Prices of vintage machines

[Bigdog]

Is it just me, or do the prices of Vintage Pachinko machines seem to be much higher than they used to? Ebay especially? Sellers are asking ridiculous starting bids for trashed machines, and while Craigslist seems to have taken over as the "affordable" option, there are some screamingly bad deals there as well. If you still want a good deal on a machine, you seem to have to wait for it to come available on Craigslist.

The numbers of "cool" machines also seem to be waning...many of the machines coming available are very pedestrian.

Just my two cents.

[browne92]

It may not be as bad as it first seems. If you look at ebay, you see a lot of vintage machines priced in the rediculous range, but when you look at completed listings, the highest sellers are around $150. That's still more than I am willing to pay, as I like to buy them broke and fix them, but it's not too far out.

I see this a lot on ebay, as I have interest in machine tools and pinball, too. I call it 'fishing for a sucker.' Price it high and hope that an impulse buyer who is too lazy to research it to find it's real worth will click 'buy it now'. It's made worse by the fact that if you list something twice and it doesn't sell, ebay will let you list it until it does sell at no addtional charge. As long as the seller has patience, it's not costing him anything.

[mxfaiman]

I too have noticed Ebay prices have tripled basically. It is absurd, it makes me want to go through my pile and throw really trashed machines on there for like $100. (But I have some sense and won't do that) I think everyone started seeing the rare machines pop up and sell for high prices and then they thought that theirs was worth about the same (when it isn't). I do hope that some people will soon come down to earth on their prices when they realize that they aren't selling at $250. Also I will admit that they are also getting prices based on sites like Vintage Pachinko, Pachinko Planet, and Pachinko Restorations. When they see that fully restored they sell for $500 and up, but they just don't realize how much work it takes to get a machine up to that selling price. (I will say that I have sold a few machines on Pachinko Planet and yes I did get $500 and up for some but I have to put in over 40 hours of work into a machine to get it to that price range.)

[JACKSJE4]

With regard to Craigslist (which I scan for Pachinko machines across the U.S. daily), there seems to be an ebb and flow on values of machine, possibly related to the economy or other factors (when the economy is down, prices drop, when the economy is up, prices rise). I see vintage machines priced anywhere from $10 to $150 or more, and most are not worth the price being asked. I would guess that most sellers without knowledge of the Pachinko market look at the machine and just take a wild guess at how much it might be worth based on how "fancy" or intricate they think it is. Most advertisers say they don't know much about their machine, yet they somehow arrived at a listing price based on gut reaction. It would be nice if we could search "sold" statistics on Craigslist like we can on eBay. I bet you would find that most CL machines sell for much less than what they are advertised for.

When I find a machine on Craigslist I am interested in, I don't pay much attention to the advertised price. Armed with a background and knowledge of these machines, I find that I can easily educate the seller about the vintage Pachinko market and talk them into accepting a fair price for their machine. As mentioned, most sellers don't know much about them so they tend to let down their guard on the price when they realize they are working with a buyer that knows a heck of a lot more about the machine than they do.

As for the availability of "cool" machines... they still pop up occasionally as they have in the past. You just have to be quick to get them.

~Jeff

[Bigdog]

I have seen many quotes recently such as "these machines are selling for $250+ on ebay, so this machine is rare and is a great deal"...and then you will see that they are selling a normal Nishijin B with a lot of water stains and missing covers and the white ball cover on the back...only asking $175.

That said, I just got my computer pachinko for $75 on CL, though it remains to be seen if it works. We will soon know, and if it doesn't, after the $25 lock fee, it will be a $100 piece of non-functioning nosatalgia as I have zero mechanical skills. So while there are good deals still to be had on CL, many sellers are becoming more agressive and savvy...asking for the world.

[pachiwall]

I know how you feel! I think I got in at the tail end of reasonable prices. But have paid MORE than reasonable prices for some of my machines! Sometimes because you LEARN...Sometimes because "you HAVE to have it!"

[naha13]

I passed on two machines last weekend in a consignment shop. A so-so common model B priced at $85, and a No More War #2 priced at $199. I offered $75 for the No More War(pitted chrome and water stained cell) with a bucket a balls(some rusty) and got a $100 counter offer. Those people were nuts and don't know what they really have or what it takes to fix them up nice. On the plus side they both had the track covers.

[Bigdog]

The ball track covers are worth $15-$25 in the open market by themselves. Unfortunately, it is really difficult to "pretty up" a machine with pitted chrome and significant water stains. Fun to work on in your workshop, but at the end of the day, it's still not going to be worth much...I just tinker with them for the fun of it...making a profit in this hobby is way too hard...so, overpaying for junk machines is not an option...

[Moparformances]

if your in it for the money


get out...

[Card Shark]

if your in it for the money


get out...

Very true.

[CarlW]

Here is a link to cardwii's web page. I may have missed it being posted. He has statistics through last September at the bottom of the web page.

Valuing Vintage Pachinkos

Sales will pick up in February.

[Alzarakh]

Since we're on the topic of cost, can I throw these up here and get an opinion? Only 2 on CL in my area. Not sure if they're worth it... They seems kinda bland to me but they also seem (From the pictures) to be in fairly good shape. (other than electronics my Sankyo is almost cleaned so I need a new project)

1)Pachinko 1

2)Pachinko 2

In the #2 ad he specifies it doesn't work, I can see a cover missing but thats it from the pic really. Although if someone has better eyes and can spot something else let me know. My first machine was a "not working" machine and it just had a ball jammed in the bottom slot that leads to the bucket. Worked fine after that...

This is pretty much my area at the moment though. $100 seems high to me. I could try and ask lower on #1. Thanks!

[Moparformances]

Since we're on the topic of cost, can I throw these up here and get an opinion? Only 2 on CL in my area. Not sure if they're worth it... They seems kinda bland to me but they also seem (From the pictures) to be in fairly good shape. (other than electronics my Sankyo is almost cleaned so I need a new project)

1)Pachinko 1

2)Pachinko 2

In the #2 ad he specifies it doesn't work, I can see a cover missing but thats it from the pic really. Although if someone has better eyes and can spot something else let me know. My first machine was a "not working" machine and it just had a ball jammed in the bottom slot that leads to the bucket. Worked fine after that...

This is pretty much my area at the moment though. $100 seems high to me. I could try and ask lower on #1. Thanks!

i like the second one.. the extra drop pockes on the upper section seem neat and would help keep players intersted with more chanches to win.. the statement its missing parts and he will not discount are worriesome... i would still go in and explain that a non working machine is wall art and not worth 100 dollers unless it was fulling working...

with that being said i dont see why it wont work??? the ball dup is triped so balls will fall threw.. and the dust covers are missing but the machine should play as is.. unless something is just broken..
----------------------------------------------
the first machine looks to be a comet 2 machine.. im not a fan of that style cause the back mech can be a pain to get working.. the front has great color and speaks to me but no pics of the back

ask for pics of the back..

[Alzarakh]

Thanks Mopar, I'll ask about them. I like #2 better but it is a little fishy about why it's not working. He stated that it was his dads machine so maybe that's why he won't go lower on it.

[Moparformances]

Thanks Mopar, I'll ask about them. I like #2 better but it is a little fishy about why it's not working. He stated that it was his dads machine so maybe that's why he won't go lower on it.

if he knows whats missing ask him to point the 2 parts out to ya.. ill bet there dust covers

[Alzarakh]

I just sent out some emails to get a picture of the back of #1. And asked #2 about broken parts. Hopefully I'll get a response. If so I can start a new thread asking all sorts of fun and interesting things about them

[Rival]

I think the prices for high-end machines has really increased. I mean, seriously, as Max mentioned, there are a ton of hours in nicely restored machine. Those of us doing restorations as a side-business would simply stop doing it if it we could not get at least a reasonable return on our efforts. You won't see machines like Max's or mine on ebay, but people figure that a machine is a machine is a machine. They find my website, see that I sold a machine for $1100 or something and assume that they can get "half that" for theirs. They figure all someone needs to do is polish it up a little bit and now they have a machine worth a grand!

They will eventually drop their prices, or simply sit on it. Although, it is important to consider that as each year goes by, hundreds of machines are taken from garages and basements and thrown into dumpsters. While the supply is huge, it IS limited, and getting more limited each year.