Might be leaving the hobby for now, possible TZ, AFM, CV for sale in PA.

[Hardware]

I love pinball without a doubt. It's the ONLY hobby I have been a part of that I have not gotten bored of. One day if retirement happens in my lifetime I know I will surround myself with machines. With that being said it might be time for me to take a break from the hobby for a bit.

I'm going to be moving in the next few months and recently been thinking of letting a machine go. The more I thought about it maybe I'd sell 2 and keep my favorite. Now I'm thinking about letting them all go.

The truth is it would make moving a bit easier and the $$$ could be put towards more important things at the moment. The bad would be giving up 2 machines that are becoming harder and harder to obtain. And also I'd have nothing to play.

Here's where 2 questions come into play.

1. Have you ever gotten rid of all your machines at one point and came back at a later time, if so any regrets? Did you always keep at least one pin?

2. What do these machines sell for these days? They are all cleaned up and above average in my opinion. I've never seen a nicer TZ or CV in person. AFM suffers from serious fading on the right side of the cabinet, but the cabinet in general is in near perfect condition. Playfield is real nice as well.

I'm not in a position where I'm forced to sell any of them so I'm trying to get an idea on what these machines bring on average in order to decide what I'm going to do here. It would be great to make a serious profit, but it's not my intention here. I simply want to know realistic prices that buyers are paying.

Thanks for any feedback. This has been a tough decision.

-Brian

[jackal2001]

If you love them, let them go.... ;-)

Seriously; lots of new, exciting, pinball machines coming out from
Stern, JJP, JPOP, Skit-B. Chances are you can always get something
new when you are ready to get back into the hobby.

[pin_w...@hotmail.com]

I use to own all three of these titles at the same time. I regret
selling mine off. If you're not forced to sell, then don't. Getting
them back in the same condition will most likely cost you more. If
you're looking for a break, try to find a friend(s) to house them.

[fastenoughforu]

I did almost the same thing. had a lot of high end pins. My life
changed and I found myself further and further from my collection. I
also came to the realization that there was No pin that could hold my
interest forever. They all get old after awhile and the only other
option was surrounding myself with more and more pins (which I wasn't
prepared to do either). I also worried that by letting them sit there
they would break and have problems I was no longer interested in
working on. After 12 years in the hobby I sold them all and moved
onto other things (PS3, Music, Camping, etc.). After a couple of
years I began to miss being able to knock a pinball around every once
in a while. I missed having parties and watching my friends/family
have fun.

I finally decided to get back in but at a much lower level. B and C
games and (yikes) nonDMD games. Now I have 2 games in my basement
(one for $700 and one for $1200). They are easy to maintain and I can
knock a ball around when I want to. I can also go to a convention if
I want a taste of something better. Friends have something to play
and I don't freak out at every credit dot that inevitably shows up.

Anyway, that's my story...

[Jamie Brundage]

Back when I started collecting in 99ish..I bought a few pins (AFM, NIB
RFM. MB, Scared Stiff, ToM, WH2O). When Williams went under I kinda
lost interest. These pins sat in my basement all set up and basically
unplayed for like 5-7 years..I bet I put less than 50 games combined
on all of them in 7 years. In 2008 I met my wife and decided my
1000SQ ranch wasn't enough room and we went house shopping. We found
a nice place in December of 2009 and I was gonna sell some of my pins
to help finance the purchase...and not deal with moving them (sound
familiar?).

I found RGP again and started nosing around again. I offered my MB
for sale for like 3k ..I figured that pin had the most value. Well I
decided against selling the pin and I started getting the fever after
reading RGP.

Fast forward to today and I now have 18 pins and I am soooooo happy I
didn't sell the stuff I had. There's no way in hell I could afford
the prices these games are going for. I did sell the SS to a local
collector as he REALLY wanted one..but that's the only pin I sold.

My advise.. don't sell. You'll really regret it...I'm glad I didn't

[5voltsr...@gmail.com]

I went though this with some pins. Mainly a couple extremely nice
Demolition Man games. Now I know they are not A+ titles, but all the
same...

[Benster]

Keep them. Those are prized machines and you will be hard pressed to find them at a price that will be easy to lay down the cash for. Consider the pain of moving them converts to the equity that they acquire year after year.

[Scylla]

If you're moving locally, why not offer them on loan to trusted
friends if they move them for you. If you take time away from them and
don't miss it, there's your answer. If you need the money, now's not a
bad time to cash in. But you likely will never get em back for the
bargain prices you paid.

[goatdan]

I'd guess you're looking at somewhere between $12k and $14k for them
all *if* you can wait to get the prices you want for them. If you
need to sell them quicker, then it might be a little less than that
(I'm basing this off $4k TZ, $5k CV and $6k AFM right now, by the
way). You might be able to get a little more for some of them -- A
titles have kinda got stupid recently. I had a beautiful TZ that I
sat on for under $4k for a month in October, but others might tell me
I'm way low. Anyway, here's how I would decide...

If you like the machines that you have the absolute most of any
pinball machine ever and you still play them relatively often, then
you'll probably regret it. If you bought these even a couple years
ago, you got them for way less than their going rate now, and whose to
say what that going rate will be like in a few years if you decide to
get back in. Even more important, if the machines are as nice as you
say, it may take you forever to find the machine in that shape again.
As a for instance, I had someone offer me $2500 for my Jurassic Park
like 5 years ago when you could find them all day for $1200. I turned
it down because mine is in SUCH nice shape, I didn't want to kick
myself forever for letting it go, and I knew I would be extra hard on
any other JP I found.

If, however, these are three machines that you like a lot but you have
a lot of machines you like, then by all means I think you could let
them go and not regret it at all. For the price you can get, you
could get a NIB something delivered to your door and still have half
of that money or more left over. You could also probably find three B-
list titles and keep half the money. And, it will give you some time
without the machines to see how much you really miss it -- if you
don't miss it as much as you thought, take the money and do something
you'd rather enjoy more with it.

[Big12bus]

Why do you say yikes on no DMD games ? I have been one or two DMD's
for many a years after owning most of them. Best move I made.

I like the late 70's and 80's games with some spot DE and system 11's
from the mid 80's.

Interesting comment...

[Frank Furhter]

It should be a very easy decision, right now we are in a bubble and that
bubble will not last much longer. The smart money is selling.

[fastenoughforu]

> Interesting comment...- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I said "(yikes) no DMD" games because a lot of collectors turn their
noses up at then unless they are FH or WW. I was being sarcastic - I
only collect non DMD games because they are much cheaper and I don't
have to worry about them.

There is room in this hobby for all types of collectors. I just found
that I no longer need to be an "A-List Guy" to enjoy the hobby. YMMV.

[nwojedi]

i've been thinking on selling my whole collection, only because the
prices are stupid right now. The market will not stay like this
forever. Bubble has to burst sooner or later. The prices I could get
for my stuff now, are completely asinine, so if your going to sell, now
is the time. Since i'm out of room, Should just sell off my whole
collection, pay off my house, buy another house with a gameroom fit for
the gods, and start from scratch. But I fear, I wouldn't be able to
find as mint examples of some of my games, especially my zaccarias which
shine like they are new inside.


--
nwojedi

* C a p t a i n N e o *
Pinball Playfield restoration service at:
_www.Captainneo.com (\"http://www.captainneo.com\")__:D
This USENET post sent from http://rgparchive.com

[lordnorth]

Brian,

I am in PA as well, in York. I have been searching for a nice TZ to add
to my very small collection. Right now I have an Addams Family and a
Cyclone and would love to be able to add a TZ and either Taxi or or Who
Dunnit.

I have introduced my two young daughters (age 4 and 7) to pinball. My 4
year old loves Cyclone, the 7 year old prefers Addams Family.

I know it sounds goofy to say, but if you sold it to me it would be
going to a home that would appreciate and care for the machine the way
that you cared for it. I am not someone looking to flip a machine for a
quick profit, I am looking for a machine that I can keep for years and
years as part of the family.

Please call me on my cell/work phone (sorry about the long message) at
(717) 586-9648 or email me at c_rudisill ( a t ) hotmail.com

Thank you!
Chris


--
lordnorth

[lordnorth]

Brian,

Am still interested in your TZ if you are still considering selling it.

Please give me a call or an email.

Have a great weekend.

Thanks!

[EZ SLEEZE E]

After Sept 11 I was laid off from Northwest Airlines, I sold all my
games to raise cash and payoff debt. It's just pinball. It's sounds
like you already know what to do. You can always buy nicer machines,
it may cost a few bucks more. Really who cares? Sell'em and let
someone that will enjoy them have them.

[freeman]

got any games for sale?

[Robinva]

On May 27, 10:09 am, EZ SLEEZE E <erikhoh...@gmail.com> wrote:

A few years back I put my house on the market and a strong contract
was swiftly placed on my property. In the mean time my wife and I
found another home that really more than suited our family’s needs,
but was a little out of budget. I figured I would sell my entire
pinball machines collection to bridge the gap, which I did. We went
ahead and placed a contingency offer on the property we were
interested in purchasing. Unfortunately the contract on the property I
was selling fell through with the purchasers having financial
difficulties, even though everything pointed to a slam dunk deal. I
have since rebuilt most of my collection, overall the expense was
tremendous in comparison to my original collection. With pinball
prices and parts on and uphill spike very consistently over the past
3-4 years it was a very regretful decision. Now on the other hand had
everything gone as planned I don’t know that I would have been quite
as regretful. I planned to rebuild my collection from the get go, but
duplicating my previous collection has been very difficult.

[jackofdiamonds]

Don't sell unless you plan on staying out.TZ,AFM,and CV are getting more
expensive by the minute.They will be tough to replace if/when you decide
you want back in.Scott


--
jackofdiamonds

[EZ SLEEZE E]

That was 2001! I've still got your Shadow with new head decals!!!

[main source]

pm me on the AFM if u wanna sell.
i dont low ball or play around and i have cash now.


--
main source

[seeburg220]

On May 23, 11:12 am, Hardware <xsimmo...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Here's where 2 questions come into play.
>
> 1.  Have you ever gotten rid of all your machines at one point and came back at a later time, if so any regrets?  Did you always keep at least one pin?
>
> 2.  What do these machines sell for these days?  They are all cleaned up and above average in my opinion.  I've never seen a nicer TZ or CV in person.  AFM suffers from serious fading on the right side of the cabinet, but the cabinet in general is in near perfect condition.  Playfield is real nice as well.
>
> I'm not in a position where I'm forced to sell any of them so I'm trying to get an idea on what these machines bring on average in order to decide what I'm going to do here.  It would be great to make a serious profit, but it's not my intention here.  I simply want to know realistic prices that buyers are paying.
>
> Thanks for any feedback.  This has been a tough decision.
>
> -Brian

My own experience: About 15 years ago, I had a 4 pins and a video. I
up and sold all of them one day (personal reasons) and was out of the
hobby for 12 years. I've been back for 3 years and bought another
three of them back, along with 6 more pins.

I had regretted selling them at one point, but not initially. It all
depends on your hobby interests at any given time. I sold a '69
Camaro and before that a '70 Corvette, but got bored and tired with
them, so I went back to pinball. I think I will stay this time. But
don't hold me to that ; )

I'm done buying, unless I find a bargain, which isn't likely now.

[jamespin]

Yes but if you can sell them all for more than they will be valued for
in two years and its easy to find the buyers I think you would have more
and worse regrets that you didn't sell at close to the top. Many pins
out there and to be picked up even cheaper in five years.

[ enwojedi;1945153 Wrote:
> i've been thinking on selling my whole collection, only because the
> prices are stupid right now. The market will not stay like this
> forever. Bubble has to burst sooner or later. The prices I could get
> for my stuff now, are completely asinine, so if your going to sell, now
> is the time. Since i'm out of room, Should just sell off my whole
> collection, pay off my house, buy another house with a gameroom fit for
> the gods, and start from scratch. But I fear, I wouldn't be able to
> find as mint examples of some of my games, especially my zaccarias which
> shine like they are new inside.


--

jamespin

[chas010]

Sell the junk! I sold all mine and it feels great :)


--
chas010

[statsdoc]

If JJP keeps knocking out pins of the apparent quality of WoZ (see pics
in other thread), then the demand for these older pins may go down. For
the prices of these A titles, you could own a brand new JJP pin and have
cash in the pocket. When they hit the right title, I am not looking
back.


--
statsdoc

[Rare Hero]

On May 27, 7:09 am, EZ SLEEZE E <erikhoh...@gmail.com> wrote:
> After Sept 11 I was laid off from Northwest Airlines, I sold all my
> games to raise cash and payoff debt.

Oh, don't play the 9/11 card....you got fired cuz you're an
ASSHOLE! ;)

Bless you, Northwest Airlines! You did the right thing.

Greg

[DocPinball]

Did you go to cool pinball show in 2009?

We are glad you are still in the Hobby.

Cheers
DocPinball

[EZ SLEEZE E]

Hey Rare Tool I went back to NWA! After Sept 11 thousand of Pilot were
kick to the street. I've got College buddies that have not been
recalled to AMR after 11 years. Your a complete fool and clueless! You
wish you had a cool job, drawing pictures for a Simpson's knock off
doesn't count.