I received a Back Hole shipped from NY to GA that wasn’t crated. The seller did a good job of shrink wrapping the pin and used two orange straps to fasten the pin to the pallet.

I only paid $700 for the Black Hole so I was willing to take the risk. If it’s an expensive pin I’d use Navl or a collector. There’s a guy in SC that does a lot of pin hauling to offset his costs for picking up his pins. I can’t remember his name but he’s cheaper than Navl and blanket wraps and ships in a trailer.

I've shipped/received 3 pins - all older games, not close to a NIB. Just shrink wrapped and strapped down to a pallet, nothing broken. Good service. I have a local office within 5 miles, so makes it easy.

Sorry,, those 3 were with Fastenal. No issues

I have had good experiences using Fastenal. The only time I had an issue is when the seller left the balls in the game and it arrived with shattered playfield glass. The trick is getting the seller to crate, wrap and drop off. Much less expensive than STI.

And the seller has to bring their own pallet per company policy.

So sti crates them? My understanding was they ship with legs on, head folded ( unless seller breaks it all down) - and they somehow then get secured in the truck?

I have had about three or four games shipped with fastenal never had an issue.

STI does not crate them.

I've shipped a few games via Fastenal strapping to a pallet and shrink-wrapping. All games were shipped with zero issues and arrived on-time. I have shipped a few with STI/Beltmann and had issues: one heading from DC to Washington state has hit with a forklift (TSPP) and one from DC to the midwest arrived with several leg bolts stripped (Shadow). These machines left my place without these issues and the TSPP was unfortunately collector's quality. I understand that Fastenal doesn't offer insurance and you have to pallet which are barriers to some, but my experiences have been excellent and the STI/Beltmann pricing is very high and their full insurance has a lot of limitations so I'm told.

Thank you! And in other threads some folks said it was just fear mongering to say STI has forked dozens of games and insurance is a total bitch with them. They usually end up forking the nicest games too.

Good results with Fastenal. Works best for lower cost games.

So with a game shipping with legs on, are they still loaded / unloaded with a forklift? Or just man handled onto / off a lift gate?

I've shipped a bunch out, never paid to have a game shipped to me only a few nib. It really will come down to how much you can trust the seller to package the game, but also the value of the game being worth having insurance. I've not shipped out fastenal yet but I would if the buyer requested. I also take a stupid amount of pictures and video before, during and after wrapping it up. Then send to buyer so they can use for verification and any insurance.

There are also a few members on the forum that deliver games as they drive around the US, that is also an option. I have always over wrapped my games, but for the added benefit I will now only do the Broba pink foam over wrap bulletproof method. Obviously a fork will go through but you have a little more leeway for some bumps.

I’ve heard that STI/Navl insured values are really low. You have to ask for additional insurance, and document it in an email. They don’t use an insurance company. If you file a claim you’ll need to hound them and threaten to hire a lawyer to get them to pay you.

I've use Fastenal and wrapped the hell out of it, took to them and they gave me the pallet, which I strapped to with two ratchet clamps, traveled 2000 miles and no issues.

I just setup shipping with sti and was asked for the value and name of pin being shipped, in an email. I’d assume that’s the value being insured, as I wasn’t told otherwise

I'd check to be sure. The company asking value doesn't mean it insures it.

LTG : )

As a seller I was nice enough to hunt down a pallet and cardboard, then wrap and strap a number of games through Fastenal and all arrived without any issues. STI has lost a topper and coinbox to a JP and damaged my walls in the hallway while moving out 2 games. On the receiving end I had an escalera shipped to me from across the country with Fastenal and arrived safe and sound. If you find someone nice enough to bust the pin down, bring it to fastenal and wrap and strap I think it's worth the risk unless you're shipping a high end restore.

I shipped him one of those games.

No issues on this end with shipping. It's more work on the seller's part to prepare and deliver, but I was happy with the process overall.

If you even look on Craigslist or a local contractor they usually have pallets they are happy to give away.
Last summer I made my kids a quick pallet fort with old pallets a contractor dropped off in my driveway for me, free of charge.

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That's cool !

LTG : )

No document- but Michelle confirmed it’s insured fir the games value, uncrated on legs

Trying to get a game sent from ALabama to MD...looks like they top out coverage at 5k?

Thx

Fastenal doesn’t offer insurance unless the pin is crated. I don’t know what their max value is for insurance.