WTB My first pinball (list of options)

[Marc]

Hi,

I am looking to buy my first pinball machine here is a list of some that I would consider

Tron (Pro)
Star Trek (Pro)
World Poker Tour
Sopranos
Star Wars Episode 1 (What do people think about this title?)

Will update with more titles that I will consider.

Pins must be in shopped condition. Prefer HUO.

As this is my first adventure into buying a pin any advice on what titles will retain value more then others would be appreciated as well. It is for my new game room but makes sense to get something that can hold it's value as well.

 

[SuperPinball]

Super Pinball's Super Advice for Super Newbs

1) Play pinball. Play as many different pinball machines as possible. That is the only way you can be sure you like a certain pin. Everyone's hair style and clothing is different and so are their pinball preferences. Connect and network with other pinball hobbyists or join a local pinball league. You will find it can be quite rewarding and you really get to know the different titles.

2) Don't be in a rush. Expect to pay a bit more if you want the title you are looking for right away since you need to entice a guy who has it in his collection and is not ready to part with it. All pins have a price.

3) Don't buy retail. They typically charge more since they need to make a profit and you need to pay Tax on top of purchase. Check in these forums for who has a pin for sale that is on your wish list and PM (start conversation with) that person who is selling. Check with mwongs daily "Not mine whats for sale" postings on whats for sale outside of here and on Kijiji. Be careful, some are retailers.

4)Buy local if possible. Shipping costs will automatically add 5-15% to the cost of the pin, much higher if importing it from the states that you will lose. Plus you lose out on seeing the pin in person and see if it is as advertised. Unless you either know or trust the seller or someone else who has seen the pin and can give it a thumbs up, see it yourself.

5) Enjoy this fantastic hobby. It takes time to learn and you will make mistakes along the way. I personally violated the top four points but we all learn and move on. Enjoy and welcome to the hobby.

 

[brad808]

There is a WPT for sale right now if you look in the for sale ads. You would have to make a bit of a road trip for it though.

 

[Chambahz]

My suggestion for you is to grab a StarTrek Pro from Starburst/Playdium.
It's fantastic to open a new in box pinball, though if/when you decide to sell it, you'll probably lose about $500 or more.
To me, depending on how long you own the machine, that's pretty good for the privilege of having a pinball machine in your house.
As stated above, jus make sure you play the game before you buy it. Star Trek recently got a code update so it's probably a good enough machine (it is in my opinion!) to keep you busy for some time.

 

[Marc]

@SuperPinball

Thanks for those pointers they all make a lot of sense. I am not in a rush and I wasn't looking to buy retail so I covered 2 points already After looking at ebay I am surely leaning to your 4th point of buying locally. As for playing pinball, the last time I played was a few years ago the pinball hall of fame in las vegas which was quite fun.

@Chambahz

I wish my initial budget would afford me to purchase NIB but unfortunately not this time. Pre-owned local no tax seems a better choice at the moment. The more I research the more titles I find that could be fun but within the budget it seems I am more limited.

 

[Chambahz]

Sounds like you have a decent plan for your first pin.
In that case, take your time and try to get a fair deal.
That way, when you want to trade up, you won't take much of a loss on the resale.
If you're not sure about pricing, be sure to ask!

 

[Marc]

Negotiating a StarWars Episode 1 at the moment just not sure about the play on the pinball 2000. What would be a good price and do they resell easy?

 

[Chambahz]

Personally I've never been a fan of pinball 2000 vs the regular full sized pins.
That's just my opinion though.
Are there any other titles you might consider?

 

[Marc]

Personally I've never been a fan of pinball 2000 vs the regular full sized pins.
That's just my opinion though.
Are there any other titles you might consider?

Yes there are many titles that seem interesting to name a few

Star Trek
Tron
WPT
Sopranos
D&D (older but I used to play the game)

I am quite open to many titles that would be within my budget as long as the price reflects the title.

 

[REVOLUTION]

Go for a Tron. Seriously.. That would be a killer first pin.

Welcome!

 

[mwong168]

Yes there are many titles that seem interesting to name a few

Star Trek
Tron
WPT
Sopranos
D&D (older but I used to play the game)

I am quite open to many titles that would be within my budget as long as the price reflects the title.

What's your budget as the games you listed above covers a pretty big range. For example D&D $600-800 or Tron/Star Trek being > $6000 depending on what has been done to them.

 

[maken]

Stay away from SWEP1. Most pinheads don't care for it and it might be hard to re-sell unless you get it for dirt cheap.

 

[mwong168]

Regarding Pinball 2000 in general, RFM is the better game and easier resell between the two of them. It's too bad Pinball 2000 never got to see it's full potential as swapping games is really easy by disconnecting 6 unique molex connectors for the playfield and if you have Nucore it is even easier. If you are a fan of AFM theme and humor you can get your fix for 1/3 of the price too. However in a small collection I don't think RFM or SWE1 has lasting power as the novelty will wear off because the shot are very limited feels very repetitive. The only way I can see SWE1 lasting is if the theme really hits home for a collector or someone wants to brag they own a "JPOP" title in their collection

I would recommend Marc to try out any of the games in his wish list before you buy it especially SWE1. I wish I had spent more time on RFM before I decided to hop in my car and spend a whole day driving 1150km round trip to QC to pick mine up 3 years ago. I also underestimated it fitting in my Audi wagon and the drive back was so much fun with the heavy rain and slighting open hatch. I had to pull over at the first Enroute and used whatever shrink wrap I had left on the back end of my car to keep the water from coming in.

Sadly after a month I traded away my RFM but glad I was able to scratch get into my car and spend a whole day driving to pick up a game off my pinball bucket list

 

[Marc]

My budget is $4000 or less (prefer to stay under $3000).

I would prefer something like tron or star trek but I can see that they probably don't fit in my budget so will need to find more titles.

SWE1 was appealing to me because it was local enough for me, seems to be a good price since it was under $3K and my thinking is the new Star Wars movies coming in the next few years good create some demand. However given the Pinball 2000 feature and what feedback I keep getting is that might not be enough to hold value or increase. I thought since there were only 2 titles in Pinball2000 that it would be more sought after but that doesn't seem to be the case at all.

Given my budget what titles would you guys recommend that would hold value and be fun to play for most?

@mwong168 I still need to play a few different pinball to see what my preference is. I have not gone to see the SWE1 to see what playing it feels like. Crazy pic! I am not as far away from the SWE1 but still not being sure if I want to make the trip to try it yet.

 

[mwong168]

However given the Pinball 2000 feature and what feedback I keep getting is that might not be enough to hold value or increase. I thought since there were only 2 titles in Pinball2000 that it would be more sought after but that doesn't seem to be the case at all.

The important thing here is to not overpay on your whatever title it is you are seeking by asking around to get a gauge for what "fair" market price should be. You can research this yourself by looking at past sales threads in the classifieds sections on here or Maaca.

Lastly don't think of pinball as an investment or something that is suppose to increase in value and you will enjoy this hobby much more.

 

[Marc]

@mwong168 Not overpaying certainly protects you from losing more then you should when you try to trade or sell it.

I don't necessarily view the pinball as an investment or expecting it to go up in value, however, I did notice when reading and researching that some pinballs do hold value better then others and some might increase over time as potential demand grows for that specific title.

Since I don't necessarily have a huge preference on which pinball I buy (although that may change as I play some) why not look for a title that may have better odds of holding value as well as being a fun game to play.

What would be a fair price for SWE1? (On ebay I have seen them go from 2100 to 3100 USD)

I am going to a local wholesaler tomorrow that has 80+ machines available with 10-12 on the showroom. Hopefully I can play a few.

 

[FastEd]

Hi Marc,

Welcome to the madness!

I know most people do not want to lose money on this hobby, but, you shouldn't look at the hobby as an "investment". I think the increase in price for machines might be a blip as new people are entering the hobby. It can also easily go down with people leaving the hobby.

You should truly play some of the machines that you are thinking of buying. Some people might rave about a machine but you may not care for it, after playing it. This would really suck if you have only one machine. You will most likely lose money in that transaction, if you were to sell it in a short time frame (unless you got it for a good price, in which case, you might get labelled as a flipper!).

If you want an idea of what would "hold value", take a look at the "want to buy" section. You can get a pretty good feel for what machines are in demand.

I think the market for a desirable $3K machine might be bigger than say a desirable $6K machine (not everyone has a money for a $6K machine).

For the $3K market, from what I've seen, DMD Bally/Williams machines seem to hold their value and are trading hands quite frequently.

 

[FastEd]

Lol, you guys are either fast typers or I'm slow like molasses and should change my username. The previous two posts were not there when I started to write my post!

 

[Menace]

I am going to a local wholesaler tomorrow that has 80+ machines available with 10-12 on the showroom. Hopefully I can play a few.

Hopefully you are not talking about Alloutte... if you are BUYER BEWARE!

D

 

[mwong168]

I don't necessarily view the pinball as an investment or expecting it to go up in value, however, I did notice when reading and researching that some pinballs do hold value better then others and some might increase over time as potential demand grows for that specific title.

I think those who have gotten into the hobby in the past 5-10+ years have been blessed in which the way things have gone in regards to "pinflation". I have been following pinball sales pretty closely for 5 years now and have helped over 300+ pins exchange hands. I've seen lots of games increase in value over this time but if I was to pin point when this all started would be Jan 2012 when JJP came on scene and announced they were going head to head with Stern. They said they were going to charge early adopters $6500usd for WOZLE and deliver the finished product in the near future. I forget what date they set but I know they missed the mark because some of my friends who got in on this early waited a little over 2 years to get their games.

This showed Stern and their investors that collectors were willing to pay this kind of money for a so called "premium" edition of a game hence their current Pro/"Pro-mium"/LE edition of pins. Had there not been this spike for new in box pricing I don't think some of the B/W titles would have gotten as high as they are now. If think about it who would want to pay $6000 for a 20+ year old TZ when for $4390+HST you could get a brand new modern pin? I hate to say it again but now with the increase again in Stern Pro pricing to $6490+HST only means you will see older Bally/Williams titles either hold value or continue to slowly increase such as $3200 Demomans or $5800 World Poker Tours

What would be a fair price for SWE1? (On ebay I have seen them go from 2100 to 3100 USD)

I am going to a local wholesaler tomorrow that has 80+ machines available with 10-12 on the showroom. Hopefully I can play a few.

If I had to put a price on SWE1 I would say $3000(-$3200 max) because I have seen the exact same one(s) on kijiji for sale asking $3500-4000 over the past 2 years and they not moving. One of them is in Mississauga and the other is in Ottawa.

Don't bother with sellers that try to sell you a game based on eBay or price guides. These are the worse kind of people to deal with in the hobby because when they sell they swear by these price guidelines. But look what happens when you try selling something to them as they will sing a different tune.

Marc who is this wholesaler you are visiting tomorrow because if it is Chris from Kingston, I heard from many others he misrepresents his machines and what he actually has in his "showroom". If it is Allouette Amusements... Run The 80+ machines available will probably be Algerian re-imports which usually look like they were rescued from under the sea or have been cherry picked to save their own games.