Local Garage Sale lists Pinball Machine *IT WAS A BUST

[dsullo]

A garage sale local to me has listed a pinball machine "Stellar Wars" by Williams. I have no idea the cost or condition. I need to check it out tomorrow.

What price do you think is fair to spend on a Pinball Machine at a garage sale?

I have been wanting to get my own full size machine for a while and this is the first opportunity, but I really cannot spend more than a few hundred.

Any other advice, on inspecting the unit is appreciated.

Dustin

[chadtower]

That's a nice, late 70s Solid State machine. Nothing high end but a good machine, it looks like. Condition is going to be a huge driver in this. The condition of the playfield, backglass, and artwork are important. Next you'd need to make sure, if they don't allow you to test it, that all PCBs are there and working. Look for missing parts. Test it if they allow it.

It's so dependent on condition. I'd say that unless they are a collector, you're going to have a good amount of refurb work to do on it (cleaning, refubring mechanics). A pinball machine is complex and requires a lot of electrical knowledge but can be a great learning tool.

I'd go as high as $250-300 if it appears to be in pretty good shape and has no missing parts (and works). If it doesn't, you've got to slide down from there. It will be worth more than that after the refurb work, but you're looking at many hours of handwork to get it there.

[ClubNinja]

http://ipdb.org/search.pl?any=Stellar+Wars&sortby=name&searchtype=quick

Looks neat enough.

Unfortunately, my basic pinball knowledge says that there are way too many factors to give you a price with no other info. The quality of the backglass is highly important. Condition of playfield. General function of all the little parts. How much you actually like the game.

Take a look at it first, then go with the gut. Keep in mind you'll need to transport the beast as well. I probably wouldn't break a few hundred.

[dsullo]

my brotherinlaw has a truck and will come with me to haul the beast away should I make the purchase. In all honesty I am not that handy - so I am hoping it is fairly clean and in good overall condition. I will definately invest some time and effort in refurbing it, but I will have alot to learn.

[felix]

I love the artwork on the cab. That makes a huge difference in the price I would pay for one.

[dsullo]

I like the artwork too. It reminds me of a Pinball Machine my brother and I had years ago called Stars
http://ipdb.org/search.pl?any=stars&search=Search+Database&searchtype=quick#2366

we had to sell it which I have regreted for years. I loved that machine.

Plus the theme is ok for my young kids. Nothing to extreme for them. Now I am getting myself too excited, hopefully tomorrow morning I won't be let down.
LOL

[chadtower]

Unfortunately, my basic pinball knowledge says that there are way too many factors to give you a price with no other info. The quality of the backglass is highly important. Condition of playfield. General function of all the little parts. How much you actually like the game.

As far as parts go, the important stuff is the stuff specific to this game. The moving parts, mostly coils and stuff, are going to be more generic or at least specific to a series of games, not just that one. It's the troughs, the ball ramps, etc that are specific to this pin that are the ones that are really hard to replace.

The backglass is important, but CAN be reproduced if you want to invest enough money in this machine. It would be roughly the same as scannign/printing/retouching vinyl sideart, but you're printing on translucent vinyl. At least that's how I would do it.

[dsullo]

Well I went to the Garage sale. The Unit was sitting in the Garage. It was in horrible shape. Alot of wear on and fading on the backglass and the board itself. When I if it worked...they said they did not know. They walked away from me when I asked if they would plug it in. When I reapproached them and said if it works I am interested the response was , I checked the internet and this machine is very rare. Worth over 1000.00 regardless of the condition. I laughed right in the ladies face. She did have a factory sealed rubiks cube from 1980 for .25 so I bought it.

[chadtower]

Apparently they weren't very motivated sellers, eh? It's funny how some people will let things rot because "it's worth a ton" but it doesn't work and they won't accept a reasonable amount for it. Smart move walking away, usually in that situation I will throw out what I think is a reasonable offer. If they don't take my offer, they can keep the machine. It's not like they can fix it, because if they could, it would work.

[Videogamerdaryll]

Curious to what town it was in ..in N.J.

[DeputyMoniker]

I'd have given them an offer, left my number and told them to call me when they don't get what they want for it. 8-)
Then you should check back in a month or two.