looks like an $1800 tag on the bg cj, but i dunno if that was the show price either...

personally, i'd pass at that price... the machine is not as "good" as the description makes it out to be...

it is listed here on pinside for $1800...

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/drop-a-card-restored-for-sale

I sold a very nice all-around original Drop a Card - collector quality - with some very minor tasteful pf touch-ups for $1100. The original bg was awesome and nice original cabinet paint. I posted pics of it in the marketplace last fall. You can pick up a nice one in the $600 - $900 range in my area - not sure about Cali.

that sounds more like a reasonable price to me...

I sold this one almost exactly a year ago for $460. Comparable back glass, much nicer play field and fair original cab. I think I left a little money on the table but I got it cheap. Enjoyed it for a couple months and had a buyer lined up without advertising it for sale. No fuss no muss.

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Wow nice deal for someone
Patience is a virtue

Plank City! Bad web job! It looks like they tried to put lipstick on a pig.

Yeah, but mine didn't have LEDs.

Here's pics of the one I sold for $1100 - I actually paid more than that because I wanted a really nice one in a bad way

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Hoov...Someone got a very nice machine for a good price. I am always glad that there are nice sellers that sell nice games in the EM community.

Thanks Rat.

I was lucky enough to get a just-as-nice Pop a Card - since I'm close to Wisconsin it's always nice to try out the aab versions to see how they play. So far it's been fun.

I am not looking to crap all over nifty LEDs eBay ad so I hope they don't take my questions the wrong way..

you aren't crapping all over it... we are pointing out the issues that exist with the machine in the condition it is in, and that it's overpriced...

that's what we are here for... it's not "crapping"... it's "reality"...

From what I can see it has been restored to the level of what "most" hobbyists do... new parts from PBR, polished up the metal bits, new cabinet respray but with thicker & less dense webbing (rattle can) than it should have. Backglass has flaking and playfield is a little faded/planked so I wouldn't count either of those elements as restored.

Hmmmm...

For me it's an all-or-nothing thing and this falls somewhere in between. Seems like someone might buy it for around $1200-$1500.

Yes!

I disagree...I see a game that someone bought for 3-400 dollars. Brought it to players quality 5-600 dollars put 200 dollars in PBR parts and let there 6 year old have fun with the webbing can. I see a 600 dollar game hiding underneath all the dreck.

I know you like to keep it original but many of the $500-$600 wedges I find these days often have more extensive wear spots and backglass flaking not to mention plastics needing replacement, metals polished, and mechs to be serviced. Most of the latter has been addressed from the look of it... so I don't think $1200 is out of the question for a casual retail buyer who just wants to play and not get into any of the restoration stuff.

But yeah, for "us", we're a fussy lot of bargain hunters. :p

Very nice examples AlexF and hoov. Not common to find such deals down here.

Nick you miss the point. They took a planked out game with a playfield that would be best described as a 6 or 7 playfield. then they dressed it up with 200 dollars in parts that could be switched out in 30 minutes and did one of the lousiest repaints. Not the worst I have seen but close to it. So lets add it up shall we.

Working Drop a card in found players condition or non working...300-600 dollars? Lets call it 500.
PBR parts 200 dollars give or take 50 dollars.
Horrible paint job........$ZERO dollars

If my math serves me correct then I see 700 dollars worth of game. (still 600 in my eyes) With a better playfield (non planked and non worn) then you would have 1100 dollars worth of game. If the game had the proper repaint and a non planked / non worn playfield then you are looking at a 1500 dollar game to the right buyer.

I am not a bargain hunter. I wont pass up on one but I pay top reasonable dollar for I feel a game is worth.

Really, looking at the DAC the p/f is too badly worn to do a full restore. Be patient and games appear - sometimes like buses - none for ages and ages and then 3 appear

Sometimes they fly in on planes.

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Where do you find all of these??? Help a girl out will ya and invite me over so I can play some of your EMs your just a few minutes away for gods sake.

All are welcome!

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just don't let bellbrand play big daddy first... it may scare her away from em's forever...

Okay that image just creeped me out..
Just kidding

She can play whatever she likes as long as she brings me some of these.
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Nah, that's way too low. $600 would be a steal... I'd break the speed limit to pick it up at that price all day long.

Let's start with $600 (no flipper drag, minimal flaking, in good shape generally)
$200 for parts & playfield parts
$200 for labor servicing all mechs, lights, polishing metals, switches, sleeves, new power cord, etc.
$100 new coin door and new/shooter/bracket/plate all metals polished and look good
$60 new legs and levelers and bolts
$40 misc

That's $1200 already, with $0 added for repaint. That's why I estimate $1200-$1500 because someone who isn't as discerning might like it as-is.

That's how I got my nickname from those freaking potato chips when I was a kid
That's great..

Do they even make them anymore??

Welcome to your second childhood!

I don't think so.

Ah, the good old days.....

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Out of business in 1995
Now I felt compelled to change my avatar..

I can almost hear Chuck Mangione playing in the background.

Nick....again for the third time.....
The game is a TURD. It has BAD planking. I added value for the parts they put on it. Its a 500 dollars game with 200 dollars worth or parts and legs.

Here is an example of an excellent game in excellent condition with a shitty webbing job and in need of a 35 dollar coin chute from PBR. I would have bought this game for the 2k he wanted (now 1800) if the paint job had been correct. The playfield is gorgeous on this game. This game is an excellent example of a game that should be restored. It is has a 9+ playfield and an excellent backglass (from what I can tell)
ebay.com link: 1963 Gottlieb GIGI PINBALL MACHINE REVISED PRICE

I'm right behind ya!

How can you tell from the photos the play field is in good shape? What should the cab look like?

Should I call you Laura or Scudders

I knew I should have gone with another brand.

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i had to put on some chuck on since you mentioned him...

are we gonna resurrect the chip discussion? mmmm... potato chips... mmmm...

sadly, the best i can remember no longer exists either... granite state potato chips... i can remember getting them when they were still hot, and man were they good...

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Well I'm not sure lays would have any better

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Hey guys price check on this one?

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I know that Rat prefers nice original games in better than average condition and is willing to pay a premium for them. But I have to agree with him here. Unless someone wants to invest the time and money for a game they plan to hang onto (or as an exercise in learning), some games should not receive the effort and/or cost of restoration unless they are going to do it right and complete the job. Someone shouldn't put that much effort into a game with a badly planked playfield unless they first plan to fix the issues with the playfield (or replace it with another). And then turn around and try to get top dollar for the final result.

When you have looked at enough playfields up close and personal, you can know what to look for even through the sometimes crappy Ebay and Craiglist photo you have to deal with. The GiGi has an overall nice original appearance with little to no checking (ball dings), no planking (wood grain lines showing through the paint in large areas of the same color), no flipper drag (those crescent shaped scratched dug in by miss-adjusted flippers), Sun fade or even sun darkening. I hate to use the term but "For its age" it is a very good surviving original example.

As to the cabinet and what it "should" look like, you can search "webbing" and it has been discussed here and elsewhere in length as to what it should and shouldn't look like. Both these examples (Gigi and Drop A Card) appear to be either rattle can (Krylon type Spray Webbing) or badly attempted "flick brush" webbing. The proper webbing is done with Black Enamel in a spray gun and tends to have a much softer appearance with better light coverage throughout. Not the super dark super thick or extended spatter lines in these two. Webbing was typically found on Gottlieb games and was later replace with "spatter" like many of the other manufacturers used.

Wow! There you go. A really nice overall original game in very, very good if not excellent overall shape. Of course, you don't say whether it is working or not. Assuming working, I would say $800-$1200 for So Cal. In fact, if I remember correctly, Mikeincali recently had one up for sale here in the LA area for around $1200 and while I thought he might not get it, it sold in only a couple of days (maybe on the first day). If this game is in So Cal, I am thinking it is the same one.

The only flaw my eyes can see is it looks like someone took steel wool to the brushed stainless steel coin door. But this can be fixed with some elbow grease and some metal polishing pads.

Edit: A little bit of wear around the 5, 2, and 7 ball inserts. But not bad at all.

Thanks being new to the EM scene I am learning everyday and thank you for taking the time out to explain the differences I appreciate it.

It has some insert wear and it works 100%
I just might go for it..

$300-$600 unshopped, not working, but complete; $800+ if all done. Looks like a nice example with excellent original cosmetics, just the way to find them (and leave them!).

Ooops. Remembered that one wrong. Just looked up Mikes ad on RGP (can't be erased!) and he was only asking $795 for it. And it was marked Sold the next day. Unknown if he got full price.

agree with cj and dirt... who both are better at the "pricing thing" than i, fwiw, so if i had disagreed, i'd be wrong... but 800+ working and shopped in that kind of condition wouldn't be out of line...

bg looks to be really nice, a HUGE plus... i'm horribly biased, but a good bg makes the machine...

it is a fun game, with the relatively unique half moon credit wheel, which is cool...

Looking back at Pinside 6 months ago, it appears our own RobT got it from Mike and from the photos, has the same exact insert wear.

nice memory there cj...

The plot thickens.