Vintage supply drying up?

[Bigdog]

Is it just me, or does it seem that the supply of interesting vintages is dwindling these days? I rarely see anything noteworthy on ebay or craigslist of late..........I have to greatly expand my search on craigslist to see what's out there, and sadly, the machines that I am seeing appear boring. I suppose that the vintages with the more attractive and fun features have been snapped up over the past few years by collectors, and the supply may be starting to drop off. Clearly, there are a finite number of vintage machines that were brought across the pond back in the 60's and 70's. Many have simply been destroyed, discarded or decayed beyond repair with the passage of time and poor storing conditions. From this board, I know that the really interesting ones get snapped up pretty quick when they come available. Sure, there are a lot of the $40-$75 non-descript machines out there for sale, but I personally blow right by them because they don't interest me.

I know that there are gems still to be had out there.........hiding in closets, basements, attics, garages, etc. They will eventually poke their head out, and again, will be snapped up quickly. I will hopefully be posting about a find that I have made and hope to acquire in the next week. As noted above however, I am going to have to travel quite a way to get it. I'm looking forward to adding it to my small collection.

Anyway, just wanted to point out what I've noticed, and see if anyone else feels the same.

[Spyder138]

I suppose it all depends on what you consider an interesting machine. There are a lot of what I too would consider your standard 70's vintages posted in various places, and most often they are greatly overpriced IMO. But I have seen a lot of Powerflash machines lately, I myself have sold 3 of my 5 in the last 9 months. I've seen Special Elecs, UFO, Circuit Racer, Pirana, and a number of 1950's machines posted and sold in the last 6 months. I've only been collecting for a couple years so maybe there were more to be had years ago, but I think there are still interesting finds for those that are patient and diligent in the search and quick to pull the trigger when they do see something they want.

[Moparformances]

as with everything there is a cycle that seems to ebbs and flows...

i have not seen anything amazing in a while...

[luckydog]

here's 2 for $40.00, I've never seen any ones this cheap around here - I'm not a buyer

http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/tag/5468272976.html

[Spyder138]

as with everything there is a cycle that seems to ebbs and flows...

It does seem that spring and summer tend to bring out more listings. Probably people doing spring cleaning of garages and attics.

[Bigdog]

As I search through craigslist, I sometimes do a search of California to see what is out there (I'm in Indiana). California tends to have many more listings with more interesting machines than the rest of the country, IMO. Right now, there is virtually nothing in Indiana; the biggest city Indianapolis has only one available and that has been posted for many weeks. Chicago has traditionally had some interesting machines, but lately, I've been disappointed with what has been for sale.

Just my personal opinions and observations.

[lotsoballs]

As I search through craigslist, I sometimes do a search of California to see what is out there (I'm in Indiana). California tends to have many more listings with more interesting machines than the rest of the country, IMO. Right now, there is virtually nothing in Indiana; the biggest city Indianapolis has only one available and that has been posted for many weeks. Chicago has traditionally had some interesting machines, but lately, I've been disappointed with what has been for sale.

Just my personal opinions and observations.

I've only been collecting a little over a year, but yeah, 95% of vintage pachinkos are grossly overpriced and usually in poor condition in my area. I've only seen one "interesting" (Powerflash) machine the past year or so on CL, and jumped on it immediately before someone else on here could for $100...LOL. He who hesitates is lost! It could be worse though because the selection of modern pachinkos is even smaller (yet they are much better condition and usually cheaper?!). NY and CA do seem to have the most selection by a good margin.

[Spyder138]

NY and CA do seem to have the most selection by a good margin.

It is good to live in the Golden State. I get at least one (often more) new machine a week posted that is within driving distance.

[Moparformances]

It is good to live in the Golden State.

Im not sure i agree with this portion of this statement...

[takethecastle57]

Yepper Monterey.California is Very beautiful and to Visit it the Cost is low , But to live here it is high but worth every cent .

I do have about 10 Vintage Pachinkos that I haven't gotten to restoring but the Muse hasn't been around for a while . I really couldn't stand people telling me to give it to them for Nothing and then add insult to injury ask for me to pay to ship it to them .

No if I do come across someone who would restore and not turn it into a coffee table or some Yuuuuuck F Art I would Relish That day and hope the person would enjoy restoring and playing And Displaying it Proudly to their friends .

P. S. A couple of years ago I took a "Chinaman " Powerflash and got a reprint of Alice's Travels In Wonderland with the original artwork that I scaned and resized it used a adhesive laminate to secure them .


http://www.pachitalk.com/forums/vint...e-project.html

[Rival]

There are many factors at play. Keep in mind, the number imported in the US during the 70's was in the millions. Some factors for availability are not quite so apparent. For example, Chicago and Cincinnati both had stores that did nothing but sell thousands of pachinko machines. Hence they both have extremely large numbers of machines when compared to other similar population centers. And there are more current factors to consider, such as the situation in Indiana. There are currently 4-5 people here who buy machines on a regular basis, myself included. I buy around 2-3 dozen per year locally, so if you go on craigslist for central Indiana you probably will only find the ones that for whatever reason I didn't want.

I think they are as plentiful as ever, but since restorations have become more mainstream and common in the last few years, there are more people hoovering them up.

[Bigdog]

Having dealt with Rival on a couple of projects, I'm glad he's in Indiana, however, as he noted it does make pickings slim. Bummer.

"imported in the millions"???? Wow, I would have thought maybe 10,000-15,000. The number really doesn't matter; all I know is that the vintages that I see these days do not interest me for the most part. Probably a good thing.........I would probably be forced to sleep in the garage with my machines if I started bringing more in.

[luckydog]

yes millions large chains like Sears, J C Penny, Montgomery Ward etc. sold them in their catalogs in the 70's

[Spyder138]

There is a Special Elec Power Roulette listed on eBay right now. You don't see those everyday. I only know of a couple in the US. Of course there may be many more stored in attics or not made public, but the point is you rarely see one come to market.

[lotsoballs]

There is a Special Elec Power Roulette listed on eBay right now. You don't see those everyday. I only know of a couple in the US. Of course there may be many more stored in attics or not made public, but the point is you rarely see one come to market.

Another green Nishijin that has some oddball pockets (has anyone seen these before?) above the only tulip was also just posted today. FWIW, I haven't seen one like that on ebay/CL either. No where near as nice as the Power Roulette of course , no where near as expensive either however.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Green-Nishijin-Pachinko-DX-Pinball-Machine-2-/381573347362?hash=item58d78b3822:g:UAwAAOSwxp9W7Fsl