Any Takers?

[alphaminor]

interesting ideas, I'm also wondering what Rita is thinking about right about now

[monkeyboy]

I'll certainly be watching who buys this lot. I know there is a The Ring machine in there somewhere that I'm after. I almost bought it just before Christmas that is until the wife asked for an IPad.

Frank you have a spare $25,000 lying around?

[luckydog]

the as doen't state they are selling the business name or ebay account or all their contact and shipping info from japan.

they need to order months ahead, i wonder if another container is on its way over by ship already???

[BamBam]

I would love to take a closer look at the inventory, but Dallas is too far from Michigan. I'm already self employed with a few businesses and would love to start a pachinko business. I hope someone buys it and keeps Curt's legacy going.

[Steve Cebu]

The thing is investing in a consortium is a good idea but how do you divide everything?
I think their price might be flexible if it was a cash offer. For me to invest it would have to be.
You have 300 machines divided X amount of ways and X amount of pachinko balls etc...
Ok easy enough but then you have shipping. How do you ship to the other members?
Even if it's 50 machines a piece that's 184 lbs. of pachinko balls divided 6 ways.
it's also 16,666 Pachinko balls per person.
A group buy will work if everyone agrees but my gut tells me that it will be a lot of
trouble because of the many factors involved.

[takethecastle57]

Well, whatever happens with all those Pachi's I hope that their fate is better than what happens to the 3/4 of the ones that get "Recycled "

[Card Shark]

I do not believe it would be possible for a group of partners to divide the inventory. I think the only way it would work would be to work as group to sell the merchandise and then split profits. Again he return on investment would certainly take awhile.

[Steve Cebu]

The thing is Pachinko owners/investors are going to want the machines they want first before they sell anything.
Think about it this way. How many PachiTalk members would buy machines for themselves if they were importing from Japan as a business?
Collectors collect first and sell second. I know I'd grab a bunch for myself every container.

[hanabi]

Just adding the link to the other conversation about this

Start your own pachinko distribution company

[naha13]

I think it will take one person with a solid business plan to make this work. Investor wise, you reap out what % of the business you bought into or choose to take less and reinvest to keep it going long term. If someone in this group wants to take that on be it Rita or someone else, I think they need to get it moving and find some time to present the plan to this group, and then privately discuss a mutually acceptable financial arrangement to any member willing to put part of the money down. Personally I would have to be closer to retiring to take something like this on as it looks like full time work. Also, I think once the company is off the ground, you could always get whatever machine you want at wholesale "cost" so you don't run your own business in the ground. Just my 2 cents(or more if the opportunity comes around).

[Frank A]

Unfortunately the business model for being a dealer does not work, especially now. Remember when we all started this hobby we all thought that we could do well buying and selling machines. It was almost like the token to quarter conversion fever we all had with our first machines. Six years ago I invested in multiple machines, balls, tokens, meters etc. I ran ads and posted on multiple sites. Very low demand except in our small circle of enthusiasts. People would come to look, get very excited by the lights and action and would only buy if I discounted below cost. I was buying low and selling low too ! Not a way to make money. Over the years I have done better financially by donating Pachislos, Pachinkos and Pinball machines to charity and claiming the donations on our tax return. The business for sale on ebay may have made a profit, but how many hours did he spend, what was his overhead and how long did he sit on his inventory ? The return on investment could not have been too great. Without seeing the P & L statement for the business and inspecting the inventory on hand and seeing the incoming inventory and seeing who the end customer was, it seems marginal at best. We may be excited as hobbiests, but as business people it may not be a good investment unless one does extensive due dilligence. If anyone wants to put some numbers together, I would be willing to look at the business plan and offer advice. Good luck to the family and Curt will be missed.

[JACKSJE4]

They are advertising the inventory on Craigslist now. No mention of price in the ad: Pachinko Slot Machine Coin Business Inventory Supplies

We are looking for reasonable offers from serious buyers. We are trying to find a buyer for all inventory, parts, etc. We prefer to sell everything to one person or company. We really have no interested in parting things out, but we are still a little open minded on ideas. So if you have any interest and you have the funds, lets talk!

I wonder what the seller fees would be if they sold the business on eBay vs. craigslist? Maybe a lower acquisition price could be negotiated that way.

[wandererwillow]

Just a heads up, new on the forums here, but I contacted them directly through their craigslist ad. Asked to see about individual pricing and they're mentioning that most are about 300 a piece at the least. I found out that Carl apparently passed away, sadly. Asked to see if there was a way I could purchase some of the pachinko machines for 100-150 (considering most sold on his site for 200 or less) and they seemed to want at cost or more for them, even for local pick up. I'd love to buy a few that he has, and should be getting an inventory tonight or tomorrow, but I worry that unless the prices drop, they wont sell, and they're looking to clear them out quick.

[wandererwillow]

Not a fan of multi-posting but I can't find any way to mod my post. I know they're looking for things to be at cost (or more) from what slot-pachinko.com had it, but it doesn't seem like they come with balls or the warranty, which greatly lowers the value for me. I checked the archive for their site and most are around $200, some even less. I'm sure I can get them separate but they're selling them one at a time "as is". Considering that they used to come with the 400 balls and a 6 month warranty, asking for the same price without either of those is going to make it even harder. Unless they change their minds or someone buys this in entirety, I'm worried they wont be able to sell.

[Moparformances]

Just a heads up, new on the forums here, but I contacted them directly through their craigslist ad. Asked to see about individual pricing and they're mentioning that most are about 300 a piece at the least. I found out that Carl apparently passed away, sadly. Asked to see if there was a way I could purchase some of the pachinko machines for 100-150 (considering most sold on his site for 200 or less) and they seemed to want at cost or more for them, even for local pick up. I'd love to buy a few that he has, and should be getting an inventory tonight or tomorrow, but I worry that unless the prices drop, they wont sell, and they're looking to clear them out quick.

Welcome to Pachitalk

[emmadog]

pretty much what frank said. there's much better ways to invest if you're looking to actually make money. too small of an enthusiast base and pachinko collectors are cheap. that's not good/bad or right wrong but just how it is and calling it like i see it. as frank mentioned, people were excited then wanted machines below cost aka wanting something for nothing which is exacerbated by the economy. imo this is an oppurtunity for someone with a passion for these who can put up with the business headaches, has the time and of course can wait awhile for a return on the investment if any after it's all said and done.
______________________________________________________

Not a fan of multi-posting but I can't find any way to mod my post. I know they're looking for things to be at cost (or more) from what slot-pachinko.com had it, but it doesn't seem like they come with balls or the warranty, which greatly lowers the value for me. I checked the archive for their site and most are around $200, some even less. I'm sure I can get them separate but they're selling them one at a time "as is". Considering that they used to come with the 400 balls and a 6 month warranty, asking for the same price without either of those is going to make it even harder. Unless they change their minds or someone buys this in entirety, I'm worried they wont be able to sell.

no reason to worry. if they don't sell them then it stands to reason that they'll be doing whatever it takes to unload these which is good news for buyers. i suspect if they do sell the entire inventory it will end up being at a reduced price. i was a biology major not business but for reasons myself and others have stated, any cautious business person is going to really question the demand for this type of luxury item these days and either pass or make a lower offer.

[Card Shark]

Just a heads up, new on the forums here, but I contacted them directly through their craigslist ad. Asked to see about individual pricing and they're mentioning that most are about 300 a piece at the least. I found out that Carl apparently passed away, sadly. Asked to see if there was a way I could purchase some of the pachinko machines for 100-150 (considering most sold on his site for 200 or less) and they seemed to want at cost or more for them, even for local pick up. I'd love to buy a few that he has, and should be getting an inventory tonight or tomorrow, but I worry that unless the prices drop, they wont sell, and they're looking to clear them out quick.

If you do get a copy of their inventory, I am sure there are several of us who would love to see it.

Welcome to Pachitalk.

[BamBam]

Not knowing if they own the inventory outright or still owe money on it, I can't say what the owners should do. I can say from a business standpoint, it will take a while to get any type of return on your investment as it's hard to sell these machines even for below $200 right now. If you add in the cost of relocating the inventory you would need to get the machines pretty cheap to make any profit. In the end I hope the family can at least break even and they find a buyer or some way to sell the inventory fast. Curt was a good man and the pachinko community lost a great friend.

[wandererwillow]

It appears that they're selling to get rid of stock before they move, and a good chunk of their games were at $200ish as is, with 400 balls and 6 month warranty. Unless you get the entire thing it didn't seem like they were selling the balls with the machines, and it was as-is with no warranty. I get that some harder ones to get are going to still go for decent prices, but it seems like they're keeping them at the same prices they had them at. Still no inventory list, waiting to get that and I'll post it.

[Steve Cebu]

There is no way they are going to split their inventory. t would be a very bad business decision on their part.
It's true that the machines lose value for a myriad of reasons. But if they don't sell it as a package they'd have to sell it individually.
I sincerely doubt they want to keep teh business going. It's a niche market and from what I've seen Curt was looking to
sell off his remaining inventory since he had pulled his website down and wouldn't email me a list of the machines he had for sale.
I'd be very surprised if they didn't have a number of lower offers already.
If I had storage I'd probably make them an offer myself.
If they sold all the balls or all of anything, that could put them in a place where they couldn't give away the other machines.
I know in my head what this lot is worth to me, if I bought it as a business and I'm tempted to make an offer.
But I do not know enough about the machines enough to make it worthwhile. As emmadog pointed out,
Pachinko collectors are bargain hunters. We all want a great machine for a very low price. Most collectors are like that.