Julie the Pinball on the way

[DrDark]

Friends, I just got and accepted a second chance offer from PACHINKO on Ebay for a JULIE THE PINBALL.
I will keep you posted on the performance of the vendor the condition of the machine and the state of packaging upon delivery.
I am a little uneasy with their disclaimer about damage.
All will be revealed in upcoming installments.

[Doctor]

I will take a guess and say either 2007summerw or wikedbeest was the original high bidder on the auction.

[DrDark]

It was 2007summerw!

[Sid]

me thinks that perhaps Ebay should hear about this one..

[chmer01]

As a general rule I never except 2nd chance offers. Heard too many nighmare stories.

Just my quick 2cents.

[compirate]

As a general rule I never except 2nd chance offers. Heard too many nighmare stories.

Just my quick 2cents.

At least they're only a phone call (or two) away!

[luckydog]

you will get a real official 2nd chance offer thru Ebay on your my ebay section messages.

don't trust one thru your email.

[bfree]

I too accepted a second chance bid from them. My Julie arrived safe and sound and very loud ! I noticed the machine was shipped in a smaller box lying on its side but packed pretty well. Good luck

[Robocourier]

Being a little cynical I always look at 2nd chance offers in one of two ways:

1. Shill bidding between the seller and 'winning bidder' to push the price up.
2. It's a scam where you'll lose your money.

Not much difference between the two, of course.

Just my cynical opinion. Hope it works out.

[johntofva]

I don't know guys. It seems to me that they are just trying to generate some revenue.

[ocpachinko]

They have 200+ pachinkos in the warehouse as of my recent visit, so I doubt highly they're shilling. Jake suggested a pachinko-only container may be also on the way. If they get close enough to their price target they'll second chance the second highest bidder...saves a relist. Good luck on the shipping.

[DrDark]

UPDATE:
Ordered Julie on the 23rd.
Shipped via FEDEX on the 26th.
Delivered to my door March 2nd.
Details and photos to follow.

[slothappy144]

I recieved a second chance offer on my Vicky and took it, a good price on a clean machine. If it comes from Ebay it is OK, be sure to call after you pay. I had to inform them I accepted the second chance offer from Mercy.

[Tulsa]

I've never got the impression they were shilling. Over their heads, oh yeah. Trying in vain to find a way to make a buck by reducing their offering and services, oh yeah. But shilling never even crossed my mind.

[DrDark]

I arrived home to find that FedEx did its job well indeed. Julie was on my porch, shipped on its side, in a completely undamaged smallish box. Unpacking was easy. The machine was double bubble wrapped and bagged. A double layer of cardboard was over the face of the machine. Shrink wrap topped it off. The packaging was less robust than I am used to seeing but it did arrive 100% undamaged. All the boards and wiring seemed to be in place as was the dongle. It did not smell of cigarettes and the ashtray was sealed.

Julie was shipped with the key in the door and the bag of balls (300, cleaner than most) in the bottom tray. There was no rear ball catch tray supplied with this machine but, since it was destined to be mounted in a cabinet it did not matter to me. The machine had feet screwed to the bottom frame. They were more than adequate for table top use. I took them off so I could mount Julie in the cabinet.

Overall the machine was a little cleaner than the average. That’s not to say that I did not spend an hour going over it with paper towels and Windex. The playfield was clean and shiny without the typical grime trails, and the spinners/pockets were surprisingly clean too. The nails had been heavily adjusted so later on they will need to be returned to their original positions to let balls reach all the reward pockets.

Julie was secured in the wall mount cabinet and plugged in. Powering the game up revealed no surprises. All the lamps were lit and the shooter worked. I dropped a ball into each reward pocket to test them and the machine responded with a payout and music. Really loud music! Examining the rear of the machine, I found the volume control slide switch and placed it in the lowest position. The machine was still too loud for comfortable playing. 15 minutes later with Syscom volume controls in place, I was ready to play. The Lumina case lends itself to easy placement of the volume controls.

I filled her up with balls (you need at least 1000) and played. After a bunch of reaches in 15 minutes I hit a fever round. As I continued to play I noticed that whenever a ball dropped into the open lower reward Tulip, there was no payout. Could I have a bad sensor? Looking very carefully at the back of the machine with a flashlight showed me that a small 2 wire (greenish plug in the center of the rear board) plug was unplugged. I plugged it in and all was well. The open Tulip now worked as intended. I think this may have been intentionally unplugged at the parlor to lower payouts.

Over the course of the next hour or so I adjusted the nails to provide smooth play and with some aiming, continuous spins. In an hour I had hit 3 fever rounds a few chances and a bunch of Julie-Times. The machine operated flawlessly.

Overall I would give this vendor a solid 8 out of 10. The machine itself was an 8+. Julie was physically in better overall condition then most. She was shipped fast and arrived undamaged. Short of the disconnected payout plug, all was well.

Julie the Pinball is a fantastic machine and I will certainly buy from PANCHINKO again.

[imsimba]

Slothappy144,

Mercy's not there anymore I would call to make sure. Picked up my Vicky on Friday and love it, I just got it to 333 fever after I got a japaneese mission message. Lots to learn and lots of fun. Welcome to Club Vicky!

[janetcatherineb]

Hey DrDark, Congrats on the Julie, That will hopfully be my NEXT purchase. I want that Pachinko BAD. I am so glad to hear that you got it to you in good shape, that is allways a great thing to hear. Have fun and post some photos.

~J~