Arcade Collecting > Pinball

Dr. Dude

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Flake:
I have never played it before but there is one in my area for sale.  The description is "really nice" and just shopped.  Seller wants $1350.

Opinions on this pin? 

Also, there is a Surf N' Safari pin in my area for sale as well.  I could probably get this one for $700 - $800.  Its in good condition and has been recently shopped.  I have never played this pin either.

Are these prices out of line or right on?

Thanks

Flake:
So what do you think about the asking prices of these games?

As mentioned by Cowbell in another thread, there is a lot of talk about the "value" of pinball machines on these boards lately.  The general consensus seems to be that the value of pinball machines are in the tank right now.  While this may be true in some parts of the country, I'm not so sure that is the case in my area (greater St. Louis).  Either that or sellers are being stubborn and not parting with their machines unless they get what they are asking. 

Now lets get one thing out of the way here, I am no expert on pinball and have really only recently developed a desire to own one.  So to say I'm a "newbie" is an understatement.  That being said, from the posts I've been reading it would seem that if you pay over $1,000 for any machine you got ripped off - unless you are buying a newer, sought after DMD game.  For instance, there are several demo man's in my area - the least of which is going for $1200 in OK condition, recently shopped. 

I guess maybe its because I am looking at "recently shopped" machines?  If you bought something without a recent shop job then maybe the seller is willing to part with it for less since they dont necessarily know if what costs are involved in fixing the machine....

I guess I'm just trying to get a better handle on the "market" per say.

I did talk to a guy recently who collects pinballs, he's not much on the sales side of things anymore, who seemed to indicate that as of right now these machines are still holding most of their value.  He did anticipate that as the economy worsens over the next 6 months or so that most likely you will see some deals pop up.  Basically, he told me just be patient.

Any thoughts?

JeepMonkey:
I live on the other side of the state in Kansas City.  I keep an active look out on craigslist, ebay, etc.  From what I have seen the number of pins for sale hasn't really changed, and the prices have stayed pretty constant.  I am waiting to see people unloading pins more often and at lower prices than normal, but in my area this has not happened.

I have seen dealers lower prices on a few new Sterns (such as Shrek) that they have had for a little while and want to move them, but the prices have only been reduced a couple hundred dollars.

Local auctions have had mixed results.  Some "more valuable" pins like GNR havesold well under the MR. Pinball price where others such as Batman (Michael Keton) and the Data East Simpsons in medium condition will have reserves set at $1000-$1500+.  I have noticed that the number of pins at auctions have gone up drastically compared to a year ago.

On the other hand, the price of arcade machines at local auctions have dropped a fair bit.

Flake:
At the last super auction I went to I wasnt really in the market for a pin at the time but its seemed as though they were going for much less than anticipated.  However, it was noted after the fact that the owners of these pins were actually up bidding their own machines and some of the "deals" I thought were out there were really only the owners buying them back.  The point being, you never really know what the pin would have gone for had there been someone really interested in purchasing it.  So what I thought was a relative drop in pin value based on what I saw at the last auction could only have meant that there really just wasnt anyone there interested in those machines so the dealer bought his own machine back. 

I guess you could argue that because the dealer had to buy it back, then the pin is "losing" value.  However, obviously the dealer wasnt willing to let it go at the lower price so if they are unwilling to sell, are you really going to be able to find one that cheap anyway?  I suppose if this trend continues for another year or so then maybe they will relax their prices a bit. 

But who the hell wants to wait that long to buy their first pin?  Not me.... :hissy:

Flake:

--- Quote from: pinballjim on February 04, 2009, 02:20:50 pm ---Pinballs sell for EBay Price + Shipping + a slight premium.  Total waste of time for pinball machines unless you HAVE to have something.  Everyone selling them knows what they're worth, and there's 30 collectors there to bump the bids up to market. 

--- End quote ---

I'm not sure I agree with that.....there are lots of pinballs in my area for sale right now and except for a handful they all seem to be below e-bay bid price.  And that doesnt seem to include shipping or any premium on top of all that. 

I dont know man, the more I look into this the more I think its all just based on what maybe they purchased the game for plus some parts cost plus some time it took to do the shop job.

I talked to a guy who had a stargate available for sale the other night and he is selling for $1100 - which is what he paid for it about a year ago. 

I just wanted to understand where everyone was getting the idea that the pinball market was in the dumps.

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