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Pinball Wrecking


GIBO

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At the moment Im after peoples thoughts about starting a pinball wrecking business,do you think there is a market for it.We can get access to a lot of late model pins with severe playfield damage which I reckon renders them useless for selling as complete machines but break them down and there seems to be some money to be made.Some of the draw backs I can see are you will need a lot of space to warehouse everything ,some parts will be slow moving and you will be left with a lot of small parts that nobody wants,any ideas for or against
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If the machines are beyond repair / restoration then there is an opportunity there. As long as the titles don't have repro playfields available already (as an example "against").

 

There are countless parts that are hard to find as this would be a means to have them made available.

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would love to see it happen but hard to figure out whether it would make it financially. if you got them cheap enough i guess that would help. to save work you would be better to just leave them intact and then let ppl buy what they want, rather than keep an inventory of whats there i would just keep a list of what's not there if you know what i mean. sort of like the way car wreckers work.
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I think you will end up with a shed load of slow moving parts .. and attract a bucket load of people that want information for free

 

So make it a

Resourse & repair center / Hourly rate from the miniute they say HI

with a spare parts depo for sale

 

Then you will have a Viable business

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If the machines are beyond repair / restoration then there is an opportunity there. .

 

the efforts of some the guys here prove that most pins are infact restorable and not beyond repair at all, it just depends on the skill and effort they have and wanna put in

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the efforts of some the guys here prove that most pins are infact restorable and not beyond repair at all, it just depends on the skill and effort they have and wanna put in

 

I concur... I would never intentionally part out a game UNLESS it was missing a vital part - Worn / damaged playfield is a typical candidate for parting out.

 

There's a guy on eBay USA parting out a complete Haunted House.. Now that's what I detest...

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I concur... I would never intentionally part out a game UNLESS it was missing a vital part - Worn / damaged playfield is a typical candidate for parting out.

 

There's a guy on eBay USA parting out a complete Haunted House.. Now that's what I detest...

 

yeah that is sickening as i wanna own one someday

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I've parted out my fair share of machines.

 

Not as many as some, but quite a few. For years, I bought anything that was cheap, and more than once bit off more than I could chew.

 

One downside is, a lot of the same mechanisms and plastics wear and break on the same title. If the game is worn out enough to part, what people need for that title will likely be worn out on your game. Then, you get down to cheap stuff that may not be worth your time to strip and ship out to people, and there's always a box of stuff left when you're done that nobody needs.

 

Your time suddenly becomes worth very little. Spending hours to strip, clean, photograph parts, then send them out to the person that needs them etc.

 

As I repair games now, I like having stocks of parts. Much easier than placing an order when you need a $2 post or a $8 solenoid and have to pay more to ship the part than it costs.

 

Having said that, it is one less game that someone could be enjoying too. We do have some responsibility if we want to preserve pinball for future generations to try to keep machines alive.

 

Of course, a lot of those machines won't be alive without parts. 1 parted machine may save 12 others from being parted. So, use your best judgement as to what gets parted.

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If they are still working seems a shame to part em out, even if the playfield is totaled. Some one is always looking for a project pin.

 

It's a tough choice as selling some of the parts may well be worth more than selling the pin as a project machine, and you may be providing parts needed by other collectors to restore their Pin

 

Of course, a lot of those machines won't be alive without parts. 1 parted machine may save 12 others from being parted. So, use your best judgement as to what gets parted.

 

One to save 12 seems to be a damm good ratio

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hmmmm

 

 

ove my tiem at child we have parted out 3 pins

 

Indy

Judge

congo

 

 

thats IT

 

all 3 of these worked before we started on them

we sold off the indy and was going to be fixed up

the JD has since gone to heaven

congo we still use

 

 

as for a full time business not to sure , if the price is good then look at it

of course all the boards will sell first and hard to get parts then you will need room and time to re coup the balance of $$$ and each year they sit there you will slowly get more and need more room.

you will need to at one stage say thats it and wreck the balance yourself to save on space and then have a great book keepinmg system to find every part.

I think there is a call for it but on what level I am not sure

and with so many new parts being made and prices of these dropping , just things to think about.

 

good luck

 

mind you I will bug you for parts if you do it

 

 

mark

 

 

ps making a list as i type !!!

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I think YES

 

People might not pay what a game is selling for, But they will go crazy for a part they need to complete the game they have.

 

We find people email us all the time after a board or a plastic etc and even though we might have it, it takes time to find it, so i would make sure you inventory it well and you will be on a gold mine.

 

There are many schools also getting students to build pinballs as a project, so coil assy will fly out the door, many games have burnt out coils and missing assy that are being imported, and many are missing boards.

 

When people are paying $19 for a little yellow knob for a TZ gumball machine and much the same for a spirit level and $300 for a set of guns for an IJ, I have seen translites sell for $400

 

I think yes, I would do it, but have enough to do with MM and NEW parts.

 

Good Luck

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I think YES

Good Luck

 

as a parts seller do you think that for every wrecked machine you have lost the customers that will own and repair this machine over the rest of its life?

 

I know the donor parts will keep other machines living... but you gotta wonder what is best for the preservation of pinball as species... to wreck or not to wreck?

:unsure

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At the moment Im after peoples thoughts about starting a pinball wrecking business,do you think there is a market for it.We can get access to a lot of late model pins with severe playfield damage which I reckon renders them useless for selling as complete machines but break them down and there seems to be some money to be made.Some of the draw backs I can see are you will need a lot of space to warehouse everything ,some parts will be slow moving and you will be left with a lot of small parts that nobody wants,any ideas for or against

 

Go For Gold GIBO, :)

 

Yeah I think once a PF is gone, Well ???

There is a big call for parts

 

If you got the Capitol, The Space , Patience , Orginisational Skills,

 

Long term Great Investment :045:

 

Best Wishes,

 

Just move it to the East eh :)

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Yeah GIBO,

I think if the machine is too far gone to be a resto' , parting it out could help guy's out who are restoring a machine.

I really do love to see these old machines brought back to life.

But , in saying that , if it could help collectors out that are restoring other machines, why not.

especially when some parts aren't available, repo or otherwise.

 

ps: If you have a good , non faded backglass to suit a GTB Pioneer &/or Golden Arrow & complete chime box as well as an apron in good nick, give me a yell.

:cool: Thanks Steve

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Car wreckers make a fortune

they sell used parts at 1/2 to 2/3rds the price of new

 

so a new $15 coil would be $7.50 to $10

 

For sake of debate: why would you buy a secondhand coil for your machine when you can pay a little bit extra and buy a new one?

 

You can not liken cars to pinball because there is an unlimited supply of replacement cars. Sterns production run is nothing in comparison to car makers. Point being that their is only so many pinballs left in existance, and with very few being made then wrecking them makes an impact. When you buy a part from the wreckers its generally because you wanna keep your shitbox on the road for another year or so, (you accept the part is worn). When you buy a part for your pin you want it to last, well I would anyway.

:)

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i don't think the value of this is in coils or easy to find new parts. its the furniture, brackets, rails, gates and one-off plastics. for instance i'm looking for a dr who 'tardis' and would pay well for one, plus a bracket off the mini playfield. there are so many one-off game specific parts that would be a real benefit to have a supply of.
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i don't think the value of this is in coils or easy to find new parts. its the furniture, brackets, rails, gates and one-off plastics. for instance i'm looking for a dr who 'tardis' and would pay well for one, plus a bracket off the mini playfield. there are so many one-off game specific parts that would be a real benefit to have a supply of.

 

yep I agree, and you would need to price those parts accordingly to make-up for the common shit that wont sell so well.

Like anything the marketing would make or break such a business. Having a website and putting stuff on Aus and US ebay to promote your site would be the go. And offering AA members great discounts allways helps!

lol

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i don't think the value of this is in coils or easy to find new parts. its the furniture, brackets, rails, gates and one-off plastics. for instance i'm looking for a dr who 'tardis' and would pay well for one, plus a bracket off the mini playfield. there are so many one-off game specific parts that would be a real benefit to have a supply of.

 

 

a coil either works or it dont

 

what looks better when you lift the playfield a whole heap of original coils that look the same or one that stands out like dogs balls that is BRAND NEW.

 

You would be surprised how many people want used coils to match.

 

That was just one example there are many, a new plastic wont match an old plastic, bumper caps etc

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