New Buyer Questions

[wmas1960]

I have yet to buy a Pachislo machine and am thinking of picking up, maybe, a couple of them. I don't have a lot to spend though. I am kind of confused since there are so many dealers out there and some prices that can range quite a bit. I see pictures on some ebay sites that show how some dealers stick together connections with plumbers putty or include slugs with their machines. Some posts that I have read here talk about the worn cabinets and dirty conditions and smelly machines. Makes me really concerned for what I might get if I choose the wrong seller.

There are also a few dealers who talk about the painstaking reconditioning and modification that these machines receive. I can see conversion for Household electric and the installation of volume controls etc. I will, certainly, find myself in an apartment soon where neighbors might not appreciate loud music or computer voices going all day long while I am away or all night when they want to sleep.... I also appreciate the point about unsafe shoddy work that could pose an electric or fire hazard... I do wonder about some of the refinishing of the outside with paint or laminating of the cabinets. I assume the indentations on the side are handles for carrying or moving? I can see value to having those. One dealer shows how they laminate over them. That isn't a huge issue to me but the main point is how does the reconditioning effect any collector value. Is less more in some cases? or is this refurbishing fully accepted among collectors.

There are a hand full of dealers that I am feeling kind of comfortable about but some charge quite a bit. I don't mind paying for piece of mind and all but don't want to get taken to a point where, should I ever have to get rid of my machines I will find that they were only worth half of what I paid.

Anyways, I would appreciate any information on specific things I should look at in a dealer, whether Internet or local. There are a couple shops that sell game room and billiard items near me that do sell the machines. Also what would be a proper pricing for machines. And of course, any specific praises or warnings of specific reputable or not reputable dealers.

There are a few machines that I am specifically interested in .

Double Chance is a machine that my girlfriend and I saw in a local billiard store. Got us intrigued by these machines and lit the fire.

Super Blackjack and Tricolor Red White and Blue are a couple that I have noticed on line that I think would be cool also.

And Speed Racer caught my eye because I grew up at a time when that was one of my favorite after school cartoons. There is a good nostalgic interest in that one.

Thanks for any assistance that anyone can provide.

Bill S. Chicago - N. Suburbs

[RKnarr01]

if you look thru the board you will see who the better dealers are www.pachislousa.com has machines for really good prices, www.stealthhomeamusement.com has machines that are newer and a bit more expensive,

when looking for a dealer look for someone thats been doing this a while and that will be there down the road incase you have a problem with a machine there seems to be a lot of people starting to sell these that dont know much about them as for whats a good price to pay that all depends on what model your looking at but good luck finding a first machine

[DaStooge]

My oppinion would be to buy from stealth. Great machines, lifetime warranty.

I've never personally bought from them, but I've never heard a negative comment about them.


Good Luck.

[TatooedLady]

My first machine was thru Stealth. Solid packaging, BEAUTIFUL machine, everything shiny and pretty...and it worked A-1. Won thru sniping an ebay auction for about half the price posted on the vendors sites. :smt118

[slotter]

Your question is a difficult one as you asked a lot of different questions in the one single post. All your answers are already in this forum and not that difficult to find. :wink:

I would suggest you read this forum throughly before making your decision and not depending on one or two people advising you. The information here will not take more than a few enjoyable hours to sort through as to the better vendors and also to the rest of your questions. :lol:

[Tulsa]

The laminate while it does cover the handles on the machine, in my opinion provides a better overall look to the machine and cover all those screw holes nicely. On ebay the seller is pachinko_pallace. Great vendor with a lifetime warrany on their machines and offers our users an additional 450 tokens with each purchase. This seller is a member here.

Another great vendor who offers a lifetime warranty and does a great job on cleaning and prepping his machines is demos777. Uses paint instead of laminate but offers our users $15 off the advertised shipping rate. This seller is a member here.

Another trustyworthy vendor is pachislot777. Simple paint but will arrive clean and working. Only a year's warranty on this one and no discount for our members but his machines will generally sell for less. This seller is not a member here.

Those are the majors. We also have quite a few other members here who sell machines and you can trust them.

PachisloUSA (he makes the credit chip)
GameAdvance
Jacagan
ArbyCoffee
Tammy1973
Drugdoc

Slotusa is a major player but it's hit and miss with this one. Valleygaming, Fun, abestbuy.com and slottechusa I would personally steer clear of.

You're going to need volume controls on almost any machine you purchase with the exception ofthe Super Blackjack you mentioned earlier. Their built in volume controls on that machine are very nice.

There's certainly more you can read on the board but this is a good start.

[Davis]

First off, welcome to the site. I agree totally and wholeheartedly that stealth is the best on ebay, their name on ebay is demos777. Milt is the owner over there and is a top notch guy! Hell get you a clean machine with all the bells and whistles. Not to mention his shipping is very fast too. I cant say enough about them!

[Drugdoc]

Bill,
I noticed that you are in the Chicago area. If you are anywhere near South Elgin please send me an Email. I have over 20 machines in stock, and also do custom work. I have Speed Racer in stock and some of the newer El vision machines including Beast Sapp. You are welcome to Try the machines out, so you have a better idea of what is out there.


Drugdoc dbhrph@sbcglobal.net

[cwstnsko]

Bill,
I noticed that you are in the Chicago area. If you are anywhere near South Elgin please send me an Email. I have over 20 machines in stock, and also do custom work. I have Speed Racer in stock and some of the newer El vision machines including Beast Sapp. You are welcome to Try the machines out, so you have a better idea of what is out there.


Drugdoc dbhrph@sbcglobal.net

There you go, that's the hot ticket. Find someone local so you can check out the machines and try a few before you buy. With the money you save by not paying shipping, you can get a good deal at the same time that he gets a fair price. This is how I've bought all but 2 of my Pachislos. I'm lucky enough to have Zcore (jacagan on ebay) local to me.

[Czyotto]

There is a place in Algonquin, IL that is called Rec Room. They have about 17 Pachislo's and 3 Vegas slots. The Vegas slots run about $2700, the Pachislo's from $299 to $489. Some have bandit arms and some are customize.

Any way the vendor is Mecca Enterprises, 847-451-9945 10350 Armatage in Melrose Park, IL

AL

[luckydog]

don't forget the 7 mile fair in wisconsin, about 100 miles from chicago.

open weekends for the winter months

[TatooedLady]

Yep, 7mileslots is another good place to shop. I picked up my Yeti from David, and will be buying Dracula 7 from him. I've also picked up a couple thousand tokens and am going back for a couple thousand more. David's location works GREAT for me, since it takes me only about 15 minutes to get to him at either warehouse or 7 mile fair location. He sells a nice product at a reasonable price. Not perfect LOOKING, but WORKING perfectly.

[Firewire]

Drugdoc would be your best option (he's a good seller) then one of the vendors mentioned.

As for the Tri-Color. I don't see them too often, but I did find one for $299 here and this company installs volume controls: http://www.pachislo.com/s/s3.html