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Buying from arcades

jack burton

jack burton

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10 Years
Joined
Jan 30, 2014
Messages
426
Location
Waterford
I was in my local arcade there and they have the second half of it opened for the summer.

The Theatre of Magic that was always there that i played is back in action so I had a few games when I was there. Needs a good clean and new rubbers and a few plastics and the dmd isnt in the best shape. it also ate my first 2 euro. But still plays great and under the dirt no real wear to the playfield, except for the entry ramp

Now I wouldn't say its getting much play out there so I'm going to try and buy it. I asked the guy who i got 2 get my 2 euro back is the owner was up for selling and he didnt have any idea but he mentioned that the arcade was going to be done up at the end of the summer so some machines will be removed etc

So I was just wondering if anyone here has experience with arcade owners and buying from them. How much to offer etc. None of the staff I asked really knew much

Any help would be appreciated

Owning a #2 ranked machine would be great :p
 
Start low obviously. But a minging dirty tom with a knackered dmd is gonna be worth less anyway. Start at £450- £500 and see what he says.
 
I would agree with Gaz, you want it cheap as you don't know what horrors hide inside it.
 
Yes, +1 for starting low. Depending on how agreeable the operator is to selling you could walk away with a bargain.

There is a local arcade where my dad lives that has a T2 and Theatre of Magic like the one you are after, both have been switched off for roughly 2 years now, and sit at the back entombed behind a number of arcade cabs. Step number 1 is even getting the operator to consider selling, as the chap in this arcade just won't even entertain the idea. They are sitting gathering dust earning him squat, why he won't sell I am unsure.

Step 2 is getting them to sell for a realistic price, you will often find operators ask probably what they have paid for the machine (unless they are into pinball and know realistically what the game is worth). Likely though being in an arcade it has been pounded by punters for years and is in need of a few replacement parts, factor this in to your offer. I have found before operators have asked practically what they paid for the machine when it was NIB, at that point if they are unwilling to go lower, walk away. Give them your offer and let them think for a few weeks, you might find that they come to their senses and give you a more realistic counter-offer. Another factor is they often have no idea what the going rate for these machines nowadays is and think they are like gold dust, hence the high price.

The trouble you also find is as well, Pinball took a bit of plunge in the early 00's, nobody was playing them. Operators sold their games off cheap, and now it is having a bit of a revival some of them feel like they got stiffed selling their games off cheap and are either hanging onto them, or want stupid prices because they know collectors are after them. See what he says, and hopefully you can work something out that is reasonable for both parties.

I would say you are lucky to find somewhere that still has games on location, it is becoming a rare thing these days!
 
Thanks for the advice.

Yeah I would only be offering at most 500-600 for it I'd say but try and get it for less, considering it could be a complete money pit. Just need to be able to talk to someone in charge

Still great to see it in action, they have a NGG aswell that i didnt get a chance to play. I was with my girlfriend so I wasnt able to really have a proper game but I might go out after work tomorrow and see if i can get some more info and at the least a couple more games. I'll get some photos if i can aswell and throw them up.
 
jack burton said:
Thanks for the advice.

Yeah I would only be offering at most 500-600 for it I'd say but try and get it for less, considering it could be a complete money pit. Just need to be able to talk to someone in charge

Still great to see it in action, they have a NGG aswell that i didnt get a chance to play. I was with my girlfriend so I wasnt able to really have a proper game but I might go out after work tomorrow and see if i can get some more info and at the least a couple more games. I'll get some photos if i can aswell and throw them up.
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NGG is quite a rare find to see in the wild, even moreso than ToM. If he is willing to sell that at a reasonable price I would go for that instead, but obviously its personal preference really. If you want the ToM, go for that!
 
Well I'll go out for a game tomorrow or Tuesday and have a game of it, I'd be up for buying either. Hopefully I'll get the chance to
 
Sure I've been lying all this time trying to hide our saturation of machines! We have weekly bonfires just trying to get rid of some
 
most operators aint silly. they know the cost of a new pin, so they price their old tables accordingly. a 20 year old pin thats been on site all its life more often than not turn out to be money pits.
 
bartron said:
most operators aint silly. they know the cost of a new pin, so they price their old tables accordingly. a 20 year old pin thats been on site all its life more often than not turn out to be money pits.
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Yeah that's the big risk really. 20 year of being bet around. I'll get out for a few games on each of them tomorrow I'd say and see if I can spot any play issues.

A friend of mine said he'd buy the NGG so I'll see what the story is buying both machines
 
Right just talked to the owner. €1500,for each machine + VAT

Too much for them I reckon considering the condition. But he also has a big buck hunter out the back that was taken off the floor over a dispute. €1500,+ VAT for that aswell. What ye reckon.... Condition is pretty much new, just some dust on the glass
 
Have you played BBH? I played an immaculate one a few weeks ago, looked like it just came out of the box. Bit boring if you ask me, theme pretty lame. Price sounds ok though.
 
Yeah price isn't bad at all. I played it a while ago and i wasn't a fan at all. If I had spare cash I'd get it for a trade or something but I'd really prefer either of the 2 others.

I have the guys number anyway so I can get back to him. What would ya reckon would be the limit for a TOM that's needs new rubbers, good clean and a few new plastics. I didn't get a look inside so I'm not sure what problems it might have
 
My TAF was from an arcade operator (who I knew and begged him to sell me the machine). I have no regrets buying it but the experience will tell me that if you add up all the costs the machine, even at a bargain price, factor in what I have paid to fix it and I could have paid for a nicer example to start with.

Operated machines have had work on them to keep them going, they just want to get the machines running again to restart earning money. They might not have the correct part, or when something is loose, use anything they can find to sort it out. Look around the arcade and ask if they have had a technitian who will properly fix the issue or just use blue-tac to hold it together.

On my TAF, I found a lot of bodged solutions to broken part and I have replaced them as I have worked on the machine. 20 years of bodges adds up to a lot of money on parts. But, if you are like me, enjoy fixing and working on something, can afford a certain level now but can then afford to spend more money over time. Then this one way to achieve that.
 
Very good point Calimori

I have other machines that i can buy for a lot less than the asking price of this one. Even though I would love to get it maybe I'd be jumping in a little too deep for my first pin
 
TAF was my first pin. I learnt a lot and quickly and if I can then I believe anyone can. But it depends on what you enjoy, I like troubleshooting (with success) so consider it all part of the fun.
 
Right I'm going out tomorrow hopefully to have a look

I have buyers lined up for all 3 pins so I have some bargaining on my side I think

Now here's where I need some help, I need to let on that I know everything about pinballs, especially the problems.

What tips to look for and what to say needs replacing etc

I know what to look for on the pf but the underside is unknown to me
 
Its really hard to blag it if you don't know your stuff. Just go with the old "it will need stripping, rerubbering and the coil sleeves and linkages renewing at a bare minimum".

Use that as your bargaining tool.
 
Operators are wily beasts. He'll be thinking about his dollar and nothing more.
 
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