Some people are morons. I know a guy who had a pile of machines, I made an offer on some of them but he wanted a little more.

So he kept paying for his storage unit ($30 a week) and after 2 years he sold them for what I offered.

104 weeks x $30 = not clever.

rd.

This is the problem that I have ran into as well. Most of the system 11s that I have found are in nice shape and priced accordingly or they are project state and they are priced at the same level as the nice ones.

I also know where there is a building full of them but they are priced as fully working, nice machines.

This is sort of the issue with my friend. He looked on eBay saw a machine for xxx, mind you it was fully restored and felt he should get that for his, or the other infamous "someone (not in the know) told me it was worth xxx". I try to explain the cost of bringing one of these things back to life and in some cases the lack of available parts, but they still think they have gold. Sigh, those machines will sit there until they rot.

For the most part I feel like the System 11's out my way are priced on par with their actual worth, but there does appear to be less of them. I think now that the market seems to be stabilizing and prices in some cases seem to be falling folks may be more willing to let their 11's go as they can afford to move up the chain a bit.

I hope you are right.

I thought about grabbing that with the slugfest to justify shipping, but the slugfest was about $400 too high for me. Earthshaker seemed reasonable, though

One thing I dislike is a seller I have to practically beg for photos.

The Taxi near me has been relisted at $1200. Not much too see expect a few overall shots of the cabinet from different angles and one of the entire playfield.

I ask about playfield wear and was told it had some insert wear. I asked for a detailed photo of the wear and was told he only had the one photo.

Really?!!? He's not giving me much incentive to buy the game, and I've never been one to ask twice.
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i long to find a 1200 taxi listing near me for a working machine at this point.

I got the same response from him today when I contacted him as well. I'd like to have it but..... I can get this for $1200 or drive a hair farther and get a nice whirlwind for $1850. I'm leaning whirlwind right now for sure.

I've never played Taxi, other than on my phone. I'm sure there's a little something lost in the translation.

I really don't need it. I need my parts to come in so my F14 will live, once again. Hopefully tomorrow unless I find something else wrong.

This switch matrix error is killing me.

Picked up a Whirlwind I need to shop, and I can only imagine trading it towards a Funhouse at some point. I think Whirlwind has the better layout & use of space, but Funhouse is fetching some serious coin comparatively, even though the shots, theme integration, quality, etc are so similar. Not sure if it's nostalgia or the "cool" factor of Rudy or what.

WPC prices and system 11s are still pretty different for sure

Come to expo in a few weeks, buy the taxi and bring it, I'll take it off your hands.

not mine, but for sale!
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/fsft-in-virginia-williams-millionaire-600

I just put an offer on that Sorcerer. We'll see where I get. No where near 2k....so we'll see.

I ALSO have been haggling with this guy on a Magnotron EM. He said he saw in "online" for like....$1300. And it was a STEAL at $800. I have told him politely numerous times that for $800 around here you can get a much newer game. He has relisted it on ebay about 4 times and I am always the highest bidder at $250-$350 but his reserve is 8. He just stopped listing it so I called....haven't heard back in a few days. Must be 'waiting for the right moment'

No it was listed in Jersey by itself.1470.00 no bids when I saw it. I have to travel that way in a few weeks so a 2 hr detour on the way home.

Yeah 1473. Guy was also selling slugfest and ice cold beer. It was in an optometrist's office or something. Faded right cabinet?

That's it.The guys a Dentist and apparently spends time working at the Silverball museum.

That's the best price Ive seen in a while for one

Yeah, it was great. I just couldn't justify shipping the one pin, and his slugfest was listed around 1300. I'll get that slugfest yet...

I'm almost all DMD now, other than my couple sys11s. I never intended to go this way, but as another deep or great machine comes up, it seems the older pre-90s are falling. I have Taxi, but sold that, and thought I'd be able to sell F14 and Pinbot.

I take forever to make decisions - and after going back to Pinbot several times, trying to decide if I could let it go, I decided for sure it's never leaving. The music and sounds, and the play - it really is a near perfect machine. I was on the fence with my F14, as I needed the room, but no way could I just keep Pinbot, so F14 stays as well, which was my first purchase.

There is a lost charm with the end of the sys11 era for sure. It bled a little into WPC's, into games like Funhouse.

I struggle with this a lot. I'm really tight on space, and now since I have put some work into it, my "bottom rung machine", Bally Atlantis is near the top for me. My wife doesn't care for Pinbot, but my friends really do. When I complete a game on Pinbot I love to stand for a moment and watch the lights and listen to the music. It would be hard to let that one go.

Pinbot is hypnotic. The ludicrous thoughts of selling it are well gone.

One more dried up my way today. Very nice Cyclone, making it 7 system 11's and 1 Shaq to mix it up a bit. lol

I loved pinbot to but selling it recently was a no brainer! I agree its great for home use but I had it on location and its such an unforgiving game that eats newbies for breakfast! My revenue has doubled with last action hero as its kinder/gentler and has more going on for beginners.Big difference for game for expert home use and money maker on location.

Hey, me too!

i just paid over 2000 for my taxi...
It was worth it IMO
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Yours must be missing the center post between the flippers. Kids and guests love that feature , gravitate toward it because of the extra chance to keep the ball in play.

WOW, why so much? Did you need it shipped? From these pics it doesn't look much different from the $900 Taxi I bought, except for maybe the topper is not yellowed like mine.

good question.

System 11's are definitely getting harder to find in the East - they are widely held pins.
And, when someone deals one - it's usually to get a different system 11. I'm keeping my one, and adding another in a year or so.

Some of the best original themes in pinball history lie in the system 11 series, along with some sequels better that original games (Space Station, Cyclone).
And, they hold up well once shopped right.

No such thing as a bad system 11 either - all of them are good in some way.

You may have gotten a real good buy on your Taxi @900 . AaronJames Taxi looks quite a bit better then average to me (the best I can tell) PF looks very good, cab too, I think pinscore display. If it don't need ramps, esp. spinout ramp, plastics, other assorted repairs, why wouldn't it be on the higher end of the range?

Great that you got a deal on yours but why shit on his purchase? He bought it because he thought it was worth it.

Chris

boston pinball lists 5 taxis sold between may 2013-may 2014 for an average of $2155. $2000 isn't as bad as you think.

theres no question is should be on the higher end of the range but for taxi, thats range stops around 1200 (barring NIB, or perfect games)

those are based on the ebay number which may not be an actual selling price.

Totally agree. I could easily go with nothing but System 11 games and be completely happy with my collection. As it stands, I only have one, but I'm hoping to add another one within the next year.

Hey, relax. It's not "SHITTING" on his purchase....it's called discussion. I was curious, I don't know what's in it, or where it came from that the price seemed above board. If you can't handle it, then oh well.

I'd make that around $1500 for super nice, not counting full restorations of course.

I didn't say top end, I said higher end, it can certainly go it 1500 for a pristine game, but even a full on restore isn't "worth" 2500-3000. a person may put that much into a game but that does not make it intrinsically that value. Lots of people are very willing to put more into a game than its worth. I've done it too.

I can handle it just fine. Let's look at what you wrote again....

Seems like you were saying he paid way too much from your post. Again, just conversation, and an opinion

Chris

taxi is really on the rise. I remember when one sat for awhile at 800-1100 awhile ago locally. now the average seems to be up around 2000. it is a classic game, but wowzers

The real Taxi eBay sales data (I can only get as far back as last September) is:

11-25-13: $2300 Best offer sale (dealer, asking $2695)
12-6-13: $1181 Buy it now sale
12-19-13: $2000 Best offer sale (dealer, asking $2800)
2-17-14: $2600 Buy it now (2fer listing which included both Taxi and Grand Lizard)
9-13-14: $1034 Auction sale (starting bid of $400)

My opinion - to me the range is $900 for a beater on up to $1500 for really nice, but as with many of the classics from time to time someone who will pay much more comes out of the woodwork.

People are going to pay what they are going to pay for a game that they desire, I understand that. I'm just floored that some folks consider above $2K to be "the going rate" for an above average Taxi that is not a full resto, in such a short period of time.

I'm with you, It seems that once a game picks up renewed notoriety ,it tends to make a quick jump.Usually after plastics and or playfields are released.

I want a cyclone !!

Cyclone is another title gaining price is System 11 land. One of the best IMO

I guess folks are jumping on the hype....and thinking Taxi's value is soaring. No pics, but to me it just doesn't sound like a $2K example, with it needing some cabinet work.

Taxi (Lola), 1988 Williams: $2195.00
Fully shopped out, flippers all rebuilt, all items removed from the playfield and cleaned. New rubber rings, lamps, pinballs, new legs, levelers, bolts. Also new replacement left ramp, battery pack replaced as well. Good crisp displays. New chrome legs. Cabinet is good with some scratches front and right sides. Comes with new lock and has a manual.

Rollergames price dropped to $1,200.00

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/fs-rollergames-in-so-cal#post-1926480

Taxi's are still going up - picked up mine 2 years ago for 1,200 - doubt I would be able to find the same game for that price now.

Of the Sys 11 games I've played, it is one of the best.

Come on guys, you're all whining about the high prices and here is a good deal on a cool game.

Someone buy it before he parts it out!!

rd.

sacramento.craigslist.org link
sacramento.craigslist.org link