gone are the days of the quick nifti and rag wipe over of a pin .
Yes, the famous "Nifti in one hand, rag in the other" shop job.. 
WHAT!!! thats not a shop job... 
Peter
You would be surprised, Peter with the poor work done in the past. The bar has lifted on reconditioning and restoration work. Tho be able to compete, you can't get away with a one hour "Nifti in one hand, rag in the other" shop job. How things have changed.
To be successful, you have to present a "product", and have stock of this "product" in a presentable form.
No use having a showroom with no Pinballs. Just look at Bumper here in Melbourne - They probably have the best pinball Showroom in the world. It would be beneficial to have this sort of setup, and it creates a great atmosphere with the memorabilia on the walls, the neons and of course the machines
The BS notion that all the "good pinballs are gone" is totally wrong. There are PLENTY of machines out there - and proof is Mark's statement. Lets remember - He moved as he did not have enough room to store and display the machines - So there are machines out there, and there are GREAT machines.
It takes a lot of work building relationships with dealers overseas and having good people out there "spotting" opportunities. At the end of the line are the importers - as they take the risk with their money to have the machines for us to enjoy.
It is interesting how this thread can draw a parallel with the "Pinball questionnaire" - "where will Pinball be in 10 years" - I think EVERYONE said that "Pinball is in the hands of the hobbyist" - Which is correct - However - Without the containers coming in, there would be no hobby.
Now that there are containers of PARTS coming in - these machines being imported will look EVEN BETTER !
The future of Pinball (from a Hobbyist's point of view), has never been better.
