my craigslist ad is paying off.

[ANGRY GARY]

I picked up that sweet mizuho machine last week from my craigslist ad. i have received three offers in the last three days! i passed on one due to the fact it was a well maintained machine and he was asking $75 for it.
the other two contacts each have two machines each. after work i am heading to richmond to see my youngest daughter. both contacts are on the way. so i am hoping to pull off a coup and pick up four machines on one 75 mile trip!

AG

[heima]

Way to go, guy!

[mxfaiman]

I'd do that but I'm running low on room.

[ANGRY GARY]

my craigslist ad paid off again this week. i got a call from a gentleman who used to restore pachinko machines and give them away as gifts. he said he has four machines in his work shop he needed to get rid. he has two restored machines, one restored but has a glitch which he did not elaborate on, and a machine he picked up that still needs restoration and he says it is a very good candidate for it! also has 1000 balls and a few rubbermaid tubs full of spare parts. all he says he wants is $100 for everything! music to my ears! i will travelling three hours saturday morning to pick them up. pictures to follow saturday evening!

also in the spring i will setting up at a couple flea markets to sell antique items and of course pachinko machines. i have a question to ask everyone. i am sure people interested in buying one would probably like to try them first, which i totally understand. my problem/ issue is those who will want to play them acting like they want to buy but are playing them for fun. i don't want a crowd gathering for free play time at my expense. how would everyone handle this situation. i am thinking about charging someone $5 to try them out. if they buy one i will deduct $10 off of the price. i think the serious buyer would do this and the freeloaders will walk away instead of paying $5 to goof off.
any other ideas?

AG

[Card Shark]

I would say, let them play. It will attract more people and hopefully the excitement will entice buyers.

[FREKKEN TEKKEN]

I would bring an egg timer along...at the sound of the bell time to start talking money!

[ANGRY GARY]

both excellent ideas! i will let them play and maybe incorporate an egg timer to keep them from camping out! they can stand in line to wait their turn. maybe use one or two machines for play time. i will use the "looser" machines that pay out more!
Thanks!

AG

[Card Shark]

both excellent ideas! i will let them play and maybe incorporate an egg timer to keep them from camping out! they can stand in line to wait their turn. maybe use one or two machines for play time. i will use the "looser" machines that pay out more!
Thanks!

AG

[mxfaiman]

At our local flea market we brought a few machines. But we only set up one and made sure it was closest to us. We let people play them for free. It attracted more attention and also the fact that most people don't know what they are so they just want to try. Just make sure the machine is always within sight.

We also brought 500 balls for each machine we brought incase someone wanted to try a different one. (plus we would include the balls with the sale)

[FREKKEN TEKKEN]

Ditto...Card Shark !!!

[Moparformances]

i would use the same idea max used

[heima]

Always this - You control how many balls they can start with. Give em 50, if that lets them play too long, then take it down a notch. If too short, then go the other way. The $5 is a good deal if someone is definitely buying, but it would turn me off. Because I would have spent $5 to find out I didn't like playing. I could have done other things with that $5. The timer is also a good idea.

Oh, and here is a great selling point. They are made in Japan, not China! lol

Good luck with the sale!

[ANGRY GARY]

I think Heima is the winner! giving 50 balls to play with. and if they win they keep playing until they run out or say 5 minutes. Excellent idea! also mxfaiman did you sell any at the flea market? any estimates on how many people were there? my local might filter through 800-1000 a day probably a bit more of really nice days. the one in fishersville supposedly has 20,000-30,000 in a good day with sunny skies. definitely much better odds
AG

[mxfaiman]

We didn't sell any there. Mainly because we brought our fully restored ones (which most people there weren't wanting to pay that price.) We had maybe around 2,000-3,000 people there the few times we went.

Though while we didn't sell machines we actually got a few restoration jobs from people there. So win win kinda.

[FREKKEN TEKKEN]

We didn't sell any there. Mainly because we brought our fully restored ones (which most people there weren't wanting to pay that price.) We had maybe around 2,000-3,000 people there the few times we went.

Though while we didn't sell machines we actually got a few restoration jobs from people there. So win win kinda.

I know exactly what you are talking about Max. When I lived in Laguna Bch. I would sell on a regular basis at South Coast Community College and Orange County fairgrounds. It was always dicey and I never had any idea how I would do on sales. I always had a large varied selection of merchandise but that didn't matter. At one point I started going to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena @ 3:00 A.M. and couldn't leave until at least 4 or 5 P.M.. That made for a very long selling day! Believe it or not I had several times that I didn't sell a single item the whole day? The last time I sold at the Rosebowl was in 1994, so over20 years ago and don't have any idea what its like now?

[heima]

Hmm, I wonder if that is the mindset of flea market buyers, now that the economy is so bad. That if its more than $20, they aren't buying so easily. I guess it is a look and see type situation. I could imagine someone bringing $100 cash with them, but unless they are shopping for something they know will be there (tires, plasma TVs) they aren't going to bring any more than that.

If that is the constraint, and AG would like to sell for more than $100, then perhaps a different strategy is in order. Bring only one or two pachinkos. Make them the prettiest or most interesting. Include color prints of photos of the others that are for sale, and display those pictures. If the buyer is willing to cough up $100 or more for a pachinko, it is not an impulse buy. They will be willing to work with AG to make the purchase at a later time.

I know I spent more in gas to get the Rocky pachinko from Mr. Lax, than I paid for it on eBay. (which reminds me, I need to post some pics)

[ANGRY GARY]

here is what some of what i picked up saturday in newport news, Va 4 machines that a couple needed some very minor work on. and one that issues with the payout mechanism. which was an easy fix. i put a larger diameter pivot rod in it and it now works great. now the fourth machine is a different story. it is a frankenstein machine with a couple different tulips. one is a nishijin and i think the others are sankyo. also the very top pocket is from a nishijin. not a problem i guess. i will let it go cheap. but i am having an issue with the back of the machine. i am missing some key parts. i will add pictures of that at a later time. right now i want to show what i got for $100! all the bins and a ton of spare parts to boot. funny thing is i got a text from my craigslist add saturday evening from someone who saw my ad and asked if i had a certain part for a nishijin machine. luckily i had an extra one in the box of parts i just brought home. so as of right now i have $85 in the whole thing!

[alphaminor]

Nice haul!

[luckydog]

you did great on that deal

[browne92]

You keep finding all these great deals. I don't know why you're so angry.