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SOLD 1984 Tiger Rag by Bell Games 500-700 made NEW price $1800

atariaction

Well-Known Member
Dec 1, 2012
1,543
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London, ON
stores.ebay.com
Might be time to consider consigning to an auction.

I don't see it on the list of VFW. Maybe you could work out something with them.


I have actually been talking with Clay Harrell on and off about this machine. I should hit him up again since I have lowered the price a bunch but I figured he probably has seen it on pinside but maybe not.
 

atariaction

Well-Known Member
Dec 1, 2012
1,543
103
63
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London, ON
stores.ebay.com
New price $1800

Other tournament directors have swapped the wiring on the middle and right stand up targets to prevent the exploit of just hitting the right target over and over again for points. No one will attempt that when that shot is middle center of the playfield, way too dangerous, so this opens up the entire playfield to a fun balanced game. Easy mod and reversible! I can even do it for you if you like.
 

Thom Smith

Member
Feb 22, 2019
38
6
8
59
Waterloo, ON
O-Kayy.

Help out a newbie here, please. I'm looking for a first time pin, as some of you may be aware. My initial goal was a Firepower but my eyes have been opened to the plethora of good machines out there, either EM or SS, that are appealing. My tastes lean more toward the vintage, early SS rather than the newer, flashy ones. That being said and with respect to the uniqueness and historic value placed on the pin by the OP, would this be a good first time machine? The price falls within my budget and I find the theme appealing. I know that it all comes down to personal preference but I am looking for some insight.

Thanks.
 
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Thom Smith

Member
Feb 22, 2019
38
6
8
59
Waterloo, ON
Also...

Is this a common thing? Re purposing an old game with a new 'skin' so to speak.

Would I be correct in presuming that all the guts of the Kings of Steel are reused to populate the new playfield.
 

Thom Smith

Member
Feb 22, 2019
38
6
8
59
Waterloo, ON
Also...

Is this a common thing? Re purposing an old game with a new 'skin' so to speak.

Would I be correct in presuming that all the guts of the Kings of Steel are reused to populate the new playfield.
Never mind. IPDB had the answer in the glossary which I only just now discovered. The glossary, not IPDB.
 

singlezero

Active Member
Jul 10, 2014
262
60
28
Orillia ontario
O-Kayy.

Help out a newbie here, please. I'm looking for a first time pin, as some of you may be aware. My initial goal was a Firepower but my eyes have been opened to the plethora of good machines out there, either EM or SS, that are appealing. My tastes lean more toward the vintage, early SS rather than the newer, flashy ones. That being said and with respect to the uniqueness and historic value placed on the pin by the OP, would this be a good first time machine? The price falls within my budget and I find the theme appealing. I know that it all comes down to personal preference but I am looking for some insight.

Thanks.

as you are asking Thom , i wouldnt think this would be a good game for a first pin . Just because a pin is rare doesn't necessarily make it a desirable game . i wasn't lying when saying the mr pinball price guide has it listed at 375 USD and that is assuming it is in good condition. Sometimes games had few made for a reason , because they werent that good? i also would be suspicious about parts and such . this game might be appealing to someone with a particular interest for it or was quite adept at repairing rather pcb boards. historical and rare dollar value are hard to place on games but the driving force for that price rising because of such is their desirability for the game itself . This one i think fails miserably as a collectors item. you are probably best to go with something a bit more mainstream . i probably have a dozen games with less than 700 made, albiet ems and i dont think any of them have a premium because of historical or collectors value save for one. But in the past that title has been a very desired game.
 

atariaction

Well-Known Member
Dec 1, 2012
1,543
103
63
49
London, ON
stores.ebay.com
I also wasn't kidding when I showed that a recent transaction for a tiger rag was for $2,500 us and you can see that on the pinside thread that I posted. The reason most likely that the 375 is on mr. Pinball price guide is because there are so few transactions over the last 10 years because of the extreme Rarity of the game that this one could have taken place a decade ago and that might have been the going rate at the time and that 375 may have only reflected one single transaction as well. If you pick any machine that has a significant number of transactions it will more correctly reflect the fair market value of today and not the purchase of one machine that happened 10 years ago on mr. Pinball price guide. also good luck finding any solid-state machine on the open market fully shopped and fully working and in Nice condition for 375 US dollars. And without even factoring any sort of Rarity or historical value I would suggest that $1,800 for a good condition fully working solid-state machine is very fair and very reasonable. Doesn't matter to me whether this machine gets sold or not. I am perfectly okay with hanging on to it so I am not even trying to push the sale whatsoever. I let whatever potential buyer make up their own mind.
 

singlezero

Active Member
Jul 10, 2014
262
60
28
Orillia ontario
I don't think it is fair to say this game is worth 375$, it's gotta be worth at least 400$:)
its what the book says , i know it is relative to every other game so them saying its 375 is saying it isnt worth much. i dont think they would place a value on it due to lack of data .... but i do think it reveals the value of its rarity and historical significance .. a bell game is probably NOT THAT Collectible. you either live by the book or die by the book , i dont really use it for actual pricing but it does give a value relative to other games of the same genre .. for example if a minstrel man is 2800 and a grand slam is 1400 .. that gives me an idea of desirability and comparable. to advertise that was working solid one night really isnt a ringing endorsement with a jimmy rigged daughter board ... taking away from its collectibility.

anyways , the gentleman inquired what others thought about it for its first game and i think most can agree it isnt probably the best for a first game. if it was that vaunted by the owner i dont think it would have dropped 40 % since he first posted it and still with no offers...a working SS or not.
 

luch

Super Member
Nov 18, 2012
3,705
764
113
Newmarket
www.topl.ca
giphy.gif
 

Thom Smith

Member
Feb 22, 2019
38
6
8
59
Waterloo, ON
Oh boy, such a fuss.

I appreciate the friendly advice offered by those present here on the forum. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t expect answers.

I don’t expect that a well known and presumably well respected member of this forum would go out of their way to deliberately mislead a person new to the world of pinball collecting and or playing.

I like the theming of this particular pin and also the somewhat quirky history of its manufacture. I think if I had anything to complain about it’s that the work on getting this pin back on its feet has already been done and that there’s not much for me to do but enjoy it. If it breaks down, I’ve got enough background in electronics as well as a pretty good mechanical aptitude.

I fully intend to go and inspect this pin and run it through its paces before I make a final decision. I have not been placed under any undue pressure to move on a purchase. Heck, I’ll even play a few other pins while I’m there just to see if some other style of pin better suits my needs.

Once again I thank those here for their advice, it has not fallen on deaf ears. I’m not sure where I read it but somewhere here or on Pinside someone was taking about buying and their advice was not to be insulting of the person selling the machine, unless they were way out as far as the price was concerned.

Thankfully my space is limited so I have to make a good decision or I’m stuck with it for a while.

Respectfully,

Thom