A great read. In the end u got there, and thats what matters. Also good u had a wife who worked with you, thats very important. The lesson here is to visit customs house, seek advice from a freight broker and dont rely on anyone from the USA. Without the correct paperwork, in hand, before the item arrives, you are screwed. If u had of had the right paperwork, things would have been totally different, but no one said lessons come cheap. You persisted and won in the end.
My first pinball was ordered for my 10 year old daughter. It was a fully refurbished/restored Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I paid $2400 3 yrs ago and purchased from Kenny Priest in Logan, QLD. The machine has been faultless from day one, and i love the simplicity of the game and the playfield and cabinet colours. Its a 1991 model Data East ofcourse, and the best fun is the audio. NINJA NINJA. Anyone who has played it will know what i mean. Whilst this is the first pinball i purchased and ordered, a Star Trek Next Generation actually turned up to the house first, because it was shopped and ready to go. I paid $3500 for the Next Gen. So, although Turtles was the first game ordered technically, Star Trek arrived on Xmas day for me in 2009. Turtles came a week or so later.
Since then, alot more machines have made their way into my house. The simplicity of Turtles, the depth of Next Gen made me addicted.
I have purchased machines from every seller out there, and have no horror stories. But I have done my homework bigtime so i didnt get screwed.
I think buying the first two machines from professionals like Kenny Priest QLD and Jason from Ozpinball QLD did alot to calm my nerves on this great hobby. Aussie Pinball forum has also been a wealth of knowledge and have made alot of great mates.
