Containers into Australia....how long can it last?

[illawarra_steelers]

First up I have to say all the containers that have been brought into the country have been the best thing that could of ever happened to the hobby in Australia. Not just for collectors but for the average Joe public that is after one or a few games for their house.

All types of games are imported into Australia in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane every year....games from the vintage 50s and 60s (more please), classic games from the 1970s and desirable pins from the 1980s and 1990s.

The question is - how long can this keep going? Surely there are just so many games in the US and Europe that are available and it will come to a point when they are no longer available.

To all the companies undertaking this - a huge thumbs up for putting the cash up and taking the risk 

What do you think?

[MartyJ]

I was thinking about this the other night.  Obviously there was only a certain number of each pin made.  Back in those days, I'm guessing the vast majority of pins were purchased by operators / distributors for commercial businesses.  Most of that has dried up now.
From the Tilt DVD, it was mentioned that Europe was one of their biggest customers (50-70%).  So with an Addams Family,  roughly maybe 10,000 of those in Europe.  From Matts threads on AP and AA - it would seem that roughly maybe 30 or so people own this machine.  I guess there is a good percentage of owners not on either site, so I'll round it up to 100.

I think now that there is a known market for pins now will hopefully stop them being sent to the tip.

Eventually it will dry up, thus driving their value up.  I don't think I would see it in my lifetime of collecting.  I guess for the Commercial guys who are hunting these down can answer this better..!

[pinnies4me]

There's little doubt we are far less affected by the economic downturn than both the US and Europe, and this is fueling availability at better prices to the guys importing. So for some time we will probably remain a focal point for the wholesalers, boosting the local stocks while things remain reasonably strong here.

And now we'll have the parts to fix these things too!

[ddstoys]

Fingers crossed there will be more coming in just make sure you dont say it loud enough for ROLLERBALL to hear or no one will get any lol

[markc]

from a dealers  view ( mine)

last year i think we brought in over 10 containers and few of those 40 footers  and had lots of coffees ....
this year i have been offered more pins than the same time as last year
and i still have never brought a container of pins from USA ... YET   and no comment NINO .....
there to me seems to be way more pins around this year than last

will it last , well if the offers I keep getting yes , just last week I could have brought over 150 pins but sadly i missed the 94 lot and put a few others on hold ...
still have others to look at. and its not just 90 s pins either
with all the spare parts coming in how will this effect sales , well will be doing more pins faster and as more come in its great for sales of parts. all these as is pins need parts
as people want their pins looking better and showing them off in a games room , they want new ramps  new parts  so to me its all good and all part of supply and demand.
gone are the days of the quick nifti and rag wipe over of a pin . the mum and dads want them done up , sure for AP members as is are great as most here can do some work on them , but the average mum and dad dont want container pins as is stuff , they want them looking good and fully working in their new games rooms , well this is what I am finding.

to me the pinball industry for some is looking good and time is to enjoy our games ,  have fun  pinball is meant to be FUN.

[pinnies4me]

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.. 

[ajlaird]

I am guessing most of the containers of pins coming into the country are from Europe from what I have heard around the traps.

Yes, they will dry up eventually but hopefully by then I will have most of the ones I want. I imagine we are talking years of supply, though?

[Ant68]

I've also noticed that the titles seem to be a lot better too, maybe there keeping the better one till last .
The more the pin's merrier , the more parts the merrier , the more beers the merrier , the more coffee the merrier   

[Extra Ball]

Time will come when we will be exporting back to the USA, probably a long way off though. Just keep bringing them in, better here than anywhere else!

[GORGAR 1]

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

[Strangeways]

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.

[markc]

Time will come when we will be exporting back to the USA, probably a long way off though. Just keep bringing them in, better here than anywhere else!

this used to happen already , sending containers of pins from here to USA

from what I have been told Europe used to take over 60% of all pins made.
funny just yesterday I sold the MM with new playfield and decals and then when I get home from dinner I have a email with a container with another MM and few wpc95 tops ends in it , of course I have asked for pictures and if ok, they will be on the way here very soon


Nino  , Bumper would have the BEST showroom I have seen, I have said this To David many times , how I want his showroom,  they have hundreds of thousands of $$ invested in it and it looks great ,  I just want carpet really .  soon we will have a  dedicated  showroom where we will have some   soon ....

pinball to me is well alive and will continue for a while ...  i hope so after what psp has just done

mark

[pinnies4me]

pinball to me is well alive and will continue for a while ...  i hope so after what psp has just done

More like "It will be so, after what psp has just done"

[silverball]

My experience,

More affordable prices than when I started collecting.
So many requests for so many titles. Fast turnover,no need for showrooms.
I am amazed at the amount of first time buyers, the hobby is growing.
Heaps of pins still available overseas.
Older,rarer titles coming to our shores, pins that I havent seen or heard of before.
Classic/collectable titles fetching almost as much and sometimes more than later model dmds.

I agree. bring as many as we can to our shores.

[ajlaird]

Yep, to all who import pins and parts, keep up the good work!