Why avoid, all made in Chicago. Always comes down to condition.

May be jumpered for 220, easy to change, default on CPU ( jumpers or switches ) may not be USA, easy to change.
May be a single slot coin door, easy to change plus $. Game ROMs ( on DE games, display ROM too ) may be a foreign language, easy to change cheap $.

Never avoid a game in great shape. Here or there they can be kept up or suffer neglect.

LTG : )™

Depends on the maker
Modern Sterns are either built for the USA or for export
They don't work if not built for the region

(There is a workaround but that is for another thread)

Bally/Williams games have an extra letter in the serial numbers on games that are built for export

Games that were sent to england may have a post installed between the flippers

My STTNG is a reimport. Works great.

All of the above and label on back and inside will say 220v 50hz if that matters to you.

I had a really nice reimport Road Show. I never would have known if it weren't for the one-coin-slot door.

I think there is the fear that if a game spends some time in a shipping container on the high seas, some of the metal parts could become corroded due to the salt water in the air. Mine wasn't a bit rusty or corroded anywhere, even on the apron.

For unexplainable reasons, reimports due to seem to be a bit less desirable, but I'd not hesitate to buy another.

My TAFG and TZ were both reimports. Since the early games went overseas, I ended up with game #17 on my Addams Gold. The voltage jumpers were already changed when I bought them. All I had to do was replace the coin doors. Both are very nice games in my collection. Again, condition is king; not how many miles the game travelled.

just another woed that is used to beat down the price

Or ask for more since the game is not a reimport.

Doesn't really matter either way. I just want the nicer game!

One thing to keep in mind with reimports, is that they were the first to leave the factory on a new run. So, very early production and prototypes went overseas. Some love them, some would rather have the more stable later productions with any applicable updates they made.
I have a TZ with the green lock insert and can't imagine having one with orange. Most if not all the exports had green.
Also, keep in mind in some countries they smoke WAY more than they do in the USA. France especially. So it's machine dependent, but you might have a slightly better chance of a machine smelling like an ashtray from overseas. And unless you sand out the inside of the cabinet, you probably won't get rid of that smell.

My sample Funhouse is a German reimport.I never really thought about it much.I just wanted a diamond-plated version.I wonder how many sample/protos were allotted for overseas

What Lloyd said. Most common differences IMO.

My DW has a post smack dab between the flippers. We always thought somebody added it after the fact. Its going to stay, I'd rather have the post than a hole.

Your DW was definitely a re-import. I don't remember what country but know it came from Europe. The comment about machines made for England having a post in the middle makes sense, since I've seen several like that.

On a side note... that dang machine is such a drain monster I've pondered putting a rubber across the middle and drains...

I have a very nice IJ from Germany. Not an issue.

My BSD is a German re-import. The thought of it residing on another continent gives it a smokey smell of horror and "shines" w/ an overseas history. No problems and in great shape too.
"I have crossed oceans of time to be with you."

Don't forget re-imports sometimes have plate glass instead of safety glass. Also the coin door power cut switch is only on us games. Not a big deal but a dead giveaway when looking at games. We had a getaway that came out of a container from Brazil. Game needed cleaning but ended up being a great game.

I currently have one from Sweden and one from Portugal. The only difference is I can't use the damn service plug!

Reimport only adds to the mystique of the machine... if it's in good shape, it could be from Mars and I wouldn't care...

Rust and bad hacks are the biggest concern. Especially rust! Agreed that condition is king, but you need to inspect a re-import game more closely if you are buying. Coin doors and glass can be replaced. It also depends on the game as a few games, like Black Hole, were missing features on the export machines.

i've seen some awfully rusty machines that have never left the usa...

Condition is king, but boy do some of those European countries like to smoke.

If the quality is there, go for it!

I have owned them. No difference except different coin door sometimes.

I've owned 2 re-imports, and they had no real difference in play-ability or serviceability. The No Fear reimport I had had the 3 slot coin door, but the insides were rust free and the playfield was PERFECT. The TZ I currently own does not have a 110 service plug inside, which is no big deal, and it has the green lock insert, and bumper post holes, so I think that's actually pretty cool. If you recognize something as reimport, always check for nasty rust and board hacks, but otherwise, I think they are great machines.

-Wes

You can add the service outlet with about 5 dollars worth of parts, to those who are lamenting that their reimport game lacks it

I have no issues with buying one, but IMO - they should not be valued the same as a domestic machine. Espeically ones that just got off the boat.

Now that I have a proper soldering iron, I think I need this info. Where do I find it?

find an outlet you like... big box store, hardware store, etc. all carry multiple choices...

wire it in...

Curiously, my BSD is also a German re-import! It was all switched over long before I got it. Only weird thing is that they didn't reinstall a US service outlet inside the cabinet (assuming there is supposed to be one in that hole there...).

Edit: ha - hadn't read entire thread before posting

No offense, but that's not very helpful. Obviously, if someone were to want to replace the plugged hole with a proper service outlet, this info is totally and completely useless. Those stores carry no such part(a snap in outlet). Trust me, I wasted the last half hour checking OSH, Lowe's, and Home Depot. The place I found the exact correct part first, was at Pinbits, for two bucks. I'm sure I could find it cheaper somewhere else online, but only if I buy in bulk(10 or more).

Then, there's this thread:

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/replacement-for-service-outlet-in-wpc-power-box

...which highlights exactly why I'd want someone like John to instruct me on the proper way to install a service port. There's obviously more to it than just "wire it in...". I'm no hack, I don't want to be one, nor do I want my games to look like they've had hack work done to them. If I'm going to install something, it's going to be done properly.

no offense, but if you can't wire an outlet, you probably shouldn't be poking around the inside of a pinball machine...

i'll try harder, maybe i can get "most ignorant"...

Cat fight!

OMFG! The funniest comment EVAAAAR! I didn't even realize there were people on here with cat avatars!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=612100908845204&set=o.664499570259775&type=2&theater

that was good...

the varistor and thermistor are the correct parts, however the outlet (both links) is not the correct part. I've pm'ed you

I'll be glad to take some notes and pictures the next time I do this - and I'll see if I have any pictures already.

Shadow actually uses a universal outlet. WMS/Bally would ship a cord new with the game, with one end going into the universal service outlet, and the other end would be a receptacle for whatever country the game was shipped to. All games WPC-S and newer have this type of outlet.

-Mike

I've used that outlet on about a dozen games, and it's worked fine. It's not a 100% match to original, but from the outside, you'd never know - and it works!

I have three re-imported games, and all have the annoying little holes in the side of the cabinet from where signage was hung on it. I heard that was common (or required) in certain areas, not sure if that is BS or not. Regardless, there were in pretty decent shape otherwise, and it is sort of fun having the wrong coin door, makes it a conversation piece.

john, yeah you could use it, but as you stated, it's not the correct part. this is the correct part
WPC service outlet plug.JPG

John, don't worry about digging for notes or pictures, you've posted about it before here and on RGP and I found all that info pretty easily.

And ccotenj, if I had followed your advice, I would've run into the varistor and thermistor not knowing what to do with them or how to check if they were still good since your post made absolutely NO mention of them. Call me crazy, but I like to know what I'm getting into before I dive in head first. Also, I've wired and soldered plenty of stuff in my day, I used to work for a high end kitchen appliance installer years ago. I used a trigger style soldering gun so much I should've just had a holster for it.

You sure about that? I've opened up a few domestic games, and I don't recall the ground wire ever attaching with a screw.

My STTNG has a coin door with three slots: 1DM, 2DM, 5DM. That's gotta be a dead give-away for a German re-import, yes?

Jawohl.

Price, mostly.

LTG got it right: