Best way to sell my Pinballs?

[two_shirts]

This is NOT a For Sale posting! I am posting details of my Fish Tales to seek you help in valuing it at this stage, but if anyone is interested, of course you can approach me!

The gallery of images in this post is here if you want to see the full resolution.

I bought this Fish Tales in 1996 from and auction, and have cared for it ever since. I have thought about selling it a few times, but have not been able to as it is a quite example of one of the best pinballs of all time and I couldn’t let it go. Now the time has come…

Overall, I think the condition is excellent. It was in excellent condition when I bought it, and fortunately I have done very little work on it. I believe that it is in it’s original condition and has not been restored, but there is no way to know. All I have done to it is replaced rubbers and balls a couple of times, and replaced the display in around 2000. There have been no electronic faults in my ownership.

I will describe the condition in detail:

Playfield – excellent. It is Diamond Plate (not sure if they all were). The ONLY wear that I can see is feint lines in the spill lanes. The transparent plastic on the central boat is a bit discoloured – a purist may change it – I wouldn’t bother. As far as I know, everything is original – check the high res pictures.













Rubbers – replaced about 5 years ago – very little play since.

Backflash - Excellent. I can't see any issues, but it is hard to photograph without reflections





Cabinet – very good but faded.  Judging by photos online, it looks like the cabinet fades uniformly to to yellow on all machines where the decal has not been replaced, and mine is no exception.  Other than that there a only very minor scratches. Some of the black wood work on the back flash is a bit faded – again a purist would probably re-paint – this is original!








Internals/Electronics - as far as I know all original:










Topper – fully working. Again the plastic has gone a bit opaque. Not an issue, but does not look new. This is available to replace.



Legs – average for the age – somewhat pitted.

Manuals - Original



Issues – I will list everything I know in the interests of full disclosure. I have not fixed these as they don't bother me at all, but of course, they are easy and cheap to do.

1.   Front lock missing.
2.   Backflash lock is in place, but key is broken (I have the pieces). It is unlocked!
3.   Mechanism that holds the playfield up for maintenance is broken or missing (I am not sure how it is supposed to work). I use a piece of wood which works perfectly satisfactory.

That is really about it I think.

Will post a video later when it has uploaded to youTube.

So any insight into the value of a machine like this, would be gratefully received.

[pinball god]

  and  to our forum.

As a rule, we allow access to the trading section with the "For Sale" section after 20 posts. That's where these games can be listed for sale. The norm is a de******ion, pictures, location and a price for members. I guess we could make an exception if you can post pictures etc - that would be good.

I'm sure there is a member looking for a Pride of Pinbot.

is the pride of pinbot loosely based around the lion king. Are they robotic lions or something

[pinball god]

Just so the pix very nice indeed

[two_shirts]

[/quote]is the pride of pinbot loosely based around the lion king. Are they robotic lions or something
[/quote]

Just working on the pic and description for that one. The animated head is something special. I will post a video of that later (youTube upload very slow - bring on NBN Mr Abbott)

[Pintoxicated]

Might be worth having a look at this for sale thread.  I ended up buying this machine and it is exceptional! It might give you a bit of an idea as to what your machine may or may not be worth.

http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=8942.0

I wouldn't recommend putting a ridiculous price on it to start with, you run the risk of just turning people off straight away.  Yes have a little bit of fat in the price but don't go silly.  People on the forum are typically easier to deal with and more realistic the some of the knobs you get on eBay and the like.

[two_shirts]

Might be worth having a look at this for sale thread.  I ended up buying this machine and it is exceptional! It might give you a bit of an idea as to what your machine may or may not be worth.

http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=8942.0

I wouldn't recommend putting a ridiculous price on it to start with, you run the risk of just turning people off straight away.  Yes have a little bit of fat in the price but don't go silly.  People on the forum are typically easier to deal with and more realistic the some of the knobs you get on eBay and the like.

I cannot see this thread because I am a noob! Can you re-post by any chance? Working up to those 20 posts

[two_shirts]

I have owned Bride of Pinbot for about 7 years. I have not done a major restoration on it, but there were a few things not working (including the bride head) when I bought it that I fixed up.
Overall, I think the condition is very good. It is complete and everything is working. All I have done to it is replaced rubbers and bulbs and got repairs not requiring parts.

Hi Res versions of the photos are here if want a closer look:
http://twoshirts.smugmug.com/Pinball/Bride-of-Pinbot/28110592_Gz2wRg

I will describe the condition in detail:

Playfield – average to good.  It is coated with Mylar and this has bubbled in a few places. It can be seen in the photos.  Not really very visible with the glass and the lights on, but obvious  when you look for it. There is no other damage that I can see. The plastic mouldings  have the usual discolouring for their age. Again, clearly visible in the photos.









Rubbers – replaced about 5 years ago – very little play since.

Backflash - Excellent. I can't see any issues, but it is hard to photograph without reflections




Cabinet – Very good – Does not look too faded, some chipping.  Locks are present and working.





Internals/Electronics - as far as I know all original. Very clean and neat.







Legs – average for the age – somewhat pitted.

Manuals – Is a printed copy in a binder. (forgot to photo!)

Issues – There is only one thing I have grappled with and given up on.  There are three exits to the top mini playfield. For some reason the ball never chooses the right one. As far as I can see, everything is as it should be and I have played with all the adjustments but to no avail. Ideas welcome -  I would prefer to fix it before selling if possible.
I took some close ups of the area in 2006. They are here:

http://twoshirts.smugmug.com/Pinball/200607-Pinball/1704034_SQMRvP

Will post a video later when it has uploaded to youTube.

So any insight into the value of a machine like this, would be gratefully received.

[Retropin]

Looks good to me.. no wear around the horseshoe.

Been after one of these for years... they tend to go up and down in price which is odd... ive seen them sold on Ebay from a dealer for $1200 ( lowest ive seen)... been offered one for $2800.. you can drive 3hrs and pick it up ( yeh right turkey!) and i saw a very good condition one at Pinfest FAIL to sell at $1900 despite me telling an interested party that it was good buying.

This machine has been kicking my arse for 20 years.. but i still want one

[swinks]

here is a good sight for a gauge of prices of the BoP, unfortunately it is only the sales prices and not condition reports etc

http://www.pinpedia.com/machine/The-Machine/prices?c=au

[two_shirts]

Not sure if people here do this, but here is a mediocre game on an excellent machine. Plays brilliantly!

[Retropin]

here is a good sight for a gauge of prices of the BoP, unfortunately it is only the sales prices and not condition reports etc

http://www.pinpedia.com/machine/The-Machine/prices?c=au

GULP!!! I missed a $700 one??... bugger

[swinks]

here is the history of ebay sales as a guide.
http://www.pinpedia.com/machine/Fish-Tales/prices?c=au

[Caveoftreasures]

The FISHTALES is worth a absolute MAXIMUM of $2500 in my opinion due to the faded cabinet, and general original 1993 condition of the machine.
This is a Fishtales machine that someone could buy, freshen up all the bits n pieces, redecal, and have a really nice machine in the end.
I say $2500 maximum, because that is the top end of the pricing, and the bottom end of the pricing is apx $2,000.
Hard to find a good solid Fishtales, alot come with worn playfields n really shabby cabinets. Yours could be turned into a beauty.

The BRIDE OF PINBOT is worth a absolute MAXIMUM of $2200 in my opinion. I wouldnt take any less than $1800.

List them on Ebay, with a Buy it Now Price that u feel comfortable with, and a Make an Offer part underneath.
The machines will sell because they are solid bases to start with.
**The pricing I have described is for someone who can wait a little while to get the right money versus having to sell straight away to pay an urgent bill.
Good luck with the sales.

[swinks]

when you say the bride head is not working, do you mean it doesn't rotate?

Any chance of seling either via the forum instead of ebay?

[two_shirts]

Sorry, I wasn't clear. Everything, including the head is working (I'll post a video in a sec). I was saying that it wasn't working when I bought it.
Happy to sell them here, but I will be a bit conservative with price as I have not tested the market, and I don't really know what they are worth (other than the advise I have here). I am also not in a hurry, so can afford to be on ebay for a few weeks.
Also thinking that maybe I should do a bit more tidying up before I put them for sale - not so much for the enthusiast market here, but maybe better for the broader market.