Check out KingPinGames.

https://www.kingpingames.net/

He'll fill your needs.

LTG : )

Good communication and support after the sale.

A good distributor must look good in a tight tank top . You got that covered .

Cointakers.....All kinds of good....

Have a great brother too.

LTG : )

For me, I value quick communication, good support (I don't think late hours is a requirement or to be expected) and a modernized website that is always up-to-date with machines in stock. It is definitely a plus to have a distributor that contributes a lot to the community by traveling to shows, charities and leagues. I would much prefer to give my money to a company that does this.

Low prices and a cash discount are always nice to have too but I don't mind spending a little more if I know it is going to a good place.

in general some one you can trust, good communication and good back up service (before and after)

For us the number one thing is how issues are resolved and honesty. Pinball machines are pinball machines and they break, stop working have issues straight out of the box, playfields ghost and chip and the list is endless. They are expensive toys and their owners are very passionate about the silver ball. Our distro looks after us in Australia so we do not even push too hard for best price. Issue resolution is the no 1 best thing in building a relationship and then repeat business follows. ACDC Luci turned up with a line in the display. We had a brand new display at our door by lunchtime the next day and we do not live in a city. That is the after sales service we receive and love it! Low prices are good however for a business to stay in business it must be profitable.

If you want to have an enjoyable pinball experience your distro plays a major role in that experience.

Based on what I read, it seems everyone wants

Or specifically, the lowest price, combined with the rest of your list.

I can tell you from personal experience that everything good you've listed and more can all be taken care of by Trent at Tilt. He's THE MAN. And not to mention he's a pinball professional player as well, so you know he cares about his name all around, and won't dick anyone off.

That notwithstanding though, I've had nothing but great experiences with Trent.

Well, i completely misunderstood this post. Just ignore me. ;> NOTHING TO SEE HERE.

Having to compete with other distributors.

You guys in the US don't realise how good you have it.

Sells me a final furlong dirt cheap..

STANDING BEHIND PRODUCTS YOU SELL!

[excessive repetition of the above statement was removed by moderator]

As a home buyer and part operator.

I value loyalty and friendship first. Trust is important and I value a distributor that I can trust and has good proactive communication.

After that personal value then I support the guy that supports the community. To me, my favorite part of all pinball is the people and the community. I will support the distributor that does so.

Grinds my gears when I see the distributors that dont do anything to support the local community/shows/etc... and then they show up with parking lot deals and steal sales from the ones that do support.

Party game

Price is secondary to support and service. It’s a very small hobby, so it’s better to form relationships than chase the lowest price.

Honesty. Recently got burned by a distributor on Ohio. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS check them out before dealing with a new distributor. Get references and read reviews. If no reviews...RED FLAG! Once burned, twice shy.

Communication is a priority for my wife and me.

We contacted two different distributors that advertised having Star Wars LE available here on pinside. One got back to us with a single sentence on the cost while not addressing our other two questions and not even bothering replying back to two other correspondences. Another never replied back to a phone message or a pinside message. It's our goal to get up to 20+ pins for our home arcade, among purchasing other game room equipment. Needless to say, those places have guaranteed we won't do business with them in the future and it's all because of not being able to spend a few minutes answering questions.

Low prices and free shipping are great, but that comes second to trusting that a distributor will be someone that carries themselves professionally.

I didn't think much of that game when it came out. Other than pop sales would go up. Like when I had the big Sega boxing game that you grabbed the handles and literally boxed.

LTG : )

I don't necessarily need or want the lowest price... I'm more focused on support before and after the sale, should I need it. Of the four pins I have purchased, two (new) were from distros, one (used) was from a reseller/distro and my The Avengers The Pin was found at a local billiards / game room store - not a pinball distro nor reseller.

None of them followed up with me after I received the pins to ask how things were, if I liked the game, if I had any issues, etc. Granted, the issues that I have had have been extremely minor and were either fixed by me without outside help or fixed by me after speaking directly with the manufacturer. In the reseller/distro case, I did have two things that I wanted addressed - one of which they took care of (not really an issue), the other remained in limbo and I chalked that up to the vintage of the hardware. That machine still has that particular issue, but I've come to learn it is most likely an inherent aspect of the components used and, to be honest, the issue really doesn't affect anything.

That is crazy that there was no follow up communication from the distributor. I sell products online that are in the $45-150 range and always have two immediate follow-up emails post sale and post delivery. I can't imagine running a business that doesn't follow-up on a $5,000-$10,000 purchase range. Just insane.

Just pinball.

LTG : )

I've purchased 2 NIB pins from the same distributor and NEVER got a follow-up email asking if I was satisfied. I've had a few questions here and there especially after my first purchase. It would be nice to hear something other than "Call Chas". Plus one of my pins was left in their truck overnight in 35℉ weather. There was so much condensation inside I had to wait about 8 hrs for the machine to dry out. Thank God I haven't had any playfield issues that I needed them to deal with. Probably go with CT for my next purchase. I guess my post is more about what a dist. should NOT do.

Makes me think I just need to become a pinball distributor if the bar is set this low by some.

Pointless

s-l300 (resized).jpg

Paying by credit card for the whole game, not just a deposit.

Getting my game at least a couple of months earlier than predicted was pretty good. Thanks Chris!

Call Gary from Abel Electronics....great distributor

I'm sure any distributor is "the one", but I have purchased a couple JJP machines from Gary. He has always provided reasonable pricing, diligent support, and always answers my calls or text messages when an issues arrises....so I guess to summarize:

1. Market pricing
2. Great customer support
3. Good, honest business man

I value service after the sale. I had a board issue on my last purchase and my distributor responded to my e-mails within 15 minutes and one of them was on a Sunday night. Props to Stern service as well as they responded within a half hour after hearing from my distributor.

For me it is:

1. relationship - I have formed a great working relationship with my distributor
2. support - phone call or text away - always answers or responds very quickly
3. experience - how long have they been doing this? believe mine has at least 30 years under his belt
4. options - are they distributors for most/all manufacturers? JJP, American, Stern, CGC, etc.
5. local delivery with game room setup. This is really more a convenience thing that I have yet to use, but is available.

Well said Woody. flipnout1 pinball is the best and certainly checks all the boxes.

A distributor has one goal....maximum profit.
I have one goal.....making sure that it's not at my expense. It saddens me to see advertised prices printed on pinside cheaper than my distro will quote me on the phone.

It's what's on the inside that counts.
You know like what kind of games they have!

Distributors must understand all customers have different needs. With regards to pricing, it might not be important to some customers but to others (like me) it is #1 priority. I'm not wealthy, hence why I only have 1 pin right now. So when I decide to pursue a pin price is the top thing on my mind.

For me: 1. Great price. The more I buy from them the better the deals should get. Close second is customer interaction/service. I would like more then one or two word responses when I ask a question about something. I would like to think that they care about the customer and that it isn't a burden to communicate with them.