This is a hell of a BIN deal for ebay.
ebay.com link: Gottlieb Wild Life Pinball Machine Semi Project Nice Playfield Backglass

Very clean machine. needs "sling" plastics though.

I have one I am selling $300 cheaper. Near perfect cosmetics on PF and BG.liteshopping.jpg

My favorite deals are for dead EMs. I paid $125 for this World Fair that had been dead for 25 years, It came with about $100 in new coils (none needed to repair it). Finest example you'll ever see. PF near perfect, cab redone correctly and complete restore done by yours truly. It's a keeper. Finalpics 008sm.JPGpf-before-after-sm.JPG

Nice shape. These playfields seem to hold up well on these WF. I originally guessed it's value at 800, that's a bit generous on closer inspection. BG paint is delaminating a bit where the tape was, the apron art is wiped out and the body was 1/2 repainted similar to original, PF is decent, a bit of touch up at the flippers where it rubbed. yellowed plastics but really nice pf otherwise.

For 2.8K you'd think he'd wipe off his camera lens.

WT??

ebay.com link: 1958 Gottlieb Wood Rail Pinball RocketShip Side Panels Original Paint FREEPOST

24 watchers already. How cool would that be to grab at the opening bid but it'll never happen. the BIN of $750 is a steal on a Square Head in that shape.

ebay.com link: Square Head pinball machine Gottlieb RARE TITLE Wedgehead
Shh don't tell the other 24 watchers he changed the format to $99 starting bid no reserve. This baby is selling. I'll bite, that's me from $99 to $250.

I'm guessing it goes over his original BIN price of $745

Holy Crap! Sold for $357? Someone got a sweet deal.

No, Not me.

I have one in better shape I would let go for less than the this one's starting bid here in Chapel Hill if anyone would be interested. Mylar day 1 around pops, shooting lane and arch.

I used one of his el dorado pf in a restore. Great work. Better than the CPR mata Hari I recently did.

That's wade himself listing it. I would contact him directly if you want one of his playfields. F greedbay

Sweet Sweetheart. I bumped it up a bit I must admit even though it's in Oregon, a far off land from there parts...

It's a "Basher" I got two $50 projects as well from the same seller. A Gottlieb "mini pool" (sweet) and a bally's "Surfers" with zipper flippers.

Did anyone post this? This guy looks like he does a nice job. Cab looks repainted (correct) with a nicely shopped playfield. Seems he's giving it away at his asking price to me.
ebay.com link: Restored Gottlieb Top Score 2 Player Pinball Machine Inc 6 Month Warranty

I noticed that too, a mark against what looked like a thorough job.

OMG, was this supposed to help??

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LOL! good catch.

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They were called clickers because they make a click noise. They were tuning fork like devices making different frequency sounds for different buttons.

Sweet deal, looks like an easy fix and in nice shape though it looks like a cab repaint would be needed. It's actually in Haverhill Massachusetts though.

FUN Aka Steve Nordseth has been around for many years selling on ebay. Deal with him at arm's length. He will hide/omit issues when selling. Not a straight shooter. I speak from personal experience.

Except all pics came from IPDB, looking like a scam or bait and switch.

Seller confirmed that's not his "Mexico" pictured.

Nice price on the Flipper Clown, saw what looked like dark coloratioin in the wood around the pops like it was water damaged but not bad at all.

My guess it never hits reserve. No one buyer is likely looking for 4 holy grails.

1947 Mexico I thought was fishy due to IPDB pics used turned out to be NICER than the borrowed pics after striking up a conversation with the seller. Ended up grabbing it. I'll post pics later. My first flipperless pin.

You are more generous than I am, I put a $200 value on non-headliner pins that need shopping as these all appear to need. Good deal at $800 no more.

Supply and demand, I understand.

It was certainly a repaint and the correct theme was used but poorly prepped and executed IMO. Definately worth $300 but it'll fetch more.

Near Chicago, there are lots of pins there, Guessing $575-600

It was DOA, turned out to be a dirty 30A solenoid power fuse holder preventing the hold relay from engaging. Unbelievable shape with zero ball swirl, solid playfield and cabinet, even the pop caps are nice. A bit of paint crazing on the dancing girls legs and dress. Ended up getting it off greedbay. Needs a couple bugs worked out but it's playable.

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WOW, someone got a great deal on a desirable wedgehead. Hope it was one of you guys.

FAIL!

Not a Wedgehead but I can see how you might think so from the angle. Gottlieb didn't make any multi player wedgies though I think CC or United or somebody did.

You got that right, pound for pound, the best pin deals to be had IMO

It looks like he did a decent job on the restore. Couple nits, he dimpled the siderails around the nails removing them, shooter rod is crooked and the playfield could have been detailed better but nothing that could not be fixed and very presentable as is.

Sweet machine GLWTS

I saw this on an American Pickers episode I think. No joke.

Anyone see this?
ebay.com link: 1979 Gottlieb Sinbad Pinball machine project
$300 BIN with OBO option. Sure it's not strictly EM but not far from it.

Surprised the Mayfair is back. It sold for $200 last week. PF looks great. I have one like it with a worse cabinet. Looking forward to restoring it. Must have been canceled incorrectly by owner before.

ebay.com link: 1947 United Mexico pinball machine Shopped and working
Old School, Mine FS, make an offer!

Price drop! Make an offer off ebay, I just might!

Final drop in listing price - 47 United "Mexico"

ebay.com link: itm

OBO - You'll get a better deal if you go direct

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I Feeex

Final final price drop $499, OBO 1947 United Mexico
ebay.com link: 1947 United Mexico pinball machine Shopped and working

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Bump, ready to deal!

I know I said the last price reduction was the last but I purchased a Jukebox (a sweet jukebox) so I need the space. United "Mexico" Flipperless woodrail Gorgeous, only $399 (OBO)
ebay.com link: itm
Make an offer. It really is surprisingly a lot of fun.

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Within 60 miles, sure. 50 cents a mile

If it was just $500 cheaper and 500 miles closer.... Nice machine though.

No the price is not outrageous in the slightest, actually about right for what it looks like if it does not need any work but I prefer to get them a bit more farm fresh and restore them myself. Used to be I had a $200 rule on EMs but have softened up on that lately. I'll go as high as $600 for a project if it's the right title. Perhaps more than that for the heavy hitters.

I would be tempted to get this one for a complete restore but the repop backglass is made by Shay. I was not impressed with the Shay BG I bought for El Dorado, the opaque areas let through lots of light. I can spot a Shay a mile away and won't repeat that mistake again.

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I enjoy playing mine in the dark. Have seen other El Dorados with the same halo effect. Hopefully it's just the bright color and limited to this title. I also have a Webb, very happy with it. Could be it was just a bad batch. It bothered me enough that I sold the game. Yeah I'm a picky bastard.

It must be the bright yellow opaque area because even the bgresto lets some light through. Yes the shay was much better than the flaking original. I guess you can't judge a body of work from a single example. Anyone have a shay picture lit up with dark ambient lighting other than el dorado they can share? I may have been hasty to dismiss all shay glass based on my limited experience.

The art and colors were spot on no complaints at all about that. The glass was thicker than the original and a tad wider too. So much so I had to slightly modify the blocking that centers it in the head to make it fit. Again no complaints there the only problem I had was the silver backing on the opaque areas didn't do its job adequately. Especially in a dark room. The glow around the translucent areas was horrible. Look at the cowboy and the score window on my pic. You can make out where the individual blubs are and where the lightbox recesses end. Can anyone confirm this is limited to just el dorado? Shay makes a lot of great titles I would like to restore some day but it was like putting butter cream frosting on a wedding cake with this restore.

Ok, last OT, the rest of the machine I restored, New Wade Kraus PF, new coin door nad bezel, new posts, new plastics, new drop targets, new target faces, cabinet restored to original by yours truly, new legs and levelers, new pf glass and backglass, (of course). Complete shop out with new rubber, coil sleeves, main board off detailing. Essentially a new machine. Lots of love in it, that's why I was so nit-picky on the glass. The one telltale sign it was not original out of box, that and the brown on the cab might be a tad too dark. Also the new owner pointed out the coin door strike plate was not supposed to be painted, I provided a new replacement with it. It now resides in Australia. The World Fair went to England and I just finished restoring BAB and loaded it up to go to Florida last night.

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nice grab! Just sold mine and miss it.

I

Just a bad auction, that title and example is easily worth $400 plus.

Rat, I see you have a ship-mates. I'm mid restore on mine. Have yet to play a game on it. BGresto has the art now! had my bg reproduced. Looks like a keeper. the old glass was not that bad but wanted it perfect. Rechromed lockdown end caps, should be pretty nice once done.

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Sure, we hoard everything. New stashes are created as fast as old ones are "discovered" Lots of old farts like us are collecting these stray machines that will likely end up in storage after we pass on and they will one day be rediscovered. Operator hoards are dwindling but collector hoards are growing no doubt.

Woops! Striking distance, 4 player 60s Gott, that has my name written all over it! Offer submitted! This will be a full restore if I get it.

I want a flip a card as well, one of my favs from my youth. Had one but it was too much a project to get perfect. LMK if you have one with good potential, maybe we can work something out.

Agreed, BG roached, Plastics, roached, playfield, roached (literally lol)

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I sent my restored El Dorado to Australia for $3750, Waaaay too cheap I'm guessing now. New PF, plastics, posts, coin door, BG, targets, flippers, and whole a lot of labor.

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Well they are chime units. so testing isn't really needed as long as they are complete and undamaged. The price? meh, about what they go for but can be found cheaper. Can be hard to find. I sold a spare I had for 1/2 that. (sorry none now)

What an incestuous little click we are. Glad it's in the "family"

I would love to see the market support high end restorations on these old EMs but this is a bit over the top price wise. I can see 1/2 the asking price happening to the right buyer.

One of the very rare occasions I actually lost money selling a pin was ironically to you. If you bide your time and buy right, invest a little sweat equity, it's hard to lose money in this hobby. Prices seem to have been on a steady rise ever since I started collecting some 13 or 14 years ago.

GLWTS! he'll need it. I see about $200 in that machine. PF does look nice though. All it needs is a cabinet repaint ($500), new backglass ($300) coin door ($100) and about 60 hours labor at about $40/hr if you can find someone to do it for you. Add the BIN price to the shipping and you have a really nice machine there for a hair under 5k. Kind of liking my Spin A card for $300. Shopped it without having to buy any parts. I had a new PF glass, rubbers and a decent set of posts on hand. Thinking the 1000 mile drive each way with a mini vacation tacked on is looking pretty cheap about now.

Sorry, wrong thread... disregard

Oops, edited.

I'd put it at $400

I'll pay $400 for an "A" title EM as long as it's complete and the PF, plastics and cabinet are salvageable (provided I'm looking for a project). Backglass can be replaced.

Score! Good deal at $619
ebay.com link: Original Central Park Pinball Machine NICE

I took a gamble on this thinking $600 is good for even a fair Central Park. Backglass, cabinet and pf all amazing shape, super clean, even the wire bundles look new. This thing is cherry. Here's the cleaned playfield with no touch-ups.

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They must have had the playfield process dialed in on this title. I am seeing a lot of really nice examples on the web. This pf is one of the nicest originals I have ever seen and I have seen a lot of them. I'm excited to get this back together, My tumbler is doing it's thing as I type and my PBR order is being processed.

For the right buyer, $660 isn't bad if they need some of those game specific parts and can sell the rest. They may end up with their parts for free once redundant parts are sold off.

If I didn't just get a really nice one in January, I'd be all over that.

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That ain't parker, look at the eyes, 2d-profile style faces. Parker's art was miles better.

Not so sure that (Birdland) is a Parker work.

That is the best they could do with the medium tip sharpie they had..

My webbing. Montana Web effect paint.

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I did a BAB, Sadly this spray only comes in black and silver, not blue. I tried the paint gun method. decent but not right. Came out too thin.

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for 2 bills... I'm in

I started off the bidding and was kind of glad when I got outbid. On one hand, a $200 wedge head is a super deal, on the other hand it was 4 hours away and I'm not in restoration mode just now. I have 3 waiting. Actually thinking of selling my Merry Go Round if anyone is interested. Have $450 in it (and 2000 miles RT to get it) Super backglass and playfield, cab needs paint.

Hell, I got $650 for my Vulcan (with new plastics), really nice 4P version. Pin People sure like chicks huh?

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Those restored machines were a bargain.

Who got the KOD in AL?

Only $8.70 shipping!

More than you’d think. I bought held for a year or so and sold a nice one in the same price range $300. Beautiful machine for a decoration alone worth the price.