate to pick up the lot @ $600~800. Tons of good parts there for sure & probably at least a couple that could be restored.
So to put a cap on this I would say the naysayers win the thread. I made a deal for about $75 a pin which included the truck. My son was out of school today so it is him and I on this adventure. I arrive, pay and start digging in. The machines were crumbling around us but in some respects it made getting every part we wanted home easier. We kicked all but two machines apart salvaging parts.
The Williams Ringer turned out to have a lot of rot around the bottom but could be saved with some serious wood working. Contact me about it if you want it as I don't think I can do it justice. I'll let it go cheap to some willing to save it.
As the day progressed and we dug deeper we hoped for paydirt and we might have found it:
1) Old army trunk .. empty though
2) 1928 trade stimulator
3) Endless coins mech pre dating the machines
Better go find those experts -
You ask would I do it again .. not sure but the one big memory in all this is the day with my son
Mike V
IMG_1624 (resized).JPGIMG_1627 (resized).JPGIMG_1625 (resized).JPGIMG_1626 (resized).JPG
If you want more memories with your son that don’t cost you $600 I have a whole bunch of crap you guys can come by and clean up for me.
Sounds like an entertaining day at least and you probably have all the parts you need now for life.
Yeah, I was thinking the Ringer would be needing some lower wood working..
Although I have one, if you were within distance, I'd surely fix it up. After
completion, she'd be a nice trading piece..
A couple of the backglasses looked decent. How are they actually?
Quoted from Mopar:Yeah, I was thinking the Ringer would be needing some lower wood working..
Although I have one, if you were within distance, I'd surely fix it up. After
completion, she'd be a nice trading piece..
A couple of the backglasses looked decent. How are they actually?
The two 'best' ones were the Beatnik and King Cool. The 2 in 1 is still in the head and haven't checked the back yet.
The Clover Bell slot machine glass was very good to and that was the oldest machine there
I will say the colors what was left of the paint in all the backglass was fabulous since these thing hadn't seen light for 40 years
I would strip the most rotten ones out outside wearing a army-issued gasmask if i where you LOL
But i would strip them of everything and save in a bin or box, never know when siderails, playfield glasses, screws, legs or parts are in need.
Quoted from RacingPin:The owner says they can be wiped off and put in a museum.
Make sure to wipe them front to back.
12291852_909389479115358_3282542696332501592_o (resized).jpg
Pity the Olympic Hockey backglass looks like it is rough shape, I would like to have one. Mine is falling apart!
Saskatoon, SK
Nothing like spending 600 or so bucks to learn a lesson. Might I suggest you learn to say NO to your impulsive inner voice more often.
Melbourne
Quoted from SuperDaveOsbourn:Nothing like spending 600 or so bucks to learn a lesson. Might I suggest you learn to say NO to your impulsive inner voice more often.
One man's junk....
Quoted from SuperDaveOsbourn:Nothing like spending 600 or so
According to the buyer the deal was for 75.00 per machine at 10 machines is $750.00 cost.
Quoted from wiredoug:treasure...
Quoted from jrpinball:One man's junk....
Was it worth it? 
Only the buyer will know once he has spent time sorting and selling all the parts.
Just hope he has fun either way as that it is just another part of what makes the hobby great. 
Quoted from EM-PINMAN:According to the buyer the deal was for 75.00 per machine at 10 machines is $750.00 cost.
Was it worth it?
Only the buyer will know once he has spent time sorting and selling all the parts.
Just hope he has fun either way as that it is just another part of what makes the hobby great.
Hell yes they are worth that. Parts man, parts!
My problem would be where to store it all.
Another day and time spent with my son. So far we have 8 hours on the preview and transport to the house. Today we spent another 5 hours hoping to get all playfield pulled apart. We cut all wires and removed all male jones plug. Finished up 4 playfields only.
Total time so far: 13x2 people= 26 hours
We took one apart from each manufacture. Interesting to note: Ballys had the most rotted screws and metal parts though it was the oldest. Gottlieb had the most parts that were useable. Chicago coin had the most rotted wood.
Here's the tally so far:
William Ringer.:Offer of $400 for it
Trade Stimulator: Collectors gave me a $500 value
Plastics: estimate at $5 each:$100
Gridiron top parts: $20
Box of flipper parts: $100
Box of pop bumper parts: $70
Box of slings/kickers: $30
Box of Jones plugs (male all machines): $2 each x 40 = $80
Box of misc relays = $40
Box of Chime/Gridiron parts/ax relay/gate etc: $150
Box of lane guides/pop tops: $20
Box of switches: $10
Box of targets: $20
Box of posts: $10
Apron: $20
Paper work (all that was savable): $20
Steppers/Relay banks: $50
I've come to the conclusion that this guy probably was an operator since we also found:
50+ locks : $50
40+ coin mechs to everything dating back to the 50s: $200
So total so far in parts: $990.
Ringer/trade stim: $900
$1890 so far on the conservative end. We are about 1/3 done. At the end we'll add in labor and see how we did.
Keep in mind I will keep some and sell some.
Mike V
Score! wait until the 3000-4000 in parts you scrapped takes about 500-1000 hours to sell. Go to a show, lay it out, and you will benefit. Selling at the prices you think you have right now are FleeceBay pricing, and you won't get that at shows. Time with son, possibly timeless and priceless. The lessons about dad's decisions and judgement are part of it, and he will come out of this ahead regardless. Some of those plastics are nice.
Quoted from RacingPin:Another day and time spent with my son. So far we have 8 hours on the preview and transport to the house. Today we spent another 5 hours hoping to get all playfield pulled apart. We cut all wires and removed all male jones plug. Finished up 4 playfields only.
Total time so far: 13x2 people= 26 hours
We took one apart from each manufacture. Interesting to note: Ballys had the most rotted screws and metal parts though it was the oldest. Gottlieb had the most parts that were useable. Chicago coin had the most rotted wood.
Here's the tally so far:
William Ringer.:Offer of $400 for it
Trade Stimulator: Collectors gave me a $500 value
Plastics: estimate at $5 each:$100
Gridiron top parts: $20
Box of flipper parts: $100
Box of pop bumper parts: $70
Box of slings/kickers: $30
Box of Jones plugs (male all machines): $2 each x 40 = $80
Box of misc relays = $40
Box of Chime/Gridiron parts/ax relay/gate etc: $150
Box of lane guides/pop tops: $20
Box of switches: $10
Box of targets: $20
Box of posts: $10
Apron: $20
Paper work (all that was savable): $20
Steppers/Relay banks: $50
I've come to the conclusion that this guy probably was an operator since we also found:
50+ locks : $50
40+ coin mechs to everything dating back to the 50s: $200
So total so far in parts: $990.
Ringer/trade stim: $900
$1890 so far on the conservative end. We are about 1/3 done. At the end we'll add in labor and see how we did.
Keep in mind I will keep some and sell some.
Mike V
It's gonna take forever to sell that stuff. Not too liquid. Hope it sells.
You might not make money, but someday, some guy will need some of those parts, you'll have them, and to him you will be a GOD DAMN HERO... and can you really put a price on that??
I'm only going after parts that make sense and I have a proven track record of selling them. We aren't selling screws/bulbs/sockets/wire/upper aprons .. etc. I've been selling pinball parts for 3 years now on ebay. More time ahead listing them but I figure 80% could be sold in six months. Plastics can take a while to sell though. Of course I will keep samplings of items I don't have but don't hoard parts. I always bundle parts and never list anything under $20
Mike V
Been selling used pinball parts at shows for 20 years now and I appreciate your enthusiasm and what your doing....
The reality of it is that you have nothing special on those pictures other then the chime units and those are not as easy to sell as they once were either. It will take a hundred people to pick it up at your booth (which is a huge expense btw., plus the gas, food, lodging.....etc.) before someone wants it for half of what you put on it. Those posts, switches, aprons, used locks .....are just not worth the table space they will take up and hauling them around from show to show. They might as well go on the free table and then people might take them. Used coils are like a $1 each and there still hard to sell unless you find that one guy at the show that needs it at that moment because the reset coil in his 1963 Gottlieb just burned up. Plastics, are $1 each because again you have to find that ONE guy that needs them. Nice coin mechs are a struggle to get $3 out of. Pop bumper caps unless there rare, nice and unbroken have a $1 value to them. Those pop bumper assemblies, metal pieces, etc.....might as well go on the free table too. Trust me. In the end a lot of that stuff just needs to be given away and guys will walk away with a smile on your face and perhaps come back later and buy something significant. I'm not trying to rain on your parade really but rather give you some insight on how I've seen the market at the shows work. Now a days guys are mostly interested in flashy LED's and this is why I don't do shows like Chicago Expo anymore, too much overhead and not enough sales on the used parts market.
Gook luck however, I wish you the best.
John
Quoted from Dayhuff:Been selling used pinball parts at shows for 20 years now and I appreciate your enthusiasm and what your doing
John thanks for your insight. Here in the south we don't have options to go to shows that sell used pinball parts. Sounds like I need to make a trip up north as a buyer though. That is dedication hauling those items back and forth .. I'm lucky just to find a good storage spot to keep them save.
Selling on eBay has worked great for me. I allow overseas sales as well. I understand what sells and what doesn't. You reach other markets to like artists and homebrew/robotic folks. Three years so far and only 2% don't sell within a year. 80% sell in 6 months. Just sell them priced just below all others for common parts and fairly for others.
I'll report back in 6 months to wrap up the thread.
Mike V
Mike,
As I posted earlier you will be just fine. I have been selling parts online for over 5 years now and it is a lot of work for a fairly small return but I still enjoy doing it because I know my parts help save machines. If you look through all the post on this entire topic you will see very few people are truly into trying to save what can be saved and it is either all about money to them or they are afraid to get a little dirty and do a little work.
My bet would be you will triple you money by the time you are done. Dollar per hour will likely work out to about what a Wal-Mart Greeter makes but who cares. Parts are going to people they will help and the stuff didn't end up in a landfill!
I have parted out a machine here and there but I would able to quickly figure out it all made sense. This deal was different since I didn't know what was left that was usable. Indeed this is for love of family time and then pinball. I'm shooting for $20 an hour so let's see how I do. So far I'm ahead but I still need to get the rest of the parts off and then time to list/pack the items.
Mike V
Minus labor, will not the Ringer and a couple of the backglass
get you just short of what you have into it moneywise?
2 weeks later
Tally up all the time, energy, expense and its clear you are driving on what some would call the black ice of business. Kinda appealing at first, enticing, fun and exciting. Yet quickly it turns into a nightmare. One good thing will come from this, a lesson on how to not mix hobby and business.
Quoted from SuperDaveOsbourn:Tally up all the time, energy and expense, and its clear what you are doing is driving on the black ice of business. Kinda appealing at first, enticing, fun. Without studs it turns into a nightmare quickly. Might be good for you, family, the hobby, yet clearly not a solid business decision from day one.
I got the impression that he was doing this for fun and just the experience... better than watching TV imo
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