There are many places to buy a pinball machine or gameroom item. We want to restate that what we sell, we have available to sell or we'll give you a production or ship date up front. Anyone can quote lowball prices for something they don't have in stock ready to deliver when you want it. Remember that the most important part of the transaction is to actually take delivery of the item you ordered and paid for.

We keep getting calls and e mails from people who have sent money to "dealers" and they're still waiting for their games at the advertised low prices. They're not factory authorized dealers and they actually must pay more to get the game....so how can they sell it cheaper if it costs them more to buy it? Somebody's going to pay the difference somewhere, make sure it's not you! Buyer Beware.....

Lookout for Commercial Game Operators now crashing in.......er...cashing in to sell their tired games. Many of these game operators spit shine their junk that they operated on their route and now are looking to dump it onto home customers too. The games smell like smoke and worse......

If the game was in a commercial location your best bet is to go and look it over before you buy it.

PinballSales.com Common Sense Used Pinball Buyers Checklist

If you have not bought from that dealer before, please do the following:

1- If possible, go see and play the game that you will buy.

2- Check the overall condition of the game. Look for worn spots on the playfield. Simple things, do all of the lights light? Are there cracked, missing or broken plastic parts, drop targets or ramps?

Look at the rubber rings on the game. Sometimes creepy dealers use WD-40 on them or spin them around to the "unworn" side so they look newer.

3- Put the game into Burn-In mode or input tests as described in the manual. By the way make sure the manual is included in the price of the game.

Put the game into display test. This will test the score displays. If the score display looks dim, melted or incomplete that's a sign that you need a new display.. That can cost you $150 to $250, maybe more.

4- Lift the playfield. Look inside the game especially around the bottom of the body of the game on unpainted wood. Look for water stains or signs of warping. Is the inside dirty and littered with old parts or burned out bulbs or fuses?

5- Look for rust. Look at the inside back of the legs, coin door and mechanisms under the playfield. Look at the boards in the head. If any of those are badly rusted PASS ON THE GAME....

6- Is the overall body of the game in good condition? Cabinet graphics complete, and not faded by the sun? Are there holes drilled in the front of the cabinet for a bar hasp? These things can decrease the value of a game.

7- Check feedback ratings of the auction seller. What items have they recently sold? Ask for references. Check the reputation of the dealer. Is the dealer working out of a basement or garage? Is the "dealer" a registered business or just another individual? Know who you are buying from.

8- Dealers who believe in what they sell will offer a limited warranty. They will offer customer support long after the sale and a good dealer will want your business and referrals for years to come.

9- Enjoy your game. Easy to say but if you buy a reconditioned pinball machine based on price only, saved a few bucks and got a lemon, that will be the worst money you ever saved.

10- If the dealer has a web site, look under company information. Who is the owner of the company? Can you reach that person by e mail, phone, fax etc.? If there's nobody listed....why not?

We strive to do everything in an honest and ethical manner. That's our guarantee to you. That guarantee costs a bit more, but it's well worth it!
 

BUYER BEWARE:

It's sad when someone calls with a horror story about what they bought where and ask how much it will take for us to make it right.

Sometimes we're luckier than other times. Buying sight unseen is hard. We receive many e mails and phone calls asking for our help. People have purchased what they thought would be reconditioned pinball machines from other dealers either on the Internet or auction sites on the Internet. What they turned out to be were either rusted, water damaged or not shopped at all. In one instance somebody disappeared completely and stiffed eight different buyers!!

WATCH OUT FOR FOREIGN BASED COMPANIES. LOOK FOR PICTURES OF GAMES SHOWN IN BASEMENTS OR GARAGES. YOU HAVE ALMOST NO RECOURSE WHEN BUYING FROM A FOREIGN COMPANY. CALL THEM COLLECT WITH YOUR QUESTIONS...GET A GUARANTEE IF YOU CAN.

INTERNET AUCTIONS ARE GREAT FUN. WE DO LESS THAN 1% OF OUR BUSINESS ON AUCTION SITES. CHECK THE OTHER AUCTIONS THAT A DEALER IS RUNNING TOO.

CHECK THE ITEMS THAT THEY HAVE SOLD IN THE PAST FEEDBACK. ARE THEY PINBALL OR COIN-OP ITEMS ONLY OR A WIDE VARIETY OF OTHER MERCHANDISE?

THEIR HUGE FEEDBACK RATING NUMBERS MAY HAVE COME FROM SELLING MANY SMALL ITEMS AND NOT PINBALL MACHINES. SOMETIMES THEY ARE BUYERS OF SMALL ITEMS TO PROP UP THEIR FEEDBACK NUMBERS!

LOOKOUT FOR THE THE WORD RARE OR LIMITED EDITION. MANY PINBALL MACHINES WERE BUILT BY THE THOUSANDS, THEY MAY NOT BE RARE AND CERTAINLY EVERYTHING EVER BUILT IS BUILT IN A LIMITED QUANTITY....ASK HOW LIMITED, LIMITED IS.

While we believe that most dealers are honest there are some steps you should take before you buy a Pinball Machine (or almost anything else) sight unseen on the Internet. When we shop a game there's more than 60 major things that we do to make sure the game is completely working before it leaves our facility.