Unknown condition EMs are about the safest purchase you can make project wise. No boards to replace or repair, no bad displays, etc. Budget $100 for parts and you'll almost never go wrong.

I don't really see any games at reasonable prices sit on CL, etc though, SS included. And I see way more EMs than SS.

Actually, I almost never find machines for sale in NY (at least upstate). I end up driving to PA, MA, CT, NJ for them.

There definitely seem to be less lately though. I picked up about 3-4x as many two years ago as I am now

PA and NJ seem to be where most of the em's ended up. My theory is that many games were sold from shore arcades to private citizens. There is huge population in this area with decent sized homes who would have been able to buy a game or two. The climate is also moderate which may have helped some games in storage survive. Along with CL, check Facebook market place at least twice a day.

I agree, NC is a tough area. I've found 1 EM machine in the last 2 years on CL. But, you're not far away. You're welcome to visit.
Jim

The last couple times I went to the Winston Salem auction there was at least an EM or two. I got my Grand Prix at the auction. I haven't been there in a while though. Prices are too low for me to give up my EMs considering how hard it was to find games I wanted. They're cheap when you want to sell them, and hard to find when you're looking for a nice, local, good game!

Funny that I drove six hours each way to get three of my first EM's...from WVa to NC. Jack in the Box, Sure Shot, and 2001, from the Graham and Chapel Hill area. Having family there gave the trips a dual purpose, though. That was a few years ago.
Speaking of the beach arcades, when I stopped by Coinop Warehouse (Hagerstown, Md) a couple of months ago, they had just brought in 25 or 30 EM's from a former operator in Virginia Beach. They were all projects but in decent shape and the ones I opened had the paperwork in the coin boxes. Lloyd often has pinballs, but his inventory changes almost hourly, so it's hit or miss.

Why would a Darling ever be $1300? As soon as I'm happy with the fixing up I'm doing on mine, it's going on the market for less than half that. Of course, mine desperately needs a new backglass.