Look at my BALLS! Have a look at just how much work!

[intopins]

Wow....so amazed at how great your pinball are....wow....look at me......wow....amazed......wow....pinballs......wow.....i am so great at pr......wow.....pinballs....

[intopins]

Never seen so much advertising over pinballs!!  2 pages for ...sake.

Wonder if this is to distract everyone from your lack of updates on what you should really be doing....??

Thunderbirds ring a bell?

......and is that any of your business somehow?

Lol, quality reply. Expected nothing less. 

As far as I am aware I am not obligated to you to provide any updates on any projects I am working on but please 'do tell' if you believe I am somehow?

wow.....pinballs.......wow......look at me.......wow.......pinballs........

[Strangeways]

Is it school holidays already ?

They look great Mike. I'll take the ones on the left. So start counting... one, two, three.. 

[intopins]

They look ok...but for me, I prefer to source all my pinball parts from the U.S. Even with the bad dollar I have found that they come in cheaper and generally better quality that can come out of China or anywhere else for that matter.

Pinball life for me personally, but good luck Micky Mike, I'll stick with the pinballs that are best.

[Homepin]

They look ok...but for me, I prefer to source all my pinball parts from the U.S. Even with the bad dollar I have found that they come in cheaper and generally better quality that can come out of China or anywhere else for that matter.

Pinball life for me personally, but good luck Micky Mike, I'll stick with the pinballs that are best.

Hahahahah - you don't even realise that the balls you are buying from the good old USA ARE actually made in China - hahahahahahaha (yes, I have seen the packaging BEFORE they remove the "Made in China" label) - I guess some people are just easily fooled!

So it's clear here - practically ALL of your flipper mechs, legs, coin doors and zillions of other parts are made right here in China and shipped to the USA.

One supplier (Suzo Happ) makes a large percentage of the bits in Zhuhai not far from my factory - I have visited and seen it all for myself so keep on dreaming (well, I know you are just deliberately trying to stir me but keep it up - your comments get lamer all the time)

[Brunswick Brawler]

Shock, HORROR! Yet, ANOTHER post about pinball balls - who would have thought?

The first full batch of Homepin Pearls ready for final hand polishing. They are VERY hard to photograph!

A near mirror reflection of the camera.  But I was more impressed with a closer look at what is not obvious in this photo...

Have a look at the reflection from ball to ball - you can see a few layers into the box, by looking at the top balls alone.  So what is so impressive about that - I'm glad you asked!

With each reflection, the image is slightly blurred/dispersed.  So a multiple reflection would bring out multiple blurring as well as a darker reflection.  It's a nice visual affect.

I'd love to see a photo with a bright torch lighting up the inside of the box, but out of the camera shot.

Disclaimer:  I have no idea how this photo compares to a bucket of standard balls.


PS
I have to add: While some are 'nicely' discussing who has the shiniest balls, let it be known that whilst my balls have no shine, but I have the biggest balls!  

[andypinboy]

Remember also these photos are pre final hand polishing (so I assume they are effectively "premiums" at this stage?).

I dunno about Micky Mike, but wasn't Mikey Mike a singer or musical artist of some kind?

[Homepin]

Remember also these photos are pre final hand polishing (so I assume they are effectively "premiums" at this stage?).

I dunno about Micky Mike, but wasn't Mikey Mike a singer or musical artist of some kind?

These have had four EXTRA days polishing over Premiums at this point before we hand polish them

[swinks]

I agree a mass of the ball bearings are probably made in China but there are still many companies in the US, Japan and Europe making precision products wanting top quality ball bearings. European & Japanese CNC's and car manufacturers use high end bearings not the crap from china. At the end of the day a pinball bearing is selected from a range of bearing available and doubt a custom made ball. A while back I investigated getting a US bearing company to make a bearing and then specially ceramic treat it for lasting shine and achieve different colours but didn't proceed due to the minimum order size.

http://www.americanbearings.org/?page=memberlisting

So it is possible that Pinball Life is using American Made bearings

But given Mike is overseeing the process and specifying the material type and finish then I think they will be just as good as any high quality bearings as it comes down to quality control and Chinese bearings are known for their inconsistent sizes and impurities.

Out of interest Mike what is the material used for you premiums and pearls?

[Homepin]

Balls coming from the USA at retail of $1 each are most definitely NOT made in the USA I can guarantee that. Even in massive quantities there is no way that I can buy them anywhere near that price from the USA (I tried).

I have seen boxes of balls supplied by a well known USA pinball parts seller that very clearly have a "Made in China" sticker glued to each box (when sold retail in Australia the seller won't show you the box they come in). I also have a pack of "high end" specialty balls right here on my desk that cost about $9 a ball!! The package clearly states "Made in China".

People are deluding themselves if they think Pinball balls are made in the USA. They simply are not.

Anyway.............

Here are 12 boxes of Homepin Premium balls with 336 balls per box = 4032 Premium balls ready to ship out.
As an interesting point, they weigh 80 grams each so that trolley has 1/3 of a tonne on it!!!

[Boots]

They look ok...but for me, I prefer to source all my pinball parts from the U.S. Even with the bad dollar I have found that they come in cheaper and generally better quality that can come out of China or anywhere else for that matter.

Pinball life for me personally, but good luck Micky Mike, I'll stick with the pinballs that are best.

Hmmm, not sure what the ones they are supplying now are like but a couple of years ago I bought some from them and had a big problem with them going rusty really fast.
I had previously bought some from PBR without any problems so back then I decided not to buy balls from Pinballife again.

[Caveoftreasures]

Any balls I bought from a few USA companies over the last few years and a Aussie seller from Melbourne had a light machine grease in the bag of balls.

As soon as the grease was polished off and the balls were given a few dozen games, the balls were starting to pit n rust very quickly.

I am in the process of organising to replace every ball in every machine I have with new balls and will contact mike cause the order will be 50 x 3, 4 or 5 balls per machine etc.

All the balls in my machines are either original balls from donkeys years ago or 3 or more years old.
Time for a complete swap out.
Mikes the man for a big custom order of 250 balls etc.
Even with shipping from China it will kill any quote from the USA and supporting Mike is something I feel is important for the Aussie pinball hobby.

[Brunswick Brawler]

Some of this thread missed a the fundamental point.  It is irrelevant where the balls are made.  All that counts is "quality, cost and schedule".

How good are they, what do they cost, and how long do you have to wait for them.  Then as Cavey adds, some of us would factor in, or not, support of a local; even if their business is off-shore.

...It doesn't matter if a Chinese person or an American person polished your balls. 


Any estimate of what the pearls would retail for in Aus? 

[Homepin]

Any estimate of what the pearls would retail for in Aus? 

The suggested RRP is:

Premiums (8 pack) $15.00
Pearls (8 pack) $25.00

Naturally it is up to individual sellers exactly what they sell them for.

[pinsanity]

How good are they, what do they cost, and how long do you have to wait for them.  Then as Cavey adds, some of us would factor in, or not, support of a local; even if their business is off-shore.

...It doesn't matter if a Chinese person or an American person polished your balls. 

Patriotism ends at my hip pocket, just ask AMD. 

Here are 12 boxes of Homepin Premium balls with 336 balls per box = 4032 Premium balls ready to ship out.

How much for a full box at wholesale plus shipping to AU?

Not for resale, personal consumption.