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Whats The Definition Of An Op


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Both of the above.. An op is always worried that someone is going to take over their territory, hence the million questions such as, how many machines do you have, what are you doing with them, are you going to site them etc.. Ops worry far to much about backyarders and not enough about what happens in their own back yards.
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I don't know anything about the business but I can say that all the ops I've ever spoken to, rarely admit to the fact that they are/were ops. It seems to be a very sensitive topic for some reason.

They are also easy to spot when selling pinballs/arcade machines - they are the ones that always state "from my private collection".

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Well our local OP aint no wanker, his in a wheelchair for starters and just sited what must be a freshly shopped GnR at my local, honestly this thing is in really good condition, if I had the money I'd offer him $4000 for the thing straight up, doubt he would bite at that. Actually I must have a chat with him next time i spy him, he used to have a Getaway pinball too, eh, what am I thinking I'm really only dreaming, still as I recall that machine was in damn good shape too.
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Well ops up here are either retired (one kindly sold me his inventory a while back) or working other jobs. All are great guys which would go out of their way to help a enthusiast. I suppose it must be the big cities making them greasy, dodgy and all.
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My Father was an Operator of amusement machines in the early Sixties. He migrated from Italy in the late 50's with 20 pounds to his name to escape the political climate in Europe. He was an ex air force engineer who looked for opportunity in Australia.

 

According to him he brought his first container of pins into Australia in the 1960's. I remember as a child the endless containers of pins that used to arrive month after month...He made his own billiard tables and soccer tables. He brought well over 50 original Taito Space Invaders tables and uprights when the video boom took over.

 

I distinctly remember the NIB KISS', Mata Hari's, Harlem Globetrotters being unpacked and assembled, and then taken out to location....Space Firebird, Galaxian, Asteroids.. All originals...

 

He used to fly to Japan and America to buy 1000's of fuses, globes, rubbers, PCBs and all sorts of parts. I still have a 60 kilo box of globes and 10000s of fuses. Unfortunately, the 150 kg box of rubbers had to be thrown out as they perished...

 

All his machines were kept in very good condition (nothing like the condition route pins are today !)

 

In the early 1990's, he had enough. He started to pull the machines from location, and store them in a large double story building that he had specifically built for his operation in the early 1970's. There were already 200 EM's atacked. There were Gun Games, Car games, you name it... There was over 700 vids and pinballs all in one place, in the late 1990's...

 

but he didn't need or want them anymore

 

Did he have an auction - No.

 

Did he sell them at three times their value - No

 

He sold some of them privately (Bally Star Trek - $300) for obvious reasons..

 

But most of them were given to schools, youth clubs and sporting clubs to be raffled off for charities.. Some were thrown away, or traded. I know he gave a machine to each of my friends in primary school !!

 

The rest of the games were given to me.

 

He's 82 years old now, and he still finds time to repair old Bally Bingos and AMI Juke Boxes. He passed on all his knowledge to me during my years working with him, and this invaluable knowledge has helped me save a large amount of old school pinballs from being parted out. He assisted in restoring my Jacks Open to almost NIB condition.

 

I'm not offended by the perception of the modern day operator, and I take no offense to people's comments...All I know is was hard back then, working 16 hours a day keeping route pins going after kids had shoved a washer in the coin slot, or deliberately poured coke on the machine, or blew the 5101s on the pcbs with their "buzzers" they stole from the chef factory...

 

One thing is most definite - I'm proud of his achievements, and I'm happy that he retired from the industry. I'm grateful to have the knowledge...

 

 

Who knows, I might have that old bezel, or plastics set that you might be after one day !!!

 

Apologies for the long post, but I'm unashamed of being the son of an Ex Operator ....

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They are also easy to spot when selling pinballs/arcade machines - they are the ones that always state "from my private collection".

 

Ha Ha Ha Ha...I know 1 may offender who does this on ebay and also uses very high prices....To be honest i actually purchased 2 pinballs from them in the early 90's and they were not a bad deal. But as time went on i think they went to the darkside...:014:

 

BTW...I will never buy another pinball from a OP as the last one i purchased, a few important details were left out and they denied it...:x

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well im not an op i never have been i have worked for one a while back but the only thing i do have now with an op is an arrangement to buy surplus machines and parts when they come up. Ive been doing that for well over 14 years i keep what i like and i pass on to other collectors for a song and i use the money to fund my hobby. I have a normal day job and i put my pants on one leg after the other.

 

oh and ironically enough i have sold machines from my private collection :o

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So have any passed thru this forum by any chance? Sure would like to see them...

 

I have gotten some great bargains of Troy over the last few years, cheap as CPS2's and even a free Astro City cab. Plus alot of stuff that just cant be found on a normal basis.

 

Nice story btw strangeways. I think that one operator in particular has left a bad impression on alot of us. But in a way we have to thank that particular op, becuase without their tyranny, this wonderful community of backyarders wouldnt exist. :D

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Strangeways, thank you for the great post. As always, there is two sides to a story and it is really nice to hear from a different perspective. Your father sounds like a really good guy.

 

I'm glad you are not ashamed or offended by any comments in this thread, nor should you. They are by no means a true reflection of all ops past and present in the industry, although, people tend to highlight the bad points.

 

I, at certain times, have even thought about putting a pin or two on location to try and subside my hobby a little, though the very thought of people trashing them, has put a stop to that idea.

 

Cheers,

 

Dan :cool:

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wouldnt make you an op though which is i guess the point i was trying to get to.

 

truth is i dont even know why i have half the stuff i do but i think it was to either save it from the tip or it being sold to another op who in turn jack up the price.

 

I started doing what i do after being burnt by the local op fixing my first ever pinny so i spent the next 4 years learing how they worked so i couldnt be ripped off again

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Its the kind of ops who sell there clapped out shit to morons like me who at the time didnt know better paying top dollar.

Lesson learned will not fall for it again needless to say it has left a lasting impression on me.

 

My favorite was purchasing CRT monitor with "dead pixels" :x Normally that sort of thing isnt even possible based on our laws of physics, but certain ops will find a way.

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