CAD at .70

[Vengeance]

Even still, the plunger just needs some novus and the coil stops can usually be filed down if they're mushroomed

Yea no way, your plunger and coils stops are going to be mushroomed from years of pounding into each other, file them doesn't fix them, they need to be replaced.

Filing them means they travel further meaning less power from the shot and incorrect flipper placement at cradle.

 

[superjackpot]

As for the OP, I've certainly stopped ordering parts for games and am currently holding whatever games I have. Any changes in my lineup are trades. The price in this hobby has gone up dramatically in the past two years - both parts ordered from the U.S. due to recent poor $CAN and jacked up NIB box prices. I'm with Adam on this. Flipper parts, not kits for my rebuilds. New sleeves and EOS switches/adjustments help in the interim.

I think pinball prices - new and used - really started their climb when Stern introduced Pro-Prem-LE model (which may have started due to JJP). There's now multiple ways for manufactures to market and 'adjust' pricing. Today a small jump in pro pricing cascades through the model types. It's just like when the two gasoline types, regular and super, changed to became bronze, silver and gold. The gap between the flavours was $0.02, then $0.05... Have a look now. And all we talk about is the regular price of gas.

 

[REVOLUTION]

..and then your plunger travels farther and flippers come up higher than they are supposed to.
New coils stops are the way to go.

I meant if you're that desperate (classic Stern coil stops for example were unobtainium not too long ago)

Either way, point is a full kit isn't necessary IMO

 

[superjackpot]

You are right though... some coil stops could be reused just not in the same game. Those from wms early 90s era are taller and have the potential to be reused for wms games from about 1993 on, if sized properly.
Funny thing is, I keep all old flipper parts including coil stops. Not sure why, I just do. Perhaps thinking I can find a use for them elsewhere.

 

[mitch_a]

Any rebuild I do is minimum coil stop, plunger, coil sleeve and bushings. plus bats if they look old or cracked.
If I'm taking it apart I want it to play like new when I'm done.

 

[nics135]

Is anyone buying NIB with the higher prices and lower dollar? I know I am not at the moment.

 

[Chris Bardon]

The rationale on the full kits was always that as long as I was changing out parts anyway, might as well replace the whole assembly, and when a PBL kit was 30 bucks, it wasn't a huge financial investment either. Now that it's going to cost way more to replace those parts, I'm a little more hesitant to just throw a bunch of new parts in when I don't need them.

That being said, I'm glad I have a decent sized stash of spare parts that should hold until the dollar gets a little stronger. As for new games, I'm still in on the Hobbit, and I wouldn't rule out selling something to buy another new game, but it'll depend on what comes out, and what I could sell for. Hobbit is going to be the last "net new" game though-at 10 I'll be out of space anyway.

 

[Menace]

For me, when I'm working on a clients game and it needs any flipper parts it usually gets a full kit regardless if all the parts actually need replacing. Why? Because the last thing I or the customer need is a part that I neglected to replace failing soon after the original repair was done. Replacing all of the parts duing a flipper rebuild *should* give everyone the best chance of the flipper working correctly for as long as possible. (I say *should* because this all comes down to the quality of the parts in the kit)

Now, if I've got a game in my own lineup that needs a simple flipper maintenance I'lll just replace whatever part is causing the issue vs a whole rebuild.... unless I'm doing a full shop job at which point the game would likely get a full rebuild to ensure all the flippers have all the correct parts and they work as good as they can for as long as they can.

D

 

[Bally Boy]

I believe in one thing. What I paid for my machine is irrelevant to its value. Pay me what it's worth today. I expect no more or no less.

Drano, that's the most truthful thing you've posted ever in my opinion - cuts right through all the BS! My perception is this is exactly what's happening with everybody... and it doesn't matter what's driving it. Pinside, Pinball Revolution, or MAACA.

 

[DRANO]

Drano, that's the most truthful thing you've posted ever in my opinion - cuts right through all the BS! My perception is this is exactly what's happening with everybody... and it doesn't matter what's driving it. Pinside, Pinball Revolution, or MAACA.

The only fly in the ointment is "who decides worth"?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not a fan of profiteering or shady practices designed to generate bidding wars... or even this current trend of using the weak loonie to justify stupid local pricing, but I think we all generally know what a game is worth locally (within a certain ballpark).
Those few sellers that try to push those boundaries had better do so with purpose and reason. If you've done an exceptional amount of work to a pin so that it stands head and shoulders above others like it, then go for it.

But trying to work someone for a lower price just because you know they paid less for it 5 years ago... that's just bogus and I've come across this argument more than a few times.

 

[Bally Boy]

The only fly in the ointment is "who decides worth"?

If the game sells - I guess that what ultimately decides.

 

[DRANO]

If the game sells - I guess that what ultimately decides.

Sure... sounds simple enough.
But let's take my fictional friend John for example. John decided to buy his first machine and it just had to be his childhood favorite Bally Evel Knieval. He looked everywhere and couldn't find one. Finally he happened to go visit a local coin-op retailer or maybe he responded to a kijiji ad from one of the many "flippers" and he comes home with an EK and it only cost him $5K... but hey, it was all tricked out with LEDs

Now, we've all known (or been) guys like John or we've heard similar stories and (normally) we just shake our heads and attribute it to him being a noob, or getting sucked in by a retailer, or simply having more money than brains. However, what we don't immediately do is equate that sale with the price of an EK immediately being $5K. So, why do we behave differently when that same buyer happens to make that same dumb purchase from a collector; maybe even someone we know?

This is where we separate the reasonable (dare I say "fair") seller from the profiteer.
The fair seller will still understand that an EK normally ranges between $1200-$2000 and list it for that. The profiteer will try and use poor dumb John's experience to his advantage and point to it as a barometer for his overpriced EK listing... when all along his only purpose is to be a parasite and suck as much as he can from an unsuspecting buyer.

Let's be honest, when one of these guys posts an overpriced machine they aren't marketing to the general pin buying public; they're hoping to hook some poor sap like John.

Sorry for the long-winded allegory but, until we can all be well informed buyers and all sellers become reasonable and fair, any price discussion is just a pure waste of time.

Now, when EK start listing and selling for $5K on a regular basis, I will be in total agreement with the above statement


Anyway, like I said before,
let people sell for what they want. The market will dictate worth.
For myself I will list pins according to the value I attribute to the game and my labor... not to the USD or because some whacko overpaid for one once upon a time.

 

[eh97ac]

5K EK but does it have a sub?

 

[cdnpinballer]

For myself I will list pins according to the value I attribute to the game and my labor...

I could tread cautiously with that statement. Back in the day labor was considered free in this hobby.

 

[spiroagnew]

Isn't TKaye is looking for an EK? Send him "John's" number.

 

[DRANO]

I could tread cautiously with that statement. Back in the day labor was considered free in this hobby.

Go tell that to Chris Hutchins!

I'm not talking about general maintenance and changing a few bulbs and rubbers.
if I haven't done anything significant to a machine I'm generally just trying to get my money out of it... unless of course I bought it in 1995. You can ask around. I have rarely turned a profit on a machine I've sold.

Lately everyone wants to get back every cent of gas it cost them to get the machine home and recover every penny for each coin taker superbright LED that I have to pull out of the damed thing.

No joke. I once bought an EM and the seller told me that he spent $40 in white vinegar to soak the legs in. He wanted to add that to the purchase price. I wish could've seen the look on my face

 

[stiffler4444]

I agree with Drano. If I spend countless hours restoring a cab let's say, it's going to be reflected in the price. Not just because I spend said hours, but because it definitely increases the value of the machine. Hands down.

 

[fantasygoat]

I think asking US value for a game is perfectly acceptable, but $5K for an EK is gouging. Where's the line? Figuring that out comes with experience and knowing the market.

Also, I'm a big believer in labour having value. Even cleaning a game will effect the price. The idea that my labour is worthless is crazy talk. But I will admit, you can't just go "I have X hours at $50/hour" like with a High End restoration, unless the buyer agreed to that ahead of time.

I think the dollar value has priced me out of attending any US shows this year. There's not much point in going to Allentown when it'll cost me $1,000 in gas and hotel just to go, only to get hit with the 60¢ on the dollar difference.

 

[spiroagnew]

Anyone doing a major restoration or overhaul to a machine will tell you there ain't any money in it, unless its a commissioned project for another party or the game was acquired for $50 from some old lady in Bala, Ontario. I don't sell many machines, but when I do, I feel lucky to rake back the cost of unique parts I've put into it. "Unique" being ramps and plastic sets...not LEDs and flipper sleeves. The time I've spent on it is pretty much a labour of love.

Sure, you may have $4,500 into your Pin*Bot in parts and "labour"...but the number of people that WANT a $4,500 Pin*Bot are few. I wonder if "John" would be interested in it?

 

[spiroagnew]

Oh, I forgot to add, that we'll probably need to change this thread to "CAD at .60"...maybe even "CAD at .50" before long. Its like the 1990s all over again!