(Topic ID: 53222)
Linked Games
Haunted House
Gottlieb, 1982-
Street Fighter II
Gottlieb, 1993
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Paradise, NV
MrBally,
Never thought a need to block thumbs down votes or even negative comments. If somebody wants to share a dislike, so be it. It makes the "likes" more legitimate. However, a bulk dislike of 69 vids was rather childish in my opinion. You're absolutely right. Selling games is a battle. Thankfully, we live on service not sales. Also a battle based on difficulty & parts overhead, but not competition. We're the only game within our 100-mile service area. Thanks for your comment!
Its understandable to be upset, but IMO smearing them while defending yourself just makes you look bad too.
Regardless of whatever other business practices he has, Todd went out of his way to help me dig up an odd manual just the other day, and giving away free parts like he does is pretty cool for the community too.
Just watched the entire video and didn't see where he mentioned your company or your machine.
Are you talking about when he says that he found the same machine going for more than twice the price on EBay?
It looks like Pennsyltucky is working hard to break the stereotypes. 
Just figured I'd edit. I'm only trying to be funny but in all honesty if 2 businesses "Trash" each other it only makes BOTH of them look "Trashy". Keep it between you two and DO BUSINESS.
I don't know you, I don't think a lot of people here do either. I do know that it will take a LOT to convince me that a retailer cares more about service than money, because money is the point of a business.
TNT is a retailer, retailers have high prices, generally lower quality games, and service good enough for their target customer, newbs.
However, I don't think you're post is helping your business. I don't understand what you're talking about. He doesn't mention you at all.
Quoted from gameroomguru:Thankfully, we live on service not sales.
Quoted from gameroomguru:So YouTube forced a format change on our Gameroom Collectibles "channel." Seemed like a good time to give that venue an overhaul & content evaluation. Easy start? See what that industrial park clown has been doing. He lives to be in front of the camera & posts garbage regularly. Just went looking for ideas on how to improve our video content - see if anything they present has any value to be improved upon. As always, was expecting the least attention to detail - since that's their notorious claim to fame.
Okay - here they have a recent Haunted House video. We have a recent one too for a machine that we invested 150+ hours of restoration into. Let's see what they show in comparison?
Theirs:
» YouTube videoOurs:
» YouTube videoSo besides their normal "look at me" babble & lifting the main playfield without removing the ball - sending it in a free fall towards breaking the secret passage plastic, around the 5:48 mark, this dude takes shots at GRC, again! He says that this TNT refurbished, paint-penned garbage is BETTER than our restored machine?!? Just about fell out of my chair! (See if you can catch a view of the gunshot wound on the front of their pin while you're viewing.)
I immediately attempted to "thumbs down" his video & found that he somehow has this blocked to non-subscribers. "Comments" are held for review prior to posting. Why do they do that? Hmmm.... Sent a comment nonetheless sharing some justified displeasure. It didn't get posted but what did happen? 69 of GRC's videos got a thumbs down within about an hour. In the true half-*****-job of that outfit, they only bothered to do half of our videos. Do a complete job? Not them.
Not the first time these bottom feeders have thrown knives. They changed their "Beware of who you're buying from" to include "Back wall of your local hardware store" in their eBay ad text. While we are not exactly "Back wall" of anything, yes our retail store & restoration (& 20,000 square feet of warehouse) shop is located within Village Hardware of Guthriesville. "Hardware store pins?" No worse than "Industrial park pins." Location is irrelevant. It's the "who" that matters.
So... If they're "so big" & so established, why are they worried about our little team? Hmm..........
Frankly, their overhead is too large for the market - part of the reason they don't fix much of anything on their pins. They can't afford to. If you don't know us, the backbone of our business is residential in-home service. We're built for it. They are not. We fix pins. They flip them - then we go fix them. Happens all day every day.
TNT horror stories? We've heard plenty. We've seen plenty. Share yours! We would enjoy an extra laugh (with empathy) over here.
Thanks Pinsiders for letting me share this little rant of exposure. Need to get back to WORK! Endless pile of it here... TNT - what a joke. Out of business sign coming soon.
Oh hey! Please check out our YouTube channel & subscribe! We'll be screaming past TNT with better videos, better content, better pins (as always,) & more subscribers before year's end!
Pismo, yes that's the one. No, he didn't mention us by name. Everybody locally will (or should) know exactly who he was referring to. We're the only folks with a $6500 HH on eBay. Of course, the price is eBay inflated. Fees in the pinball category are now 9%. Add another 3% for PayPal. Brings it down to mid-$5K range that quick. Realistically, we'd accept low $5K " range "in person."
You're a retailer. You ask insane prices for games. Is TNT the pot calling the kettle black? Yah. But you have a HH listed for $6,500, you're playing the game just like he is.
Quoted from gameroomguru:We're the only folks with a $6500 HH on eBay.
Quoted from jalpert:I don't know you, I don't think a lot of people here do either. I do know that it will take a LOT to convince me that a retailer cares more about service than money, because money is the point of a business.
Yes, what you say. Yes, we are a business. We "sell" service - that's where the "money" is. Our "retail" store is more of the same. We sell the "service" that we invest into the machines as they pass through & pick up new local service customers with local sales. That's the game. Simply buying & selling the machines has no real area to profit.
Quoted from jalpert:You're a retailer. You ask insane prices for games. Is TNT the pot calling the kettle black? Yah. But you have a HH listed for $6,500, you're playing the game just like he is.
Bought a HEP pin recently?
Chatham-kent, ON
Although TNT posts odd and sometimes inaccurate videos, they are entertaining. I think they use their YouTube channel as more of an advertising tool than anything.
Hopefully you both can coexist as you're both good for pinball. Gl to you both.
At the end of the day, anyone who can identify you from that video isn't going to buy a game from you as he isn't your target customer. It would take a pinball person to be able to pick up on that little tidbit, and someone that interested in the hobby isn't your customer anyway. They are buying $1,800 HH's, not $6,500 ones.
Quoted from billsfanmd:This thread is going to get ugly
The premise for this thread was ugly.
Quoted from rockinganker:Although TNT posts odd and sometimes inaccurate videos, they are entertaining. I think they use their YouTube channel as more of an advertising tool than anything.
Hopefully you both can coexist as you're both good for pinball. Gl to you both.
+1
All I can say is that I bought a Congo from Todd and he was a pleasure to deal with. The pin looked and played fantastic before it went to a new home.
Quoted from Prmailers:If you get service request calls from people who buy pins from them they're kinda helping you out.
If they go under, your new service leads will dry up eventually.
True! We love TNT! 
This post is actually an advertisement for them. Buy your pins there. Call us when they don't work. Should be nearly instantaneous.
I remember my first restore 5+ years ago. A freddy. I removed complete mylar tore down everything and restored with as many new parts Steve Young could provide. Flamed the ramps etc etc and I must say it came out just about perfect. Over 100 hours. TNT had one for sale at that time so I went to look at it and its price.
As my first restore I will say this, there is not one person on this forum that would of chosen TNT's and thats not because I sold mine for 1000 bucks less. He has a business and overhead and needs to sell at those prices.....but pinheads are not his buying audience.
Lets say TNT sells to happy homeowners that don't know a routed pin from a restored one. I have spoke to Todd and give him respect. He has been around for a long time. I have a typical Todd story as well (was really crummy what he did to me) before he knew me, if he even knows who I am now or even cares.
What happened to all the chicks in the E-Bay ads?
The video seems to be in a much smaller place than what the previous e-bay ads have shown.
Just wondering of you had moved.
Chris
From what I see in the videos, you both have a HH for sale.
Both have LEDs, play well and look like they're in great shape.
TNT is asking $3000 for theirs. You are asking $6500 for yours.
With all due respect, if I was in the market for a HH, I know where I'd buy mine.
Quoted from SilverUnicorn:The video seems to be in a much smaller place than what the previous e-bay ads have shown.
Just wondering of you had moved.
Chris,
Yes, we moved last June. The "showroom" is smaller because it is now separated from the shop, parts storage, office, & warehouse. Our old store was just one big room for everything. Our new store is actually quite a bit bigger! 
heard a funny story from someone at the allentown show about todd. after a deal on a game that wasnt as nice as promised, todd kept running his mouth about how nice it was (and it wasnt), and they said they offered him 100 bucks to simply sftu.
Quoted from dgarrett:SO you trash TNT to sell your ebay listing?? What's your real reason for posting this thread?
TNT trashes themselves. The real reason? Picked up 8 YouTube subscribers so far today! Thanks everybody! Love you guys!
Quoted from ZippyThePinhead:Good God...are we still in high school or what?
No, but wish I was.... The girls, for the most part are way better looking there these days.
Quoted from ZippyThePinhead:Good God...are we still in high school or what?
Quoted from MrBally:No, but wish I was.... The girls, for the most part are way better looking there these days.
To quote a infamous line from the movie 'Dazed And Confused', "That's what I like about high school girls...I keep gettin' older, but they stay the same age". 
Quoted from Collin:You don't have to be in high school to be in a highschool girl.
Wow!!! Chris Hansen is grabbing his microphone and calling his cameramen at this very moment...
I always enjoy Todd. No, I'm not his customer - although I think I've bought a part or two from him over the years - but never a pin. I've watched most of his videos - in many cases, purely for entertainment, but in some, to learn more about a pin I have never seen - he seems to have an affinity for those 80s and 90s Gottlieb titles, games that I just don't see.
I'm not a GRC customer, either, although I think I may have bought a board from Buford on eBay - so perhaps I am a customer, in the same way that I was a TNT customer.
Businesses taking shots at their competitors does not speak well for the business taking the shots. If you have a better product or value, people will figure that out on their own. No need to drop to the other businesses level - because once they have you down to their level, they beat you with experience.
Quoted from ZippyThePinhead:Wow!!! Chris Hansen is grabbing his microphone and calling his cameramen at this very moment...
EDIT:
Chris Hansen is leaving his girlfriend's bed, going home to where he lives with his wife, changing into his suit and tie, grabbing his microphone and calling his cameramen at this very moment..
Sana'a
I'm obviously not a GRC or TNT customer, but you've got to admit, the TNT videos are much more informative giving many details about the workings of the games.
My 2 cents to GRC would be to start stepping up on the production value of your videos.
Tips, tricks, history, required mods.....real info will result in your videos becoming popular references.
I'm an EM guy so I have no dog in this hunt.
I will say that Todd's vids and commercials from the 90's are very entertaining.
Every so often he has a non working EM for sale that he picked up somewhere. He doesn't service or sell them out front so he sells them as non working.
I stopped by and he let me look over what he had as long as I wanted.
We talked for quite a bit and I was happy and he put no pressure on me at all.
We worked a deal and I bought a Flip a Card from him. The cabinet was pretty rough, but the game came together quite nicely and it's my favorite game.
I'd be happy to buy another one like that from him and I gave him my number in case he comes across anything.
He actually called me a few weeks later, but I just wasn't ready yet.
Smashing a company thats been in business for 20-30 years is probably not a good idea, he doesn't mention the name of the company over charging for pins on ebay - you do.
Im not a customer of Todd's but he is usually at all the local shows - has years of experience and has a passion for pins and vids. Without guys like Todd hanging in there through all the tuff years, guys like you might not exist today and the home market may have never taken off the way it has.
If I bashed my competition I would not have a successful business - we work together, pass along projects, clients etc. It makes my team bigger without having to be, I can outsource, collaborate etc - they throw me jobs that don't fit their business plan and I do the same. Todds not a big EM guy maybe he would of thrown you all that work, not now.
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