I have kind of felt that this wasn't possible the last 5 or more years since ebay. My local operator started jacking the prices after ebay opened a wider market for sales. The last 2 months I have finally seen some light at the end of the tunnel, reasonable prices. I did a 15 hour road trip last month, & my MasterCard got frozen when I went on an evening road trip. They saw too many gas stations stops, & put a freeze on my card. I scored a Bally Lost World which had a good playfield, & all the electronics, coin door, & a EM with beat glass for $125. I left the cabinet & glass with the owner - trash. Then I picked up a Gottlieb Car Hop & Williams Wild Fyre for $500, missing some stuff but a decent deal on Car Hop. I had to leave a Space Invaders vid since the trailer was maxed out with 3 bingos from the 50's for my local guys who scored 3 at $350 each restored & nice!
Today I scored a Silverball Mania for $350 (bad 5101, fair glass & some poor displays) & I got another non working Fire Power at $350 coming this Saturday. So maybe the prices are getting back to a reasonable level here in my area. If I score the huge lot from my local operator of 40 - 65 early electronic pins I will be really impressed. My friends are hoping it happens & they can also get some affordable pins.