Reimported Games? Educate me.
Nevus
carry some sort of negative connotation. Assuming that these machines
were made in the USA, I'm not so sure I understand.
Can/would you please give me your thoughts on the pros/cons of buying
a reimported machine?
Lostlumberjacks
Nothing is wrong with them, they just usually have more issues. In my
experience its all about the cabinets, second would be bad conversions,
which can be fixed. Just double and triple check the cabinet. Todd
Lloyd Olson
containers, been exposed to more smoke filled locations, and may have
inventions when parts weren't available. And often have weird crap fastened
to the sides, or at least more holes.
No matter where it has been, it's all about condition now. LTG :)
"Nevus" <csock...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:cc6ad01f-3519-4d65...@q12g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...
beaver
in the case someone sees that as a plus. However, the condition of
the machine stands on its own, and it does not matter (IMO) where this
machine spent part of its life. You should still check it for
condition as you would if it were touted as HUO.
Edward_Cheung CARGPB26
bobbus
I've had a couple of reimports. I don't know, my DE
Star Wars is beautiful. Problem free. Only reason I know
It's an import is because Hungary, is on a few labels in the
cabinet. I had a Operation Thunder that had a completely
different coin door. Might bother some.
To me. Don't matter.
bigehrl
and quite frankly, it's the best playing machine that i own, or have
ever played in my life. i can't say that anything applies to all, but
i wouldn't let it's original destination be a factor in anything you
decide.
if you're looking to put your game in a museum, as was already noted,
some of them will have a few more holes drilled in the cabinet. if
you're looking to play the holy hell out of it, and feel the way a
great playing pinball makes you feel, let it's speak for itself!
-jon
Mark
that was one of the cleanest, unfaded games I ever saw.
Mark
EZ E
Detroit still dumping the last of the container games. In general they
have major problems. Boards are hacked, cabinet damage, playfeilds
trashed, DIRTY! Dead bodies. Back in 2000 their wasn't a difference.
As the pickings got thin, trashed showed up here in the states!! In
general they are junk. I know a couple guys that have nice re-imports.
What Lloyd said is correct check the game, if it's a reimport double
check it and look for things you'd never think of!! E
gangstarr
Cabinets-
- have odd screw and bolt holes in various places.
-have salt/water damage from being in a container on a boat.
- have bottoms broken out that are screwed from bottom sides back
together.
coin doors-
have chutes too small or too WIDE for a quarter to travel down
properly. im speaking about coin mech fastened parts, NOT the coin
mechs themselves. when they are too wide, quarters get stuck
diagonally in the chanels (BEFORE they reach the coin mechs. if a coin
does make it through the chanel and coin mechs, they will often rest
on top of the coin switch as that end part of the coin habitrails is
too small. this is so for german reimports and french/spain reimports.
wiring-
i see all sorts of wiring messes in cabinet bodies-- i see mechanical
coin counters thrown in the cabinet and electronic coin mechs wired up
and mounted to coin doors, but not actual coin switches sometimes.
stickers -
often, there are papers and stickers which state voltage and fuse
amperage values based on OVERSEAS voltage. its confusing when you are
trying to replace cabinet fuses and other fuses when you dont have
time to use conversion formulas. also, the fuse size and fuse holders
themselves are often different and use mini fuses.
misc-
roms often are in another country settings for defaults etc..
Reinhard
"Lostlumberjacks" <tds...@starband.net> wrote in message
news:9235$4cf6eee5$944278f6$51...@STARBAND.NET...
>
> Nothing is wrong with them, they just usually have more issues. In my
> experience its all about the cabinets, second would be bad conversions,
> which can be fixed. Just double and triple check the cabinet. Todd
>
>
And often a single coin slot coin door (which bothers some collectors) with
an Electronic Coin Mechanism that may not be easily reprogrammed for US
Coins. Typically, the buyer will replace the coin door with a traditional 2
slot door either NOS or from a junked game.
RB
Matt Elder
As others have said, you simply need to look at condition. You can get
great games from overseas and junkers from right here at home, and
vice versa....
Two of the cleanest, nicest machines I've had, have come from Italy
and Slovenia. I've also had machines from Switzerland, Greece, and
Spain, and they were nice too.
Get pics and lots of info and THEN make a decision. Don't let the term
"re-import" scare you off.....
Matt
John Wart, jr
Same pros and cons of buying any game. You have to look at what you buy
and make an educated decision. In most cases, the games that are left
anywhere aren't as nice as they used to be :)
The reimported games may be more likely to have quality issues, but it's
not always the case. I've seen plenty of hammered or hacked domestic games.
I've owned many more reimports than I have domestics, and for what I do
with them, it doesn't matter to me if the price reflects the condition.
You can google search this all day and read til you're coo coo for Cocoa
Puffs.
Pinster68
Brother has a T2 and I have a Whirlwind, both reimports, both better
than any "native" examples I've seen anywhere.
I would almost think they would regard the US pins like we do a fine
imported products, with greater care because it's somehow rare and
special.
I'll take a reimport any day.
Brian
D
pretty sure my TZ was like that because I recall seeing a 250v tag in
there somewhere. Or maybe something else... In any case there were a
few small issues that probably come with age. Fixed them up and the
machine works great. The cabinet was in good shape and the only major
playfield problems were a gouge near the rocket kicker (fixed with a
Cliffy protector), a few cracked plastics, and a less than perfect job
putting decals on the door. Tried to peel them off but it delaminated
from the insert a little and I didn't want to do more damage. I wasn't
displeased with my purchase.
NM
So, when it comes time to sell your machine, you have a smaller target
audience--and therefore possibly a longer lead time...and a slightly
lower sale price.
Additionally, people will use the fact your machine is a reimport to
beat you down slightly on price during negotiations.
MHS
I couldn't care less if a game is a reimport as long as it plays well
and doesn't act up. I've had domestic games be total piles of crap,
and I've had reimport games be gems and everything in between.
goatdan
> And often a single coin slot coin door (which bothers some collectors) with
> an Electronic Coin Mechanism that may not be easily reprogrammed for US
> Coins. Typically, the buyer will replace the coin door with a traditional 2
> slot door either NOS or from a junked game.
Yup, the single slotted coin door bugs the heck out of me.
Beyond that, I could care less. And really, I have a grand total of
one game with an export coin door, oddly enough a game that was
supposedly never sent anywhere (and condition does back that up), but
I've never even cared to replace that coin door. So...
It bugs the heck out of me when I look at the game, and I will replace
it when I finish the upgrades to the rest of the game, but it didn't
stop me from buying an otherwise totally sweet game!
AVP Pinball Division
news:cc6ad01f-3519-4d65...@q12g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...
From '95 to '98 I worked on about 200 games, never saw a re-import. Worked
on some games as a hobby from '98 to 2009, no re-imports.
Since opening the business in March of 2010 I've worked on 6 re-imports.
Don't know what container they dropped from but I'll list coin door wiring
hacks, power driver board wiring hacks, shoddy under-playfield repairs (that
take out entire switch matrixes) and other wiring issues as common problems.
Not that these wouldn't be seen on games that stayed in the US, just seems
as though there was a big influx of re-imports about two years ago and I
just happen to be in the neighborhood where some were dumped.
Each game should be judged on it's own but from what I've seen of the
re-imports in my area they leave something to be desired... I'd definitely
give a re-import a more thorough inspection...
--
Pistol Pete
Parkville, MD
AVP Pinball Division
410-583-9200
www.AVPpinball.com
ser...@AVPpinball.com
Aeneas - www.flippers.be
If it's any consolidation for you - here in Western-Europe it's the
same situation.
What we see here are re-imports from Eastern Europe: Poland,
Hungary, ..
It's quite funny actually, a lot are System11 games that have been
operated here (Belgium, France, ..),
were sold to Eastern-Europe in the early 1990ies when dmd's became
popular.
These sys11 games have been on location ever since and are now
returning (for too much money in too bad/hacked shape).
There just aren't any operators anymore with large lots of pinball
machines for sale..
Large lots you find are absolute junk that no-one had been able to
sell the last 5 years..
ciao,
Aeneas.
-- http://www.flippers.be
Chad Keller
I have seen this with many buyers. I make a few assumptions when
this is the case. One, the buyer is a newbie and needs educated on
the subject and two, the buyer lets all the no import crowd totally
influence them without having much experience. Container pins came in
10% really nice,60% average and 30% really rough. This is about the
same as I see in the states. It seems most only hear about the
really rough ones. I have had people ask after a high end restoration
on a game if it was a reimport. I have to chuckle inside when they
ask. Condition is king. More pins for me : )
Skarv
wrote:
> "Nevus" <csockri...@gmail.com> wrote in message
I would add that the big difference is whether the machine is still
overseas. If it is here and you can see it, or get pix, then who
cares. Check condition and decide.
I think this is the issue getting mixed into re-importing.
The problem really is if you are dealing overseas. Sure there are
legit guys selling to the US, but if you are being scammed, there is
really nothing you can do. I got ripped off by Gaucho pinball in
Argentina. Fernando Bigi and Oscar Saidon sent beautiful pictures of
an HUO machine, but then delivered the classic container pin.
And don't expect eBay PayPal to help. They just stood by... and even
let the guy keep his account without a feedback/reputation mark.
So watch out. But the machine itself, now that I've restored it, is
no different than a domestic.
Steve
on the front door and under the PF. They were probably on location
in a high humidity environment. Also heard that they often spend
months in a conatiner while being stored/shipped. If the weather is
cold there will be lots of condensation.
I would *never ever* buy any pin, much less a re-import without
inspecting it in person.
Steve
Mike
A short photo documentary for anyone who has never seen a re-import in
action. Seems like it was just yesterday: 3 TAF's, 4 TZ's, 3 WH2O's,
etc. Still have 12 of them in my collection....and the 8 I did sell
basically paid for the remaining 12 (with a whole lot of elbow grease
added).
http://usergallery.myhomegameroom.com/gallery/album1290
enjoy!
Del
I've had 6 or 8 re-imports & still have 2, Out of these games only one
was in pretty sad shape with more than half of the fuse's jumpered
with a wire across the fuse .I guess those small WPC-95 fuses are hard
to get in France ??
Other than this the rest of them were as good or better than anything
I could find in the USA .
Pin-Del,
cargpb28
NM
Actually, that's more pins for me too Chad: as the 2nd last pin I
bought was a reimport: a NGG in very nice condition.
I was merely pointing out that like it or not, and justified or not,
perception is reality--and some
folks just won't pay as much for a re-import or refuse to buy them.
There is a stigma (justified or not) and it can translate into dollars/
liquidity at sale time.
Rompen
I've seen domestic games that have had worse hacks and damage to them,
but I can usually tell an import from about 8 feet away by the smell
of cigarette smoke coming from it.
Adm56
As folks have said condition is king and if you have a chance to fully
inspect a game first than I don't think it matters if you are buying a
re-import or a domestic machine. But recently I've had the chance to
work on three re-imports and it's very frustrating. Filthy...two had
board damage due to battery issues, each a minimum of 4-5 errors when
they boot up and it always seems like you're chasing something
down...these three are pretty much going to have a credit dot on them
for the rest of their lives unless someone puts way more time and
effort into them than they are worth.
D
> inspect a game first than I don't think it matters if you are buying a
> re-import or a domestic machine. But recently I've had the chance to
> work on three re-imports and it's very frustrating. Filthy...two had
> board damage due to battery issues, each a minimum of 4-5 errors when
> they boot up and it always seems like you're chasing something
> down...these three are pretty much going to have a credit dot on them
> for the rest of their lives unless someone puts way more time and
> effort into them than they are worth.
That about says it all. They don't want re-imports because they
believe it wasn't taken care of. If a machine is shown to be in good
shape and fully functioning then why should anyone care? My guess is
most people don't have the luxury of inspecting a game in person. If I
was told my game was a re-import I wouldn't mind, and thankfully it
was in the same shape as the pics. Anyone who's been burned by an
online purchase will be very cautious.
sergioluna...@gmail.com
> I have the impression, from for sale posts etc, that reimported games
> carry some sort of negative connotation. Assuming that these machines
> were made in the USA, I'm not so sure I understand.
> Can/would you please give me your thoughts on the pros/cons of buying
> a reimported machine?
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Names: Fernando Jorge Bigi and Oscar Saidon
Company: Gaucho Pinball
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