How much should I expect to pay for a working early modern pachinko machine?

[Mrtoad]

Hello,

I own a few vintage machines but never have owned an early modern and not sure what is a reasonable price for what looks like a working machine. I plan to go look at it but wanted to know what it is worth before I go and pay too much for it. It is a Matsuri and cannot tell from the picture yet what the whole theme is but one of the faces looks like the grim reaper on it but not really sure.

Thanks for any advice.

Mike

[JACKSJE4]

Can you post a photo of the machine? I think a picture will really help the folks here with determining value.

[Mrtoad]

Hi Jeff,

This is the only picture I have right now, I have asked the seller for more detailed and larger photos. They say it lights up and plays music but that is all they could tell me. They played the old, "I don't know how they are supposed to work" trick. Which may very well be true...

Thanks,
Mike

[Meathead]

I'm a big fan of that era of machine. It appears to be in fairly good condition, but the picture isn't the best, and it appears the number of balls in the box could be a few hundred. I would try it out and if in working order I would offer $80 up to a max of about $120. If the machine is not working, I might offer $40 if it had potential to be fixed. Any number of missing parts from the back, and I would offer up to about $20.

That's just me, I have no idea what their asking price is, but if they're up in the $200+ range, I wouldn't even bother making contact with the party. You may consider it worth more or less, I base my price for the machine on past purchases. Some of those machines can be a lot of fun.

[Mrtoad]

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate the information. I was planning on bringing balls with me in case they did not have enough. How many are needed on a machine of that era to test it? I have asked for pictures of the front and back so will post those after I get them. They are only asking $60.00 so sounds like it is in a good range if works. I have never had anything but vintage so have never actually seen one like this in person. Other than being a newer shooter, what else should I know before I look at it? I don't know much sadly..

Thanks again!
Mike

[Drunkenclam]

Sankyo ザ祭りⅡ
The festival II

Price... Depends how bad you want it.

[JACKSJE4]

I would not take any balls. I would show up, turn on the machine, make sure the shooter works, even open the front and drop a few balls into the various win pockets to make sure the electronics respond, then stand back and point out that these machines need at least 1,000 balls to function correctly and ask him if he would take $50 for it since it is missing most of the balls.

When you know more about how to work the machine than the seller does, you naturally have the upper hand in the negotiation process.

[Meathead]

Price... Depends how bad you want it.

Exactly!

But I'm going to say that $60 is very fair from what I see in the pic, especially considering the number of balls that appear in the box. I've bought pachislos at times just for the number of tokens included. My last purchase of the sort was "Top Hat" for $35 and close to 800 tokens. After cleaning up and repairing the machine, I gave it to a friend. (He had to buy his own tokens )

[Mrtoad]

Sankyo ザ祭りⅡ
The festival II

Price... Depends how bad you want it.

Thanks for the replies everybody. IS that the name and make of the machine?

And Jeff that is a good idea thank you for the tip. I will try that. I am hoping they send me pics soon. I sadly do not know a lot about it though . I know enough how it should work but if not working not enough to know what is wrong if it is an electrical issue.

[Drunkenclam]

Thanks for the replies everybody. IS that the name and make of the machine?

Yes

made by Sankyo.

No bunny girls on it, so I would pass

[JACKSJE4]

I know enough how it should work but if not working not enough to know what is wrong if it is an electrical issue.

Then that may be your deciding factor on whether you buy it or walk away.

I'm a total vintage guy myself, and my first modern machine was an early modern about the same vintage as the one you are looking at that I picked up for $50. It seemed to work when I tested it at the seller's home, but after I got it to my house and played with it, I discovered that it didn't pay jackpots. None at all. Something was wrong with it. I worked with the folks here to see if I could figure it out, and I learned a LOT about these early electronic machines in the process, but I was never successful getting it to pay out correctly. I ended up selling it locally on Craigslist for $40, and I disclosed that the game worked for the most part, but that it didn't pay out jackpots.

The way I see it, I paid $10 after all was said and done to immerse myself in something new and I came away with a lot more knowledge and experience in the process.

I did end up buying another early modern pachi for my game room, and I was able to test it thoroughly before I bought it using the knowledge from my previous experience. I also negotiated the price down by knowing more about the machine than the seller did.

[Meathead]

One thing I would do is take a good look at the back. If the machine powers up, feed some balls into the top tray and watch their course as they travel to their stop point. Did they stop due to an obstruction or a broken part? If everything seems to be in order, gently play with the levers, seesaws, and such on the back. Open the glass, no key needed, and drop a ball or two in each of the pockets and see if you get a payout or reaction from the machine. Check for water-staining around the pins, although on a machine as colorful as that one, it may not be a concern. If the shooter is not working, check for a missing dongle. You should see an empty port similar to an old printer parallel port.

[Mrtoad]

Jeff,

Thanks, and $10 does sound like a small price to pay for the knowledge. Hopefully they get back to me shortly and will see how it goes. I hate to count my chickens because I have in the past been hopeful after dealing with somebody and have it fall through before I got there so we shall see and will keep you posted. I am sure I am going to have lots of questions if I get it...

Mike

[Mrtoad]

One thing I would do is take a good look at the back. If the machine powers up, feed some balls into the top tray and watch their course as they travel to their stop point. Did they stop due to an obstruction or a broken part? If everything seems to be in order, gently play with the levers, seesaws, and such on the back. Open the glass, no key needed, and drop a ball or two in each of the pockets and see if you get a payout or reaction from the machine. Check for water-staining around the pins, although on a machine as colorful as that one, it may not be a concern. If the shooter is not working, check for a missing dongle. You should see an empty port similar to an old printer parallel port.

Thank you I will try all of that. Is the back very similar to a vintage? And if the dongle is missing, are they something that can be obtained or bypassed? How much would they cost?

Just make sure I have enough info before I go.

thanks,
Mike

[hanabi]

Sorry on iPod , so excuse spelling

but not all machines have dongles, only the CR models do I believe

and if its a CR (card reader) machine it should usually have the 2 buttons on the front tray area

perhaps someone can confirm from the pic if that is the case, can't see it properly from my ipod

[Meathead]

The missing dongle would be the easiest fix. Easy to obtain or make your own. Just do a search on the site.

[Drunkenclam]

Pre dongle that one.

[Mrtoad]

Yes

made by Sankyo.

No bunny girls on it, so I would pass

thanks

[Moparformances]

kinda late to join in.. i agree with jeff i would not take balls with ya.. take your time look it over.. the dump enought balls in the back hopper so the machine thinks it full and drop a ball in and see if it pays out.. the less the macine works the less they will want.. if ya show up and make the machine work the next thing ya know they will want more of it or deside that since ya fixed it(even though it was not broken) they want to keep it..

test it enought to see if it can work and then buy it and take a bit of risk.. you will get a way better deal.. the less isk the more the cost..

as jeff said reselling it for parts wil get most of your money even if its a total loss..

good luck and keep us posted

[Mrtoad]

kinda late to join in.. i agree with jeff i would not take balls with ya.. take your time look it over.. the dump enought balls in the back hopper so the machine thinks it full and drop a ball in and see if it pays out.. the less the macine works the less they will want.. if ya show up and make the machine work the next thing ya know they will want more of it or deside that since ya fixed it(even though it was not broken) they want to keep it..

test it enought to see if it can work and then buy it and take a bit of risk.. you will get a way better deal.. the less isk the more the cost..

as jeff said reselling it for parts wil get most of your money even if its a total loss..

good luck and keep us posted

thanks formthe advice. I will do it just that way when I go. I am still waiting on the pictures of the back and hoping to then set up a time to go see it. Hopefully will hear back from them soon. Will keep you posted.