A proposed trade

[Jeff AMN]

I have a pretty nice Lord of the Rings, but it's not flawless. The playfield is an A+, but the cabinet has typical wear for a routed game. It plays well, I just have a couple of flaky switches (could fix in a few minutes), and it's missing the plastic that goes right under the ring ramp. Other than that, it's a great machine.

Another local collector has offered me a straight across trade for his White Water, with topper in good condition. Some of the boulders have been cracked and repaired, but the playfield is in great shape. The cabinet is supposedly a solid 9/10 too.

Running down the pros and cons of the trade, here's what I see.

PROS
- White Water is increasing in value, and it has been for a couple of years now
- Finding one with a great topper is hard
- White Water is more friendly to visitors/casual players
- I've never seen a WW for sale here locally before

CONS
- LOTR is worth more, so it's not exactly and even trade in that regard
- LOTR is the much deeper game, I could see myself tiring of WW over time
- I've never seen another LOTR for sale around here either...
- I think LOTR has the best multiball modes in all of pinball, WW not so much

The trade seems lateral on some levels, but on others it's hard to justify. I should see if he'd be interested in a 6 month swap, where we'd agree to maintain and improve each game as needed. I just really have a hard time believing that in the long run WW would hold up to LOTR given the insane amount of shot variety and depth of modes on the LOTR. On the other hand, WW is one of my all time faves. Ugh, tough choice.

What do you guys think?

[HaRuMaN]

It benefits him more to trade, not you...

[DillonFoulds]

Yeah, i'm with HarumaN. I don't know a thing about pins, but looking at pics of the two tables, I'd say your LotR is likely to fetch more than the WW will.

[Q*Bert_OP]

I'm the opposite of pbj...I love WH20 and dislike LOTR. Since LOTR is easier to sell than WH20, I'd say if you really want the WH20, sell LOTR, then buy WH20, and pocket the difference 

[pinballwizard79]

Keep that LOTR if you ask me

[shardian]

Dude, your Lord of the Rings is worth TWICE that WH20. I have a local friend who sold his shopped and beautiful WH20 for like $1600.
Sure it is a cool pin, but LOTR is much better and worth a ridiculous amount more. If that guy is proposing a straight trade, he is most definitely NOT your friend.

[JeepMonkey]

Sounds like you would be giving up too much.  If you really want the WH2O, sell a pin (doesn't have to be LOTR)  and buy it.

[lilshawn]

i wouldn't straight trade....see if he has something else he'd be willing to toss in to sweeten the deal.

The playfield is an A+, but the cabinet has typical wear for a routed game.

not sure what you have there but ive replaced the side rails on a few units with ones that have enlarged areas that go around the flipper button where the fingers wear out the artwork. it improves the look 100x over.

[JeepMonkey]

Update??

[HanoiBoi]

I think I agree with most on the board.  Not a good straight up trade.

Let him know that just can't come to part with your LOTR, but since WW is one of your favs (I like it too!), and the guy is obviously willing to part with it, make him an offer and see what happens.

Good luck!

[Jeff AMN]

I kept the machine. I got a nice paid dividend from the property management company I co-own that I wasn't expecting, so I'll just buy my own White Water.

[lilshawn]