Has the pachi fad gone away?

[777+15]

I currenlty have 14 machines and 25,000 tokens to support the them.

I remembered two years ago that everyone was selling pachi's and now my sources have dried up. Stealth has sold his company and I do not know who is still out there. Are these things still as popular as before?

[MrGoodBurn]

If you ask anyone on the board here if they are still as popular as before; we would say yes. In fact they are as popular here as they have always been...

I too have seen the number of dealers fluctuate with new dealers coming and going, but there are still many reliable dealers for both Pachinko and Pachislo.

I know Stealth has sold out to someone else, and I am not sure if the quality is what it once was. The fact that they are still around shows that there must be enough business to feed the new owner.

The import cost is higher now than it was, which has run some of the smaller importers out of business. This may be what you are seeing... There are still several reliable dealers, and some of them are even members here.

Some of the dealers listed below sell both Pachinko and Pachislo, and some sell only one or the other.

In the US we have:

Blue Hotaru, Pachislo Japanese skill stop slot machines, pachinko machines, and accessories. (outdoorenth here on the forum)
token slot machines free shipping and tokens : Home
Slot Machines-Pachinko Machine Sales, Parts and Service (texasauction on eBay)
Custom Slot Machine, Pachislo, and Skill Stop Slot -- GAK Trading, Inc. (gaku2006 on eBay)
Pachinko Pagoda (pachinkopagoda on eBay)

In the Netherlands we have:

http://www.dragonfly-amusement.com (dragonfly here on the forum)

In Canada we have:

Imatrix Canada

I'm sure there are other reliable dealers that I have missed, and other members will fill in the blanks I'm sure.

[Chrisdice]

Yes on this board they are just as popular as before, but with less vendors out there prices have gone up tremendously. A few years ago sniping a newer model game off of ebay (pachislo or pachinko) was common place. Stealth had real weekly specials. My King Camel was $99 from Stealth. Gaku, CF, AAA ect. were all selling games with 1 cent starting prices and no reserves. With so many cheep games out there(under $50 not uncommon) the hobby was exploding and more and more people were finding there way to pachitalk. Although there are still deals out there they are few and far between. And even though $150-$300 imho is a fair price for a pachislo/pachinko. People are a lot less likely to try something new for that price then they were when it could be had for $50-$100.
So to answer your question, although they are still very popular with me, I do believe the fad as you say, has faded some.

[Akabei]

I'll pay $500 for a nice pachislo, no problem.

[Chrisdice]

I'll pay $500 for a nice pachislo, no problem.

Come on by!!!

[mark1120]

I currenlty have 14 machines and 25,000 tokens to support the them.

I remembered two years ago that everyone was selling pachi's and now my sources have dried up. Stealth has sold his company and I do not know who is still out there. Are these things still as popular as before?

I've collected pachis for about 4 years now and definitely feel like it has faded (over the last year or so in particular). When I first started collecting, I used to look forward to logging on to Stealth's website every Sunday night (?) to see what the new $99 specials for the week would be...and a few years ago I loaded up on machines from Gaku when he was running those 3 for $499, 3 for $599, and 3 for $699 specials on his website. Although I can't remember their two user names, about 2 years (?) ago, there was a vendor in California that was selling pachis on ebay for dirt cheap. I feel like that was the height of the pachi popularity on this website because there used to be a lot more threads relating to "model talk" and "vendors" back then.

Today, the number of vendors seems much smaller...and the vast majority of what's left are simply drop shippers for Trademark Commerce...so I feel like we're at the mercy of what Trademark imports and what prices they set. Also, it seems like 90% of the recent ebay ads are for "custom" pachislos created by Trademark...something that doesn't interest me at all. Another sign to me that interest has faded is how few "model talk" threads have been started related to some of the newer machines that have come in - Star Wars, Looney Tunes, Lord of the Rings, Rocky Balboa, Rambo, Spiderman, etc. I think the gameplay is getting better and better with each passing year...I'm a big fan of the full screen LCD's and was looking forward to those machines for a long time...but there's hardly any mention of those particular machines on this site and I think that's because very few people have bought them.

[RPLOADED]

I also think that the Vegas machines are posing as competition. If you know a vendor you can get a Vegas touch screen machine like Texas Tea or Gone fishing for about $1200.00, basic 3 line for $500. Now that is a big price difference but a game like Texas Tea is worth it easily. Most average people want a slot machine that takes currency, is in english and was played in Vegas. When people come over to my house and play around the Vegas machines will be taken long before any Pachislos. When I ask why, they would rather play a boring single line game with no lcd etc. Well we know this game, can understand the rules and it makes sounds in my language. They usually finish with, that other thing is a toy you can get at Costco.

Until the Japanese games have an international venue, they make the language selectable etc, people are going to continue to buy custom pachislos they can relate too that are cheap (Vegas style, Famous characters,Harley Davidson, etc), not king Camel BBD, Spin Luck etc.

For the retailer: It is much cheaper to make a custom using a 25$ machine and sell it for 300$ then spend $120 to import a fancy title and sell for $225.

Thats just my take on it...

[johntofva]

My spin...

I think the machines are still very popular. What is not popular? Being a seller. Starting about 2 years ago, the market was flooded. Machine that would normally sell for $200 were going for $50. Sellers couldn't compete or stay afloat... So they left the market. We have only recently seen people step in to fill that void. But we are at the start of a world wide recession. So we will see.

[PachiFool]

As a former vendor, I definitely saw the market saturated by places like Costco, Ollie's, etc. When the market dried up, those stores sold off what they had left at $50.00 each just to get rid of them. The fad is over for most casual buyers. As collectors we will always be interested, but we are a small market. As a arcade game collector, I saw the same thing happen to that market. A few years ago every baby boomer wanted their favorite video game in their home. Then they found out that 25 year old electronics weren't all that reliable and that fad went away.

[idylukewild]

Well, this is a very interesting post for someone who bought his first pachislo in August of this year. I bought my ninth yesterday. It was a King Camel someone was selling through Craigslist for $150. As a matter of fact, I have bought my last 4 pachislos locally, 2 through Craigslist and 2 through ebay local pickup. The cost from non-vendors has averaged $112, and all have been LCD models (with the exception of King Camel). I'm sorry I wasn't around for the $50 pachislo days. Hearing such stories makes it hard to stomach the $250-$300 cost (once shipping is factored in) for pachislos from vendors, regardless of any inherent value for the admittedly wonderful machines. I also lament the lack of variety in machine titles: why do I see Cutey Honey pachislos on Yahoo Japan auctions but none can be found from vendors here? The 're-paints' are outrageous - but it's clear from the 'sell a $50 machine for $300' factor that there is a reason for it, and if it keeps vendors in business I'm all for it. All of what has been said in this thread makes complete sense from my experience.

I do have some information to add. I went to Ollies today to see if they had any pachislos, since the guy I bought the KC from mentioned them, and I saw Ollies mentioned in a few threads on PachiTalk. Not only did they not have any pachislos, but the employee I spoke to said that they haven't had any for over a year, and he added that when they have gotten them in the past (40 or so per shipment) they sell very fast - they get sold out within a week. So, without knowing all of the details there certainly seems to be a demand at least at that Ollies. I guess I can dream that with fuel prices so low now and new machines replacing old in Japan all of the time we might get some new big influx of pachislos sometime in the future. Maybe shipping will go down on internet orders as well, so those prices will be more attractive. Maybe not Cutey Honeys $50 and $30 shipping, but at least something better than it is now (which has been a little disheartening considering stories of the glory days for buyers discussed in PachiTalk).

[Eddie]

If Im not mistaken Pachitalk has been on a gradual climb in membership so participation in the hobby is still very active. Only the sellers have dwindled.

[Frank A]

I have been a member here since 12/28/04 and have been in the hobby for almost six years. As many members have stated, most of the vendors that we started out with are gone. I used to be able to get Milt Cohen on the phone at Stealth and arrange to pick up machines in Rochester to re-sell or to keep. Shipping from as far as Lodi California was only $ 49.00 to a max of $ 69.00 with great packing. The Fed Ex guy was here every week, but I haven't seen him in years. I guess that we all spent way too much time on line looking and buying directly from our favorite vendors or on e-bay. I actually used to chart weekly prices on the games that I owned or was considering buying. Remember when we were competing for machines and one guy bought about 30 or so over a few weeks ? I don't think that I spend more than 10 minutes a month on either Pachislo and Pachinko sites now while in the past I would spend hours here at Pachi Talk or on vendor sites. I still have 20 Pachislos and 14 Pachinkos, but the desire to spend as much time researching and playing has diminished. I actually tried to be in the buying and selling end for a few years, but never made any money at it. I did better tax wise in the last year by donating machines for charity auctions and taking tax credits for the donations. I still buy and sell pinball games too and I enjoy the challenge of bringing older machines back to life and getting them to look like new, but that hobby has gotten put on the back burner too. My grandchildren are still fascinated by all of the machines in our gameroom, but this Christmas they played pool and the new Wii games more than anything else. We may be going through a down cycle, but we still share a common bond in as much as we still enjoy each other and whatever knowledge we can share. Have a great New Year.
Frank A

[Subarubrat]

. As a arcade game collector, I saw the same thing happen to that market. A few years ago every baby boomer wanted their favorite video game in their home. Then they found out that 25 year old electronics weren't all that reliable and that fad went away.

I attribute it to that and the cycle of fads. Right after the home gameroom fad had everyone buying up a Mrs Pac, Galaga and a pinball in the late 90's and early 2000's and the prices were driven up from low hundreds to over a thousand for major classics the poker fad hit. Suddenly everyone was a poker champion with the jackets, glasses and table. All those vids and pins had to go out the back door for the poker table. I would expect to see allot of those poker tables by the trash in the next few years. For pin/vid collectors is was a good thing. The average price for classics collapsed and there are more in the market. At least this was the experience in my region and at the auctions/Craigslist etc. I scan and buy at.

[luckydog]

I bought all my pachis for my enjoyment, not as an investment.

coins have been the only hobby I have always made money on, buy when the prices drop and sell when they climb

unfortunatly most of my coins are gone now!!!

[hanabi]

Over here in the UK we have never really had the luxury of lots of Vendors or dirt cheap prices

I have probably paid a good price for all my Pachis, but have never looked at it as an investment, it's all for the fun and enjoyment of the hobby with me

I do worry that the lack of Vendors over here is going to severly limit the Machines I will be able to purchase in the future though

It's never been about the price, I will continue to quite happily pay £300+ for a pachi if it's something I want


In fact I was sitting on the Sofa a couple of evenings ago, watching someone playing through Fever after Fever on Julie Pinball, and I was reminded just how fantastic Pachinko is, how amazing it is to own a piece of top Japanese technology, as I sat watching the super light show, all set in time to the Music tracks...

Worth every penny and a darn sight more I would imagine

Yeah, the fad is still strong with this one

[idylukewild]

No matter what else can be said for pachislo 'fad or not' this is undeniably one great, open, friendly community!

There is no question that, as a novice, Pachitalk has nourished my interest in pachislos a great deal!

Also, unlike other hobbies I've had, the pachislos encourage a social aspect.

I can't wait to have my birthday party next month with 9 pachislos set up for my guests to enjoy (I'll be sure to post a photo or video)! Even folk who aren't entranced by a row of pachis can't help being at least impressed!

[alstonj1]

personally i think things are drying up .Think about it . with the so called "green movement" being what it is and the Japanese having these machines turn over every so many years they were being junked and a small amount were being sent over here for our enjoyment at a small profit .But now with the green movement they have found they can recycle these used machines and make more money on all their machines instead of the small percentage they were before .by selling them for scrap (gold and precious metals) and selling monitors and other pieces why would you go to the trouble of selling machines when you can just make a deal with a scrap dealer to buy your old machines at a higher price . if you want to blame anyone blame the tree huggers cause now its a business and your no longer the client .There will always be some machines that make it here but youll be paying more for them the day of the 50 dollar hanabi have gone by the wayside except maybe in craigs list .you may even see a price hike in used vintage machines since the dumping of machines here is slowing and is probably going to dry up the market ...

[alstonj1]

an added thought the amount of tech questions has also been on the decline over the last 6 months as well could this be due to a lack of newbees asking the same old 2 switch questions and how to operate the machine can i convert it questions ? I know its not because they are reading the stickies most people never do that ...(although i do have to admit the last month or so the amount of newbees asking questions has been rising in the area of expertise . people are actually digging in and troubleshooting their machine electronically before posting asking questions and i applaud this immensely ) they still have to remember were running blind here and we need pictures of the machines interior to help .But its a vast improvement none the less

[derek1960]

As a relative newbee myself I have found lot of questions that I have needed to ask but most of the answers can be found by doing a search.
A year ago I had never heard of pachislo or pachinko untill I came across one at a car boot sale (Taco Slot for 80 Quid ) We live and learn, Since then I have two more pachislo's And two pachinko's and lots of new friends thanks to pachi talk.
I dont think the fad has died off just the supply.
There are a lot more that I want, but where from?
Also with the poo pound buying from overseas is not an option at the moment
Steve at 777 heaven has just about wraped up, I think he's had enough of the whingers who want to hang him if he cant shift a machine half way around the world in three days or dont get what they want in a lucky dip. never mind the hundreds of happy customers.

[Frank A]

Arby:
Any input on your end ?