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Traders? Should I buy from them?

  • Thread starter Thread starter retrogamerdaz
  • Start date Start date
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retrogamerdaz

Had a quote for a williams Indiana Jones table from a trader (as in website owner) and he wanted just under 3 grand. Is this correct for that sort of table? Should I buy from traders and Ebay, or just use members of the forum?
 
Is it fully working?



Broken plastics?



Faded cabinet?



..I'd advise asking for photos.
 
He said its good condition and a very good playfield, but faded artwork on the cabinet.

I think I need to do more research on these things, as I wouldn't want to pay 3 grand for something and it looks like it's been sitting in the sun for 10 years...
 
IJ was prone to that.. If it saw 20 mins of sun it started to fade. lol



Nature of the beast.
 
See I'm still learning about stuff like this. Incidentally I'll be keeping my table in our conservatory (it's not exactly well lit). Is this something to be concerned about?
 
Are you wanting to purchase your 1st table, to play to death, maybe mod a few things and then sell?



or keep as an investment & purchase another?



p.s You will soon be hooked
 
3 grand is too much. How much too much is debatable! Personally I'd say £2-2.3k would be the going rate at the moment if everything is working OK. 2 years ago - £900-£1200!



Nothing against traders, but they are out to make a living, so you'll always pay over the odds to them. If you're desperate for a particular table and they have it then fair enough but re-sale might be a problem unless your willing to take a hit (which is a whole other debate....)



Personally I'd try the forum and group first as the prices should be lower, You might luck out on ebay but it's always a bit of a gamble, Northern Lights show is probably a good kicking off point too.



Good luck
 
Multiballs' date=' post: 1697918 said:
Are you wanting to purchase your 1st table, to play to death, maybe mod a few things and then sell?



or keep as an investment & purchase another?



p.s You will soon be hooked
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I want the Twilight Zone table. But I can only have it if I'm a good boy and prove that I will use it. Therefore I'm planning to buy a moderately priced table that I will play to death and prove to my wife that this isn't another one of my fads. I'm also looking at covering my experiences in the magazine I edit.

I guess I'll throw a blanket over it, I'm hopefully getting a big shed next year to put it into (along with hopefully more).

I will stay away from modding at the mo, but it does sound fun.
 
TZ's pop up now & again.



Prices range.



They are a "wide body" table. They have lots of toys on them & in my experience can often fail even when purchased brand new.



The "clock" can be a pain at times.
 
Darran ...where do you live ?? You are perhaps near a local pinhead with a few games that you could check out.



TZ is in my opinion one of the truly great pinball machines - nothing else like it. Pat Lawlors masterpiece. Unique design, epic rules, awesome theme. BUT it does divide people, some folk can't stand the thing. I take it you have played one before and are already a fan ?
 
GrizZ' date=' post: 1697925 said:
Darran ...where do you live ?? You are perhaps near a local pinhead with a few games that you could check out.



TZ is in my opinion one of the truly great pinball machines - nothing else like it. Pat Lawlors masterpiece. Unique design, epic rules, awesome theme. BUT it does divide people, some folk can't stand the thing. I take it you have played one before and are already a fan ?
Click to expand...

Bournemouth on the south coast. Specifically Charminster. I'm roughly 35 minutes from Southampton and about 20 from Salisbury.
 
Multiballs' date=' post: 1697922 said:
TZ's pop up now & again.



Prices range.



They are a "wide body" table. They have lots of toys on them & in my experience can often fail even when purchased brand new.



The "clock" can be a pain at times.
Click to expand...

Yes I've heard the large number of mechanical bits can cause problems. As I said, I'm slowly learning
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retrogamerdaz' date=' post: 1697929 said:
Yes I've heard the large number of mechanical bits can cause problems. As I said, I'm slowly learning
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You're in the right place for tips, advice & banter.
 
Good part of the country to be in Daz, Peter runs Special when lit which is a pinball club in Salisbury, he has an awsome selection of games which is always changing, pretty sure he has a TZ at the moment actually. And I know that he has just installed a lovely AFM!
 
I think IJ's range from 2k upwards, most are faded, they have been around the 2k mark for years and rarely will you see one made available below that amount or finish for less at auction, they do not come up for sale that often so there is generally a scramble to acquire when one does although they are not rare, on the flip side mint ones only command about 3k so there's not a huge leap between dog and minty on these, IJ will always sell if you want to move it on and rightly so, it is an awesome machine, I have owned mine since 2007 and have had no issues with it bar a dodgy trough opto board (these often fail and are cheap to replace), I would expect a really nice one for 3k, if the cab is faded, everything else would have to be extra nice, no pf wear (watch behind them 3 drop targets for wear, that is a good indicator of mileage), no broken plastic (again 3 drop down targets plastic is prone to damage) pf's don't tend to wear on these unless it's had a hard life, check idol head works OK, some people seem to have problems.



Report back to the forum for more advice when you have more info
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And we're long overdue an epic feature on pinball in that magazine you edit Darran
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Take the camera man along to SWL, or the Northern Lights show



(Long time subscriber to retro gamer. Good mag)
 
traders...there are good and there are bad.

if you want a perfect machine (and i mean perfect) then give pinball heaven a shout..be aware however that perfect does not equate to cheap and many old williams 'as new' machines will cost you more than a NIB stern...

not going to comment about any others for fear of starting a war..

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PIN HEAVEN HOWEVER ARE 1ST CLASS!!!!!!!!





to give you a guide on recent prices of an I.J i recently paid £2500 cash for one with a good playfield and a cab that is good but 1/2 needs a decal and half not.



TZ...meh...my 1st table and as good as it is i dont hanker after another.



if you are sticking to 1 pin 'nothing on earth' will stay with you forever IMHO as you get bored sooner or later when you keep hitting the wizard mode too often.

another thing i only recently realised was that if a pin don't make me grin....i normally get bored very very quickly!



' n that bombshell' i got my I.J at the end of july.....i'm im already getting itchy feet with it.......



NEXT!!!!!



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Not meaning to start a war on here but credit where credit is due, Manny Woodtech does some awesome restores also, I thought it only fair to mention his name as he is dedicating his time to this hobby and no one can fault the level of his workmanship, hopefully this post will not lead to anything more than what it is....peace ya all
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roadshow16' date=' post: 1697935 said:
Good part of the country to be in Daz, Peter runs Special when lit which is a pinball club in Salisbury, he has an awsome selection of games which is always changing, pretty sure he has a TZ at the moment actually. And I know that he has just installed a lovely AFM!
Click to expand...



Unfortunately TZ is on the sick list at the moment and is refusing my fixing attempts by blowing fuses! :eek: :oops: That and the second Spirit are the only set up games that are out of action at the moment. :cool:
 
Judge Dreads' date=' post: 1697953 said:
Not meaning to start a war on here but credit where credit is due, Manny Woodtech does some awesome restores also, I thought it only fair to mention his name as he is dedicating his time to this hobby and no one can fault the level of his workmanship, hopefully this post will not lead to anything more than what it is....peace ya all
wink-1.png
Click to expand...



Manny does some Awesome work, however sometimes awesome work comes at awesome prices
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